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Revolution of 1905 and the October Manifesto
The Revolution of 1905 was the first Russian Revolution. This consisted of mass political and social unrest mainly directed towards the government, and included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military revolt. This led to the creation of the October Manifesto, which is a document that was a precursor to the Russian Empire’s first Russian Constitution and was published in 1905. (Picture shows the people rejoicing and happy that chaos is settled and at peace) -
Beginning of World War One
World War One began on July 28, 1914 after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. During this time, Russia was a part of ‘The Allied Powers’ which included Russia, Great Britain, France, Romania, Japan, Italy, and the United States. (Picture: the many different newspapers display the different regions that were involved in WWI) -
Czar Nicholas II takes sole control of military operations
The Czar left St. Petersburg and took sole control of military operations in 1915. This decision meant that he was seen more by the Russian people as having sole responsibility for the military disasters inflicted on Russia. (Picture: this paper shows how he took a step down from his throne and joined the army end) -
Brusilov Offensive
One of the most lethal offensives in history. This was when the Russians won the battle against the Austro-Hungarians. There were around 4 million deaths and the Central Powers lost a lot of territory (offensive secured the most enemy territory than any other offensive) (Picture shows the new territory gains and losses because of the offensive) -
Assassination of Rasputin
Grigori Rasputin was assassinated on December 30, 1916, by a group of conservative noblemen who opposed his influence over the Romanovs. At first, they tried to poison him, but when that failed, they shot him. (Picture: picture depicts all of the events and details of his death such as the conservative group, the poison, and getting shot from a close proximity) -
Kornilov Affair
In august of 1917, General Lavr Kornilov and his Russian Army attempted a coup d'etat against the Russian provisional government.
picture is of Kornilov, who was instrumental in leading the coup attempt -
Cheka Formed
The secret police under the bolshevik government was formed in December of 1917. The purpose of the Cheka was to weed out any threats to the regime, including other political parties and ‘class enemies.’ Brought about ‘red terror’ among Russians as anyone could rat you out, which would lead to torture or getting shot. image shows terror and horror produced from the Cheka -
Trotsky organizes the Red Guard to defend Petrograd
Although they were first formed during the 1905 revolution, they were reformed in March of 1917. The red guard was made up of the working class and they were vital to resisting Kornilov’s coup and the July uprisings. image clearly depicts Trotsky as leading the Red Guard, and uniting them to defend Petrograd -
Bolsheviks overthrow the Provisional Government and take control
In November of 1917, Vladimir Lenin and other leftist revolutionaries known as Bolsheviks launched a coup against the provisional government. They occupied government buildings and other strategic locations in Petrograd and were able to form a new government in 2 days. Image shows the importance of event around the world -
Provisional Government formed
Responsible to conduct war between February and October. Happened due to the protests about food shortages in Russia and unemployment. (Political cartoon shows how public viewed RPG; not good and they thought they were either lazy or did not care) -
International Women’s Day March in Petrograd
On March 8, 1917, many working women in Petrograd started a strike for the demand of bread because food was in short supply due to World War One. This little thing sparked a revolution. (Picture: shows the protests and how important it was for everyone to come) -
Nicholas II Abdicates
He abdicated from the throne on March 15, 1917. One of the main reasons for this was because food shortages, rationing, and wild inflation were rife in Russian cities. Nicholas’ loss of support and weakening leadership led to his abdication and brought an end to the Romanov dynasty. (Picture: shows how big of a deal this was for Russia especially for it to be spread all the way to the United States) -
April Theses published
This was a set of 10 demands he had to fellow Bolsheviks as well as just the Russian general public. These demands mostly consisted of ideas like having the Soviets assume power. (Picture shows how Lenin was on car when delivering speech; also many people around meaning his speech was widely listened to) -
Return of Lenin from exile
After a decade in exile in Switzerland, Lenin returns to Russia and assumes a leadership role for the Bolsheviks. When he arrived back in Petrograd, he delivered his ‘April Theses’.(Picture shows how Lenin was on car when delivering speech; also many people around meaning his speech was widely listened to) -
First All-Russian Congress of Soviets meets
June 16, 1917-July 7, 1917; Brought together by the National Conference of Soviets and was dominated by pro-government parties like the Social Revolutionaries. In the end, the congress settled that the Russian Provisional Government will hold supremacy (Picture shows how many people attended and what the consensus of the congress was going to be -
July Days
July 16th - 20th, 1917; Many spontaneous armed protests in Russia began to arise. Was a period of unrest with demonstrations from sailors, soldiers, and industrial workers where they protested against the Russian Provisional Government. (Picture shows how many armed soldiers there were that were against RPG. They would go in with weapons and protest on the streets.) -
Red Terror
Red Terror was when the Reds, or the Bolshevik army, attacked and killed others to get rid of political opponents- over 6,000 people executed without trial. (Detail of an anti-Bolshevik propaganda poster from the early 1920s. The poster depicts the sacrifice of Russia to a Marxist International. (Public Domain)) -
Wartime Communism created
During the summer of 1918, War Communism started to get a definite shape. It was an economic system that existed in Russia from 1918 to 1921. With war communism came the nationalization of the industry, introduction of compulsory labor, and the suppressing of private trade. Additionally with all these new changes came unhappy peasants who found the new system to be quite unfair. (picture shows how army/gov would come to take rations) -
The Constituent Assembly meets and is disbanded
after an election that gave social revolutionaries majority of the seats (leaving Bolsheviks in the minority), they convened on January 5th, 1918, where the assembly refused to recognize the authority of the government. As a result, the bolsheviks walked out. The next day Bolshevik troops dispersed representatives of other parties, officially disbanding the assembly.image shows how the Bolsheviks received a minority of the seats, and justification for their anger towards the results -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Signed on March 3rd, 1918 by Russia and the central powers, this treaty ended Russia participation in WW1. This treaty also created great loss for Russia: 1million sq. miles, ⅓ of the population and a majority of its coal, oil and iron stores. image illustrates the huge amount of land lost for Russia. -
Tambov Rebellion
The Tambov revolution began in 1919 and ended in 1921 with a Bolshevik Victory. The rebellion occurred because the peasants wanted to challenge the Bolshevik’s regime. -
Kolchak (one of the White leaders) begins serious attacks against Reds from Siberia
In early 1919, Kolchak and the forces he had grouped around him, went on the offensive. They took the city of Perm and advanced to the Volga .A two-pronged attack against the Bolsheviks may well have been successful – but it never materialized. The British were to shortly pull out of Russia – and the Whites probably lost their best opportunity to defeat the Bolsheviks. (shows Kolchak (seated), Anna Timiryova and General Alfred Knox (behind Kolchak) observing a military exercise in 1919) -
Ukraine brought under Soviet control:
In 1920, Soviet Russian forces overran Ukraine and relations between the two states transitioned from international to internal ones within the Soviet Union, founded in 1922. (photo from ukrainian-soviet war) -
Poles move toward Kiev
The 1920 Kiev Offensive (or Kiev Operation), considered to have started the Polish–Soviet War, was an attempt by the armed forces of the newly re-emerged Poland led by Józef Piłsudski, in alliance with the Ukrainian leader Symon Petliura, to seize the territories of modern-day Ukraine which fell under the Soviet control after the Bolshevik Revolution. 24 April–13 June 1920
(Polish soldiers in Kiev in May 1920) -
Soviets attempt to take Warsaw
The battle of Warsaw was fought from August 12–25, 1920 as Red Army forces commanded by Mikhail Tukhachevsky approached the Polish capital of Warsaw and the nearby Modlin Fortress. On August 16, Polish forces commanded by Józef Piłsudski counterattacked from the south, disrupting the enemy's offensive, forcing the Russian forces into a disorganized withdrawal eastward and behind the Neman River.
(Picture of Polish soldiers displaying captured Soviet battle flags after the battle) -
Kronstadt uprising:
March 7-17 of 1921. Located in Kronstadt of Saint Petersburg Russia. It resulted in a Bolshevik victory as well as ending the uprising. It occurred between the Soviet sailors, soldiers, and citizens against the Bolsheviks. -
Ending of Wartime Communism
Wartime communism ended on March 21, 1921, with the creation of the NEP which lasted until 1928. -
Treaty of Rapallo
Signed on April 16, 1922 between German Republic and Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. This treaty renounced all territorial and financial claims against the other. -
Formation of Soviet Union
The Soviet Union was formed on December 30, 1922. Treaty between Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Transcaucasia. -
Lenin dies
Lenin died January 21, 1924. He died pf a disease of blood vessels and fell into a coma at aged 53.
