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The Russian Revolution
The revolution that overthrew the imperial government and placed the Bolsheviks in power.
The events that took place during this time all contributed to the final overthrow. -
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reign of Czar Alexander III
Believed in one-man rule, one religion, one race, autocracy (absolute rule), and orthodoxy
His policies did not set his son and heir (Nicholas II) up for success, and made him very disliked -
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reign of Czar Nicholas II
Believed that political power should only exist in the hands of the Russian monarchy, (autocracy), and rejected the idea of democracy. When people tried to express negatively how they felt about this rule, Nicholas killed them.
The Bolsheviks were not happy with him as he ruled poorly during World War I because he kept fighting even though his people didnt want to
Also they were unhappy because he made the Duma (legislative authority) have no power or say when he promised they would have power -
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Russo-Japanese War
Russia and Japan were competing over territory in northern China. Japan won because they supplied more ground troops and their naval forces secured the sea
This was the number 1 reason why Nicholas set up the Duma -
establishment of the Duma
An elected semi-representative body created by Czar Nicholas when the government was desperate to divide the opposition during an uprising.
The Bolsheviks were excited about this creation, but they soon learned that Nicholas did not truly give them little if any power. -
Bloody Sunday
Thousands of peaceful protesters were protesting about the working conditions and prices, when the police opened fired and around 100 people were killed and 3,000 were injured. The leaders of the protest were also arrested
The Bolsheviks blamed Czar Nicholas, and is one of the many events that upset the Bolsheviks and led to them overthrowing -
establishment of USSR
After the revolution, four socialist republics were established on the territory of the former empire of Russia.
The new Communist Party (formerly the Bolsheviks), led by Marxist revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, took control of the government. -
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Russia’s participation in WWI
Russia entered the world war with the largest army in the world
The Bolsheviks were upset that they kept fighting in the war when they didn't want to -
death of Rasputin
Rasputin was drowned by the nobles after numerous attempts to kill him with poison and bullets because they didn’t want him influencing the government.
His economic reforms brought famine and financial decay to the Russian Empire. -
abdication of Czar Nicholas II/est. of Provisional Government
Czar Nicholas stepped down from the throne, and a temporary government was created.
The new Government was very unliked by the Bolsheviks. -
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October Revolution
the Bolshevik Party overthrew the provisional government.
They seized power in Russia and created the USSR -
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Civil War
Many groups formed together that opposed Lenin's Bolsheviks and communism, creating the Red and White Armies. Ultimately the Red Army (Bolsheviks) won.
The Civil War destroyed democracy and cleared the way for Stalinist dictatorship. -
Lenin's death
Lenin died in 1924 due to a disease in the blood vessels.
After Lenin's death, Stalin stepped up to power in Russia and the communist party, beginning his deadly reign. -
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Stalin’s rise to power
Following Lenin's death, Joseph Stalin was put in power of Russia and the communist party.
The Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower. He ruled by terror and millions of his citizens died during his reign. -
Leon Trotsky’s exile
When Stalin rose to power, Leon Trotsky gradually lost his government positions and the Communists eventually banished him from the Soviet Union.
Leon Trotsky wrote his memoirs and a history of the revolution while in exile.