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Decembrist Revolt
A group of military officers who seeked reform attemted to revolt on the day that Nicholas I was to become czar. The revolt was crushed, but it showed that there was discomfort among the Russian people. Participants were executed and arrested. -
Czar Alexander II Emancipates Serfs
Serfs were peasants in Russia. They had no money, no power, and had barely enough food to survive. When the serfs wre emancipated, populations in cities boomed, and both the agricultural and industrial industries did well, but envetually, the cities became overpopulated and working conditions became harsh. The emancipation was good in teh short term, but bad in the long term. -
Czar Nicholas II takes power
Nicholas II was Russia's last czar. During his reign, Russia became more corrupt than ever before. Nicholas II got the country into unpopular wars, and quickly lost public support. He was eventually overthrown by the people. -
The Social-Democratic Labor Party splits into two groups, Mensheviks and Bolsheviks
The Social-Democratic Party was obviously split into two groups from the start. The Mensheviks believed in a loose, democratic government, and the Bolsheviks were hard revolutionaries, who wanted total control. The split allowed Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks, to create a seperate, efficient revoltionary machine for his followers. This would have fatal consequences. -
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War was a war that Czar Nicholas II had no business getting into. Basically, he just wanted teh glory of getting into and winning wars. Nicholas claims that the war was for fresh water ports on the Yellow Sea. The Russian army was throughly whipped by the Japanese,and the helped fuel the Russian people's desire for revolt. -
Bloody Sunday
Peaceful, almost positive protesters marched on the czar's winter palace in St. Petersburg. All the people wanted was freedom of speech and the righ to vote. Nicholas II wasn't present at the time, but he had ordered his guards to fire if there was a crowd. About 500 people were killed, and this sparked the revolution in Russia. -
Revolution of 1905
Essentially beginning of the Revolution fo 1905 began on Bloody Sunday. The revoltionaries were split when teh czar issued a manifesto which allowed a duma to be elected democratically. After the revoltion was suppresed, the duma's power was limited. This helped to create a revolutionary climate in Russia. -
Russia enters World War I
Russia entered World War I against the Germans and Austro-Hungarians. This was a war that they had no reason to get into. It led to unrest at home, because the czar was not in the country, but instead controlling the poorly equipped army. The war caused the Russian people to revolt against the czar, and the soldiers joined in with them when told to oppress it. -
The March Revolution
The March Revolution began with strikes and ritos in Petrograd. The czar gave up his throne, and the Provisional Government was established. The March Revolution kickstarted the beginning of the rise of Communism. -
Alexander Kerensky becomes the leader of the Provisional Government
Kerensky was an essential leader in the March Revolution. When the Provisional Government was set up, Kerensy was elected Minister of Justice. His ideas for teh government were decent, but the fact that he and teh goernment didnt' want to end teh war with Germany and Austria-Hungary made them lose a lot of public support. -
Czar Nicholas II abdicates his throne
The March Revolution forced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate, or give up his thrown. This led to a temporary government, and eventually the rise of Communism. The country was in shambles, and Russia was still participating in World War I. -
Vladimir Lenin and the Bosheviks capture the Winter Palace
The Bosheviks stormed the Winter Palace and arrested Provisional Government officials. After this, Civil War erupted. Communism had taken over in Russia. -
Nicholas II and his family are executed
When Nicholas II and his family were taken to "prison" in the Ipatiev house, which was almost a mansion, taken to the basement, told that they were taking a family photo. What really appened, was they were all brutally executed. The execution was kept secret, but eventually, people found out. That was pretty much the end o fany hope of the czars returning to power. -
The Russian Civil War begins
When the Bolsheviks took power, they faced opposition from many gorups, who wanted different things. Some wanted democracy, while others wanted to restore czarist Russia, and others were just different nationalitities who wanted independence. Fighting raged from 1918-1921. The Red Army (Communists), ultimately defeated the White Army (opposing groups, as well as France, Britain, and the US, who whated to stop spread of Communism).The war left Russia in pieces, but most were supporting Communism. -
Vladimir Lenin dies and Joseph Stalin becomes Soviet leader
Vladimir Lenin did not want Stalin to become leader of Soviet Russia. But, Stalin did become leader, and he built the totalitarian government. What was to come were dark times for Russian people under their new dictator.
