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Decembrist Revolt
The Decembrist Revolt started in December 1825 when a small group of nobles and army officers are trying to overthrow Czar Nicholas I and the government. They hope that once they overthrow Czar Nicholas that they can set up a constitutional manarchy. But when Czar Nicholas fought back, he excuted five leaders and exiled hundreds more to Siberia. -
Czar Alexander II Emancipated the Serfs
March 3, 1861 was when tjhe new czar Alexander II freed the serfs. The freed of the serfs gained a few political rights and the serfs were allowed to keep their homes and tools. If they wanted land they had to buy it at high prices. Some peasants were in debt and high taxes but most peasants continued to live in terrible poverty. Alexander II introduced other reforms such as the improved health care and he encuraged the building of schools. -
Nicholas II becomes czar of Russia
Nicholas II was the last czar of Russia. Czar Nicholas saw Imperial Russia go from being great powers of the world to economic and military collapse. Nicholas started cracking down and tried making Russia the great powers again -
The Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War started when Japan and Russia were fighting over Korea and Machuria. Japan offered to recognize Russian dominance in Manchuria in exchange for recognition of Korea as a Japanese sphere of influence. Russia refused the offer and demanded that Korea would be a neutral buffer zone between Russia and Japan. The Japanese government chose to go to war with Russia. -
Bloody Sunday
Bloody Sunday happened when a young priest named Georgi Gapon planned a peaceful march of the factory workers to the czar's palace in St. Petersburg. The workers presented a petition to Nicholas II, asking for better working conditions and some political freedoms. But as the unarmed men, women, and children walked up to the palace the soldiers appeared and started firing at the marchers. When the gunfire ended, more than hundred marchers lay dead, hundreds more were severely wounded. -
Revolution of 1905
The events of Bloody Sunday horrified Russians and sparked the Revolution of 1905. Riots and strikes went through the cities, peasants in the countyside looted and burned the homes of landowners. The Revolution ended when Czar Nicholas II finally agreed to set up the Duma an elected assembly. -
World War I (Russia Involvement)
World War I started when a Serbian nationalist assinated Austria's archduke in 1914. By 1918, the Austrian, Russian and Ottoman empires had collapsed. But Poland, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia regained their freedom when the Allies supported the goal of self-determination and helped set up independent, democratic states. -
The March Revolution
The March Revolution started out with riots and strikes erupting in Petrograd. Angry crowds protested the war and the shortage of food. The government sent troops to restore orders though many soldiers refused to fire on the crowds instead hundreds of soldiers joined the protesters. -
Czar Nicholas abdicates the Russian Throne.
Nicholas II was forced to give up the throne after the Revolution of 1905. Nicholas II and his family were imprisioned. July 16/17, 1918 Nicholas and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks. -
The Russian Civil War Begins
Civil war raged in Russia. The Communists were better organized and their leader Leon Trotsky sets up and trains a communist army known as the Red Army. Thoug hthe Red Army needed to build up they seized grain from peasants and took control of all factories, mines, banks, and businesses. The Red Army fought the White Army which was the British, French and American Troops. When the war ended the Communists won control over the old Russian Empire. -
Vladimire Lenin and the Bolsheviks capture the Winter Palace
The Bolsheviks started the Bolshevik Revolution with Lenin as their leader. The Bolsheviks won increasing support among workers and soldiers. As the Provisional Government became weaker it made Lenin convinced the Bolsheviks to seize power. Bolsheviks captured government buildings and arrested members of the Povisional Government. -
Vladimir Lenin dies and Joseph Stalin becomes leader of the Soviet Union
After Vlidamir Lenin died, Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky struggled for power. Stalin forced Trotsky into exile and that's when Stalin became the dictator of the Soviet Union. After Stalin became the leader, Stalin sent his agents to murder Trotsky. From there on Russia was in Joseph Stalin's hands.
