The Russian Revolution

By elenaefs13

  • Decembers Revolt

    Russian army officers led about 3,000 soldiers in a protest against the assumption of the throne by Nicholas I after his elder brother Constantine removed himself from the line of succession.
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    Industrialisation in Russia

    The number of factories in Russia doubled over this period of time, and by 1900 it was the fourth-largest producer of steel in Russia. Even so, it lagged behind other western nations in industrial production.
    Rapid industrialisation stirred discontent among the Russian, because of the gruelling working conditions, the low wages and child labor, and Unions were outlawed, people started striking. All these lead to the rising of revolutionary groups that started to grow and compete for power.

  • Assassination of Emperor Alexander II

    Although Alexander II made many reforms, like modernising the army, ending serfdom, loosening censorship, among other, and also expanded the Russian Empire, “Narodnaya Volya” revolutionaries threw several bombs at his carriage while on the streets of Saint Petersburg, resulting in his death some hours later, as they were upset about the slow rate of change and were struggling to gain power.

  • Czar Alexander III rose to the throne

    After his father was assassinated, Alexander III came to power and halted all reforms in Russia. Like his grandfather Nicholas I, he stuck to autocracy and turned Russia into a police state. He also established strict censorship methods to suppress revolutionaries, and labelled anyone who didn't speak Russian, wasn't Russian Orthodox or questioned the absolute power of the Czar, dangerous.
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    Construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway

    It connected European Russia in the west with Russian ports on the Pacific Ocean in the east.

  • Nicholas II became Czar of Russia

    Following his father's death, Nicholas became the Czar of the Russian Empire. He continued with autocracy, but disregarded the changes Russia was facing. He was the last emperor of the Russina empire.

  • Splitting of Marxist revolutionary groups

    The Marxist revolutionaries believed that the industrial class of workers would overthrow the czar. These workers would then form “a dictatorship of the proletariat.” This group split into two.
    The Mensheviks, who were moderate, wanted to get a broad base of popular support for the revolution, and the Bolsheviks, who were radical, wanted to conglomerate a small group of revolutionaries who would sacrifice anything to lead the revolution. Vladimir Lenin was the leader of the Bolsheviks.
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    Russo-Japanese War

    This war emerged due to the conflict between these two nations for the territories of Manchuria and Korea. They had signed some agreements, but Russia broke them, so Japan retaliated by attacking Russia. The news of the losses sparked unrest at home and led to a revolt in the midst of the war.

  • Bloody Sunday - Revolution of 1905

    That day, about 200,000 workers and their families approached the Czar's winter palace in St. Petersburg, petitioning for better working conditions, more personal freedom and an elected national legislature, but Nicholas II's generals ordered the soldiers to fire on the crowd, killing over 1,000 people. After this, a wave of strikes and violence spread across Russia.

  • Approval of the creation of the Duma - October Manifesto

    Nicholas II reluctantly promised for more freedom, creating Russia's first parliament. In the manifesto he promised to introduce further civil liberties and the Duma.
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    Meeting of the first Duma

    The leaders of the Duma were moderates who wanted Russia to become a constitutional monarchy like England, but since Nicholas II was afraid of losing his power, he dissolved it after 10 weeks in session.
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    Causes

    • Autocracy, only one person in this case the czar’s absolute power.
    • Weak leadership of Nicholas II
    • Very bad working conditions
    • New revolutionary movements that believed a worker-run government should replace czarist rule
    • Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1905)
    • The Bloody Sunday.
    • The March revolution.
    • Devastation due to world war I such as (Economic fall, hunger, deaths, etc.)

  • Russia joins WWI --- WWI begins

    The Czar was the decision to drag Russia into war, even though it was unprepared for it, was low on troops, lacked military leadership and couldn't compete with Germany's military prowess. In less than a year, over 4 million Russian soldiers were killed, injured or taken prisoners by German troops. The war led to a shortage of food, and inflation of the prices which of course caused a lot of civil unrest.

  • Czar Nicholas II moves his headquarters to the war front

    He did so in order to boost the troops' morale in the hope to gain the victory. Czarina Alexandra ran the government while he was away, and fell under the influence of Rasputin, a very mysterious man who claimed to have healing powers and managed to improve her son's haemophilia symptoms. Because of this, she gave him power and allowed him to place his friends in political positions, increasing the dislike towards the royal family.

  • Assassination of Rasputin

    He was killed by a group of nobles who feared his increasing role in government affairs.
    Meanwhile in the war front, the conditions were awful, there was scarcity of food, soldier mutinied, deserted or ignored orders, the prices in Russia went up and people from all classes were clamouring for change and the end of war.
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    Russian Civil War

    Leon Trotsky commanded the Bolshevik Red Army while civil war raged in Russia. Western nations such as USA sent aid and forces to Russia to help the White Army win, but they were of little help as at the end the Red Army crushed all opposition. During this period of time, over 14 million Russians died because of famine and war itself.
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    Causes of the Russian revolution

    • Autocracy, only one person in this case the czar’s absolute power.
    • Weak leadership of Nicholas II
    • Very bad working conditions
    • New revolutionary movements that believed a worker-run government should replace czarist rule
    • Russian defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1905) 

    • The bloody Sunday.
    • The march revolution.
    • Devastation due to world war I such as (Economic fall, hunger)

  • The Revolution broke out

    Beginning of the revolution in St. Petersburg, with strikes demonstrations and mutinies.

  • Women's protest in Petrograd

    Women gathered together in Petrograd to protest due to it being International Women's Day.

  • Abdication of Czar Nicholas II

    The Czar is forced to abdicate his throne due to the uprising.

  • Creation of the Provisional Government

    Following the Czar's abdication, the leaders of the Duma established a Provisional Government. Its head was Alexander Kerensky. As the war dragged on, Soviets were established. They were local councils consisting of workers, peasants, and soldiers. In many
    cities, the soviets had more influence than the provisional government.

  • Lenin arrives to Petrograd from his exile - April Theses

    He arrives on a sealed train from his exile to Finland and issued the April theses, in which he called for soviets to take power, denounced the Provisional Government, issued new communist policies and urged Bolsheviks not to collaborate with the government.
    The slogans "All power to the soviets" and "Peace, Land and Bread" gained widespread popularity.

  • Fall of Provisional Government

    Armed factory workers stormed the winter palace in Petrograd denominating themselves the Bolshevik Red Guards, taking over government offices, arresting the leaders of the provisional government and disappearing Kerensky and the other officials.
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    October Revolution

    The Bolsheviks took over the government under Lenin. They gave control of factories to the workers, ordered all farmland to be distributed to peasants, and began peace talks with Germany.
    (It is given on modern time as it originally was on october 25-26).

  • Formation of the White Army

    They opposed to the Bolsheviks and fought against their army, the Reds. It was conformed by people who wanted the Czar War, opposed to Lenin's style of socialism or people who wanted Russia to become democratic. They all wanted to take the Bolsheviks down, but because of their different political ideals they ended up separating into three White Armies throughout the course of the civil war.

  • Signing of Treaty of Brest-Litovsk by the Bolsheviks

    It ended Russia's involvement in WWI and Russia surrendered great part of its territories to Germany and its allies. It triggered widespread anger towards the Bolsheviks, as Russians objected the Bolsheviks' policies as well as the murder of the royal family.

  • The Romanov family was executed

    The former Czar Nicholas II was executed along with his family by Bolshevik troops.

  • Establishment of NEP

    Lenin temporarily resorted to a small-scale version of capitalism called the New Economic Policy (NEP) which allowed peasants and small businesses and farms to operate under private ownership and boosted foreign investment, while the government controlled communication, major industries and banks.

  • Renaming of Russia ---> USSR

    Russia was renamed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Lenin wanted to tackle nationalism by organising Russia into self-governing republic under the rule of a very centralised government.

  • Appointment of Stalin as the Party's General Secretary

    Lenin appointed Stalin the General Secretary of the Communist Party and placed a lot of authority on his hands. In order to gain popularity, he worked behind the scenes to move his supporters to positions of power.

  • Lenin's stroke

    Lenin suffered his first stroke in 1922. This set in motion the desire of some to become leaders of the party. These included Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin (Stalin means man of steel). It was here when Stalin began his climb to the power.

  • Communist constitution

    After the Bolsheviks renamed their part the "Communist Party", after the writings of Karl Marx, they created a constitution based on socialist and democratic principles. In deviance from what they originally intended of creating the "Dictatorship of the Proletariat", the Communist Party held all the power under the rule of Lenin.

  • Death of Vladimir Lenin

    Lenin dies at 53. Prior to his death he had stated that Stalin was a dangerous man, who had a lot of power in his hands that he didn't know if he could manage with caution.

  • Boosting in farm production

    By 1928, Russian farms and factories were producing as much as they were before WWI.

  • Stalin was in total control of the Communist Party

    He became the dictator and held absolute power of the USSR.

  • Trotsky was forced to exile

    He was no longer a threat to Stalin's absolute rule.
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    Consequences

    • The government is taken by the communist party teach was lead by lenin.
    • Banks were nationalized.
    • Russia pulls out of World War I, signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, conceding much land to Germany.
    • Czar's rule ends.
    • Russian economy dropped.
    • The USSR sponsored many socialist movements across the world to broaden its sphere of influence.
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    Effects

    • End of autocratic rule.
    • Made Russia leave WWI
    • Formation of Soviet Union.
    • Emergence of Russia as world power.
    • Spread of communism throughout world.
    • Division of world into communists and capitalists
    • Stopped imperialism as it supported each country being independent
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    Sources