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Russia Industrializes
The number of factories doubled between 1863 and 1900, and with the help of foreign investors, work began on the world’s longest continuous rail line—the Trans-Siberian Railway. The construction began in 1891, the railway was not completed until 1916 when it connected European Russia in the west with ports on the in the east. This created a lot of change and it made it easier for Russia to trade and transport things with the rest of the world, specifically the east. -
Separation of Russian Marxists
The Russian Marxists split into the radical Bolsheviks and moderate Mensheviks over revolutionary tactics. The Mensheviks wanted popular support for the revolution, and the Bolsheviks supported a small number of committed revolutionaries willing to sacrifice everything for change. This was important because it created two very different political parties so people could express their opinion, and it eventually caused a big change in the way the country functioned. -
Bloody Sunday Revolution
About 200,000 workers and their families approached the czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, and they carried a petition asking violence for better working conditions, more personal freedom, and an elected national legislature. Nicholas II’s generals ordered soldiers to fire on the crowd, more than 1,000 were wounded and several hundred were killed. This forced change throughout the country due to the many strikes, riots, and violence due to this event. -
Russia Enters WWI
Nicholas II made the fateful decision to drag Russia into World War I, and Russia was unprepared to handle the military and economic costs. Its weak generals and poorly equipped troops were no match for the German army as German machine guns mowed down advancing Russians by the thousands, and before a year had passed, more than 4 million Russian soldiers had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. This showed Russia how weak they were at the time so they could change the way they did things. -
Bolsheviks in Power
Within days after the Bolshevik takeover, Lenin ordered that all farmland be distributed among the peasants. Lenin and the Bolsheviks gave control of factories to the workers, and the Bolshevik government also signed a truce with Germany to stop all fighting and began peace talks. This had a very big impact on Russia because the Bolsheviks tried to overthrow the Provisional Government and set up a government for the proletariat, and this was a pretty big change for the people of Russia. -
March Revolution
Women textile workers in Petrograd led a citywide strike, and over the next five days, riots began over shortages of bread and fuel; nearly 200,000 workers took to the streets shouting, “Down with the autocracy!” and “Down with the war!” The soldiers began to obey orders to shoot the people, but later sided with them. This soon led to Nicholas II being forced to step down from his throne, and eventually resulted in a different Russian leadership, while establishing the Provisional Government. -
Treaty of Brest - Litovsk
Russia and Germany signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, and Russia surrendered a large part of its territory to Germany and its allies. The humiliating terms of this treaty triggered widespread anger among many Russians, as they objected to the Bolsheviks and their policies and to the murder of the royal family. This had a big effect on Russia because it was a big change, and it was definitely different from the way the Russian people wanted the outcome to be. -
Russian Civil War
The Bolshevik's Red Army, faced the White Army, who was made up of people who opposed the return to rule by the czar, who wanted democratic government, socialists who opposed Lenin’s style of socialism. At one point there were three White Armies fighting against the Bolsheviks’ Red Army, but in the end, the Red Army crushed all opposition. The victory showed that the Bolsheviks were able both to seize power and to maintain it, and it intimidated the rest of Russia. -
New Economic Policy
Lenin used a small-scale version of capitalism called the New Economic Policy; the reforms under the NEP allowed peasants to sell their surplus crops instead of turning them over to the government. The government kept control of major industries, banks, and means of communication, but it let some small factories, businesses, and farms operate under private ownership. This allowed the Russian people to have more responsibilities, and be more individual, while still keeping control of the economy. -
Stalin Becomes Dictator
After Lenin, Stalin began his ruthless climb to the head of the government between 1922 and 1927. In 1922, as general secretary of the Communist Party, he worked behind the scenes to move his supporters into positions of power, and by 1928, Stalin was in total command of the Communist Party. This Had a big impact on Russia because it was a really big change in power for the people and the government.
