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Bloody Sunday: Peaceful protest in St Petersburg led by Father Gapon is fired upon by the Tsar's troops, killing hundreds.
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Russia joins the Allies against Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Heavy casualties, food shortages, and economic collapse cause growing unrest at home. -
Workers and soldiers in Petrograd protest against war and shortages.
Tsar Nicholas II abdicates; Romanov dynasty ends.
Provisional Government takes power but continues the war, angering many. -
November 1917 (Oct in old calendar) – Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, seize Petrograd and overthrow the Provisional Government.
Bolsheviks promise "Peace, Land, Bread". -
Russia signs Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, ending WWI involvement but losing large territories.
1918-21 – Russian Civil War: Reds (Bolsheviks) vs Whites (monarchists, liberals, anti-Bolsheviks).
Tsar Nicholas II and his family are executed in July 1918. -
Bolsheviks enforce strict control over industry and food to win the war (War Communism).
March 1921 – Kronstadt sailors rebel against Bolshevik dictatorship but are crushed.
Lenin introduces the New Economic Policy (NEP) to allow limited private trade and farming. -
Bolsheviks defeat the last White armies and secure control over former Russian Empire lands.
30 December 1922 – The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is officially created, uniting Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Transcaucasia under a communist government.