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Pre-Revolution (1914-1917)
1914: World War I breaks out, and Russia suffers heavy losses.
- 1917: February Revolution overthrows Tsar Nicholas II, and a provisional government is established. -
Bolshevik Revolution (1917)
October 25, 1917 (November 7, 1917, in the Gregorian calendar): Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, stage a successful revolution in Petrograd (St. Petersburg).
- October 26, 1917: Bolsheviks establish the Council of People's Commissars, with Lenin as its chairman. -
Soviet Formation (1917-1924)
December 1917: Bolsheviks nationalize banks and establish the Cheka (secret police).
- January 1918: Bolsheviks disband the Constituent Assembly, which was elected to write a new constitution.
- March 1918: Bolsheviks sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, withdrawing Russia from World War I.
- 1918-1922: Russian Civil War between the Bolsheviks (Reds) and anti-Bolshevik forces (Whites).