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Russian Revolution of 1905
Though this revolution is considered unsuccessful, it did show the flaws in Russia's autocracy-based government. This revolution showed the discontent of Russian citizens with the wide fractions between the elite and the working class. They were also unhappy with Russia failing to modernize politically during their industrialization era. A peaceful protest turned deadly, "Bloody Sunday" 01-22-1905, caused hundreds of deaths and increased dissatisfaction and outrage against the Royal Family. -
October Manifesto
To stop the 1905 protests Tsar Nicholas II came up with some resolutions to stop the political unrest in Russia. His 1st promise was to create a Russian parliament with limited legislation powers, the State Duma. His 2nd promise was to give Russian citizens more civil liberties, like freedom of speech, assembly, association. His 3rd promise was to have Russia become a more multi-party-political system. This was a short-term resolution, and many were upset at the heavy restrictions on the Duma. -
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The Royal Family's Monk: Grigori Rasputin
Rasputin was a monk from Serbia. He wasn't well liked by the public because he was a drunk and a womanizer. Many also thought he was secretly a Khlyst. The royal family became friends with him to help heal Tsarevich Alexei, who suffered from hemophilia. Alexandra trusted Rasputin and allowed him to advise her on government officials and decisions. The citizens started to think of Rasputin as a symbol for the corruption and wrong doings of the imperial government. -
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Dissatisfaction With World War 1
Tsar Nicholas II's decisions with WW1 caused political relations to fracture and lives of civilians to worsen. He didn't want to give up any of the absolute power he had. Many citizens distrusted Tsarina Alexandra and her position of power because she was a German princess. She didn't want people in power who would question the Tsar, so many of the ministers were incompetent. Russia's economy also was declining and many of its citizens were hungry from food shortages. -
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Romanov Family in Tobolsk, Serbia
After Tsar Nicholas II gave up his title, the Romanov's were sent to Tobolsk, Serbia. They lived under house arrest in a governor's mansion. The family would pass time putting on plays together and going for walks on the property. August 1917 to May 1918 -
Women's Protest in Petrograd
This protest was the start of the Russian Revolution. Many people were starving because of food shortages. Women were protesting their wages, which were half of men's, and poor living conditions. Women went on strike at their textile factories and got men from the metal factories to join them on their way to the capital. 100,000 people were calling for bread and "down with the Tsar". The next day there were 150,000 protesters. Soldiers joined the protests too causing unrest to increase. -
Abdication of Tsar Nicholas II
The Romanov family ruled Russia for over 300 years, but this came to an end in 1917. The Tsar was not trained properly to be a ruler. He made many costly decisions in WW1 and lost many of the battles fought in it. He was forced to abdicate his power after the protests and unrest in Petrograd. The leadership of Russia was then passed to the Russian Provisional Government. -
Lenin Returns from Russia
Lenin was the leader of the Bolshevik Party. He came back to Russia 10 years after his exile to lead the revolution. Lenin joined a Marxist group after his brother was killed in 1887 for plotting to kill the Tsar. In 1895, Lenin was arrested for trying to get Union workers to be Marxists. He was put in jail for a year and then exiled to Serbia for another 3 years. Lenin went to Western Europe after this and founded RSDWP in 1903, which eventually split in 1912 with one side being the Bolsheviks. -
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June Offensive
This was a plan by Russia's minister of war against the Austro-Germans. The failure of this operation showed how the Russian revolution caused their army to fall apart. It also showed Russia's Provisional Government didn't consider citizens' judgments in their decisions because many citizens wanted peace for Russia in WW1, or they wanted to use defensive strategies. It was a success, but soldiers started to refuse to fight or leave trenches. They ended up losing the battle to Germany on July 4. -
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The July Days
A protest in Petrograd caused by the Provisional Government wanting to be offensive, collapse of government ministry, and Bolshevik propaganda. Its members were 100,000-500,000 (mainly sailors, factory workers, and soldiers). The protesters didn't have a leader, so it failed fairly quickly. About 700 died and over 1,000 Bolsheviks were arrested. The Bolshevik leaders were held responsible and arrested. -
New Prime Minister
After the Bolshevik Leaders' were sent away, the Provisional Government decided to reorganize themselves. They declared Kerensky as Russia's new prime minister. He served a short time in office before being overthrown by the Soviet government later. -
Bolshevik Leaders' Punishments
The Bolshevik leaders were held responsible and arrested for the July Days protest. This was done by the Provisional Government with hopes of reducing their popularity and stopping threats to overthrow the current government. The government produced evidence on Lenin that showed close ties to the German government. This caused Russians to turn against the Bolshevik leaders. Lenin escaped to Finland, but many of their leaders (like Trotsky) were sent to jail. -
Petrograd Soviets
Kerensky used the Soviet party to defend Petrograd during the Kornilov Revolt. This allowed the Soviets to become armed by the government, something that wouldn't be easy to take back. Trotsky had the Red Guards, Soviet soldiers, make a defense for Petrograd. They were able to breakup Kornilov's men and make strikes for the railway workers. This stopped Kornilov's supplies from reaching him. Within a month, Kornilov lost his title as an officer and was arrested. -
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Kornilov Affair
This was a revolt where the army threatened the Provisional Government. It was led by General Lavr Kornilov, an officer who wanted tsarism. Kornilov said he was in Petrograd under Kerensky's command, but in actuality he was trying to get troops and money for his cause. Kerensky said Kornilov wanted to make himself a military dictator though, but it is unknown who was telling the truth. The Affair showed weaknesses in the Provisional Government because they couldn't stop the threats against them. -
Lenin Returns from Finland
While in Finland, Lenin continued to lead the Bolshevik Party. He wrote newspaper articles and policies mainly. He came back to Petrograd because the city was getting more radical, and he knew he would be safe from possible legal issues. Lenin started to call for the overthrow of the government. For his plan, Lenin wanted Petrograd and Moscow to be overthrown at the same time. The Bolshevik Central Committee passed the revolution plans by 10 to 2. -
October Revolution Begins
The Red Guards invaded the Winter Palace where government ministers were. The Provisional Government was overthrown within hours. Government officials were arrested, or they fled the city. This event started the Russian Civil War, and a time of terror and famine for Russians. Many Bolsheviks wanted to wait until later to revolt, after the Second Congress of Soviets. This caused many non-Bolsheviks to leave the Congress of Soviets. This left the government solely to the Bolsheviks. -
Lenin announces the government's overthrow
After the Bolsheviks took over the Winter Palace, Lenin's previously written resolution for the government passed with almost no one against it. The 2nd Congress of Soviets happened on the 26th. At this meeting, Lenin said they now were to govern Russia for the working class. Here they also made their first policies on land and their ideas of peace, but they soon learn that changing the nation took more effort than overthrowing a weak government. -
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Civil War
This was a war fought between the Bolsheviks and other opposing government powers for the control of Russia. Non-Bolsheviks were upset with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk being passed in 3-1918 because it gave away important land to other nations. The West got involved in 8-1918 to stop the spread of Bolshevik ideas. The Red Army ended up getting almost total control in 1921, securing their control on Russia. This officially ends in 1921 with the signing of the Treaty of Riga 3-18-1921. -
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Romanov's Move to Yekaterinburg
This is the final place the Romanov's spent time. They were moved to Yekaterinburg, Russia because the Bolshevik's fear of the Romanov's being put back into power. They lived under house-arrest at an engineer's house. The house had two levels, but the Romanov's were only allowed on the top floor. They would stay here until their eventual execution. -
Execution of the Romanovs
The Romanovs were woken up; they hoped to escape, putting on clothing with jewels and money sewn into them. They never got to escape though because their captures started to shoot at them. They were attacked with the butts of guns and the soldiers' heels fists. By morning, all Romanovs were dead, as were their servants. Their corpses were then burned with benzene and sulfuric acid. The public didn't know about this or the location of the bodies until the Soviet Union. -
Soviet Union (USSR) created
The USSR was the government in Russia after the Provisional Government. It was the first government to be based off of Marxist Socialism. It was a Confederation made up of Russia, Belorussia, Ukraine, and the Transcaucasian Federation. This government lasted until 1991 when the government eventually collapsed again. Before this though, it was a powerful and influentials state made up 15 different republics.