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Czar Nicholas Rule
When Nicholas II became czar in 1894, he announced, “The principle of autocracy will be maintained by me as firmly and unswervingly as by my lamented father [Alexander III].” Nicholas stubbornly refused to surrender any of his power. His trust in the tradition of Russian autocracy increased the chances of him not wanting to change the conditions of his times. Yet the sweeping forces of change would override his pledge to preserve the czarist rule of Russia’s past. -
World War I
In 1914, Nicholas II made the fateful decision to drag Russia into World War I. Russia, though, was unprepared to handle the military and economic costs. Russia’s weak generals and poorly equipped troops were no match for the German army. Before a year had passed, more than 4 million Russian soldiers had been killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. Russia’s involvement in World War I revealed the weaknesses of
czarist rule and military leadership. -
March Revolution
In March 1917, women textile workers in Petrograd led a citywide strike. Soon afterward, riots flared up over shortages of bread and fuel. Nearly 200,000 workers swarmed the streets. At first the soldiers obeyed orders to shoot the rioters but later sided with them. The soldiers fired at their commanding officers and joined the rebellion. -
The Czar steps down
The local protest exploded into a general uprising—the March Revolution. It forced Czar Nicholas II to abdicate his throne. A year later revolutionaries executed Nicholas and his family. The czarist rule of the Romanovs, which spanned over
three centuries, had finally collapsed. The March Revolution succeeded in bringing down the czar. Yet it failed to set up a strong government to replace his regime. -
Lenin in Power
The Germans arranged for Lenin to return to Russia after many years of exile. The Germans believed that Lenin and his Bolshevik supporters would interfere with Russia and hurt their plans of war. -
The Bolshevik Revolution
Lenin and the Bolsheviks recognized their opportunity to seize
power. They soon gained control of the Petrograd soviet, as well as the soviets in other major Russian cities. -
Industrialization and the problems it caused it Russia
Rapid industrialization caused many problems for the people of Russia. The growth of factories brought new problems. Among these problems were horrible working conditions, miserably low wages, and child labor. Trade
unions were outlawed. Still, exploited laborers who worked in factories and built the railway lines organized strikes. Workers were unhappy with their low standard of living and lack of political power. -
Development of Revolutionary Groups
Amog the widespread unrest of workers and other members of
Russian society, various revolutionary movements began to grow. They also competed for power. The group that would eventually succeed in establishing a new government in Russia followed the views of Karl Marx. These revolutionaries believed that the industrial class of workers would overthrow the czar. The industrial class would then form “a dictatorship of the proletariat.” In such a state, the workers would rule. -
Stalin becomes a dictator
Lenin suffered a stroke in 1922. He survived, but the incident set in motion competition for heading up the Communist Party. Two of the most notable men were Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Stalin was cold, hard, and impersonal. During his early days as a Bolshevik, he changed his name to Stalin, which means “man of steel” in Russian. Stalin began his ruthless climb to the head of the government between 1922 and 1927. Stalin worked to move his supporters into positions of power -
Bloody Sunday
On January 22, 1905, about 200,000 workers and their families approached the czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. They carried a petition asking for better working conditions, more personal freedom, and an elected national legislature. Nicholas II was not at the palace. His generals and
police chiefs were. They ordered the soldiers to fire on the crowd. Between 500 and 1,000 unarmed people were killed. Russians quickly named the event “Bloody Sunday.”
