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Period: to
Russian Revolution/Russian Civil War
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Revolution
The February Revolution (known as such because of Russia’s use of the Julian calendar until February 1918) began -
Petrograd
the strike spread among all of Petrograd’s workers, and irate mobs destroyed police stations. Several factories elected deputies to the Petrograd Soviet, or council, of workers’ committees, following the model devised during the 1905 revolution. -
troops of the Petrograd
the troops of the Petrograd army garrison were called out to quell the uprising. In some encounters, regiments opened fire, killing demonstrators, but the protesters kept to the streets and the troops began to waver. That day, Nicholas again dissolved the Duma. -
revolution triumphed
the revolution triumphed when regiment after regiment of the Petrograd garrison defected to the cause of the demonstrators. The soldiers subsequently formed committees that elected deputies to the Petrograd Soviet. -
Order No. 1
the Petrograd Soviet issued Order No. 1, which instructed Russian soldiers and sailors to obey only those orders that did not conflict with the directives of the Soviet. -
Czar Nicholas II
Czar Nicholas II abdicated the throne in favor of his brother Michael (1878-1918), whose refusal of the crown brought an end to the czarist autocracy. -
Bolshevik Party
leftist revolutionaries led by Bolshevik Party leader Vladimir Lenin launched a nearly bloodless coup d’état against the provisional government. The Bolsheviks and their allies occupied government buildings and other strategic locations in Petrograd, and soon formed a new government with Lenin as its head. -
The Cossacks
The Cossacks declare their independence and form the Republic of the Don. -
The Latvians
The Latvians declare their independence from Russia but find it hard to celebrate while occupying Germans are still sitting on their laps. -
The Constituent Assembly
The Constituent Assembly gathers. The Bolsheviks demand that authority should be given to the Soviets. The Assembly refuses. The Bolsheviks and the Left Socialist Revolutionaries walk out. -
Bolshevik government
The Bolshevik government sends troops to disperse the Constituent Assembly. All non-Bolsheviks get a handbasket each and are told to be gone. -
Ukrainians
Ukrainians declare their independence from Russia. -
civil war
Civil War breaks out in Finland as a result of the recent Finnish declaration of independence from Russia. -
new ruling
A new ruling officially separates the Orthodox Church from the state. Religious persecution ensues. Church property will get pillaged and churches destroyed. -
Central Powers
The Central Powers and the Ukraine sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. -
Trotsky
Trotsky declares that Russia is out of WWI. -
The Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks gain the upper hand against the Cossacks. Cossack leader Aleksey Maksimovich Kaledin shoots himself. Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov will be his successor. -
Julian
Calendar switch - Julian to Gregorian. -
Russian
Some Russian locations dragged their feet buying new calendars, so we will keep showing old style dates a little while longer. -
German
While still under German occupation, the Lithuanians declare their independence from Russia -
The Reds
The Reds capture Kiev. They will stay in town until March 3, 1918, when the Germans will knock on the doors. -
The Estonians
The Estonians declare their independence from Russia. -
Czechoslovak Legion
The Bolsheviks permit the Czechoslovak Legion to leave Russia via Vladivostok. -
Red Army
Red Army has to withdraw from Kiev because of incoming Germans. The Germans let themselves in because the Russians had just signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. -
capital
The Bolsheviks move their capital from Petrograd to Moscow for safety reasons. -
Odessa.
The Germans take Odessa. -
Nikolayev.
The Germans take Nikolayev. -
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky changes office cubicles. He resigns his post as Foreign Commissar and becomes the new War Commissar. Georgy Vasilyevich Chicherin takes Trotsky's old office chair and becomes Foreign Commissar.