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Russian Revolution
1914 Russia joins World War I
against Germany and Austria.
1916 One million Russian
soldiers die after German
offensive. Prices in Russia rise.
1917 March International
Women’s Day march in
Petrograd turns into bread
riot. The Mensheviks set up a
provisional government. The
Bolsheviks organize another
government made up of
committees called soviets.
July Lenin flees Russia.
october Lenin returns to
Petrograd.
november 7 Armed workers
seize buildings in Petrograd.
november 15 Bolsheviks
control Petrograd.LenIn
Vladimir Lenin (1870-
1924), founder of
the Bolshevik party,
believed in the
ideas of the German
writer Karl Marx. He
lived mostly in exile
from Russia, until the
October Revolution. He
was a powerful speaker
whose simple slogan of
“Peace, land, and bread”
persuaded many Russians
to support the Bolsheviks.
He ruled Russia as dictator.nIcHOLAs II
Russia’s last czar, nicholas (1868-1918),
was out of touch with his subjects. They
blamed him for the Russian defeats
in World War I (1914-18), where he
commanded at the front. His sinister
adviser, a monk named Rasputin, was
widely hated and feared. After nicholas
gave up the throne, he and his family
were arrested. The Bolsheviks shot
them all the following year.Russian Revolution
In 1917, THe PeOPLe Of RussIA staged a revolution that was to change
the course of modern history. The Russian people were desperate for change.
Russia was suffering serious losses against Germany in World War I. food and
fuel were scarce. Many people were starving. czar nicholas II, ruler of Russia,
was blamed for much of this. In March 1917 (february in the old Russian
calendar), a general strike broke out in Petrograd (today’s saint Petersburg).
The strike was in protest against the chaos caused by the war. nicholas was
forced to give up his throne, and a group of revolutionaries, called the
Mensheviks, formed a provisional government. This government soon fell
because it failed to end the war. In november, the Bolsheviks, a more
extreme revolutionary group, seized power. They ended the war with
Germany and, led by Vladimir Lenin, set up the
world’s first communist state. They declared
the country a soviet republic. This
revolution was the first communist
takeover of a government.
It inspired more to follow.1905 ReVOLuTIOn
In 1905, unarmed workers marched
on nicholas II’s Winter Palace in saint
Petersburg. The czar’s troops fired on
the crowd. nicholas set up a Duma, or
an elected parliament. But the
Duma had no real power, so
distrust of the czar grew.OcTOBeR ReVOLuTIOn
What is known as the October Revolution
broke out on november 7, 1917 (October 25 in
the old Russian calendar used before the revolution).
The cruiser Aurora fired blanks across the neva River at the
headquarters of the Menshevik government in the Winter
Palace. The Bolsheviks also attacked other important
buildings in Petrograd.Find out more
communism
Human rights
Russian federation
soviet union, history of
World war iUS_450_Russian_Revolution.indd 450 22/01/16 4:47 pm