1825 Alexander I dies; succession crisis prompts Decembrist Revolt
1861 Alexander II abolishes serfdom
1881 Alexander II assassinated; Alexander III cracks down on dissenters
1894 Nicholas II becomes Tsar
1905 Troops fire on Russian civilians during a demonstration in St. Petersburg; Russia loses Russo-Japanese War; Nicholas II concedes to the creation of Russian constitution and Duma
1914 Russia enters World War I
The Russian Revolution of 1917 centres around two primary events: the February Revolution and the October Revolution. The February Revolution, which removed Tsar Nicholas II from power, developed spontaneously out of a series of increasingly violent demonstrations and riots on the streets of Petrograd (present-day St. Petersburg), during a time when the tsar was away from the capital visiting troops on the World War I front. Though the February Revolution was a popular uprising, it did not necessarily express the wishes of the majority of the Russian population, as the event was primarily limited to the city of Petrograd. However, most of those who took power. read more...
Events leading to the October Revolution
The Bolsheviks
The Bolsheviks were a revolutionary party, committed to the ideas of Karl Marx. They believed that the working classes would, at some point, liberate themselves from the economic and political control of the ruling classes. Once they had achieved this, a genuine socialist society based on equality could be established. In their view, this process was bound to take place, sooner or later.
The Bolsheviks were formed and led by the Vladimir Ilyich Ulianov - known simply as Lenin. Ruthless and single-minded, Lenin decided that the conditions in Russia in 1917 were ripe for revolution.
At the beginning of 1917, however, the Bolsheviks were still a minority organisation within Russia. Most of their leaders, including Lenin, were in exile in Switzerland and the chances of the Bolsheviks ever attaining power in Russia seemed pretty remote more