Russian History · Chronicle VI of VIII

Revolution & Civil War

1917 · Революция

Five years that remade the world: February, Red October, civil war, and a new union.

Span: 1917 – 1922
Entries: 19
Next: Soviet Union

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Entry 1 of 19

March 1917
February RevolutionPolitical
The fall of the monarchy
Bread riots and a soldiers' mutiny in Petrograd force Nicholas II to abdicate, ending Romanov rule. A Provisional Government forms alongside the Petrograd Soviet.
Meanwhile, elsewhere
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
April 1917
Lenin ReturnsPolitical
Lenin's return and the April Theses
Transported from Swiss exile in a sealed train through Germany, Lenin arrives at the Finland Station and demands 'all power to the soviets' and an end to the war.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
July 1917
The July DaysPolitical
The July Days and Kerensky's rise
A premature armed rising by soldiers and workers in Petrograd collapses; the Bolsheviks are suppressed and Lenin flees to Finland, while Alexander Kerensky becomes prime minister.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
September 1917
The Kornilov AffairMilitary
The Kornilov Affair
General Lavr Kornilov marches on Petrograd in what Kerensky denounces as a coup attempt; to stop him, the government arms the Bolshevik Red Guards.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
November 1917
October RevolutionPolitical
The Bolsheviks seize power
On the night of 7-8 November (25-26 October Old Style), Red Guards and sailors storm the Winter Palace, overthrow the Provisional Government, and proclaim soviet rule.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
December 1917
The New RegimePolitical
The Cheka and an armistice
The Bolsheviks establish the Cheka secret police under Felix Dzerzhinsky and open armistice talks with the Central Powers at Brest-Litovsk.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
January 1918
One-Party StatePolitical
The Constituent Assembly is dissolved
After the Bolsheviks lose the national election to the Socialist Revolutionaries, armed sailors shut down the Constituent Assembly after a single day.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
March 1918
Exit from the WarPolitical
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
Russia signs a harsh peace with Germany, surrendering Ukraine, the Baltic lands, and Poland; the capital is moved from Petrograd to Moscow.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
June 1918
Civil War EruptsMilitary
The Czechoslovak Legion and War Communism
A revolt by the Czechoslovak Legion along the Trans-Siberian Railway sparks open civil war, as the Bolsheviks impose War Communism to feed the cities and the Red Army.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
July 1918
Death of the RomanovsPolitical
The execution of the imperial family
As White forces approach, Nicholas II, his wife, their five children, and their servants are shot in a cellar in Yekaterinburg.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
September 1918
The Red TerrorPolitical
The Red Terror is unleashed
After an assassination attempt wounds Lenin, the Bolsheviks proclaim a campaign of mass arrests, hostage-taking, and executions against 'class enemies'.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
March 1919
World RevolutionMilitary
Kolchak's offensive and the founding of the Comintern
Admiral Kolchak, 'Supreme Ruler' of the Whites, drives west from Siberia, while in Moscow the Bolsheviks found the Communist International to spread revolution abroad.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
October 1919
The Whites at the GatesMilitary
Denikin and Yudenich are turned back
General Denikin's drive on Moscow reaches Oryol and Yudenich nears Petrograd, but the Red Army halts both at the high-water mark of the White cause.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
August 1920
War with PolandMilitary
The Battle of Warsaw
The Red Army's advance on Warsaw, aiming to carry revolution into Europe, is shattered by a Polish counterattack known as the 'Miracle on the Vistula'.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
November 1920
Victory of the RedsMilitary
The fall of Crimea and Wrangel's evacuation
The Red Army breaks the last major White army under General Wrangel, who evacuates over 100,000 soldiers and civilians from Crimea by sea.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
March 1921
Crisis and RetreatPolitical
Kronstadt and the New Economic Policy
Sailors at the Kronstadt naval base rise against Bolshevik rule and are crushed; days later, Lenin replaces War Communism with the market-friendly New Economic Policy.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
August 1921
FamineEvent
The Russian famine of 1921-1922
Drought, war, and grain requisition trigger a catastrophic famine along the Volga that kills around five million people despite international relief.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
April 1922
Rise of StalinPolitical
Stalin becomes General Secretary
Joseph Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party, an administrative post he will build into the base of supreme power.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
December 1922
Birth of the USSRPolitical
Foundation of the Soviet Union
On 30 December 1922, the Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Transcaucasian republics unite to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Meanwhile, elsewhere · 3
11 more entries, to December 1922

Revolution & Civil War

The fall of the monarchy

Lenin's return and the April Theses

The July Days and Kerensky's rise

The Kornilov Affair

The Bolsheviks seize power

The Cheka and an armistice

The Constituent Assembly is dissolved

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

The Czechoslovak Legion and War Communism

The execution of the imperial family

The Red Terror is unleashed

Kolchak's offensive and the founding of the Comintern

Denikin and Yudenich are turned back

The Battle of Warsaw

The fall of Crimea and Wrangel's evacuation

Kronstadt and the New Economic Policy

The Russian famine of 1921-1922

Stalin becomes General Secretary

Foundation of the Soviet Union