The Russian Revolution of 1917 overthrew the monarchy of Czar Nicholas II and established the Soviet Union. The revolution was inspired by communist ideas of Karl Marx but adopted by the Bolshevik party led by Vladimir Lenin. With popular support, the Bolsheviks overthrew the weakening Czarist regime and established the world's first communist state, though this later led to the rise of the brutal dictator Joseph Stalin.

1. Russian Revolution 1917

2. Czar Nicholas II Last Czar of Russia Exhausted nation’s economy by involving Russia in WWI This left the Russian people poor and starving, but the Czar and his family lived comfortably. The people were angry with this, so they decided to REVOLT!

3. Karl Marx (1818 – 1883) He died long before Revolution began, but his political ideas of communism lived on. Considered father of communism People of Russia who revolted adopted his ideas

4. Communism Form of government that has a classless society Everyone is equal; no rich and no poor The Bolsheviks, or revolutionaries, adopted this idea.

5. Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks - an organization formed by the revolting people, or revolutionaries, of Russia. Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Lenin.

6. Vladimir Lenin A revolutionary who led the Bolsheviks (working class) to freedom. They eventually were able to overthrow the Czar.

7. Czar is Overthrown… With the rise of the Bolsheviks, the Czar was forced to give up thrown In 1918, the Czar and his entire family, wife and 5 children, were assassinated by an execution squad set up by the revolutionaries The entire family was killed because they feared one of them could rise to power again.

8. Lenin’s Death Lenin died in 1924, leaving the Bolsheviks leaderless. This caused a power struggle between two other revolutionaries, Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin.

9. Leon Trotsky A revolutionary who was popular with the people Wanted to make life better for all by industrializing Russia

10. Josef Stalin Lied to people to gain support People believed his lies and promises, so he beat Trotsky in the power struggle Stalin had Trotsky exiled from Russia. He feared Trotsky would try to regain power, so he eventually had him killed.

11. Stalin, cont’d… Stalin grew more and more powerful over the years. He began eliminating anyone who opposed him. He set up a secret police to carry out his deadly orders.

12. NKVD (KGB) Stalin’s secret police Killed, tortured, starved, intimidated anyone Stalin ordered Completely loyal to Stalin

13. Stalin’s Rule Stalin became so greedy, he lost the original vision of the revolutionaries Millions of innocent people were killed under his rule Ironically, he made Russia worse off than it had been before the Czar Stalin became known as one of the most ruthless dictators in history, comparable to Hitler