Nicholas II's involvement in WWI weakened Russia and led to unrest. His wife Alexandra took control in his absence and fell under the influence of Rasputin, allowing him great power. Rasputin's death did not improve things, as Russia continued to struggle under Nicholas and Alexandra's mismanagement. This led to revolution in 1917, forcing Nicholas to abdicate. Lenin then helped the Bolsheviks take power, establishing the Soviet Union and transitioning Russia to communism.

2.  In 1914 Nicholas II decided to
get Russia involved in World
War I. Russia was not strong
enough to compete with the
industrialized countries.
 In 1915 Nicholas left the
Winter Palace and went to
the fronts to encourage the
troops. He left his wife
Tsarina Alexandra in charge
with his chief advisors.

3.  Tsarina Alexandra was
supposed to be listening to
Nicholas’s advisors, but
instead she began following
the lead of a man named
Rasputin.
 Rasputin was born a poor
peasant and claimed to be a
religious teacher, even though
he was never ordained in any
church.
 Alexandra’s
son, Alexis, suffered from
hemophilia and Rasputin
claimed to be able to cure it.

4.  Alexandra was so grateful for
Rasputin’s healing powers that
she allowed him and his
friends to hold important
positions in the government
and didn’t listen to Nicholas’s
advisors.
 Rasputin opposed reforms and
wanted to maintain a strict
autocracy, so that’s what
Alexandra did.
 In 1916 a group of nobles at
court (after several attempts)
murdered Rasputin.
 Meanwhile Russia was
suffering.

5.  While Nicholas was on the fronts and Alexandra
was occupied with Rasputin Russia was suffering
greatly.
 The war was destroying the morale of soldiers
and civilians. Many soldiers mutinied.
 Food and supplies were dwindling.
 The prices were rising wildly (inflation) and
people from all different classes were struggling.
 Alexandra and Nicholas weren’t doing anything
to solve these problems and people were losing
faith in them.

6.  In 1917 women workers
led a strike in Petrograd.
 People rapidly joined in
the strike protesting the
lack of bread and fuel.
 Soldiers were ordered to
shoot the rioters, but the
soldiers quickly joined
them and began firing at
their commanding
officers. They began
shouting, “Down with
autocracy and the war!”

7.  The March Revolution
quickly spread and resulted
in Nicholas II abdicating
(giving up) his throne.
 The Romanov family had
ruled Russia for three
centuries and was finally
brought down.
 A year later Nicholas and
his family were executed
(this is where the Anastasia
rumors come from).

8.  Leaders of the Duma set
up a provisional
government or a
temporary
government, headed by a
man named Alexander
Kerensky.
 Kerensky decided to
continue fighting in World
War I which lost him a lot
of support.
 Soviets, local councils
consisting of
workers, peasants, and
soldiers formed and they
began to rule in place of
the provisional
government.

9.  Once the provisional
government had taken over
Germany was shocked that
Russia didn’t leave WWI.
 The Germans thought if Lenin
returned to Russia he would
gather his Bolshevik supporters
and pull Russia out of the war.
 The Germans kindly arranged for
Lenin to be transported back to
Russia on a secure train. He
arrived in Petrograd in April 1917
and immediately got to work
gathering supporters.

10.  Once Lenin returned to
Russia he began gathering
the Bolshevik party together
and gaining supporters.
 The Bolshevik party had two
messages, “Peace, Land, and
Bread,” and “All power to the
Soviets!”
 Those messages were very
appealing to a large number
of people.
 Lenin saw that the provisional
government was weak, and
saw his opportunity to take
action.

11.  In November 1917 with no
warning a group of
Bolshevik Red Guards
(armed factory workers)
stormed the Winter Palace.
 They took over the
government offices and
arrested leaders of the
provisional government.
 Kerensky and his
colleagues disappeared,
and the Bolshevik
Revolution had taken place
quickly and painlessly.

12.  Lenin ordered that all farmland
be divided up amongst peasants
and that workers take control of
the factories.
 He signed a truce with the
Germans (Treaty of Brest-
Litovsk) in March 1918. The
treaty got them out of the
war, but it also meant a large
loss of land. This made many
Russians angry and they disliked
the Bolsheviks and their policies.
 This led to a civil war between
the Bolsheviks and the people
who wanted the autocracy (tsar)
back.

13.  After the war the economy was a disaster.
 In March 1921 Lenin began the New
Economic Policy (NEP).
 He allowed peasants to sell excess crops for
profit instead of turning them over to the
government.
 Individuals were allowed to buy and sell
goods for profit.
 This went against the ideas of
communism, but helped get the economy
back on track.

14.  One of the issues Russia struggled with for a long time
was the many different nationalities within the
country.
 In 1922 the country was named the Union of Soviet
Socialist Republics (USSR) based off the councils that
helped launch the Bolshevik Revolution.
 Moscow became the capital of USSR and they
announced their type of government to be
communism, based off of Karl Marx’s ideas.
 The country got back on track and by 1928 they were
producing at levels they had before World War I. Lenin
did not live to see this. He died in 1924, leaving a fight
for leadership of the party.