History of Russia - Rurik to Revolution

benefits for workers and more political freedom. But instead, troops opened fire on the crowd, killing more than 100 people. "Bloody Sunday," as it became known, sparked more strikes and riots across the country. The crew of the battleship Potemkin was crippled, killing its officers and taking control of the ship. To quell the crisis, Nicholas II voluntarily published the October Manifesto, drafted under the supervision of Sergei Witte. He promised an elected assembly and new political rights, including freedom of speech, and was welcomed by most moderates. Russia's first constitution was drawn up the following year. For the first time, the tsar would share power with an elected assembly, the State Duma, although the tsar had the right to veto his own legislation and dissolve it at any time.

Sergei Witte eventually lost the tsar's trust and was fired. The tsar's new prime minister, Stolypin, introduced land reforms to help the peasants and at the same time dealt harshly with Russia's would-be

revolution

aries. So much so that the executioner's voice received a new nickname: "Stolypin's Tie." But after surviving several attempts on his life, Stolypin was shot dead by an assassin at the kyiv Opera House. Meanwhile, Grigori Rasputin, a Siberian healer, had joined the imperial family's inner circle, thanks to his unique ability to alleviate the suffering of the tsar's hemophiliac son, Alexei. Despite sporadic acts of terrorism, Russia now had the fastest growing economy in Europe.

Agricultural and industrial production was increasing. Most ordinary Russians remained loyal to the tsar and his family. Russia's future seemed bright. In 1914, in Sarajevo, the Slavic nationalist archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated, sparking a European crisis. When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Emperor Nicholas ordered the Russian army to mobilize to show support for a Slavic nation. Austria-Hungary's ally, Germany, saw the Russian mobilization as a threat and declared war. Europe's network of alliances came into effect and soon all the major powers were marching towards war. The First World War had begun. Russia experienced a fiery patriotic wave.

The capital, St. Petersburg, was even renamed Petrograd, to sound less German. An early Russian advance into East P

russia

ended with heavy losses at Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes. There were greater successes against Austria-Hungary, but they also came at a high price. Russian losses forced the army into a general withdrawal in 1915. In 1916, the Russian Brusilov Offensive against Austro-Hungarian forces was one of the most successful Allied attacks of the war. But the losses were so heavy that the Russian army was unable to launch any major operations. In Petrograd, Rasputin, whose supposed influence on the tsar's family was despised by some Russian aristocrats, was assassinated, possibly with the help of British agents.

The war created unbearable tensions for Russia. At the front the losses were heavy. While in the cities, economic mismanagement caused rising prices and food shortages. In Petrograd, workers' frustration led to strikes and demonstrations. Troops ordered to disperse the crowd refused and instead joined the protesters. The government had lost control of capital. Aboard the imperial train in Pskov, senior politicians and generals told the Emperor that he must abdicate or Russia would fall into anarchy and lose the war. Nicholas accepted his advice and abdicated in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Michael, who effectively rejected the offer. 300 years of Romanov rule had come to an end.

Russia was now a republic. A provisional government took power, but was unable to stop Russia's slide into economic and military chaos. Meanwhile, workers, soldiers, and peasants elected their own councils, known as "soviets." The Petrograd Soviet was so powerful that it was effectively a rival government, especially as resentment toward the Provisional Government continued to grow. The Bolsheviks, under Vladimir Lenin, attracted increasing support, with their radical proposals for an immediate end to the war, the redistribution of land, and the transfer of power to the Soviets. In October they launched a coup d'état, planned by Leon Trotsky. Bolshevik Red Guards attacked the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government was meeting, and arrested its members.

Lenin and the Bolsheviks were now in charge. Russia had embarked on a bold and dangerous path: under a Marxist-inspired

revolution

ary party, it would now seek to create the world's first communist state. But first he will have to survive the chaos and carnage of one of the bloodiest civil wars in

history

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