Civil war breaks out between the Reds and Whites.
A communist government forms the USSR.
Lenin and the Bolsheviks seize power.
Tsar Nicholas II gives up the throne.
The Provisional Government is set up but faces opposition.
The Red Army led by Trotsky defeats the White Army.
Stalin becomes the leader of the Communist Party.
Collectivization and industrialization begin.
The Great Purge sees millions executed or imprisoned.
World War II breaks out and the USSR becomes an important ally.
The Cold War starts with the US becoming a rival superpower.
Stalin dies and Khrushchev becomes the leader.
Cuban Missile Crisis occurs.
Tensions ease after detente under Brezhnev and Gorbachev.
Gorbachev introduces reforms and Soviet Union peacefully dissolved.
1. Civil war breaks out between the Reds and Whites:
The Russian Civil War took place from 1918 to 1922, following the October Revolution in 1917. The Reds, also known as the Bolsheviks, were led by Vladimir Lenin and sought to establish a socialist regime, while the Whites were a collection of anti-communist and counter-revolutionary forces.
2. A communist government forms the USSR:
After the Bolsheviks gained victory in the civil war, they established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1922. The USSR was a socialist state composed of various republics, with Moscow serving as its capital. The government was based on communist principles and aimed to build a society without social classes.
3. Lenin and the Bolsheviks seize power:
In October 1917, Lenin, along with the Bolshevik Party, overthrew the Provisional Government in what is known as the October Revolution or the Bolshevik Revolution. They seized power in Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg) and established a new government, leading to the formation of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (RSFSR), which later became the core of the USSR.
4. Tsar Nicholas II gives up the throne:
In March 1917, facing pressure from widespread unrest and strikes, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the Russian throne, ending the Romanov dynasty that had ruled Russia for over three centuries. The abdication came as a result of the February Revolution, which was a series of protests and uprisings against the autocratic rule of the tsar. The events that followed eventually led to the rise of communist power under Lenin's leadership.