3. The revolution in the Russian empire in 1917, in which the Russian monarchy (Czarist regime) was overthrown resulting in the formation of the world’s first communist government.

4. Russia’ Romanov dynasty had lasted 300 years but Nicholas II, who ascended the throne in 1894, turned out to be the last Czar of Russia. How did such an ancient monarchy fall so quickly in 1917?

5. Rewind -1905

7. Czar Nicholas II The Last Czar of Russia Descendant of the Russian Romanovs. Absolute ruler with unlimited powers-Ruled alone and unquestioned. Weak personality. Ignored the needs of his people. Czarina Alexandra, wife of Nicholas II was German. Both were very unpopular.

9. Majority of the Russians were peasants or factory workers. Most peasants did not own the land they farmed. Factory workers had to endure long hours, low pay, and horrible working conditions. About 80% of Russians were poor..

10. Economy was based on agriculture. Russia was not as industrialized as the rest of Europe. Russia’s war with Japan had devastated Russia’s economy. Food prices went up, but the wages remained the same. Many people were starving.

12. Sunday, 22nd January, 1905 On a Sunday afternoon, a large group of over 200,000 unarmed workers, their families, and supporters along with Father Gapon, a Russian priest led a peaceful demonstration in St. Petersburg. Demonstrators wanted to present a petition to the Czar regarding better working conditions, more wages, and freedom. The unarmed demonstrators were shot by the Czar's troops. Many innocent people were killed.

14. Bloody Sunday sparked several protests and strikes by the Russian people. The Czar was forced to create the Duma-the Russian Parliament. Nothing really changed, Nicholas kept power and if members of the Duma disagreed with the Czar they were sent away…

16. The First World War proved to be the last straw for the Czar’s government. Millions of Russian troops were getting killed. Soldiers were not well prepared with proper weapons, or supplies.. Nicholas left the government in the hands of his wife, the Czarina, and the monk, Rasputin.

18. Weak leadership of Czar Nicholas II. Rasputin Russo-Japanese War Devastation of World War I—high casualties, economic ruin. Food shortages, widespread hunger low wages, landless peasants. Economic differences between social classes. Bloody Sunday, the massacre of unarmed protestors outside the palace in 1905. Overview of Causes

21. THE END OF RUSSIAN AUTOCRACY o Three centuries of Romanov Dynastic rule comes to an end. Czar Nicholas II abdicates his throne. THE RISE OF COMMUNISM Lenin leads the Bolsheviks to power. February 1917 Revolution October 1917 Revolution

22. On February 28, 1917, Czar Nicholas is forced to abdicate (give up) the throne. A provisional (temporary) government takes over. THE PROBLEM: Provisional government supports the war. Peasants are still without land.

23. Bolsheviks gain support from peasants with promise of land. Led by Lenin with slogans such as “Peace, Land, Bread!”, the Bolsheviks take over the provisional government. The Bolshevik Party will be later named The Russian Communist Party. “Peace, Land, Bread!” “All power to the Soviets!”

26. In 1918, Lenin officially pulls Russia out of WWI. Note: Russia stopped fighting in1917

27. In 1918 Bolsheviks order the deaths of Nicholas II and his family.

28. Russia shifts from the rule of one (Czarist Regime) to a rule of a few (Bolsheviks).

31. Communism is the theory that all people should be equal and there should be no classes. Everyone should work for the good of the country and wealth would be equally shared amongst all citizens.

32. In the following years after the two revolutions, the Bolsheviks or the ‘Reds’ defeat the Mensheviks or the ‘Whites’ in a civil war. By 1923 all areas of Russia came under communist control and is renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). CIVIL WAR

33. In 1926, a few years after the death of Lenin the country comes under the control of dictator Joseph Stalin.

34. In the years to come, the USSR under Joseph Stalin emerges as the world’s leading superpower.