1917

February Revolution: 8–16 March (23 February – 3 March) 1917

A series of public protests begin in Petrograd, which last for eight days and eventually result in abolition of the
monarchy in Russia. The total number of killed and injured in clashes with the police and government troops in
Petrograd is estimated around 1,300 people.

8 March (23 February) 1917: On International Women’s Day, demonstrators and striking workers – many of
whom are women – take to the streets to protest against food shortages and the war. Two days later, the strikes
spread across Petrograd.

15 (2) March 1917: Tsar Nicholas II abdicates and also removes his son from the succession. The following day
Nicholas’ brother Mikhail announces his refusal to accept the throne. A Provisional Government is formed to
replace the tsarist government, with Prince Lvov becoming the leader.

April 1917

Lenin returns from exile, travelling to Petrograd in a sealed train from Switzerland via Germany and Finland.

1 May (18 April) 1917

The Milyukov note: A telegram sent to the Allied Powers by Foreign Minister Pavel Milyukov states the
Provisional Government’s intention to continue the war. The note is leaked, resulting in protests and increased
support for the Bolsheviks.

Following this, Milyukov resigns and members of the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks join the
Provisional Government.

June Offensive: 1 July (18 June) 1917

Russian minister of war Alexander Karensky launches an offensive against Austria-Hungary forces in Galicia.

Although the Russian effort is initially successful, the soldiers soon refuse to leave their trenches and fight due
to low morale caused by the Revolution. Soldiers’ committees debate orders and encourage soldiers to disobey
officers. Many soldiers return home to take part in redistribution of land.

The offensive collapses four days later and Russian troops have to respond to the Austrians’ and Germans’
counteroffensive.

July Days: 16–20 (3–7) July 1917

The July Days, a series of spontaneous armed anti-government demonstrations of industrial workers and
soldiers, begin in Petrograd. Lvov resigns as leader of the Provisional Government, with Alexander
Kerensky taking over and crushing the demonstrations. In the same month, the death penalty is reintroduced,
and women are granted the right to vote and hold office. 
Kerensky issues the arrest of Lenin, who goes into hiding. The printing offices of the Bolshevik
newspaper Pravda – the headquarters of the Bolshevik Central Committee – are raided, with many Bolshevik
leaders arrested.

The aborted uprising results in Soviets losing their control over the Provisional Government, signifying the end
of the ‘Dual Power’ situation. This is seen by many as the point of no return for the peaceful development of the
Revolution.

Kornilov affair: 9 September (22–27 August) 1917

The Kornilov affair: A failed coup by General Kornilov, commander of the Russian army, takes place, when he
orders troops towards Petrograd to counter the threat of the Bolsheviks.

Prime Minister Kerensky presents Kornilov’s actions as an attempted right wing coup.

While the affair is short lived, it secures power for the Bolsheviks among Petrograd’s working classes, workers
and soldiers, and crushes the credibility of a coalition Provisional Government between socialists and liberals
due to the Kadets (Constitutional Democrats) and even Kerensky himself being implicated in the affair.

14 (1) September 1917

Russia is officially declared a republic.

October Revolution: 7–8 November (25–26 October) 1917

7 November (25) 1917: The Bolsheviks seize control of Petrograd.

8 November (26 October) 1917: The Bolsheviks take control of the Winter Palace, the last remaining holdout of
the Provisional Government.

8 November (26 October) 1917: The Decrees on Land (proclaiming abolition of private property and the
redistribution of the land amongst the peasantry), and Peace (proposing an immediate withdrawal of Russia
from the First World War), are issued by the new Bolshevik government. Subsequent workers’ decrees outline
measures for an eight-hour working day, minimum wage and the running of factories. The death penalty is
abolished once again.

9 November (27 October) 1917

The Decree on the Press, the first Bolshevik censorship decree, abolishes the ‘bourgeois’ press.

25 (12) November 1917

Elections to the Constituent Assembly take place. The Socialist Revolutionaries win the largest number of seats,
while the Bolsheviks win less than one-quarter of the vote.

December 1917

Each person receives 1/4 pound of bread per day. Bread and flour are still being sold openly, but for
extortionate prices.
15 (2) December 1917

An armistice between Russia and the Central Powers is signed and fighting stops.

1918–1924

18–19 (5–6) January 1918

The Constituent Assembly meets but is dissolved by the Bolsheviks.

28 (15) January 1918

The Council of People’s Commissars (Sovnarkom) issues a decree forming the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red
Army.

14 February 1918

Russia adopts the Western (Gregorian) calendar.

Brest-Litovsk Treaty: 3 March 1918

Russia ends its participation in the First World War. Bolshevik Russia loses one-third of the old empire’s
population, one-third of its railway network, half its industry, three-quarters of its supplies of iron ore, nine-
tenths of its coal resources and much of its food supplies.

8 March 1918

At the 7th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, the Bolsheviks change the name of their
party to the Russian Communist Party. The Russian capital is also moved from Petrograd to Moscow this year.

10 July 1918

The first constitution of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic grants equal rights to men and women.

16–17 July 1918

Tsar Nicholas II and his family are executed by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg.

11 August 1918

Lenin sends a telegram to communists in Penza, Central Russia, complaining about uprisings in the area and
calling for the public execution of 100 kulaks (wealthy peasants).

30 August 1918

Beginning of ‘Red Terror’: An assassination attempt on Lenin by the Socialist Revolutionary Fanny Kaplan
leaves him seriously wounded. The attempt, together with the murder of Uritskii, sparks a period of mass arrests
and executions known as the ‘Red Terror’.
March 1919

The Comintern (or Third International) is formed in Moscow, with the aim of spreading revolution all over the
world.

1920

Communist parties form across the world.

November 1920

The Red Army invades and occupies Crimea and the White Army is forced to withdraw.

1921

By the beginning of 1921 the rouble has lost 96% of its pre-war value; industrial production has fallen to 10%
of its 1913 level. The population of Petrograd has fallen from 2.5 million in 1917 to 600,000 in 1920.

March 1921

The Kronstadt mutiny, an unsuccessful uprising against the Bolsheviks, takes place.

March 1921

End of ‘War Communism’ and the introduction of the ‘New Economic Policy’ (NEP).

3 April 1922

Stalin is appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party.

December 1922

Creation of the Soviet Union.

21 January 1924

Lenin dies, leading to a power struggle within the party. Stalin emerges as Party leader. His rival Leon Leon
Trotsky is dismissed, then exiled and finally murdered in 1940.