In Dec 1825, Members of the upper classes, including many former soldiers, staged a revolt after the death of the tsar, Alexander I.
The revolt failed, but it provided an inspiration to succeeding generations of dissidents.
Revolution in 1905
In 1905, after Russia lost the Russo-Japanese war, public discontent would force Tsar Nicholas II to establish a constitutional monarchy.
Such change would not have satisfied either the tsar or his opponents. Radical revolutionaries continued to fight for a democratic republic, and the tsar wanted to retain his control of the peasants.
The March Revolution (Mar 1917)
During WWI, when Tsar Nicholas took comand of Russian armies in the field, and left vacuum in St. Petersburg. The collapse of the goverment suddenly came in March 1917.
A Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was elected, and it formed a provisional goverment on March 14. The leader of this goverment was Aleksandr Kerensky. The next day Nicholas addicated.
The October Revolution (Nov 1917)
The leading characters were Lenin and communist agitator Leon Trotsky. Kerensky persist fight the war that undid the provisional goverment. The Bolsheviks, led by Lenin underminded the war effort, and the goverment attempted to take action against Lenin. On night of November 6-7, 1917, the Bolsheviks acted.
Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, took contorl of the government and removed the Provisional government. In 1918, Russia signed a treaty with Germany and pulled the Russians out of WWI.
Civil War
Lenin's government was determind to get rid of all opposition. All non-Bolsheviks socialist factions were driven out of the workers' councils, and were forbidden to engage in political activity. Lenin was shot and seriously wounded. The government responded by proclaiming a campaign of "Red Terror".
The civil war was ended in victory for the Red Army in 1920.
Revolution after 1922
In 1922 the government proclaimed teh creation of Soviet Union. When Lenin died in 1924, power passed to the first secretary of the party, Joseph Stalin.
Under Stalin a revolution took place. The centralizaiton of all political and economic power in his hand and the ransformation of the Soviet Union into a completely totalitarian state.