The czars (kings) of Russia during the 1800s were cruel and mistreated their people.

The people of Russia wanted change, but the czar Alexander II could not bring change fast enough. Frustrated, the people revolted, and assassinated him. After that, his son Alexander III focused on gaining power for himself, instead of making changes. He was harsh, and made great efforts to wipe out revolutionaries (people who want change in Russia). He would keep a close eye on what was taught in school, and sent political enemies to prison. Under Alexander III, Russia was in much distress. Nicholas II became the Russian czar in 1894 carrying on the autocracy (meaning he had total power) tradition. One of his ministers began a program to move the country forward. He did this by raising taxes, letting foreigners invest, and increased production of steel. Industrialization (making goods by machinery) brought problems along with it such as poor working conditions, low wages, and child labor. The people formed revolutionary movements. One group followed Karl Marx, who believed that the working class could overthrow the czar. Karl Marx was the father of communism, a form of government where a single group in the government would control the economy and make sure everyone shares goods equally. The people who believed in this were called Marxists, splitting into two main groups, the Bolsheviks (led by Lenin) and the Mensheviks. In the late 1800s, Russia and Japan battled for control of Korea and Manchuria. They signed agreements between the territories, but Russia broke them. Due to this, Japan attacked the Russians at Port Arthur, Manchuria in February 1904. Many Russian defeats led to revolts and unrest in the country.

On January 22, 1905 about two hundred thousand workers and their families went to the czars palace in St. Petersburg. They wanted better working conditions, more freedom and a legislature. A legislature is the part of the government who makes laws. The czar Nicholas II ordered his men to shoot the crowd. Over a thousand people were killed, so Russians called this day Bloody Sunday. Violence spread throughout the country, so in October 1905 Nicholas II promised more freedom. The czar then allowed the creation of the Duma, Russias first parliament, which meant the legislative branch would have power. The leaders of the Duma wanted Russia to become a constitutional monarchy (where the king does not have all the power) like Britain, but Nicholas II refused to share his power and banned the Duma after ten weeks. In 1914, Nicholas decided to drag Russia in World War I, fighting alongside the Allies. The allies included Serbia, France, Britain, and soon the US. The Allies fought against the Central powers which were Germany and Austria-Hungary. The Russians had a large population, but they were not modern enough to defeat the Germans. Russia suffered many casualties (soldiers dead, injured, or missing), proving that the czar Nicholas II was not a very effective leader. In an attempt to help raise the spirits of the Russian army, the czar came to the front himself, leaving his wife Czarina (Queen) Alexandra behind. She ignored the advice of the czars chief advisers and listened to Rasputin (a holy man), thinking he helped her diseased son get better. Rasputin made horrible political decisions and was soon assassinated. On the front, soldiers disobeyed their orders or deserted. In Russia, civilians suffered from hunger due to lack of food and supplies. Neither Nicholas II nor Alexandra could deal with these problems.

In March 1917 women cloth makers in Petrograd led a strike. This strike grew into nearly two hundred thousand workers who wanted to get rid of autocracy (which meant the king could not have total power), and to stop participating in the war. At first soldiers shot the rioters, but later joined them. The riot forced the czar Nicholas II to abdicate, or step down, from his throne. He and his family were later executed. The leaders of the Duma created a temporary government lead by Alexander Kerensky. He decided to keep fighting in the war, and this made him lose support of the people of Russia. Socialists, who wanted sharing of goods produced among Russia formed Soviets. Soviets consisted of workers, peasants, and soldiers. Meanwhile, Lenin and his Bolsheviks continued to gain power, and soon gained control of the Petrograd soviet and many other soviets also. In November 1917, the Bolshevik Red Guards (armed factory workers) stormed the palace in Petrograd and took over government offices and arrested the leaders of the temporary government. Soon, the temporary government was taken over by the Bolsheviks.

The Bolsheviks handed farmland to the peasants, and signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany, ending Russia participation in the war. The treaty made Russia accept harsh terms, and this angered the civilians. They began to question the Bolsheviks and their policies, and also to the murder of the czars family. The Bolsheviks now had to defeat their enemies, the White Army, who was made up of groups who supported the return of the czar, a democratic government( ruled by the people), and even socialists who did not like Lenins form of socialism (the economy would be ruled by the government, to promote sharing and equality among the people). The other Allied powers helped the White Army, but the Red Army was victorious. The war and revolution in Russia hurt its economy, so in March 1921, Lenin started the New Economic Policy, which allowed small factories, businesses, and farms to run business in their own. This went against his plan for a government-controlled economy, but he believed this was needed to improve the economy. The country slowly got better. By 1928, Russias farms and factories were making as much as they did before the war. Lenin and Bolshevik leaders split Russia into several self-governing republics (people voted for leaders to rule them), under one main government. In 1922, Russia became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The Bolshevik renamed their party to the Communist Party. They were modeled after Karl Marxs ideas of a society without classes and the economy would be controlled by government so that everyone would receive equal share of their work. However, in reality, the Communist party held all of the power, making Russia a dictatorship (where people are ruled by a total leader and have little rights).

Lenin had a stroke in 1922 and survived, but competition started for leading the Communist Party. Joseph Stalin was a cold and impersonal man who competed for this position. Between 1922 through 1927, he worked to gain more power. Lenin passed away in 1924, warning that Stalin was a dangerous man [with] enormous powerBy 1928, Stalin had total control over the Communist Party, and would now start his course on being a dictator with absolute power over Russia. Russians grew more and more impatient with the bad and/or unfair decisions made by the czars. After the last czar Nicholas II abdicated and was executed, and the temporary government was formed, people formed Soviets to improve the conditions for the people in Russia. The Bolsheviks had a lot of control over many of these soviets. The Bolsheviks also known as the Red Army successfully defeated their enemies the White Army. Russia, or the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, was now a communist country. Lenin was an excellent leader, and made reforms in Russia and restored order. Although he was supposed to rule only to control the economy for the benefits of everyone, he had actually created a dictatorship. Stalin soon gains control of the Communists and becomes a powerful dictator.