Historical Background:In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, Russian society was changingPeasants were starving

As Russia industrialized, a middle class was createdThey wanted to participate in politics

Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia, came to power during this period.

The Marxists:One of the opposition groups that was created

Wanted the peasants and workers to overthrow the government

The Marxists split into two groupsOne was called the Bolsheviks, and was led by Vladimir Lenin

World War I:World War I made the Russian people question the government even more because they were so easily defeated by Germany

The war put a huge strain on the Russian economy

The February Revolution:A personal friend of the czar (Rasputin) was killed and strikes and riots broke out over food shortages

Nicholas was forced to abdicate his throne and his family was killed by the Bolsheviks

A temporary government was established by the parliament

The Bolsheviks opposed this government

The October Revolution:By 1917,Russia had been seriously weakened by WWI – Lenin saw this as an opportunity for a Bolshevik take-over of the government

The Bolsheviks took control of the Russian government and immediately pulled Russia out of the war

A month after the October Revolution counterrevolutionaries organized into an army called the “White Russians”

The White Russians and the Red Army (the Bolshevik army) engaged in a civil war for the next three years

The United States, France, Britain, and Japan offered support to the White Russians

The Red Army (The Bolsheviks) eventually won the war and made Russia a communist nation