Changes

==1900-1917==

==1900-1917==

[[File:Dagestani man and woman 1904 Russia.jpg|thumb|Dagestani man and woman, 1904.]]

[[File:Dagestani man and woman 1904 Russia.jpgright|300px|thumb|Dagestani man and woman, 1904.]]

By 1900, imperial decline became evident. Russia was defeated in the unpopular [[Russo-Japanese War]] in 1905. The [[Russian Revolution of 1905]] forced Tsar [[Nicholas II]] (1894-1917) to grant a constitution and introduce limited democratic reforms. The government suppressed opposition and manipulated popular anger into anti-Semitic pogroms. Attempts at economic change, such as land reform, were incomplete.  

By 1900, imperial decline became evident. Russia was defeated in the unpopular [[Russo-Japanese War]] in 1905. The [[Russian Revolution of 1905]] forced Tsar [[Nicholas II]] (1894-1917) to grant a constitution and introduce limited democratic reforms. The government suppressed opposition and manipulated popular anger into anti-Semitic pogroms. Attempts at economic change, such as land reform, were incomplete.  

====1917 Revolution and the U.S.S.R.====

====1917 Revolution and the U.S.S.R.====

The ruinous effects of [[World War I]], combined with internal pressures, sparked the March 1917 uprising that led Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate the throne. A provisional government came to power, headed by [[Aleksandr Kerenskiy]]. On November 7, 1917, the [[Bolshevik Party]], led by [[Vladimir Lenin]], seized control and established the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. Civil war broke out in 1918 between Lenin's "Red" army and various "White" forces and lasted until 1920, when, despite foreign interventions and [[Polish-Soviet War|an unsuccessful war]] with [[Poland]], the Bolsheviks triumphed. After the Red army conquered [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], [[Azerbaijan]], Georgia, and [[Armenia]], a new nation, the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] (U.S.S.R.), was formed in 1922.  

The ruinous effects of [[World War I]], combined with internal pressures, sparked the March 1917 uprising that led Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate the throne. A provisional government came to power, headed by [[Aleksandr Kerenskiy]]. On November 7, 1917, the [[Bolshevik Party]], led by [[Vladimir Lenin]], seized control and established the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. Civil war broke out in 1918 between Lenin's "Red" army and various "White" forces and lasted until 1920, when, despite foreign interventions and [[Polish-Soviet War|an unsuccessful war]] with [[Poland]], the Bolsheviks triumphed. After the Red army conquered [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], [[Azerbaijan]], Georgia, and [[Armenia]], a new nation, the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] (U.S.S.R.), was formed in 1922.  

 

First among its political figures was Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Party and head of the first Soviet Government, who died in 1924.

First among its political figures was Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Party and head of the first Soviet Government, who died in 1924.

==Stalin==

==Stalin==