Russian SFSR (TheodoresTomfooleries)

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика Rossijskaja Sovetskaja Federativnaja Socialističeskaja Respublika
Flag State Emblem
Motto: "Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь!" "Workers of the world, unite!"
Anthem: State Anthem of the Soviet Union
Capital and largest city	Moscow
Official languages	Russian
Recognised languages	see Languages of Russia
Ethnic groups (2019)	Slavic: 82.62% Turkics: 9.89% Caucasians: 3.5% Uralic: 1.84% Other: 2.13%
Religion	Secularism (de-jure) State atheism (de-facto)
Demonym(s)	Russian
Government	Federal Marxist-Leninist one-party parliamentary socialist soviet directorial republic
• Chairman of the Russian Presidium	WIP
• Chairman of the Russian Council of Ministers	WIP
Legislature	Supreme Soviet
Union Republic of the Soviet Union (1922 - )
Area
• Total	17,125,200 km2 (6,612,100 sq mi)
Population
• 2019 census	182,133,772
• Density	10.63/km2 (27.5/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)	2022 estimate
• Total	$2.158 trillion
• Per capita	$11,850
Currency	Soviet Ruble (SUR)
Time zone	UTC+2-12
Date format	CE, mm dd yyyy
Driving side	right
Calling code	+7
ISO 3166 code	RU
Internet TLD	.su

Russia (Russian: Россия; tr. Rossija), officially the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, is the largest Union Republic of the Soviet Union. By area, it is the largest first-level subdivision in the world with an area of 17.12 million km². Russia stretches over eleven time zones, the most in the world, and has a continuous border stretching 22,407 kilometres in total. With a population of 182.13 million as of the 2019 census, Russia is the most populous country in both Europe and the Soviet Union. Moscow is Russia's capital as well as the capital of the Soviet Union, other major cities include Leningrad, which previously served as the capital from 1712 to 1918, Gorky, and Novosibirsk.

The Rus' emerged as a distinct people in the East European Plain in the Early Middle Ages. The Rus' people, generally regarded to be of Norse origin, settled across the trade routes between the Varangians and the Byzantines, resulting in the adoption of Eastern Orthodoxy. The Rurikids created the Kyivan Rus', regarded to be the first East Slavic state, collapsed in 1240~ with the Mongol invasion. Afterwards, the Grand Duchy of Moscow became the dominant faction in Russian politics, eventually coming to conquer all of Rus' by the time Ivan IV was crowned Tsar of Russia. After the Tsardom of Russia was proclaimed in 1547, Russia rapidly expanded, growing by an average of 35,000 km² a year between the years of 1551 and 1700. Russia became the dominant northern power after the Treaty of Nystad which ended the Swedish Empire, shortly before Peter the Great proclaimed the Russian Empire, styling himself Emperor. Under Catherine the Great, Russia became a great power, partioning the territories of both Poland-Lithuania and the Ottoman Empire. Russia participated in the Napoleonic Wars, culminating in the French invasion of Russia which resulted in a Russian victory. A century later, the Russian Empire had become the world's largest country and the third largest empire in history. Russia's military incompetence showed itself at the Russo-Japanese War in 1905, which unmasked the weakness of the Russian military.The situation against the Tsar, Nicholas II worsened after disastrous defeats in the First World War, which resulted in the end of the monarchy in 1917 and the establishment of a republic later in the year. The Russian Republic ended up being short lived, however, as the Bolsheviks took power of many of Russia's major cities in the October Revolution. Vladimir Lenin personally led the Bolsheviks from 1917 until his death in 1924, in which he led the Red Army to victory in the Russian Civil War, establishing the world's first constitutionally socialist nation. The RSFSR later became a founding member of the Soviet Union in 1922.

Russia is the country's largest and most populated republic, and makes up a significant portion of the nation's economy, energy output, and more. As a result of this, the Soviet Union is oftenly (and incorrectly) referred to as Russia, despite Russia only being one of 15 Soviet Republics. Russia is the most diverse union republic with 193 distinct ethnic groups, with Russians being the largest ethnic group. Russia is also home to numerous ASSRs as well, the most in the nation.

Etymology and Names

"Russia" is derived from the term Rus', the term given to the area mainly populated by the East Slavs. This term became more popular in later history, and the country was referred to as "Rus' land" by its inhabitants. Rus' itself originates from the Norse Rus' people, a group of merchants and warriors who established a state centered on Novgorod that later expanded to become the Kievan Rus'. The modern spelling of Russia, Rossija, originates from the Medieval Greek term for the Rus', "Ρωσσία" or Rossía.

The Bolshevik-run state did not have an official name until the adoption of its constitution in January 1918, when "Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic" was designated as the official full name. Before this, it was referred to as the Russian Republic (identical to its rival government, the Russian Soviet Republic, and the derogatory Sovdepia, after the Soviets of Workers' and Peasants' Deputies. With the adoption of the 1936 constitution, Russia gained its present name by swapping "socialist" and "soviet", thus maintaining consistency with the name of the Soviet Union, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The Russian SFSR is referred to with numerous colloquial names, the most common simply being Russia. Soviet Russia and Russian Federation are also popular everyday names, with the latter being used as a more "formal" yet still colloquial form of the RSFSR's full name.

History

Kievan Rus'

Russia, in particular its predecessor states the Russian Empire and the Tsardom of Russia have their roots in the Kievan Rus' and the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The Rus' people, who are believed to be Norsemen, settled along the trade routes between the Baltic and Black Seas, gradually assimilating into the local East Slavic population. In the 9th century, Rurik, a Rus' Varangian chieftain, was invited to rule in the city of Novgorod. He subsequently founded the Rurikid dynasty, which would continue to rule in Russia until the 17th century. His successor, Oleg, conquered the city of Kiev, whilst also expanding Novgorod southward along the Dnieper river. Following his conquest of Kiev, he proclaimed the city as the new capital of his realm, establishing the Kievan Rus'. Olga, who ruled from 945-960, is venerated as a Saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church due to her promotion and efforts to spread Christianity in the largely pagan Kievan Rus'. Her grandson, Vladimir, originally continued to uphold the native Slavic pagan faith, but after sending envoys across the world to assess the major religions at the time later converted to Christianity. In 988, he negotiated for a marriage between him and Byzantine Emperor Basil II's sister Anna. He was baptized in Chersonesos (now in modern day Sevastopol, and after returning to Kiev began mass-baptisms of the people there, destroying pagan idols and statues that he had erected just a few years prior. Mstislav III, ruling in the earlier half of the 13th century, ruled the Kievan Rus' during the Mongol Invasion. The Battle of the Kalka River was a devastating military defeat for Mstislav, resulting in his execution by the Mongols. Kiev was razed by the Mongols in 1240 during the reign of Yaroslav II, ending the Kievan Rus'. The collapse of authority resulted in a power vacuum that let states such as Vladimir-Suzdal to compete with one-another over the throne of Kiev. Vladimir-Suzdal, the Grand Duchy of Vladimir, broke off its vassalage to the Golden Horde in the late 14th century and gradually evolved into the Grand Duchy of Moscow, or Muscovy, which would go on to re-establish authority in the former Kievan Rus'. Authority shifted northwards towards the city of Moscow, a formerly unimportant city in Vladimir-Suzdal. Ivan III was the first to style himself as tsar (although not officially), and through his marriage to Sophia Palaiologina established the double-headed eagle as Russia's coat of arms and the idea of Moscow being the Third Rome (in reference to Constantinople being the second). His grandson, Ivan IV was proclaimed Tsar of All Rus' in 1547, subsequently establishing the Tsardom of Russia.

Tsardom of Russia

The position of Tsar eclipsed the position of Knyaz of the Kievan Rus', as the Tsardom of Russia established itself as an absolute monarchy with emphasis on the unity of the Rus' people and the state's connection to the Byzantine Empire. Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, was the first ruler of the Tsardom, expanding southward through conquests of the Khanates of Kazan and Astrakhan. He later rid himself of advisors- the "Chosen Council"- who had crowned him Tsar and started the Livonian War, which resulted in a Russian defeat but allowed Ivan to establish autocratic control over the Russian nobility. The Oprichnina resulted in the violent purge of Russia's nobility, Ivan's authoritarianism has granted him the nickname Грозный (grozny), synonymous with the old English usage of terrible meaning "inspiring fear or terror, dangerous or powerful". His son and successor, Feodor I died childless in 1598, ending the Rurikid dynasty and beginning the Time of Troubles. While having legal successors, they carried virtually no legal authority.

Time of Troubles

The Tsarevich, Dmitry, died aged 8 after reportedly having a seizure while playing with a knife and slitting his throat. His status as the "last RUrikid" resulted in his impersonation by many pretenders, known as False Dmitrys. The first, False Dmitry I, reigned as Tsar momentarily from 1605-1606, but was killed in a coup. He was succeeded by Vasili IV, a member of the Shuysky branch of the Rurikids, but his reign was short-lived and lasted only 4 years- he held no authority and was not recognized as Tsar until after his death. The Seven Boyars, a group of nobles who were responsible for deposing Vasily, elected and invited King and Grand Duke Vladislav II of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth to serve as Tsar. His reign, like his predecessor, was short-lived and had little legal recognition. In 1613, the Zemskiy Sobor, the parliament of Russia's noble estates, elected Michael, a Romanov, as Tsar. The Romanovs were a noble house of significance before Michael's accession, his great-aunt Anastasia Romanovna was the first Russian Tsaritsa and spouse of Ivan the Terrible. Michael's accession ended the Time of Troubles and resulted in authority returning to Russia, though in large part it was his father that ruled.

Rule under the Romanovs

Under the Romanovs, Russia expanded its territory significantly through the conquest of Siberia. Michael's successor, Aleksey sided with the reformist Patriach Nikon in the Schism of the Russian Church, resulting in the splitting of Russian orthodoxy between those which followed the reforms brought on by Nikon and sponsored by the state, or those who retained Russian Orthodoxy's pre-reform customs, known as Old Believers. By the time of Aleksey's death in 1676, Russia was among the largest polities in the world, stretching over an area of nearly 8.1 million km². Russia would continue to rapidly expand, conquering more of Siberia and territories of Poland-Lithuania. When Feodor III- Aleksey's son - died, authority was passed down into a coregency between his sons Ivan and Peter, the former of which ruled only in name due to his physical and mental disabilities. When Ivan died in 1696, Peter ruled as the sole Tsar of Russia. Peter introduced rapid and grand reforms aiming at the modernization and westernization of Russia. He established Russia's first proper navy in 1696, mandating courtiers, state officials and the military to shave their beards and wear western-style clothing (the former of which was enforced through a beard tax), and for his family members to marry into European royalty. Peter I's wishes for Russia to become a maritime power conflicted with the Swedish Empire's dominance over much of the Baltic- in 1700 a coalition led by Russia against Sweden resulted in a Russian victory and the end of Sweden's status as a great power. Notably, the Swedish fort of Nyenskans- located in the confluence of the Neva and Okhta was captured by Russia in 1703. Peter demolished the fort in favor of creating another one close by, and in Zayachy Island he laid down the Peter and Paul Fortress, which would be the first citadel of the newly founded Saint Petersburg. Peter referred to Saint Petersburg as being the capital or seat of government of Russia from 1704, but it was not until 1712 that the capital was formally moved from Moscow to Saint Petersburg. In 1721, the Great Northern War ended, with Russia receiving a significant amount of territory from Sweden- this included the Baltic provinces and Ingria. Shortly after the Treaty of Nystad was signed in September, he was officially proclaimed with the title Emperor of All Russia, replacing the old title of Tsar.

Russian Empire

Russia's accession to an empire cemented itself as a great power in European affairs. Russia's established dominance over the Baltic sea put it at odds with the weakening Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Peter died in 1724 and was succeeded by his consort Catherine I her reign was short lived however and she was succeeded by Peter I's grandson Peter II, who had Russia's capital moved back to Moscow in 1728. His reign was short, much like that of his predecessors. His successor, Anna, continued Russia's transition into a European power, but her reign is considered a dark era within Russian historiography. She was momentarily succeeded by her grand-nephew Ivan, who was not even a year old when he was proclaimed Emperor in 1740. He was deposed by his cousin Elizabeth in 1741, who is considered highly due to her refusal to execute anyone during her reign, her construction projects and her opposition to Prussia. Continuing the policies of her father Peter I, she brought the Enlightenment to Russia, sponsored the creation of Moscow State University, the Imperial Academy of Arts and the modernization of Russia's roads. Her financing of Baroque projects resulted notably in the construction of the modern Winter Palace and the Smolny Cathedral in Saint Petersburg. Elizabeth's death in 1762 ended the agnatic line of the House of Romanov, she was succeeded by her nephew Peter III.

Reign of Catherine the Great

Peter III, born in Kiel and serving as the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp could barely speak Russian and pursued a strongly pro-Prussian policy, notably when at his succession despite threatening the Prussian capital of Berlin in the 7 Years' War he withdrew his troops and switched sides, reversing hard-earned gains. His wife, Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst, overthrew him along with troops loyal to her. Despite also being of German origin and born in Prussia, she was significantly more well-educated than her husband and made a significant effort to integrate herself with the Russian people. Following her conversion to Russian Orthodoxy, she was given the name Catherine, and she made a significant effort to learn the Russian language. She eventually mastered it, but spoke with an accent. Catherine ruled during the Russo-Turkish War, which resulted in the conquest of the Crimean Khanate and much of modern day southern Ukraine, known as Novorossiya. Many of Ukraine's major cities were founded on her orders, including Odessa, Yekaterinoslav, Kherson, Nikolayev and Sevastopol. Catherine personally admired her predecessor Peter, and continued to modernize Russia. In the later years of her reign, Poland-Lithuania was partitioned between Russia, Prussia, and the Hapsburg Monarchy in the late 1700s, with Russia getting the largest share of territory. Catherine was a patron of the arts and is considered along with her predecessor Elizabeth as an enlightened despot. She was succeeded by her son Paul in 1796 upon her death.

The Napoleonic Wars

Catherine's successor, Paul, was a controversial and disliked Emperor as he carried on his father's Germanophile attitude, adding fuel to the potential fire of a coup was Paul's status as the de-facto Grand Master of the Catholic Knights Hospitaller as the ruler of an Orthodox nation. His unpredictable behavior along with the former mentioned resulted in his assassination in 1801 at the age of 46. His son, Alexander, succeeded him when the events of the French Revolution were still ongoing. A year prior, a Corsican-born Frenchman- Napoleon - had taken power over the largely chaotic French Republic as the First Consul. Napoleon had become a national hero of the French after scoring major victories over the First Coalition and expanding the French Republic's influence and borders into the Austrian Netherlands and up to the Rhine. By 1801, when Alexander ascended to the throne, Napoleon had firmly established himself as France's military dictator and France as a European military power. Alexander notably echoed some of Napoleon's liberal ideals- passing minor social reforms and significant educational reforms, but he retained the tsarist absolutism that would remain in place until 1917.

Russia had previously fought against Napoleon in the War of the Second Coalition, but Paul I quickly withdrew after only a year. In 1804, after a largely staged referendum, Napoleon was crowned Emperor of the French- much to the concern of the other monarchs of Europe. Alexander I once again fought against Napoleon's French Empire in the War of the Third Coalition but was soundly defeated, the same result occurred when he joined the Fourth Coalition. In Russia's defeat, Alexander I joined the Continental System and allied his country with the French Empire. A war fought against Sweden resulted in the annexation of Finland into the Russian Empire and its establishment as an autonomous grand duchy. Though officially an ally of the French Empire, political differences between the two states led to tensions between them, and in 1812- at the zenith of his power- Napoleon invaded Russia with an army of upwards of 600,000 men. The invasion, despite managing to capture Moscow, was a failure and a disaster which greatly weakened Napoleon's grip over Europe owing to its large death toll. The following War of the Sixth Coalition was a military victory for the coalition and resulted in the Congress of Vienna, which restored peace to Europe after a series of wars and coalitions spanning over a period of 23 years. Alexander I was granted a significant portion of the former Kingdom of Poland, known as Congress Poland in the congress. The kingdom was nominally independent and a constitutional monarchy under a personal union with the Russian Empire, but in reality it was soon turned into another integral part of the Russian Empire.

19th Century

Despite espousing a liberal attitude, Alexander maintained a reactionary and conservative political attitude, helping to found the Holy Alliance and assisting Metternich in the suppression of national and liberal movements. In the later years of his reign, he became paranoid of plots against him and reversed or ended many of his previous reforms. Alexander's death in 1825 from typhus was of great concern, as he had no legitimate heirs of his own. His brothers both refused to take the throne, and thus for a period of 12 days Russia was without an Emperor. The throne legally would have went to Alexander's younger brother Grand Duke Konstantin, but he had secretly renounced his claim to the throne in 1823. In the end, one of Paul I's youngest sons- Nicholas, was coronated on 1 December, 1825. As it was not known that Konstantin had renounced his claim, on the 26th of December a force of 3,000 troops in favor of Konstantin launched a failed military coup, known as the Decembrist Revolt. Nicholas I was recognized as the legitimate Emperor after the revolt was put down, and he was coronated in September of 1826.

Nicholas was a reactionary much like that of his brother, reigning during a time of great territorial expansion, economic growth and industrialization for the empire. He assisted in the Greek War of Independence and helped to establish an independent Greek state, and expanded Russia into the Caucasus through war with Qajar Iran, securing modern-day Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Russo-Turkish War of 1828-1829 was yet another military victory for the Russian Empire which resulted in the Ottoman Empire losing much of its sphere of influence in the Caucasus and the de-facto aligning of the Danubian principalities of Wallachia and Romania with Russia. In stark contrast to his brother, Nicholas was a determined man with "an iron will, along with a powerful sense of duty and a dedication to hard work". His military victories however would cease with the Crimean War, which was a devastating defeat for the Russian Empire and showed it in need of drastic reforms. Upon his death in 1855, the Russian Empire reached its geographic zenith with an area of 20 million km².

Aftermath of the Crimean War

The Crimean War, while only resulting in minor territorial losses for Russia, resulted in Russia accumulating a ginormous debt equivalent to over 20 trillion USD today. Russia's defeat in the war caused Russia to lose a significant portion of its influence in Europe and its status as a European power. The humiliation brought on by the war forced Russia's educated elite to identify Russia's problems and recognise the need for drastic reforms. Upon Nicholas I's death in 1855, he was succeeded by his son Alexander II, who began a period of great political reform in the empire. He enacted major liberal reforms, including the emancipation of serfs in 1861, the reorganization of the judicial system, setting up local elected judges, abolishing corporal punishment, promoting local self-governance and promoting university education. The January Uprising in Congress Poland resulted in the Kingdom losing even its nominal autonomy and its direct integration into the Russian Empire as the Vistula Land. Following an attempt on his life in 1866, Alexander became more conservative-minded. He sold Alaska to the United States in 1867 and retained for the most part a pacifistic attitude throughout his reign. He broke with France after the fall of the second empire and aligned himself with the newly unified German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1872 in the League of the Three Emperors. Russia reversed its territorial losses and confirmed its dominance over the Black Sea in the Russo-Turkish War of 1878-1879, which also resulted in the independence of Romania, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria. Alexander had been proposing further constitutional reforms to counter-revolutionary and anarchist movements, but he was assassinated in 1881.

Late 19th century, Alexander III and Nicholas II

Alexander III succeeded his father upon his death, and was unlike both his father and his great-uncle, lacking the liberal-minded attitude of his father and the sentimental and philosophical cunningness of his great-uncle Alexander I. Alexander was a gruff and straightforward man, expressing himself without adornment. Alexander's height of 190.5 cm was extraordinary for the time, and he was noted for his great strength. He reversed some of his father's liberal reforms and firmly established himself as an absolutist autocrat, opposing any reform that limited his power. Due to the lack of any significant wars fought by Russia during his reign, he is referred to as the Peacemaker- he also established a military alliance between Russia and France in 1892, as Wilhelm II's Germany broke with Russia and largely became the black sheep of Europe. Despite his reputation as a strong yet peaceful leader, his rejection of any reforms resulted in a militarily and politically weakened Russia. His heir and son Nicholas lacked both his father's strong and conservative attitude and his grandfather's liberalism. As Alexander was only in his 40s (his predecessors after Alexander I often lived near or to their 60s) it was considered unnecessary for Alexander to educate and prepare Nicholas for the role of Emperor. Concerningly, in 1894 Alexander became ill with nephritis, he increasingly became exceedingly weak though insisted on receiving his son's fiancee, Princess Alix of Hesse in full dress uniform. The event led him exhausted and he died in the afternoon of 1 November 1894. His son Nicholas ascended to the throne as Nicholas II- his coronation was postponed for over a year and despite initially showing interest in constitutional monarchism turned his back on the idea. He was an absolutist much like his father, but lacked his strong and gruff attitude, and despite being more open to reform was not a liberal nor a reformer like his grandfather.

Nicholas's reign started with an ill omen due to the Khodynka Tragedy, when a festival held in honor of his coronation promising free food and beer and rumours of a lack of food for everyone resulted in a crowd crush that killed 1,389 people and injured 1,300. Nicholas intended to stay in his room and pray for those who lost their lives, but the French ambassador's gala was scheduled for the night and Nicholas's uncles believed that his absence would strain relations and potentially jeopardize the Franco-Russian alliance. Nicholas attended the party, much to the dismay of his subjects who saw the Emperor as uncaring. He continued, for the most part, his father's conservative and reactionary policies- under his reign financial reforms that had started 15 years prior were completed and in 1902 the Trans-Siberian Railway neared completion, allowing for greater Russian control and trade with the Far East. Nicholas however in large part was an incompetent ruler, his erratic decisions concerned his officials and tensions between Nicholas and the Russian Orthodox Church greatly conflicted with his base of support. He strengthened the Franco-Russian alliance and pursued a policy of European peace. The Hague Conventions, suggested and promoted by Nicholas, would set up among the first formal statements regarding the law of war. He was nominated, along with his diplomat Friedrich Martens for the Nobel Peace Prize due to this.

Russo-Japanese War

Tensions between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over influence in the Far East and in Manchuria resulted in an inevitable conflict between the two powers. He had personally visited the country in 1890 during the reign of Emperor Meiji and had witnessed first-hand Japan's rapid modernization, but it was unexpected by many European powers that Japan would be able to defeat such a military power like Russia. In 1894, months before he was coronated, Japan and Qing China entered into a war which resulted in the further weakening of the Manchu-led dynasty and the accession of Japan as the dominant power in East Asia. Notably, the secession of Chinese territory and the alignment of Korea with Japan was of concern to Nicholas, particularly over the secession of the Liandong Peninsula- the peninsula was given back to China in the Triple Intervention, but 3 years later Russia secured the city of Dalian through a lease with Qing China. Port-Artur further expanded Russia's already large sphere of influence in Manchuria and gave them a warm water port in the Yellow Sea, allowing for them to directly project naval power and influence in East Asia. Russia and Japan saw each-other as a threat to their sphere of influence in Korea and China- while Nicholas did not covet Russian control or annexation of Korea, he stated that "under no circumstances can I allow Japan to become firmly established there". A proposed compromise that would see Japan recognise Russian dominance over Manchuria in exchange for recognition of Korea in Japan's sphere of influence was rejected, and on 9 February 1904 the Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the Russian Eastern Fleet. The Siege of Port Arthur resulted in the annihilation of the Eastern Fleet. The Russian Baltic Fleet was redeployed to reinforce their Eastern fleet, but their departure was postponed and their arrival took 224 days. The Battle of Mukden confirmed Japan's status as a military power on land, and the Battle of Tsuhima resulted in the annihilation of the Baltic Fleet and a humiliating loss for the Russians, who beared 5,000 casualties and over 140,000 tons sunk as opposed to the Japanese 117 dead and 255 tons sunk. The war eventually concluded in September 1905, with Russia ceding control of South Sakhalin and Dalian to Japan.

Russia's unbelievably decisive defeat at the hands of an asiatic power was crippling to its reputation as a military and great power. On 22 January 1905, a crowd of unarmed demonstrators led by Orthodox priest Georgy Gapon wishing to present Nicholas with a series of reforms were fired upon by the Imperial Guard. The event, known as Bloody Sunday tarnished Nicholas's already unfavorable image.

Revolution of 1905

The results of Bloody Sunday resulted in a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread throughout Russia, including worker strikes, peasant unrest and military mutinies. Soviets were set up in Saint Petersburg and Moscow, with revolutionary socialist Leon Trotsky leading the former. The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), under influence of Vladimir Lenin's radical Bolsheviks saw the revolution as an opportunity to overthrow the tsardom and establish a socialist state, but the revolutionaries were eventually crushed much to the dismay of Lenin. The October Manifesto resulted in the adoption of the Russian Constitution of 1906, which nominally ended the Emperor's absolute control over the empire. The State Duma was set up as a democratically-elected parliament and nominally Nicholas shared power with the Duma, but in reality the Duma was often dissolved by Nicholas if he considered its political makeup unsavory.

Powderkeg of Europe & World War I

Otto von Bismarck commented that "the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans". Indeed, disputes over territorial claims and spheres of influence made war in the region inevitable, as Russian and Austrian claims to spheres of influence overlapped. In 1908, following Bulgaria's declaration of independence, Austria-Hungary announced the annexation of the territory of Bosnia, which was legally considered part of the Ottoman Empire but under occupation by Austria since 1878. The unilateral annexation soured already poor relations between Russia, Austria, and Germany and led to the already unstable Balkan powderkeg being at increased threat of ignition. In 1912, just 10 days before the end of the Italo-Turkish War, a coalition consisting of Serbia, Template:Tsardom of Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro declared war on the ailing Ottoman Empire and soundly defeated them, costing the Ottomans nearly all of their European territories which were partitioned between the victors. Serbian and Bulgarian territorial disputes, in particular in the region of Macedonia resulted in hostilities between Bulgaria and its two former allies to resume in 1913. The war resulted in a Bulgarian defeat and they were forced to concede many of their territorial gains from the previous war. Victory over Bulgaria sparked nationalism in the Balkans, particularly in Serbia who was influenced by the nascent Yugoslav movement along with tensions over the annexation of Bosnia resulted in great European tension coming out of the Balkans, as Serbia- supported by Russia, sought to unify all Serbs outside of its territory at the expense of the Austrians.

On 28 June 1914, the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were asssassinated by Bosnian Serb nationalist Gavrilo Princip. The loss of yet another one of his heirs resulted in Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph declaring war on Serbia a month after Ferdinand's assassination.