The Russian Revolution was a sequence of two major developments that first ended tsarist power in the Russian Empire and later paved the way to the formation of the Soviet Union. Pressure on the ruling Romanov dynasty had accumulated for decades fueled by disparate grievances by a middle class longing for more freedoms, a rising industrial class clamoring for more power, and an impoverished peasantry longing for land, food, and a decent existence. These latent grievances already exploded in a limited form in 1905, catalyzed by Russia's defeat by Japan. At that time the unrest could be pacified by a major constitutional reform that among other changes instituted a multi-party system that would pass lass in the newly established parliament - The Duma.

However that stopgap did not prove enough. Russia's disastrous experience in WWI created tensions of an unprecedented degree, which eventually upended the entire system. In March of 1917 the February Revolution (so-called based on the old calendar) started in the capital - St. Petersburg (called Petrograd at the time). As a result the monarchy was deposed as the state Duma assumed control and a Provincial Government was formed. However alongside the Provisional Government, various Socialist militias and Socialist councils (called Soviets) also wielded real power in many parts of the country. The tension between these dual forces came to a head in the October Revolution (in November of course) when the Bolsheviks seized power from the Provisional Government through an armed insurrection. These events lead to a bitter civil war between the Bolsheviks and their allies (the Reds) and their opposition (broadly called the Whites). Eventually the Reds emerged victorious, leading to the rise of single party state, namely the Communist USSR emerging from the ashes.

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