In 1881, Russian Emperor Alexander II was assassinated by left-wing terrorists in St.Petersburg.
Today, the place where he was fatally wounded is marked by the magnificent Church of the
Saviour on Spilled Blood.
Alexander II had been a reformer, hailed as 'the Liberator' for freeing Russia's serfs.
But his son and successor, Alexander III, believed his father's reforms had unleashed
dangerous forces within Russia, that ultimately led to his death.
As Emperor, he publicly vowed to reassert autocratic rule, declaring that, 'in the midst
of our great grief, the voice of God orders us to undertake courageously the task of ruling,
with faith in the strength and rightness of autocratic power.'
The Tsar's secret police, the so-called 'Okhranka', was ordered to infiltrate Russia's many revolutionary
groups.
Those found guilty of plotting against the government were hanged or sent into 'internal
exile' in Siberia.
Alexander III was a pious man, who supported the Orthodox church, and the assertion of
a strong Russian national identity.
Russia's Jews became victims of this policy.
They'd already been targeted in murderous race riots known as 'pogroms', after false
rumours were spread that they were responsible for the assassination of the emperor.
Now the government expelled 20,000 Jews from Moscow, and many who could began to leave
the country.
Over the next 40 years, around two million Jews would leave Russia, most bound for the
USA.
Concerned by the growing power of Germany, Russia signed an alliance with France, both
sides promising military aid if the other was attacked.
Sergei Witte was appointed Russia's new Minister of Finance.
His reforms helped to modernise the Russian economy, and encourage foreign investment
– particularly from its new ally, France.
French loans helped Russia to develop its industry and infrastructure:
Work began on the Trans-Siberian railway.
Completed in 1916, it remains the world's longest railway line, running 5,772 miles
from Moscow to Vladivostok.
Alexander III was succeeded by his son Nicholas II.
His coronation was marred by tragedy, when 1,400 people were crushed to death at an open-air
celebration in Moscow.
China granted Russia the right to build a naval base at Port Arthur.
When China faced a major revolt known as the Boxer Rebellion, Russia moved troops into
Manchuria, under the pretext of defending Port Arthur from the rebels.
This brought Russia into conflict with Japan, who also had designs over Manchuria, and Korea.
The Japanese made a surprise attack on Port Arthur, then defeated the Russian army at
the giant Battle of Mukden.
Russia's Baltic Fleet, meanwhile, had sailed half-way around the world to reach the Pacific...
where it was immediately annihilated at the Battle of Tsushima.
Russia was left with no option but to sign a humiliating peace, brokered by US President
Theodore Roosevelt.
Meanwhile the Tsar faced another crisis much closer to home.
In St.Petersburg, a strike by steel-workers had escalated, and plans were made for a mass
demonstration.
Tens of thousands of protesters marched to the Winter Palace to present a petition to
the Tsar, asking for better workers' rights and more political freedom.
But instead, troops opened fire on the crowds, killing more than 100.
'Bloody Sunday', as it became known, led to more strikes and unrest across the country.
The crew of the battleship Potemkin mutinied, killing their officers and taking control
of the ship.
To defuse the crisis, Nicholas II reluctantly issued the October Manifesto, drafted under
the supervision of Sergei Witte.
It promised an elected assembly and new political rights, including freedom of speech, and was
welcomed by most moderates.
Russia's first constitution was drafted the next year.
For the first time, the Tsar would share power with an elected assembly, the state duma – though
the Tsar had the right to veto its legislation, and dissolve it at any time.
Sergei Witte finally lost the Tsar's confidence, and was dismissed.
The Tsar's new Prime Minister, Stolypin, introduced land reforms to help the peasants, while dealing
severely with Russia's would-be revolutionaries.
So much so, that the hangman's noose got a new nickname - 'Stolypin's necktie'.
But having survived several attempts on his life, Stolypin was shot and killed by an assassin
at the Kiev Opera House.
Meanwhile, Grigori Rasputin, a Siberian faith healer, had joined the Imperial family's inner
circle, thanks to his unique ability to ease the suffering of the Tsar's haemophiliac son,
Alexei.
Despite sporadic acts of terrorism, Russia now had the fastest growing economy in Europe.
Agricultural and industrial output were on the rise.
Most ordinary Russians remained loyal to the Tsar and his family.
Russia's future seemed bright.
In 1914, in Sarajevo, a Slav nationalist assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian
throne, sparking a European crisis.
When Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, Emperor Nicholas ordered the Russian army
to mobilise, to show his support for a fellow Slav nation.
Austria-Hungary's ally, Germany, saw Russian mobilisation as a threat, and declared war.
Europe's network of alliances came into effect, and soon all the major powers were marching
to war.
World War One had begun.
Russia experienced a wave of patriotic fervour.
The capital, St.Petersburg, was even renamed Petrograd, to sound less German.
An early Russian advance into East Prussia ended with heavy defeats at Tannenberg and
the Masurian Lakes.
There was greater success against Austria-Hungary, but that too came at a high price.
Russian losses forced the army to make a general retreat in 1915.
In 1916, Russia's Brusilov Offensive against Austro-Hungarian forces was one of the most
successful Allied attacks of the war.
But losses were so heavy, that the Russian army was unable to launch any more major operations.
In Petrograd, Rasputin, whose alleged influence over the Tsar's family was despised by certain
Russian aristocrats, was murdered, possibly with the help of British agents.
The war put intolerable strains on Russia.
At the front, losses were enormous.
While in the cities, economic mismanagement led to rising prices and food shortages.
In Petrograd, the workers' frustration led to strikes and demonstrations.
Troops ordered to disperse the crowds refused, and joined the protesters instead.
The government had lost control of the capital.
On board the imperial train at Pskov, senior politicians and generals told the Emperor
he must abdicate, or Russia would descend into anarchy, and lose the war.
Nicholas accepted their advice, and renounced the throne in favour of his brother, Grand
Duke Michael, who, effectively, declined the offer.
300 years of Romanov rule were at an end.
Russia was now a republic.
A Provisional Government took power, but could not halt Russia's slide into economic and
military chaos.
Meanwhile, workers, soldiers and peasants elected their own councils, known as 'soviets'.
The Petrograd Soviet was so powerful, it was effectively a rival government, especially
as discontent with the Provisional Government continued to grow.
The Bolsheviks, under Vladimir Lenin, attracted growing support, with their radical proposals
for an immediate end to the war, the redistribution of land, and transfer of power to the soviets.
In October, they launched a coup, masterminded by Leon Trotsky.
Bolshevik Red Guards stormed the Winter Palace, where the Provisional Government met, and
arrested its members.
Lenin and the Bolsheviks were now in charge.
Russia had been thrown upon a bold and dangerous course - under a Marxist-inspired revolutionary
party, it would now seek to create the world's first communist state.
But first, it would have to survive the chaos and slaughter of one of history's bloodiest
civil wars.
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