Russian Revolution timeline 1906-1913

This Russian Revolution timeline lists significant events and developments in tsarist Russia, from 1906 to 1913. This timeline has been written and compiled by Alpha History authors. Note: Russia used the Julian or Old Style calendar until January 24th 1918, when this system was replaced by the Gregorian or New Style calendar. Dates in this calendar are Julian or Old Style before January 24th 1918 and Gregorian or New Style thereafter. To convert Old Style dates to New Style dates, add 13 days (for example, October 26th 1917 O.S. becomes November 8th N.S.)

1906

January 9th-19th: Another uprising in Vladivostok. The rebels declare an independent republic but are eventually overrun by tsarist forces.
January 10th: Witte informs Nicholas II that the revolution in the cities has been brought under control.
January 16th: Radical SR Maria Spiridonova assassinates Luzhenovsky, a vice-governor of the Tambov region.
January 28th: Bolshevik agents firebomb a hotel in St Petersburg frequented by pro-tsarist conservatives.
February 18th: The tsarist regime announces harsh new punishments for anti-government propaganda or advertising.
March 4th: The government grants workers the right to join or form unions, however they are denied the right to strike.
April 23rd: Nicholas II issues the Fundamental Laws, a constitution reasserting his autocratic power and reneging on the promises made in the October Manifesto.
April 26th: Piotr Stolypin is appointed minister of the interior.
April 27th: The first Duma meets in St Petersburg. Its ranks are dominated by liberals, particularly the Kadets. Socialists like the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks boycott the Duma and do not stand candidates.
May 13th: The Duma calls on the tsarist government to ratify democratic reforms; Goremykin, the tsar’s prime minister, says the Duma has no authority to make such demands.
June 3rd: Three days of anti-Semitic violence in Bialystok ends, with more than 800 Jews killed, some by tsarist forces sent to restore order.
July 7th: Stolypin replaces Goremykin as prime minister.
July 8th: Government forces move into the Tauride Palace. After weeks of anti-government criticism and demands for further reform in the Duma, the tsar prorogues (dissolves) it.
July 10th: The Kadets draft and pass the Vyborg Manifesto, calling on the Russian people to engage in passive resistance to the tsarist government. Stolypin orders a raid on the Kadet headquarters the following day.
July 17th-29th: More mutinies break out at the military bases at Sveaborg and Kronstadt.
August 12th: Stolypin begins his program of agrarian reforms by forming a ‘land bank’ for affluent peasants.
August 12th: An SR assassination attempt on Stolypin at his home kills 30 other people.
September 29th: Members of the St Petersburg Soviet go on trial; by early November most have been given long sentences in exile in Siberia, including Trotsky.
October 13th: Rasputin makes his first unaccompanied visit to the Romanov family, where he prays with the tsar and tsarina and spends time with their children.
November 9th: Stolypin decrees that communal peasant lands may now be purchased by private buyers, a move designed to facilitate an increase in the kulak class of peasants.
December 21st: General von der Launitis, the governor-general of St Petersburg, is assassinated by the SR.

1907

February 20th: The second Duma opens. Among its numbers are many socialist representatives, including SRs, Mensheviks and 18 Bolshevik deputies.
June 1st: Tsarist police arrest left-wing politicians and activists in St Petersburg.
June 3rd: The second Duma is dissolved by Nicholas II, after several weeks of criticism and inflammatory speeches.
June 3rd: Stolypin alters the electoral law prior to elections for the third Duma, reducing representation of peasants, workers and national minorities.
June 13th: Bolsheviks hold up a train in the Georgian city of Tiflis, stealing more than 340,000 roubles and killing dozens of people.
July: The tsarevich, Alexei, suffered a life-threatening haemophiliac ‘bleed’; his suffering is eased after a visit from Rasputin.
September 1st: Elections for the third Duma commence.
November 1st: The opening of the third Duma. The new Duma is dominated by land-owners and conservatives; socialists and liberals occupy fewer than 100 seats.

1908

January 7th: Chased by the tsarist police, Lenin flees Russia and returns to exile in Switzerland.
May 3rd: The tsarist government introduces a program for universal and compulsory primary education, to be implemented over the course of a decade.

1909

May: The Fifth Congress of the SR party endorses its support for anti-tsarist terrorism and worker and peasant uprisings.
August 27th
: Bolsheviks hold up a train in the Urals, capturing 24 kilograms of gold and a large amount of cash.
December 8th: Karpov, the police chief of St Petersburg, is assassinated by an SR bomb.

1911

January 11th: The government attempts to outlaw student demonstrations, leading to a wave of unrest and strikes in universities.
March: Rasputin is temporarily banished by the tsar, who is angered by press reports about Rasputin’s drinking and womanising.
July 21st: The arrest of Menahem Beilis, a Russian Jew accused of the ritual murder of a child. Beilis’ trial exposes Russian anti-Semitism to the world.
September 1st: Stolypin is shot at the theatre by Bogrov, reportedly a police agent or informer.
September 5th: Stolypin dies of his injuries. The government suppresses information about his assassin.
September 6th: Vladimir Kokovstoff is appointed prime minister.

1912

January 1st: Still in exile, Lenin expresses doubts about whether he will “live to see another revolution”.
January 17th: A Bolshevik conference in Prague rejects talk of a reunification with the Mensheviks and reconstitutes the Bolsheviks as a separate political party.
January 27th: Rasputin leaves St Petersburg for two months, after affectionate letters between him and the tsarina are leaked to the press.
March 1st: Strikes break out on the Lena River goldfields in Siberia, chiefly over high prices and poor quality goods in the company canteens.
March 9th: As the Lena River strikes enter their second week, negotiations between the company and striking workers break down.
March 9th: The Duma condemns Rasputin’s behaviour, his closeness to the royal family and his political influence.
April 4th: Government troops arrest strike leaders in Lena River, leading to workers to march en masse. Troops fire on the marchers, killing more than 200. This triggers more strikes in other parts of Russia.
August 12th: Trotsky organises a meeting of non-Bolshevik Social Democrats in Vienna, another attempt to reconcile the Bolshevik and Menshevik factions of the party.
October 11th: The young tsarevich recovers from another life-threatening episode of haemophilia, with Rasputin again at his bedside.
November 15th: The opening of the fourth Duma.


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This page was written by Jennifer Llewellyn, John Rae and Steve Thompson. To reference this page, use the following citation:
J. Llewellyn et al, “Russian Revolution timeline 1906-1913” at Alpha History, https://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution/russian-revolution-timeline-1906-1913/, 2014, accessed [date of last access].