Dissolution of the Russian Empire

Fall of the Russian Empire

Part of the World War I and the Revolutions of 1917–1923
Map of Europe in 1919
Date	8 March 1917 – 30 December 1922 (1917-03-08 – 1922-12-30) (5 years, 9 month, and 22 days)
Location	All-Russian Empire breakaway states: →Russian Republic →Finland →Estonia →Latvia →Lithuania →Poland →Ukraine →Georgia →Armenia →Azerbaijan →Don Republic →Far Eastern Republic unrecognized breakaway states:
Participants	Emperor of all the Russias Triple Entente Russian Provisional Government Russian Constituent Assembly Black Hundreds and White movement Petrograd Soviet, Bolsheviks, Cheka, Red Guards (Red Guards (Finland), Red Cossacks, Red Latvian Riflemen) "National outskirts" (inorodtsy) of the Russian Empire
Outcome	Dissolution of the Russian Empire and establishment of the Bolshevik dictatorship (officially Dictatorship of Proletariat) Establishment of the Soviet Union between four Soviet "republics" Replacement of traditional estates of the realm with Bolshevik counterpart led by Politburo and the Vozhd discriminating politically against all opposing the new regime Numerous military conflicts and ethnic clashes unfold during and after the dissolution, provoking humanitarian crises and leaving many internally displaced Breakaway states declare multi-party presidential or semi-presidential systems End of World War I and start of Russian Civil War Irredenta war of Russian Bolsheviks under slogan of "World Revolution" Destruction of Black Sea Fleet End of the Pale of Settlement Pogroms in the Russian Empire

The Russian Empire, also known as Russia, disintegrated as the result of the Russian Revolution which started in 1917 and the abdication of Nicholas II, and the defeat of Russia in World War I. The Russian Civil War began shortly after the Bolsheviks seized power in October 1917.

The revolution erupted from widespread dissatisfaction with Tsar Nicholas II's autocratic rule and was worsened by economic hardships and social inequalities. Nicholas II abdicated in March 1917, leading to the establishment of a provisional government that struggled to maintain control amidst ongoing unrest.

Amidst the situation, numerous regions and ethnic groups within the empire declared their independence;

• Independence of Finland
• Heimosodat
• Second Polish Republic
• Ukraine after the Russian Revolution
• Estonian War of Independence
• Latvian War of Independence
• Lithuanian Wars of Independence
• Georgian Independence
• Declaration of Independence of Armenia (1918)
• Declaration of Independence of Azerbaijan

See also

• Dissolution of the Soviet Union
• Pro-independence movements in the Russian Civil War
• First World War

Further reading

• Edmund A. Walsh. "The Fall of the Russian Empire: The End of the Monarchy". www.theatlantic.com. (FEBRUARY 1928 ISSUE) ISBN 9781494097554
• Philip Longworth. "Russia's Empires Their Rise and Fall: from Prehistory to Putin". John Murray, 2005 ISBN 9780719562044
• Pavel Miliukov. "The Russian Revolution". Academic Press, 1978