The Russian Revolution
The first attempt to build a communist society
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The February Revolution removed the tsar; the October Revolution brought Lenin and the Bolsheviks to power. The Soviet Union carried out breakneck industrialisation and sharply raised literacy and life expectancy, at a cost that included forced collectivisation, famines killing millions, and an extensive camp system. The model was exported to China, Eastern Europe, Cuba and Vietnam, and the ideological conflict with the West defined international politics from 1945 to 1991.
For children
Hungry and war-weary Russians first overthrew the tsar, and later that year the Bolsheviks seized power. They wanted to build a society without rich and poor, where the state owned everything. The attempt lasted 74 years and shaped the whole 20th century.
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Part of Terra Saga — the story of Earth on a timeline. terrasaga.org