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| 1893 |
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| The government abrogated clauses in the Emancipation Edict permitting peasants to leave communes. | 1 |
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| 1894 |
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| Nicholas II, tsar. | 2 |
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| 1895 |
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| Alexander Popov invented the radio (shortly before Marconi). | 3 |
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| 1897 |
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| A law limited the workday in factories with more than 20 employees. | 4 |
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| 1898 |
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| The Social Democratic Party was formed among the industrial workers. Marxism had been introduced into Russia by Georgy Plekhanov, whose fairly moderate program was, however, soon to be challenged by the more radical wing under the leadership of Lenin (Vladimir I. Ulianov). Lenin was the son of a school inspector and the brother of a prominent terrorist who was executed in 1887 for plotting against the life of the tsar. Lenin himself spent several years in exile in Siberia, but after his escape he became one of the most energetic and uncompromising champions of the workers. The socialists were obliged to operate from abroad (especially from Switzerland). | 5 |
| Appearance of The World of Art, a seminal periodical considered to be a cause of the cultural explosion called the “silver age.” | 6 |
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| 1901 |
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| Organization of the Social Revolutionary Party, which took its inspiration from the earlier populist movement. This party, to which many students adhered, was concerned chiefly with the peasant problem and advocated the nationalization of the land. Its methods were those of terrorism, and the years following its birth were marked by an increasing number of assassinations. | 7 |
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| 1901–3 |
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| Sergei Vasilyevich Zubatov, chief of Moscow's public security, founded, with others, the Society of Mutual Help for workers in mechanical production. Under police protection, this society flourished, and similar legal trade unions were established in Minsk, Odessa, and St. Petersburg. Zubatov was able to maintain control of the movement in Moscow, but elsewhere the unions got out of control and were used for revolutionary purposes. In 1903 the government withdrew its protection, and Zubatov was dismissed. | 8 |
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| 1902 |
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| A metallurgical syndicate was formed, demonstrating the development of a small capitalist class as industrialization progressed. This was followed in 1904 by a coal syndicate. | 9 |
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| 1903 |
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| Law on labor insurance, holding employers responsible for work-related accidents. | 10 |
| The Social Democratic Party split during a party congress in London. The result was two groups: the Mensheviks (moderates) and the Bolsheviks (extremists). | 11 |
| The formation of the Union of Liberation created a third opposition party, at the time the most important one. This group consisted largely of intellectuals, members of the liberal professions, and zemstvo workers. Its program called for a liberal constitution. | 12 |
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| 1904–5 |
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| RUSSIAN-JAPANESE WAR (See 1904, Feb. 8). This was the direct result of the aggressive Russian policy in the Far East: construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway (1891–1903), intervention after the Sino-Japanese War (1895), treaty with China (1896) and penetration of northern Manchuria, interference in Korea, lease of Port Arthur (1898), occupation of Manchuria after the Boxer Insurrection (1900–3), and activity of Russian interests in northern Korea. Repeated efforts of the Japanese to reach an agreement were treated with disdain by the Russians, so that the lengthy negotiations ended in the outbreak of hostilities (Feb. 8, 1904). The Russians were consistently defeated (Battle of Liaoyand, Aug. 1904; Battle of Sha-ho, Oct. 1904; fall of Port Arthur, Jan. 1905; Battle of Mukden, Feb. 23–March 10, 1905; naval disaster at Tsushima, May 27, 1905). The government was wholly discredited, and popular protest became ever greater. | 13 |
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| 1904, July 28 |
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| Assassination of Viacheslav Plehve, the ruthless but able minister of the interior. This event induced the government to attempt a policy of conciliation, represented by Prince Sviatopolk-Mirsky, but it proved to be too late for halfway measures, and the relaxation of repression gave the opposition better opportunities for organization and expression. | 14 |
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| Nov |
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| A great zemstvo congress met at St. Petersburg and demanded the convocation of a representative assembly and the granting of civil liberties. Similar demands were advanced by numerous other groups and by the professional classes. | 15 |
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