Nicholas II became the last Tsar of Russia. His empire was huge but unstable — the country was poor, and people demanded change

First major uprising against the Tsarist regime.

Leads to the creation of the Duma (parliament), though limited in power.

Russia enters the war on the Allied side.

Enormous casualties and economic collapse accelerate unrest.

Tsar Nicholas II abdicates.

Bolshevik Party seizes power under Vladimir Lenin.

Beginning of communist rule.

Reds (Bolsheviks) vs Whites (anti-communists).

Ends with Bolshevik victory and foundation of a socialist state.

1939: Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between USSR and Nazi Germany.

1941: Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union.

1945: USSR emerges as one of the victors, occupies Eastern Europe.

Europe is divided into East (Soviet sphere) and West (U.S./Western Europe).

Iron Curtain falls across the continent.

Soviet tanks crush uprising in Hungary.

Shows the strength of Soviet control in Eastern Europe.

The world comes close to nuclear war.

Shows USSR’s global influence during the Cold War.

End of the USSR.

Europe enters a new era with independent Eastern European states and the Russian Federation.