POLITICAL PARTIES

KEY DATES AND EVENTS INVOLVING POLITICAL PARTIES ACROSS THE WHOLE TIME PERIOD. TAKEN FROM REVISION BOOKLET

Populist Land and Liberty split into Black Partition and Peoples Will

1876

Formation of Russian Social Democratic Labour Party

1898

Formation of Socialist Revolutionaries

1900

Split between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks and Brussels and London Congresses

1903

October Manifesto and acceptance of political parties by Nick II

1905

Fundamental Laws

1906

Parties legalised:

SRs

Kadets and Octobrists

Union of Russian Men (right)

Union of Russian people

1906

Kadets and Srs confronted government in first duma

1906

Kadets and SRs in conflict with second duma

1907

change in electoral system reduced size of left in duma

1907

all left wing parties opposed involvement in WW1

1915

Formation of Progressive Bloc by Kadets and Octobrists

1915

Influence of SRs and Mensheviks on Revolution

Formation of Petrograd Soviet

March 1917

Lenin returns to Petrograd

April 1917

Failure of Bolshevik inspired uprising against Provisional Government

July 1917

Growing Strength of Bolsheviks

August to October 1917

Bolshevik majorities in Petrograd and Moscow soviets

Bolsheviks seized power

October 1917

Lenin dissolves Constituent assembly

January 1918

Cheka and show trials against SRs and Mensheviks

1921

Constitution unnofficially dominated by Communist Party of Soviet Union

1924

Stalin established personal control of CPSU and purges former Bolsheviks

1929-41

Politburo and Central Commitee rarely meet

1945-53

Khrushchev destalination campaign begins

1956

Official removal of references to Stalin - gaps filled by reference to ‘the Party’

1957