Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution (Russian: Pусская Pеволюция, tr. Russkaya Revolyutsiya), sometimes known as the May Revolution (Russian: Майской Pеволюции, tr. Mayskoy Revolyutsii) was the overthrow of the Russian Empire and its replacement by the Soviet Union.

Protests
The leadup to the Revolution began in March 1918 following the return of prominent Soviet communists, including Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky, Bukharin, Kamenev, and Zinoviev from the Switzerland Congress of Bolsheviks in Geneva. The members of the party returned to various cities to stir up trouble. Protests escalated throughout March and April in European Russia and particularly the non-Russian territories of Finland, Poland, and Ukraine. They were escalated by a food shortage, forcing Russia to import barley, wheat, and potatoes.

Riots and Conflict
Food riots began in Moscow on May 1st when starving protestors seized control of the Kremlin and Saint Basil's Cathedral, then Bolshevik militia fought off Russian Imperial troops when they attempted to seize the city. Similar riots began in Tiflis, Warsaw, and Tsaritsyn from May 2nd to May 14th; by May 20th, major riots were occuring in most cities. The Tsar fled from Petrograd to Norilsk.

The Red Army quickly gained control of Muscovy, Poland, and the Baltic States. After the cossacks switched sides, the Dniper, Volga, Don, and Lena River valleys fell to the "Reds" as the "Whites" struggled to hold onto Finland, Ingria, and Siberia. Denmark attempted to send aid in June but failed to due to indecision and confusion before Helsinki and Petrograd, the last major White ports, fell.

On October 30th, Tsar Nikolai surrendered himself to Red forces near Yekaterinburg. He signed a peace treaty with Vladimir Lenin on November 14, ending the Russian Revolution.