Cheka established as political police

The Congress of Soviets issued the Decree on Peace, proposing negotiations without annexations or indemnities and urging peoples and governments to end the war. Its language appealed to soldiers and...

The Land Decree sanctioned the seizure of landed estates and the redistribution of land according to local peasant practice. It drew on peasant resolutions and met a long-standing demand against...

The new government declared equality and sovereignty for the peoples of Russia, a right to free self-determination up to separation, abolition of national and religious privilege, and free development...

The Central Rada’s Third Universal proclaimed the Ukrainian People’s Republic in a federal relationship with a future Russian republic. Ukrainian political leaders asserted national agency amid...

Sovnarkom recognized Finland’s independence after its declaration of separation from Russia. The decision gave practical expression to the proclaimed right of national self-determination, although the...

The Council of People’s Commissars decreed the organization of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army. The force drew on volunteers and, increasingly, conscription and former imperial officers. Its...

The elected Constituent Assembly met in Petrograd (18 January Julian; 31 January Gregorian) after the Bolsheviks performed poorly in the national vote, particularly outside major cities. When it...

The Bolshevik government signed a harsh peace treaty with the Central Powers, ceding or relinquishing extensive western territories and populations. The treaty fulfilled the promise to end Russia’s...

The Seventh Party Congress renamed the Bolshevik organization the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks). The change reflected the party’s claim to lead an international socialist transformation after...

The Soviet government transferred the capital from Petrograd to Moscow, citing military vulnerability and logistical concerns. The move shifted the state’s political center inland and placed Moscow at...