Union and Liberty for the "Glorius Mother Russia"?
The Great War was the by far largest catastrophe for the Russian Empire since the Crimean War, leaving roughly 3.1 million people dead. However the general populace profited from this disaster: The revolution caused by the bad military performance and the overall dangerous political situation in Russia ended the autocratic regime of the Czar and a Republican government was proclaimed by the provisional Prime Minister Mikhail Tereshchenko on the 25rd October 1917 in Petrograd after intense talks with the Petrograd Soviet and its president Nikolay Chkheidze, resulting in the creation of the two parts of the new Russian parliament: the Soviet (the Lower House) and the United Russian Senate (the Upper House).
But the political change came with large costs: Radical Bolsheviks would terrorize the country for many years and furthermore the new government of the Republic of Russia had to let go of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus, as well as Livonia (consisting out of large parts of the Riga Governate) and Finland in the Baltic after they declared independence and were supported by many of Russia's former allies and neighbours. But Russia was able to keep most of its territories and in order to appease the remaining ethnic minorities the young republic created the Autonomous Republics of Georgia, Estonia, Ukraine, White Ruthenia, Alash, Bessarabia and Southern Turkestan.
But the political change came with large costs: Radical Bolsheviks would terrorize the country for many years and furthermore the new government of the Republic of Russia had to let go of Armenia and Azerbaijan in the Caucasus, as well as Livonia (consisting out of large parts of the Riga Governate) and Finland in the Baltic after they declared independence and were supported by many of Russia's former allies and neighbours. But Russia was able to keep most of its territories and in order to appease the remaining ethnic minorities the young republic created the Autonomous Republics of Georgia, Estonia, Ukraine, White Ruthenia, Alash, Bessarabia and Southern Turkestan.
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