The Russian Revolution was one of the most significant events of the 20th century, transforming Russia from a monarchy ruled by Tsar Nicholas II into the world’s first communist state. It unfolded in two stages in 1917, beginning with the February Revolution that overthrew the tsar and ending with the October Revolution that brought Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks to power. The revolution led directly to the Russian Civil War, the rise of Joseph Stalin, and the formation of the Soviet Union, which would go on to shape global politics for decades.