By 1917, Russia was bleeding from World War I, with soldiers starving and workers rioting. Tsar Nicholas II clung to power, but the people demanded change. Protests swelled into revolution, leading to the Tsar's abdication.

Then, Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks seized power with the promise of "Peace, Land, Bread." This near-bloodless coup plunged Russia into civil war but birthed the world's first self-proclaimed socialist state, sending shockwaves that reshaped global politics for the ne...