AutocracyAutocracy is a system of government in which absolute power is held by the ruler, known as an autocrat. It includes most forms of monarchy and dictatorship, while it is contrasted with democracy and feudalism. Various definitions of autocracy exist. They may restrict autocracy to a single individual, or they may also apply autocracy to a group of rulers who wield absolute power. The autocrat has total control over the exercise of civil liberties within the autocracy, choosing under what circumstances they may be exercised, if at all.
BolsheviksThe Bolsheviks (Большевики́, from большинство́ boľšinstvó, 'majority') were a far-left, revolutionary Marxist faction founded by Vladimir Lenin that split with the Mensheviks from the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), a revolutionary socialist political party formed in 1898, at its Second Party Congress in 1903. After forming their own party in 1912, the Bolsheviks took power during the October Revolution in the Russian Republic in November 1917, overthrowing the Provisional Government of Alexander Kerensky, and became the only ruling party in the subsequent Soviet Russia and later the Soviet Union.
Russian Orthodox ChurchThe Russian Orthodox Church (ROC; Russkaja pravoslavnaja cerkov’, abbreviated as РПЦ), alternatively legally known as the Moscow Patriarchate (Moskovský patriarhat), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian church. It has 194 dioceses inside Russia. The primate of the ROC is the Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus'. The Christianization of Kievan Rus' commenced in 988 with the baptism of the Rus' Grand Prince of Kiev—Vladimir the Great—and his people by the clergy of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople.
Nicholas I of RussiaNicholas I ( – ) was Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I. Nicholas's reign began with the failed Decembrist revolt. He is mainly remembered in history as a reactionary whose controversial reign was marked by geographical expansion, centralisation of administrative policies and repression of dissent. Nicholas had a happy marriage that produced a large family; all of their seven children survived childhood.
Russian EmpireThe Russian Empire, also known as Imperial Russia, was the final period of the Russian monarchy from its proclamation in November 1721, until its dissolution in late 1917. It consisted of most of northern Eurasia. The Empire succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad. The rise of the Russian Empire coincided with the decline of neighbouring rival powers: the Swedish Empire, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Qajar Iran, the Ottoman Empire, and Qing China.
Absolute monarchyAbsolute monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in his or her own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power. These are often hereditary monarchies. On the other hand, in constitutional monarchies, in which the authority of the head of state is also bound or restricted by the constitution, a legislature, or unwritten customs, the king or queen is not the only one to decide, and his or her entourage also exercises power, mainly the prime minister.
