World Revolutions at a Glance

The Russian Revolution of 1917 is also called the Bolshevik Revolution or the October Revolution.

French Revolution
French Revolution also called Revolution of 1789, the revolutionary movement that shook France between 1787 and 1799 and reached its first climax there in 1789. Hence the conventional term “Revolution of 1789,” denoted the end of the ancient régime in France and serving also to distinguish that event from the later French revolutions of 1830 and 1848.



Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution of 1917 is also called the Bolshevik Revolution or the October Revolution. In 1917 there were actually two revolutions in Russia. One was the February Revolution in which the Tsar abdicated his throne and the Provisional Government took power. The other was the October Revolution in which the Provisional Government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks.

Chinese Revolution
Series of great political upheavals in China between 1911 and 1949 which eventually led to Communist Party rule and the establishment of the People's Republic of China. In 1912, a nationalist revolt overthrew the imperial Manchu dynasty.


The 1949 Chinese Revolution was a transformative, epochal event, not only for the Chinese but for the rest of humanity, as well.  If the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution in Russia (that resulted in the creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or Soviet Union) inaugurated an international competition for the hearts and minds of people all over the globe, the Chinese revolution raised the stakes of that struggle.


Iranian Revolution
Between 1953 and 1963 much poverty remained among the Iranian people, and the gap between the rich and poor grew. There was talk of the oligarchy of one thousand families. One of the great landowners was the Shah (king), Muhammad Reza Pahlavi. Another was the Shia clerical establishment, which had acquired land through religious endowments. But under the Pahlavi dynasty, secularism increased and the power and influence of Shia scholars decreased, and the Shah allied himself with secularists in conflict with Muslims who held traditionalist values on such matters as tobacco, alcohol, movies, gambling and foreign dress.