Timeline

Pre-1721 country was the Duchy of Moscow
1721 the Russian Empire (or Imperial Russia) was governed by Russian emperors known as "Tsars", Tsars all believed that they were chosen by God to lead Russia and maintain absolute power over the people which was not shared at all.
March 1917 country was declared the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR) after the Russian Revolution when the people took over and eventually introduced communism.
Dec. 1922 The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was officially created. This was the union of Russia (or Bolshevist Russia), Ukraine, Belaruse, and Transcaucasian soviet republics ruled by the communist Bolshevik parties

1825 Decembrist Revolt

1861 “serfdom” was removed – but the way it was done did not favour the peasants (who were mostly poor agricultural workers), and meant that people wanted change (revolutionaries)

1905 Russian Revolution

1906 a type of parliament (legislative assembly) was created called the State Duma 

TheTsar did not approve of people trying to move from absolute to constitutional monarchy. 

Rebellion continued and was aggravated during World War I by failure and food shortages in popular cities.

1917 the Russian people chose to get rid of the Tsar. The bad conditions that people were forced to work under in the factories and a food shortage, which people blamed on the Tsar, caused people to rebel and cities were faced with riots (e.g. St Petersburg and Moscow). 

late 1917 the Tsar was forced to abdicate and was assassinated with his family. 

Nov.7 1917 the Bolshevik Party, led by Lenin, seized control and established the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR). 

1918 Civil war broke out between Lenin's "Red" army and various "White" forces and lasted until 1920, when, despite foreign interventions and a war with Poland, the Bolsheviks triumphed. After the Red army conquered Ukraine, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, a new nation, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed in 1922.

1922 the Russian Empire became part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) when the communist government took over.