1917
March 15: Tsar Nicholas II abdicates, ending three centuries of Romanov rule. The Provisional Government takes power but faces immediate challenges from the Petrograd Soviet and workers' councils.
April 3: Lenin returns to Petrograd from exile, delivering his April Theses, calling for "peace, land, and bread" and urging the overthrow of the Provisional Government.
July 16-17: The "July Days" protests erupt, but are suppressed. Bolshevik leaders, including Lenin, go into hiding.
November 7: The October Revolution begins. Bolsheviks seize control of Petrograd and overthrow the Provisional Government. The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) is proclaimed.
1918
January 5: The Constituent Assembly is dissolved by the Bolsheviks after one day, solidifying Bolshevik control.
March 3: The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk is signed with Germany, ending Russia's involvement in World War I but ceding significant territory to the Central Powers.
June: The Red Army is formally established to defend the revolution against counter-revolutionary forces.
July 17: Tsar Nicholas II and his family are executed by Bolshevik forces in Yekaterinburg.
August: The first rumors of strange occurrences emerge in remote Ural villages. Locals report strange illnesses and inexplicable deaths, dismissed as rural superstition.
September 2: In Finland, nationalist forces seize the opportunity presented by Russian chaos, proclaiming independence and establishing the Finnish Senate, later evolving into the foundation of "Greater Finland."
October-November: Skirmishes between Red and White forces intensify. Reports from Siberia and the Volga region suggest unexplained disappearances of entire units, attributed to desertion or mismanagement.
1919
February: White Army General Kolchak's forces push deep into Red territory. Amid the chaos, tales of "the risen dead" begin to spread among retreating soldiers.
April 19: A Red Army detachment near Kazan encounters what survivors describe as ‘infected’ individuals attacking indiscriminately. This is dismissed by higher command as battlefield hysteria and ‘counter-revolutionary nonsense.’
June: Entire villages near Tambov are found abandoned, with signs of violent struggle. Investigators report evidence of cannibalism but no survivors.
August: A mysterious outbreak devastates Krasnoyarsk. Red Army medics document symptoms resembling rabies, but no treatment proves effective. Victims exhibit uncontrollable aggression before succumbing.
October: The infection spreads westward, with isolated cases reported as far as Smolensk. Commanders in the region express growing concern but receive no official guidance.
November: Ibrahim Khan emerges as a prominent leader in Central Asia, rallying various tribes under the banner of Khorasan. The faction declares its intent to protect their autonomy amid the spreading chaos in Russia.
December: The Bolsheviks begin covert efforts to study the infection, establishing quarantine zones in affected areas. Meanwhile, rumors circulate that the Whites have weaponized the disease to sabotage Red forces.
1920
January: Under the leadership of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Greater Finland launches a surprise offensive north of Petrograd. The Finnish White Guard seizes key positions near the Karelian Isthmus, threatening Petrograd's fragile supply lines. Red forces dig in, desperate to prevent further advances.
February: Reports of anarchist uprisings in the Crimean Peninsula reach Moscow. Initial Red Army attempts to quell the unrest are hindered by both local resistance and undead incursions. Nestor Makhno's Black Army capitalizes on the chaos, establishing fortified positions.
March: The White Army cedes most western territories to the Bolsheviks, focusing on defending lands east of the Urals. In the Russian Far East, Imperial Japanese forces, under General Ōi Shigemoto, solidify control of Sakhalin Island and territories south of the Amur River. A fragile ceasefire holds as the Japanese consolidate their resources for potential northern expansion.
April: Thawing ice in Siberia triggers renewed undead activity. The Blednaya Oblasts (Pale Provinces) between the Yenisey and Lena rivers become impassable, cutting off communication between White strongholds. Japanese engineers fortify railway outposts to prevent the infection from spreading southward.
May: Skirmishes between Khorasan militants and White Army forces erupt near Ashgabat, threatening the region's tenuous stability. Ibrahim Khan's forces gain ground, leveraging guerrilla tactics and local support to challenge White control.
