Russia was a nation in Eastern Europe and Asia that rose to become the second greatest power in the world. After its formation following an era of Mongol rule, chaos broke out, resulting in the over three hundred year reign of the Romanov dynasty. The Romanovs and the Czar Nicolas II were overthrown in 1917 due to World War I and class tensions. Civil war soon broke out, with Leftist forces supporting the new found Russian Republic, which had a heavy socialist bent, against the Conservative monarchist " White Russians." The Entente Forces of Britain, France and the United States originally supported the White Russians, but later mediated a treaty creating a coalition between the two sides. The Russian Republic was highly corrupt and ineffective, and Russia remained in poverty for much of t