In the early 20th Century, Russia had a vast empire, stretching from Eastern Europe all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
It was a backward country at that time, with agriculture being the main source of income for the people. 80% of the population were peasants (which is a lot, judging from the sheer size of the territory), and farming methods were primitive, using horses and ploughs, and no tractors. Then, the population boomed and suddenly, Russia found itself it in a state of famine-like starvation due to the large population and backward agricultural methods that resulted in low production.
The ruler of Russia was an autocrat, with the title of the Tsar (or some say Czar). The Tsar of the early 20th Century was Tsar Nicholas II, a descendant of the Romanov family. As an autocrat, he had every right to rule Russia as he liked. He relied mainly on huis secret police, the Okhrana, to carry out various methods to deal with opposition members.
Peasants worked on farms that were owned by landlords, named landowners. These landowners practically owned the workers, and were able to use them as slaves or to trade. Naturally, the peasants were very poor and resented the landowners and aristocrats very much.
Urban workers were not much better off. These workers lived in towns together, and had poor working conditions, like an 11-hour working day and extremely low wages. The Tsar did nothing to improve this situation.