The February Revolution 1917

War based factors that led to Revolution

- By January 1917 war had left Russia in a critical state - Over 1 million Russian troops were dead and four million had been wounded - Workers in the cities were suffering, many were on the verge of starvation - The Okhrana warned the government about unrest and indicated that a revolution could happen at any moment - Rodzianko, President of the Duma, wanred the Tsar that Russia was reaching a crisis point. Nicholas ignored the warning.

Key dates leading up to Revolution

1917 - January -> The anniversary of Bloody Sunday was commemorate by very large demonstrations in the city. - 22nd February -> 20,000 workers from the Putilov engineering works went on strike and demonstrated in the city - 23rd Feb -> International womens day was marked with demonstrations and meeting demanding bread and fuel - 25th Feb -> Petrograd was paralysed by a general strike - industry shut down - 27TH FEB - Revolution! - The strikes and demonstrations turned into a revolution -> The Tsar ordered the Petrograd troops to suppress unrest -> There was widespread mutiny among troops -> Nicholas ordered the Duma to shut down, they refused and set up a Provisional Committee. -> The army's high command ordered all troops to obey the orders of the Provisional Committee - 28th Feb - A group of left wing parties set up the Petrograd Soviet which would look after the interests of workers and soldiers

Nicholas's Abdication: Key events

28th Feb - Nicholas travelled by train towards Petrograd, but his train was diverted to Pskov by mutinous troops - Here he met with members of the army's High Command, some ministers and representatives of the Duma - They told the Tsar that he should abdicate in favour of his son Alexei - Nicholas feared that his haemophiliac son wouldn't be strong enough to rule 2nd March - Nicholas II abdicated and asked his brother Grand Duke Michael to become Tsar. - Michael refused and Romanov rule ended 3rd March - The Provisional Committee became the Provisional Government. It ruled Russia for just 7 months

Strikes and Demonstrations led to Revolution

- In 1905 the government had been able to use force to disperse rioters and crush strikes. - In 1917 the situation was different, there was widespread support for the strikers among all classes in society - Most of the troops in Petrograd were unwilling to open fire on the protesters - The wealthier classes believed that the monarchy couldn't be saved and wasn't worth saving anyway

Tsarist factors that lead to Revolution

- Nicholas wasn't a very effective leader for example... - His father, Alexander III, said that his son was 'girlie' - When his father died in 1894 Nicholas admitted that he didn't feel fit to govern - In 1914 Nicholas was strongly influenced by his wife Alexandra and Rasputin, This had disastrous consequences for the Tsar's reputation over the next three years However... - In 1913 the Tsar celebrated 300 years of Romanov rule. Nicholas and his family felt confident enough to parade through the streets of St. Petersburg without fear, this shows that there wasn't strong opposition to them - This event was widely celebrated by the public, this shows that the Tsar's reputation had improved since the 1905 Revolution.

Economic and Social problems that helped lead to Revolution

- Russian towns were overcrowded and had poor sanitation and water supplies - Famine was common, food supplies were unreliable - Living conditions for workers were cramped and unhealthy - Men and Women worked for long hours and for little pay - Health and education services were poor and created social inequalities - In 1914 Russia's industrial output was ranked fifth out of the five great powers. Smaller countries like Britain and Germany still out produced Russia However... - The Russian economy had grown massively since the 1890's

Why Revolutionary groups didn't take power

- Since the 1880's parties such as the Socialist Revolutionaries, the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks had grown in size and had become more organised - But the February Revolution took them by surprise. They failed to seize control of the Revolution - Most of the leading Bolsheviks were abroad when it happened. - The only influence the revolutionaries had over the events of February and March was the establishment of the Petrograd Soviet, which shared power with the Provisional Government until October

Political factors that lead to Revolution

- The Tsar was reluctant to give the Duma more responsibility - Nicholas's reluctance to make major reforms disappointed many politicians However... - By 1914 the Duma had become and accepted part of national political life, which shows that the old system of autocracy was changing - The Duma had a lot of potential to develop into a powerful force