Causes and Course of the February/March Revolution (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Causes and Course of the February/March Revolution
Background conditions in Petrograd, winter 1917
During the winter months of 1917, Petrograd faced a deepening crisis. The streets were filled with unemployed workers, starving families, and desperate civilians. Food shortages had reached a critical point, with bread rationing scheduled to begin on 1 March. These economic hardships combined with war-weariness created an explosive atmosphere. Though demonstrations had occurred throughout January (notably on Bloody Sunday's anniversary), the revolution that would bring down the Tsar emerged largely as an unplanned uprising, triggered primarily by the bread shortage rather than coordinated political action.
Understanding the Revolutionary Atmosphere
The conditions in Petrograd created a perfect storm for revolution:
- Mass unemployment left thousands without income
- Food shortages meant families were starving
- War-weariness had eroded support for the government
- The announcement of bread rationing (from 1 March) was the final straw that pushed people into the streets
The revolutionary days: a chronological account
Monday 14 February
Approximately 100,000 workers from 58 different factories walked out on strike in Petrograd. News spread rapidly that bread would be rationed from 1 March onwards, causing long queues to form around bakeries throughout the city. As crowds gathered, violent confrontations broke out. Police forces struggled to maintain control as they faced attacks from angry strikers.
Wednesday 22 February
The situation intensified when management at the Putilov Steel Works locked out 20,000 workers following failed pay negotiations. This action prompted solidarity strikes at other factories across the capital, significantly expanding the industrial unrest.
Thursday 23 February (International Women's Day)
This date proved to be the turning point. The number of strikers reached 90,000, and 50 factories ceased operations. Women workers joined the traditional march from the Petrograd suburbs into the city centre to mark International Women's Day. Militant students and women from the bread queues also participated. The demonstration swelled to approximately 240,000 people filling the streets. Though police eventually restored order during the early evening hours, the day passed without fatalities. The scale of protest, however, signalled that unrest was entering a new phase.
International Women's Day: The Catalyst for Revolution
International Women's Day had been observed by Russian women since the last Sunday in February 1913. The movement was led by Aleksandra Kollontai, who helped organize the women's march that would occur on 23 February 1917. This march transformed isolated strikes into a mass revolutionary movement, with participation swelling from 90,000 strikers to 240,000 demonstrators by the end of the day.
Friday 24 February
The strike movement expanded further, with 200,000 workers now refusing to work. Demonstrators pulled down statues of the Tsar, waved red flags, wore red rosettes, and shouted revolutionary slogans demanding the end of Tsardom. Groups sang La Marseillaise, the French revolutionary anthem symbolizing liberty, equality and fraternity. Though radical political groups distributed some emblems and banners displaying political demands, no obvious organization from established political parties directed the protests.
La Marseillaise
La Marseillaise is the French National Anthem, derived from the singing of the soldiers from Marseilles as they went to war on behalf of revolutionary France. To sing it is to show support for the ideals of the French Revolution: Liberty, Equality and Fraternity. Its use by demonstrators signalled their revolutionary intent and identification with radical change.
Saturday 25 February
Over half the capital's workforce—approximately 250,000 people—were on strike by this point. Petrograd effectively ground to a halt. Factories closed, shops shut their doors, and newspapers ceased publication. Public transport stopped running. Violence escalated substantially as Shalfeyev, commanding the mounted police, attempted to control the crowds. He was dragged from his horse, severely beaten, and shot. A group of civilians was killed by soldiers on Nevskii Prospekt, though later that same day, some Cossack military units refused to attack a procession of strikers when ordered to disperse them.
The Cossacks
Cossacks were people of Ukraine and southern Russia, noted for their horsemanship and military skill, who formed military units and were fiercely loyal to the Tsar. Their refusal to attack demonstrators on 25 February was a significant early sign that even traditionally loyal forces were beginning to sympathize with the protesters.
Sunday 26 February
Mikhail Rodzianko, serving as President of the Fourth State Duma, recognized the gravity of the situation. He sent a telegram to Nicholas II, warning him that Petrograd had descended into anarchy. Rodzianko's message emphasized that the government was paralyzed, transport and food supplies had broken down, and general discontent was growing. Wild shooting filled the streets. Troops were firing at one another. He stressed the urgent necessity for someone trusted by the country to form a new government immediately, warning that any delay risked death and that responsibility would fall upon the monarch himself.
Nicholas ignored this warning and ordered the Duma to dissolve the following day.
Monday 27 February
The Tsar commanded Major-General Khabalov, Commander of the Petrograd Military District, to restore order through military force. Soldiers entered the streets, and around 40 demonstrators were killed in various locations throughout the city.
A mutiny erupted in the Volynskii regiment when a sergeant shot his commanding officer dead. This act triggered a widespread military rebellion: 66,000 soldiers mutinied and joined the protestors, bringing with them 40,000 rifles. Police headquarters came under attack, and prisons were opened to release political prisoners.
The Decisive Military Mutiny
The mutiny on 27 February proved to be the decisive moment of the revolution. When 66,000 soldiers defected and brought 40,000 rifles to the protesters, the government lost its primary means of suppressing the uprising. This military rebellion transformed a large-scale demonstration into a successful revolution.
A mutiny is a military rebellion in which soldiers refuse to obey orders and turn against their commanding officers.
Despite the Tsar's orders, the Duma convened a meeting later that day. Members established a 12-man Provisional Committee to assume governmental authority. Simultaneously, the army's High Command, which had already dispatched troops to march on the capital to restore stability, changed course. These forces halted their advance and gave support to the Duma Committee instead.
That same evening, revolutionaries established a Soviet (workers' council) which also intended to take over governmental functions. This body began organizing food supplies for the city.
Tuesday 28 February
Nicholas II departed from his military headquarters at the Volynskii regiment and began traveling back to Petrograd. He sent a telegram to Rodzianko, proposing to share power with the Duma. Rodzianko's response was blunt: the measures being proposed had come too late, and there could be no return to the old system.
The mutineers
The soldiers ordered to suppress the demonstrations came predominantly from peasant or working-class backgrounds. These were young men, recently enlisted, who had been assigned to the Petrograd garrison while awaiting deployment to the front line. Their junior officers also tended to come from the middle-ranking 'intellectual' class rather than from traditional noble families. Many had volunteered for military service motivated by patriotic sentiment inspired by the war.
Why Soldiers Joined the Revolution
The social composition of the military forces in Petrograd explains why they refused to suppress the demonstrations. Their sympathies—like those of the officers commanding them—aligned with the masses rather than with the government. When ordered to fire on crowds containing people from their own social background, many refused and instead joined the revolution. This class solidarity proved crucial to the revolution's success.
Key Figures in the Revolution
Mikhail Rodzianko served as a conservative politician and President of the Fourth State Duma. His telegrams to the Tsar on 26 and 27 February provided stark warnings about the collapse of order in Petrograd. His final message to the Tsar on 28 February made clear that it was too late for compromise.
Leon Trotsky (originally Lev Davodovich Bronstein, 1879-1940) had been exiled to Siberia in 1898 for involvement in radical groups. He escaped using a false passport in 1902, met Lenin in London, and returned to Russia to participate in the St Petersburg Soviet during 1905. After another escape in 1907, he was living in the USA when the February Revolution occurred. He would return to Russia in May 1917 and play a major role in the October Revolution as a Bolshevik leader.
Aleksandra Kollontai (1872-1952) came from an aristocratic family but studied Marx and participated in the Bloody Sunday march of 1905. She joined the Bolsheviks in 1914. Though exiled, she returned from the USA in March 1917, only to be arrested after the July Days. Under the Bolshevik government, Kollontai advocated for simplified marriage and divorce procedures, though this stance later reduced her political influence.
Key Points to Remember:
- The February Revolution was triggered by bread shortages and arose largely spontaneously rather than through organised planning by political parties.
- The uprising escalated rapidly over two weeks, from limited strikes (100,000 workers on 14 February) to a general strike and military mutiny (66,000 soldiers joined protestors on 27 February).
- International Women's Day on 23 February marked the turning point when strikes transformed into mass revolutionary demonstrations involving 240,000 people.
- The mutiny proved decisive: soldiers from working-class backgrounds sympathised with demonstrators and refused to suppress them, instead providing 40,000 rifles to the revolution.
- All major Bolshevik leaders (Lenin, Trotsky, Martov) were abroad, leaving the revolution without clear political direction, though recent research suggests some activist groups may have been working to influence events.