February Revolution

The February Revolution (Russian: Февральская революция), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution, and sometimes as the March Revolution, was the first of two revolutions which took place in Russia in 1917. The main events of the revolution took place in and near Petrograd (now Saint Petersburg), the capital of Russia at the time, where long-standing discontent with the monarchy erupted into mass protests against food rationing on 23 February Old Style (8 March New Style). Revolutionary activity lasted about eight days, involving mass demonstrations and violent armed clashes with police and gendarmes, the last loyal forces of the Russian monarchy. On 27 February O.S. (12 March N.S.), most of the forces of the capital's garrison sided with the revolutionaries. On the same day, the Russian Provisional Government, made up of left-leaning Duma members, was formed. It seized the railway telegraph and issued orders claiming that the Duma now controlled the government. This was followed by a second telegram prohibiting trains from traveling near Petrograd, ensuring that troops loyal to the Tsar could not arrive by rail. Three days later, Nicholas II, stranded on his train in the city of Pskov after failing to reach the capital, was forced to abdicate, ending Romanov dynastic rule. The Provisional Government under Georgy Lvov replaced the Council of Ministers of Russia. The Provisional Government proved deeply unpopular and was forced to share dual power with the Petrograd Soviet. After the July Days, in which the government killed hundreds of protesters, Alexander Kerensky became the head of the government. He was unable to resolve Russia's immediate problems, including food shortages and mass unemployment, as he attempted to keep Russia involved in the ever more unpopular world war. The failures of the Provisional Government led to the October Revolution by the communist...