February Revolution

• The first of the two revolutions in Russia in 1917 was the February and March Revolution.
• Economic problems in rural areas due to conscription of young male peasants and low prices for grain.
• Number of workers on strike increased from 10,000 in 1914 to 880,000 in 1916.
• Peasants unable to make profit and became impoverished due to inflation and increasing prices of goods.
• Tsar's response to social unrest was complacent and ineffective.
• Urban unrest in Russia due to the socio-economic effects of World War I, including inflation, munitions crisis, and rationing.
• Rising number of strikes in Moscow and Petrograd due to scarcity of goods and high inflation.
• In February 1917, the government announced rationing of bread, leading to panic buying and strikes.
• On February 23rd, thousands of women took to the streets to celebrate International Women's Day.
• The February-March revolution set the stage for the October revolution and the consolidation of Bolshevik authority.
• Protests escalated, with 200,000 people protesting in Petrograd on February 25th.
• Representatives from the Duma met with the Tsar to request his abdication on March 2nd, 1917.
• The government assumed it would survive the unrest in 1917, based on the outcome of the 1905 revolution.
• This marked the end of the monarchy and the beginning of the Soviet Socialist Republic.
• The military troops sent to suppress the rebellion joined the protesters instead.
• Nicholas II abdicated his throne, recognizing he had lost power and control.