The February Revolution was the beginning of a period of massive change in Russia. It was a spontaneous event originating from St Petersburg, which resulted in the abdication of the Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, and the formation of the Provisional Government.
What were the causes?
There were many causes of the February Revolution, in fact most revolutions occur when a combination of problems cumulate and cause too much discontent for the current system to handle, inspiring the people to fight for the instituting of a new system. In the specific case of this revolution, the causes included: an unusually and uncomfortably cold winter, strikes and protests at the beginning of the year being ignored by those in charge and the continuing exploitation of the working class, the massive loss of life with Russia’s involvement with the First World War, and, arguably the immediate cause, a shortage of food (towards the end of February, it was announced that bread would be even further rationed, even though some women were already waiting in queues for almost 24 hours).
What actually happened?
The main event took place on Thursday the 23rd of February 1917. It originally started off as a protest march about the shortages of food, drawing focus to the people’s disastrous standards of living, but by the afternoon it had started evolving into something more. It was the women, many of whom were textile workers going on strike, took the lead in politicising the march, blocking streets and overturning trams, and marched down to a working class area of St Petersburg known for a history of radical action, called the Vyborg District. They persuaded men from the Putilov Engineering Works, which had previously been highly politicised, and other factories to join the march. The crowd made their way towards the centre of the city, arriving on one of the main streets, Nevsky Prospekt, where they began to gather momentum. This demonstration continued on for three days, with demands emerging not just for bread, but for the end of the war and for the tsar’s abdication – many shops, restaurants, and other places of business were shut down. Although there was no specific political party in charge, there were some socialist cells, particularly the Bolsheviks, who were active in helping get workers out onto the streets.
What were the consequences?
Although the people did not immediately get an end to the war, and an influx in bread supplies, the did get their abdication. On the 2nd of March, 1917, Nicholas II abdicated his role as the Tsar of Russia. In his place, a Provisional Government was formed who it was thought would continue to rule until a better, elected government could be formed – in reality they only ruled until October of that year. This revolution would also start the fall of the Russian Empire, with many areas that were previously ruled by the Tsar becoming independent, although many would fall back under Soviet control in the following years (a good example of this is the Crimean Tartar people).
Why did this revolution succeed when 1905 did not? – the main differences between the close call in 1905 and the February Revolution of 1917 was a) the sheer size of protests and upset, and b) the army that protected Nicholas in 1905 were no longer on his side; in fact, on the 26th and 27th of February, a group of guards fired upon the police and started what was, effectively, a mutiny.