Early Revolutions

Question 1

Causes of the Feb/March rev

Answer 1

Spontaneous uprising triggered by bread shortages
Rooted in long years of suffering and frustration under an autocracy that was an unable to change but absolutely unwilling to give up power.

Question 2

Tuesday 14 Feb

Answer 2

Strikes in Petrograd
News that bread would be rationed 1 March brought long queues and riots. The police struggled to keep order

Question 3

Wednesday 22 February

Answer 3

20,000 workers were locked out of the Putilov Steel Works after pay talks collapsed
Workers in other factories went on strike in support

Question 4

Thursday 23 February

Answer 4

Striking workers joined the trad march for Int women’s day
Students and women from the bread queues also joined the march
City fell into chaos and order was not restored until the evening

Question 5

Friday 24 February

Answer 5

200,000 workers were on strike and there was spontaneous demonstrations.
No obvious organisation of the crowds from any of the radical political parties

Question 6

Saturday 25 February

Answer 6

250,000 people (over half the capital’s workforce) were on strike
Shalfeev, in charge of the mounted police, was dragged from his horse and shot
Civilians were shot by soldiers on Nevskii Prospekt, but some Cossacks refused to attack the strikers

Question 7

Sunday 26 February

Answer 7

Rodzianko, the Duma President, sent the Tsar a telegram warning him of the serious threat in Petrograd
Nicholas ignored the warning and ordered the Duma to dissolve the next day

Question 8

Monday 27 February

Answer 8

Nicholas ordered Khabalov, Commander of the Petrograd Military district, to restore order by military force. Around 40 demonstrators were killed.
A mutiny began in the Volynskii regiment. Soldiers joined the protestors, arming them with rifles.
The Duma held a meeting, despite the Tsar’s orders, and set up a provisional committee to take over the government. Supported by the army’s High command.
The same evening, revolutionaries set up the pet Sov, which was also intended to take over the gov. It began to organise food supplies for the city.

Question 9

Tuesday 28 Feb

Answer 9

Nicholas started to make his way back to Petrograd
He sent a telegram offering to share power with the Duma.

Question 10

Issues of leadership… Feb rev

Answer 10

Almost all the major Bolsh leaders were absent at the time of the rev. Lenin in exile in Switzerland… Stalin in Siberia
Rev appeared spontaneous and leaderless; it is not clear to what extent any of the small groups of local Bolshevik activists played a part in instigating or influencing the course of it.
During and following the rev, local socialist groups helped to set up Soviets (councils). Most imp was pet Sov, represented workers and soldiers. 3000 members by 10 March.

Question 11

Order no. 1

Answer 11

The pet Sov produced a charter of soldier’s rights called ‘order no.1’ The order stated that;
All military units were to elect a deputy to the pet Sov and agree to be under control of the pet Sov
The military commission of the Duma was only to be obeyed if its orders agreed with the pet Sov orders
Also aimed to improve the rights and respect given to soldiers, for example giving them full citizens rights when off duty

Question 12

The abdication of the Tsar

Answer 12

End of Feb, Nicholas tried to get back into Petrograd from his military headquarters but was forced to stay at Pskov, 200 miles south of his destination, after his train was diverted.
On 1 March, Nicholas chief of general staff tried to convince him to abdicate
Nicholas agreed to abdicate on 2 March. Nicholas and his family were placed under house arrest, along with/ most of his council of ministers

Question 13

The July Days

Answer 13

In July 1917, sailors from Kronstadt naval base organised an armed demonstration that spread to the centre of Petrograd, with workers and soldiers joining them. Rising prices and unemployment contributed to the unrest.
When the demonstrations turned violent, Bolsh were blamed.
The PG brought in tro brought in troops to crush the demonstrations, and the Mensheviks and the SRs of the pet soviet supported the PG in this
Bolsh newspapers were shut down and Lenin and Stalin fled, while other Bolshevik leaders (such as Trotsky) were arrested and put in prison

Question 14

Causes of the October/ November revolution

Answer 14

10th Oct 1917, Lenin returned to Russia in secret and spent the night convincing the Bolsh cent com to agree an armed uprising.
Bolsh dom both the pet and Moscow Soviets, as well as other Soviets across Russia
The PG was very weak; Kerensky’s credibility was greatly reduced after the Kornilov coup
The Bolsh had the Red Guards armed by Kerensky during the Kornilov coup
After the military revolutionary committee (MRC) was established on 16 October, 15/18 Petrograd Garrisons declared their alliance to the MRC, not the PG
On the 23 October, Kerensky attempted to red the power of the MRC. He sent troops to cut off Bolsh areas of the city from the centre, ordered two Bolsh newspapers to close down. Bolsh used as excuse to act

Question 15

24th October

Answer 15

The Red Guards, supported by sailors and soldiers from Kronstadt, capture key positions in Petrograd

Question 16

25th October

Answer 16

After a shot from the battleship Aurora to signal the attack, the RG enter the Winter Palace
The second congress of Soviets meets; some Mensheviks and RW SRs protest against the seizure of power

Question 17

26th October

Answer 17

All remaining members of the PG are arrested
The congress votes to take powers into its own hands
The Congress agrees unanimously to Lenin’s decree on peace

Question 18

27th October

Answer 18

The congress agreed to Lenin’s decree on Land
The cent exec com is set up, w/ the majority of members being Bolsheviks or LW SRs
Sovnakom is set up to run the gov

Question 19

The extent of the Oct/ Nov rev

Answer 19

The rev involved around 25,000 to 35,000 people at the most (ab 5% of the workers and soldiers in pet)
10,000 to 15,000 people may have been present during the ‘storming’ of the winter palace, but many may have been spectators only
The rev involved very little fighting; there were probably no more than 5 deaths
The rev focused on the takeover of a few strategic targets; much of pet (+ rest of Russia) cont w/ life as usual during the rev

Question 20

Lenin’s role in the rev

Answer 20

Soviet historians idealised Lenin’s role and portrayed him as the heroic leadership of the Bolshevik uprising.
After Lenin’s death and Trotsky’s fall from power, Soviet historians downplayed Trotsky’s role in organising the RG and directing the actual seizure of power.
Criticis of the ‘heroic Lenin’ approach argue that Lenin was not the drive of the rev and was absent for most of 1917. Critics often prioritise the failures of the PG over Lenin’s leadership in bringing the Bolsh to power
During the Cold War, western historians tended to claim that the revolution was a coup d’etat, not a pop rev
Recently historians have identified that there was at least some radicalism and spontaneous Reb that the Bolsh were able to exploit