February Revolution Flashcards
13th February 1917
• “There are people who assert that the Ministers are at fault. Not so. The country now realizes that the Ministers are but fleeting shadows. The country can clearly see who sends them here. To prevent a catastrophe the Tsar himself must be removed, by force if there is no other way.”
- Alexander Kerensky in the Duma
18th February 1917
• A full-scale strike at Putilov steel works
• Largest number of politically active-strikers were joined in the streets by workers who had been angered by the further cut in bread supplies.
23rd February 1917
• A march to commemorate International Women’s Day was joined by the Putilov strikers demanding food and an end to war.
• They mingled together in an atmosphere of excitement listening to emotive speeches
25th February 1917
• Even larger crowds have gathered and the general strikes spreads throughout Petrograd.
• The police could not stop the and there were worrying signs of police sympathy and that some soldier and polices made common cause with the demonstrators.
• There was a great deal of confusion and little direction from the top.
26th February 1917
• Michael Rodzianko, President of the Duma sent a telegram to Nicholas II
• “The situation is serious. The capital is in a state of anarchy. The government is paralyzed; the transport service has broken down; the food and fuel supplies are completely disorganized.
Discontent is general and on the increase. There is wild shooting in the streets; troops are firing at each other. It is urgent that someone enjoying the confidence of the country be entrusted with the formation of a new government. There must be no delay. Hesitation is fatal.”
• The Duma ordered the Duma to dissolve
• This marked the first open constitutional defiance of the Tsar.
• It did dissolve itself but set up a ‘provisional committee’ consisting of twelve members.
• It was immediately followed by the boldest move yet.
• Alexander Kerensky, a leading member of the Duma called for the Tsar to stand down.
27th February 1917
• Michael Rodzianko, President of the Duma sent a telegram to Nicholas II
- “The situation is growing worse. Measures should be taken immediately as tomorrow will be too late. The last hour has struck, when the fate of the country and dynasty is being decided. The government is powerless to stop the disorders. The troops of the garrison cannot be relied upon. The reserve battalions of the Guard regiments are in the grips of rebellion; their officers are being killed. Having joined the mobs and the revolt of the people, they are marching on the offices of the Ministry of the Interior and the Imperial Duma Your Malesty, do not delay”
• In response, the Tsar sent a telegram to the Tsarina
- “Again, that fat-bellied Rodzianko has written me a load of nonsense, which I won’t even bother to answer.”
• From then onwards what before had been demonstrations turned quickly into a revolution the goal of which was to overthrow the government.
• It is Estimated 150,000 troops were actively supporting the revolution
- these troops had deserted.
• Armed crowds broke into prisons, the barracks, and the government arsenals and burned down police stations.
• The winter palace was seized and many government buildings
• The formation of the ‘Petrograd Soviet of soldiers Sailors and workers deputies’, which gathered at in the same building as the ‘Provisional Committee.
• These two self-appointed bodies representing the reformist elements of the old Duma, and the Soviet speaking for the striking workers and the rebellious troops-became they de facto government of Russia.
• The soviet published its first newspaper the izvestiya (the News) in which it declared its determination to wipe out the old system completely.
28th February 1917
• Remaining ministers in the Tsars cabinet abandoned their responsibilities under the pretext of an electricity failure and slipped out of the capital.
• Nicholas never made it to the capital.
- The royal train was intercepted by mutinous troops and diverted the train a hundred miles out side of Petrograd.
• Army generals and members of the Duma advised him of the seriousness of the situation in Petrograd made a return futile and dangerous.
- They advised abdication.
1st March 1917
• Nicholas II sent a telegram to Michael Rodzianko
• “There is no sacrifice that I would not be willing to make for the welfare and salvation of Mother Russia. Therefore I am ready to abdicate in favour of my son, under the regency of my brother Mikhall Alexandrovich, with the understanding that my son is to remain with me until he becomes or age.”
7th March 1917
• “Today, I am addressing you for the last time, my dearly loved armies. I have abdicated for myself and for my son, and I am leaving the throne of the Emperors of Russia. Much blood has been shed, many efforts have been made, and the hour of victory is approaching when Russia and her Allies will crush, in the common effort, the last attempts of the enemy. The unprecedented war must be conducted to the final victory. Those who think of peace and wish it now are twice traitors to their country. Every honest soldier must think that way. I urge you to fulfil your duty and to valiantly defend your Russia. Obey the Provisional Government!”
• The ‘Provisional Committee’, which renamed itself the provisional government, thus found itself for the governing Russia they immediately informed the rest of the world that a revolution had taken place.
WW1 - Food
• Requisitioning of farm horses and fertilisers by the military
• Inflation made trading unprofitable so peasants hoarded grain
• Shortages in Petrograd by 1917 1⁄4 of the amount available in 1914
WW1 - Transport
• Signalling system broke down and lines became blocked
• By the end of 1916, Petrograd and Moscow were receiving only a third of their food and fuel requirements
• 700 wagons of grain to Moscow per month in Jan 1917 compares to 2200 prior to the war
WW1 - Army
• By 1917 the war was going badly
• Lack of equipment
• Poor administration and liaison between
government departments
• Serious shortages
• Rodzianko, president of the Duma warned of this
• Brusilov Offensive had been positive in 1916 but
no further success
WW1 - Tsar
• Commander-In-Chief from 1915
• Fully responsible
The weakness of Nicholas II was the main reason for the demise of tsarism by February/March 1917. How far do you agree?
- TheTsar’sdecisionmaking andincompetent leadership skills
- The impact of World War One
- The Tsar’s failure to make effective political
reform ( Political opposition) - The influence of Rasputin*
- Strikes and Demonstrations and desertions
- The desertion of the elites
Increasing Pressure
July 1914
- The government established ‘military zones’ where civilian authority was suspended
• August 1914
- The zemstva established a ‘Union of Zemstva’ to provide medical facilities
• June 1915
- The Zemstva Union joined with the cities to form the All-Russian Union of Zemstva (Zemgor). Chaired by Prince Lvov to help with the war effort
• August 1915
- Deputies from the Fourth Duma organised themselves into the ‘Progressive bloc’ and demanded a ‘government of public confidence’
• September 1915
- Makes himself Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army and Navy
