★ February Revolution Flashcards
What were the causes of the February Revolution?
★ Revolving Door of Ministers, Tsarina in charge
★ Inflation & Food Shortages
★ Rasputin
★ World War One
★ Bad working conditions
★ Alliances: France and Britain treated Russia like cannon fodder to take pressure off the Western front
★ Geography
★ Backwards economy: Mostly Agricultural
★ Tsar widely unpopular by this time, went to lead the Eastern front and meant any failures could be directly blamed on him
★ Lack of Weaponry
★ No equality for national minorities or peasants
★ No Healthcare
When did the February Revolution start?
International Women’s Day, 23rd February 1917
How bad was inflation during World War One?
★ Government spending increased from 4 million roubles to 30 million
★ Gold standard was abandoned, allowing the Government to put more banknotes into circulation
★ July 1914: 100 banknotes in circulation
★ January 1917: 336 banknotes in circulation
Food supplies in World War One
★ Peasants found it hard to sustain agricultural output because of the requisitioning of horses and fertiliser
★ Inflation made trading unprofitable
★ Russian army had priority use of transportation, meaning that any food that was available couldn’t be distributed to civillian areas
★ Petrograd’s inhabitants were receiving less than a quarter of bread by early 1917
Transport
★ The attempt to transport millions of troops and supplies caused unbearable pressures
★ Food would rot in railway trucks
★ By end of 1916, Petrograd and Moscow were receiving only an average of 2,200 wagons of grain per month, this figure dropped down to 700 by 1917
★ Petrograd was only receiving 300 wagonloads of grain by Feb 1917 instead of 1000
The Army & The Role of the Tsar
★ Severe lack of equipment due to poor administration and liaison between the government departments responsible for these supplies
★ Desertion began to take place
★ Tsar Nicholas formally took direct command of Russia’s army in 1915, began to face massive defeats
Rasputin & Alexandra
★ Hated by many, represented the corruption that had overtaken the royal court and government
★ Bitterly hated by imperial court
★ Was believed by Alexandra that he could cure her son Alexei of his Haemophilia
★ Alexandra herself was German which made her unpopular as they were fighting Germany, was believed to be a German spy
★ Was the person who kept Rasputin in court
★ Ministers were often hired and then fired again in rapid succession by Alexandra, leading to no changes being made and political instability at the homefront
What is the Progressive Bloc?
★ In August 1914, the Duma demanded to be recalled due to the Tsar’s poor leadership, being reassembled in July 1915 and became a ground for vocal criticism of the Tsar
★ Being denied a direct vote in national policy, 236 of the 422 duma deputies formed a Progressive Bloc which criticised the government
★ Initially made to try persuade him to make concessions, however the Tsar did not listen and instead the Bloc became a political opponent
Where did the strike that started the February Revolution originate?
★ Putilov Steel Works, Petrograd in a city-wide strike by 25th February
Why could the revolution in Petrograd not be contained?
★ The commander of the Petrograd Garrison, General Khabalov, was unable to control the situation as many of his troops were disobeying and police and militia were fight eachother
★ Ordered a martial law, however it could not be printed
How many troops were left in the Petrograd garrison by February 26th?
★ Only a few thousand out of the original 150,000 had not deserted by 26th February
When did the Petrograd Soviet first meet?
★ 27th February
Who called for the Tsar to step down?
★ Alexander Kerensky
What was the dual leadership of the Provisional Government and Soviets called?
★ Dual Authority
When did the Tsar abdicate?
★ March 2nd after trying to get back into Petrograd on the 28th February but was stopped on his way by a group of generals and representatives of the Old Duma who advised him to abdicate
