The February/March Revolution 1917 Flashcards
How many demonstrators went on strike in Petrograd on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Jan 1917?
150,000
On Monday 14th February, how many workers were on strike?
c100,000 from 58 different factories
What was the effect of the news that bread would be rationed from 1st March?
(3)
round-the-clock queues
violent exchanges
police attacked while trying to keep order
What happened on Wednesday 22nd feb?
2
20,000 workers locked out of the Putilov Steel Works by the management after pay talks collapsed
-workers from other strikers went on strike in support
What day was International Women’s day?
Thursday 23rd February
How many factories closed on Thursday 23rd February?
50
Which people went on strike on Thursday 23rd February?
4
- c90,000 workers
- women demonstrating on International Women’s day
- Militant students
- Women from the bread queues
-c240,000 altogether on the street
What happened on Friday 24th February?
3, technically 6
- c200,000 workers on strike
- crowds overturned Tsarist statutes
- Waved red flags
- Shouted revolutionary slogans for an end to Stardom
- Sang ‘Le Marseillaise’ (french national Anthem) - No political organisation however some distributed banners and emblems of political demands
What happened Saturday 25th February? (6)
- c250,000 people, over half the capitals workforce, on strike
- No newspapers
- No public transport
- band of civilians were killed by soldiers
- Cossacks refused to attack strikers when ordered
- Shalfeev killed by masses
What happened to Shalfeev and why on Saturday 25th February?
Shalfeev was dragged from his horse, beaten and shot because he was in charge of the mounted police who were trying to control masses
What happened on Sunday 26th February?
Duma president Rodzianko sent the Tsar a telegraph warning of the strikers but the Tsar ignored and ordered 4th duma to dissolve following day
On Monday 27th February who did the Tsar order to restore order by military force?
Major-General-Khabalov
Commander of the Petrograd Military District
What happened Monday 27th February?
8
- 40 demonstrators were killed by soldiers
- a mutiny began in the Volynskii regiment where a solider shot his commanding officer dead, this was where the tsar was based.
- 66,000 soldiers mutinied
- soldiers armed protesters with 40,000 rifles
- Prisons opened
- Provisional Government set up
- Armys high command gave support to the Duma Committee
- revolutionaries set up a Soviet which organised food and supplies to the city
What happened Tuesday 28th February?
Tsar left Volynskii regiment
- tsar sent Rodzianko a telegram offering to share power with the Duma
- Rodianko replied it was too late
Who were the junior officers in the army?
young men from middle ranking intellectual class rather than the traditional noble background and their sympathies lay with the masses
Why did many soldiers mutiny?
many of the soldiers came from peasant or worker backgrounds
Where were the Bolshevik leaders Lenin &Trotsky at the time of the Feb rev?
Lenin - Zurich
Trotsky- New York
When was Order No.1 produced?
March 1st 1917
What were the main points of ‘Order No.1’?
5
- All weapons controlled by elected soldiers’ committees, not officers
- All soldiers to enjoy full citizens rights when off duty
- No honorific titles to be used for officers
- Officers were not to address soldiers in the ‘ty’ form which was used to address children and peasants
How many members did the Petrograd Soviet have by 10th March?
3000 members
What happened to the Tsar?
His train was stopped at Pskov, 200 miles south of his destination
-304 years of Romanov rule came to an end
What happened beyond Petrograd because of the Feb rev?
4
revolutionary disturbances spread beyond to the Kronstadt naval base, Moscow and other industrial cities
- workers seized control of their factories
- workers set up their own soviets
- workers deposed (got rid of) their former bosses
- peasants formed peasant Soviets
- peasants felled trees illegally
What did the ‘All Russian Congress of Soviets’ which met in Petrograd contain?
representatives from 350 towns, villages and military bases throughout Russia
On Monday 14th February 100,000 workers from how many factories were on strike in Petrograd?
58
When day was news that bread would be rationed from the 1st March bring about round-the-clock queues?
Monday 14th February
What day were 20,000 workers locked out of the Putilov Steel Works?
Wednesday 22 February
What national day was Thursday 23rd February?
National Women’s Day
On Thursday 23rd February on National Women’s Day how many workers went on strike and how many factories were closed?
90,000 workers and 50 factories
On National Women’s Day on Thursday 23rd February, who joined the traditional march of women from the Petrograd suburbs to the city centre? (3)
- striking workers
- Militant students
- women from the bread queues
On Thursday 23rd February, International Women’s Day, how many people were out on the street which resulted in the city of Petrograd going to chaos?
240,000
How many workers were on strike on Friday 24th February?
200,000
What did the crowds of 200,000 strikers overturn on Friday 24th February?
Tsarist statues
What song did the strikers sing on Friday 24th February?
La Marseillaise
How many people were striking in Petrograd on Saturday 25th February?
250,000 half the capitals workforce
On what day did violence escalate as Shalfeev in charge of the mounted police tried to control the masses?
Saturday 25th February
What happened to Shalfeev who was in charge of the mounted police and tried to control the masses on Saturday 25th February?
He was dragged from his horse, beaten and shot
Where were a band of civilians killed by soldiers on Saturday 25th February?
Nevskii Prospekt
What did Cossacks do on the Saturday 25th February?
Cossacks refused to attack a procession of strikers when ordered to do so
Who was the Duma president in February 1917?
Rodzianko
On what day did Rozianko, Duma president send the Tsar a telegram warning him of the serious situation in Petrograd?
Sunday 26th February
What did the Tsar do after Rodzianko the Duma president sent him a telegram warning him of the serious situation in Petrograd?
he ordered the Duma to dissolve and ignored his warning
In February who was the Commander of the Petrograd Military District?
General Khabalov
On what day did the Tsar order General Khabalov the Commander of the Petrograd Military District to do?
to restore order by military force
Under the order of the Tsar what did General Khabalov Commander of the Petrograd Military do on Monday 27th February?
He ordered soldiers onto the streets and around 40 demonstrators in the city were killed
On Monday 27th February in which regiment did a mutiny begin where a sergeant shot his commanding officer dead?
in the Volynskii regiment
How may soldiers mutinied and joined the protestors arming them with 40,000 rifles?
60,000
How many rifles did the 60,000 soldiers who mutinied give the protestors?
40,000
On what day were police headquarters attacked and prisons opened?
Monday 27th February
What did the Duma set up against the Tsar’s orders on Monday 27th February?
a 12 man Provisional Committee to take over the government
What happened to the army’s High Command which had already ordered troops to march to the capital to restore stability on Monday 27th Feb?
They changed their minds and ordered them to halt and give support to the Duma Committee
Why did many soldiers mutiny?
as most were from a peasant or worker background
Which two people were already planning a coup to topple the Tsar before the events of February 1917?
Alexsandr Konovalov and Milkhail Tereshchenko
What did the Petrograd Soviet agree to under pressure from the soldiers and from mutineers at the Kronstadt naval base?
that each regiment should elect committees and send representatives to the Soviet
What was Order No.1?
a charter of soldiers rights
What was Order No.1 produced?
1st March 1917
Under the promises of Order No.1 what had to be obeyed if it agreed with the Soviet’s orders?
the Military Commission of the Duma
Under the promises of Order No.1 who were all weapons to be controlled by?
elected soldiers’ committees, not officers
Under promise of Order No.1 what rights were given to all soldiers when off duty ?
full citizen rights when off duty
What did the Petrograd Soviet take the official title of?
“Soviet of Workers and Soliders’”
How many members were in the Petrograd Soviet by 10th March?
3,000
Because the Petrograd Soviet was so large, where was most of its work done?
by the executive committee
Who dominated the executive committee which dealt with most of the work of the Petrograd Soviet?
socialist intellectuals including Alexsandr Kerensky
Where was the Tsar’s train diverse by rebellious railway workers to?
To Pskov, 200 miles South of his destination
Who put pressure on the Tsar to resign?
Chief of General Staff
What was the agreement made by the Petrograd Soviet on the 1st March for the Tsar?
That the Petrograd Soviet would recognise a provisional government formed by members of the Duma and suggested that the Tsar resign in favour of his son with Mikhail acting as regent
