February Revolution

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The February Revolution in 1917 in Russia was the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Its immediate result was the abdication of Czar Nicholas II, the collapse of Imperial Russia and the end of the Romanov dynasty. A provisional, non-Communist government under Prince Georgy Lvov replaced the Czar, Prince Lvov being succeeded by Alexander Kerensky after the tumult of the July Days. The Provisional government was an alliance between liberals and socialists who wanted to instigate political reform, creating a democratically-elected executive and constituent assembly.

The February Revolution took place in March 1917 of the modern calendar (Gregorian calendar). In the calendar Russia was using at the time (Julian calendar), the events occurred in February, which would explain the revolution's name.

This revolution appeared to break out spontaneously, without any real leadership or formal planning. The tensions which had for so long been building up finally exploded into a revolution, and the western state of Petrograd (the City of Saint Petersburg prior to the war) became the focal point of activity. An illustration of just how large Russia was is that it took some years for eastern parts of the country to realise that a revolution had actually taken place.^{[citation needed]}

The February Revolution was followed in the same year by the October Revolution, bringing about Bolshevik rule and a change in Russia's social structure, while also paving the way for the USSR. Two revolutions were required in order to change the composition of the country: the first overthrew the Czar, and the second instituted a new form of government.

1 Long-term causes
2 Short-term causes
3 Events
4 Effects: The Provisional Government and Petrograd's Soviet
5 See also
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] Long-term causes

Despite its occurrence at the height of World War I, the February Revolution traced its roots far beyond the immediate effects of the war. Chief among these was Imperial Russia’s failure, throughout the 19th century, to satisfactorily address the modernization of its archaic social, economic and political structures. The result was a continuum of low living standards for a majority of the population, high illiteracy rates and an unproductive primary-sector economy^[1].

Among the key problems facing Russia in the decades preceding the February Revolution were:

An inefficient, autocratic political structure, complicating attempts at reform^[2]
An overwhelmingly rural population; 82% were peasants in 1897^[3]
Economic and technological retardation relative to Western Europe^[4]
Growth of opposition parties, which would provide a threat to governments that did not seem to represent the people
An outdated and disorganized army^[5]
A corrupt bureaucracy^[6]

From these conditions sprung considerable agitation among peasants as well as the small working and professional classes. This tension had erupted into general revolt with the 1905 Revolution, and did so again under the strain of total war in 1917.

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[edit] Short-term causes

Main article: World War I

It is argued that the 1917 February Revolution occurred largely because of the result of the First World War as well as the dissatisfaction with the manner in which the country was being run by the Tsarina, Alexandra Fyodorovna of Hesse, and Tsar Nicholas's ministers, who were acting on his authority whilst he was away at the Army Headquarters as Commander-in-Chief. A telegram from Mikhail Rodzianko to the Tsar on 26 February 1917, in which he begs for a strong, capable minister, serves to illustrate the lack of strong leadership under this arrangement.

The personal assumption of command by the Tsar in itself was a cause of much tension, for involvement in World War I was seen to be the root of the majority of the problems, (primarily economic) which Russia was experiencing internally, and the Tsar's personal association with the war served only to worsen further his already-wavering position.

Controversy also surrounded the role of Grigori Rasputin in the Russian royal family, with speculation arising regarding his relationship with the Tsarina in particular -- resulting in that most-intriguing assassination of Rasputin by members of the extended royal family. Furthermore, Alexandra's German heritage made her an unpopular figurehead for the Romanovs in Petrograd for the time that Nicholas (at the calling of Rasputin) was away at the front.

All political parties (apart from the Social Democratic Labour Party, divided between the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks) had supported, in August 1914, Russia's participation in World War I, alongside the United Kingdom and France, the three being allied in what was known as the Triple Entente. After a few initial victories, the Tsar's armies were confronted with some very serious defeats -- particularly in East Prussia. The factories were not productive enough, the railway system quite insufficient, and the overall logistics poor, all of which explained Russia's considerable losses. More than 1,700,000 Russian soldiers were killed, and 5,900,000 injured. Mutinies sprang up often, with general morale at its lowest, and the officers and commanders were at times most incompetent. Some units, indeed, went to the front line with ammunition that was incompatible with their weapons. Over 140,000 desertions occurred in just one year.

On the home front, the famine was threatening and commodities were becoming scarce. The Russian economy, which had just seen one of the highest growth rates in Europe, was henceforth blocked from the continent's market. The Duma, composed of liberal deputies, warned Tsar Nicholas II of the impending danger and counselled him to form a new constitutional government, like that which he had dissolved after some short-term attempts in the aftermath of the 1905 Revolution. The Tsar ignored the Duma's advice.

[edit] Events

February 1917 gathered all the preconditions for a popular uprising: Russia was in the midst of a harsh winter, there was a concerning lack of food and general lassitude towards the war, in the midst of the economic crisis, was prominent. The revolution began at the start of February with several strikes and demonstrations from the Petrograd workers. On February 22 (O.S.), the major plant of Petrograd, Putilov, announced a strike. The strikers were fired, and some shops closed, resulting in further unrest at other plants. Some demonstrations were organised to demand bread, and these were supported by the industrial working force, finding in them a reason for continuing the strikes. Although some clashes with the Tsar's forces did occur, no one was injured on the opening day. In the days which followed, the strikes generalized themselves in all of Petrograd, and tension was rising rapidly. On February 23 (O.S.; March 8, N.S.), a series of meetings and rallies were held on the occasion of International Women's Day, which gradually turned into economic and political gatherings. Slogans, which had been, until this time, very much reserved, became more and more political: "End to the war!" they cried. "End to the autocracy!"

On this occasion, clashes with the police, finding the matter impossible to control, resulted in numerous casualties on both sides, and demonstrators armed themselves by looting the police headquarters. On February 25 (O.S.), after three days of such riotous anarchy, the Tsar sent a large battalion of soldiers to the city to quell the uprising. Although the soldiers resisted the first attempts at fraternization and killed many demonstrators, they progressively deserted their officers during the evenings and, sympathising with the crowds, joined them instead. Their entry helped to make the revolt more conventionally armed, and many of them were soon firing on the hapless police, who quickly succumbed and joined the demonstrations, too.

The Tsar initially refused to believe the reports sent to him by the Chairman of the Duma, which was still conscious of the massive problem which was developing. The chairman, Rodzianko told the Tsar in a telegram:

"The capital is in chaos. The government is unable to act; the transport service is broken down; the food and fuel supplies are completely disorganised. There is wild shooting on the streets. It is urgent that a new government is formed. There must be no delay. Hesitation is fatal." Nicholas, however, wrote thus in a telegram to his wife on 27 February: "Again, that fat-bellied Rodzianko has written me a load of nonsense, which I won't even bother to answer."

On March 1, the Tsar decided to take a train to the government capital after hearing that his children, including the Tsarevich Alexei had contracted measles. The royal train was instructed to divert by a group of disloyal troops. When the Tsar finally reached his destination, the Army Chiefs, his remaining ministers (ie, those who had not fled on February 28 under the pretense of a power-cut) suggested in unison that he abdicate the throne, and this he did on March 2 (O.S.) (March 15, N.S.), for himself and his son, the Tsarevich. Nicholas nominated the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, his brother, to succeed him. The Grand Duke realised that he would have little or no support as ruler, so he declined the crown, stating that he would take it only if that was the general consensus of an elected government. The Tsar and his family were later placed in house arrest, and murdered during the civil war.

A provisional government was formed at the initiative of Alexander Guchkov's Progressive Block, and took control of the Russian state apparatus, but the socialists also formed the Petrograd Soviet (or workers' council). The Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Government competed for the power over Russia.

[edit] Effects: The Provisional Government and Petrograd's Soviet

The immediate effect of the February Revolution was a widespread atmosphere of elation and excitement in Petrograd.^[7] Between February and April, the Provisional Government, which replaced the Tsar, cooperated successfully with the Petrograd Soviet. This was facilitated by the positive spirit throughout the capital, along with considerable cross-over membership between the two bodies.^[8] A general consensus to prevent anarchy also prompted a constructive relationship.^[9] This arrangement became known as the "Dual Authority". However, the practical supremacy of the Petrograd Soviet was asserted as early as March 1, when the Petrograd Soviet issued Order No. 1:

"All orders issued by the Military Commission of the State Duma [the Provisional Government] shall be carried out, except those which run counter to the orders and decrees issued by the Soviet"^[10]

Order No. 1 thus ensured that the Dual Authority occurred on the Soviet's conditions. As the provisional government was not a publicly elected body (having been self-proclaimed by committee members of the old Duma),^[11] it lacked the political legitimacy to question this arrangement.

The Provisional Government was initially chaired by a liberal aristocrat, Prince Georgy Yevgenyevich Lvov, a member of the Constitutional Democratic party (KD). He stepped down from power after the unrest called the July Days. He was succeeded by a Social Revolutionary, Alexander Kerensky. Kerensky declared freedom of speech, released thousands of political prisoners and did his best to maintain Russian involvement in World War I, but he faced numerous challenges, most of them related to the war:

There were some very heavy military losses still being experienced out on the front.
Dissatisfied soldiers were defecting (although, when they got back home, they were generally either imprisoned or sent to the front once more).
Other political groups were doing their utmost to undermine him.
There was a strong movement in favour of stopping Russia's involvement in the war, which was seen to be draining the country, and many who had initially supported it now wanted out.
There was a great shortage of food and supplies, which was very difficult to remedy in wartime conditions.
All of the abovementioned were highlighted by the soldiers, urban workers and peasants, who claimed that little had been gained by the February Revolution. Kerensky was expected to deliver on his promises of jobs, land, food and the like almost instanteously, and he had naturally failed to do so.

To pressure the Government, the Estonian population living in Petrograd organized, on March 26, a massive -- there were 40,000 participants, including 12-15,000 soldiers -- demonstration, where tri-colored flags of blue, black, and white were waved. The Provisional Government confirmed its giving local authority to Estonia on March 30, 1917.

Vladimir Lenin, exiled in neutral Switzerland, arrived in Petrograd on April 3. He immediately began to undermine the provisional government, issuing his April's Theses the next month. These theses were in favour of "revolutionary defeatism", as opposed to the "imperialist war" (whose "link to the Capital" must be demonstrated to the masses) and the "Social-Chauvinists" (such as Georgi Plekhanov the grandfather of Russian socialism), who supported the war.

Lenin also took control of the Bolshevik movement and stirred up the proletariat against the government with simple but meaningful slogans such as "Peace, bread and land", "End the war" and "All land to the peasants". Finally, he announced the necessary creation of a new International to replace the defunct Second International, dissolved in 1916 after the 1915 Zimmerwald Conference.

Initially, neither Lenin nor his ideas enjoyed widespread support. In July, the Petrograd garrison refused to follow the army's plans to continue the war against Germany, demonstrating fiercely against them, and Lenin attempted to exploit the mutiny and, by supporting the garrison, arrange a Bolshevik coup. Kerensky, however, still had enough support to bring a halt to the resultant unrest. Faced with exile once more, Lenin fled to Finland. With the Petrograd Soviet (and other socialist movements, based in all large cities) generally opposed to the provisional government and its Prime Minister, Kerensky found himself now with two formidable opponents in the Soviets and the Bolsheviks.

Another trying issue with which Kerensky was faced arose when General Lavr Kornilov, Commander-in-Chief of the army, attempted to seize power by marching with an army toward Petrograd. Kerensky asked the Soviets and Bolsheviks for assistance. The Soviets called out their volunteers, the Trotsky-founded "Red Guards". The propaganda efforts by the revolutionaries made Kornilov lose the support of his troops and much of the public, which feared that he would try to restore the Tsar. The army of Kornilov suffered from sabotage and desertions, and capitulated immediately when it reached Petrograd.

Kerensky was unable to deal with the problems that he and Russia faced. Pressure from the right (such as those behind the Kornilov Affair), from the left (mainly the Bolsheviks) and pressure from the Allies, to continue the war against Germany, put the government under increasing strain. The conflict between the "diarchy" became obvious, and, ultimately, the regime and the Dual Authority formed between the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Government instigated by the February Revolution was replaced in the October Revolution.