February Revolution

First of the two political uprisings of the Russian Revolution in 1917 that led to the overthrow of the tsar and the end of the Romanov dynasty.

The immediate cause of the revolution was the inability of the tsardom to manage World War I. On 8 March (dating by the Western calendar, not adopted at that time in Russia) strikes and bread riots broke out in Petrograd (now St Petersburg), where the troops later mutinied and joined the rioters. A Provisional Government under Prince L'vov was appointed by the Duma (assembly) and Tsar Nicholas II abdicated on 15 March (27 February Julian calendar).

The Petrograd Soviet of Workers, Peasants and Soldiers (formed originally during the Russian revolution of 1905) was revived by the Bolsheviks, among other parties, and opposed the Provisional Government, especially when Lenin returned from Switzerland in April. On 16-18 July the Bolsheviks made an unsuccessful attempt to seize power and Lenin was forced into hiding in Finland. The Provisional Government tried to continue the war, but was weakened by serious misunderstandings between the prime minister, Kerensky, and the commander-in-chief, General Kornilov, who tried unsuccessfully to gain power in September 1917. Shortly afterwards the Bolsheviks seized power in the October Revolution.