The February Revolution in Petrograd

A revolution changes character when the institutions that enforce the existing order begin to break down. At first, workers and other citizens protested in the streets against shortages, war, and autocratic rule. The mutiny of infantry regiments transformed the situation because soldiers, who were expected to defend the regime, joined or supported the protest instead. This created a direct crisis in the state's military power and made ordinary repression difficult. Option A is correct. The palace, trade, and tax-collection descriptions in B, C, and D do not explain this decisive political and military change.

The Petrograd Soviet became a new representative force. Exam tip: connect Soviet with an alternative source of power.

The Soviet gave the movement institution and representation. Exam tip: understand organisation and representation together.

Workers were linked with production and soldiers with repressive power. Exam tip: write the combined role of class and army.

Power depends not only on orders but on obedience. Exam tip: write the difference between order and control.

The commanders' advice shows the seriousness of the Tsarist crisis. Exam tip: see it as background to abdication.

Tsar Nicholas II’s abdication on 2 March 1917 ended Tsarist autocratic rule in Russia. It did not bring immediate Bolshevik rule; after the February Revolution, power was shared uneasily between the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet. Exam tip: link the February Revolution with the fall of Tsarism and the October Revolution with Bolshevik power.

The Provisional Government was formed before a permanent constitutional arrangement. Exam tip: understand the importance of the word provisional.

After February power was not limited to one centre. Exam tip: connect dual power with later politics.

The Constituent Assembly was a democratic hope to decide the future order. Exam tip: connect it with popular representation.

The two revolutions must be separated because they had different immediate targets, participants, and results. The February Revolution overthrew the Tsarist monarchy and led to the formation of a Provisional Government, while soviets also became important centres of political power. The October Revolution occurred later and was led by the Bolsheviks, who removed the Provisional Government and claimed power in the name of the soviets. Therefore option A correctly distinguishes their outcomes. Options B, C, and D either reverse the events or deny their major political consequences.

Hardships of life pushed people towards protest. Exam tip: connect economic crisis with social atmosphere.

Repression could succeed only if the army fully stayed with the regime. Exam tip: treat the army's shift as a main point.

Tsarism weakened when support declined from several sources. Exam tip: connect legitimacy with multi-level support.

Workers' protest moved out of factories into city politics. Exam tip: identify the expansion of the movement.

Spontaneity showed the depth of public unrest. Exam tip: understand both organisation and spontaneity.

Bread was linked with life crisis and democracy with representation crisis. Exam tip: write the multidimensional meaning of demands.

The central concept is the collapse of coercive authority. A street demonstration can remain a protest against a government, but it becomes a crisis of rule when the government loses the forces needed to enforce its commands. In Petrograd, soldiers' mutiny and their decision to join or support the people meant that the regime could not depend confidently on the army to restore order. This transformed public protest into a direct challenge to political power. Option A is correct. A private feast, a good harvest, or a foreign trade tax did not produce this immediate breakdown of state authority.

The Soviet presented an alternative legitimacy of power. Exam tip: connect it with the background of dual power.

Abdication signalled the end of the whole Tsarist system. Exam tip: distinguish person and system.