The February Revolution in Petrograd

The deployment of cavalry and police against demonstrators indicates that the government was attempting to preserve its authority through coercion rather than through negotiation or political reform. This is a limitation because a government that relies mainly on force may still control streets temporarily, but it does not resolve the causes of opposition or rebuild legitimacy. Option A correctly identifies this dependence on repression instead of dialogue. Option B is contradicted by the use of force, while options C and D describe actions unrelated to the evidence in the question. The event is important in understanding the weakness of Tsarist rule: the state possessed instruments of coercion, but its inability to secure consent made those instruments increasingly ineffective when mass opposition expanded.

The suspension of the Duma on 25 February demonstrates the Tsarist regime’s unwillingness or inability to work with a representative political institution during a crisis. The Duma represented at least a limited form of public political participation, so closing it signalled that the regime preferred administrative command and repression to consultation. Option C is correct because it identifies the conflict between autocratic authority and representative institutions. Option A is the opposite of the event: a complete constitutional democracy would not normally silence its representative body in this way. Option B is unrelated to the Duma’s suspension, and option D refers to a later political development, not the immediate February crisis. The act therefore deepened the regime’s legitimacy problem.

Opposition by Duma leaders increased Tsarism's isolation. Exam tip: remember the social widening of opposition.

When demonstrators returned on 26 February despite earlier repression and official restrictions, their action showed that the movement possessed continuity, endurance and determination. The protests were not an isolated reaction that disappeared after one police action; they continued because the underlying grievances remained unresolved and because large sections of workers and citizens were willing to challenge the regime repeatedly. Option B is therefore correct. Option A is contradicted by the renewed demonstrations. Options C and D are also unsupported, since neither the government nor the Tsarist system had satisfied the people or introduced complete reforms at that stage. The repeated return of protesters is historically significant because it marks the growth of a mass movement and the declining effectiveness of repression.

A police headquarters represented the coercive machinery of the Tsarist state, so its attack on 27 February signalled that the authorities were losing practical control over one of their main instruments of repression. This was a turning point because a mass movement becomes especially powerful when the institutions responsible for enforcing obedience can no longer operate effectively. Option B is correct: the attack symbolised the weakening and breakdown of the old repressive structure. Option A is contrary to the growing opposition, while option C is unrelated to the immediate event. Option D is also inaccurate because the Duma’s role did not amount to complete control of the state. The incident therefore marked a visible decline of Tsarist authority.

These demands were linked with livelihood and labour conditions. Exam tip: connect them with economic and labour struggle.

The demand for democracy challenged Tsarism. Exam tip: write political demand along with economic demand.

When army loyalty broke Tsarist power weakened. Exam tip: treat soldiers' mutiny as a decisive cause.

A soldier mutiny was a particularly deep sign of political crisis because soldiers were expected to defend the government and enforce its orders. When troops called upon to suppress demonstrations instead joined or supported the protesters, the state lost control over a central instrument of coercion. Option A is therefore correct. This was more serious than an ordinary public protest because it revealed a breakdown inside the machinery that upheld Tsarist authority. Option B is contradicted by the mutiny, and options C and D describe events that did not cause the soldiers’ revolt. The episode shows that repression could no longer be relied upon automatically and that the regime’s authority was collapsing from within as well as being challenged from outside.

The Petrograd Soviet emerged as a new popular power. Exam tip: connect it with the background of dual power.

The place showed a shift from old representation to new popular power. Exam tip: remember the symbolism of the building.

The Tsar's abdication came from a wider power crisis. Exam tip: understand it as a political result not a personal decision.

The Provisional Government formed in February while Bolshevik power came in October. Exam tip: keep the sequence of both revolutions clear.

Power remained unstable after the formation of the Provisional Government because authority was divided between the new government and the Soviets, especially the Petrograd Soviet. The Provisional Government claimed formal state power, while the Soviets retained strong influence among workers, soldiers and sections of the population. This situation is commonly described as dual power. Option B is correct because the continuing influence of the Soviets limited the government’s ability to act independently and exposed competing claims to legitimacy. Option A is false because Tsarism did not immediately return. Option C is unrelated, and option D is the opposite of reality because workers’ and soldiers’ movements continued to shape politics. The unresolved division also affected war, land and social reforms.

Queues for bread showed failure of supply under the regime. Exam tip: connect food crisis with legitimacy crisis.

Workers' closeness in factories made organised protest possible. Exam tip: see factories as political spaces.

Women workers brought forward both class struggle and women's participation. Exam tip: write it with double significance.

The governing concept is that a revolution can combine immediate economic grievances with wider political demands. In Petrograd, people protested shortages, rising prices, and poor working conditions, but they also challenged the war, autocratic rule, and the authority of the Tsarist government. Because these demands operated together, the February Revolution cannot be reduced to a food campaign. Option C is therefore correct: it was a broad anti-regime movement. Option A identifies only one part of the grievance, while B and D do not describe the mass strikes, demonstrations, and political challenge that shaped the revolution.

The changing relationship between soldiers and demonstrators showed that parts of the army were moving away from unquestioning obedience to the Tsarist state and toward sympathy or active support for the popular movement. This was a decisive process because the government depended on soldiers and police to enforce order. Once soldiers refused to fire, fraternised with protesters or joined them, the balance of power shifted sharply. Option A is correct. Option B is contradicted by the army’s loss of obedience. Option C does not describe the changing social and political alignment between soldiers and demonstrators, and option D is also incorrect because the food crisis remained unresolved. The army’s change of side helped turn protest into a revolutionary collapse of the old regime.

One event showed breakdown of old power and the other showed rise of new power. Exam tip: treat 27 February as a turn in power balance.