The February Revolution in Petrograd

The February Revolution of 1917 began in Petrograd, where food shortages, anti-war feeling, and workers’ strikes developed into mass demonstrations. Moscow was also an important Russian city, but Petrograd was the initial centre of the revolution. Exam tip: link the February Revolution with Petrograd and the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.

The February Revolution took place in 1917 in Petrograd, then the capital of Russia. It was the first major revolution in Russia during that year and led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, ending centuries of Romanov rule. The name February comes from the old Russian calendar, although the event occurred in March according to the calendar used in many other countries. Option A is correct because 1917 connects the February Revolution with the later October Revolution. 1905 refers to an earlier failed revolution, 1914 marks Russia’s entry into the First World War, and 1924 was the year Lenin died.

Tsar Nicholas II was the ruler of Russia when the February Revolution began in 1917. He was the last Romanov tsar and had ruled since 1894. His government faced severe criticism because of military defeats, food shortages, inflation and the hardships created by the First World War. When the revolution spread through Petrograd, soldiers joined the workers, and Nicholas II abdicated in March 1917 according to the modern calendar. Option C is correct. Lenin led the Bolsheviks and returned later in 1917, Stalin became important after the revolution, and Kerensky headed the Provisional Government after the tsar’s abdication.

Food shortage and public discontent were increasing in Petrograd. Exam tip: understand food crisis as a key cause.

Workers' quarters were on the right bank of the Neva. Exam tip: remember the city's geographical division.

The Winter Palace and government buildings were in the left bank area. Exam tip: link the left bank with the centre of power.

A lockout at the Putilov works in Petrograd increased the anger of workers on 22 February 1917. A lockout occurs when an employer closes a workplace or refuses to allow workers to work, usually during a dispute. In this case, the action worsened existing problems such as shortages, low wages and poor wartime conditions. The next day, women workers joined demonstrations demanding bread and peace, and the protest rapidly expanded. Option A is correct because the factory lockout directly intensified labour unrest. The tsar’s birthday, a Duma election and bank nationalisation were not the immediate event described in this sequence.

The lockout was linked with the factory area on the right bank. Exam tip: connect workers' areas with the right bank.

The February Revolution in Petrograd began with demonstrations and strikes arising from food shortages, war conditions, and public anger. On 23 February 1917, workers from about fifty factories went on strike. This action helped turn separate complaints into a large citywide movement, which soon drew in women protesters, other workers, and soldiers.

Option C, fifty, is correct according to the standard school history account. The number is used to show the broad scale of the strike rather than a small workplace dispute. Ten and twenty underestimate the participation, while one hundred does not match the textbook figure. The strike was an important early step in the February Revolution, and remembering the approximate figure of fifty factories leads to answer C.

Women workers led strikes and demonstrations in many Petrograd factories on 23 February 1917, which was International Women’s Day according to the calendar then used in Russia. They protested against bread shortages, high prices and the suffering caused by the war. Their action encouraged male workers to join, turning a protest into a broader strike and revolutionary movement. Option A is correct because women played an active initiating role rather than remaining passive observers. Tsarist officials represented the ruling administration, while foreign traders and landlords were not the group that organised these factory strikes. This example also shows how economic grievances and women’s participation helped widen the revolution.

23 February was observed as International Women's Day. Exam tip: remember Women's Day and the strike together.

The demonstrating workers moved towards Nevsky Prospekt, the well-known central avenue of Petrograd. It was an important public and commercial street, so movement towards it made the protest highly visible and brought the demonstrators into the central area of the city. Option A is correct because the February Revolution narrative specifically places the workers’ march on or towards Nevsky Prospekt. Oxford Street is associated with London, Chandni Chowk with Delhi, and Red Square with Moscow, not Petrograd. Recognising the city is useful: Petrograd was the Russian capital at the time, while Moscow was a different major city. The street therefore helps identify the location of the demonstrations.

The government imposed curfew to stop demonstrations. Exam tip: remember curfew as a government response.

On 24 and 25 February 1917, demonstrators continued returning to the streets of Petrograd. The protests did not end after the first march; instead, they grew in size and intensity as workers, women and other citizens demanded bread, peace and an end to autocratic rule. This continuity was important because a repeated public protest could not be easily dismissed as an isolated disturbance. Option A is correct. The demonstrators did not occupy the tsar’s palace, return from a military victory or leave the city to farm. The continued street action also encouraged soldiers to question orders and eventually support the revolutionary movement, weakening the tsarist government.

The tsarist government called the cavalry and police to stop the demonstrators in Petrograd. This response shows that the government treated the growing protest as a threat requiring force rather than addressing the shortages, war pressures and political grievances behind it. Option B is correct because cavalry units and police were the forces used for repression and crowd control. Peasants and landlords were social groups, not the government’s principal security force in the city. Foreign traders and school teachers had no official role in suppressing the demonstrations. The attempt to control the streets failed when many soldiers refused to fire on the people and some joined the workers, turning the crisis into a revolution.

The Tsarist government suspended the Duma on 25 February 1917. The Duma was the elected legislative assembly created after the 1905 Revolution, although its powers under the tsar remained limited. Suspending it during a rapidly developing crisis showed that the government was rejecting even the available constitutional channel instead of negotiating with representatives. Option C is correct. The Petrograd Soviet was formed or became prominent during the revolutionary upheaval, not the institution suspended by the tsar on that date. The Red Army was established after the revolution, and the Cheka was created later by the Bolshevik government as a security organisation. Thus the Duma best fits both the date and the political context.

On 26 February demonstrators returned to the streets of the left bank. Exam tip: connect 26 February with intensified protest.

On 27 February 1917, anger in Petrograd had grown so strong that important symbols of Tsarist authority were attacked. The police headquarters was attacked and ransacked during the rising. This showed that the protest was no longer limited to demands about food or wages; it had become a direct challenge to the institutions that enforced the Tsarist government.

Option B is correct because the police headquarters represented the government's coercive machinery. A railway station, school building, or foreign bank does not identify the event described in the standard account of the February Revolution. The attack also helps explain why the authorities were losing control of the city. It was one sign that public rebellion and the weakening of state authority were advancing together. Therefore, the answer is B.

The slogans demanded bread wages better working hours and democracy. Exam tip: connect slogans with people's needs.

The demonstrators demanded shorter working hours to improve harsh working conditions. Demanding longer hours would have been the opposite of a workers’ protest demand. Exam tip: for the February Revolution, remember better working conditions and reduced working hours as key workers’ demands.