The February Revolution in Petrograd

Food crisis and unrest made Petrograd explosive. Exam tip: remember the immediate causes of the February Revolution.

The right bank was the area of workers and factories. Exam tip: remember the geographical division of Petrograd.

The left bank had buildings linked with power and administration. Exam tip: connect the left bank with official areas.

The factory lockout pushed workers towards protest. Exam tip: link it with the beginning of the movement.

The strike in many factories made the protest widespread. Exam tip: link the number with the spread of the movement.

Women workers gave active leadership to the movement. Exam tip: remember women as a key force of the February Revolution.

Women's activity on International Women's Day intensified the movement. Exam tip: remember the date and event together.

The march towards the city centre increased pressure on the government. Exam tip: connect place with political pressure.

The early demonstrations were not fully controlled by any party. Exam tip: remember spontaneous public unrest.

Curfew was a repressive response of the government. Exam tip: link government measures with fear of mass movement.

Returning to the streets repeatedly shows the firmness of the movement. Exam tip: treat continuity as strength of the movement.

Cavalry and police were called for repression. Exam tip: remember it as a government response.

The Duma was a representative political body, so suspending it removed an important channel through which public grievances and political demands could be expressed. On 25 February, when strikes and demonstrations were already expanding, this action appeared to show that the Tsarist government was refusing cooperation and choosing repression. It therefore deepened mistrust and made the crisis more serious.

Option A is correct because silencing the Duma suppressed the voice of a representative institution. Option B is contradictory: suspending the Duma did not increase democracy. Option C is wrong because the war continued, and option D is wrong because it confuses the Duma with the Soviet. The suspension made compromise harder and helped intensify opposition to the government, so A is the best answer.

The disagreement of Duma leaders showed the Tsar's isolation. Exam tip: connect it with declining political support.

The left bank was linked with official areas so the protest became more political. Exam tip: understand the meaning of place.

The attack on police headquarters was anger against state repression. Exam tip: connect it with intensification of the movement.

Demand for bread and wages was linked with people's everyday problems. Exam tip: link slogans with living conditions.

Better working hours, fair wages, and safer conditions were major concerns of the working class employed in factories. Therefore, the correct answer is the working class. Landlords were mainly concerned with land and agricultural issues, not factory working hours. Exam tip: Link demands about wages or working hours with workers.

The demand for democracy was linked with political rights and representation. Exam tip: distinguish it from economic demands.

The governing historical concept is the role of military loyalty in sustaining or weakening an authoritarian regime. During the February Revolution in Petrograd, the refusal of soldiers to fire showed that the Tsarist government could no longer rely fully on the armed forces for repression. This encouraged demonstrators, strengthened the strike movement, and helped convert unrest into a wider political crisis. Therefore option A is correct: the government’s coercive capacity was weakened. Option B is the opposite of what happened. Option C is incorrect because workers’ demands continued and became more politically powerful. Option D is also wrong because the Duma’s position was not automatically determined by one refusal to fire. The army’s changing attitude was a decisive turning point.