History (February revolution in Petrograd) Covers the Following Topics

1. The Conditions in Petrograd (Winter 1917)

• Divisions in Petrograd’s Layout: Separation of workers’ quarters from fashionable areas (Winter Palace, official buildings, Duma).
• Food Shortages: Severe shortages in the workers’ quarters, exacerbated by an extremely cold winter with frost and snow.
• Tensions Among Workers: Strikes and protests due to food shortages and poor working conditions.

2. February Revolution Events

• Factory Lockout on February 22: Event triggering widespread strikes across fifty factories.
• Role of Women: Women led the strikes, particularly on International Women’s Day, and played a pivotal role in organizing protests.
• Crossing to Nevskii Prospekt: Demonstrators moved from the workers’ quarters to the city center.
• Government’s Response: Imposed a curfew, called out cavalry and police, and suspended the Duma.
• Mutinies in the Military: Refusal of the cavalry to fire on demonstrators, mutinies in regiments, and soldiers joining the workers.
• Ransacking of Police Headquarters: Symbolic event during the revolution.

3. Formation of the Petrograd Soviet

• Soviet Formation on February 27: Workers and soldiers formed the Petrograd Soviet in the same building where the Duma met.
• Abdication of Tsar Nicholas II (March 2): Following advice from military commanders, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, leading to the establishment of the Provisional Government.
• Creation of the Provisional Government: Joint formation by Soviet and Duma leaders to manage the country’s affairs.

4. Women in the February Revolution

• Specific Contributions by Women Workers: Example of Marfa Vasileva, who led strikes at the Lorenz telephone factory.
• Broader Role in the Revolution: Women’s critical participation in strikes and their influence on male workers.

5. After February (Post-February Developments)

• Influence of Army Officials, Landowners, and Industrialists: Their involvement in the Provisional Government and shaping its policies.
• Rise of Soviets Everywhere: Soviets were formed across Russia without a common system of elections.
• Lenin’s Return and the April Theses: Lenin returned from exile and opposed the war, calling for the end of war, transfer of land to peasants, and nationalization of banks.
• Bolsheviks’ Growing Influence: Spread of the workers’ movement, rise of factory and soldiers’ committees, and the All Russian Congress of Soviets.
• Government’s Response to Bolshevik Influence: Repression of demonstrations in July 1917, arrests of Bolshevik leaders, and resistance to workers’ attempts to take control of factories.
• Peasant Seizure of Land: Between July and September 1917, peasants seized land, encouraged by the Socialist Revolutionaries.

6. The Revolution of October 1917

• Lenin’s Fear of Dictatorship: Growing conflict between the Provisional Government and the Bolsheviks led Lenin to plan for an uprising.
• Bolshevik Seizure of Power on October 24: The Military Revolutionary Committee, led by Trotskii, organized the takeover of government offices.
• Aurora’s Shelling of the Winter Palace: A key event symbolizing the success of the revolution.
• Bolshevik Control by December: By the end of 1917, the Bolsheviks controlled Petrograd and Moscow.

7. Key Chronological Events

• Important Dates in Russian History:
  • 1850s-1880s: Debates over socialism in Russia.
  • 1898: Formation of the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party.
  • 1905: Bloody Sunday and the Revolution of 1905.
  • 1917: Tsar’s abdication on March 2, Bolshevik uprising on October 24.
  • 1918-1920: The Russian Civil War.
  • 1919: Formation of the Comintern.
  • 1929: Beginning of Collectivization.
• Adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in February 1918: Russia transitioned from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar, resulting in a shift of key dates.

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