February Revolution

For people who check facts

The February Revolution of 1917 in Russia was the first stage of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.

It occurred largely as a result of dissatisfaction with the way the Tsar was running the country, in particular Russia's ongoing involvement in the First World War. The regime that came into being was a largely liberal alliance of political reformers who wanted to instigate a democratically elected constituent assembly.

On February 24, 1917, lack of food caused riots in the capital, Petrograd. This led Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate the throne on March 2.

Pressure from the right (such as those behind the Kornilov Affair) and from the left, mainly the Bolsheviks put the liberal Provisional Government under a lot of strain. On March 1, 1917 the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies issued Order No. 1, which ordered the military to obey its orders rather than those of the Provisional Government. Ultimately the regime instigated by the February Revolution was forcibly replaced in the October Revolution.