February/March Revolution and the abdication of the tsar

Why was there even greater food shortages in WWI?

Rations were being sent to the front line

What about the winter of 1916 meant even greater food shortages?

It was particularly cold

What did supplies look like in Petrograd in 1916?

Little food or fuel entered the city, prices rocketed

What did people have to do to get bread in Petrograd in 1916?

Form large bread queues just to get a tiny portion

When was the tsar stopped upon trying to return to Petrograd (dmy)

2nd March 1917

What indication was there that when the tsar resigned, the Romanov dynasty wasn’t going to continue? (think family)

N’s brother and uncle had refused the throne, his son was too sickly to rule

Who stopped TNII when he tried to return to Petrograd?

Railway workers

What day did the February strikes in Petrograd start (not when all the women joined)?

21st February 1917

What day did the Feb. strikes really surge in popularity/are considered by some to have started?

23rd February 1917/International Women’s Day

What workers decided to almost spontaneously go on strike on 23rd Feb?

Female textile workers

How many workers of both sexes were on strike by the end of the 23rd Feb?

90,000

What were they mainly protesting in the initial Feb. protests?

Food shortages and inequality (although there were also hints of revolutionary and anti-tsar sentiments)

What did the peaceful protests in Feb. deteriorate into?

Rioting and looting

By which date were essentially all factories in Petrograd closed? (dm)

25th Feb

How many workers were on strike by 25th Feb?

300,000

When did the Tsar order General Khabalov to put down the protests? (dm)

27th Feb

The tsar ordered the protests to be put down in what way?

Using force and aggression

What did the soldiers do when ordered to open fire on the protesters and why?

Mutinied - they after all were still part of the people and they and their family shared the concerns of the protesters

Why were the army in Petrograd already unhappy?

Their 160,000 troops were being housed in barracks meant for 20,000

Why was the army’s mutiny particularly detrimnetal to TNII?

He now had no way of enforcing his authority

In the run up to TNII’s abdication, how had the Duma become more powerful (2 ways)

Had grown in confidence with its demands to the tsar, had insisted on the replacement of ministers

When did TNII ordered the dissolution of the Duma? (dm)

25th Feb

What did the Duma do when ordered to dissolve?

Refused

How many were on the council the Duma set up to create the transitional gov.?

12

When did the Petrograd Soviet reform? (dm)

28th Feb

What was the transitional government mainly made up in terms of political groups?

Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries

What had some members of the Duma made in September 1915 as a response to Alexandra and Rasputin’s poor leadership?

“Progressive Bloc” aka an alternative power to the tsar

What was the “Progressive Bloc”?

A coalition of centrist and liberal Duma members

What was the aim of the “Progressive Bloc”?

They tried to pressure the imperial gov. into adopting reforms that would increase confidence in the system but also deal with WWI better