Overview
In 1917 Russia went through two revolutions. In February, strikes and mutinies in Petrograd brought down Tsar Nicholas II. The liberal Provisional Government Key term · March–October 1917 Provisional Government The temporary government formed from Duma politicians after the tsar's abdication, later led by Alexander Kerensky. Why it matters Its decisions to continue the war and delay land reform and elections cost it support and opened the way for the Bolsheviks. See in glossary → that replaced him shared power with the Petrograd Soviet Key term · 1917 Petrograd Soviet The council of workers' and soldiers' deputies elected in Petrograd in February 1917. Why it matters It rivalled the Provisional Government for authority. Once the Bolsheviks won a majority in September, it became the base from which they seized power. See in glossary → and kept Russia in the war. In October the Bolsheviks Key term · 1903–1918 Bolsheviks The faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party led by Lenin, committed to a disciplined party of professional revolutionaries. Renamed the Communist Party in 1918. Why it matters Their organisation, clear slogans and willingness to take power alone let a minority party seize and hold power in 1917. See in glossary → , led by Lenin and Trotsky, seized power — and then fought a brutal civil war to keep it.
Key dates (Russian dates, old style)
- 23–27 Feb 1917 The February Revolution Key term · February 1917 (March in the Western calendar) February Revolution The strikes, demonstrations and army mutinies in Petrograd that forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate. Why it matters It ended three centuries of Romanov rule with little planning by any party — showing how far war and shortages had destroyed the regime's authority. See in glossary → : strikes and mutinies in Petrograd.
- 2 Mar 1917 Nicholas II abdicates; the Provisional Government forms.
- Apr 1917 Lenin returns from exile and issues the April Theses Key term · April 1917 April Theses Lenin's programme on returning to Russia — no support for the Provisional Government, an end to the war, land to the peasants, and all power to the soviets. Why it matters It set the Bolsheviks apart from every other party and gave them the simple, radical message that won support as the government failed. See in glossary → .
- Jul 1917 The July Days: an uprising in Petrograd fails and Lenin flees to Finland.
- Aug 1917 The Kornilov affair Key term · August 1917 Kornilov affair An apparent attempt by the army commander, General Kornilov, to move troops on Petrograd, which Kerensky defeated with the help of the soviets and armed workers. Why it matters It discredited Kerensky, armed the Red Guards, and restored the Bolsheviks' standing after the July Days. See in glossary → discredits Kerensky and revives the Bolsheviks.
- 25 Oct 1917 The October Revolution Key term · 25 October 1917 (7 November in the Western calendar) October Revolution The Bolshevik seizure of power in Petrograd, organised by the Military Revolutionary Committee under Trotsky. Why it matters Whether it was a popular revolution or a coup by a small party is one of the central debates of twentieth-century history. See in glossary → : the Bolsheviks seize power in Petrograd.
- Jan 1918 The Bolsheviks close the Constituent Assembly Key term · January 1918 Constituent Assembly The elected body meant to decide Russia's future constitution. The Socialist Revolutionaries won the most seats; the Bolsheviks dissolved it after one day. Why it matters Its closure showed that the Bolsheviks would not give up power through elections and marked the start of one-party rule. See in glossary → after one day.
- Mar 1918 The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk Key term · March 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk The peace treaty between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers, under which Russia gave up Poland, the Baltic lands, Finland and Ukraine. Why it matters Lenin accepted it to save the revolution. It cost Russia much of its population and industry and helped provoke the Civil War. See in glossary → takes Russia out of the war.
- 1918–1921 Civil war; War Communism Key term · 1918–1921 War Communism The Bolsheviks' Civil War economic policies — nationalisation of industry, forced grain requisitioning and a ban on private trade. Why it matters It kept the Red Army supplied but caused famine and peasant revolts, and the Kronstadt rising forced its abandonment. See in glossary → ; the Cheka Key term · 1917–1922 Cheka The Bolshevik secret police, founded in December 1917 under Felix Dzerzhinsky. Why it matters It carried out the Red Terror against opponents of the regime and was the forerunner of the OGPU and NKVD that enforced Stalin's rule. See in glossary → ’s Red Terror.
- Mar 1921 The Kronstadt rising is crushed; the New Economic Policy Key term · 1921–1928 New Economic Policy (NEP) Lenin's partial return to a market economy — peasants could sell surplus grain and small businesses could trade privately. Why it matters It revived the economy but divided the party, and the debate over whether to continue it shaped the power struggle after Lenin's death. See in glossary → is introduced.
- Jan 1924 Lenin dies.
Why did tsarism collapse?
- The war. Defeats and huge casualties, with the tsar personally in command from 1915, tied the monarchy to failure.
- Economic crisis. Inflation and food and fuel shortages hit the cities hardest; bread queues in Petrograd turned into strikes.
- Loss of the elites. The Rasputin scandal and incompetent ministers alienated the nobility, the Duma and the army’s commanders, who advised Nicholas to abdicate.
- The garrison mutinied. When soldiers in Petrograd refused to fire on crowds and joined them, the regime had no force left.
Why did the Provisional Government fail?
The Provisional Government was never elected and shared authority with the Soviet in a system of dual power Key term · 1917 Dual power The sharing of authority between the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet after the February Revolution. Why it matters It left the government responsible for Russia's problems without full control of the army or the streets — a key reason it could not govern effectively. See in glossary → ; the Soviet’s Order No. 1 gave it effective control over the army. The government kept fighting the war, launched a failed offensive in June, and postponed land reform and elections to a Constituent Assembly. Each delay made the Bolsheviks’ simple slogans more attractive.
Peace, land and bread! All power to the soviets!
Why this quote matters
The slogans promised exactly what the Provisional Government was failing to deliver — an end to the war, land for the peasants and food for the cities — and demanded that the soviets, not the government, rule.
The Kornilov affair was the turning point: Kerensky armed the Petrograd workers — including Bolshevik Red Guards — to stop an apparent military coup, and the Bolsheviks won majorities in the Petrograd and Moscow soviets. Trotsky’s Military Revolutionary Committee organised the seizure of the capital on 25 October. When moderate socialists walked out of the Congress of Soviets in protest, Trotsky told them to go “into the dustbin of history” Quotation · 25 October 1917 Leon Trotsky Second Congress of Soviets Why it matters A famous dismissal of the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries — and a sign that the Bolsheviks intended to rule alone rather than share power with other socialists. .
Holding on to power, 1917–1924
- Decrees on peace and land won support; the Constituent Assembly Key term · January 1918 Constituent Assembly The elected body meant to decide Russia's future constitution. The Socialist Revolutionaries won the most seats; the Bolsheviks dissolved it after one day. Why it matters Its closure showed that the Bolsheviks would not give up power through elections and marked the start of one-party rule. See in glossary → , where the Socialist Revolutionaries had won most seats, was dissolved when it would not accept Bolshevik rule.
- Brest-Litovsk ended the war at the cost of huge territory, but gave the regime breathing space.
- The Civil War was won through the Red Army’s discipline under Trotsky, control of the central railway network and industrial heartland, and the divisions and foreign links of the Whites.
- Terror and War Communism — grain requisitioning, nationalisation, and the Cheka — kept the regime in power at enormous human cost.
- Retreat to the NEP after the Kronstadt rising showed Lenin’s pragmatism: private trade returned while the party banned factions within itself.
Historians’ debate
Pipes saw October as a coup by a small, conspiratorial party, not a popular revolution, and traced Stalinist terror back to Lenin.
Fitzpatrick emphasised genuine popular radicalism among workers, soldiers and peasants in 1917, and treated the revolution as a longer process lasting into the 1930s.
Figes combined high politics with ordinary people’s experience, arguing that the revolution grew from popular grievances but was captured by a party whose methods turned it into a tragedy.
Test yourself
What was 'dual power', and why did it weaken the Provisional Government? Reveal
The division of authority between the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet in 1917. The Soviet controlled key resources — through Order No. 1, the army’s obedience — so the government could not act without its agreement.
Why was the Kornilov affair a turning point? Reveal
Kerensky relied on the soviets and armed Red Guards to stop Kornilov. The Bolsheviks appeared as defenders of the revolution, their support surged, and they won majorities in the Petrograd and Moscow soviets.
Give three reasons the Reds won the Civil War. Reveal
Central position and control of railways and industry; a disciplined, centrally commanded Red Army; the Whites’ divisions, reactionary image and dependence on foreign support. Terror and grain requisitioning also kept the Reds supplied and suppressed opposition.
Key terms
- April Theses April 1917
-
Lenin's programme on returning to Russia — no support for the Provisional Government, an end to the war, land to the peasants, and all power to the soviets.
Significance: It set the Bolsheviks apart from every other party and gave them the simple, radical message that won support as the government failed.
- Bolsheviks 1903–1918
-
The faction of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party led by Lenin, committed to a disciplined party of professional revolutionaries. Renamed the Communist Party in 1918.
Significance: Their organisation, clear slogans and willingness to take power alone let a minority party seize and hold power in 1917.
- Cheka 1917–1922
-
The Bolshevik secret police, founded in December 1917 under Felix Dzerzhinsky.
Significance: It carried out the Red Terror against opponents of the regime and was the forerunner of the OGPU and NKVD that enforced Stalin's rule.
- Constituent Assembly January 1918
-
The elected body meant to decide Russia's future constitution. The Socialist Revolutionaries won the most seats; the Bolsheviks dissolved it after one day.
Significance: Its closure showed that the Bolsheviks would not give up power through elections and marked the start of one-party rule.
- Dual power 1917
-
The sharing of authority between the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet after the February Revolution.
Significance: It left the government responsible for Russia's problems without full control of the army or the streets — a key reason it could not govern effectively.
- February Revolution February 1917 (March in the Western calendar)
-
The strikes, demonstrations and army mutinies in Petrograd that forced Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate.
Significance: It ended three centuries of Romanov rule with little planning by any party — showing how far war and shortages had destroyed the regime's authority.
- Kornilov affair August 1917
-
An apparent attempt by the army commander, General Kornilov, to move troops on Petrograd, which Kerensky defeated with the help of the soviets and armed workers.
Significance: It discredited Kerensky, armed the Red Guards, and restored the Bolsheviks' standing after the July Days.
- New Economic Policy (NEP) 1921–1928
-
Lenin's partial return to a market economy — peasants could sell surplus grain and small businesses could trade privately.
Significance: It revived the economy but divided the party, and the debate over whether to continue it shaped the power struggle after Lenin's death.
- October Revolution 25 October 1917 (7 November in the Western calendar)
-
The Bolshevik seizure of power in Petrograd, organised by the Military Revolutionary Committee under Trotsky.
Significance: Whether it was a popular revolution or a coup by a small party is one of the central debates of twentieth-century history.
- Petrograd Soviet 1917
-
The council of workers' and soldiers' deputies elected in Petrograd in February 1917.
Significance: It rivalled the Provisional Government for authority. Once the Bolsheviks won a majority in September, it became the base from which they seized power.
- Provisional Government March–October 1917
-
The temporary government formed from Duma politicians after the tsar's abdication, later led by Alexander Kerensky.
Significance: Its decisions to continue the war and delay land reform and elections cost it support and opened the way for the Bolsheviks.
- Treaty of Brest-Litovsk March 1918
-
The peace treaty between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers, under which Russia gave up Poland, the Baltic lands, Finland and Ukraine.
Significance: Lenin accepted it to save the revolution. It cost Russia much of its population and industry and helped provoke the Civil War.
- War Communism 1918–1921
-
The Bolsheviks' Civil War economic policies — nationalisation of industry, forced grain requisitioning and a ban on private trade.
Significance: It kept the Red Army supplied but caused famine and peasant revolts, and the Kronstadt rising forced its abandonment.