4. Lesson 4.2.3 The Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution

During February 1917, in the streets the Russian people were rioting for food. The military refused to support the tsar's government and stop the rioting or control the people. Nicholas no longer had the support of the army or of his people. He had lost control of all Russian society. The Russian parliament (Duma) forced Nicholas to abdicate (give  up control of the country) in February 1917. The Duma, or Russian parliament, took over from the tsar and governed Russia with a democratically-elected provisional government. However, the Duma's provisional government was of short duration.

The Duma's provisional government failed for several reasons:

  • It did not want to make changes quickly.

  • It was unable to satisfy the demands of all the groups that wanted changes.

  • It wanted to continue fighting in World War I, but the Russian people were very much opposed to continuing to fight in WWI. The people wanted peace.

Although outlawed, socialists had been active in Russia for many years. A socialist leader, Vladimir Lenin, saw the chance for a Marxist revolution in Russia.