The February Revolution and the End of the Romanovs
The February Revolution of 1917 was the event that ended the Russian Empire and brought down the three-hundred-year-old Romanov dynasty. The revolution began with strikes and demonstrations in the capital, Petrograd, and within days the imperial government had collapsed and Tsar Nicholas II had abdicated. The revolution marked the end of the autocratic system that had defined Russian political life for centuries, and it set the stage for the establishment of a new political order in Russia.
The February Revolution was the result of a long process of social, economic, and political change in the Russian Empire, and it was the immediate consequence of the disasters of the First World War. The revolution was also shaped by the experience of the 1905 Revolution, the development of the revolutionary movement, and the growth of a Russian public sphere that could no longer be ignored by the autocratic state.
The background of the revolution
The February Revolution was the result of a complex interplay of long-term and short-term factors. The long-term factors included the social and economic tensions of the late imperial period, the failure of the autocratic system to adapt to the challenges of the modern world, the rise of national and revolutionary movements, and the pressures of the international system. The short-term factors included the disasters of the First World War, the breakdown of the imperial government, and the inability of the regime to mobilize popular support for the war effort.
The First World War was the immediate cause of the revolution. The war exposed the weaknesses of the imperial system, exhausted the Russian economy, and radicalized the Russian population. By early 1917, the Russian army was on the verge of collapse, the economy was in crisis, and the population was increasingly discontented. The disasters of the war had eroded support for the monarchy, and the regime was unable to find a way out of the crisis.
The political situation was also critical. The State Duma had become increasingly critical of the government, and the “Progressive Bloc” of Duma deputies had demanded a government of national confidence. Nicholas II, however, had consistently refused to share power, and the situation had continued to deteriorate. In December 1916, the murder of Grigory Rasputin, the controversial mystic who had gained great influence over the imperial family, had failed to change the situation, and the regime was increasingly isolated.
The outbreak of revolution
The revolution began on 23 February 1917 (8 March by the Western calendar) with a strike of women textile workers in Petrograd, the capital. The strike was triggered by bread shortages and the cold weather, but it quickly spread to other workers and to the soldiers of the Petrograd garrison. Within days, the capital was in the hands of the revolutionaries, and the regime had effectively collapsed.
The first days of the revolution were marked by a series of strikes, demonstrations, and military mutinies. The workers of the major Petrograd factories, including the Putilov works, came out on strike, and the demonstrations grew rapidly in size. The soldiers of the Petrograd garrison, who had been ordered to suppress the demonstrations, gradually mutinied and joined the revolutionaries. By 27 February, most of the Petrograd garrison was in the hands of the revolutionaries, and the imperial government had lost control of the capital.
The Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies was established on 27 February, and it became one of the two main centers of political power in the revolution. The Soviet, dominated by the Socialist Revolutionaries and the Mensheviks, issued the famous Order No. 1, which established the political rights of the soldiers and sailors and the authority of the Soviet over the military units.
The Provisional Committee of the State Duma was also formed on 27 February, and it became the other main center of political power. On 2 March 1917 (15 March by the Western calendar), the committee constituted the Provisional Government, composed mainly of moderate politicians, which claimed to be the legitimate successor to the imperial government. The leading figures in the early Provisional Government were Prince Georgy Lvov, the first prime minister, and Foreign Minister Pavel Milyukov.
The abdication of Nicholas II
Nicholas II, who was at army headquarters at Mogilev, attempted to return to the capital, but the train was stopped and he was forced to abdicate. On 2 March 1917 (15 March by the Western calendar), he signed an instrument of abdication in favor of his brother, the Grand Duke Michael. The next day, the Grand Duke declined the throne, and the Romanov dynasty was officially at an end.
The abdication of Nicholas II was the formal end of the Romanov dynasty and the Russian Empire. The dynasty had ruled Russia for more than 300 years, and its fall marked the end of an era in Russian history. The abdication was the result of a long process of erosion of the dynasty’s authority, and it was the immediate consequence of the February Revolution and the collapse of the imperial government.
The Grand Duke Michael’s decision to decline the throne was a critical moment in Russian history. The Grand Duke believed that he could not accept the throne without the consent of the people, and he believed that the Provisional Government could not guarantee such consent. His decision, however, meant that the question of the form of government in Russia was left open, and it contributed to the political instability that would eventually lead to the October Revolution.
The Provisional Government
The Provisional Government, which was established in the wake of the abdication, was composed mainly of moderate politicians from the Constitutional Democratic Party and the other progressive parties. The government was led by the Prince Georgy Lvov until July 1917, and then by Alexander Kerensky, a moderate Socialist Revolutionary. The government committed itself to a wide range of reforms, including the convocation of a Constituent Assembly, the abolition of the old regime’s restrictions on civil liberties, and the introduction of land reform.
The Provisional Government, however, was unable to address the fundamental problems facing Russia. The government was committed to continuing the war, which was deeply unpopular among the soldiers and workers, and it was unable to address the social and economic crises that were tearing the country apart. The government was also weakened by its relationship with the Petrograd Soviet, which exercised considerable influence over the soldiers and workers and which had its own agenda for the revolution.
The period from February to October 1917 was marked by a series of crises, including the April Crisis over the war aims, the July Days of armed demonstrations in Petrograd, the Kornilov Affair of August 1917, in which the commander-in-chief Lavr Kornilov attempted a military coup, and the growing radicalization of the workers and soldiers. The Provisional Government was unable to address any of these crises effectively, and it became increasingly clear that the government was not in control of the situation.
The aftermath of the abdication
The aftermath of the abdication was a period of great uncertainty. The new Provisional Government, while claiming to be the legitimate government, shared power with the Petrograd Soviet, which was more responsive to the demands of the workers and soldiers. The two centers of power, the Provisional Government and the Soviet, had different views on the future of Russia, and the tension between them was an important feature of the political situation.
The months between February and October 1917 were also marked by an important political mobilization. The revolutionary parties, including the Bolsheviks, the Mensheviks, and the Social Revolutionaries, organized and agitated among the workers and soldiers. The soviets spread to the major cities and to the army units at the front, and they became an important new form of political organization. The factory committees, the trade unions, and the various voluntary organizations also played an important role in the political life of the country.
The period was also marked by an important social upheaval. The peasants began to seize the land, the workers began to take control of the factories, and the soldiers began to organize their own committees. The old social order, which had been based on the autocratic state, the nobility, and the Orthodox Church, was breaking down, and a new social order was emerging.
The execution of the imperial family
The fate of the imperial family was a major issue in 1917-1918. After the abdication, the imperial family was held under house arrest, first at the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo, then at Tobolsk in Siberia, and finally at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. The Bolsheviks had come to power in the October Revolution, and the approach of anti-Bolshevik forces to Yekaterinburg in July 1918 alarmed the local authorities.
On the night of 16-17 July 1918, Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, their five children (Olga, Tatiana, Maria, Anastasia, and Alexei), their doctor, and their remaining servants were taken to the basement of the Ipatiev House and shot. The execution was carried out by a detachment of Bolshevik guards under the command of Yakov Yurovsky. The bodies were taken to a forest outside the city, where attempts to burn them largely failed; two of the bodies were burned, and the rest were buried in a concealed grave that was discovered only in 1979.
The execution of the royal family was a momentous event. It ended the Romanov dynasty permanently and eliminated any possibility of a restoration. The deaths were not officially acknowledged by the Soviet government until 1926, and the remains were not recovered and identified until after the fall of the Soviet Union. The Russian Orthodox Church canonized the Romanovs as new martyrs in 2000, and the question of the imperial family’s burial has continued to be a major issue in post-Soviet Russia.
The legacy of the February Revolution
The February Revolution was a turning point in Russian history. It marked the end of the autocratic system that had defined Russian political life for centuries, and it set the stage for the establishment of a new political order. The revolution was also an event in world history, since it helped to bring about the Russian withdrawal from the First World War and it set the stage for the October Revolution and the establishment of the Soviet Union.
The revolution also demonstrated the importance of the masses in Russian political life, with the workers, soldiers, and peasants playing a central role in the events of 1917, and it showed how quickly the seemingly solid structures of the old regime could collapse once their legitimacy had been exhausted.
The revolution raised questions it could not answer: land for the peasants, peace for the exhausted army, home rule for the national minorities, and a form of government that could combine authority with accountability. The Provisional Government’s insistence on continuing the war — under intense Allied pressure — undermined its authority on all the others. Whether a more decisive land policy or an earlier armistice could have saved the Provisional Government and averted the October seizure of power remains the central historical debate about February 1917.