Two revolutions in 1917 dismantled tsarism and brought the Bolsheviks to power.
By thehistoricalfrontier editorial team · Published 20 July 2026 · Updated 26 July 2026 · 5 min read
A crowd gathers on Liteyny Prospekt in Petrograd during the February Revolution. Creator: Unknown photographer. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.
Food shortages, war weariness and strikes destabilised Petrograd in February 1917. Soldiers joined demonstrators, and Nicholas II abdicated.
A Provisional Government shared unstable authority with workers' and soldiers' soviets. Its decision to continue the war deepened the crisis.
In October, Bolshevik-led forces seized key points in Petrograd and overthrew the Provisional Government. Civil war and state-building followed; the outcome was not predetermined in February.
Why It Matters
The revolutions reshaped global politics and demonstrate how state collapse can open several competing futures.
