GCSE History: The Russian Revolution Guide

Problems under the Tsar

Tsar Nicholas II ruled Russia as an autocrat with near-total power. Widespread poverty, an unpopular involvement in the First World War, and food shortages built resentment among ordinary Russians.

The February Revolution

In February 1917, strikes and protests in Petrograd, combined with the army refusing to suppress them, forced Nicholas II to abdicate, ending centuries of Tsarist rule and creating a Provisional Government.

The October Revolution

The Provisional Government remained unpopular, partly for continuing the war. In October 1917, Vladimir Lenin's Bolsheviks seized power in a relatively swift takeover, promising "Peace, Bread and Land."

Bolshevik consolidation of power

The Bolsheviks pulled Russia out of the First World War and fought a civil war (1918-1921) against opposing "White" forces, eventually securing control and establishing Communist rule.

Common mistakes

• Merging the February and October Revolutions into a single event — they were separate, months apart.
• Assuming the Bolsheviks had majority public support in 1917 — their power was consolidated through the civil war too.
• Forgetting the Provisional Government, not the Bolsheviks, initially replaced the Tsar.