What is the difference between the February and October Revolutions of 1917?

The February Revolution (March 1917 NS) overthrew the Tsar and established a Provisional Government. It was a spontaneous popular uprising. The October Revolution (November 1917 NS) was a planned Bolshevik coup led by Lenin and Trotsky that overthrew the Provisional Government and established Soviet rule.

Why is the October Revolution celebrated in November?

Russia used the Julian calendar (Old Style) in 1917, which was 13 days behind the Gregorian calendar. The February Revolution occurred in February OS (March NS); the October Revolution in October OS (7 November NS). The Soviet Union switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1918.

How did the Russian Revolution influence Indian nationalism?

The Russian Revolution inspired Indian leftists and socialists. M.N. Roy was a founding member of the Communist International (Comintern) and the Communist Party of Mexico. The Congress Socialist Party (1934) drew on Bolshevik ideas. Jawaharlal Nehru visited the Soviet Union in 1927 and was influenced by socialist planning — later shaping India's Five-Year Plans.

World History · PT13.2.1

Russian Revolution (1917)
From Tsar to Soviet State

The two revolutions of 1917 that toppled a dynasty and launched the world's first communist state — reshaping global politics for 70 years.

Section 01 — Background

Tsarist Russia — A Powder Keg

By 1900, Russia was the world's largest country by territory but one of its most backward economically. Tsar Nicholas II (r.1894–1917) ruled autocratically — no elected parliament, no civil rights, a deeply feudal agricultural system. Rapid but chaotic industrialisation in the 1890s under Finance Minister Witte had created an urban proletariat living in squalor alongside the old peasant masses (80% of population). Marxist and Social Revolutionary parties had been organising underground for decades.

Three specific failures triggered revolution: WWI military disasters, food shortages, and a complete collapse of confidence in the Tsar and the mystical influence of Grigori Rasputin on the royal family.

Section 02 — Dress Rehearsal

Revolution of 1905

Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–05) exposed the military's weakness. On Bloody Sunday (22 January / 9 January OS, 1905), Father Georgy Gapon led thousands of workers to the Winter Palace in St Petersburg to petition the Tsar. Imperial guards opened fire, killing hundreds. This triggered mass strikes and the formation of workers' Soviets (councils).

Nicholas II was forced to issue the October Manifesto (1905) — promising a Duma (elected parliament), civil liberties, and wider suffrage. But he soon undermined the Duma through the Fundamental Laws of 1906. Lenin called 1905 the "dress rehearsal" for 1917.

⚠ Examiner Trap #1 "Bloody Sunday" in Russian history refers to 22 January 1905 (9 January Julian calendar). This is different from "Bloody Sunday" in Irish history (1920 and 1972). UPSC occasionally tests cross-event "Bloody Sunday" identification.

Section 03 — February Revolution 1917

February Revolution (March 1917 NS)

By early 1917, Russia had suffered ~5 million casualties in WWI. Bread queues in Petrograd (renamed from St Petersburg, 1914) stretched for miles. On 8 March 1917 (NS) / 23 Feb OS, International Women's Day marches transformed into revolution. Troops refused orders to fire on demonstrators. The Petrograd Soviet was re-formed. On 15 March 1917, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated — ending 300 years of Romanov rule.

A Provisional Government (dominated by liberals and moderate socialists, initially led by Prince Lvov, then Alexander Kerensky from July 1917) took power. Crucially, it continued the unpopular war — its fatal error.

Memory Aid — Two Governments of 1917 Provisional Government = liberals/Mensheviks (continued war) · Petrograd Soviet = workers/soldiers/Bolsheviks (wanted peace). Recall: "Two P's" — both claimed authority; only one survived.

Section 04 — October Revolution 1917

October Revolution (7 November 1917 NS)

Vladimir Lenin returned from Swiss exile via the "Sealed Train" arranged by Germany (April 1917) and issued his April Theses — demanding immediate peace, land to peasants, and all power to the Soviets. The Bolsheviks under Lenin and Leon Trotsky (who organized the Red Guards) launched a virtually bloodless coup on the night of 25–26 October OS (7–8 November NS) — the storming of the Winter Palace.

The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets (dominated by Bolsheviks) approved the new government. Lenin immediately issued:

Decree on Peace — armistice with Germany, immediate peace negotiations.
Decree on Land — abolition of private land ownership; land to peasants.

⚠ Examiner Trap #2 The October Revolution is celebrated on 7 November (Gregorian/New Style), not October. Russia used the Julian calendar until 31 January 1918. The "October" and "February" names come from the Julian calendar dates. UPSC MCQs exploit this confusion.

Feature	February Revolution	October Revolution
Date (NS)	8 March 1917	7 November 1917
Character	Spontaneous mass uprising	Planned Bolshevik coup
Result	Tsar abdicated; Provisional Govt	Provisional Govt overthrown; Soviet rule
Leaders	No single leader; Soviets + liberals	Lenin, Trotsky, Bolsheviks

Section 05 — Soviet State & Civil War

Building the Soviet State

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (3 March 1918): Russia exited WWI — losing Ukraine, Finland, Baltic states, and 25% of European Russia. Lenin called it a "humiliating peace" but necessary for survival.
Russian Civil War (1917–22): Red Army (Bolsheviks, led by Trotsky) vs. White Army (monarchists, liberals, foreign interventionists). Reds won, establishing full control by 1922.
USSR formed: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics formally established 30 December 1922.
New Economic Policy (NEP, 1921): Limited return to market economics after the War Communism period; replaced by Stalin's collectivisation after Lenin's death (1924).
Comintern (Communist International, 1919): Moscow-directed body to support communist revolutions worldwide — directly influenced Indian communists and the CPI (founded 1920/1921).

⚠ Examiner Trap #3 The Romanovs (Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their five children) were executed at Yekaterinburg on 17 July 1918 — NOT in Petrograd or Moscow. UPSC sometimes provides incorrect locations.

Section 06 — India Connection

Russian Revolution & Indian Politics

M.N. Roy (Manabendra Nath Roy) — Indian communist who attended the 2nd Congress of Comintern (1920); debated Lenin on colonial question; founded Communist Party of Mexico (1919) and CPI (Tashkent, 1920).
Jawaharlal Nehru visited the USSR in 1927 for the 10th Anniversary celebrations — his Soviet Russia (1928) expressed admiration for planned economic development.
Indian independence movement's left wing — CSP (Congress Socialist Party, 1934), CPI — drew directly on Bolshevik organisational methods.
India's Five-Year Plans (1951 onward) were influenced by Soviet central planning (Gosplan), particularly under Nehru and Planning Commission chairman P.C. Mahalanobis.

Section 07 — PYQ Practice

Previous Year Questions

UPSC Prelims — Statement-Based

Q. Consider the following statements about the Russian Revolution:
1. The February Revolution of 1917 led to the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II.
2. The October Revolution occurred in November 1917 according to the Gregorian calendar.
3. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed between Russia and France.
Which is/are correct?

(a) 1 only (b) 1 and 2 only (c) 2 and 3 only (d) 1, 2 and 3

Answer: (b) — Statement 3 is wrong: Brest-Litovsk was signed between Soviet Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire), NOT France.

UPSC Prelims — Identification

Q. "April Theses" were associated with which revolutionary leader?

(a) Leon Trotsky (b) Joseph Stalin (c) V.I. Lenin (d) Karl Marx

Answer: (c) — Lenin issued the April Theses on 17 April 1917 (NS) after returning from exile, demanding immediate peace, transfer of power to Soviets, and land reform.

Section 08 — FAQ

FAQ

What were the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks?

Both were factions of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, split at the 1903 Brussels/London Congress. Bolsheviks (majority — "bolshinstvo") led by Lenin believed in a small, disciplined party of professional revolutionaries. Mensheviks (minority — "menshinstvo") led by Martov favoured a broader membership. The Bolsheviks were not actually the majority — but they won the vote on that specific resolution, taking the name.

What was the role of Trotsky in the Revolution?

Leon Trotsky organised and commanded the Red Guards (later the Red Army) as Commissar for War and was the tactical military genius of the October coup and the subsequent Civil War. He was later expelled by Stalin, went into exile, and was assassinated in Mexico City in 1940 by a Stalinist agent.

Why did Germany help Lenin return to Russia?

Germany was at war with Russia. Lenin and the Bolsheviks wanted to end the war immediately. Germany calculated (correctly) that if the Bolsheviks took power, Russia would sue for peace — removing millions of Allied soldiers from the Eastern Front. Germany arranged the "sealed train" through which Lenin travelled from Switzerland across Germany to Russia in April 1917.

How did M.N. Roy differ from Lenin on the colonial question?

At the 2nd Comintern Congress (1920), Lenin argued that communists in colonial countries should support nationalist bourgeois movements against imperialism. M.N. Roy disagreed — he argued that colonial nationalist movements were themselves bourgeois and that the proletariat must lead its own independent movement. Roy's "supplementary theses" were adopted alongside Lenin's — a rare instance of a colonial intellectual influencing Comintern doctrine.