Question

Describe the conditions of the Russian workers on the eve of Russian Revolution in 1917.

Answer 1

The First World War and the Russian Revolution
 1914: First World War broke out between two European alliances-Germany, Austria
and Turkey (the Central Powers) and France, Britain and Russia (later Italy and
Romania).
 1914-1916: Russian armies lost badly in Austria and Germany.
 Industries and industrial equipment disintegrated more rapidly in Russia than
elsewhere in Europe.
 Labour shortages and small workshops producing essentials were shut down as ablebodied men were called for the war.
 By 1916, riots at bread shops were common owing to the bread and flour scarcity.
 The February Revolution in Petrograd
 February, 1917: Food shortages were deeply felt in the worker’s quarters.
 The Tsar wanted to dissolve the Duma, but the revolutionaries opposed this.
 22nd February, 1917: A lockout took place at a factory which was followed by a
workers strike in fifty factories. Women led the strikes in many factories and this day
came to be known as the International Women’s Day