Beginnings of Revolution in Russia

In February of 1917, St. Petersburg was known as Petrograd. World War I was still raging, and the war-weary people of the city were hungry.

People protested the lack of food. When they believed that bread was being deliberately withheld, the situation degraded. More than 100,000 people went on strike, demanding that Tsar Nicholas II resign. Not a politically effective leader, and advised by out-of-touch personnel, the Tsar could not stop the protests.

This clip, from a story about the beginnings of the Russian Revolution, includes primary-source references, interviews with experts and recreated scenes.