1917 produced two Russian revolutions — the February Revolution (which overthrew the Tsar) and the October Revolution (which brought the Bolsheviks to power). Why were they in different months given they were in the same year?
Imperial Russia used the Julian calendar until February 1918, when the new Bolshevik government switched to the Gregorian. By the Russian-Julian dates, the revolutions were on 23 February and 25 October 1917 — by the Western-Gregorian dates, 8 March and 7 November 1917. The Bolsheviks kept the original Julian names ('February Revolution', 'October Revolution') for both events even after they had switched calendars; the names are historical labels rather than dates.
Read the full facts →The Russian Revolution was the political upheaval of 1917 that ended the Romanov dynasty, established the world's first communist state, and reshaped 20th-century global politics. Two distinct revolutions in February and October 1917 first overthrew the tsarist autocracy and then transferred power to the Bolshevik Party under Vladimir Lenin.
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