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The February Revolution of 1917: how bread riots by women in Petrograd triggered a spontaneous revolution that the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, and Socialist Revolutionaries all failed to predict, plan, or initially lead.
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Highlights
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The February Revolution was not planned by any revolutionary party — it was a spontaneous popular uprising that took every faction by surprise
Duncan emphasizes that no revolutionary organization planned or led the February Revolution. It began with bread riots, escalated through military mutiny, and succeeded before any party could claim credit.•
Revolutions happen not when things are worst but when rising expectations collide with sudden setbacks — the Tocqueville paradox
Duncan applies Tocquevilles insight: Russia in 1917 was not at its historical worst. The revolution came after decades of rising expectations (industrialization, literacy, urbanization) collided with the sudden setback of World War I.Was this useful?