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==February and October Revolutions 1917==
[[File:19170704_Riot_on_Nevsky_prosp_Petrograd.jpg|thumbnail|left|300px|Troops open fire on Russian protesters in 1917.]]
By February 1917 the situation was unbearable for the average Russian soldier and citizens. A series of strikes were staged in St. Petersburg and the Tsar ordered the army to break the strikes. Instead the army mutinied and began to fraternize with the strikers.<ref>Robert Service (2005). ''A history of modern Russia from Nicholas II to Vladimir Putin''. Harvard University Press</ref> The authority of the Tsar simply ebbed away and he was forced to abdicate. A Provisional Government that claimed to represent the workers and the peasants took power. This became known as the October Revolution.<ref>Malone, Richard (2004). ''Analyzing the Russian Revolution''. Australia: Cambridge University Press. p. 67.</ref>
