The February Revolution began on February 23, 1917 (according to the new style – March 8, International Women's Day) in Petrograd, as food shortage in the city led to the protest of women workers in the textile factories of the Vyborg Side, who demanded bread and the return of their husbands from the front. Over the next days, the strike expanded to involve 300,000 workers, office staff, and students. Their slogans read: "Down with the war!", "Down with tsarism!", "Long live the democratic republic!" Local clashes of protesters with the police and troops occurred.

On February 25, in the evening, Emperor Nicholas II ordered the Commander of the Petrograd Military District to stop the riots that had begun in Petrograd. On February 26, the soldiers of reserve units deployed in the city were ordered to shoot the protesting workers. Part of the soldiers of the 4th company of the reserve battalion of the Life Guards of the Pavlovsky regiment rebelled and opened fire on the detachments of mounted policemen and officers. Early in the morning of February 27, the soldiers of the training team of the reserve battalion of the Volynsky Life Guards regiment, outraged by participation in the execution on Znamenskaya Square (currently, Vosstaniya square), revolted. The revolt spread over to reserve battalions in the neighboring barracks. By evening, almost the entire Petrograd garrison had defected to the side of the uprising.

During the day, the rebels burned down the building of the District Court, began smashing police precincts, releasing prisoners from city prisons, and seizing arsenals with weapons. By midday, dozens of thousands of soldiers and workers gathered in front of the Tauride Palace, the seat of the State Duma, which people regarded as an alternative source of power. Despite the emperor’s decree to suspend the Duma’s work, the Duma deputies refused to disperse. On February 28, the last resistance of the forces, that had opposed the rebellion, was crushed. A red flag was raised over the Winter Palace.