Lesson 2

2 The February Revolution Quiz: Pearson Edexcel History, Unit 14

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 2, The February Revolution: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel GCSE History (1HI0), Unit 14: Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917–41, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. In which city did the February Revolution of 1917 begin?

    • Kiev
    • Moscow
    • Petrograd
    • Kronstadt

  2. Which everyday shortage fuelled much of the anger on Petrograd’s streets in early 1917?

    • Timber
    • Salt
    • Bread
    • Vodka

  3. Which event most directly caused the collapse of royal control in Petrograd in February 1917?

    • Police strikes
    • Garrison mutinies
    • Duma resignation
    • Worker lockouts

  4. Where was Tsar Nicholas II located when unrest broke out in Petrograd?

    • Moscow
    • Winter Palace
    • Frontline trenches
    • Mogilev

  5. Which body did Petrograd workers and soldiers form in late February 1917?

    • Workers Union
    • Bolshevik Central Committee
    • Petrograd Soviet
    • Constituent Assembly

  6. What action did Tsar Nicholas II take on 2 March 1917?

    • Declared martial law
    • Abdicated the throne
    • Fled abroad
    • Dissolved the Duma

  7. Who was the Tsar’s brother offered the throne after the abdication, only to refuse it?

    • Grand Duke Nicholas
    • Grand Duke Boris
    • Grand Duke Constantine
    • Grand Duke Michael

  8. Russia still used the Julian calendar in 1917. On the Western (Gregorian) calendar, which date was 23 February?

    • 15 March
    • 8 March
    • 1 March
    • 23 March

  9. Whose defiance of the Tsar's order to dissolve proved the regime had lost all authority?

    • The Imperial Army
    • The Duma
    • The Petrograd Soviet
    • The Red Guard

  10. Which factor most motivated industrial workers to strike in Petrograd in February 1917?

    • Royal decree demands
    • Religious holidays
    • Food shortages
    • Foreign invasion fears

  11. Why did Petrograd garrison soldiers refuse to fire on protesters in February 1917?

    • Direct royal commands
    • Bolshevik orders
    • Shared peasant background
    • Foreign influences

  12. How is the leadership of the February Revolution best described?

    • Bolshevik led
    • Duma directed
    • Spontaneous and unplanned
    • Military orchestrated

  13. Which crucial group withdrew its support from Nicholas II in February 1917, sealing the regime's collapse?

    • The army
    • The Cossacks
    • The Bolsheviks
    • The landowners

  14. What major problem did the Tsar's absence from Petrograd cause during the crisis?

    • Ministerial inaction
    • Immediate abdication
    • Instant martial law
    • Bolshevik victory

  15. Which authority was formed mainly from Duma members to govern Russia?

    • Provisional Government
    • Petrograd Soviet
    • Bolshevik Duma
    • Constituent Assembly

  16. Which major long-term factor heavily eroded trust in the Tsar's government by 1917?

    • Industrial prosperity
    • Agricultural surplus
    • Naval expansion
    • World War One defeats

  17. Which two developments were central to events in Petrograd in late February 1917?

    • Reform and negotiation
    • Strikes and mutinies
    • Election and debate
    • Debate and reform

  18. Which wartime economic issue helped turn frustration into protest before February 1917?

    • Tax cuts
    • Rising inflation
    • Falling prices
    • Surplus grain

  19. What dual power structure immediately filled the vacuum after the Tsar's abdication?

    • Provisional Government and Soviet
    • Bolsheviks and Mensheviks
    • Army and Police
    • Duma and Tsar

  20. Who advised Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate in March 1917?

    • Foreign diplomats
    • Peasants and workers
    • Generals and Duma leaders
    • Radical socialists

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