It occurred largely because of dissatisfaction with the way the Tsar was running the country. His biggest mistake was his insistence that Russia continue its ongoing involvement in the First World War. The revolution that resulted was a largely bloodless transfer of power from the Tsar.

The regime that came into being was an alliance between liberals and socialists who wanted to instigate political reform, creating a democratically elected executive and constituent assembly.

In the first half of February, lack of a food supply caused riots in the capital, Petrograd. On February 18, the major plant of Petrograd, the Putilov plant, announced a strike; the strikers were fired and some shops closed, which caused unrest that spread to other plants. On February 23, a series of economical and political meetings and rallies were held. They continued until Nicholas II sought to put down the workers by force. He dissolved the Duma on February 26. The Duma refused to obey his orders and the Petrograd insurgents took over the capital. This led Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate the throne on March 2.

The Provisional Government which replaced the Tsar was initially led by a liberal aristocrat, Prince Georgy Lvov. After his government failed, he was succeeded by a socialist, Alexander Kerensky. Kerensky also made the mistake of trying to keep the Russian Army in the field against the Germans. This cost his government popular support and he was unable to deal with the problems Russia faced. Pressure from the right and from the left (mainly the Bolsheviks) put the government under increasing strain.

On March 1, 1917, the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies issued Order No. 1 which ordered the military to obey its orders rather than those of the Provisional Government.

The military went over to the Bolsheviks and the October Revolution changed the face of Russia for seventy five years and led to the further isolation of Russia from the West.