On this day in history in Russia, the February Revolution (known as such because of Russia's use of the Julian calendar) begins on this day in 1917, when riots and strikes over the scarcity of food erupt in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg).

Demonstrators clamoring for bread took to the streets of the Russian capital of Petrograd. Supported by 90,000 men and women on strike, the protesters clashed with police, refusing to leave the streets.

Three days after the riots began and Russian army troops were sent to quell the protests, the troops turned against the Czar and became part of the protest. The imperial government was forced to resign and Nicolas abdicated his throne, formally ending over four centuries of Czarist rule in Russia.