* In February 1917, the Russian Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown by a provisional government after food shortages, strikes, and demonstrations erupted in the capital city of Petrograd.
* The new provisional government continued to fight the war, but low morale and battlefield losses caused soldiers and civilians to turn against the war.
* In November 1917, the provisional government was overthrown by the Bolshevik Party led by Vladimir Lenin, and the Bolsheviks took power in Russia.
* The new Bolshevik government made peace with Germany and withdrew from World War I, ending the war on the Eastern Front and releasing German troops for the Western Front.