I stopped on Ukraine history to read Russian history up to the October, 1917 Bolshevik revolution since the events in St. Petersburg and Moscow directly affected Ukraine. So, I have been slogging through Orlando Figes book.  The February, 1917 revolution that deposed the Tsar and set up the provisional government appeared to really be a surprise.  It started out as just a protest for "land, bread and peace".  Land for the peasants who were struggling, bread for the people in the cities who were starving and peace from World War I and the slaughter of millions of Russians. A key element of the February Revolution was the support of the military.

Now I am taking a side trip to better understand the forces outside Russia and Ukraine that contributed to the February, 1917 Revolution.  I think that will help me understand the pressures that then led to the October, 1917 Revolution. I will read Barbara Tuchman's book, "The Proud Tower", A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914.

I will follow that with her book, "The Guns of August".