The first and most immediate consequence of the Revolution was the abdication of Nicholas II and the end of the Romanov Dynasty. A secondary and more long lasting effect was the rise of a Communist state in Russia and the transformation of the country into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR.)

The original revolution began as a grass roots movement when bread riots broke out in several cities, including Petrograd (present St. Petersburg.) Nicholas II panicked and ordered his troops to fire on the protesters; but the troops broke rank and joined the protesters. Nicholas was forced to abdicate and the Russian Duma proclaimed a new Republic.

The head of the new government, Alexandr Kerensky, would not order the radical reforms, including seizure of large estates, which the radicals wanted, and the new government had no choice but to share power with a new council of workers, the Soviet. The new government was also not successful in prosecuting the country's efforts in World War I. Eventually, amidst increasing anarchy, the Soviets, under the influence of Vladimir Lenin,  seized the government, abolished the Duma, ordered the Romanov family shot, and imposed a communist style government on the country. Thereafter, the nation remained communist until that government collapsed in the 1980's.