In 1917, Russians march against their monarchy over the scarcity of food with riots and strikes. These riots erupted in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg) on two separate occasions; March 3rd, in what is known as the ‘February revolution’ and November 7th, in what we now called the ‘October revolution’.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed the weird thing here; why do we call a revolution that started in March as the “February revolution” and the one that started in November as the “October revolution”?
Well, even though it does seem confusing, there’s a very simple explanation. (the article continues after the ad)
It all has to do with the fact that in 1917, Russia had yet to switch from the old Julian to the new Gregorian calendar (remember when we talked about The Unbelievable Story Of Why October 5th – October 14th, 1582 Did Not Exist?).
Because the Julian was 11 days behind the Gregorian calendar, when they finally made the switch after the Bolshevic Revolution, both of the events were recalculated and converted under the new calendar and that’s the reason why the events appear to be in the following month.
And now you know!
If you like what you read, then you will definitely love this one: The Unbelievable Story Of Why October 5th – October 14th, 1582 Did Not Exist
Photo: Wikimedia, US Library of Congress
Photoshop: I’m A Useless Info Junkie
Sources: February Revolution begins in Russia | Why is the anniversary of the October Revolution celebrated in November?