On this day in Petrograd, women textile workers began a demonstration demanding ‘Bread and Peace’ and an end to World War I, to food shortages and to Tsarism. Their action marked the beginning of the Russian Revolution. Seven days later, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. After the Russian Revolution, Bolsheviks began to celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March as it marked the beginning of the revolutionary changes, but it was not officially declared as such for some time. When the United Nations started marking the event in 1975, the date of 8th March was considered to be the most appropriate.
