On July 4, 1917, the Russian July Uprising erupted, demanding the immediate overthrow of the Provisional Government. On July 17, 1917, on Nevsky Prospect in Petrograd, the demonstration was met with gunfire, resulting in numerous deaths.

　　On July 4, 1917, Russian soldiers, sailors, and workers took to the streets in the July Uprising, demanding the immediate overthrow of the Provisional Government. On July 17, 1917, on Nevsky Prospect in Petrograd, their demonstration was met with gunfire, resulting in numerous deaths. Having experienced the February Revolution, the citizens were well-armed. The Kerensky government fell into disarray but resolved to hold onto power. Units loyal to the government were hastily assembled and opened fire on the resisters. Sixteen demonstrators were killed, 700 were missing, and 100 were arrested. The Provisional Government reported 24 dead.

　Russian national anger erupted in the July Uprising. Thousands of Russian soldiers, inspired by powerful speeches from the Left (Bolsheviks, Left SRs, Anarchists), declared the Provisional Government untrustworthy, stating they would “vote with their hands.” They threw down their weapons on the battlefield. Petrograd's enraged working class erupted in boiling turmoil. Citizens poured out of factories onto the streets, unconsciously expressing their surging fighting spirit. They demanded an end to World War I, shouted for all power to the Soviets, and called for workers' control of production.

　　The Bolshevik leaders could not suppress the workers' fighting spirit and stood helplessly stunned. Just as in the February Revolution of 1917 (when the people were fired upon on February 27, 1917, Julian calendar), it seemed the revolution was about to be carried out directly from the streets.

　　The headquarters of both the Bolsheviks and the anarchists were ransacked; the Bolshevik newspaper Pravda was shut down. Trotsky and other Bolshevik leaders were thrown into prison. Lenin fled Petrograd, relocating his base to the area around Lake Lazarev. Lenin shaved his beard, adopted an alias, and fled to a hideout in Finland. Kerensky, temporarily successful in suppressing the rising radical tide, became Prime Minister and organized a new coalition government. This led to the October Revolution, spearheaded by the Bolsheviks, who sought to overthrow the Provisional Government by force.