factories were on strike. On International Women's Day, , at the call of the Petrograd Bolshevik Committee, working women came out in the streets to demonstrate against starvation, war and tsardom. The Petrograd workers supported the demonstration of the working women by a citywide strike movement. The political strike began to grow into a general political demonstration against the tsarist system. On the demonstration was resumed with even greater vigour. About 200,000 workers were already on strike. On large sections of working-class Petrograd had joined the revolutionary movement. The political strikes in the districts merged into a general political strike of the whole city. Demonstrations and clashes with the police took place everywhere. Slogans were raised like "Down with the tsar!", "Down with the war!", "We want bread!" On the morning of the political strike and demonstration began to assume the character of an uprising. The workers disarmed police and gendarmes and armed themselves. Nevertheless, the clashes with the police ended with the shooting down of a demonstration on Znamenskaya Square. General Sergey Semyonovich Khabalov, Commander of the Petrograd Military District, announced that the workers must return to work by , otherwise they would be sent to the front. On the tsar gave orders to General Khabalov: "I command you to put a stop to the disorders in the capital not later than tomorrow." But "to put a stop" to the revolution was no longer possible. On the 4th Company of the Reserve Battalion of the Pavlovsky Regiment opened fire, not on the workers, however, but on squads of mounted police who were engaged in a skirmish with the workers. A most energetic and persistent drive was made to win over the troops, especially by the working women, who addressed themselves directly to the soldiers, fraternized with them and called upon them to help the people to overthrow the tsarist autocracy. The practical work of the Bolshevik Party at that time was directed by the Bureau of the Central Committee of the Party which had its quarters in Petrograd and was headed by Vyacheslav Molotov. On February 26 (March 11) the Bureau of the Central Committee issued a manifesto calling for the continuation of the armed struggle against tsardom and the formation of a Provisional Revolutionary Government. On the troops in Petrograd refused to fire on the workers and began to line up with the people in revolt. The number