Final answer:
The people marched on the Winter Palace primarily to seek redress for poor working conditions and for a more representative government, but received a violent reception initially, and later, during the February Revolution of 1917, they received support from the military leading to the Tsar's abdication.
Step-by-step explanation:
People marched on the Winter Palace for different reasons at different times, but two notable instances include a peaceful protest led by Father Gapon on January 22, 1905, known as Bloody Sunday, where petitioners sought to appeal directly to Tsar Nicholas II for improved working conditions and governance reforms. Unfortunately, the Tsar was not in the palace and the peaceful demonstrators were gunned down by the Imperial Guard, resulting in approximately one thousand fatalities. The event severely undermined the faith in the Tsar as the protector of the people, leading to an increase in revolutionary sentiments. Later, during the February Revolution in 1917, strikes and protests in Petrograd centered on issues like food shortages burgeoned into a full-scale revolt that led to the abdication of Nicholas II after the military refused to suppress the uprisings and joined the demonstrators instead.
As for the reception people received upon marching on the Winter Palace, it was initially violently suppressive, as demonstrated on Bloody Sunday. However, as sentiments evolved and grew stronger against the Tsarist government, the army's defection signified that the loyalty of the armed forces to the Tsar had waned, marking a significant turning point towards the Revolution.