February Revolution Day 1917. February Revolution: briefly

The February Revolution of 1917 in Russia is still called the Bourgeois-Democratic Revolution. It is the second revolution in a row (the first took place in 1905, the third in October 1917). The February Revolution began a great turmoil in Russia, during which not only the Romanov dynasty fell and the Empire ceased to be a monarchy, but also the entire bourgeois-capitalist system, as a result of which the elite was completely replaced in Russia

Causes of the February Revolution

• The unfortunate participation of Russia in the First World War, accompanied by defeats on the fronts, the disorganization of life in the rear
• The inability of Emperor Nicholas II to rule Russia, which degenerated into unsuccessful appointments of ministers and military leaders
• Corruption at all levels of government
• Economic difficulties
• The ideological decomposition of the masses, who ceased to believe in the king, and the church, and local chiefs
• Dissatisfaction with the policy of the tsar by representatives of the big bourgeoisie and even his closest relatives

“... For several days now we have been living on a volcano ... There was no bread in Petrograd - the transport was very disordered due to unusual snows, frosts and, most importantly, of course, because of the tension of the war ... There were street riots ... But it was, of course, not in bread… That was the last straw… The fact was that in this whole huge city it was impossible to find several hundred people who would sympathize with the authorities… And not even that… The fact is that the authorities did not sympathize with themselves… There was no , in fact, not a single minister who would believe in himself and in what he is doing ... The class of former rulers came to naught .. "
(Vas. Shulgin "Days")

The course of the February Revolution

• February 21 - Bread riots in Petrograd. Crowds smashed bakery shops
• February 23 - the beginning of the general strike of the workers of Petrograd. Mass demonstrations with the slogans "Down with the war!", "Down with the autocracy!", "Bread!"
• February 24 - More than 200 thousand workers of 214 enterprises went on strike, students
• February 25 - Already 305 thousand people were on strike, 421 factories were standing. Employees and artisans joined the workers. The troops refused to disperse the protesters
• February 26 - Continued riots. Decomposition in the troops. The inability of the police to restore calm. Nicholas II
  postponed the start of meetings of the State Duma from February 26 to April 1, which was perceived as its dissolution
• February 27 - armed uprising. The reserve battalions of Volynsky, Lithuanian, Preobrazhensky refused to obey the commanders and joined the people. In the afternoon, the Semyonovsky regiment, the Izmailovsky regiment, and the reserve armored division revolted. The Kronverk Arsenal, the Arsenal, the Main Post Office, the telegraph office, railway stations, and bridges were occupied. The State Duma
  appointed a Provisional Committee "to restore order in St. Petersburg and to communicate with institutions and persons."
• On February 28, at night, the Provisional Committee announced that it was taking power into its own hands.
• On February 28, the 180th Infantry Regiment, the Finnish Regiment, sailors of the 2nd Baltic Naval Crew and the cruiser Aurora revolted. The insurgent people occupied all the stations of Petrograd
• March 1 - Kronstadt and Moscow revolted, the tsar's close associates offered him either the introduction of loyal army units into Petrograd, or the creation of the so-called "responsible ministries" - a government subordinate to the Duma, which meant turning the Emperor into an "English queen".
• March 2, night - Nicholas II signed a manifesto on the granting of a responsible ministry, but it was too late. The public demanded renunciation.

"The Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief," General Alekseev, requested by telegram all the commanders-in-chief of the fronts. These telegrams asked the commanders-in-chief for their opinion on the desirability under the circumstances of the abdication of the emperor from the throne in favor of his son. By one in the afternoon on March 2, all the answers of the commanders-in-chief were received and concentrated in the hands of General Ruzsky. These answers were:
1) From Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich - Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Front.
2) From General Sakharov - the actual commander-in-chief of the Romanian front (the king of Romania was actually commander-in-chief, and Sakharov was his chief of staff).
3) From General Brusilov - Commander-in-Chief of the Southwestern Front.
4) From General Evert - Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front.
5) From Ruzsky himself - the commander-in-chief of the Northern Front. All five commanders-in-chief of the fronts and General Alekseev (gen. Alekseev was the chief of staff under the Sovereign) spoke in favor of the abdication of the Sovereign Emperor from the throne. (Vas. Shulgin "Days")

• On March 2, at about 3 p.m., Tsar Nicholas II decided to abdicate the throne in favor of his heir, Tsarevich Alexei, under the regency of the younger sibling Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. During the day, the king decided to abdicate also for the heir.
• March 4 - The Manifesto on the abdication of Nicholas II and the Manifesto on the abdication of Mikhail Alexandrovich were published in the newspapers.

“The man rushed to us - Darlings! - He shouted and grabbed my hand - Did you hear? There is no king! Only Russia remained.
He kissed everyone warmly and rushed to run on, sobbing and muttering something ... It was already one in the morning when Efremov usually slept soundly.
Suddenly, at this inopportune hour, there was a booming and short strike of the cathedral bell. Then the second blow, the third.
The blows became more frequent, a tight ringing was already floating over the town, and soon the bells of all the surrounding churches joined it.
Lights were lit in all the houses. The streets were filled with people. Doors in many houses stood wide open. strangers crying, hugging each other. From the side of the station, a solemn and jubilant cry of steam locomotives flew (K. Paustovsky "Restless Youth")

The February Revolution of 1917 got its name because the main events began to take place in February, according to the current then julian calendar. It should be borne in mind that the transition to the Gregorian calendar took place in 1918. Therefore, these events became known as the February revolution, although, in fact, it was about the March uprising.

Researchers draw attention to the fact that there are certain claims to the definition of "revolution". This term was introduced into circulation by Soviet historiography following the government, which thus wanted to emphasize the popular character of what was happening. However, objective scientists pay attention to the fact that this is, in fact, a coup. Despite loud slogans and discontent objectively brewing in the country, the broad masses were not drawn into the main events of the February revolution. The working class, which had begun to take shape at that time, became the basic driving force, but it was too small in number. The peasantry, for the most part, turned out to be on the sidelines.

The day before, a political crisis was brewing in the country. Since 1915, the emperor had formed a rather strong opposition, which gradually increased its strength. Its main goal was the transition from autocracy to a constitutional monarchy along the lines of Great Britain, and not what the February and October revolutions of 1917 eventually led to. Many historians note that such a course of events would have been smoother and would have made it possible to do without numerous human casualties, sharp social upheavals, which subsequently resulted in a civil war.

Also, when discussing the nature of the February Revolution, it should be noted that it was affected by the First World War, which drew too much power from Russia. People did not have enough food, medicines, the most necessary. A large number of the peasants were busy at the front, there was no one to sow. Production was focused on military needs, and other industries suffered noticeably. Cities literally flooded with crowds of people who needed food, work, housing. At the same time, the impression was created that the emperor was simply following what was happening and was not going to do anything, although in such conditions it was simply impossible not to react. As a result, the coup could also be called an outbreak of public discontent that had accumulated against the imperial family over many years.

Since 1915, the role of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in the government of the country has grown sharply, which was not very popular among the people, especially because of an unhealthy attachment to Rasputin. And when the emperor assumed the duties of commander in chief and moved away from everyone in the Headquarters, problems began to accumulate like a snowball. We can say that it was a fundamentally wrong move, deadly for the entire Romanov dynasty.

Russian Empire at that time also very unlucky with managers. Ministers were almost constantly replaced, and most of them did not want to delve into the situation, some simply did not differ in leadership abilities. And few people understood what a real threat hung over the country.

At the same time, certain social conflicts that had remained unresolved since the 1905 revolution escalated. Thus, when the revolution began, the beginning set in motion a huge mechanism resembling a pendulum. And he demolished the whole old system, but at the same time he got out of control and destroyed a lot of things that were needed.

Grand Duke's Fronde

It is worth noting that the nobility is often accused of doing nothing. Actually it is not. Already in 1916, even his close relatives were in opposition to the emperor. In history, this phenomenon has been called the “grand princely opposition”. In short, the main requirements were the formation of a government responsible to the Duma, the removal of the empress and Rasputin from the actual control. The move, according to some historians, is correct, only a little belated. When real actions began, in fact the revolution had already begun, the beginning of serious changes could not be stopped.

Other researchers believe that in 1917 the February revolution would only have occurred in connection with internal processes and accumulated contradictions. And the October war was already a successful attempt to plunge the country into a civil war, into a state of complete instability. Thus, it was established that Lenin and the Bolsheviks in general were quite well supported financially from abroad. However, it is worth returning to the February events.

The views of political forces

A table will help to demonstrate quite clearly the political moods that prevailed then.

From the above, it is clear that the political forces that existed at that time united only in opposition to the emperor. Otherwise, they did not find understanding, and their goals were often opposite.

Driving Forces of the February Revolution

Speaking about what actually drove the revolution, it is worth noting several points at the same time. First, political discontent. Secondly, the intelligentsia, which did not see the leader of the nation in the emperor, he was not suitable for this role. The “ministerial leapfrog” also had serious consequences, as a result of which there was no order inside the country, officials turned out to be dissatisfied, who did not understand who to obey, in what order to work.

Analyzing the prerequisites and causes of the February Revolution of 1917, it is worth noting: there were massive workers' strikes. However, a lot happened on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, so not everyone wanted a real overthrow of the regime and a complete change in the country, it is likely that these were just performances timed to coincide with a specific date, as well as a means to draw attention to themselves.

Moreover, if you search for information on the topic “presentation of the February Revolution of 1917”, you can find evidence that the most depressive moods reigned in Petrograd. Which was frankly strange, because even at the front the general mood turned out to be much more cheerful. As eyewitnesses of the events later recalled in their memoirs, it was reminiscent of mass hysteria.

Start

In 1917, the February Revolution began, in fact, with a mass panic raised in Petrograd over the lack of bread. At the same time, historians later found that such a mood was created largely artificially, and grain supplies were specifically blocked, as the conspirators were going to take advantage of popular unrest and get rid of the king. Against this background, Nicholas II leaves Petrograd, leaving the situation to the Minister of the Interior Protopopov, who did not see the whole picture. Then the situation developed incredibly rapidly, gradually getting more and more out of control.

First, Petrograd completely rebelled, followed by Kronstadt, then Moscow, the unrest spread to other large cities. Basically, the "lower classes" rebelled, which suppressed their mass character: ordinary soldiers, sailors, workers. Members of one group pulled the other into confrontation.

Meanwhile, Emperor Nicholas II could not make a final decision. He was slow to react to a situation that required tougher measures, he wanted to listen to all the generals, and as a result he renounced, but not in favor of his son, but in favor of his brother, who was categorically unable to cope with the situation in the country. As a result, on March 9, 1917, it became clear that the revolution had won, the Provisional Government was formed, and the State Duma as such ceased to exist.

What are the main results of the February Revolution?

The main result of the events that took place was the end of the autocracy, the end of the dynasty, the abdication of the emperor and members of his family from the rights to the throne. Also on March 9, 1917, the Provisional Government began to rule the country. According to some historians, the significance of the February Revolution should not be underestimated: it was it that subsequently led to the civil war.

The revolution also showed ordinary workers, soldiers and sailors that they can seize control of the situation and take power into their own hands by force. Thanks to this, the foundation of the October events, as well as the Red Terror, was laid.

Revolutionary moods were stirred up, the intelligentsia began to welcome the new system, and called the monarchical "old regime". New words began to come into fashion, for example, the appeal "comrade". Kerensky gained enormous popularity, creating his own paramilitary political image, which was subsequently copied by a number of leaders among the Bolsheviks.

Causes and character of the February Revolution.
Uprising in Petrograd February 27, 1917
The February Revolution of 1917 in Russia was caused by the same reasons, had the same character, solved the same tasks and had the same balance of opposing forces as the revolution of 1905-1907. After the revolution of 1905-1907. the tasks of democratizing the country continued to remain - the overthrow of the autocracy, the introduction of democratic freedoms, the solution of burning issues - agrarian, labor, national. These were the tasks of the bourgeois-democratic transformation of the country, and therefore the February Revolution, like the revolution of 1905-1907, bore a bourgeois-democratic character.

Although the revolution of 1905-1907 and did not solve the fundamental tasks of democratizing the country that it faced and was defeated, however, it served as a political school for all parties and classes and thus was an important prerequisite for the February Revolution and the October Revolution of 1917 that followed it.

But the February Revolution of 1917 took place in a different situation than the revolution of 1905-1907. On the eve of the February Revolution, social and political contradictions sharply escalated, exacerbated by the hardships of a long and exhausting war in which Russia was drawn. The economic devastation generated by the war and, as a result, the aggravation of the need and misery of the masses, caused acute social tension in the country, the growth of anti-war sentiments and general dissatisfaction not only of the left and opposition, but also of a significant part of the right forces with the policy of the autocracy. The authority of autocratic power and its bearer, the reigning emperor, fell noticeably in the eyes of all sections of society. The war, unprecedented in its scale, seriously shook the moral foundations of society, introduced an unprecedented bitterness into the consciousness of people's behavior. The millions of front-line soldiers, who daily saw blood and death, easily succumbed to revolutionary propaganda and were ready to take the most extreme measures. They longed for peace, a return to the earth, and the slogan "Down with the war!" was especially popular at the time. The cessation of the war was inevitably associated with the liquidation of the political regime that had dragged the people into the war. So the monarchy lost its support in the army.

By the end of 1916, the country was in a state of deep social, political and moral crisis. Did the ruling circles realize the danger threatening them? Reports of the security department for the end of 1917 - the beginning of 1917. full of anxiety in anticipation of a threatening social explosion. They foresaw a social danger for the Russian monarchy and abroad. Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich, the Czar's cousin, wrote to him in mid-November 1916 from London: "The agents of the Intelligence Service [British Intelligence Service], usually well informed, are predicting a revolution in Russia. I sincerely hope Niki that you will find it possible to satisfy the fair the demands of the people before it is too late." Those close to Nicholas II with despair told him: "There will be a revolution, we will all be hanged, but it doesn't matter on what lamp." However, Nicholas II stubbornly did not want to see this danger, hoping for the mercy of Providence. A curious conversation took place shortly before the events of February 1917 between the tsar and the chairman of the State Duma, M.V. Rodzianko. "Rodzianko: - I warn you that in less than three weeks a revolution will break out that will sweep you away, and you will no longer reign. Nicholas II: - Well, God will give. Rodzianko: - God will give nothing, the revolution is inevitable" .

Although the factors that prepared the revolutionary explosion in February 1917 had been taking shape for a long time, politicians and publicists, right and left, predicted its inevitability, the revolution was neither "prepared" nor "organized", it broke out spontaneously and suddenly for all parties and for the government. Not a single political party showed itself to be the organizer and leader of the revolution that took them by surprise.

The immediate cause for the revolutionary explosion was the following events that took place in the second half of February 1917 in Petrograd. In mid-February, the supply of food to the capital, especially bread, deteriorated. Bread was in the country and in sufficient quantity, but due to the devastation of transport and the sluggishness of the authorities responsible for the supply, it could not be delivered to the cities in a timely manner. A card system was introduced, but it did not solve the problem. There were long queues at the bakeries, which caused growing discontent among the population. In this situation, any act of the authorities or owners of industrial enterprises that irritates the population could serve as a detonator for a social explosion.

On February 18, the workers of one of the largest factories in Petrograd, Putilovsky, went on strike, demanding an increase in wages due to the increase in the high cost of wages. On February 20, the administration of the plant, under the pretext of interruptions in the supply of raw materials, dismissed the strikers and announced the closure of some workshops for an indefinite period. The Putilovites were supported by workers from other enterprises in the city. On February 23 (according to the new style, March 8 - International Women's Day), it was decided to start a general strike. Opposition Duma leaders also decided to take advantage of the afternoon of February 23, who on February 14, from the rostrum of the State Duma, sharply criticized mediocre ministers and demanded their resignation. Duma leaders - Menshevik N.S. Chkheidze and Trudovik A.F. Kerensky - established contact with illegal organizations and created a committee to hold a demonstration on February 23.

On that day, 128 thousand workers from 50 enterprises went on strike - a third of the workers of the capital. There was also a demonstration, which was peaceful. A rally was held in the city center. The authorities, in order to calm the people, announced that there was enough food in the city and there were no grounds for concern.

The next day, 214,000 workers were on strike. The strikes were accompanied by demonstrations: columns of demonstrators with red flags and singing "La Marseillaise" rushed to the city center. Women who took to the streets with the slogans "Bread"!, "Peace"!, "Freedom!", "Return our husbands!" took an active part in them.

Authorities first viewed them as spontaneous food riots. However, the events grew every day and took on a threatening character for the authorities. On February 25, more than 300,000 people went on strike. (80% of city workers). The demonstrators were already speaking with political slogans: "Down with the monarchy!", "Long live the republic!", rushing to the central squares and avenues of the city. They managed to overcome the police and military barriers and break through to Znamenskaya Square near the Moscow railway station, where at the monument Alexander III a spontaneous rally began. Rallies and demonstrations took place on the main squares, avenues and streets of the city. Cossack squads sent against them refused to disperse them. Demonstrators threw stones and logs at the mounted policemen. The authorities have already seen that the "riots" are taking on a political character.

On the morning of February 25, columns of workers again rushed to the city center, and on Vyborg side already raided police stations. The rally began again on Znamenskaya Square. Demonstrators clashed with police, killing and injuring several demonstrators. On the same day, Nicholas II received from the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General S.S. Khabalov reported on the unrest that had begun in Petrograd, and at 9 o'clock in the evening Khabalov received a telegram from him: "I order tomorrow to stop the unrest in the capital, unacceptable in the difficult time of the war with Germany and Austria." Khabalov immediately ordered the police and the commanders of the spare parts to use weapons against the demonstrators. On the night of February 26, the police arrested about a hundred of the most active figures of the left parties.

February 26 was Sunday. Factories and factories did not work. Masses of demonstrators with red banners and singing revolutionary songs again rushed to the central streets and squares of the city. On Znamenskaya Square and near the Kazan Cathedral, there were continuous rallies. On the orders of Khabalov, the police, who sat on the roofs of houses, opened fire from machine guns on demonstrators and protesters. On Znamenskaya Square, 40 people were killed and the same number were wounded. The police fired at the demonstrators on Sadovaya Street, Liteiny and Vladimirsky avenues. On the night of February 27, new arrests were made: this time 170 people were captured.

The outcome of any revolution depends on which side the army ends up on. The defeat of the revolution of 1905 - 1907 was largely due to the fact that despite a series of uprisings in the army and navy, in general, the army remained loyal to the government and was used by it to suppress peasant and worker riots. In February 1917, a garrison of up to 180,000 soldiers was stationed in Petrograd. Basically, these were spare parts that were to be sent to the front. There were quite a few recruits from cadre workers mobilized for participating in strikes, and quite a few veterans who had recovered from wounds. The concentration in the capital of a mass of soldiers who easily succumbed to the influence of revolutionary propaganda was a major mistake of the authorities.

The execution of demonstrators on February 26 aroused strong indignation among the soldiers of the capital's garrison and had a decisive influence on their going over to the side of the revolution. On the afternoon of February 26, the 4th company of the reserve battalion of the Pavlovsky regiment refused to take the place indicated to it at the outpost and even opened fire on a platoon of mounted police. The company was disarmed, 19 of its "instigators" were sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko telegraphed the tsar that day: "The situation is serious. There is anarchy in the capital. The government is paralyzed. There is indiscriminate shooting in the streets. Parts of the troops are shooting at each other." In conclusion, he asked the king: "Immediately instruct a person who enjoys the confidence of the country to form a new government. It is impossible to delay. Any delay is like death."

Even on the eve of the tsar's departure for Headquarters, two versions of his decree on the State Duma were prepared - the first on its dissolution, the second on a break in its sessions. In response to Rodzianko's telegram, the tsar sent the second version of the decree - on the suspension of the Duma from February 26 to April 1917. At 11 am on February 27, the deputies of the State Duma gathered in the White Hall of the Tauride Palace and silently listened to the tsar's decree on the adjournment of the session of the Duma. The tsar's decree placed the Duma members in a difficult position: on the one hand, they did not dare to disobey the tsar's will, and on the other hand, they could not but reckon with the menacing development of revolutionary events in the capital. Deputies from the left parties proposed not to obey the tsar's decree and to declare themselves the Constituent Assembly in the "appeal to the people", but the majority was against such an action. In the Semicircular Hall of the Tauride Palace, they opened a "private meeting", at which it was decided, in fulfillment of the tsar's order, not to hold official meetings of the Duma, but the deputies not to disperse and remain in their places. By half past three in the afternoon on February 27, crowds of demonstrators approached the Tauride Palace, some of them entered the palace. Then the Duma decided to form from among its members a "Provisional Committee of the State Duma for the Restoration of Order in Petrograd and for Relations with Institutions and Persons." On the same day, a Committee of 12 people chaired by Rodzianko was formed. At first, the Provisional Committee was afraid to take power into its own hands and sought an agreement with the tsar. On the evening of February 27, Rodzianko sent a new telegram to the tsar, in which he suggested that he make concessions - to instruct the Duma to form a ministry responsible to it.

But events unfolded rapidly. On that day, strikes swept almost all the enterprises of the capital, and in fact the uprising had already begun. The troops of the capital's garrison began to go over to the side of the rebels. On the morning of February 27, a training team rebelled, consisting of 600 people from the reserve battalion of the Volynsky regiment. The team leader was killed. Non-commissioned officer T.I., who led the uprising Kirpichnikov raised the entire regiment, which moved towards the Lithuanian and Preobrazhensky regiments and dragged them along.

If on the morning of February 27, 10 thousand soldiers went over to the side of the rebels, then in the evening of the same day - 67 thousand. On the same day, Khabalov telegraphed the tsar that "the troops refuse to go out against the rebels." On February 28, 127 thousand soldiers turned out to be on the side of the rebels, and on March 1 - already 170 thousand soldiers. On February 28, the Winter Palace, the Peter and Paul Fortress were taken, the arsenal was captured, from which 40,000 rifles and 30,000 revolvers were distributed to workers. On Liteiny Prospekt, the building of the District Court and the House of Preliminary Detention were destroyed and set on fire. The police stations were on fire. The gendarmerie and the Okhrana were liquidated. Many policemen and gendarmes were arrested (later the Provisional Government released them and sent them to the front). Prisoners were released from prisons. On March 1, after negotiations, the remnants of the garrison who had settled in the Admiralty, along with Khabalov, surrendered. The Mariinsky Palace was taken and the tsarist ministers and top dignitaries who were in it were arrested. They were brought or brought to the Tauride Palace. Minister of Internal Affairs A.D. Protopopov voluntarily appeared under arrest. The ministers and generals from the Taurida Palace were escorted to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the rest - to the places of detention prepared for them.

Military units from Peterhof and Strelna that had gone over to the side of the revolution arrived in Petrograd through the Baltic Station and along the Peterhof Highway. On March 1, the sailors of the Kronstadt port rebelled. The commander of the Kronstadt port and the military governor of the city of Kronstadt, Rear Admiral R.N. Viren and several senior officers were shot by sailors. Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (cousin of Nicholas II) brought the sailors of the Guards crew entrusted to him to the Tauride Palace at the disposal of the revolutionary authorities.

On the evening of February 28, in the conditions of the already victorious revolution, Rodzianko proposed announcing that the Provisional Committee of the State Duma would assume government functions. On the night of February 28, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma appealed to the peoples of Russia to take the initiative to "restore state and social order" and create a new government. As a first step in the ministries, he sent commissars from among the members of the Duma. In order to seize the situation in the capital and stop the further development of revolutionary events, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma tried in vain to return the soldiers to the barracks. But this attempt showed that he was unable to take control of the situation in the capital.

The soviets, which were revived during the revolution, became a more effective revolutionary power. As early as February 26, a number of members of the Union of Workers' Cooperatives of Petrograd, the Social Democratic faction of the State Duma and other working groups put forward the idea of ​​forming Soviets of Workers' Deputies on the model of 1905. This idea was also supported by the Bolsheviks. On February 27, representatives of the working groups, together with a group of Duma deputies and representatives of the left intelligentsia, gathered in the Tauride Palace and announced the creation of the Provisional Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet of Working People's Deputies. The committee issued an appeal to elect deputies to the Soviet without delay - one deputies from 1,000 workers, and one from a company of soldiers. 250 deputies were elected and gathered in the Tauride Palace. They, in turn, elected the Executive Committee of the Soviet, whose chairman was the leader of the Social Democratic faction of the State Duma, the Menshevik N.S. Chkheidze, and his deputies Trudovik A.F. Kerensky and Menshevik M.I. Skobelev. The majority in the Executive Committee and in the Soviet itself belonged to the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries - at that time the most numerous and influential left parties in Russia. On February 28, the first issue of Izvestia of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies came out (editor Menshevik F.I. Dan).

The Petrograd Soviet began to act as an organ of revolutionary power, taking a number of important decisions. On February 28, on his initiative, district committees of councils were created. He formed military and food commissions, armed militia, established control over printing houses and railways. By decision of the Petrograd Soviet, the financial resources of the tsarist government were withdrawn and control was established over their spending. Commissars from the Soviet were sent to the districts of the capital to establish people's power in them.

On March 1, 1917, the Council issued the famous "Order No. 1", which provided for the creation of elected soldiers' committees in military units, abolished the titles of officers and saluting them outside of service, but most importantly, removed the Petrograd garrison from subordination to the old command. This order in our literature is usually regarded as a deeply democratic act. In fact, by subordinating unit commanders to soldiers' committees with little competence in military affairs, he violated the principle of unity of command necessary for any army and thereby contributed to the decline in military discipline.

The number of victims in Petrograd in the February days of 1917 amounted to about 300 people. killed and up to 1200 wounded.

Formation of the Provisional Government
With the formation of the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Committee of the State Duma on February 27, dual power actually began to take shape. Until March 1, 1917, the Council and the Duma Committee acted independently of each other. On the night of March 1-2, negotiations began between representatives of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Committee of the State Duma on the formation of the Provisional Government. Representatives of the Soviets set the condition for the Provisional Government to immediately proclaim civil liberties, an amnesty for political prisoners, and announce the convocation of a Constituent Assembly. When the Provisional Government fulfilled this condition, the Council decided to support it. The formation of the composition of the Provisional Government was entrusted to the Provisional Committee of the State Duma.

On March 2, it was formed, and on March 3, its composition was made public. The Provisional Government included 12 people - 10 ministers and 2 chief executives of central departments equated to ministers. 9 ministers were deputies of the State Duma.

A large landowner, chairman of the All-Russian Zemstvo Union, Cadet, Prince G.E. became the Chairman of the Provisional Government and at the same time the Minister of the Interior. Lvov, ministers: foreign affairs - the leader of the Cadet Party P.N. Milyukov, military and naval - the leader of the Octobrist party A.I. Guchkov, trade and industry - a major manufacturer, progressive, A.I. Konovalov, communications - "left" cadet N.V. Nekrasov, public education - close to the Cadets, professor of law A.A. Manuilov, agriculture - zemstvo doctor, cadet, A.I. Shingarev, Justice - Trudovik (since March 3 Social Revolutionary, the only socialist in the government) A.F. Kerensky, on the affairs of Finland - cadet V.I. Rodiichev, Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod - Octobrist V.N. Lvov, the state controller - Octobrist I.V. Godnev. Thus, 7 ministerial posts, and the most important ones, ended up in the hands of the Cadets, 3 ministerial posts were received by the Octobrists and 2 representatives of other parties. It was the "finest hour" of the Cadets, who came to power for a short time (two months). The entry into office of ministers of the Provisional Government took place during March 3-5. The provisional government declared itself for a transitional period (until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly) the supreme legislative and executive power in the country.

On March 3, the program of activities of the Provisional Government, agreed with the Petrograd Soviet, was also made public: 1) a complete and immediate amnesty for all political and religious matters; 2) freedom of speech, press, assembly and strikes; 3) the abolition of all class, religious and national restrictions; 4) immediate preparation for elections on the basis of universal, equal, secret and direct voting to the Constituent Assembly; 5) replacement of the police by the people's militia with elected authorities subordinate to local self-government bodies; 6) elections to local self-government bodies; 7) non-disarmament and non-withdrawal from Petrograd military units who took part in the February 27 uprising; and 8) giving soldiers civil rights. The program laid the broad foundations of constitutionalism and democracy in the country.

However, most of the measures announced in the declaration of the Provisional Government on March 3 were carried out even earlier, as soon as the revolution had won. So, as early as February 28, the police was abolished and the people's militia was formed: instead of 6 thousand policemen, 40 thousand people were employed in the protection of order in Petrograd. people's militia. She took under the protection of enterprises and city blocks. Detachments in the native militia were soon created in other cities. Subsequently, along with the workers' militia, fighting workers' squads (the Red Guard) also appeared. The first detachment of the Red Guard was created in early March at the Sestroretsk plant. The gendarmerie and the Okhrana were liquidated.

Hundreds of prisons were destroyed or burned down. The press organs of the Black Hundred organizations were closed. Trade unions were revived, cultural and educational, women's, youth and other organizations were created. Complete freedom of the press, rallies and demonstrations was won by secret order. Russia has become the freest country in the world.

The initiative to reduce the working day to 8 hours came from the Petrograd entrepreneurs themselves. On March 10, an agreement was concluded between the Petrograd Soviet and the Petrograd Society of Manufacturers about this. Then, through similar private agreements between workers and employers, the 8-hour working day was introduced throughout the country. However, a special decree of the Provisional Government on this was not issued. The agrarian question was referred to the decision of the Constituent Assembly out of fear that the soldiers, having learned about the "division of the land", would abandon the front and move into the countryside. The provisional government declared unauthorized seizures of landlord peasants illegal.

In an effort to "become closer to the people", to study the specific situation in the country on the spot and enlist the support of the population, the ministers of the Provisional Government made frequent trips to cities, army and navy units. At first, they met such support at rallies, meetings, meetings of various kinds, and professional congresses. The ministers often and willingly gave interviews to representatives of the press and held press conferences. The press, in turn, sought to create a favorable opinion about the Provisional Government. public opinion.

France and England were the first to recognize the Provisional Government as "the spokesman of the true will of the people and the only government of Russia". In early March, the United States, Italy, Norway, Japan, Belgium, Portugal, Serbia and Iran recognized the Provisional Government.

Abdication of Nicholas II
The transfer of the troops of the capital's garrison to the side of the rebels forced the Stavka to begin taking decisive measures to suppress the revolution in Petrograd. On February 27, Nicholas II, through the chief of staff of the Headquarters, General M.V. Alekseev gave the order to send "reliable" punitive troops to Petrograd. The punitive expedition included the Georgievsky battalion, taken from Mogilev, and several regiments from the Northern, Western and Southwestern fronts. General N.I. was put at the head of the expedition. Ivanov, who was also appointed instead of Khabalov and commander of the Petrograd Military District with the broadest, dictatorial powers - up to the point that all ministers were at his full disposal. By March 1, it was planned to concentrate 13 infantry battalions, 16 cavalry squadrons and 4 batteries in the Tsarskoye Selo area.

In the early morning of February 28, two letter trains, tsarist and retinue, set off from Mogilev via Smolensk, Vyazma, Rzhev, Likhoslavl, Bologoye to Petrograd. Upon their arrival in Bologoye on the night of March 1, news was received that two companies with machine guns had arrived in Lyuban from Petrograd in order to prevent the tsar's trains from entering the capital. When the trains arrived at St. Malaya Vishera (160 km from Petrograd), the railway authorities reported that it was impossible to move on, because the following stations Tosno and Lyuban were occupied by revolutionary troops. Nicholas II ordered that trains be turned to Pskov - to the headquarters of the commander of the Northern Front, General N.V. Ruzsky. The tsarist trains arrived in Pskov at 7 p.m. on March 1. Here Nicholas II learned about the victory of the revolution in Petrograd.

At the same time, the Chief of Staff of the General Headquarters, General M.V. Alekseev decided to abandon the military expedition to Petrograd. Enlisting the support of the commanders-in-chief of the fronts, he ordered Ivanov to refrain from punitive actions. The Georgievsky battalion, which reached Tsarskoye Selo on March 1, withdrew back to the Vyritsa station. After negotiations between the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Front, Ruzsky, and Rodzianko, Nicholas II agreed to the formation of a government responsible to the Duma. On the night of March 2, Ruzsky conveyed this decision to Rodzianko. However, he said that the publication of the manifesto about this was already "belated", because the course of events put a "certain demand" - the abdication of the king. Without waiting for the answer of the Headquarters, deputies of the Duma A.I. were sent to Pskov. Guchkov and V.V. Shulgin. Meanwhile, Alekseev and Ruzsky requested all the commanders-in-chief of the fronts and fleets: Caucasian - Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, Romanian - General V.V. Sakharov, South-West - General A.A. Brusilov, Western - General A.E. Evert, commanders of the fleets - Baltic - Admiral A.I. Nepenin and Chernomorsky - Admiral A.V. Kolchak. The commanders of the fronts and fleets declared the need for the tsar's abdication "in the name of saving the motherland and the dynasty, agreed with the statement of the chairman of the State Duma, as the only one apparently capable of stopping the revolution and saving Russia from the horrors of anarchy." Those uncle Nikolai Nikolaevich addressed Nicholas II from Tiflis with a plea to abdicate.

On March 2, Nicholas II ordered that a manifesto be drawn up on his abdication in favor of his son Alexei, under the regency of his younger brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. This decision of the king was drawn up in the name of Rodzianko. However, its dispatch was delayed until new messages were received from Petrograd. In addition, the arrival of Guchkov and Shulgin was expected in Pskov, which was reported to the Headquarters.

Guchkov and Shulgin arrived in Pskov on the evening of March 2, reported that there was no military unit in Petrograd that could be relied upon, and confirmed the need for the tsar's abdication. Nicholas II stated that he had already made such a decision, but now he is changing it and is already abdicating not only for himself, but also for the heir. This act of Nicholas II violated the coronation manifesto of Paul I of April 5, 1797, which provided that the reigning person had the right to abdicate only for himself, and not for his own glaciers.

A new version of the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne was adopted by Guchkov and Shulgin, who only asked him that, before signing the act of renunciation, the tsar approved the decree on the appointment of G.E. Lvov as prime minister of the new government being formed, and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich again as supreme commander in chief.

When Guchkov and Shulgin returned to Petrograd with the manifesto of the abdicated Nicholas II, they met with strong dissatisfaction among the revolutionary masses with this attempt by the Duma leaders to preserve the monarchy. The toast in honor of "Emperor Mikhail", proclaimed by Guchkov upon his arrival from Pskov at the Warsaw railway station in Petrograd, aroused such strong indignation among the workers that they threatened him with execution. At the station, Shulgin was searched, who, however, managed to secretly transfer the text of the manifesto on the abdication of Nicholas II to Guchkov. The workers demanded that the text of the manifesto be destroyed, that the tsar be arrested immediately, and that a republic be proclaimed.

On the morning of March 3, members of the Duma Committee and the Provisional Government met with Mikhail in the mansion of Prince. O. Putyatina on Millionnaya. Rodzianko and Kerensky argued the necessity of his renunciation of the throne. Kerensky said that the indignation of the people is too strong, new king may perish from the wrath of the people, and with it the Provisional Government perishes. However, Milyukov insisted on Mikhail's acceptance of the crown, arguing that strong power is necessary to strengthen the new order, and such power needs support - "a monarchic symbol familiar to the masses." A provisional government without a monarch, said Milyukov, is "a fragile boat that can sink in the ocean of popular unrest"; it will not live to see the Constituent Assembly, as anarchy will reign in the country. Guchkov, who soon arrived at the meeting, supported Miliukov. Miliukov, in a temper, even suggested taking cars and going to Moscow, where to proclaim Michael emperor, to gather troops under his banner and move to Petrograd. Such a proposal clearly threatened civil war and frightened the rest of the meeting. After lengthy discussions, the majority voted for the abdication of Michael. Mikhail agreed with this opinion and at 4 p.m. signed the drafted by V.D. Nabokov and Baron B.E. Nolde's manifesto of his renunciation of the crown. The manifesto, promulgated the next day, said that Michael "made a firm decision only if he would accept supreme power, if such was the will of our great people, who should establish the form of government and new basic laws of the state by popular vote through their representatives in the Constituent Assembly Russian". Michael appealed to the people with an appeal "to obey the Provisional Government, invested with full power." Written statements of support for the Provisional Government and the renunciation of claims to the royal throne were also made by all members of the royal family. On March 3, Nicholas II sent a telegram to Mikhail.

Calling him "Imperial Majesty", he apologized that he "did not warn" him about the transfer of the crown to him. The news of Michael's abdication was received by the abdicated king with bewilderment. “God knows who advised him to sign such a disgusting thing,” Nikolai wrote in his diary.

The abdicated emperor went to Headquarters in Mogilev. A few hours before the signing of the act of abdication, Nikolai again appointed Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich to the post of Supreme Commander of the Russian Army. However, the Provisional Government appointed General A.A. Brusilov. On March 9, Nicholas and his retinue returned to Tsarskoye Selo. By order of the Provisional Government, the royal family was kept under house arrest in Tsarskoye Selo. The Petrograd Soviet demanded a trial of the former tsar and even on March 8 adopted a resolution to imprison him in the Peter and Paul Fortress, but the Provisional Government refused to comply with it.

In connection with the growth of anti-monarchist sentiments in the country, the deposed tsar asked the Provisional Government to send him and his family to England. The Provisional Government asked the British Ambassador in Petrograd, George Buchanan, to ask the British Cabinet about this. P.N. Miliukov, meeting with the tsar, assured him that the request would be granted and even advised him to prepare for his departure. Buchanan requested his cabinet. He first agreed to provide asylum in England for the deposed Russian tsar and his family. However, a wave of protest arose against this in England and Russia, and the English King George V turned to his government with a proposal to cancel this decision. The provisional government sent a request to the French cabinet to provide asylum to the royal family in France, but was also refused, citing the fact that this would be negatively perceived by French public opinion. Thus, the attempts of the Provisional Government to send the former tsar and his family abroad failed. On August 13, 1917, by order of the Provisional Government, the royal family was sent to Tobolsk.

The essence of dual power
During the transitional period - from the moment of the victory of the revolution to the adoption of the constitution and the formation of permanent bodies of power in accordance with it - the Provisional Revolutionary Government operates, which is entrusted with the duty of breaking the old apparatus of power, consolidating the gains of the revolution by appropriate decrees and convening the Constituent Assembly, which determines the form of the future state structure of the country, approves the decrees issued by the Provisional Government, giving them the force of laws, and adopts the constitution.

The provisional government for the transitional period (until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly) has both legislative and executive functions. This was the case, for example, during the French Revolution. late XVIII in. The same way of transforming the country after the revolutionary upheaval was envisaged in their projects by the Decembrists of the Northern Society, putting forward the idea of ​​a "Provisional revolutionary government" for the transitional period, and then convening a "Supreme Council" (Constituent Assembly). All the Russian revolutionary parties at the beginning of the 20th century imagined the path of the revolutionary reorganization of the country, the destruction of the old state machine and the formation of new organs of power, having written it down in their programs.

However, the formation process state power in Russia, as a result of the February Revolution of 1917, it followed a different scenario. In Russia, a dual power was created, which has no analogues in history - in the person of the Soviets of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies, on the one hand, and the Provisional Government, on the other.

As already mentioned, the emergence of Soviets - organs of people's power - dates back to the time of the revolution of 1905-1907. and is an important achievement. This tradition immediately revived after the victory of the uprising in Petrograd on February 27, 1917. In addition to the Petrograd Soviet in March 1917, more than 600 local Soviets arose, which elected from among their midst permanent authorities - executive committees. These were the chosen people, relying on the support of the broad working masses. The councils performed legislative, administrative, executive and even judicial functions. By October 1917 there were already 1,429 soviets in the country. They arose spontaneously - it was the spontaneous creativity of the masses. Along with this, local committees of the Provisional Government were also created. Thus, dual power was created at the central and local levels.

At that time, representatives of the Menshevik and Socialist-Revolutionary parties, who were guided not by the "victory of socialism", believing that there were no conditions for this in backward Russia, but by developing and consolidating it bourgeois-democratic conquests. Such a task, they believed, could be performed during the transitional period by the Provisional, bourgeois in composition, government, which, in carrying out the democratic transformations of the country, must be provided with support, and, if necessary, put pressure on it. In fact, even during the period of dual power, real power was in the hands of the Soviets, for the Provisional Government could govern only with their support and carry out its decrees with their sanction.

At first, the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies acted jointly. They even held their meetings in the same building - the Taurida Palace, which then turned into a center political life countries.

During March-April 1917, the Provisional Government, with the support and pressure on it from the Petrograd Soviet, carried out a number of democratic reforms, which were mentioned above. At the same time, it postponed the solution of a number of acute problems inherited from the old government until the Constituent Assembly, and among them the agrarian question. Moreover, it issued a number of decrees providing for criminal liability for the unauthorized seizure of landlords, specific and monastic lands. On the question of war and peace, it took a defensive position, remaining faithful to the allied obligations assumed by the old regime. All this caused the growing dissatisfaction of the masses with the policy of the Provisional Government.

Dual power is not a separation of powers, but opposition of one power to another, which inevitably leads to conflicts, to the desire of each power to overthrow the opposing one. Ultimately, dual power leads to paralysis of power, to the absence of any power, to anarchy. With dual power, the growth of centrifugal forces is inevitable, which threatens the collapse of the country, especially if this country is multinational.

The dual power lasted no more than four months - until the beginning of July 1917, when, in the context of the unsuccessful offensive of the Russian troops on the German front, on July 3-4, the Bolsheviks organized a political demonstration and attempted to overthrow the Provisional Government. The demonstration was shot, and the Bolsheviks were subjected to repression. After the July days, the Provisional Government managed to subdue the Soviets, which obediently carried out its will. However, this was a short-term victory for the Provisional Government, whose position was becoming increasingly precarious. Economic ruin deepened in the country: inflation grew rapidly, production fell catastrophically, and the danger of impending famine became real. In the countryside, mass pogroms of landowners' estates began, the peasants seized not only landowners' lands, but also church lands, and information was received about the murders of landlords and even clergymen. The soldiers are tired of the war. At the front, the fraternization of the soldiers of both belligerents became more frequent. The front was essentially falling apart. Desertion increased sharply, entire military units were removed from their positions: the soldiers hurried home in order to be in time for the division of the landlords' lands.

The February Revolution destroyed the old state structures, but failed to create a strong and authoritative power. The provisional government was increasingly losing control over the situation in the country and was no longer able to cope with the growing devastation, the complete breakdown of the financial system, and the collapse of the front. The ministers of the Provisional Government, being highly educated intellectuals, brilliant orators and publicists, turned out to be unimportant politicians and bad administrators, divorced from reality and poorly aware of it.

In a relatively short time, from March to October 1917, four compositions of the Provisional Government were replaced: its first composition lasted about two months (March-April), the next three (coalition, with "socialist ministers") - each no more than a month and a half . It survived two serious power crises (in July and September).

The power of the Provisional Government was weakening every day. It increasingly lost control over the situation in the country. In an atmosphere of political instability in the country, deepening economic ruin, a protracted unpopular war. threats of imminent famine, the masses longed for a "firm government" that could "put things in order." The inconsistency of the behavior of the Russian peasant also worked - his primordially Russian desire for "firm order" and, at the same time, primordially Russian hatred of any really existing order, i.e. a paradoxical combination in the peasant mentality of Caesarism (naive monarchism) and anarchism, humility and rebellion.

By the autumn of 1917, the power of the Provisional Government was virtually paralyzed: its decrees were not implemented or were ignored altogether. In fact, anarchy reigned on the ground. There were fewer and fewer supporters and defenders of the Provisional Government. This largely explains the ease with which it was overthrown by the Bolsheviks on October 25, 1917. They not only easily overthrew the virtually powerless Provisional Government, but also received powerful support from the broad masses of the people, promulgating the most important decrees the very next day after the October Revolution - about the earth and the world. Not abstract, incomprehensible to the masses, socialist ideas attracted them to the Bolsheviks, but the hope that they would indeed stop the hated war and once again give the peasants the coveted land.

“V.A. Fedorov. History of Russia 1861-1917.
Bookseller's Regiment Library. http://society.polbu.ru/fedorov_rushistory/ch84_i.html

The spring of 1917 was to be decisive in the victory of the Russian Empire over Germany and Austria-Hungary in the First World War. But history decreed otherwise. The February Revolution of 1917 not only put an end to all military plans, but also destroyed the Russian autocracy.

1. Bread is to blame

The revolution began with a grain crisis. At the end of February 1917, due to snow drifts, the schedule for freight transportation of bread was disrupted, and there was a rumor about the imminent transition to bread cards. Refugees arrived in the capital, and part of the bakers were drafted into the army. Queues formed at the bakeries, and then riots began. Already on February 21, a crowd with the slogan "Bread, bread" began to smash bakery shops.

2. Putilov workers

On February 18, the workers of the gunnery stamping workshop of the Putilov Plant went on strike, and workers from other workshops joined them. Four days later, the plant administration announced the closure of the enterprise and the dismissal of 36,000 workers. Proletarians from other plants and factories spontaneously began to join the Putilovites.

3. Protopopov's inaction

Appointed in September 1916 as Minister of the Interior, Alexander Protopopov was confident that he had the whole situation under control. Trusting the convictions of his minister about security in Petrograd, Nicholas II leaves the capital on February 22 to headquarter in Mogilev. The only measure taken by the minister during the days of the revolution was the arrest of a number of leaders of the Bolshevik faction. The poet Alexander Blok was sure that Protopopov's inaction was the main reason for the victory of the February Revolution in Petrograd. "Why is the main platform of power - the Ministry of the Interior - given to the psychopathic talker, liar, hysteric and coward Protopopov, who is distraught from this power?" - asked Alexander Blok in his "Reflections on the February Revolution".

4 Housewife Revolt

Officially, the revolution began with unrest among Petrograd housewives, forced to stand long hours in long lines for bread. Many of them became workers in weaving factories during the war years. By February 23, about 100,000 workers from fifty enterprises were already on strike in the capital. The demonstrators demanded not only bread and an end to the war, but also the overthrow of the autocracy.

5. All power is in the hands of a random person

Resolute measures were needed to suppress the revolution. On February 24, all power in the capital was transferred to the commander of the troops of the Petrograd Military District, Lieutenant General Khabalov. He was appointed to this post in the summer of 1916, not having the skills and abilities necessary for this. He receives a telegram from the emperor: “I order tomorrow to stop the unrest in the capital, which is unacceptable in the difficult time of the war with Germany and Austria. NICHOLAS". Khabalov's military dictatorship was to be established in the capital. But most of the troops refused to obey him. This was logical, since Khabalov, who had previously been close to Rasputin, served his entire career at headquarters and in military schools, without having the authority among the soldiers necessary at the most critical moment.

6. When did the tsar find out about the beginning of the revolution?

According to historians, Nicholas II learned about the beginning of the revolution only on February 25 at about 18:00 from two sources: from General Khabalov and from Minister Protopopov. In his diary, Nikolai first wrote about the revolutionary events only on February 27 (on the fourth day): “Unrest began in Petrograd a few days ago; unfortunately, the troops began to take part in them. It's a disgusting feeling to be so far away and receive fragmentary bad news!

7. Peasant, not soldier rebellion

On February 27, a mass transition of soldiers to the side of the people began: in the morning, 10,000 soldiers rebelled. By the evening of the next day, there were already 127,000 rebel soldiers. And by March 1, almost the entire Petrograd garrison had gone over to the side of the striking workers. Government troops melted every minute. And this is not surprising, because the soldiers were yesterday's peasant recruits, not ready to raise bayonets against their brothers. Therefore, it is more fair to consider this rebellion not of soldiers, but of peasants. On February 28, the rebels arrested Khabalov and imprisoned him in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

8. The first soldier of the revolution

On the morning of February 27, 1917, senior sergeant major Timofey Kirpichnikov raised and armed his subordinate soldiers. Staff Captain Lashkevich was supposed to come to them in order to send, in accordance with the order of Khabalov, this unit to suppress the riots. But Kirpichnikov persuaded the "platoon", and the soldiers decided not to shoot at the demonstrators and killed Lashkevich. Kirpichnikov as the first soldier who raised his weapon against the "tsarist system" was awarded George cross. But the punishment found its hero, on the orders of the monarchist Colonel Kutepov, he was shot in the ranks of the Volunteer Army.

9. Set fire to the Police Department

The police department was the stronghold of the struggle of the tsarist regime against the revolutionary movement. Capture it law enforcement agency became one of the first targets of the revolutionaries. Director of the Police Department Vasiliev, foreseeing the danger of the events that had begun, ordered in advance that all documents with the addresses of police officers and secret agents be burned. The revolutionary leaders sought to be the first to get into the building of the Department, not only in order to take possession of all the data on criminals in the empire and solemnly burn them, but also in order to destroy in advance all available former government dirt on them. So, most of sources on the history of the revolutionary movement and the tsarist police was destroyed in the days of the February Revolution.

10. "Hunting season" for the police

During the days of the revolution, the rebels showed particular cruelty to police officers. Trying to escape, the former servants of Themis changed clothes, hid in attics and basements. But they were still found and put to death on the spot, sometimes with monstrous cruelty. The head of the Petrograd security department, General Globachev, recalled: “The rebels scoured the whole city, looking for police officers and police officers, expressed stormy delight, having found a new victim to quench their thirst for innocent blood, and there was no bullying, mockery, insults and torture that animals had not tried on their victims."

11. Uprising in Moscow

Following Petrograd, Moscow also went on strike. On February 27, it was declared under a state of siege, and all rallies were prohibited. But the unrest could not be prevented. By March 2, the railway stations, arsenals and the Kremlin were already captured. Representatives of the Committee of Public Organizations of Moscow and the Moscow Soviet of Workers' Deputies, created during the days of the revolution, took power into their own hands.

12. "Triple power" in Kyiv

The news of the change of power reached Kyiv by March 3. But unlike Petrograd and other cities of the Russian Empire, not a dual power, but a tripartite power was established in Kyiv. In addition to the provincial and district commissars appointed by the Provisional Government and the emerging local Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, a third force entered the political arena - the Central Rada, initiated by representatives of all the parties participating in the revolution to coordinate the national movement. And immediately inside the Rada, a struggle began between supporters national independence and adherents of an autonomous republic in a federation with Russia. Nevertheless, on March 9, the Ukrainian Central Rada declared its support for the Provisional Government headed by Prince Lvov.

13. Liberal Conspiracy

As early as December 1916, the idea of ​​a palace coup had matured among the liberals. The Octobrist Party leader Guchkov, together with the cadet Nekrasov, were able to attract the future Minister of Foreign Affairs and Finance of the Provisional Government Tereshchenko, Chairman of the State Duma Rodzianko, General Alekseev and Colonel Krymov. They planned not later than April 1917 to intercept the emperor on his way from the capital to headquarters in Mogilev and force him to abdicate in favor of the legitimate heir. But the plan was implemented earlier, already on March 1, 1917.

14. Five centers of "revolutionary ferment"

The authorities were aware of not one, but several centers of the future revolution at once. The palace commandant, General Voeikov, at the end of 1916, named five centers of opposition to autocratic power, in his words, centers of "revolutionary ferment": 1) the State Duma, headed by M.V. Rodzianko; 2) Zemsky Union, headed by Prince G.E. Lvov; 3) City union headed by M.V. Chelnokov; 4) Central military-industrial committee headed by A.I. Guchkov; 5) Headquarters headed by M.V. Alekseev. As subsequent events showed, all of them took a direct part in the coup d'état.

15. Nikolai's Last Chance

Did Nicholas have a chance to retain power? Perhaps if he had listened to "fat Rodzianko." On the afternoon of February 26, Nicholas II receives a telegram from State Duma Chairman Rodzianko, who reports anarchy in the capital: the government is paralyzed, transport of food and fuel is in complete disarray, indiscriminate shooting in the street. “It is necessary to immediately instruct a person who enjoys confidence to form a new government. You can't delay. Any delay is like death. I pray to God that this hour of responsibility does not fall on the Crown-bearer.” But Nikolai does not react, complaining only to the Minister of the Imperial Court, Fredericks: “Again, this fat Rodzianko wrote me various nonsense, to which I will not even answer him.”

16. Future Emperor Nicholas III

Back at the end of 1916, during the negotiations of the conspirators, the main contender for the throne as a result of a palace coup was considered Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, the Supreme Commander of the Army at the beginning of the First World War. In the last pre-revolutionary months, he was in the capacity of governor in the Caucasus. The proposal to take the throne came to Nikolai Nikolayevich on January 1, 1917, but two days later the Grand Duke refused. During the February Revolution, he was in the south, where he received news of his appointment as Supreme Commander-in-Chief again, but upon arrival on March 11 at Headquarters in Mogilev, he was forced to resign and resign.

17. Fatalism of the king

Nicholas II knew about the conspiracies being prepared against him. In the autumn of 1916, he was informed about this by the palace commandant Voeikov, in December - by the Black Hundred Tikhanovich-Savitsky, and in January 1917 - by the chairman of the Council of Ministers, Prince Golitsyn and the adjutant wing Mordvinov. During the war, Nicholas II was afraid to act openly against the liberal opposition and completely entrusted his life and the life of the Empress to the "will of God."

18. Nicholas II and Julius Caesar

According to the personal diary of Emperor Nicholas II, throughout all the days of the revolutionary events he continued to read a French book about the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar. Did Nicholas think that he would soon suffer the fate of Caesar - a palace coup?

19. Rodzianko tried to save the royal family

In the February days, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, along with her children, was in Tsarskoye Selo. After the departure of Nicholas II on February 22 to Headquarters in Mogilev, one after another, all the royal children fell ill with measles. The source of the infection, apparently, was the young cadets - Tsarevich Alexei's playmates. On February 27, she writes to her husband about the revolution in the capital. Rodzianko, through the empress's valet, urged her and her children to immediately leave the palace: “Leave anywhere, and as soon as possible. The danger is very great. When the house is on fire, and sick children are carried out. The empress replied: “We will not go anywhere. Let them do what they want, but I won’t leave and I won’t ruin my children.” Due to the serious condition of the children (the temperature of Olga, Tatyana and Alexei reached 40 degrees), the royal family could not leave their palace, so all guards battalions loyal to the autocracy were pulled there. Only on March 9, "colonel" Nikolai Romanov arrived in Tsarskoye Selo.

20. Treason of allies

Thanks to intelligence and the ambassador in Petrograd, Lord Buchanan, the British government had full information about the impending conspiracy in the capital of its main ally in the war with Germany. On the issue of power in the Russian Empire, the British crown decided to rely on the liberal opposition and even financed them through its ambassador. By facilitating the revolution in Russia, the British leadership got rid of a competitor in the post-war issue of the territorial acquisitions of the victorious countries.

When on February 27 the deputies of the 4th State Duma formed the Provisional Committee headed by Rodzianko, who for a short time assumed full power in the country, it was the allied France and Great Britain who were the first to recognize the de facto new government - on March 1, the day before the abdication still a legitimate king.

21. Unexpected renunciation

Contrary to popular belief, it was Nicholas, and not the Duma opposition, who initiated the abdication for Tsarevich Alexei. By decision of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, Guchkov and Shulgin went to Pskov with the aim of abdicating Nicholas II. The meeting took place in the carriage of the royal train, where Guchkov suggested that the emperor abdicate in favor of little Alexei, with the appointment of Grand Duke Mikhail as regent. But Nicholas II said that he was not ready to part with his son, so he decided to abdicate in favor of his brother. Taken by surprise by such a statement of the king, the Duma envoys even asked Nikolai for a quarter of an hour to confer and still accept the abdication. On the same day, Nicholas II wrote in his diary: “At one in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced. Around treason and cowardice and deceit!

22. Isolation of the Emperor

The key role in the emperor's decision to abdicate was played by the chief of staff, General Alekseev, and the commander of the Northern Front, General Ruzsky. The sovereign was isolated from sources of objective information by his generals, who were participants in a conspiracy to stage a palace coup. Most of the army commanders and corps commanders expressed their readiness to come out with their troops to suppress the uprising in Petrograd. But this information was not brought to the king. It is now known that in the event of the emperor's refusal to resign, the generals even considered the physical elimination of Nicholas II.

23. Loyal Commanders

Only two military commanders remained loyal to Nicholas II - General Fyodor Keller, who commanded the 3rd Cavalry Corps, and the commander of the Guards Cavalry Corps, General Huseyn Khan Nakhichevansky. General Keller turned to his officers: “I received a dispatch about the abdication of the Sovereign and about some kind of Provisional Government. I, your old commander, who shared with you hardships, sorrows, and joys, do not believe that the Sovereign Emperor at such a moment could voluntarily abandon the army and Russia. He, together with General Khan Nakhchivansky, offered the king to provide himself and his units to suppress the uprising. But it was already too late.

24. Lviv appointed by decree of the abdicated emperor

The Provisional Government was formed on March 2 after an agreement between the Provisional Committee of the State Duma and the Petrograd Soviet. But the new government, even after the abdication, required the consent of the emperor to the appointment of Prince Lvov as head of the government. Nicholas II signed a decree to the Governing Senate on the appointment of Lvov as chairman of the Council of Ministers, dated 2 pm on March 2, for the legitimacy of the document an hour ahead of the time set in the abdication.

25. Self-withdrawal of Mikhail on the initiative of Kerensky

On the morning of March 3, members of the newly formed Provisional Government came to Mikhail Romanov to resolve the issue of accepting the throne. But there was no unity among the deputation: Milyukov and Guchkov insisted on accepting the throne, while Kerensky called for a refusal. Kerensky was one of the most ardent opponents of the continuation of the autocracy. After a personal conversation with Rodzianko and Lvov, the Grand Duke decided to renounce the throne. A day later, Mikhail issued a manifesto, urging everyone to submit to the authority of the Provisional Government until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. Ex-emperor Nikolai Romanov reacted to this news with the following entry in his diary: “God knows who advised him to sign such a vile thing!”. This ended the February Revolution.

26. The Church supported the Provisional Government

Dissatisfaction with the policy of the Romanovs has been smoldering in the Orthodox Church since the reforms of Peter the Great. After the first Russian revolution, discontent only intensified, since now the Duma could pass laws relating to church matters, including its budget. The Church sought to restore the sovereign's rights lost two centuries ago and transfer them to the newly installed patriarch. During the days of the revolution, the Holy Synod did not take any active part in the struggle on either side. But the king's abdication was approved by the clergy. On March 4, the chief procurator of the Synod of Lvov proclaimed the "freedom of the Church", and on March 6, it was decided to serve a prayer service not for the reigning house, but for the new government.

27. Two hymns of the new state

Immediately after the start of the February Revolution, the question of a new Russian anthem arose. The poet Bryusov proposed to arrange all-Russian competition to choose new music and anthem words. But all the proposed options were rejected by the Provisional Government, which approved the "Workers' Marseillaise" as the national anthem with the words of the populist theorist Pyotr Lavrov. But the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies proclaimed the anthem "The Internationale". Thus, the dual power was preserved not only in the government, but also in the issue of the national anthem. The final decision on the national anthem, like on many other issues, was to be taken by the Constituent Assembly.

28. Symbolism of the new power

Change state form board is always accompanied by a revision of all state symbols. Following the anthem, which appeared spontaneously, the new government was to decide the fate of the two-headed imperial eagle. To solve the problem, a group of specialists in the field of heraldry was assembled, who decided to postpone this issue until the Constituent Assembly. It was temporarily decided to leave the double-headed eagle, but without any attributes of royal power and without George the Victorious on his chest.

29. Not only Lenin “slept through” the revolution

AT Soviet time they necessarily emphasized that only on March 2, 1917, did Lenin learn that the revolution had won in Russia, and instead of the tsarist ministers, 12 members of the State Duma were in power. “Sleep disappeared from Ilyich from the moment when news of the revolution came,” Krupskaya recalled, “and the most incredible plans were made at night.” But besides Lenin, the February Revolution was "slept through" by all the other socialist leaders: Martov, Plekhanov, Trotsky, Chernov and others who were abroad. Only the Menshevik Chkheidze, because of his duties as head of the corresponding faction in the State Duma, found himself at a critical moment in the capital and headed the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.

30. Defunct February Revolution

Since 2015, in accordance with the new concept of learning national history and the historical and cultural standard, establishing uniform requirements for school history textbooks, our children will no longer study the events of February-March 1917 as the February Revolution. According to the new concept, now there is no division into February and October revolution, but there is the Great Russian Revolution, which lasted from February to November 1917. The events of February-March are now officially referred to as the "February coup", and the October events - "the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks."

By the end of 1916, Russia was gripped by general discontent caused by war weariness, rising prices, government inaction, and the obvious weakness of imperial power. By the beginning of 1917, almost everyone in the country was waiting for inevitable changes, but they began as unexpectedly as in 1905.

On February 23, 1917 (March 8, according to a new style - International Women's Day), groups of women workers began to gather in different districts of Petrograd, taking to the streets demanding bread. There was enough bread in the city (in any case, there was a two-week supply of it), but the rumors that leaked to the masses about the supply reduced due to snow drifts (171 wagons of food per day instead of the norm of 330) caused panic and rush demand. Many stocked up on bread and crackers for the future. Bakeries could not cope with such an influx. There were long queues at the bread shops, in which people stood even at night. The government was blamed for what was happening.

In addition, on February 23, the management of the Putilov factory announced a lockout (the reason was the exorbitant economic demands of the workers of a number of shops). Putilov workers (and later workers from other factories) joined the women's demonstration. Spontaneous pogroms of bread shops and grocery stores broke out. The crowd overturned trams (!!!), fought with the police. The soldiers were persuaded not to shoot. The authorities did not dare to prevent this somehow.

The order of Nicholas II to use weapons to restore order in the capital was received by the commandant of Petrograd, General Khabalov, only on February 25, when it was too late. There was no organized suppression. The soldiers of some units (mainly the reserve battalions of the guards regiments stationed at the front) began to go over to the side of the demonstrators. On February 26, the elements of the riot got out of control. However, the parliamentary opposition hoped that the creation of a "responsible (to the Duma) ministry" could save the situation.

Rodzianko telegraphed Nicholas II to Headquarters: “The situation is serious. Anarchy in the capital. The government is paralyzed… Public discontent is growing… It is necessary to immediately instruct a person enjoying the confidence of the country to form a new government.” The tsar's only response (obviously unaware of the true scale of events) to this appeal was the decision to dissolve the Duma for two months. By noon on February 27, 25,000 soldiers had already crossed over to the side of the demonstrators. In some parts, officers loyal to the tsar were killed by them. On the evening of February 27, about 30,000 soldiers come to the Tauride Palace (the seat of the Duma) in search of power, in search of a government. The Duma, which dreamed so much of power, hardly dared to create a Provisional Committee of the State Duma, which declared that it would take upon itself "the restoration of governmental and social order."

The Provisional Committee of the State Duma included: chairman - Mikhail V. Rodzianko (Octobrist), V.V. Shulgin (nationalist), V.N. Lvov (center), I.I. Dmitriev (Octobrist), S.I. Shidlovsky (Octobrist), M. A. Karaulov (progressive), A. I. Konovalov (labor group), V. A. Rzhevsky (progressive) P. N. Limonov (cadet), N. V. Nekrasov (cadet), N S. Chkheidze (S.-D.). This choice was based on the representation of the parties united in the Progressive Bloc.

A few hours before the creation of the Duma Committee, the first Council is organized. He addresses the workers of Petrograd with a proposal to send deputies by the evening - one for every thousand workers. In the evening, the Soviet elects the Menshevik Nikolai S. Chkheidze as chairman, and leftist Duma deputies Alexander F. Kerensky (Trudovik) and M. I. Skobelev (right Menshevik) as deputies. There were so few Bolsheviks in the Soviet at that moment that they were not able to organize a faction (although the Bolshevik A. G. Shlyapnikov was elected to the Executive Committee of the Soviet).

At the time when two authorities arose in Petrograd - the Committee of the Duma and the Executive Committee of the Soviet - the Russian emperor was traveling from Headquarters in Mogilev to the capital. Detained at the Dno station by rebellious soldiers, Nicholas II signed on March 2 the abdication of the throne for himself and his son Alexei in favor of his brother - led. book. Mikhail Alexandrovich (declared his unwillingness to accept the throne until the decision of the Constituent Assembly on March 3). Nicholas made this decision after his chief of staff, General Alekseev, supported by the commanders of all five fronts, declared that abdication was the only way to calm public opinion, restore order and continue the war with Germany.

Alexander I. Guchkov and Vasily V. Shulgin accepted the abdication from the Provisional Committee. Thus, the thousand-year-old monarchy fell rather quickly and imperceptibly. On the same day (March 2), the Provisional Committee of the State Duma creates a Provisional (that is, until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly) government, headed by Prince Georgy E. Lvov, the former chairman of the Zemsky Union (Lvov on March 2, at the request of the Provisional Committee, Nicholas II approved at the head of the Council of Ministers; this was probably the last order of Nicholas as emperor). The leader of the Cadets Pavel N. Milyukov became the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Octobrist A. I. Guchkov became the Minister of War and the Navy, Mikhail I. Tereshchenko (a millionaire sugar producer, non-party, close to the Progressists) became the Minister of Finance, A. F. Kerensky was the Minister of Justice (a lawyer who participated in sensational political processes(including in the process of M. Beilis), and as a deputy of III and IV State. Dumas (from the faction of the Trudoviks). So, the first composition of the Provisional Government was almost exclusively bourgeois and predominantly Kadet. The Provisional Government declared its goal to continue the war and convene a Constituent Assembly to decide the future structure of Russia. Actually, on this, the bourgeois parties considered the revolution completed.

However, simultaneously with the creation of the Provisional Government, the Petrograd Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies were united. N. S. Chkheidze became the chairman of the united Petrosoviet. The leaders of the Petrograd Soviet did not dare to take full power into their own hands, fearing that without the Duma they would not be able to cope with state administration in conditions of war and economic disruption. The ideological attitudes of the Mensheviks and, in part, the Socialist-Revolutionaries, who prevailed in the Petrosoviet, also played their role. They believed that the end of the bourgeois-democratic revolution was the business of the bourgeois parties united around the Provisional Government. Therefore, the Petrograd Soviet, which at that time had real full power in the capital, decided on conditional support for the Provisional Government, subject to the proclamation of Russia as a republic, a political amnesty and the convening of a Constituent Assembly. The Soviets exerted powerful pressure "from the left" on the Provisional Government and by no means always took into account the decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers (which included only one socialist, Minister of Justice A.F. Kerensky).

So, despite opposition from the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, on March 1, 1917, Order No. 1 of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was adopted, calling on the soldiers to create soldiers' committees in all divisions of the garrison, subordinate to the Council and to transfer to them the right to control the actions of officers . By the same order, all the armament of the unit was transferred to the exclusive disposal of the committees, which from now on “in no case” (!!!) should have been issued to officers (in practice, this led to the seizure of even personal weapons from officers); all disciplinary restrictions outside the ranks were canceled (including saluting), soldiers were allowed to join political parties and engage in politics without any restrictions. The orders of the Provisional Committee (later - the Provisional Government) were to be executed only if they did not contradict the decisions of the Council. This order, which undermined all the basic foundations of army life, was the beginning of a rapid collapse old army. Published at first only for the troops of the Petrograd garrison, he quickly got to the front and similar processes began there, especially since the Provisional Government did not find the courage to decisively oppose this. This order placed all the troops of the Petrograd garrison under the control of the Soviet. From now on (that is, from its very creation!) the Provisional Government became its hostage.

On March 10, the Petrograd Council concluded an agreement with the Petrograd Society of Manufacturers and Breeders on the introduction of an 8-hour working day (this was not mentioned in the declaration of the Provisional Government). On March 14, the Council adopted a manifesto "To the peoples of the whole world", which declared the rejection of predatory goals in the war, from annexations and indemnities. The manifesto recognized only a coalition war with Germany. Such a position in relation to the war impressed the revolutionary masses, but did not suit the Provisional Government, including Minister of War A. I. Guchkov and Minister of Foreign Affairs P. N. Milyukov.

In fact, the Petrosoviet from the very beginning went far beyond its city status, becoming an alternative socialist government. A dual power developed in the country, that is, a kind of intertwining of powers: real power in a number of cases was in the hands of the Petrograd Soviet, while in fact the bourgeois Provisional Government was in power.

The members of the Provisional Government were divided over questions of methods and relations with the Soviets. Some, and primarily P. N. Milyukov and A. I. Guchkov, believed that concessions to the Soviet should be minimized and everything should be done to win the war, which would give credibility to the new regime. This meant the immediate restoration of order both in the army and in enterprises. A different position was taken by Nekrasov, Tereshchenko and Kerensky, who demanded the adoption of some of the measures demanded by the Soviet in order to undermine the authority of the workers' and soldiers' organ of power and to provoke the patriotic enthusiasm necessary for victory in the war.

Political parties after February

After the February Revolution, the party-political system of Russia clearly shifted to the left. The Black Hundreds and other far-right, traditionalist-monarchist parties were crushed in the course of February. The center-right parties of the Octobrists and Progressives also experienced a severe crisis. The only major and influential liberal party in Russia were the Cadets. Their numerical strength after the February Revolution reached 70 thousand people. Under the influence of revolutionary events, the Cadets also "turned to the left." At the VII Congress of the Cadet Party (end of March 1917) there was a rejection of the traditional orientation towards a constitutional monarchy, and in May 1917, at the VIII Congress, the Cadets spoke in favor of a republic. The "Party of People's Freedom" (another name for the Cadets) took a course towards cooperation with the socialist parties.

After the February Revolution, there was a rapid growth of socialist parties. The socialist parties clearly dominated the all-Russian political arena both in terms of the number of members and in terms of influence on the masses.

The Socialist-Revolutionary Party grew significantly (up to 700-800, and according to some estimates even up to 1200 thousand people). In the spring of 1917, sometimes whole villages and companies were enrolled in the AKP. The party leaders were Viktor M. Chernov and Nikolai D. Avksentiev. The Socialist-Revolutionary Party attracted with its radical agrarian program close to the peasants, the demand for a federal republic and the heroic aura of long-standing and selfless fighters against the autocracy. The Socialist-Revolutionaries advocated a special path for Russia to socialism through a people's revolution, the socialization of the land and the development of cooperation and self-government of workers. The left wing was strengthened in the AKP (Maria A. Spiridonova, Boris D. Kamkov (Kats), Prosh P. Proshyan). The leftists demanded decisive steps "toward the elimination of the war", the immediate alienation of the landowners' lands, and opposed a coalition with the Cadets.

After February, the Social Revolutionaries acted in a bloc with the Mensheviks, who, although they were inferior to the AKP in terms of numbers (200 thousand), nevertheless, by virtue of their intellectual potential exercised "ideological hegemony" in the bloc. The Menshevik organizations remained divided even after February. Attempts to eliminate this disunity have not been successful. There were two factions in the Menshevik Party: the Menshevik-Internationalists, headed by Julius O. Martov, and the “defensists” (“right” - Alexander N. Potresov, “revolutionary” - Irakli G. Tsereteli, Fyodor I. Dan (Gurvich), who were leaders not only of the largest faction, but in many respects of the entire Menshevik Party). There were also the right-wing Plekhanov group "Unity" (Plekhanov himself, Vera I. Zasulich, and others) and the left-wing "Novozhiznensky" group, who broke with the Menshevik Party. Part of the Menshevik-internationalists, led by Yu. Larin, joined the RSDLP (b). The Mensheviks advocated cooperation with the liberal bourgeoisie, provided conditional support to the Provisional Government, and considered socialist experiments harmful.

The Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries declared the need to wage war with the German bloc in order to defend the revolution and democratic freedoms (the majority of the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries declared themselves "revolutionary defencists"). Because of the fear of a break with the bourgeoisie, because of the threat of civil war, they agreed to postpone the solution of cardinal socio-economic problems until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, but tried to implement partial reforms.

There was also a small (about 4 thousand people), but an influential group of the so-called. "interdistricts". The group occupied an intermediate position between the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. After returning from emigration in May 1917, Lev D. Trotsky (Bronstein) became the leader of the Mezhrayontsy. While still in the United States in March 1917, he spoke in favor of a transition to a proletarian revolution in Russia, relying on the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies.

The Bolshevik Party, active at the beginning of 1917, was by no means a cohesive, effective organization. The revolution took the Bolsheviks by surprise. All the Bolshevik leaders known to the people were either in exile (Lenin and others) or in exile (Zinoviev, Stalin). The Russian Bureau of the Central Committee, which included Alexander G. Shlyapnikov, Vyacheslav M. Molotov, and others, could not yet become an all-Russian center. The number of Bolsheviks throughout Russia did not exceed 10 thousand people. There were no more than 2,000 of them in Petrograd. V. I. Lenin, who had been living in exile for almost ten years, was then in Zurich by the time of the February Revolution. Even in January 1917, he wrote: “We old people, perhaps, will not live to see decisive battles... the coming revolution ... ".

Being far from the epicenter of events, Lenin, nevertheless, immediately came to the conclusion that in no case could the Bolshevik party be satisfied with what had been achieved and not use the incredibly good moment in full. In Letters from Afar, he insisted on the need to arm and organize the working masses for an immediate transition to the second stage of the revolution, during which the "government of the capitalists and large landowners" would be overthrown.

But among the Bolsheviks there were "moderates" who rejected almost all of Lenin's main theoretical propositions and political strategy. These were two major Bolshevik leaders - Joseph V. Stalin (Dzhugashvili) and Lev B. Kamenev (Rosenfeld). They (like the Menshevik-Socialist-Revolutionary majority of the Petrosoviet) adhered to the position of "conditional support", "pressure" on the Provisional Government. When on April 3, 1917, Lenin (with the assistance of Germany, who understood that his activities would be destructive to Russia) returned to Petrograd and called for an immediate socialist revolution, not only moderate socialists, but even many Bolsheviks did not support him.

Politics of the Provisional Government. End of dual power

On April 4, 1917, Lenin presented to the Bolshevik leaders his "April Theses" ("On the tasks of the proletariat in this revolution"), which determined the fundamentally new, extremely radical political line of the RSDLP (b). He unconditionally rejected "revolutionary defencism", a parliamentary republic, put forward the slogan "No support for the Provisional Government!" and called for the seizure of power by the proletariat in alliance with the poorest peasantry, the establishment of the Republic of Soviets (in which the Bolsheviks were to prevail), called for an immediate end to the war. There was no demand in the article for an immediate armed uprising (because the masses are not yet ready for it). The immediate task of the party Lenin saw the discrediting of power by all possible ways and agitation for the Soviets. The idea was extremely simple: the farther, the more all the parties that took part in the government (that is, all up to the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks inclusive) would be guilty in the eyes of the people of the deterioration of their position. Their former popularity will inevitably fade, and it is here that the Bolsheviks will come to the fore. G. V. Plekhanov responded to Lenin's theses with a devastating article "On Lenin's theses and why nonsense is sometimes interesting." The "Theses" were also met with bewilderment by the Bolshevik leaders of Petrograd (Kalinin, Kamenev, and others). Nevertheless, it was this extremely extremist program chosen by Lenin, coupled with extremely simple and understandable slogans (“Peace!”, “Land to the peasants!”, “All power to the Soviets!”, etc.) that brought success to the Bolsheviks. In the spring and summer of 1917, the membership of the party increased significantly (by May 1917 - up to 100 thousand, and by August - up to 200-215 thousand people).

The provisional government already in March-April carried out broad democratic reforms: the proclamation political rights and freedoms; the abolition of national and religious restrictions, the death penalty, the abolition of censorship (during the war!); a general political amnesty was declared. On March 8, Nicholas II and his family were arrested (they were in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoye Selo), as well as ministers and a number of representatives of the former tsarist administration. An Extraordinary Commission of Inquiry (with meager results) was set up with great fanfare to investigate their illegal actions. Under pressure from the Soviets, the Provisional Government carried out the so-called. "democratization" of the army (in line with "Order No. 1"), which had the most devastating consequences. In March 1917, the Provisional Government announced its agreement in principle to the creation of an independent Poland in the future. Later it was forced to agree to the widest possible autonomy for Ukraine and Finland.

The Provisional Government legalized the factory committees that had arisen at the enterprises and were given the right to control the activities of the administration. To achieve "class peace" the Ministry of Labor was created. At plants and factories, workers implicitly introduced an 8-hour working day (under conditions when the war was going on!), although it was not decreed. In April 1917, land committees were created to prepare an agrarian reform, but the solution of the land issue was postponed until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly.

In order to gain local support, on March 5, 1917, by order of the head of the cabinet, instead of the dismissed governors and other leaders of the former administration, provincial and district commissars of the Provisional Government were appointed locally. In May-June 1917, a reform of local government was carried out. The network of zemstvos was extended to the whole of Russia, their electoral system was democratized, volost zemstvos and district city Dumas were created. However, local zemstvos soon began to be pushed aside from power by the Soviets. From March to October 1917, the number of local soviets increased from 600 to 1,400. At the fronts, soldiers' committees were analogous to soviets.

During these two months, the Provisional Government did a lot to democratize the country and bring it closer to world standards of democracy. However, the unpreparedness of the population for conscious freedom (which implies responsibility), the feeling of weakness in power and, consequently, impunity, and, finally, the ongoing war with the inevitable deterioration of life led to the fact that the good undertakings of the liberals rapidly undermined the foundations of the entire old Russian statehood, and the new principles of arranging life never got used to it. In this sense, we can say that February gave birth to October.

At the same time, the Provisional Government did not want to resolve the issues of liquidating landownership, ending the war, and immediately improving the material situation of the people before the Constituent Assembly. This caused a quick disappointment. The dissatisfaction was aggravated by the lack of food (from the end of March bread cards were introduced in Petrograd), clothing, fuel and raw materials. Rapidly rising inflation (over the year the ruble has fallen in price by 7 times) has led to a paralysis of commodity flows. The peasants did not want to give their crops for paper money. Wages, which had already fallen by the beginning of 1917 by about a third compared with the pre-war level, continued to fall at an unprecedentedly high rate.

The work of transport and, consequently, the supply situation has deteriorated. Increasing shortages of raw materials and fuel forced business owners to reduce production, which led to an additional increase in unemployment due to mass layoffs. For many, dismissal meant conscription into the army. The attempts of the government to take the situation under control in the conditions of revolutionary anarchy did not lead to anything. Social tension in the country increased.

It soon became clear that the desire of the Provisional Government to continue the war did not coincide with the desires of the masses of soldiers and workers who, after the February events, became the actual owners of Petrograd. P. N. Milyukov, who believed that Russian democracy needed a victory to strengthen its international prestige and resolve a number of important territorial issues in favor of Russia - the capture of Galicia, the Austrian and German parts of Poland, Turkish Armenia, and most importantly, Constantinople and the Straits (for which Milyukov was nicknamed Milyukov-Dardanelles), April 18, 1917 addressed a note to the allies of Russia, where he assured them of their determination to bring the war to a victorious end.

In response, on April 20 and 21, under the influence of Bolshevik agitation, thousands of workers, soldiers and sailors took to the streets with banners and banners, with the slogans "Down with the policy of annexations!" and "Down with the Provisional Government!". The crowds of demonstrators dispersed only at the request of the Petrograd Soviet, openly ignoring the government order to disperse.

The Menshevik-Socialist-Revolutionary leaders of the Petrograd Soviet obtained official clarifications that the "decisive victory" in Milyukov's note meant only the achievement of a "lasting peace." A. I. Guchkov and P. N. Milyukov were forced to resign. In order to emerge from the first government crisis since the revolution, several of the most prominent moderate socialist leaders were persuaded to take ministerial positions. As a result, on May 5, 1917, the first coalition government was created. Menshevik Irakly G. Tsereteli (one of the recognized leaders of the Bolshevik-Socialist-Revolutionary bloc) became the Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. The main leader and theorist of the Social Revolutionaries, Viktor M. Chernov, headed the Ministry of Agriculture. Companion Tsereteli Matvey I. Skobelev received the post of Minister of Labor. Aleksey V. Peshekhonov, founder and leader of the People's Socialist Party, was appointed Minister of Food. Another People's Socialist, Pavel Pereverzev, took over as Minister of Justice. Kerensky became military and naval minister.

At the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets (June 3-24, 1917) (out of 777 delegates, 290 Mensheviks, 285 Social Revolutionaries and 105 Bolsheviks), a new line of behavior of the Bolsheviks first appeared. The best orators of the party - Lenin and Lunacharsky - "rushed to the offensive" on the question of power, demanding that the congress be transformed into a "revolutionary convention" that would assume full power. To Tsereteli's assertion that there is no party capable of taking all power into its own hands, V. I. Lenin declared from the rostrum of the congress: “Yes! Not a single party can refuse this, and our party does not refuse this: at any moment it is ready to take full power.

On June 18, an offensive began on the Southwestern Front, which was supposed to cause a patriotic upsurge. Kerensky personally traveled around a huge number of soldiers' rallies, urging the soldiers to go on the offensive (for which he received the ironic nickname "chief-persuader"). However, the former army after the “democratization” no longer existed, and the very front that made the brilliant Brusilovsky breakthrough just a year ago, after some initial successes (explained primarily by the fact that the Austrians considered the Russian army to be completely decomposed and left only very insignificant forces) stopped, and then took to flight. The complete failure was obvious. The socialists completely shifted the blame for it to the government.

On the day the offensive began in Petrograd and other major cities Russia hosted powerful demonstrations organized by the Petrosoviet in support of the Provisional Government, but in the end, held under the Bolshevik slogans: “All power to the Soviets!”, “Down with ten capitalist ministers!”, “Down with the war!”. The demonstrators numbered approx. 400 thousand demonstrations showed the growth of radical sentiments among the masses, the strengthening of the influence of the Bolsheviks. However, these trends were still pronounced only in the capital and a number of large cities. But even there the Provisional Government was losing support. The strike resumed and reached a wide scope. Entrepreneurs responded with lockouts. Minister of Industry and Trade Konovalov was unable to reach an agreement between entrepreneurs and workers and resigned.

Having learned about the German counter-offensive on July 2, 1917, the soldiers of the capital's garrison, mostly Bolsheviks and anarchists, convinced that the command would take the opportunity to send them to the front, decided to prepare an uprising. His goals were: the arrest of the Provisional Government, the priority capture of the telegraph and railway stations, the connection with the sailors of Kronstadt, the creation of a revolutionary committee under the leadership of the Bolsheviks and anarchists. On the same day, a number of Kadet ministers resigned in protest against a compromise agreement with the Ukrainian Central Rada (which declared Ukraine's independence on June 10) and in order to put pressure on the Provisional Government to toughen its position in the fight against the revolution.

On the evening of July 2, rallies were held by soldiers from 26 units who refused to go to the front. The announcement of the resignation of the Cadet ministers further inflamed the atmosphere. The workers expressed their solidarity with the soldiers. The position of the Bolsheviks was quite contradictory. The members of the Central Committee and the Bolsheviks who sat on the Executive Committee of the Soviet were against any "premature" speech and held back the demonstrations. At the same time, many leaders (M. I. Latsis, N. I. Podvoisky, and others), referring to the mood of the masses, insisted on an armed uprising.

On July 3-4, Petrograd was engulfed in demonstrations and rallies. Some parts openly called for an uprising. V. I. Lenin reached the Kshesinskaya mansion (where the headquarters of the Bolsheviks was located) by the middle of the day on July 4th. 10,000 sailors from Kronstadt, with their Bolshevik leaders, mostly armed and eager to fight, surrounded the building and demanded Lenin. He spoke evasively, not calling for an uprising, but not rejecting this idea either. However, after some hesitation, the Bolsheviks decide to join this movement.

Columns of demonstrators marched towards the Soviet. When Chernov tried to calm the demonstrators, only Trotsky's intervention saved him from death. Fights and skirmishes broke out between the Kronstadt sailors, rebellious soldiers and part of the demonstrators, on the one hand, and on the other hand, regiments loyal to the Soviet (not the government!). A number of historians, not without reason, consider these events to be an unsuccessful attempt at a Bolshevik armed uprising.

After the events of July 4, Petrograd was declared under martial law. Minister of Justice P. Pereverzev published information according to which Lenin not only received money from Germany, but also coordinated the uprising with the Hindenburg counteroffensive. The Government, supported by the Council, called for the most resolute action. Lenin, together with Zinoviev, hid near the border of Finland, in the village. Spill. Trotsky, Kamenev, Lunacharsky were arrested. The units that took part in the demonstration were disarmed, and Pravda was closed down. The death penalty was restored at the front. Lenin these days wrote that the slogan "All power to the Soviets!" should be removed from the agenda as long as the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, the break with which was complete, remain in the leadership of the Soviet.

After the July events of 1917, Prince Lvov resigned and instructed A.F. Kerensky to form a new government. Negotiations between various political forces were difficult: the government crisis lasted 16 days (from 6 to 22 July). The Cadets, who considered themselves victorious, put forward their own conditions: war until victory, struggle against extremists and anarchy, postponing the solution of social issues until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, the restoration of discipline in the army, the removal of Chernov, who was blamed for the unrest in the countryside. Kerensky supported the "muzhik minister" and threatened that he himself would resign. In the end, the Cadets decided to enter the government, hoping to steer it in the right direction.

The second coalition government was headed by A.F. Kerensky (G.E. Lvov resigned on July 7), retaining the posts of military and naval ministers. Most of the posts in the new government were given to socialists. The danger of growing chaos and the need to curb it became clear to the leadership of the Council, which declared the new government the "Government for the Salvation of the Revolution" and endowed it (!) with emergency powers. The power was actually concentrated in the hands of the government. It is generally accepted that after the events of July 3-5, the dual power was over.

July 26 - August 3, the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b) was held at which a resolution was adopted on the need to seize power through an armed uprising, preparation for which should be the main task of the party. At this congress, Trotsky's "mezhrayontsy" joined the Bolsheviks and elected a Central Committee, which included V. I. Lenin, L. B. Kamenev, G. E. Zinoviev, I. V. Stalin, L. D. Trotsky.

Speech by General Kornilov and its consequences

On July 19, in the wake of the reaction to the events of the beginning of the month, Kerensky appointed General Lavr G. Kornilov (a popular combat general in the army, known for his toughness and adherence to principles) as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief instead of the more "liberal", "soft" Alexei A. Brusilov. Kornilov was entrusted with the task of restoring the discipline and combat readiness of the troops as soon as possible.

On August 3, Kornilov, explaining that the growing economic paralysis jeopardized the supply of the army, presented Kerensky with a program to stabilize the situation in the country, which was based on the idea of ​​"an army in the trenches, an army in the rear and an army of railway workers", all three of which were to be subordinated to iron discipline. . In the army, it was planned to fully restore the disciplinary power of commanders, sharply limit the powers of commissars and soldier committees, and introduce the death penalty for military crimes for soldiers in the rear garrisons. In so-called. The "civil section" of the program provided for the announcement railways and factories and mines working for the defense under martial law, the prohibition of rallies, strikes and interference of workers in economic affairs. It was emphasized that "the indicated measures must be carried out immediately with iron determination and consistency." A few days later, he suggested to Kerensky that the Petrograd Military District be reassigned to the Headquarters (since the Headquarters controlled only the Army in the field, while all the rear units were subordinate to the Minister of War, that is, in this case, Kerensky) for its decisive cleaning of completely decayed units and putting things in order. Consent to this was obtained. Since the beginning of August, the transfer of reliable military units to the vicinity of Petrograd began - the 3rd cavalry corps of the gene. A. M. Krymov, Caucasian Native ("Wild") Division, 5 Caucasian Cavalry Division, etc.

An attempt to consolidate the forces of the socialists and the liberal bourgeoisie in order to stop the slide into chaos was made at the State Conference in Moscow on August 12-15 (the Bolsheviks did not participate in it). The meeting was attended by representatives of the bourgeoisie, the higher clergy, officers and generals, former deputies of the State. Dumas, leadership of the Soviets. State. The meeting made evident the growing popularity of Kornilov, who on August 13 was given a triumphal welcome by the Muscovites at the station, and on the 14th the delegates of the meeting stormily welcomed his speech. In his speech, he once again emphasized that "there should be no difference between the front and the rear regarding the severity of the regime necessary to save the country."

Returning to Headquarters after the Moscow meeting, Kornilov, encouraged by the "right" Cadets and supported by the Union of Officers, decided to attempt a coup. Kornilov believed that the fall of Riga (August 21) would be an excuse for pulling troops to the capital, and demonstrations in Petrograd on the occasion of the six-month "anniversary" of the February Revolution would give him the necessary pretext to restore order.

After the dissolution of the Petrograd Soviet and the dissolution of the Provisional Government, Kornilov proposed to put the People's Defense Council at the head of the country (chairman - General L. G. Kornilov, deputy chairman - A. F. Kerensky, members - General M. V. Alekseev, Admiral A. V. Kolchak , B. V. Savinkov, M. M. Filonenko). Under the Soviet there was to be a government with a broad representation of political forces: from the tsarist minister N. N. Pokrovsky to G. V. Plekhanov. Through intermediaries, Kornilov negotiated with Kerensky, seeking to achieve a peaceful transfer of full power to him.

On August 23, 1917, at a meeting at Headquarters, an agreement was reached on all issues. On August 24, Kornilov appointed Gen. A. M. Krymov commander of the Separate (Petrograd) army. He was ordered, as soon as the action of the Bolsheviks (which was expected from day to day), immediately take the capital, disarm the garrison and workers and disperse the Soviet. Krymov prepared an order for the Separate Army, which introduced a state of siege in Petrograd and the province, Kronstadt, Finland and Estonia; ordered the establishment of courts-martial. Prohibited rallies, meetings, strikes, appearance on the streets from earlier than 7.00 and later than 19.00, publication of newspapers without prior censorship. Those guilty of violating these measures were to be shot on the spot. The introduction of this entire plan into action was expected from 29 August.

So, since August 23, Kerensky knew about Kornilov's plans, but distrust and personal ambitions broke this tandem. On the evening of August 26, at a meeting of the Provisional Government, Kerensky qualified Kornilov's actions as a rebellion and demanded emergency powers, which he was granted. On August 27, an order was sent to Headquarters to remove Kornilov from office, in which he was recognized as a rebel. Kornilov did not obey this order and on the morning of August 28 broadcast a statement on the radio: “... Russian people! Our great Motherland is dying. The hour of her death is near. Forced to speak openly, I, General Kornilov, declare that the Provisional Government, under the pressure of the Bolshevik majority of the soviets, is acting in full accordance with the plans of the German General Staff… kills the army and shakes the country inside. The heavy consciousness of the imminent death of the country commands me ... to call on all Russian people to save the dying Motherland. ... I, General Kornilov, the son of a Cossack-peasant, declare to everyone and everyone that I personally do not need anything but the preservation of Great Russia and I swear to bring the people - by defeating the enemy - to the Constituent Assembly, at which they themselves will decide their fate and will choose the way of a new state life. To betray Russia... I can't. And I prefer to die on the field of honor and battle, so as not to see the shame and shame of the Russian land. Russian people, the life of your Motherland is in your hands!”

While Kornilov was advancing his troops towards Petrograd, Kerensky, deserted by the resigned Cadet ministers, began negotiations with the Executive Committee of the Soviet. The threat of rebellion turned Kerensky once again into the head of the revolution. Railway workers began to sabotage the transportation of military units, hundreds of Soviet agitators went there. Armed detachments of the workers' Red Guard were formed in Petrograd. Bolshevik leaders released from prison; The Bolsheviks took part in the work of the People's Defense Committee against Counter-Revolution, created under the auspices of the Soviets. By August 30, the rebel troops were stopped and dispersed without firing. General Krymov shot himself, Kornilov was arrested (September 1).

Kerensky turned to attempts to consolidate his position and stabilize the situation and the country. On September 1, Russia was proclaimed a republic. Power passed to the Directory of five people under the leadership of Kerensky. He tried to strengthen his position by creating the Democratic Conference (which was supposed to be the source of the new statehood), and then the Council of the Republic.

Democratic Conference (September 14-22) was to take two important decisions: expel or leave the bourgeois parties in the government coalition; determine the nature of the Council of the Republic. The participation of the bourgeoisie in the third coalition government, finally formed on September 26, was approved by a small majority. The meeting agreed to individual participation in the government of leaders of the Cadet Party (because, on the whole, the meeting excluded parties from the government that had compromised themselves by participating in the Kornilov speech). Kerensky introduced Konovalov, Kishkin, Tretyakov into the third coalition government.

The Bolsheviks considered this a provocation, saying that only the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, scheduled for October 20, had the right to form a "genuine government." The meeting elected the permanent Democratic Council of the Republic (Pre-Parliament). But the situation in the country, the balance of power after the defeat of Kornilov fundamentally changed. The most active right-wing forces, which had begun to consolidate, were able to withstand the threat of Bolshevization, were defeated. Kerensky's prestige, especially among the officers, plummeted. Support for relatively moderate socialist parties also fell. At the same time (as, by the way, Lenin had supposed back in April) the popularity of the Bolsheviks rose sharply, and they again had to be legalized. In September, they take control of the Petrograd Soviet (Trotsky was elected chairman) and a number of soviets of other large cities. On September 13, in the “Historical Letters” addressed to the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), Lenin calls for an early armed uprising. By the beginning of October, the position of the Provisional Government was becoming hopeless.

Much later, Winston Churchill wrote: "Fate was not so merciless to any country as to Russia. Her ship went down when the pier was already in sight. She had already endured a storm when the wreck came. All the victims had already been was completed. Despair and betrayal overcame the authorities when the task was already completed ... "

wiki.304.ru / History of Russia. Dmitry Alkhazashvili.