Revolutionary events of February March 1917. February Revolution: causes, participants and events

- revolutionary events that took place in Russia in early March (according to the Julian calendar - at the end of February - beginning of March) 1917 and led to the overthrow of the autocracy. In Soviet historical science it was characterized as “bourgeois”.

Its objectives were to introduce a constitution, establish a democratic republic (the possibility of maintaining a constitutional parliamentary monarchy was not excluded), political freedoms, and resolve land, labor and national issues.

The revolution was led to a significant deterioration in the socio-economic situation Russian Empire due to the protracted First World War, economic devastation, and food crisis. It became increasingly difficult for the state to maintain the army and provide food to the cities; dissatisfaction with the military hardships grew among the population and among the troops. At the front, left-wing party agitators were successful, calling on soldiers to disobey and revolt.

The liberal-minded public was outraged by what was happening at the top, criticizing the unpopular government, the frequent change of governors and ignoring the State Duma, whose members demanded reforms and, in particular, the creation of a government responsible not to the Tsar, but to the Duma.

Increased need and distress masses, the growth of anti-war sentiment and general dissatisfaction with the autocracy led to mass protests against the government and dynasty in major cities and above all in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg).

At the beginning of March 1917, due to transport difficulties in the capital, supplies deteriorated, food cards were introduced, and the Putilov plant temporarily suspended work. As a result, 36 thousand workers lost their livelihood. Strikes in solidarity with the Putilovites took place in all districts of Petrograd.

On March 8 (February 23, old style), 1917, tens of thousands of workers took to the streets of the city, carrying slogans of “Bread!” and “Down with autocracy!” Two days later, the strike had already covered half of the workers in Petrograd. Armed squads were formed at the factories.

On March 10-11 (February 25-26, old style), the first clashes between strikers and the police and gendarmerie took place. Attempts to disperse the protesters with the help of troops were unsuccessful, but only escalated the situation, since the commander of the Petrograd Military District, fulfilling the order of Emperor Nicholas II to “restore order in the capital,” ordered the troops to shoot at the demonstrators. Hundreds of people were killed or injured, and many were arrested.

On March 12 (February 27, old style), the general strike escalated into an armed uprising. A massive transfer of troops to the side of the rebels began.

The military command tried to bring new units to Petrograd, but the soldiers did not want to participate in the punitive operation. One military unit after another took the side of the rebels. Revolutionary-minded soldiers, having seized an armory, helped detachments of workers and students arm themselves.

The rebels occupied the most important points of the city, government buildings, and arrested the tsarist government. They also destroyed police stations, seized prisons, and released prisoners, including criminals. Petrograd was overwhelmed by a wave of robberies, murders and robbery.

The center of the uprising was the Tauride Palace, where the State Duma previously met. On March 12 (February 27, old style), the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was formed here, the majority of which were Mensheviks and Trudoviks. The first thing the Council took up was solving the problems of defense and food supply.

At the same time, in the adjacent hall of the Tauride Palace, the Duma leaders, who refused to obey the decree of Nicholas II on the dissolution of the State Duma, formed the “Provisional Committee of State Duma Members,” which declared itself the bearer of supreme power in the country. The committee was headed by Duma Chairman Mikhail Rodzianko, and the body included representatives of all Duma parties, with the exception of the far right. The committee members created a broad political program for the transformations necessary for Russia. Their first priority was to restore order, especially among the soldiers.

On March 13 (February 28, old style), the Provisional Committee appointed General Lavr Kornilov to the post of commander of the troops of the Petrograd District and sent its commissioners to the Senate and ministries. He began to perform the functions of the government and sent deputies Alexander Guchkov and Vasily Shulgin to Headquarters for negotiations with Nicholas II on the abdication of the throne, which took place on March 15 (March 2, old style).

On the same day, as a result of negotiations between the Provisional Committee of the Duma and the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, a Provisional Government was created, headed by Prince Georgy Lvov, which took full power into its own hands. The only representative of the Soviets who received a ministerial post was the Trudovik Alexander Kerensky.

On March 14 (March 1, old style), a new government was established in Moscow, and throughout March throughout the country. But in Petrograd and locally, the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies and the Soviets of Peasants' Deputies gained great influence.

The coming to power simultaneously of the Provisional Government and the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies created a situation of dual power in the country. Has begun new stage struggle for power between them, which, together with the inconsistent policies of the Provisional Government, created the preconditions for October revolution 1917.

The material was prepared based on information from open sources

February Revolution- this is a new starting point for Russian history. During this event, the main goal of the first revolution was achieved - the hated tsarist power was overthrown. Who were its participants? What are the causes of this conflict? And what happened next?

Causes of the February Revolution of 1917

What led to the beginning new revolution? Of course, the unresolved labor and agrarian question. These issues have remained pressing and problematic since the very beginning of the 20th century. But no one was in a hurry to solve them. Stolypin's attempt caused indignation among many, for which the prime minister paid with his life. Another reason for the revolution can be called the socio-economic crisis in the country. First World War also influenced the beginning of the new Russian revolution. And the food crisis and lack of any stability intensified the divisions in society.

February Revolution: nature, driving forces and tasks

By its nature, the second Russian revolution was bourgeois-democratic. The driving forces remained the working class along with the peasant population. The participation of the intelligentsia made the revolution nationwide. What were the tasks of the revolutionaries? These tasks were standard for the first two Russian revolutions. The people who were in power at that time were in no hurry to solve them, because they were afraid of losing this very power. So,

• it was necessary to get out of the war;
• come to a common solution to the agrarian and labor issue;
• get rid of the autocratic hated tsarist power;
• convene a constituent assembly;
• move to a new state structure: democratic republic + adoption of a constitution.

February Revolution: developments

The reason for the new conflict was the dismissal of a mass of workers in St. Petersburg from the Putilov plant. The growth of social tension in society has reached its global proportions. At this time, the Tsar travels outside of St. Petersburg and information about the situation in the city does not reach him. The February revolution unfolded too quickly: the very next day after the dismissal, a mass of people appeared on the streets with the slogans “Down with the Tsar.” And within two weeks, Nicholas II, on the advice of his generals, renounces the Russian throne, and also for his son. The next day, the brother of Nicholas II, Mikhail, signed the same document. The Romanov dynasty ceases to exist Russian throne. At this time, dual power was established in the country in the person of the Petrograd Soviet and a new government body - the Provisional Government.

Results

The February Revolution of 1917 led to such results as the overthrow of autocratic power, the emergence of democratic freedoms and the spread of democratic values ​​in society, as well as the establishment of dual power in the country. This difficult period in the history of our state brought dramatic changes. It became the crown of all the suffering of the early 20th century, because the main goal was achieved - the monarchy was overthrown.

The publication was prepared within the framework of the project “Russian Revolution: Lessons from History”*

February 1917 - turning point in the history of Russia, when every day brought new shocks

Since this date corresponds to March 8 according to the Gregorian calendar, International Women's Day was then celebrated. At 9:00, the first to take to the streets of Petrograd were the workers of the Vyborg side - the Nevka paper spinning factory and the Sampsonievskaya paper spinning mill. Workers from nearby enterprises and women standing in lines for bread began to join them. This protest action did not surprise anyone. Artist Alexander Benois wrote in his diary: “On Vyborg side There were big riots due to grain difficulties (one must only be surprised that they have not happened yet!).”

People stand in line for bread. Petrograd, 1917 / RIA Novosti

Rallies began in other areas of Petrograd. According to the historian's calculations Igor Leiberov, On February 23, 128,388 people from 49 enterprises took part in the protests, which accounted for 32.6% of the total number of capital workers. With slogans “Bread!” and “Down with war!” demonstrators rushed into the city center, which was prevented by the police. By 16:00, some of the workers, in groups on the ice of the river or individually across bridges, finally reached the center of Petrograd, where the protesters were met by reinforced detachments of mounted police and Cossacks.

According to police reports, at about 18:00 “the crowd, heading along Suvorovsky Prospekt to Nevsky, pursued by a foot police squad sent from the station, managed to break 8 glasses in 3 shops along the way and take 5 keys from the carriage drivers.” At this time, in the mechanical workshop of the Franco-Russian plant, “workers from all departments, numbering 3,000 people, gathered and staged a rally.” “The speakers spoke mainly about the lack of bread, speeches were made both for and against the war, as well as for and against the riots. The final decision on the issue of protest was postponed, and the workers calmly dispersed,” the police recorded.

Late in the evening, a meeting of the military and police authorities of Petrograd was held in the city administration building, chaired by the commander of the Petrograd Military District, Lieutenant General Sergei Khabalov. Having discussed the report of the mayor of Petrograd, Major General Alexandra Balka Based on the events of the day, the members of the meeting decided to transfer responsibility for order in the capital to the military from February 24.

On the same day at a meeting of the State Duma, a Menshevik deputy Matvey Skobelev stated: “These unfortunate half-starved children and their mothers, wives, housewives, for more than two years resignedly, humbly standing at the doors of the shops and waiting for bread, finally lost patience and, perhaps helplessly and still hopelessly, peacefully went out into the street and They cry hopelessly: bread and bread. And behind them are their husbands, workers, who lately, going to the factory early in the morning, cannot stock up on a miserable crumb of bread.” Soon deprived of the word by Duma Chairman Mikhail Rodzianko, Skobelev made a reminder that became a prophecy: “We know in history cases when the government, having completely decomposed the country, forced the population to starve, and the indignant population cruelly punished those who starved the population.”

The number of strikers exceeded 160 thousand people. The demonstrations also became more crowded. The process took on an avalanche-like character. At the Mariinsky Palace, chaired by Prime Minister Prince Nikolai Golitsyn A meeting was held on the issue of food supply to Petrograd. Having found out that the capital has a reserve of 460 thousand pounds of rye and wheat flour and the supply of food is proceeding as usual, the meeting gave control over the distribution of bread to the City Duma. Khabalov tried to reassure the residents of Petrograd by publishing an announcement that there was enough bread in the city and the supply of flour was being carried out without interruption.

Znamenskaya Square during the days of the February Revolution. 1917

The strike covered 240 thousand workers. At about 10:00, at the corner of Finsky Lane and Nizhegorodskaya Street, a hundred Cossacks and a platoon of dragoons blocked the way for a crowd of workers. “Police Chief Shalfeev came there with a detachment of mounted police of 10 people,” Major General wrote in his memoirs Alexander Spiridovich. - Having approached the crowd, he began to persuade the workers to disperse. The Cossacks and dragoons left. The crowd understood this as the reluctance of the troops to work with the police and rushed at Shalfeev. He was pulled from his horse, seriously wounded with an iron and beaten. The police squad rushing to the rescue was crushed. There were single shots from both sides. They threw stones and pieces of iron at the police. The squads arrived in time and finally dispersed the crowd. Shalfeev was taken to the hospital in an unconscious state.” At 17:20, as noted in the reports of the Security Department, near Gostiny Dvor “a mixed detachment of the 9th Reserve Cavalry Regiment and a platoon of the Life Guards Preobrazhensky Regiment opened fire on the crowd of demonstrators.” During the dispersal of the rally on Znamenskaya Square, several dozen people were killed and wounded. Shots were fired at demonstrators on Sadovaya Street, Liteiny and Vladimirsky Avenues. At about 21:00, Nicholas II gave an order from Headquarters to Khabalov: “I command you to stop the unrest in the capital tomorrow, which is unacceptable during the difficult time of the war with Germany and Austria.”

On the same day in the evening the Minister of Internal Affairs Alexander Protopopov sent a telegram to Headquarters, in which he summarized the events of three days. “The rumors that suddenly spread in Petrograd about the upcoming supposed limitation of the daily supply of baked bread for adults by a pound, and for minors by half the amount, caused an increased purchase of bread by the public, obviously in reserve, which is why there was not enough bread for part of the population,” the minister reported. - On this basis, on February 23, a strike broke out in the capital, accompanied by street riots.

Alexander Protopopov

The first day about 90 thousand workers went on strike, the second - up to 160 thousand, today - about 200 thousand. Street unrest is expressed in demonstrative processions, some with red flags, destruction of shops in some areas, partial cessation of tram traffic by strikers, and clashes with the police.<…>This afternoon, more serious riots took place near the monument to Emperor Alexander III on Znamenskaya Square, where bailiff Krylov was killed. The movement is of an unorganized, spontaneous nature; along with excesses of an anti-government nature, rioters in some places greet the troops. Energetic measures are being taken by the military authorities to stop further unrest.”

In the morning, residents of the capital read a notice posted around the city signed by Khabalov: “In recent days, riots have occurred in Petrograd, accompanied by violence and attacks on the lives of military and police officials. I prohibit any gathering on the streets. I preface the population of Petrograd that I have confirmed to the troops to use weapons, stopping at nothing to restore order in the capital.”

From the very morning, bridges, streets, and alleys leading from working-class neighborhoods to the city center were occupied by reinforced squads of police and military units. During the day, demonstrators were fired upon near the Kazan Cathedral. The number of dead and wounded reached dozens. However, not everyone was ready to shoot at the people. In the afternoon, the 4th company of the reserve battalion of the Pavlovsky Life Guards Regiment refused to open fire on the demonstrators and fired at the police, according to Khabalov’s order, “stopping at nothing to restore order.” The Preobrazhensky soldiers who arrived soon surrounded and arrested the company soldiers, and 19 of the instigators were sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress.

Despite this incident, the events of the day suggested that, on the whole, the government was managing to control the situation in the capital. According to the cadet Vladimir Nabokov, “On the evening of the 26th we were far from thinking that the next two or three days would bring with them such colossal, decisive events of world-historical significance.”

Late in the evening, during a government meeting in Prince Golitsyn’s apartment, the majority of ministers spoke in favor of dissolving the State Duma, within the walls of which flowed an endless stream of criticism against the authorities. Golitsyn entered the date on the form of the tsar’s decree specially left to him by the emperor to terminate Duma meetings. Its chairman was notified of the dissolution of the Duma. Mikhail Rodzianko I learned that on the basis of Art. 99 Basic State Laws of the Russian Empire Nicholas II dissolved the State Duma and the State Council, setting a date for resuming their work in April “depending on emergency circumstances.”

In the same day Mikhail Rodzianko exaggerated his colors in a telegram to the emperor: “There is anarchy in the capital. The government is paralyzed. Transport of food and fuel was in complete disarray. Public discontent is growing. There is indiscriminate shooting on the streets. Troop units shoot at each other. It is necessary to immediately entrust a person enjoying the confidence of the country to form a new government.”

Mikhail Rodzianko

The Chairman of the Duma sent another telegram to the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Mikhail Alekseev, where he declared “the necessary and only way out of the current situation is the urgent calling of a person whom the whole country can trust and who will be entrusted with forming a government that enjoys the trust of the entire population.”

The order to shoot at demonstrators caused discontent among the soldiers and unrest in many parts of the capital's garrison, especially in the reserve battalions of the guard regiments. In the morning, the training team of the Life Guards Volyn Regiment rebelled. “It is interesting that in 1905–1907 this regiment had a reputation as one of the most conservative regiments of the guard: for brutal reprisals against rioters, the Volynians received the reputation of Black Hundreds,” notes the historian Oleg Airapetov. - Now unrest began in his training team, which the day before fired at demonstrators several times. Its soldiers and non-commissioned officers were clearly unhappy with the role they had to play on the streets of Petrograd. Staff Captain Lashkevich, who arrived at the regiment, formed a training team in the barracks and greeted them. There was no answer. Even the right-flank non-commissioned officers did not greet the commander. Lashkevich went down the stairs and went out onto the parade ground, heading to the regimental office. Then a shot was fired from the windows of the training team - the officer was killed on the spot. After this, the soldiers no longer had a choice. Armed, they went out into the street, dragging the rest with them.”

Volyn residents headed to the barracks of the Preobrazhensky and Lithuanian regiments. Soon they were joined by demonstrators and soldiers from other units of the garrison, including the 6th reserve engineer battalion. The movement grew like a snowball. Smashing the police stations they met along the way, the crowd reached the Kresta prison, broke into it and freed the prisoners - both political and criminals. They all rushed to the Tauride Palace. Deputies of the Duma, which had been dissolved the day before, were there from 11:00.

Cadet Leader Pavel Milyukov recalled that day: “From the evening, members of the seigneurial convention knew that a decree had been received to adjourn the sessions of the State Duma.<…>The meeting took place as planned: the decree was read in complete silence from the deputies and isolated shouts from the right.<…>But what next? You can’t disperse in silence - after a silent meeting! Members of the Duma, without prior agreement, moved from the meeting room to the adjacent semi-circular hall. This was neither a meeting of the Duma, which had just closed, nor a meeting of any of its commissions. It was a private meeting of Duma members.”

Life Guards Volyn Regiment was the first to go over to the side of the revolution

The debate there was heated. sounded different offers, including not dispersing and declaring the Duma a Constituent Assembly. As a result, they decided to elect a Provisional Committee of the State Duma to “establish order in the city of Petrograd and to communicate with institutions and individuals.” As Miliukov later admitted, this decision partly predetermined the composition of the Provisional Government.

In turn, at 13:15 the Minister of War Mikhail Belyaev telegram notified Headquarters: “The unrest that began in the morning in several military units is firmly and energetically suppressed by the companies and battalions that remained faithful to their duty. Now it has not yet been possible to suppress the rebellion, but I am firmly confident in the imminent onset of calm, to achieve which merciless measures are being taken. The authorities remain completely calm."

Belyaev was clearly wishful thinking, misinforming the emperor. Deputy of the Fourth State Duma Vasily Shulgin subsequently wrote about this day: “The point was that in this entire huge city it was impossible to find several hundred people who would sympathize with the authorities... And that’s not even the point... The point was that the authorities did not sympathize with themselves...<…>The class of former rulers was fading away... None of them was able to slam their fist on the table... Where did Stolypin’s famous “you won’t be intimidated” go?”

Belyaev was not capable of this either. At 19:22, he reported to Headquarters that the “military mutiny” he had “has not yet been able to be extinguished by the few units remaining faithful to duty,” and asked for the urgent dispatch to the capital of “really reliable units, and in sufficient numbers, for simultaneous actions in various parts of the city."

Badge of the Volyn Regiment of the Provisional Government period

While the Duma, at a private meeting from a circle of deputies, was creating a body of new power, the socialists liberated from Kresty and the soldiers and workers who came with them appeared at the Tauride Palace at about 14:00. Nikolay Sukhanov, a non-factional Social Democrat, later testified: “Soldiers actually broke into the palace in greater and greater numbers. They huddled in heaps, spread through the halls, like sheep without a shepherd, and filled the palace. There were no shepherds." At the same time, “Petersburg public figures of various persuasions, ranks, calibers and specialties flocked in large numbers,” among whom there were plenty of contenders for the role of “shepherds.” Initiative group led by a Menshevik Nikolai Chkheidze announced the creation of the Provisional Executive Committee of the Petrograd Council of Workers' Deputies (Petrosovet). The Executive Committee appealed to the workers to immediately elect deputies to the Petrograd Soviet - one per thousand. At the suggestion of the Bolshevik Vyacheslav Molotov, it was decided to contact parts of the capital’s garrison with a proposal to send their representatives to the Petrograd Soviet - one from a company.

At 16:00, the last meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire began in the Mariinsky Palace.

And at 21:00 the non-factional Social Democrat Nikolay Sokolov opened the first meeting of the Petrograd Council of Workers' Deputies, which included representatives of socialist parties, trade unions, and non-party workers and soldiers. On general meeting The Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet was elected, headed by Chkheidze. He, like the leader of the Duma Trudovik faction who became his deputy, Alexander Kerensky, by that time was already a member of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma.

Thus, in one day, two authorities arose within the walls of the Tauride Palace, the relations between which still had to be streamlined. Alexander Shlyapnikov, then a member of the Bolshevik Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP, recalled: “From the first day the troops and the Council of Workers’ Deputies occupied the Tauride Palace, a territorial division of the building and premises of the former State Duma took place. One half of the palace, to the right of the entrance, including the buffet, Catherine's Hall and rooms on both sides Great Hall meetings, was involved in the Executive Committee of the Council, its bodies and party organizations. The left part of the Tauride Palace, the library, the offices of the chairman and other services of the State Duma were at the disposal of the Provisional Committee.”

Meanwhile, at about 20:00, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and Mikhail Rodzianko arrived at the Mariinsky Palace. Together with Golitsyn, Rodzianko began to persuade the emperor’s younger brother to declare himself regent and appoint the prince as head of government Georgy Lvov. Mikhail Alexandrovich refused, demanding that Headquarters be notified about this conversation. Having contacted General Alekseev via direct wire, he asked to report Nicholas II, that the only way out of this situation is the creation of a “responsible ministry” headed by Georgy Lvov. While Alekseev reported this to the emperor, the Grand Duke was waiting for an answer from the apparatus. According to the testimony of the Quartermaster General of Headquarters Alexander Lukomsky, “the sovereign listened and told the chief of staff to tell the Grand Duke that the sovereign thanks him for his advice, but that he himself knows what to do.”

In stating this, Nicholas II was unlikely to have information that the Chairman of the State Council was arrested on that day Ivan Shcheglovitova, killed the head of the Petrograd provincial gendarmerie department Ivan Volkova, they plundered and set fire to the building of the Security Department and lowered the imperial standard from the Winter Palace.

On the night of February 28, an appeal “To the Population of Russia” was drawn up by the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, in which he stated that “under difficult conditions of internal devastation caused by the measures of the old government, I found myself forced to take into my own hands the restoration of state and public order.”

On February 27, the old government in the capital collapsed, and the contours of a new one emerged. The further development of events and their outcome largely depended on Nicholas II, who had already lost Petrograd, but not all of Russia.

On the same day at 12:40 Mikhail Rodzianko telegraphed to Headquarters: “The sessions of the State Duma have been interrupted by Your Majesty’s decree until April. The last bastion of order has been eliminated. The government is completely powerless to suppress the disorder. There is no hope for the garrison troops. The reserve battalions of the guard regiments are in revolt. Officers are being killed. Having joined the crowd and the popular movement, they head to the house of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the State Duma. The civil war has begun and is flaring up. Order to immediately call on a new government on the principles I conveyed to Your Majesty in yesterday’s telegram. Order the legislative chambers to be reconvened to repeal your highest decree. Announce these measures without delay with the highest manifesto. Sir, do not hesitate. If the movement spreads to the army, the German will triumph, and the collapse of Russia, and with it the dynasty, is inevitable. On behalf of all of Russia, I ask Your Majesty to fulfill the above. The hour that decides the fate of you and your Motherland has come. Tomorrow may be too late."

At 5:00 the imperial train departed from Mogilev. Nicholas II, concerned about the events taking place in the capital, decided to return to Tsarskoe Selo.

At 6:00, Mikhail Rodzianko sent a telegram to Alekseev and all front and fleet commanders, saying that “due to the removal of the entire staff from control former Council ministers, government power has now transferred to the Temporary Committee of the State Duma.”

In the morning, with the sanction of Rodzianko, a member of the State Duma, engineer Alexander Bublikov with a team of soldiers occupied the building of the Ministry of Railways and arrested the minister. As commissioner of the Ministry of Railways, he sent a telegram to all railway stations in Russia, signed by him and Rodzianko: “Railroad workers! The old government, which created devastation in all areas of state life, turned out to be powerless. The State Duma Committee, having taken into its own hands the equipment of the new government, addresses you on behalf of the Fatherland: the salvation of the Motherland now depends on you. The movement of trains must be maintained continuously with redoubled energy.”

With his second telegram, Bublikov prohibited the movement of any military trains at a distance of 250 versts from Petrograd. In addition, he ordered not to allow the emperor’s train “north of the Bologoe-Pskov line” (including the telegram: “Dismantling the rails and switches, if he decides to pass by force”).

In Petrograd, the rebels captured the Mariinsky and Winter Palaces, the Admiralty, the Peter and Paul Fortress, destroyed and set fire to the buildings of the District Court, the Gendarmerie Department, the House of Pre-trial Detention and many police stations, and also took the Arsenal, which made it possible to arm the workers.

Those who were obliged to fight the unrest began to go over to the side of the rebels. Some did it voluntarily, others were forced. All day, the soldiers of the Petrograd garrison units walked almost in a continuous stream towards the Tauride Palace. As Vasily Shulgin recalled, “the soldiers considered it their duty to appear at the State Duma, as if to take a new oath.”

Nikolay Ivanov

At 13:00 the general’s echelon departed from Mogilev for Tsarskoe Selo Nikolai Ivanov. The Emperor appointed him commander of the troops of the Petrograd Military District, ordering him to restore order in the capital, and ordered the subordination of ministers to him. Ivanov was given a battalion of St. George's cavaliers to avoid "troubles" along the way. Headquarters decided to transfer four cavalry and four infantry regiments from the Western and Northern fronts to Petrograd, completing their loading into echelons on March 2.

In the evening, Alekseev sent telegram No. 1813 to the commanders of the fronts and fleets, informing them of what was happening in the capital. In particular, it said: “I have just received a telegram from General Khabalov, from which it is clear that he can no longer actually influence events.”

At 21:27, Nicholas II's train arrived in Likhoslavl, from where the emperor gave a telegram to his wife: “Tomorrow morning I hope to be at home.”

At 2:00 the imperial train stopped at Malaya Vishera, where information was received that the nearby stations Lyuban and Tosno were occupied by revolutionary troops. Then they decided to go through Bologoe to Pskov, to the headquarters of the Northern Front.

At 11:15 he came to the Tauride Palace to surrender to the new authorities Alexander Protopopov. The former Minister of Internal Affairs introduced himself to a student policeman and was arrested.

It is significant that on this day the Petrograd Soviet became the Petrograd Soviet of Workers and soldiers deputies. The Executive Committee of the Council issued order No. 1 for the garrison of the capital's military district, which legitimized soldiers' committees and empowered soldiers civil rights, declared their equality with off-duty officers, abolished titles and placed the orders of officers and generals under the control of soldiers' committees.

At about 16:00, 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 new government.

At 19:55 the imperial train arrived in Pskov. General Yuri Danilov, who was then the chief of staff of the Northern Front, noted in his memoirs: “By the time the Tsar’s train arrived, the station was cordoned off, and no one was allowed into its premises. The platform was therefore deserted. There was no guard of honor."

Late in the evening, the emperor ordered a telegram to be sent to Rodzianko, announcing his consent to the creation of a government responsible to the Duma. At the same time, the monarch personally, as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, was to retain the responsibility of the Minister of War and Navy and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

On the night of March 2, a joint meeting of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma and the delegation of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was held in Rodzianko's Duma office, at which the composition and program of the Provisional Government were agreed upon.

Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief Headquarters Mikhail Alekseev

On the same day Mikhail Alekseev sent telegram No. 1847 to the emperor, saying that unrest had already begun in Moscow and that they should be expected to spread throughout the empire, and then the cessation of normal functioning railways, destruction of the rear and collapse of the front, the general stated: “It is impossible to demand from the army that it fight calmly when there is a revolution in the rear. The current young composition of the army and the officer corps, among which a huge percentage were called up from the reserves and promoted to officers from higher educational institutions, does not give any reason to believe that the army will not react to what is happening in Russia. My loyal duty and duty of oath obliges me to report all this to Your Imperial Majesty. Before it is too late, it is necessary to immediately take measures to calm the population and restore normal life in the country. Suppressing unrest by force under current conditions is dangerous and will lead Russia and the army to death. For now, the State Duma is trying to establish possible order, but if Your Imperial Majesty does not act on an act conducive to general calm, power will tomorrow pass into the hands of extreme elements, and Russia will experience all the horrors of the revolution. I beg Your Majesty, for the sake of saving Russia and the dynasty, to put at the head of the government a person whom Russia would trust, and instruct him to form a cabinet. At the moment this is the only salvation.”

At 00:25, Headquarters reported to Pskov that the ministers of the tsarist government had been arrested and that Petrograd was firmly controlled by the new government. All parts of the garrison obeyed her, including His Majesty’s Own convoy, whose soldiers expressed a desire to arrest the officers who refused to “take part in the uprising.” Commenting on this message from Stavka, historian Oleg Airapetov writes: “The last statement was clearly untrue. In Petrograd there were only fifty foot soldiers of the convoy, which consisted of five hundred. Two hundred were stationed in Tsarskoe Selo, two in Mogilev, and fifty on foot in Kyiv under the Dowager Empress. Hundreds of convoys and part of the Consolidated Regiment, who held the defense in the Tsarskoye Selo Palace, recognized the new government only after the abdication of the emperor.<…>In any case, one cannot but admit that the disinformation blow was delivered masterfully. Nikolai was shocked."

From 3:30 to 7:30, commander of the Northern Front troops, General Nikolay Ruzsky conducted long negotiations on the Hughes apparatus with the Chairman of the State Duma. Mikhail Rodzianko explained his reluctance to come to Pskov by the unrest in Luga, which did not allow him to go by rail, and the impossibility of leaving Petrograd at such a moment. “They still believe only in me and carry out only my orders,” he noted. Nicholas II, since by this time he had already agreed to the creation of a government responsible to the Duma and the State Council, was ready to discuss the text of the draft manifesto. In response, Rodzianko said: “Unfortunately, the manifesto is late. It should have been published immediately after my first telegram..."

At 9:00, in a direct wire conversation with Danilov, Lukomsky asked to report to Ruzsky that the emperor’s abdication was necessary, adding: “We must remember that the entire royal family is in the hands of the rebel troops.”

At 10:15 Alekseev, who maintained constant contact with Rodzianko, requested by telegraph the opinion of all front and fleet commanders regarding the possible abdication of the emperor in favor of his son Alexei. Quoting fragments from Rodzianko’s night conversation with Ruzsky, Alekseev emphasized: “Now the dynastic question has been posed head on, and the war can be continued to a victorious end only if the demands presented regarding the abdication of the throne in favor of the son of Alexei under the regency of Mikhail Alexandrovich are fulfilled. The situation apparently does not allow for any other solution.”

By 14:30, positive responses were received from the front commanders, and Nicholas II agreed to abdicate the throne. Shortly before this, he signed decrees appointing the governor in the Caucasus and the commander of the Caucasian Front, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, as Supreme Commander-in-Chief and Prince Georgy Lvov as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. The time was set on the decrees: 14 hours. In addition, the emperor appointed the commander of the 25th Army Corps, Lieutenant General Lavra Kornilova commander of the troops of the Petrograd Military District.

At this time in the crowded Tauride Palace Pavel Milyukov announced that the Provisional Committee of the State Duma and the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies had reached an agreement on the creation of a Provisional Government, and announced its composition. When asked about the fate of the monarchy, he replied that the “old despot” would leave, and the throne would be transferred to Alexei. The news of the preservation of the monarchy caused sharp discontent among soldiers and workers.

At about 22:00, deputies of the Fourth State Duma Alexander Guchkov and Vasily Shulgin arrived in Pskov, who were tasked with achieving the abdication of the emperor. They did not know that Nicholas II had already agreed to this. At 23:40, in their presence, the sovereign, who had previously declared his readiness to transfer the throne to his son Alexei, changed his mind and signed an act of abdication for himself and his son in favor of his brother Mikhail. A few minutes later, Nicholas II made an entry in his diary: “The point is that in the name of saving Russia, keeping the army at the front and peace, this step must be taken. I agreed... At one o'clock in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced. There is treason, cowardice, and deceit all around.”

Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, not succumbing to the persuasion of Guchkov and Miliukov to accept the throne, declared that the issue of the political structure of Russia should be decided by the Constituent Assembly.

Having made a truly historic decision, he complained to Vasily Shulgin: “It’s very hard for me... It torments me that I couldn’t consult with my people. After all, my brother denied for himself... And I, it turns out, deny for everyone..."

In history Russian monarchy the point was made.

Prepared by doctor historical sciences Oleg NAZAROV

* Funds are used to implement the project state support, allocated as a grant in accordance with the order of the President of the Russian Federation dated 04/05/2016 No. 68-rp and on the basis of a competition held by the All-Russian public organization"Russian Union of Rectors".

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

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

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

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 already too late. Organized suppression failed. Soldiers of some units (mainly reserve battalions of the guards regiments located 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 to Headquarters Nicholas II: “The situation is serious. There is anarchy in the capital. The government is paralyzed... Public discontent is growing... It is necessary to immediately entrust a person enjoying the confidence of the country to form a new government.” The only response of the tsar (who clearly did not realize the true scale of events) to this appeal was the decision to dissolve the Duma for two months. By noon on February 27, 25 thousand soldiers had already gone over to the side of the demonstrators. In some units they killed officers loyal to the tsar. On the evening of February 27, about 30 thousand soldiers come to the Tauride Palace (the seat of the Duma) in search of power, in search of government. The Duma, which so dreamed of power, had difficulty deciding to create the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, which declared that it would undertake “the restoration of government and public 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 parties united in the “Progressive Bloc”.

A few hours before the creation of the Duma Committee, the first Council is organized. He appeals to the workers of Petrograd with a proposal to send deputies by evening - one per thousand workers. In the evening, the Council elects the Menshevik Nikolai S. Chkheidze as chairman, and left-wing Duma deputies Alexander F. Kerensky (a Trudovik) and M.I. Skobelev (a right-wing Menshevik) as deputies. There were so few Bolsheviks in the Council 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 Council).

At a time when two authorities arose in Petrograd - the Duma Committee and the Executive Committee of the Council - the Russian emperor was traveling from Headquarters in Mogilev to the capital. Detained at the Dno station by rebel soldiers, Nicholas II signed on March 2 the abdication of the throne for himself and his son Alexei in favor of his brother - Vel. book Mikhail Alexandrovich (declared his reluctance to accept the throne until the decision Constituent Assembly March, 3rd). 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 of the Provisional Committee. Thus, the thousand-year-old monarchy fell rather quickly and quietly. On the same day (March 2), the Provisional Committee of the State Duma creates a Provisional (that is, until the convening of the Constituent Assembly) government, headed by Prince Georgy E. Lvov, close to the cadets, the former chairman of the Zemsky Union (Lvov), at the insistence of Miliukov, who pushed aside the Octobrist Rodzianko. at the head of the Council of Ministers on March 2, at the request of the Provisional Committee, was approved by Nicholas II; 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 manufacturer, non-party, close to the progressives) became the Minister of Finance, A.F. Kerensky became the Minister of Justice. (a lawyer who participated in sensational political trials (including the trial of M. Beilis), and as a deputy of the III and IV State Dumas (from the Trudovik faction). So, the first composition of the Provisional Government was almost exclusively bourgeois and predominantly cadet. Provisional Government declared its goal to continue the war and convene a Constituent Assembly to decide the future structure of Russia. Actually, at this point the bourgeois parties considered the revolution complete.

However, simultaneously with the creation of the Provisional Government, the unification of the Petrograd Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies took place. 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 public administration in conditions of war and economic devastation. The ideological attitudes of the Mensheviks and, partly, the Socialist Revolutionaries, who predominated in the Petrograd Soviet, also played a role. They believed that the end of the bourgeois-democratic revolution was the work of the bourgeois parties united around the Provisional Government. Therefore, the Petrograd Soviet, which at that time had real power in the capital, decided to provide conditional support to the Provisional Government, subject to the proclamation of Russia as a republic, political amnesty and the convening of the Constituent Assembly. The Soviets exerted powerful pressure from the “left” on the Provisional Government and did not always take into account the decisions of the cabinet of ministers (which included only one socialist, Minister of Justice A.F. Kerensky).

Thus, despite opposition from the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, on March 1, 1917, Order No. 1 of the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was adopted, calling on soldiers to create soldiers' committees in all units of the garrison, subordinate to the Council, and to transfer to them the right to control the actions of officers . The same order placed all the unit’s weapons at 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 confiscation of even personal weapons from officers); all disciplinary restrictions outside the formation were abolished (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 carried out only if they did not contradict the decisions of the Council. This order, which undermined all the basic foundations of army life, became the beginning of the rapid collapse of the old army. Published at first only for the troops of the Petrograd garrison, it quickly reached the front and similar processes began there, especially since the Provisional Government did not find the courage to decisively resist this. This order placed all the troops of the Petrograd garrison under the control of the Council. From now on (that is, from its very creation!) The Provisional Government became its hostage.

On March 10, the Petrograd Soviet entered into an agreement with the Petrograd Society of Factories and Factories 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 renunciation of aggressive goals in the war, annexations and indemnities. The manifesto recognized only a coalition war with Germany. This position towards the war appealed to 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, from the very beginning, the Petrograd Soviet went far beyond its city status, becoming an alternative socialist power. A dual power system developed in the country, that is, a kind of interweaving 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.

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 authority to the new regime. This implied 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 required by the Council in order to undermine the authority of the workers' and soldiers' government and to create a patriotic upsurge necessary for victory in the war.

Political parties after February

After the February Revolution, the party and political system of Russia clearly moved to the left. The Black Hundreds and other far-right, traditionalist-monarchist parties were defeated during February. The center-right parties of the Octobrists and Progressives also experienced a severe crisis. The only large and influential liberal party in Russia were the Cadets. Their number after the February Revolution reached 70 thousand people. Under the influence of revolutionary events, the Cadets also went to the left. At the VII Congress of the Cadet Party (late 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 out for a republic. The People's Freedom Party (another name for the Cadets) set a course for cooperation with socialist parties.

After the February Revolution, there was a rapid growth of socialist parties. Socialist parties clearly dominated the national political arena, both in terms of membership and influence over the masses.

The Socialist Revolutionary Party grew significantly (up to 700-800, and according to some estimates, up to 1200 thousand people). In the spring of 1917, sometimes entire villages and companies signed up for the AKP. The leaders of the party were Viktor M. Chernov and Nikolai D. Avksentyev. The Socialist Revolutionary Party attracted people with its radical agrarian program close to the peasants, its demand for a federal republic and the heroic aura of long-standing and selfless fighters against autocracy. The Social Revolutionaries advocated Russia's special path 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 (Katz), Prosh P. Proshyan). The left demanded decisive steps “toward the elimination of the war,” the immediate alienation of landowners’ lands, and opposed the coalition with the Cadets.

After February, the Socialist Revolutionaries acted in a bloc with the Mensheviks, who, although inferior to the AKP in numbers (200 thousand), nevertheless, due to their intellectual potential, exercised “ideological hegemony” in the bloc. Menshevik organizations remained disunited even after February. Attempts to eliminate this disunity were unsuccessful. There were two factions in the Menshevik party: the Menshevik-internationalists led by Yuli O. Martov and the “defencists” (“right” - Alexander N. Potresov, “revolutionary” - Irakli G. Tsereteli, Fedor I. Dan (Gurvich), who were leaders not only of the largest faction, but in many ways of the entire Menshevik party). There also existed the right-wing Plekhanov group “Unity” (Plekhanov himself, Vera I. Zasulich and others) and the left-wing “Novozhiznians”, who broke with the Menshevik party. Some 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 protect the revolution and democratic freedoms (the majority of the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries declared themselves “revolutionary defencists”). For fear of a break with the bourgeoisie, because of the threat of civil war, they agreed to postpone the solution of fundamental socio-economic problems until the convening of the Constituent Assembly, but tried to implement partial reforms.

There was also a small (about 4 thousand people) but influential group of the so-called. "Mezhrayontsev" The group occupied intermediate position between the Bolsheviks and 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 out for the transition to a proletarian revolution in Russia, relying on the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies. At the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b), the Mezhrayontsy joined the Bolshevik Party.

The Bolshevik Party operating at the beginning of 1917 was not at all a united, effective organization. The revolution took the Bolsheviks by surprise. All 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. In Petrograd there were no more than 2 thousand of them. V.I. Lenin, who had been living in exile for almost ten years, was then in Zurich at the time of the February Revolution. Even in January 1917, he wrote: “We old men may not live to see the decisive battles... the coming revolution...”.

Being far from the epicenter of events, Lenin, however, immediately came to the conclusion that under no circumstances could the Bolshevik Party be satisfied with what had been achieved and not take full advantage of the incredibly successful moment. 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 capitalists and big landowners” would be overthrown.

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

Policy of the Provisional Government. The end of dual power

On April 4, 1917, Lenin outlined his “April Theses” (“On the tasks of the proletariat in this revolution”) to the Bolshevik leaders, which defined a fundamentally new, extremely radical political line of the RSDLP (b). He unconditionally rejected “revolutionary defencism”, a parliamentary republic, and put forward the slogan “No support for the Provisional Government!” and spoke out for the taking of power by the proletariat in alliance with the poor peasantry, the establishment of the Republic of Soviets (in which the Bolsheviks were to achieve predominance), and called for an immediate end to the war. The article did not contain a demand for an immediate armed uprising (since the masses are not yet ready for it). Lenin saw the immediate task of the party as discrediting the authorities by all possible ways and agitation for the Soviets. The idea was extremely simple: the further, the more all the parties that took part in the government (that is, all up to and including the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks) would appear in the eyes of the people guilty of worsening their situation. Their former popularity will inevitably fade and this is where the Bolsheviks will come to the fore. G. V. Plekhanov responded to Lenin’s theses with a scathing 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, etc.). Nevertheless, it was precisely 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 size of the party increased significantly (by May 1917 - up to 100 thousand, and by August - up to 200-215 thousand people).

Already in March - April, the provisional government carried out broad democratic changes: the proclamation of political rights and freedoms; abolition of national and religious restrictions, the death penalty, abolition of censorship (during war!); A general political amnesty was declared. On March 8, Nicholas II and his family were arrested (they were in the Alexander Palace in Tsarskoe Selo), as well as ministers and a number of representatives of the former tsarist administration. To investigate their illegal actions, an Extraordinary Commission of Inquiry was created with great fanfare (which brought scant results). Under pressure from the Soviets, the Provisional Government implemented the so-called. “democratization” of the army (in line with “Order No. 1”), which had the most destructive consequences. In March 1917, the Provisional Government announced its agreement in principle to create an independent Poland in the future. Later it was forced to agree to the broadest autonomy for Ukraine and Finland.

The Provisional Government legalized the factory committees that emerged at enterprises, which received the right to control the activities of the administration. For achievement " class world"The Ministry of Labor was created. In plants and factories, workers voluntarily introduced an 8-hour working day (in conditions when the war continued!), although it was not decreed. In April 1917, land committees were created to prepare agrarian reform, but the solution to the land issue was postponed until the convening of the Constituent Assembly.

In order to gain local support, on March 5, 1917, by order of the head of the cabinet, provincial and district commissars of the Provisional Government were appointed in place of the removed governors and other leaders of the previous administration. In May-June 1917, a local government reform was carried out. The network of zemstvos was extended throughout Russia, their electoral system was democratized, and volost zemstvos and district city Dumas were created. However, soon local zemstvos began to be pushed out of power by the Soviets. From March to October 1917, the number of local Soviets increased from 600 to 1400. At the fronts, the analogues of the Soviets were soldiers' committees.

In 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 of 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 quickly undermined the foundations of the entire old Russian statehood, and the new principles of life we didn’t have time to get vaccinated. 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 eliminating landownership, ending the war, and immediately improving the financial situation of the people before the Constituent Assembly. This caused rapid disappointment. Discontent was aggravated by the lack of food (bread cards were introduced in Petrograd at the end of March), clothing, fuel and raw materials. Rapidly rising inflation (the ruble fell 7 times in value over the year) led to the paralysis of commodity flows. The peasants did not want to give away their harvest for paper money. Wage which had already fallen by about a third by the beginning of 1917 compared to the pre-war level, continued to fall at an unprecedentedly high rate.

Transport operations and, consequently, the supply situation have worsened. An increasing shortage 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 government's attempts to take control of the situation in conditions of revolutionary anarchy led nowhere. 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 de facto masters of Petrograd. P. N. Milyukov, who believed that victory was necessary for Russian democracy to strengthen its international prestige and resolve a number of important territorial issues in favor of Russia - the seizure of Galicia, the Austrian and German parts of Poland, Turkish Armenia, and most importantly - Constantinople and the Straits (for which Miliukov was nicknamed Milyukov-Dardanelle), on April 18, 1917, he addressed a note to Russia’s allies, where he assured them of his 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-SR leaders of the Petrograd Soviet achieved official clarifications that the “decisive victory” in Miliukov’s note only meant the achievement of “ lasting peace" A.I. Guchkov and P.N. Milyukov were forced to resign. To get out of the first government crisis since the revolution, several of the most prominent socialist leaders from among the moderates were persuaded to take ministerial chairs. As a result, on May 5, 1917, the first coalition government was created. The Menshevik Irakli G. Tsereteli (one of the recognized leaders of the Bolshevik-SR bloc) became Minister of Posts and Telegraphs. The main leader and theoretician of the Socialist Revolutionaries, Viktor M. Chernov, headed the Ministry of Agriculture. Tsereteli's comrade-in-arms Matvey I. Skobelev received the post of Minister of Labor. Alexey V. Peshekhonov, founder and leader of the People's Socialist Party, was appointed Minister of Food. Another People's Socialist, Pavel Pereverzev, took the post of Minister of Justice. Kerensky became Minister of War and Navy.

At the First All-Russian Congress of Soviets (June 3-24, 1917) (out of 777 delegates, 290 Mensheviks, 285 Socialist Revolutionaries and 105 Bolsheviks), a new line of behavior for the Bolsheviks appeared for the first time. The best speakers of the party - Lenin and Lunacharsky - “rushed to the offensive” on the issue of power, demanding that the congress be transformed into a “revolutionary Convention” that would assume full power. In response 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: “There is! No party can refuse this, and our party does not refuse this: every minute it is ready to take power entirely.”

June 18 at Southwestern Front an offensive began, which was supposed to cause a patriotic upsurge. Kerensky personally toured a huge number of soldier rallies, convincing the soldiers to go on the offensive (for which he received the ironic nickname “chief persuader”). However, after “democratization,” the old army no longer existed, and the very front that just a year ago had made the brilliant Brusilov breakthrough, after some initial successes (explained primarily by the fact that the Austrians considered the Russian army to be completely disintegrated and left only very insignificant forces at the front) strength) stopped and then fled. Complete failure was obvious. The socialists completely shifted the blame for it onto the government.

On the day the offensive began in Petrograd and other large cities of Russia, powerful demonstrations took place organized by the Petrograd Soviet in support of the Provisional Government, but which ultimately took place under the Bolshevik slogans: “All power to the Soviets!”, “Down with ten capitalist ministers!”, “Down with war! There were approx. demonstrators. 400 thousand. Demonstrations showed the growth of radical sentiments among the masses, the strengthening of the influence of the Bolsheviks. At the same time, these trends were still clearly expressed only in the capital and a number of large cities. But even there the Provisional Government was losing support. The strikes resumed and reached a wide scale. 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, most of them 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 first priority seizure of the telegraph and train stations, 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 cadet ministers resigned in protest against the compromise agreement with the Ukrainian Central Rada (which declared the independence of Ukraine 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 among soldiers of 26 units who refused to go to the front. The announcement of the resignation of the cadet ministers further tensed the atmosphere. The workers expressed solidarity with the soldiers. The position of the Bolsheviks was quite contradictory. Members of the Central Committee and the Bolsheviks who sat on the Executive Committee of the Council were against any “premature” speech and restrained demonstrations. At the same time, many figures (M. I. Latsis, N. I. Podvoisky, etc.), citing the mood of the masses, insisted on an armed uprising.

On July 3-4, Petrograd was engulfed in demonstrations and rallies. Some units openly called for an uprising. V.I. Lenin reached the Kshesinskaya mansion (where the Bolshevik headquarters was located) by mid-day on July 4th. 10 thousand Kronstadt sailors with their Bolshevik leaders, most of them 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 headed towards the Council. When Chernov tried to calm the demonstrators, only Trotsky's intervention saved him from death. Fights and skirmishes broke out between the Kronstadt sailors, mutinous soldiers and part of the demonstrators, on the one hand, and the regiments, on the other hand, loyal to the Council(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 counter-offensive. The government, supported by the Council, spoke out for the most decisive 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. Recovered at the front the death penalty. Lenin wrote these days that the slogan “All power to the Soviets!” should be removed from the agenda while the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries, with whom the break was complete, remain in the leadership of the Council.

After the July events of 1917, Prince Lvov resigned and instructed A.F. Kerensky to form a new government. Negotiations between various political forces have been difficult: the government crisis lasts 16 days (from 6 to 22 July). The Cadets, who considered themselves victors, put forward their own conditions: war until victory, struggle against extremists and anarchy, postponing the resolution of social issues until the convening of the Constituent Assembly, restoration of discipline in the army, removal of Chernov, who was held responsible for the unrest in the countryside. Kerensky supported the “peasant minister” and threatened that he himself would resign. In the end, the Cadets decided to join 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 minister. Socialists received most of the posts in the new government. The danger of the 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. Power was effectively concentrated in the hands of the government. It is generally accepted that after the events of July 3-5, dual power was ended.

On 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 main task parties. At this congress, Trotsky’s “inter-district people” joined the Bolsheviks and a Central Committee was elected, which included V. I. Lenin, L. B. Kamenev, G. E. Zinoviev, I. V. Stalin, L. D. Trotsky.

General Kornilov's speech 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 military general in the army, known for his toughness and integrity) as Supreme Commander in Chief instead of the more “liberal”, “soft” Alexei A. Brusilov. Kornilov was entrusted with the task of quickly restoring discipline and combat effectiveness of the troops.

On August 3, Kornilov, explaining that the growing economic paralysis was threatening the supply of the army, presented Kerensky with a program for stabilizing 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,” and all three were to be subjected to iron discipline . In the army, it was planned to fully restore the disciplinary power of commanders, sharply limit the powers of commissars and soldiers' committees, and introduce the death penalty for military crimes for soldiers in rear garrisons. In the so-called The “civil section” of the program provided for the declaration of railways and factories and mines working for defense under martial law, the prohibition of rallies, strikes and interference of workers in economic affairs. It was emphasized that “these measures must be implemented immediately with iron determination and consistency.” A few days later, he suggested that Kerensky reassign the Petrograd Military District to Headquarters (since Headquarters controlled only the Active Army, while all rear units were subordinate to the Minister of War, that is, in this case, Kerensky) in order to decisively clear it of completely decomposed units and restore order. Consent to this was obtained. From the beginning of August, the transfer of reliable military units to the outskirts of Petrograd began - the 3rd Cavalry Corps, General. A. M. Krymov, Caucasian Native (“Wild”) Division, 5th 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, high clergy, officers and generals, former deputies of the State. Dumas, leadership of the Soviets. State The meeting made obvious the growing popularity of Kornilov, for whom on August 13 Muscovites gave a triumphal welcome at the station, and on the 14th the delegates of the meeting vigorously 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-wing” cadets and supported by the Union of Officers, decided to attempt a coup. Kornilov believed that the fall of Riga (August 21) would be a justification for drawing 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 dispersal of the Petrograd Soviet and the dissolution of the Provisional Government, Kornilov intended to put the People's Defense Council at the head of the country (chairman - General L. G. Kornilov, fellow chairman - A. F. Kerensky, members - General M. V. Alekseev, Admiral A. V. Kolchak , B.V. Savinkov, M.M. Filonenko). Under the Council there should have been a government with broad representation of political forces: from the Tsar’s minister N.N. Pokrovsky to G.V. Plekhanov. Through intermediaries, Kornilov negotiated with Kerensky, trying to achieve a peaceful transfer of full power to him.

On August 23, 1917, at a meeting at Headquarters, agreement was reached on all issues. On August 24, Kornilov appointed general. A. M. Krymov commander of the Separate (Petrograd) Army. He was ordered, as soon as the Bolsheviks made a speech (which was expected any day), to immediately occupy the capital, disarm the garrison and workers and disperse the Soviet. Krymov prepared an order for the Separate Army, which imposed a state of siege in Petrograd and the province, Kronstadt, Finland and Estland; it was prescribed to create military courts. Rallies, meetings, strikes, appearance on the streets before 7.00 and later than 19.00, and publication of newspapers without prior censorship were prohibited. Those found guilty of violating these measures were subject to execution on the spot. The entire plan was supposed to be put into effect on August 29.

So, from August 23, Kerensky knew about Kornilov’s plans, but mistrust 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 pressure from the Bolshevik majority of the Soviets, is acting in full accordance with the plans of the German General Staff... killing the army and shaking the country internally. 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 except preservation Great Russia and I swear to bring the people - through victory over the enemy - to the Constituent Assembly, at which they themselves will decide their destinies and choose the way of a new state life. I am unable to betray Russia... And I prefer to die on the field of honor and battle, so as not to see the shame and disgrace of the Russian land. Russian people, the life of your Motherland is in your hands!”

While Kornilov advanced his troops towards Petrograd, Kerensky, abandoned by the Cadet ministers who had resigned, began negotiations with the Executive Committee of the Soviet. The threat of rebellion once again turned Kerensky into the head of the revolution. The railway workers began to sabotage the transportation of military units, and hundreds of Soviet agitators headed there. Armed detachments of the workers' Red Guard were formed in Petrograd. Bolshevik leaders were released from prison; 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 scattered without firing shots. General Krymov shot himself, Kornilov was arrested (September 1).

Kerensky moved on to attempts to strengthen his position and stabilize the situation in 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.

The democratic conference (September 14-22) had to make two important decisions: to exclude or leave bourgeois parties in the government coalition; determine the character 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 slight majority. The meeting agreed to individual participation in the government by leaders of the Kadet Party (since, in general, the meeting excluded from the government parties that had compromised themselves by participating in the Kornilov speech). Kerensky introduced Konovalov, Kishkin, and Tretyakov into the third coalition government.

The Bolsheviks considered this a provocation, declaring that only the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, scheduled for October 20, had the right to form a “real government.” The meeting elected the permanent Democratic Council of the Republic (Pre-Parliament). But the situation in the country, the balance of forces after the defeat of Kornilov changed fundamentally. The most active right-wing forces that had begun to consolidate and were able to withstand the threat of Bolshevisation were defeated. Kerensky's prestige, especially among officers, fell sharply. Support for relatively moderate socialist parties also fell. At the same time (as, by the way, Lenin predicted back in April), the popularity of the Bolsheviks increased sharply, and they had to be legalized again. In September they took control of the Petrograd Soviet (Trotsky was elected chairman) and a number of councils of other large cities. On September 13, in “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 became hopeless.

Much later, Winston Churchill wrote: “For no country was fate as merciless as for Russia. Her ship sank when the pier was already in sight. It had already weathered the storm when the wreck came. All sacrifices had already been made, work was completed. Despair and betrayal overcame the authorities when the task was already completed...”

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

The reasons that provoked this revolution were political, economic and ideological in nature.

The remnants of serfdom, namely, autocracy and landownership, hampered the development of capitalist relations. This caused the country to lag behind advanced powers in all spheres of economic activity. This lag became especially acute and obvious during Russia’s participation in the First World War, which became the catalyst for a massive economic crisis that affected all areas of production and resulted in complete collapse Agriculture. All this, along with the hardest financial crisis led to the impoverishment of the masses, which in turn led to an increase in the strike movement and the number of peasant unrest.

Economic difficulties and, especially, Russia's failures in the war provoked an acute crisis of power. Everyone was dissatisfied with the reign of Tsar Nicholas II. Corruption, which affected the entire administrative apparatus from top to bottom, caused acute discontent among the bourgeoisie and intelligentsia. Anti-war sentiment grew in the army and navy.

The decline in the authority of Nicholas II was facilitated by the continuous change of government members, most of whom were unable to solve pressing problems in leading the country out of the protracted crisis. The appearance of personalities like Rasputin in the royal circle also discredited the monarchy in the eyes of the entire population of the country.

All this was aggravated by the growth of the national liberation struggle of the peoples who made up national outskirts Russia.

Move

The beginning of 1917 was marked by widespread interruptions in food supplies. There was not enough bread, prices were rising, and along with them, the discontent of the masses was growing. In February, Petrograd was engulfed in “bread” riots - crowds of desperate, dissatisfied people smashed bread shops. February 23, Art. Art. Petrograd workers went on a general strike, demanding bread, an end to the war and the overthrow of the autocracy. They were joined by students, office workers, artisans and peasants. The strike movement spread to both capitals and many other cities in the country.

The tsarist government responded to these unrest by dissolving the Duma for two months, mass arrests of activists of the revolutionary movement, and execution of demonstrators. All this only added fuel to the fire. In addition, the military began to join the strikers. On February 28, power in Petrograd passed to the strikers. Duma deputies formed a Provisional Committee to restore order. At the same time, an alternative government body was elected - the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet. The next night, these structures jointly created the Provisional Government.

The next day was marked by the tsar's abdication of power in favor of his younger brother, who, in turn, also signed the abdication, transferring power to the Provisional Government, instructing it to choose members of the Constituent Assembly. A manifesto about this was published on March 4.

Power, therefore, was, on the one hand, in the hands of the Provisional Government, on the other, in the hands of the Petrograd Soviet, which invited the rebels to send their delegates to it. The situation, called “dual power” in history textbooks, subsequently developed into anarchy. Constant disagreements between these structures, prolongation of the war and the implementation of necessary reforms aggravated the crisis in the country...

Results of the February Revolution of 1917

The primary result of this event was the overthrow of the monarchy and the proclamation of political rights and freedoms.

The revolution abolished inequality based on class, nationality and religion, the death penalty, military courts and the ban on political organizations.

An amnesty was granted to political prisoners, and the working day was reduced to eight hours.

However, many pressing issues remained unresolved, which led to a further increase in the discontent of the masses.

• God Zeus - report message

  Zeus is the ancient Greek mythological immortal dominant god over all gods and people, mortal and immortal, the lord of the sky, thunder and lightning, living on Olympus.

  Valentin Savvich Pikul (1928-1990) is one of the writers of the Soviet period, whose works are created in the historical and naval directions.