The February Revolution took place in the fateful year for Russia in 1917 and was the first of many coups d'état that, step by step, led to the establishment of the power of the Soviets and the formation of a new state on the map.
Causes of the February Revolution of 1917
The protracted war gave rise to many difficulties and plunged the country into a severe crisis. A large part of society opposed the monarchical system, and a liberal opposition even formed in the Duma against Nicholas II. Numerous meetings and speeches began to take place in the country under anti-monarchist and anti-war slogans.
1. Crisis in the army
At that time, more than 15 million people were mobilized into the Russian army, of which 13 million were peasants. Hundreds of thousands of victims, killed and maimed, terrible front-line conditions, embezzlement and mediocrity of the army's high command undermined discipline and led to mass desertions. By the end of 1916, more than one and a half million people were deserters from the army.
On the front line, there were frequent cases of "fraternization" of Russian soldiers with Austrian and German soldiers. The officers made a lot of efforts to stop this trend, but among ordinary soldiers it became normal to exchange various things and communicate with the enemy in a friendly manner.
In the ranks of the military, dissatisfaction and mass revolutionary sentiments gradually grew.
2. Threat of hunger
A fifth of the country's industrial potential was lost due to the occupation, food products were running out. In St. Petersburg, for example, in February 1917 there were only a week and a half of grain reserves left. The supply of products and raw materials was carried out so irregularly that some of the military factories were closed. The provision of the army with everything necessary also came under threat.
3. Power crisis
At the top, everything was also difficult: during the war years, four prime ministers were replaced with full of Strong personalities who could stop the crisis of power and lead the country after themselves, at that time there were no ruling elite.
The royal family always strove to be closer to the people, but the phenomenon of Rasputinism and the weakness of the government gradually deepened the gap between the king and his people.
In the political situation, everything pointed to the imminence of a revolution. The only question remained was where and how it would happen.
February revolution: overthrow of the age-old monarchical system
Beginning in January 1917, strikes took place en masse throughout the Russian Empire, in which a total of more than 700 thousand workers took part. The trigger in the February events was a strike in St. Petersburg.
On February 23, 128 thousand already went on strike, the next day their number increased to 200 thousand, and the strike took on a political character, and already 300 thousand workers in St. Petersburg alone took part in it. This is how the February Revolution unfolded.
Troops and police opened fire on the striking workers, and first blood was shed.
On February 26, the tsar sent troops to the capital under the command of General Ivanov, but they refused to suppress the uprising and actually sided with the rebels.
On February 27, the insurgent workers seized more than 40,000 rifles and 30,000 revolvers. They took control of the capital and elected the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' Deputies, which was headed by Chkheidze.
On the same day, the tsar sent an order to the Duma on an indefinite break in its work. The Duma obeyed the decree, but decided not to disperse, but to elect a Provisional Committee of ten people headed by Rodzianko.
Soon the tsar received telegrams about the victory of the revolution and calls from the commanders of all fronts to cede power in favor of the rebels.
On March 2, it was officially announced the establishment of the Provisional Government of Russia, the head of which Nicholas II approved Prince Lvov. And on the same day, the king abdicated the throne for himself and for his son in favor of his brother, but he wrote the abdication in the same way.
So the February Revolution ended the existence of the monarchy on
After that, the tsar, as a civilian, tried to obtain permission from the Provisional Government to leave with his family to Murmansk in order to emigrate from there to Great Britain. But the Petrograd Soviet resisted so strongly that it was decided to arrest Nicholas II and his family and deliver them to Tsarskoe Selo for imprisonment.
The former emperor will never be destined to leave his country.
February revolution of 1917: results
The interim government went through many crises and was able to survive for only 8 months. The attempt to build a bourgeois-democratic society was not crowned with success, since a more powerful and organized force claimed power in the country, which saw as its goal only the socialist revolution.
The February revolution revealed this strength - the workers and soldiers, led by the Soviets, began to play a decisive role in the history of the country.
The nature and causes of the February Revolution
The February revolution is usually called bourgeois-democratic. This is how all Soviet historians characterized it, and even now it is repeated by historians who were members of the CPSU and continue to feel nostalgia for Soviet times.
The characterization of the February revolution as bourgeois-democratic is a synchronous social-democratic, Marxist understanding of what was happening. He was divided as Social Democrats Mensheviks headed by G.V. Plekhanov and Yu.O. Martov, and the Bolshevik Social Democrats headed by V.I. Lenin. And in October 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power, quickly dealt with all other parties and points of view, and the Bolshevik view of February became the only acceptable one. He literally entered the flesh and blood of Soviet-style historians.
Today, however, fundamentally important non-Marxist questions arise. First of all: what is this bourgeois-democratic revolution that marked the beginning of the liquidation of the bourgeois system and democracy in Russia? Were it not for February, there would not have been October 1917. No matter how anyone treats Lenin, the "red wheel" rolled not during the coup led by him, but in February-March, when he was in faraway Switzerland.
A real bourgeois revolution with a democratic perspective took place in Russia since 1861 as a result of major reforms of Emperor Alexander II, it took place from above. The most painless and fruitful version of transformations that are revolutionary in their meaning, when they are carried out from above by the legitimate leadership of the country. In a matter of years and decades, Russia has turned from a semi-feudal country into a power with a bourgeois market economy, taking first place in the world in terms of economic, including industrial development. The country received an independent court and the State Duma, in which heated discussions took place, received independent parties and a free press. Yes, the bourgeoisie was not part of the tsarist government, but the latter pursued a policy in the interests of the Russian bourgeoisie.
By 1917, the German aggressors were stopped at distant lines, and the Russian army was prepared for a successful offensive together with the allies in April 1917. Our economy was transferred to a war footing, and it developed again. There weren't even cards in the country. The position of the masses was much better than in Germany. And this despite all the inevitable hardships of war. But nothing out of the ordinary, terrible happened. The country was on the verge of winning the war and becoming the most powerful military and economic power in the world.
The revolution that took place in February-March 1917 would not have happened if it were not for the politicking of specific leaders of the State Duma, if not for A.I. Guchkov and P.N. Milyukov, M.V. Rodzianko and A.F. Kerensky. And it happened in February-March precisely because an offensive was coming in April, and a successful offensive is an explosion of patriotic sentiments, the strengthening of the autocracy and the failure of the hopes of these gentlemen for the transfer of power into their hands. Therefore, 36,000 workers of the Putilov factory were thrown into the streets and rumors spread that bread was running out in Petrograd. The revolution was provoked, and the ignorant workers and women workers, who did not smell gunpowder, the soldiers of the capital garrison succumbed to the provocation.
There was a Russian revolt, senseless and merciless. The Russian revolt was victorious, and the red turmoil began.
All this can be called a revolution. But which one? The bourgeois-democratic revolution has not taken place. If there was a bourgeois-democratic revolution, then it was a failed, unfinished one. But it could not take place, in any case there was little chance of it. The alternative was much more realistic: the historically legitimate power of the tsar or the transfer of power into the hands of extreme revolutionaries with socialist views. During the wartime brutality, the few center-right democrats could not hold onto power.
Therefore, what happened became a coup d'état, high treason during the war, the repulsion of external aggression. What happened was the collapse of the historical, thousand-year, great Orthodox Russia.
At the same time, one should not reduce everything to provocation of the revolution. Yes, the revolution was pushed, but it matured for a long time, many years and decades, if not centuries. For example, the abolition of the patriarchate and the refusal to convene Zemsky Sobor by Peter I had far from fruitful consequences for the spiritual, moral and social life of the country. And if a patriarch like Saint Hermogenes, in February-March 1917, would strictly address the Orthodox: Come to your senses! I don’t bless! .. - a different situation would have been created. Of course, there was also an unresolved agrarian issue, and there were other serious problems. But even now the agrarian question has not been resolved, and what of this?
Atheistic historical science was carried away by the external, the most easy to perceive. Therefore, the revolution was derived from the lack of land, from Lenin's propaganda myths about Russia as an aggressor and the extremely difficult situation of the Russian workers.
However, for people who feel Russian, Orthodox, in the foreground are not external, but internal causes of both revolutions of 1917. And they are primarily in the impoverishment and formalization of the Orthodox faith, in the spiritual and moral crisis of an educated society, in the idealization of Western democracy.
How many outstanding educated people with passion played the revolution, opposition, freedom of speech. And the revolution turned out to be not a toy, but bloody and hopeless. As a result, we have largely lost the new century. A hundred years after the February and October experiments, the country faces tasks that were not solved at the beginning of the twentieth century.
V.M. Lavrov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Chief Researcher at the Institute of Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. (Report at the International Scientific Conference "Russia's Black Year. 1917. Eve of the Catastrophe" at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies. Moscow, December 8, 2016)
Causes and nature of the February Revolution.
The February revolution was caused by the same reasons, had the same character, solved the same problems and had the same alignment of opposing forces as the revolution of 1905-1907. (See the paragraph "The first Russian revolution of 1905 - 1907 "). After the first revolution, the tasks of overthrowing the self-power (the question of power), the introduction of demo-cratic freedoms, the solution of agrarian, labor, and national issues continued to remain unresolved. The February revolution of 1917, like the revolution of 1905-1907, had a bourgeois-democratic character.
Features of the February Revolution.
Unlike the first Russian revolution of 1905-1907, the February revolution of 1917:
It took place against the backdrop of the devastation caused by the First World War;
Active participation of soldiers and sailors in revolutionary events;
The army almost immediately went over to the side of the revolution.
Formation of a revolutionary situation. The revolution was not prepared in advance and erupted unexpectedly both for the government and for the revolutionary parties. It is noteworthy that V.I. Lenin in 1916 did not believe in her imminent arrival. He said: "We, the old people, may not live to see the decisive battles of this coming revolution." However, by the end of 1916, the economic devastation, the aggravation of the needs and calamities of the masses, caused social tension, an increase in anti-war sentiment and dissatisfaction with the policy of the autocracy. By the beginning of 1917, the country found itself in a social and political crisis.
The beginning of the revolution. In February 1917, the supply of bread in Petrograd deteriorated. The country had enough bread, but due to the devastation in the transport-port, it was not delivered on time. There were queues at the bakeries, which caused discontent among the people. In this situation, any act of the authorities could cause a social explosion. On February 18, workers at the Putilov factory went on strike. In response, the directorate dismissed the strikers. They were supported by workers from other enterprises. A general strike began on February 23 (March 8, New Style). It was accompanied by rallies with the slogans "Bread!", "Peace!" "Freedom!", "Down with the war!" "Down with the autocracy!" February 23, 1917 considered the beginning of the February Revolution.
At first, the government did not attach much importance to these events. On the eve of Nicholas II, taking on the duties of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, he left Petrograd for the Headquarters in the city of Mogilev. However, events were growing. On February 24 in Petrograd there were already 214 thousand people, and on the 25th - over 300 thousand (80% of workers). Demonstrations expanded. The Cossacks sent to disperse them began to go over to the side of the demonstrators. Commander of the Petrograd Military District, General S.S. Khabalov received an order from the tsar: "I command to stop the riots in the capital tomorrow." On February 26, Ha-ba-lov ordered to open fire on the demonstrators: 50 people were killed, hundreds were wounded.
The outcome of any revolution depends on whose side the army will find itself on. The defeat of the revolution of 1905-1907 largely due to the fact that the army as a whole remained loyal to tsarism. In February 1917, there were 180 thousand soldiers in Petrograd who were prepared to be sent to the front. There were many new recruits from the workers, mobilized for participating in strikes. They did not want to go to the front, they easily succumbed to revolutionary propaganda. The shooting of the demonstrators aroused the outrage of the soldiers of the garni-zone. The soldiers of the Pavlovsk regiment seized the arsenal and handed over the weapons to the workers. On March 1, 170 thousand soldiers were already on the side of the rebels. The remains of the garrison, together with Khabalov, surrendered. The transition of the garni-zone to the side of the revolution ensured its victory. The tsarist ministers were arrested, police stations were destroyed and burned, political prisoners were released from prisons.
Creation of new authorities. Petrograd Soviet of Workers' Deputies (February 27, 1917). The Petrosoviet consisted of 250 members. Chairman - Menshevik NS. Chkheidze, deputies - Menshevik M.I. Skobelev and trudovik A.F. Kerensky(1881-1970). The Petrosovet was dominated by the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, at that time the most numerous left-wing parties. They put forward the slogan "civil peace", the consolidation of all classes, political freedoms. By the decision of the Petrograd Soviet, the tsarist finances were withdrawn.
« Order number 1» was published by the Petrograd Soviet on March 1, 1917. In military units, elected Sol-Danish Komi-thetes, weapons were at their disposal. The titling of officers and the saluting of them were canceled. Although this order was intended only for the Petrograd garrison, it soon spread to the fronts. "Order No. 1" had a destructive character, undermined the principle of one-man command in the army, led to its collapse and mass desertion.
Creation of the Provisional Government. The leaders of the bourgeois parties in the State Duma created on February 27 "Provisional Committee of the State Duma" under the leadership of the chairman of the IV Duma M. V. Rod-zyanko. March 2, 1917... Petrosovet and the Provisional Committee of the State Duma formed Provisional government composed of:
Chairman - prince G. E. Lvov(1861-1925), non-party liberal, close to the Cadets and Octobrists:
Foreign Minister - Cadet P. N. Milyukov(1859-1943);
Minister of War and Marine - Octobrist A. I. Guchkov(1862-1936);
Minister of Railways - a stylish tycoon from the Ivanovo region, a member of the Progressives Party A. I. Konovalov(1875-1948);
Minister of Agriculture - A. I. Shingarev (1869-1918);
Minister of Finance - Sugar Breeder M. I. Te-reschenko(1886-1956);
The Minister of Education is a liberal populist A. A. Manuilov;
The abdication of the king. Nicholas II was at Headquarters in the city of Mogilev and did not understand the danger of the situation. Having received news on February 27 of the beginning of the revolution from the chairman of the IV Duma, MV Rodzianko, the tsar declared: "Again this fat man Rodzianko wrote me all sorts of nonsense, to which I will not even answer him." The tsar blamed the Duma for the unrest in the capital and ordered it to dissolve. Later, he ordered to send punitive troops to the capital under the command of General N. I. Ivanova appointed commander of the Petrograd garrison instead of Khabalov. However, information about the victory of the revolution in Petrograd and about the transfer of troops to its side forced General Ivanov to refrain from punitive actions.
On February 28, the tsar and his retinue set off for Petrograd, but the tsar's train could not get through to the headquarters and turned to Pskov, where the headquarters of the commander of the Northern Front, General, was located. N. V. Ryzsky... After negotiations with Rodzianko and the commanders of the fronts, Niko-Lai II decided to abdicate in favor of his 13-year-old son Alexei under the regency of his brother Mikhail. On March 2, representatives of the Provisional Committee of the Duma arrived in Pskov A.I. Guchkov and V.V. Shulgin... They persuaded the king to "transfer the burden of government to other hands." Nicholas II signed a manifesto on the abdication of the throne in favor of his brother Michael... The tsar made an entry in his diary: "Treason and cowardice and deceit are all around!"
Subsequently, Nikolai was under house arrest with his family in the Tsarskoye Selo palace. In the summer of 1917, by decision of the Provisional Government, the Romanovs were sent into exile in Tobolsk. In the spring of 1918, the Bolsheviks moved to Yekaterinburg, where they were shot in July 1918, together with those close to them.
Guchkov and Shulgin returned to Petrograd with a manifesto on Nikolai's abdication. A toast in honor of the new Emperor Mikhail, proclaimed by Guchkov, aroused indignation among the workers. They threatened Guchkov with execution. On March 3, a meeting of members of the Provisional Government with Mikhail Romanov took place. After heated discussions, the majority spoke in favor of Mi-hail's abdication. He agreed and signed the abdication. The autocracy fell. It has come dual power.
The essence of dual power. In the transitional period - from the moment of the victory of the revolution to the adoption of the constitution and the formation of new bodies of power - there is usually a Provisional Revolutionary Government, whose responsibilities include breaking the old apparatus of power, securing the gains of the revolution by decrees and convening Constituent Assembly, which determines the form of the future state device of the country and adopts the constitution. However, a feature of the February Revolution of 1917 was the fact that there was no analogue in history. dual power represented by the socialist Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies (" power without power"), On the one hand, and the liberal Provisional Government (" power without power"), with another.
Significance of the February Revolution of 1917:
Self-state was overthrown;
Russia received the maximum of political freedoms.
The revolution won, but it did not solve all the problems. Ahead of the country, cruel ordeals awaited.
Causes and nature of the February Revolution.Uprising in Petrograd on February 27, 1917
The February Revolution of 1917 in Russia was caused by the same reasons, had the same character, solved the same problems and had the same alignment of opposing forces as the revolution of 1905-1907. After the revolution of 1905-1907. the tasks of democratizing the country continued to be - the overthrow of the autocracy, the introduction of democratic freedoms, the solution of burning issues - agrarian, workers, national. These were the tasks of the bourgeois-democratic transformation of the country, therefore the February, like the revolution of 1905-1907, was of a bourgeois-democratic character.
Although the revolution of 1905 - 1907. and did not solve the fundamental tasks of democratizing the country facing it 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.
But the February Revolution of 1917 took place in a different environment than the revolution of 1905-1907. On the eve of the February Revolution, social and political contradictions sharply escalated, aggravated by the hardships of a long and exhausting war in which Russia was dragged. The economic devastation generated by the war and, as a result, the aggravation of the needs and misfortunes of the masses, caused acute social tension in the country, the growth of anti-war sentiments and general discontent 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 the autocratic power and its bearer, the reigning emperor, has noticeably fallen in the eyes of all strata of society. The war, unprecedented in scale, seriously shook the moral foundations of society, brought an unprecedented bitterness into the consciousness of people's behavior. The millions of front-line soldiers who saw blood and death every day easily succumbed to revolutionary propaganda and were ready to take the most extreme measures. They longed for peace, return to earth, and the slogan "Down with the war!" was especially popular at that time. The end of the war was inevitably associated with the elimination of the political regime that had drawn the people into the war. So the monarchy was losing support in the army.
By the end of 1916, the country found itself in a state of deep social, political and moral crisis. Did the ruling circles realize the danger threatening them? Security Department Reports Late 1917 - Early 1917 full of anxiety in anticipation of the impending social explosion. They foresaw the social danger for the Russian monarchy and abroad. Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich, the tsar's cousin, wrote to him in mid-November 1916 from London: “The agents of the Intelligence Service [British intelligence service], usually well-informed, predict a revolution in Russia. the demands of the people before it is too late. " Those close to Nicholas II told him in despair: "There will be a revolution, we will all be hanged, but on what lantern, it doesn't matter." However, Nicholas II stubbornly did not want to see this danger, hoping for the mercy of Providence. Curious is the conversation that 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, which will sweep you away, and you will no longer reign. Nicholas II: - Well, God willing. Rodzianko: - God will not give anything, the revolution is inevitable." ...
Although the factors that prepared the revolutionary outburst 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 government. Not a single political party has shown itself to be the organizer and leader of the revolution, which took them by surprise.
The closest reason for the revolutionary outbreak was the following events that took place in the second half of February 1917 in Petrograd. In mid-February, the supply of foodstuffs to the capital, especially bread, deteriorated. Bread was in the country and in sufficient quantities, but due to the devastation in transport and the sluggishness of the authorities responsible for the supply, it could not be delivered to the cities on time. A rationing system was introduced, but it did not solve the problem. Long lines arose at bakeries, which caused growing discontent among the population. In this situation, any act of the authorities or owners of industrial enterprises that irritated the population could serve as a detonator for a social explosion.
On February 18, workers at one of the largest factories in Petrograd, Putilovsky, went on strike, demanding a wage increase because of the rising cost. 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 day of February 23rd, who on February 14th from the rostrum of the State Duma sharply criticized the mediocre ministers and demanded their resignation. Duma leaders - the 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 of 50 enterprises went on strike - a third of the workers in the capital. A demonstration was also held, which was of a peaceful nature. A rally was held in the city center. The authorities, in order to calm the people, announced that there is enough food in the city and there is no reason for concern.
The next day, 214,000 workers went on strike. The strikes were accompanied by demonstrations: columns of demonstrators with red flags and chanting "Marseillaise" rushed to the city center. Women took an active part in them, taking to the streets with the slogans "Bread" !, "Peace" !, "Freedom !," Bring back our husbands! "
The authorities initially viewed them as natural food riots. However, the events grew every day and took on a threatening character for the authorities. On February 25, over 300,000 people were struck. (80% of the workers in the city). Demonstrators already came out 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 police and military barriers and break through to Znamenskaya Square near the Moscow railway station, where a spontaneous rally began at the monument to Alexander III. Rallies and demonstrations were held in the main squares, avenues and streets of the city. The Cossack detachments sent against them refused to disperse them. Demonstrators threw stones and logs at the horsemen. 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 center of the city, and police stations on the Vyborg side were already smashed. A rally began again on Znamenskaya Square. The demonstrators clashed with the police, resulting in the death and injury of 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 command tomorrow to stop the riots in the capital, which are unacceptable in the difficult time of the war with Germany and Austria." Khabalov immediately ordered the police and the commanders of spare parts to use weapons against the demonstrators. On the night of February 26, the police arrested about a hundred of the most active left-wing parties.
February 26th was a Sunday afternoon. Factories and factories did not work. The masses of demonstrators with red banners and singing revolutionary songs again rushed to the central streets and squares of the city. On the Znamenskaya Square and near the Kazan Cathedral, rallies were continuously held. On Khabalov's order, the policemen, who had sat on the rooftops, opened fire with machine guns at the demonstrators and protesters. On Znamenskaya Square, 40 people were killed and the same number were wounded. The police fired at demonstrators on Sadovaya Street, Liteiny and Vladimirsky avenues. On the night of February 27, new arrests were made: this time 170 people were arrested.
The outcome of any revolution depends on which side the army is on. The defeat of the revolution of 1905-1907 largely due to the fact that, despite a series of uprisings in the army and navy, the army as a whole remained loyal to the government and was used by it to suppress peasant and workers' revolts. In February 1917, a garrison of up to 180 thousand soldiers was stationed in Petrograd. These were mainly spare parts that were to be sent to the front. There were many new recruits from cadre workers, mobilized for participating in strikes, and many recovered from the wounds of the front-line soldiers. The concentration of a mass of soldiers in the capital, who easily succumbed to the influence of revolutionary propaganda, was a major mistake of the authorities.
The shooting of the demonstrators on February 26 caused strong indignation among the soldiers of the capital garrison and had a decisive impact on their transition to the side of the revolution. In 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 the mounted police platoon. The company was disarmed, 19 of its "ringleaders" 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. You cannot hesitate. Any delay is like death."
Even on the eve of the Tsar's departure to Headquarters, two versions of his decree on the State Duma were prepared - the first on its dissolution, the second on the interruption of its studies. In response to Rodzianko's telegram, the tsar sent a second version of the decree - on a break in the Duma from February 26 to April 1917. At 11 a.m. on February 27, State Duma deputies gathered in the White Hall of the Tauride Palace and silently listened to the tsar's decree on the break of the Duma session. The decree of the tsar put the Duma members in a difficult position: on the one hand, they did not dare not to fulfill the will of the tsar, on the other hand, they could not but reckon with the threatening development of revolutionary events in the capital. The deputies from the left-wing parties proposed not to obey the tsarist decree and declare themselves the Constituent Assembly in their "appeal to the people", but the majority was against such an action. In the Semicircular Hall of the Tavricheskiy Palace, they opened a "private meeting" at which it was decided, in compliance with the tsar's command, not to hold official meetings of the Duma, but the deputies did not 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 the "Provisional Committee of the State Duma for the establishment of order in Petrograd and for communication with institutions and individuals." On the same day, a 12-member committee 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 engulfed almost all enterprises in the capital, and in fact an 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 of 600 people from the reserve battalion of the Volyn regiment rebelled. The team leader was killed. Non-commissioned officer T.I. Kirpichnikov raised the entire regiment, which moved to the Lithuanian and Preobrazhensky regiments and carried 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 were on the side of the rebels, and on March 1 - already 170 thousand soldiers. On February 28, the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress were captured, an arsenal was seized, from which 40 thousand rifles and 30 thousand revolvers were distributed to workers' detachments. On Liteiny Prospect, the building of the District Court and the House of Pre-trial Detention was destroyed and set on fire. Police stations were on fire. The gendarmerie and the secret police 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 that had settled in the Admiralty together with Khabalov surrendered. The Mariinsky Palace was taken and the tsarist ministers and high dignitaries who were in it were arrested. They were brought or brought to the Tauride Palace. Minister of Internal Affairs A.D. Protopopov voluntarily came under arrest. The ministers and generals from the Tauride Palace were escorted to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the rest to the places of confinement 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 railway station and along the Peterhof highway. On March 1, the sailors of the Kronstadt port revolted. 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 the sailors. Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (cousin of Nicholas II) brought the guards crew entrusted to him to the Tauride Palace at the disposal of the revolutionary power.
On the evening of February 28, amid the already victorious revolution, Rodzianko proposed announcing that the Provisional Committee of the State Duma would take over government functions. On the night of February 28, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma appealed to the peoples of Russia with an appeal that it was taking the initiative to "restore state and public order" and create a new government. As a first measure to the ministries, he sent commissars from 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 revived in the course of the revolution became a more effective revolutionary power. Back on 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 immediately elect deputies to the Soviet - one deputy from 1,000 workers, and one from a company of soldiers. 250 deputies were elected and gathered in the Tauride Palace. They, in turn, took the Executive Committee of the Soviet, which was chaired by the leader of the Social Democratic faction of the State Duma, Menshevik N.S. Chkheidze, and his deputies, Trudovik A.F. Kerensky and the 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-wing parties in Russia. On February 28, the first issue of Izvestia of the Council of Workers' Deputies was published (editor - Menshevik F.I.Dan).
The Petrograd Soviet began to act as an organ of revolutionary power, making a number of important decisions. On February 28, on his initiative, regional council committees were created. He formed a military and food commissions, an armed militia, and established control over printing houses and railways. By decision of the Petrograd Soviet, the financial resources of the tsarist government were seized and control over their spending was established. Commissars from the Soviet were sent to the districts of the capital to establish people's power in them.
On March 1, 1917, the Soviet issued the famous Order No. 1, which provided for the creation of elective soldiers' committees in military units, abolished the titling of officers and saluting them out 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, little competent in military affairs, he violated the principle of one-man command necessary for any army and thereby contributed to the fall of military discipline.
The number of victims in Petrograd in the days of February 1917 was about 300 people. killed and up to 1200 wounded.
Formation of the Provisional Government
With the formation on February 27 of the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, in fact, a dual power began to take shape. Until March 1, 1917, the Soviet and the Duma Committee operated independently of each other. On the night of 1 to 2 March, 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 a condition for the Provisional Government to immediately proclaim civil liberties, amnesty for political prisoners, and announced 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.
It was formed on March 2, and its composition was announced on March 3. The Provisional Government consisted of 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. 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 large manufacturer, progressist, A.I. Konovalov, communications - the "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, Socialist-Revolutionary, the only socialist in the government) A.F. Kerensky, for Finland - cadet V.I. Rodiichev, Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod - Octobrist V.N. Lvov, state controller - Octobrist I.V. Godnev. Thus, 7 ministerial posts, the most important ones, were in the hands of the Cadets, 3 ministerial posts were received by the Octobrists and 2 representatives of other parties. This was the "finest hour" of the cadets, who were in power for a short time (for two months). The inauguration of the ministers of the Provisional Government took place during March 3-5. The Provisional Government announced itself for a transitional period (until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly) of the supreme legislative and executive power in the country.
On March 3, the program of activities of the Provisional Government, coordinated with the Petrograd Soviet, was also promulgated: 1) full and immediate amnesty for all political and religious matters; 2) freedom of speech, press, assembly and strike; 3) the abolition of all class, religious and national restrictions; 4) immediate preparation for elections on the basis of general, equal, secret and direct voting to the Constituent Assembly; 5) the replacement of the police by the people's militia with elected authorities subordinate to local self-government bodies; 6) elections to local government bodies; 7) non-disarming and non-withdrawal from Petrograd of the military units that took part in the February 27 uprising; and 8) granting civil rights to soldiers. The program laid the broad foundations of constitutionalism and democracy in the country.
However, most of the measures declared in the declaration of the Provisional Government on March 3 were implemented even earlier, as soon as the revolution was victorious. So, as early as February 28, the police was abolished and a people's militia was formed: instead of 6 thousand policemen, 40 thousand people were occupied by order protection in Petrograd. the people's militia. She took under the protection of the enterprise and city quarters. Detachments of the native militia were soon created in other cities as well. Subsequently, along with the workers 'militia, combat workers' squads (Red Guard) also appeared. The first detachment of the Red Guard was created in early March at the Sestroretsk plant. The gendarmerie and the secret police were eliminated.
Hundreds of prisons were destroyed or burned. 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. Full freedom of the press, meetings and demonstrations was won by an explicit 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 signed between the Petrograd Soviet and the Petrograd Society of Manufacturers about this. Then, through similarly private agreements between workers and employers, the 8-hour working day was introduced throughout the country. However, a special decree of the Provisional Government about this was not issued. The agrarian question was attributed to the decision of the Constituent Assembly for fear that the soldiers, having learned about the "division of land", would abandon the front and move to the countryside. The Provisional Government declared the arbitrary seizures of the landlord peasants illegal.
In an effort to "get closer to the people," on the spot to study the specific situation in the country 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 with such support at rallies, meetings, all kinds of meetings, professional congresses. The ministers often and willingly gave interviews to the press and held press conferences. The press, in turn, sought to create a favorable public opinion about the Provisional Government.
France and England were the first to recognize the Provisional Government as "the spokesman for the true will of the people and the only government of Russia." In early March, the Provisional Government was recognized by the United States, Italy, Norway, Japan, Belgium, Portugal, Serbia and Iran.
Abdication of Nicholas II
The transfer of the troops of the capital's garrison to the side of the rebels forced the Headquarters to start 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. Alekseeva gave the order to move "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. The expedition was headed by General N.I. Ivanov, who was also appointed instead of Khabalov and the commander of the Petrograd military district with the broadest, dictatorial powers - to the point that all the ministers were at his complete disposal. It was supposed to concentrate 13 infantry battalions, 16 cavalry squadrons and 4 batteries in the Tsarskoe Selo area by March 1.
In the early morning of February 28, two letter trains, royal and suite, set off from Mogilev through Smolensk, Vyazma, Rzhev, Likhoslavl, Bologoye to Petrograd. Upon their arrival at Bologoye on the night of March 1, the news came that two companies with machine guns had arrived in Lyuban from Petrograd in order not to let the tsarist trains into the capital. When the trains approached the station. Malaya Vishera (160 km from Petrograd), the railway authorities reported that it was impossible to move further, because the next stations Tosno and Lyuban were occupied by revolutionary troops. Nicholas II ordered the trains to turn to Pskov - to the headquarters of the commander of the Northern Front, General N.V. Ruzsky. The royal trains arrived in Pskov at 7 pm on March 1. Here Nicholas II learned about the victory of the revolution in Petrograd.
At the same time, General M.V. Alekseev decided to abandon the military expedition to Petrograd. Having enlisted the support of the commanders-in-chief of the fronts, he ordered Ivanov to refrain from punitive actions. The Georgievsk battalion, which reached Tsarskoe Selo on March 1, retreated back to the Vyritsa station. After negotiations between the commander-in-chief of the Northern Front, Ruzsky, and Rodzianko, Nicholas II agreed to form a government responsible to the Duma. On the night of March 2, Ruzsky conveyed this decision of the tsar to Rodzianko. However, he said that the publication of the manifesto about this had already been "belated", for the course of events had set a "definite demand" - the tsar's abdication. Without waiting for a response from Headquarters, Duma deputies A.I. Guchkov and V.V. Shulgin. And at this time Alekseev and Ruzsky asked all the commanders-in-chief of the fronts and fleets: the Caucasian - the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, the Romanian - General V.V. Sakharov, South-West - General A.A. Brusilov, Western - General A.E. Evert, the commanders of the fleets - the Baltic - Admiral A.I. Nepenin and Black Sea - Admiral A.V. Kolchak. The commanders of the fronts and fleets declared the need for the tsar to abdicate the throne "in the name of saving the motherland and the dynasty, in agreement with the statement of the chairman of the State Duma, as the only one, apparently, capable of ending the revolution and saving Russia from the horrors of anarchy." Those uncle Nikolai Nikolayevich addressed Nicholas II of Tiflis with a plea to abdicate the throne.
On March 2, Nicholas II ordered to draw up a manifesto on his abdication in favor of his son Alexei during the regency of his younger brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. This decision of the tsar was drawn up in the name of Rodzianko. However, its dispatch was delayed pending receipt of new messages from Petrograd. In addition, the arrival of Guchkov and Shulgin was expected in Pskov, as 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 to rely on, and confirmed the need for the tsar to abdicate from the throne. Nicholas II said that he had already made such a decision, but now he is changing it and is already renouncing not only himself, but also the heir. This act of Nicholas II violated the coronation manifesto of Paul I of April 5, 1797, which provided that the reigning person has the right to abdicate the throne only for himself, and not for our own glaciers.
A new version of Nicholas II's abdication from the throne was adopted by Guchkov and Shulgin, who only asked him that, before signing the act of abdication, the tsar would approve a decree appointing G.E. Lvov as the prime minister of the new government being formed, and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich again as the supreme commander-in-chief.
When Guchkov and Shulgin returned to Petrograd with the manifesto of Nicholas II, who abdicated the throne, they met with strong dissatisfaction among the revolutionary masses with this attempt by Duma leaders to preserve the monarchy. A toast in honor of "Emperor Mikhail", proclaimed by Guchkov on his arrival from Pskov at the Warsaw railway station in Petrograd, aroused such strong indignation of the workers that they threatened him with execution. At the station, Shulgin was searched, who, however, managed to secretly convey the text of the manifesto on the abdication of Nicholas II to Guchkov. The workers demanded the destruction of the text of the manifesto, the immediate arrest of the tsar and the proclamation of a republic.
On the morning of March 3, the 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 people's indignation was too strong, the new tsar could perish from the people's anger, and the Provisional Government would perish with him. However, Miliukov insisted on the acceptance of the crown by Mikhail, arguing the need for strong power to strengthen the new order, and such power needs support - "the monarchical symbol familiar to the masses." A provisional government without a monarch, Miliukov said, is "a fragile boat that can drown in the ocean of popular unrest"; it will not survive until the Constituent Assembly, as anarchy will reign in the country. Guchkov, who soon arrived at the conference, supported Miliukov. Milyukov, in his impetuosity, even suggested that they take the cars and go to Moscow, where they proclaim Mikhail emperor, gather troops under his banner, and march on Petrograd. Such a proposal clearly threatened civil war and frightened the rest of those present at the meeting. After lengthy discussions, the majority spoke in favor of Michael's abdication. Mikhail agreed with this opinion and at 4 p.m. signed the document drawn up by V.D. Nabokov and Baron B.E. Nolde manifesto on his rejection of the crown. In the manifesto, promulgated the next day, it was said that Michael "made a firm decision only in the case of accepting the supreme power, if such is the will of our great people, who should, through a popular vote through their representatives in the Constituent Assembly, establish the mode of government and new basic laws of the state. Russian ". Michael appealed to the people with an appeal "to obey the Provisional Government, vested with full authority." All members of the royal family also made written statements of support for the Provisional Government and the renunciation of claims to the royal throne. 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 perceived by the abdicated king with bewilderment. "God knows who advised him to sign such nasty things," Nikolai wrote in his diary.
The emperor who abdicated the throne went to the 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-in-Chief of the Russian Army. However, the Provisional Government appointed General A.A. Brusilov. On March 9, Nikolai and his retinue returned to Tsarskoe Selo. By order of the Provisional Government, the royal family was kept under house arrest in Tsarskoe Selo. The Petrograd Soviet demanded a trial of the former tsar and even on March 8 adopted a resolution on his imprisonment in the Peter and Paul Fortress, but the Provisional Government refused to carry it out.
In connection with the growth of anti-monarchist sentiments in the country, the deposed king asked the Provisional Government to send him and his family to England. The Provisional Government appealed to the British Ambassador in Petrograd, George Buchanan, to ask the British cabinet about this. P.N. Miliukov, when meeting with the tsar, assured him that the request would be granted and even advised him to prepare for departure. Buchanan requested his office. 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 in Russia, and the English king George V turned to his government with a proposal to cancel this decision. The interim government sent a request to the French cabinet to grant asylum to the royal family in France, but was also refused, citing the fact that this would be negatively perceived by public opinion in France. This is how 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
In the transitional period - from the moment of the victory of the revolution until the adoption of the constitution and the formation of permanent bodies of power in accordance with it - the Provisional Revolutionary Government acts, which is entrusted with the duty of breaking the old apparatus of power, securing the conquests of the revolution by appropriate decrees and the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, which determines the form of the future state devices of the country, approves decrees issued by the Provisional Government, giving them the force of laws, and adopts a constitution.
The interim government for the transitional period (until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly) has both legislative and administrative and executive functions. This, for example, was the case during the Great French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. The same way of transforming the country after the revolutionary coup was envisioned in their projects by the Decembrists of the Northern Society, putting forward the idea of "Provisional Revolutionary Government" for the transitional period, and then the convocation of the "Supreme Council" (Constituent Assembly). All the Russian revolutionary parties at the beginning of the 20th century, who wrote it down in their programs, also imagined the path of the revolutionary reorganization of the country, the demolition of the old state machine and the formation of new bodies of power.
However, the process of the formation of state power in Russia as a result of the February Revolution of 1917 followed a different scenario. In Russia, a dual power unparalleled in history has emerged - represented by the Soviets of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies, on the one hand, and the Provisional Government, on the other.
As already mentioned, the appearance of the Soviets - organs of people's power - dates back to the revolution of 1905-1907. and is an important conquest. This tradition was 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 emerged, which elected from among their midst permanent government bodies - executive committees. These were the elected representatives of the 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 councils in the country. They arose spontaneously - it was the spontaneous creativity of the masses. Along with this, local committees of the Provisional Government were created. This created a dual power at the central and local levels.
At that time, representatives of the Menshevik and Socialist-Revolutionary parties had the predominant influence in the Soviets, both in Petrograd and in the provincial ones, who were oriented not on the "victory of socialism," believing that there were no conditions for this in backward Russia, but on the development and consolidation of it. bourgeois democratic gains. Such a task, they believed, in the transitional period could be fulfilled by the Provisional, bourgeois government, which needed to provide support in carrying out the country's democratic reforms, and, if necessary, put pressure on it. In fact, during the period of diarchy, real power was in the hands of the Soviets, for the Provisional Government could only rule 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 Tauride Palace, which then became the center of the country's political life.
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 regime until the Constituent Assembly, and among them there is an agrarian question. Moreover, it issued a number of decrees providing for criminal liability for the unauthorized seizure of landlord, appanage and monastery lands. On the issue 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 division of powers, but a confrontation between one power and 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 a 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, amid 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 repression fell upon the Bolsheviks. After the July days, the Provisional Government managed to subjugate 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 chaos deepened in the country: inflation grew rapidly, production fell catastrophically, and the danger of impending famine became real. In the village, mass pogroms of landowners' estates began, the peasants seized not only landlord, but also church lands, information was received about the murders of landowners and even clergymen. The soldiers are tired of the war. At the front, fraternization of soldiers of both belligerents became more frequent. The front was essentially falling apart. Desertion sharply increased, whole military units were removed from the positions: the soldiers hurried home in order to have time to divide the landlords' lands.
The February Revolution destroyed the old state structures, but failed to create a lasting and authoritative government. The Provisional Government increasingly lost control over the situation in the country and was no longer able to cope with the growing chaos, 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 did not know it well.
In a relatively short time, from March to October 1917, four members of the Provisional Government changed: its first composition lasted for about two months (March-April), the next three (coalition, with "socialist ministers") - each for no more than one and a half months ... It has experienced 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 chaos, and a protracted unpopular war. the threat of impending famine, the masses were thirsty for "solid power" that would be able to "put things in order." The contradictory behavior of the Russian muzhik also worked - his primordially Russian striving for "firm order" and at the same time the primordially Russian hatred of any really existing order, that is, a paradoxical combination in the peasant mentality of Caesarism (naive monarchism) and anarchism, obedience and rebellion.
By the fall of 1917, the power of the Provisional Government was virtually paralyzed: its decrees were not implemented or were ignored altogether. In the localities, anarchy actually reigned. 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, promulgating the most important decrees the next day after the October Revolution - about the earth and the world. It was not abstract socialist ideas that were incomprehensible to the masses that attracted them to the Bolsheviks, but the hope that they would indeed end the hated war and once give the peasants the coveted land.
“V.A. Fedorov. History of Russia 1861-1917 ".
Library "Second-hand bookseller's shelf". http://society.polbu.ru/fedorov_rushistory/ch84_i.html
The February Revolution summary will help you collect your thoughts before the exam and remember what you remember from this topic and what not. This historic event was significant for the history of Russia. It opened the door to further revolutionary upheavals that will not end soon. Without mastering this topic, it is pointless to try to understand further events.
It should be said that the events of February 1917 are of great importance for modern Russia as well. This year, 2017, marks the centenary of those events. I think that the country faces the same problems as tsarist Russia then: a monstrously low standard of living of the population, the authorities' disregard for their people, which feeds these authorities; lack of will and desire at the top to change something in a positive direction. But then there were no TVs ... What do you think about this - write in the comments.
Causes of the February Revolution
The inability of the authorities to resolve a number of crises faced by the state during the First World War:
- Transport crisis: due to the extremely short length of the railways, there was a shortage of transport.
- Food crisis: the country had extremely low yields, plus peasant land shortages and inefficiency of noble estates led to a dire food situation. Hunger has become fierce in the country.
- Weapons crisis: For more than three years, the army experienced a severe shortage of ammunition. Only by the end of 1916, Russian industry began to work on the scale necessary for the country.
- Unsettledness in Russia of the workers 'and peasants' question. The share of the proletariat and the skilled working class has grown exponentially compared to the first years of the reign of Nicholas II. The issue of either child labor or labor insurance was not resolved. The salary was extremely low. If we talk about the peasants, the land was scarce. Plus, in wartime, extortions from the population monstrously increased, all horses and people were mobilized. The people did not understand what to fight for and did not share the patriotism experienced by the leaders in the first years of the war.
- The crisis at the top: in 1916 alone, several high-ranking ministers were replaced, which gave rise to the prominent right-wing V.M. Purishkevich would call this phenomenon a "ministerial leapfrog." This expression became winged.
The distrust of the common people, and of the members of the State Duma, grew even more due to the presence of Grigory Rasputin at the court. Shameful rumors circulated about the royal family. Only on December 30, 1916, Rasputin was killed.
The authorities tried to solve all these crises, but to no avail. The Special Conferences convened were not successful. Since 1915, Nicholas II took command of the troops, despite the fact that he himself was in the rank of colonel.
In addition, at least from January 1917, a conspiracy against the tsar matured among the highest generals of the army (General M.V. Alekseev, V.I.Gurko, etc.) and the Fourth State Duma (cadet A.I. ). The king himself knew about the impending coup. And even ordered in mid-February 1917 to strengthen the Petrograd garrison at the expense of loyal units from the front. He had to give this order three times, since General Gurko was in no hurry with its execution. As a result, this order was never carried out. Thus, in this example, one can already see the sabotage of the emperor's orders by the top generals.
Course of events
The course of events in the February Revolution was characterized by the following points:
- The beginning of spontaneous unrest of the people in Petrograd and a number of other cities, presumably due to an acute shortage of food on International Women's Day (according to the old style - February 23).
- Going over to the side of the insurgent army. It consisted of the same workers and peasants who keenly understood the need for change.
- The slogans "Down with the Tsar", "Down with the autocracy" immediately arose, which predetermined the fall of the monarchy.
- Parallel organs of power began to emerge: the Soviets of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies, based on the experience of the First Russian Revolution.
- On February 28, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma announced the transfer of power into its own hands as a result of the termination of the functioning of the Golitsyn government.
- On March 1, this committee received recognition from England and France. On March 2, representatives of the committee went to the tsar, who abdicated in favor of his brother Mikhail Alexandrovich, and on March 3, in favor of the Provisional Government.
Results of the revolution
- The monarchy in Russia fell. Russia became a parliamentary republic.
- Power passed to the bourgeois Provisional Government and the Soviets, many believe that dual power began. But in reality there was no dual power. There are a lot of nuances that I revealed in my video course “History. Preparation for the Unified State Exam (100 points).
- Many see this revolution as a first step