1st February Revolution 1917. February Revolution: day by day

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

February Revolution February 23 - March 3, 1917 (old style)

Causes of the February Revolution

Russia's unfortunate participation in the First World War, accompanied by defeats at the fronts and disorganization of life in the rear
The inability of Emperor Nicholas II to rule Russia, which was reflected in the unsuccessful appointments of ministers and military leaders
Corruption at all levels of government
Economic difficulties
Ideological disintegration of the masses, who stopped believing the tsar, the church, and local leaders
Dissatisfaction with the tsar's policies by representatives of the big bourgeoisie and even his closest relatives

“...We have been living on the volcano for several days... There was no bread in Petrograd - transport was severely disrupted due to extraordinary snow, frost and, most importantly, of course, due to the tension of the war... There were street riots... But this was, of course, not the case in the bread... That was the last straw... The point was that in this entire huge city it was impossible to find several hundred people who would sympathize with the authorities... And not even that... The point is that the authorities did not sympathize with themselves... There was no , in essence, not a single minister who believed in himself and in what he was doing... The class of former rulers was fading away...”
(Vas. Shulgin “Days”)

Progress of the February Revolution

February 21 - bread riots in Petrograd. Crowds destroyed bread stores
February 23 - the beginning of a general strike of Petrograd workers. Mass demonstrations with the slogans “Down with war!”, “Down with autocracy!”, “Bread!”
February 24 - More than 200 thousand workers of 214 enterprises, students went on strike
February 25 - 305 thousand people were already on strike, 421 factories stood idle. The workers were joined by office workers and artisans. The troops refused to disperse the protesting people
February 26 - Continued unrest. Disintegration in the troops. Inability of the police to restore calm. Nicholas II
postponed the start of State Duma meetings from February 26 to April 1, which was perceived as its dissolution
February 27 - armed uprising. The reserve battalions of Volyn, Litovsky, and Preobrazhensky refused to obey their commanders and joined the people. In the afternoon, the Semenovsky regiment, the Izmailovsky regiment, and the reserve armored vehicle division rebelled. The Kronverk Arsenal, the Arsenal, the Main Post Office, the telegraph office, train stations, and bridges were occupied. The State Duma appointed a Provisional Committee “to restore order in St. Petersburg and to communicate with institutions and individuals.”
On February 28, night, the Provisional Committee announced that it was taking power into its own hands.
On February 28, the 180th Infantry Regiment, the Finnish Regiment, the sailors of the 2nd Baltic Fleet Crew and the cruiser Aurora rebelled. The insurgent people occupied all the stations of Petrograd
March 1 - Kronstadt and Moscow rebelled, the tsar’s entourage offered him either the introduction of loyal army units into Petrograd, or the creation of the so-called “responsible ministries” - a government subordinate to the Duma, which meant turning the Emperor into the “English queen”.
March 2, night - Nicholas II signed a manifesto on the granting of a responsible ministry, but it was too late. The public demanded abdication.

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

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

“The man rushed towards us - Darlings!” he shouted and grabbed me by the hand. “Did you hear that?” There is no king! There is only Russia left.
He kissed everyone deeply and rushed to run further, sobbing and muttering something... It was already one in the morning, when Efremov usually slept soundly.
Suddenly, at this inopportune hour, a loud and short sound of the cathedral bell was heard. Then a second blow, a third.
The beats became more frequent, a tight ringing was already floating over the town, and soon the bells of all the surrounding churches joined it.
Lights were lit in all the houses. The streets were filled with people. The doors of many houses stood wide open. Strangers, crying, hugged each other. A solemn and jubilant cry of steam locomotives flew from the direction of the station (K. Paustovsky “Restless Youth”)

Results of the February Revolution of 1917

Death penalty abolished
Political freedoms granted
The Pale of Settlement has been abolished
The beginning of the trade union movement
Amnesty for political prisoners
Russia has become the most democratic country in the world
The economic crisis has not been stopped
Participation in the war continued
Permanent government crisis
The collapse of the empire along national lines began
The peasant question remained unresolved
Russia demanded a decisive government and it came in the form of the Bolsheviks.

Since the revolution of 1905-1907 did not resolve the economic, political and class contradictions in the country, it was a prerequisite for the February Revolution of 1917. The participation of Tsarist Russia in the First World War showed the inability of its economy to carry out military tasks. Many factories stopped operating, the army experienced a shortage of equipment, weapons, and food. The country's transport system is absolutely not adapted to martial law, Agriculture lost its position. Economic difficulties increased Russia's external debt to enormous proportions.

Intending to extract maximum benefits from the war, the Russian bourgeoisie began to create unions and committees on issues of raw materials, fuel, food, etc.

True to the principle of proletarian internationalism, the Bolshevik party revealed the imperialist nature of the war, which was waged in the interests of the exploiting classes, its aggressive, predatory essence. The party sought to channel the discontent of the masses into the mainstream of the revolutionary struggle for the collapse of the autocracy.

In August 1915, the “Progressive Bloc” was formed, which planned to force Nicholas II to abdicate in favor of his brother Mikhail. Thus, the opposition bourgeoisie hoped to prevent revolution and at the same time preserve the monarchy. But such a scheme did not ensure bourgeois-democratic transformations in the country.

The reasons for the February Revolution of 1917 were anti-war sentiment, the plight of workers and peasants, political lack of rights, the decline in the authority of the autocratic government and its inability to carry out reforms.

Driving force in the struggle was the working class, led by the revolutionary Bolshevik party. The allies of the workers were the peasants, demanding the redistribution of land. The Bolsheviks explained to the soldiers the goals and objectives of the struggle.

The main events of the February revolution happened quickly. Over the course of several days, a wave of strikes took place in Petrograd, Moscow and other cities with the slogans “Down with the tsarist government!”, “Down with the war!” On February 25 the political strike became general. Executions and arrests were unable to stop the revolutionary onslaught of the masses. Government troops were put on alert, the city of Petrograd was turned into a military camp.

February 26, 1917 marked the beginning of the February Revolution. On February 27, soldiers of the Pavlovsky, Preobrazhensky and Volynsky regiments went over to the side of the workers. This decided the outcome of the struggle: on February 28, the government was overthrown.

The outstanding significance of the February Revolution is that it was the first popular revolution in history of the era of imperialism, which ended in victory.

During the February Revolution of 1917, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne.

Dual power arose in Russia, which became a kind of result of the February revolution of 1917. On the one hand, the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies is a body of people's power, on the other hand, the Provisional Government is an organ of the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie headed by Prince G.E. Lvov. In organizational matters, the bourgeoisie was more prepared for power, but was unable to establish autocracy.

The provisional government pursued an anti-people, imperialist policy: the land issue was not resolved, factories remained in the hands of the bourgeoisie, agriculture and industry were in dire need, and there was not enough fuel for railway transport. The dictatorship of the bourgeoisie only deepened economic and political problems.

Russia after the February revolution experienced an acute political crisis. Therefore, there was a growing need for the bourgeois-democratic revolution to develop into a socialist one, which was supposed to lead to the power of the proletariat.

One of the consequences of the February revolution is the October revolution under the slogan “All power to the Soviets!”

From February to October

The February Revolution ended in victory for the rebels. The monarchy was overthrown, the old political system was destroyed. Power passed to the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet.

Now, in addition to the problems of war and the welfare of the working and peasant classes, questions about the future structure of the state have been added.

The period from February to October is usually divided into two stages:

Promises of the Provisional Government made on March 3 (political freedom, amnesty, abolition death penalty, prohibition of discrimination) were not implemented. The government, on the contrary, preferred to maintain and strengthen its power at the local level. Solution pressing problems was postponed. This led to the crisis in April 1917.

P.N. Miliukov made an appeal to the allies that Russia intended to wage the war to a victorious end. This “note” caused discontent among the war-weary people, who were waiting and wanting action on the part of the authorities to resolve internal problems. The rebels demanded the country's exit from the war and the transfer of power to the Soviets. As a result, Miliukov and Guchkov were removed, and a new government was created on May 6.

The 1st coalition promised to quickly find a peaceful way out of the war for Russia, deal with the agrarian issue and take control of production. But failure at the front caused a new surge of popular unrest, lowered the reputation of the 1st coalition and again raised the authority of the Soviets. In order to reduce the influence of the opposition, the Provisional Government disarmed the demonstrators and returned brutal discipline to the army. From that moment on, the Soviets were removed from power, and control of the country was completely in the hands of the Provisional Government.

On July 24, the 2nd coalition was created, led by General Kornilov. After an unsuccessful attempt to find mutual language between political forces at the State Conference, Kornilov began an attempt to establish military dictatorship. The general's troops were stopped, and the balance of forces changed again: the number of the Bolshevik party grew rapidly, and their plans became more and more radical

To pacify revolutionary sentiments, they formed the 3rd coalition, Russia was proclaimed a republic (September 1), and the All-Russian Democratic Conference was convened (September 14). But all these actions were ineffective, and the authority of the government increasingly came to an end. The Bolsheviks began to prepare to seize power.

On October 24, the main places in the city (telegraph, train stations, bridges, etc.) were occupied. By evening, the government was occupied in the Winter Palace, and the next day the ministers were arrested.

On October 25, the Second Congress of Soviets was opened, at which they adopted the Decree on Peace (making peace on any terms) and the Decree on Land (recognizing the land and its subsoil as the property of the people, prohibiting its rental and the use of hired labor)

October Revolution of 1917 in Russia

Reasons for the October Revolution of 1917:

war fatigue;

the country's industry and agriculture were on the verge of complete collapse;

catastrophic financial crisis;

the unresolved agrarian question and the impoverishment of peasants;

delaying socio-economic reforms;

the contradictions of dual power became a prerequisite for a change of power.

On July 3, 1917, unrest began in Petrograd demanding the overthrow of the Provisional Government. Counter-revolutionary units, by order of the government, used weapons to suppress the peaceful demonstration. Arrests began and the death penalty was reinstated.

The dual power ended in the victory of the bourgeoisie. The events of July 3-5 showed that the bourgeois Provisional Government did not intend to fulfill the demands of the working people, and it became clear to the Bolsheviks that it was no longer possible to take power peacefully.

At the VI Congress of the RSDLP(b), which took place from July 26 to August 3, 1917, the party set its sights on a socialist revolution through an armed uprising.

At the August State Conference in Moscow, the bourgeoisie intended to declare L.G. Kornilov as a military dictator and to coincide with this event the dispersal of the Soviets. But active revolutionary action thwarted the plans of the bourgeoisie. Then Kornilov moved troops to Petrograd on August 23.

The Bolsheviks, carrying out extensive agitation work among the working masses and soldiers, explained the meaning of the conspiracy and created revolutionary centers to fight the Kornilov revolt. The rebellion was suppressed, and the people finally realized that the Bolshevik Party is the only party that defends the interests of the working people

In mid-September V.I. Lenin developed a plan for an armed uprising and ways to implement it. The main goal of the October Revolution was the conquest of power by the Soviets.

On October 12, the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) was created - a center for preparing an armed uprising. Zinoviev and Kamenev, opponents of the socialist revolution, gave the terms of the uprising to the Provisional Government.

The uprising began on the night of October 24, the opening day of the Second Congress of Soviets. The government was immediately isolated from the armed units loyal to it.

October 25 V.I. Lenin arrived in Smolny and personally led the uprising in Petrograd. During the October Revolution they were captured the most important objects such as bridges, telegraph, government offices.

On the morning of October 25, 1917, the Military Revolutionary Committee announced the overthrow of the Provisional Government and the transfer of power to the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. On October 26, the Winter Palace was captured and members of the Provisional Government were arrested.

The October Revolution in Russia took place with the full support of the people. The alliance of the working class and the peasantry, the transition of the armed army to the side of the revolution, and the weakness of the bourgeoisie determined the results of the October Revolution of 1917.

On October 25 and 26, 1917, the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets was held, at which the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) was elected and the first Soviet government was formed - the Council of People's Commissars (SNK). V.I. was elected Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars. Lenin. He put forward two Decrees: the “Decree on Peace,” which called on the warring countries to stop hostilities, and the “Decree on Land,” which expressed the interests of the peasants.

The adopted Decrees contributed to the victory of Soviet power in the regions of the country.

On November 3, 1917, with the capture of the Kremlin, Soviet power won in Moscow. Further, Soviet power was proclaimed in Belarus, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Crimea, the North Caucasus, Central Asia. The revolutionary struggle in Transcaucasia dragged on to the end civil war(1920-1921), which was a consequence of the October Revolution of 1917.

The Great October Socialist Revolution divided the world into two camps - capitalist and socialist.

The February Revolution occurred in the fateful year for Russia in 1917 and became the first of many coups d'etat, which step by step led to the establishment of Soviet power and the formation of a new state on the map.

Causes of the February Revolution of 1917

The protracted war created many difficulties and plunged the country into a severe crisis. She opposed the monarchical system most of society, a liberal opposition against Nicholas II even formed in the Duma. Numerous meetings and speeches under anti-monarchist and anti-war slogans began to take place in the country.

1. Crisis in the army

IN Russian army at that time, more than 15 million people were mobilized, of which 13 million were peasants. Hundreds of thousands of victims, killed and maimed, terrible front-line conditions, embezzlement and incompetence of the army's high command undermined discipline and led to mass desertion. By the end of 1916, more than one and a half million people were deserters from the army.

On the front line, there were often cases of “fraternization” between Russian soldiers and Austrian and German soldiers. The officers made many efforts to stop this trend, but among ordinary soldiers it became the norm to exchange different things and communicate in a friendly manner with the enemy.

Discontent and mass revolutionary sentiment gradually grew in the ranks of the military.

2. Threat of famine

A fifth of the country's industrial potential was lost due to the occupation, and food products were running out. In St. Petersburg, for example, in February 1917, there were only a week and a half of bread left. The supply of food and raw materials was so irregular that some military factories were closed. Providing the army with everything necessary was also at risk.

3. Crisis of power

Things were complicated at the top too: during the war years there were four prime ministers with full Strong personalities At that time, there were no people in the ruling elite who could stop the crisis of power and lead the country.

The royal family always sought to be closer to the people, but the phenomenon of Rasputinism and the weakness of the government gradually deepened the gap between the tsar and his people.

In the political situation, everything pointed to the proximity of revolution. The only question that remained was where and how it would happen.

February Revolution: overthrow of the centuries-old monarchical system

Since January 1917, throughout Russian Empire strikes took place en masse, in which a total of more than 700 thousand workers took part. The trigger for the February events was the strike in St. Petersburg.

On February 23, 128 thousand were already on strike, the next day their number grew to 200 thousand, and the strike took on a political character, and already 300 thousand workers took part in it in St. Petersburg alone. This is how the February Revolution unfolded.

The troops and police opened fire on the striking workers, and the 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 rebel workers seized more than 40 thousand rifles and 30 thousand revolvers. They took control of the capital and elected the Petrograd Council of Workers' Deputies, which was headed by Chkheidze.

On the same day, the Tsar sent an order to the Duma for 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, the establishment of the Provisional Government of Russia was officially announced, 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 exactly the same way.

So the February Revolution stopped the existence of the monarchy for

After this, the Tsar, as a civilian, tried to obtain permission from the Provisional Government to travel with his family to Murmansk in order to emigrate from there to Great Britain. But the Petrograd Soviet resisted so decisively that Nicholas II and his family were decided to be arrested and taken to Tsarskoe Selo for imprisonment.

The former emperor would never be destined to leave his country.

February Revolution of 1917: results

The provisional government survived many crises and was able to last only 8 months. The attempt to build a bourgeois-democratic society was unsuccessful, since a more powerful and organized force claimed power in the country, which saw only the socialist revolution as its goal.

The February Revolution revealed this force - workers and soldiers, led by the Soviets, began to play decisive role in the history of the country.

If it did not resolve the economic, political and class contradictions in the country, it was a prerequisite for the February Revolution of 1917. The participation of Tsarist Russia in the First World War showed the inability of its economy to carry out military tasks. Many factories stopped operating, the army experienced a shortage of equipment, weapons, and food. The country's transport system is absolutely not adapted to martial law, agriculture has lost ground. Economic difficulties increased Russia's external debt to enormous proportions.

Intending to extract maximum benefits from the war, the Russian bourgeoisie began to create unions and committees on issues of raw materials, fuel, food, etc.

True to the principle of proletarian internationalism, the Bolshevik party revealed the imperialist nature of the war, which was waged in the interests of the exploiting classes, its aggressive, predatory essence. The party sought to channel the discontent of the masses into the mainstream of the revolutionary struggle for the collapse of the autocracy.

In August 1915, the “Progressive Bloc” was formed, which planned to force Nicholas II to abdicate in favor of his brother Mikhail. Thus, the opposition bourgeoisie hoped to prevent revolution and at the same time preserve the monarchy. But such a scheme did not ensure bourgeois-democratic transformations in the country.

The reasons for the February Revolution of 1917 were anti-war sentiment, the plight of workers and peasants, political lack of rights, the decline in the authority of the autocratic government and its inability to carry out reforms.

The driving force in the struggle was the working class, led by the revolutionary Bolshevik Party. The allies of the workers were the peasants, demanding the redistribution of land. The Bolsheviks explained to the soldiers the goals and objectives of the struggle.

The main events of the February revolution happened quickly. Over the course of several days, a wave of strikes took place in Petrograd, Moscow and other cities with the slogans “Down with the tsarist government!”, “Down with the war!” On February 25 the political strike became general. Executions and arrests were unable to stop the revolutionary onslaught of the masses. Government troops were put on alert, the city of Petrograd was turned into a military camp.

February 26, 1917 marked the beginning of the February Revolution. On February 27, soldiers of the Pavlovsky, Preobrazhensky and Volynsky regiments went over to the side of the workers. This decided the outcome of the struggle: on February 28, the government was overthrown.

The outstanding significance of the February Revolution is that it was the first popular revolution in history of the era of imperialism, which ended in victory.

During the February Revolution of 1917, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne.

Dual power arose in Russia, which became a kind of result of the February revolution of 1917. On the one hand, the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies is a body of people's power, on the other hand, the Provisional Government is an organ of the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie headed by Prince G.E. Lvov. In organizational matters, the bourgeoisie was more prepared for power, but was unable to establish autocracy.

The provisional government pursued an anti-people, imperialist policy: the land issue was not resolved, factories remained in the hands of the bourgeoisie, agriculture and industry were in dire need, and there was not enough fuel for railway transport. The dictatorship of the bourgeoisie only deepened economic and political problems.

After the February revolution, Russia experienced an acute political crisis. Therefore, there was a growing need for the bourgeois-democratic revolution to develop into a socialist one, which was supposed to lead to the power of the proletariat.

One of the consequences of the February revolution is the October revolution under the slogan “All power to the Soviets!”

Russia in conditions of a national crisis

The authority of the tsarist government was rapidly declining. To a large extent, this was facilitated by rumors about scandals at court, about Rasputin. Their credibility was confirmed by the so-called “ ministerial leapfrog”: in two years of war, four chairmen of the Council of Ministers and six ministers of internal affairs were replaced. The population in the Russian Empire did not have time not only to get acquainted with the political program, but also to see the face of the next prime minister or minister.

As the monarchist wrote V.V. Shulgin about Russian prime ministers, “Goremykin cannot be the head of government due to his callousness and old age.” In January 1916, Nicholas II appointed Stürmer, and V.V. Shulgin writes this: “The fact is that Stürmer is a small, insignificant person, and Russia is leading world war. The fact is that all powers have mobilized their best forces, and we have a “Christmas grandfather” as prime minister. And now the whole country is furious.”

Everyone felt the tragedy of the situation. Prices rose, and food shortages began in cities.

The war required enormous expenses. Budget expenditures in 1916 exceeded revenues by 76%. Taxes were sharply increased. The government also resorted to issuing internal loans and went for a massive issue paper money without gold backing. This led to a fall in the value of the ruble, disrupting the entire financial system in the state, an extraordinary increase in the cost of living.

Food difficulties that arose as a result of the general collapse of the economy forced the tsarist government in 1916 to introduce forced grain requisitioning. But this attempt did not yield results, since the landowners sabotaged government decrees and hid the grain in order to later sell it at a high price. The peasants also did not want to sell bread for depreciated paper money.

Since the autumn of 1916, food supplies to Petrograd alone accounted for only half of its needs. Due to a lack of fuel in Petrograd, already in December 1916, the work of about 80 enterprises was stopped.

The food crisis that sharply worsened in the fall of 1916, the deterioration of the situation at the fronts, the fear that workers would demonstrate and “are about to burst into the streets,” the inability of the government to lead the country out of the deadlock - all this led to the question of the removal of Prime Minister Stürmer. .

Octobrist leader A.I. Guchkov saw the only way out from the situation in the palace coup. Together with a group of officers, he hatched plans for a dynastic coup (the abdication of Nicholas II in favor of an heir under the regency of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich).

Positions of the Cadet Party expressed by P.N. Miliukov, speaking in November 1916 in the IV State Duma with sharp criticism of the economic and military policy government, accusing the queen's entourage of preparing a separate treaty with Germany and provocatively pushing the masses to revolutionary uprisings. He repeatedly repeated the question: “What is this - stupidity or treason?” And in response, the deputies shouted: “stupidity,” “treason,” accompanying the speaker’s speech with constant applause. This speech, of course, was prohibited for publication, but, reproduced illegally, it became famous at the front and in the rear.

The most figurative description political situation in Russia on the eve of the impending national catastrophe was given by one of the cadet leaders V.I. Maklakov. He compared Russia to “a car speeding along a steep and narrow road. The driver cannot drive, because he does not control the car at all on descents, or he is tired and no longer understands what he is doing.”

In January 1917, Nicholas II under pressure public opinion removed Sturmer, replacing him with the liberal Prince Golitsyn. But this action could not change anything.

February 1917

1917 began in Petrograd with new workers' speeches. The total number of strikers in January 1917 was already more than 350 thousand. For the first time during the war, defense plants (Obukhovsky and Arsenal) went on strike. Since mid-February, revolutionary actions have not stopped: strikes were replaced by rallies, rallies by demonstrations.

On February 9, Chairman of the IV State Duma M.V. Rodzianko arrived in Tsarskoye Selo with a report on the situation in the country. “The revolution will sweep you away,” he told Nicholas II. “Well, God willing,” was the emperor’s answer. “God doesn’t give anything, you and your government have ruined everything, revolution is inevitable,” stated M.V. Rodzianko.

Two weeks later, on February 23, unrest began in Petrograd, on February 25, the strike in Petrograd became general, soldiers began to go over to the side of the demonstrators, and on February 26-27, the autocracy no longer controlled the situation in the capital.

As V.V. wrote Shulgin, “in the entire huge city it was impossible to find a hundred people who would sympathize with the authorities.”

On February 27 - 28, the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was formed. (Chrestomathy T7 No. 13) It was composed of socialists, the majority - Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. The Menshevik N.S. became the Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Council. Chkheidze, and his deputies - A.F. Kerensky, one of the most radical speakers of the IV Duma, and M.I. Skobelev.

Almost simultaneously with the formation of the Council, the State Duma, at an unofficial meeting (on February 26, it was dissolved by decree of the Tsar for two months), created a “Temporary Committee for restoring order and for relations with persons and institutions” as the governing body of the country.

The two authorities, born of the revolution, were on the verge of conflict, but, in the name of maintaining unity in the fight against tsarism, they made a mutual compromise. With the sanction of the Executive Committee of the Council, the Duma Provisional Committee formed the Provisional Government on March 1.

The Bolsheviks demanded that a government be formed only from representatives of the parties included in the council. But the Executive Committee rejected this proposal. The Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries who were members of the Executive Committee had a fundamentally different point of view on the composition of the government than the Bolsheviks. They believed that after the victory of the bourgeois-democratic revolution, power should be formed by the bourgeoisie under the control of the Council. The leadership of the Council refused to participate in the government. The support of the Provisional Government from the Executive Committee was accompanied by the main condition - the government would pursue a democratic program approved and supported by the Council.

By the evening of March 2, the composition of the government was determined. Prince G.E. was appointed Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Internal Affairs. Lvov, cadet, Minister of Foreign Affairs - leader of the Cadet Party P.N. Miliukov, Minister of Finance - M.I. Tereshchenko, cadet, Minister of War and Navy - A.I. Konovalov, Octobrist, A.F. Kerensky (representative of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet) took the post of Minister of Justice. Thus, the government was mainly Cadet in composition.

Notified of these events, Nicholas II received a proposal to abdicate in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, and on March 2, he handed over the text of the abdication to two emissaries of the Duma, Guchkov and Shulgin, who arrived in Pskov, where the emperor was. (Reader T 7 No. 14) (Reader T7 No. 15) But this step was already late: Michael, in turn, abdicated the throne. The monarchy in Russia fell.

A dual power actually emerged in the country - the Provisional Government as a body of bourgeois power and the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies as a body of working people.

Political situation in Russia (February - October 1917)

“Dual power” (February - June 1917)

The Provisional Government did not set out to carry out revolutionary changes in the economic and social order. As government representatives themselves stated, all major issues government system will decide constituent Assembly, but for now it’s “temporary”, it is necessary to maintain order in the country and, most importantly, win the war. There was no talk about reforms.

After the collapse of the monarchy, for all political classes, parties and their political leaders, for the first time in Russian history the opportunity to come to power opened up. The fight for the period from February to October 1917 was fought by more than 50 political parties. A particularly noticeable role in politics after February 1917 was played by the Cadets, Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, and Bolsheviks. What were their goals and tactics?

Central place in cadet program were occupied by the ideas of Europeanization of Russia by creating a strong state power. They assigned the leading role in this process to the bourgeoisie. The continuation of the war, according to the cadets, could unite both conservatives and liberals, State Duma and commanders in chief. The Cadets saw the unity of these forces as the main condition for the development of the revolution.

Mensheviks viewed the February Revolution as a nationwide, nationwide, class-wide one. Therefore, their main political line in the development of events after February was the creation of a government based on a coalition of forces not interested in the restoration of the monarchy.

The views on the nature and tasks of the revolution were similar right socialist revolutionaries(A.F. Kerensky, N.D. Avksentyev), as well as from the leader of the party, who occupied centrist positions, V. Chernov.

February, in their opinion, is the apogee of the revolutionary process and liberation movement in Russia. They saw the essence of the revolution in Russia in achieving civil harmony, reconciling all layers of society, and, first of all, reconciling supporters of war and revolution to implement a program of social reforms.

The position was different left socialist revolutionaries, its leader M.A. Spiridonova who believed that the popular, democratic February in Russia marked the beginning of a political and social world revolution.

Bolsheviks

The Bolsheviks—Russia's most radical party in 1917—saw February as the first stage of the struggle for socialist revolution. This position was formulated by V.I. Lenin in the “April Theses”, where the slogans “No support for the Provisional Government” and “All power to the Soviets” were put forward.

The April Theses also formulated the economic platform of the party: workers' control over social production and distribution of products, the unification of all banks into one national bank and the establishment of control over it by the Soviets, the confiscation of landowners' lands and the nationalization of all land in the country.

The relevance of the theses became more and more obvious as the crisis situations in the country in connection with the specific policies of the Provisional Government. The mood of the Provisional Government to continue the war and delay the decision on social reforms created a serious source of conflict in the development of the revolution.

First political crisis

During the 8 months the Provisional Government was in power, it was repeatedly in a state of crisis. The first crisis erupted in April When the Provisional Government announced that Russia would continue the war on the side of the Entente, this caused a massive protest of the people. On April 18 (May 1), the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government, Miliukov, sent a note to the Allied Powers, which confirmed that the Provisional Government would comply with all treaties of the tsarist government and continue the war to a victorious end. The note caused indignation among wide sections of the population. Over 100 thousand people took to the streets of Petrograd demanding peace. The result of the crisis was the formation first coalition government, which consisted not only of bourgeois, but also of representatives of socialist (Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries) parties.

Ministers P.N. left the government. Miliukov and A.I. Guchkov, the new coalition government included the leaders of the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries V.M. Chernov, A.F. Kerensky, I.G. Tsereteli, M.I. Skobelev.

The power crisis was temporarily eliminated, but the causes of its occurrence were not eliminated.

Second political crisis

The offensive at the front undertaken in June 1917 also did not meet with the support of the popular masses, who increasingly actively supported the Bolshevik slogans about the Soviets taking power and ending the war. It was already second political crisis Provisional Government. Workers and soldiers took part in demonstrations under the slogans “Down with 10 capitalist ministers”, “Bread, peace, freedom”, “All power to the Soviets” in Petrograd, Moscow, Tver, Ivanovo-Voznesensk and other cities.

Third political crisis

And a few days later a new (July) political crisis in Russia broke out in Petrograd. It was already third political crisis, which became a new stage on the path to a national crisis. The reason was the unsuccessful offensive of Russian troops at the front and the disbandment of revolutionary military units. As a result, on July 2 (15), the Cadets left the Provisional Government.

By this time, the socio-economic situation, especially the food situation, had deteriorated sharply. Neither the creation of land committees, nor the introduction of a state monopoly on bread, nor regulation of food supplies, nor even meat allocation with a double increase in purchase prices for basic food products could alleviate the difficult food situation. Imported purchases of meat, fish and other products did not help. About half a million prisoners of war, as well as soldiers from rear garrisons, were sent to agricultural work. To forcibly confiscate grain, the government sent armed military detachments to the village. However, all the measures taken did not produce the expected results. People stood in queues at night. For Russia, the summer and early autumn of 1917 was characterized by the collapse of the economy, closing enterprises, unemployment, and inflation. Differentiation has sharply increased Russian society. Conflicting opinions clashed on the problems of war, peace, power, and bread. There was only one consensus: the war must be ended as soon as possible.

Under the current conditions, the Provisional Government was unable to maintain the level of political dialogue and July 4 - 5, 1917. turned to violence against the workers' and soldiers' demonstration in Petrograd. A peaceful demonstration in Petrograd was shot and dispersed by the armed forces of the Provisional Government. Following the shooting and dispersal of the peaceful demonstration, there was a government order granting the Minister of War and the Minister of Internal Affairs broad powers, giving the right to prohibit meetings and congresses, and to impose brutal censorship.

The newspapers Trud and Pravda were banned; The editorial office of the newspaper “Pravda” was destroyed, and on July 7 an order was issued for the arrest of V.I. Lenin and G.E. Zinoviev - the leaders of the Bolsheviks. However, the Soviet leadership did not interfere with the government's actions, fearing increased political influence Bolsheviks on the masses.