The February Revolution is the main thing. February Revolution

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Sentinels guard the arrested royal ministers.

This is an article about the events of February 1917 in the history of Russia. For the events of February 1848 in the history of France, see February Revolution of 1848

February revolution(Also February bourgeois-democratic revolution) - a revolution in the Russian Empire, the result of which was the fall of the monarchy, the proclamation of a republic and the transfer of power to the Provisional Government.

Reasons and prerequisites: economic, political, social

Society's lack of opportunity to influence power is the limited capabilities of the State Duma and the lack of control of the government (and at the same time limited powers of the government).

The emperor could no longer single-handedly decide all issues, but he could radically interfere with pursuing a consistent policy without bearing any responsibility.

Under these conditions, politics could not express the interests of not only the majority, but also any significant part of the population, which caused spontaneous discontent, and restrictions on public expression of protest led to the radicalization of the opposition.

The draft composition of the Provisional Government, represented by representatives of the Cadets, Octobrists and a group of members of the State Council. Edited by Emperor Nicholas II.

The February Revolution was not only a consequence of the failures of the Russian government during the First World War. But it was not the war that was the cause of all the contradictions that existed in Russia at that time; the war exposed them and accelerated the fall of tsarism. The war accelerated the crisis of the autocratic system.

The war affected the system of economic ties - primarily between city and countryside. The food situation in the country has worsened; the decision to introduce “food appropriation” did not improve the situation. Famine began in the country. The highest state power was also discredited by a chain of scandals surrounding Rasputin and his entourage, who were then called “dark forces.” By 1916, outrage over Rasputinism had already reached the Russian armed forces - both officers and lower ranks. The fatal mistakes of the tsar, combined with the loss of confidence in the tsarist government, led it to political isolation, and the presence of an active opposition created fertile ground for a political revolution.

On the eve of the February Revolution in Russia, against the backdrop of an acute food crisis, the political crisis is deepening. For the first time, the State Duma came forward with demands for the resignation of the tsarist government; this demand was supported by the State Council.

The political crisis was growing. On November 1, 1916, at a meeting of the State Duma, P. N. Milyukov made a speech. “Stupidity or treason?” - with this question P. N. Milyukov characterized the phenomenon of Rasputinism on November 1, 1916 at a meeting of the State Duma.

The State Duma's demand for the resignation of the tsarist government and the creation of a “responsible government” - responsible to the Duma, led to the resignation on November 10 of the chairman of the government, Sturmer, and the appointment of a consistent monarchist, General Trepov, to this post. The State Duma, trying to defuse discontent in the country, continued to insist on the creation of a “responsible government” and the State Council joins its demands. On December 16, Nicholas II sent the State Duma and State Council for the Christmas holidays until January 3.

Growing crisis

Barricades on Liteiny Prospekt. Postcard from the State Museum of Political History of Russia

On the night of December 17, Rasputin was killed as a result of a monarchist conspiracy, but this did not resolve the political crisis. On December 27, Nicholas II dismissed Trepov and appointed Prince Golitsyn chairman of the Council of Ministers. During the transfer of affairs, he received from Trepov two decrees signed by the tsar on the dissolution of the State Duma and the State Council with undated dates. Golitsyn had to find a compromise through behind-the-scenes negotiations with the leaders of the State Duma and resolve the political crisis.

In total, in Russia in January-February 1917, only at enterprises subject to the supervision of the factory inspection, 676 thousand people went on strike, including participants political strikes in January were 60%, and in February - 95%).

On February 14, State Duma meetings opened. They showed that events in Russia were beyond the control of the authorities, the State Duma abandoned the demand for the creation of a “responsible government” and limited itself to agreeing to the creation by the tsar of a “government of trust” - a government that the State Duma could trust, the Duma members were in complete confusion.

Subsequent events showed that there were more powerful forces in Russian society that did not want the political crisis to be resolved, and deeper reasons for the democratic revolution and the transition from monarchy to republic.

Difficulties in supplying the city with bread and rumors about the imminent introduction of bread rationing led to the disappearance of bread. Long queues lined up at the bread shops - “tails”, as they called it then.

February 18 (on Saturday at the Putilov plant - the largest artillery plant in the country and Petrograd, which employed 36 thousand workers - the workers of the Lafetno-stamping workshop (shop) went on strike, demanding a 50% increase in wages. February 20 (Monday) Administration The plant agreed to increase wages by 20% on the condition that they “start work immediately.” The workers’ delegates asked for the Administration’s consent to start work the next day. The administration did not agree and closed the gun-stamping “workshop” on February 21. In support of the strikers, they began to stop on February 21. work and other workshops. On February 22, the plant administration issued an order to dismiss all workers of the Lafetno-stamping “workshop” and close the plant for an indefinite period - declared a lockout.

As a result, 36 thousand workers of the Putilov plant found themselves in war conditions without work and without armor from the front.

On February 22, Nicholas II leaves Petrograd for Mogilev to the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

The main events

On February 24, demonstrations and rallies of Putilov workers resumed. Workers from other factories began to join them. 90 thousand workers went on strike. Strikes and political protests began to develop into a general political demonstration against tsarism.

Announcement by the commander of the Petrograd Military District S.S. Khabalov on the use of weapons to disperse demonstrations. February 25, 1917

On February 25, a general strike began, which covered 240 thousand workers. Petrograd was declared in a state of siege; by decree of Nicholas II, meetings of the State Duma and State Council were suspended until April 1, 1917. Nicholas II ordered the army to suppress workers' protests in Petrograd
On February 26, columns of demonstrators moved towards the city center. Troops were brought into the streets, but the soldiers began to refuse to shoot at the workers. There were several clashes with the police, and by evening the police cleared the city center of demonstrators.
On February 27 (March 12), early in the morning, an armed uprising of soldiers of the Petrograd garrison began - the training team of the reserve battalion of the Volyn regiment, numbering 600 people, rebelled. The soldiers decided not to shoot at the demonstrators and to join the workers. The team leader was killed. The Volynsky regiment was joined by the Lithuanian and Preobrazhensky regiments. As a result, a general workers' strike was supported by an armed uprising of soldiers. (On the morning of February 27, the rebel soldiers numbered 10 thousand, in the afternoon - 26 thousand, in the evening - 66 thousand, the next day - 127 thousand, on March 1 - 170 thousand, that is the entire garrison Petrograd.) The rebel soldiers marched in formation to the city center. On the way, the Arsenal - Petrograd artillery warehouse was captured. The workers received 40 thousand rifles and 30 thousand revolvers. The Kresty city prison was captured and all prisoners were released. Political prisoners, including the “Gvozdyov group,” joined the rebels and led the column. The City Court was burned. The rebel soldiers and workers occupied the most important points of the city, government buildings and arrested ministers. At approximately 2 p.m., thousands of soldiers came to the Tauride Palace, where the State Duma was meeting, and occupied all its corridors and the surrounding territory. They had no way back; they needed political leadership.

The Duma was faced with a choice: either join the uprising and try to take control of the movement, or perish along with tsarism. Under these conditions, the State Duma decided to formally obey the tsar’s decree on the dissolution of the Duma, but by decision of a private meeting of deputies, at about 17 o’clock it created the Temporary Committee of the State Duma, chaired by the Octobrist M. Rodzianko, by co-opting 2 deputies from each faction. On the night of February 28, the Provisional Committee announced that it was taking power into its own hands.

After the rebel soldiers came to the Tauride Palace, deputies of the left factions of the State Duma and representatives of trade unions created the Temporary Executive Committee of the Petrograd Council of Workers' Deputies in the Tauride Palace. He distributed leaflets to factories and military units calling for them to elect their deputies and send them to the Tauride Palace by 7 p.m., 1 deputy from every thousand workers and from each company. At 21 o'clock, meetings of workers' deputies opened in the left wing of the Tauride Palace and the Petrograd Council of Workers' Deputies was created, headed by the Menshevik Chkheidze and the deputy chairman of the Executive Committee, Trudovik A.F. Kerensky. The Petrograd Soviet included representatives of socialist parties (Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries and Bolsheviks), trade unions and non-party workers and soldiers. The Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries played a decisive role in the Soviet. The Petrograd Council of Workers' Deputies decided to support the Provisional Committee of the State Duma in the creation of the Provisional Government, but not to participate in it.
February 28 (March 13) - Chairman of the Provisional Committee Rodzianko negotiates with the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Alekseev, about support for the Provisional Committee from the army, and also negotiates with Nicholas II, in order to prevent revolution and the overthrow of the monarchy.

Order number 1 disintegrated the Russian army, eliminated the main components of any army at all times - the most severe hierarchy and discipline.

The Provisional Committee formed a Provisional Government headed by Prince Lvov, who was replaced by the socialist Kerensky. The provisional government announced elections to the Constituent Assembly. The Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was elected. Dual power was established in the country.

The development of the revolution in Petrograd after the overthrow of the monarchy:

March 3 (16) - the killings of officers began in Helsingfors, among whom were Rear Admiral A.K. Nebolsin and Vice Admiral A.I. Nepenin.
March 4 (17) - two manifestos were published in newspapers - the Manifesto on the abdication of Nicholas II and the Manifesto on the abdication of Mikhail Alexandrovich, as well as the Political Program of the 1st Provisional Government.

Consequences

The fall of autocracy and the establishment of dual power

The uniqueness of the revolution was the establishment of dual power in the country:

bourgeois-democratic power was represented by the Provisional Government, its local bodies (public security committees), local self-government (city and zemstvo), the government included representatives of the Cadets and Octobrist parties;

revolutionary democratic power - Councils of workers', soldiers', and peasants' deputies, soldiers' committees in the army and navy.

Negative results of the fall of autocracy

The main negative results of the overthrow of the Autocracy by the February Revolution in Russia can be considered:

The transition from the evolutionary development of society to development along a revolutionary path, which inevitably led to an increase in the number of violent crimes against individuals and attacks on property rights in society.
Significant weakening of the army(as a result of revolutionary agitation in the army and Order number 1), a decline in its combat effectiveness and, as a consequence, its ineffective further struggle on the fronts of the First World War.
Destabilization of society, which led to a deep split in the existing civil society in Russia. As a result, there was a sharp increase in class contradictions in society, the growth of which during 1917 led to the transfer of power into the hands of radical forces, which ultimately led to the Civil War in Russia.

Positive results of the fall of autocracy

The main positive result of the overthrow of the Autocracy by the February Revolution in Russia can be considered the short-term consolidation of society due to the adoption of a number of democratic legislative acts and a real chance for society, on the basis of this consolidation, to resolve many long-standing contradictions in the social development of the country. However, as subsequent events showed, which ultimately led to a bloody civil war, the country's leaders, who came to power as a result of the February revolution, were unable to take advantage of these real, albeit extremely small (considering Russia was at war at that time) chances on this.

Change of political regime

The old government bodies were abolished. The most democratic law on elections to the Constituent Assembly was adopted: universal, equal, direct with secret ballot. On October 6, 1917, by its resolution, the Provisional Government dissolved the State Duma in connection with the proclamation of Russia as a republic and the beginning of elections to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly.
The State Council of the Russian Empire was dissolved.
The Provisional Government established an Extraordinary Commission of Inquiry to investigate the malfeasance of the Tsarist ministers and senior officials.
On March 12, a Decree was issued on the abolition of the death penalty, which was replaced in especially serious criminal cases by 15 years of hard labor.
On March 18, an amnesty was announced for those convicted for criminal reasons. 15 thousand prisoners were released from places of detention. This caused a surge in crime in the country.
On March 18-20, a series of decrees and resolutions were issued on the abolition of religious and national restrictions.
Restrictions on the choice of place of residence and property rights were abolished, complete freedom of occupation was proclaimed, and women were given equal rights with men.
The Ministry of the Imperial Household was gradually eliminated. The property of the former imperial house, members of the royal family - palaces with artistic values, industrial enterprises, lands, etc., became the property of the state in March-April 1917.

Resolution “On the Establishment of the Police”. Already on February 28, the police were abolished and a people's militia was formed. 40 thousand people's militia guarded enterprises and city blocks instead of 6 thousand police officers. People's militia units were also created in other cities. Subsequently, along with the people's militia, combat workers' squads (Red Guard) also appeared. According to the adopted resolution, uniformity was introduced into the already created workers' militia units and the limits of their competence were established.
Decree “On meetings and unions”. All citizens could form unions and hold meetings without restrictions. There were no political motives for closing the unions; only the court could close the union.
Decree on amnesty for all persons convicted for political reasons.
The Separate Corps of Gendarmes, including the railway police and security departments, and special civil courts were abolished (March 4).

Trade union movement

On April 12, the law on meetings and unions was issued. Workers restored democratic organizations banned during the war (trade unions, factory committees). By the end of 1917, there were more than 2 thousand trade unions in the country, led by the All-Russian Central Council of Trade Unions (chaired by the Menshevik V.P. Grinevich).

Changes in the local government system

On March 4, 1917, a resolution was adopted to remove all governors and vice-governors from office. In the provinces where the Zemstvo worked, the governors were replaced by the chairmen of the provincial zemstvo boards, where there were no zemstvos, the places remained unoccupied, which paralyzed the system of local government.

Preparation for elections to the Constituent Assembly

Immediately after the February Revolution, preparations began for elections to the constituent assembly. The most democratic law on elections to the Constituent Assembly was adopted: universal, equal, direct with secret ballot. Preparations for the elections dragged on until the end of 1917.

Crisis of power

The inability of the Provisional Government to overcome the crisis caused an increase in revolutionary ferment: mass demonstrations took place on April 18 (May 1), in July 1917. The July uprising of 1917 - the period of peaceful development ended. Power passed to the Provisional Government. The dual power is over. The death penalty was introduced. The failure of the August speech of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, Infantry General L. G. Kornilov became prelude to Bolshevism, since the elections to the Soviets that followed shortly after the victory of A.F. Kerensky in his confrontation with L.G. Kornilov brought victory to the Bolsheviks, which changed their composition and the policies they pursued.

Church and revolution

Already on March 7-8, 1917, the Holy Synod issued a decree that ordered the entire clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church: in all cases during divine services, instead of commemorating the reigning house, offer a prayer for the God-protected Russian Power and its Blessed Provisional Government .

Symbol

The symbol of the February Revolution was a red bow and red banners. The previous government was declared “tsarism” and the “old regime”. The word “comrade” was included in the speech.

Notes

Bibliography

Archive of the Russian Revolution (edited by G.V. Gessen). M., Terra, 1991. In 12 volumes.
Pipes R. Russian Revolution. M., 1994.
Katkov G. Russia, 1917. The February Revolution. London, 1967.
Moorhead A. The Russian Revolution. New York, 1958.
Dyakin V. S. ABOUT ONE FAILED ATTEMPT OF TSARISM TO “SOLVE” THE LAND QUESTION DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR. (Goals and nature of the so-called liquidation of German land ownership in Russia)

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 remain - the overthrow of the autocracy, the introduction of democratic freedoms, the solution of burning issues - agrarian, labor, national. These were the tasks of the bourgeois-democratic transformation of the country, therefore the February Revolution, like the 1905-1907 revolution, was bourgeois-democratic in nature.

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

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 worsened, aggravated by the hardships of a long and exhausting war into which Russia was drawn. The economic devastation generated by the war and, as a consequence, the exacerbation of the needs and misfortunes of the masses, caused acute social tension in the country, the growth of anti-war sentiment and general dissatisfaction not only with the left and opposition, but also with a significant part of the right forces with the policies of the autocracy. The authority of autocratic power and its bearer, the reigning emperor, dropped noticeably in the eyes of all layers of society. The war, unprecedented in its scale, seriously shook the moral foundations of society and brought unprecedented bitterness into the consciousness of people’s behavior. 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, a return to the land, and the slogan "Down with war!" was especially popular at that time. The end of the war was inevitably associated with the liquidation of the political regime that dragged the people into the war. So the monarchy lost its 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? Reports of the security department for the end of 1917 - beginning of 1917. full of anxiety in anticipation of a threatening social explosion. They foresaw a social danger for the Russian monarchy abroad. Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich, the Tsar’s cousin, wrote to him in mid-November 1916 from London: “Intelligence Service [British intelligence service] agents, usually well informed, are predicting a revolution in Russia. I sincerely hope Nicky that you will find it possible to satisfy the just 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 which lantern it doesn’t matter.” However, Nicholas II stubbornly refused to see this danger, hoping for the mercy of Providence. A curious conversation took place shortly before the events of February 1917 between the Tsar and the Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko. "Rodzianko: - I warn you that in less than three weeks a revolution will break out that will sweep you away, and you will no longer reign. Nicholas II: - Well, God willing. Rodzianko: - God will not give anything, the revolution is inevitable." .

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

The immediate cause of the revolutionary explosion was the following events that occurred in the second half of February 1917 in Petrograd. In mid-February, the capital's food supply, especially bread, deteriorated. There was bread in the country in sufficient quantity, but due to the devastation of transport and the sluggishness of the authorities responsible for supply, it could not be delivered to the cities in a timely manner. A card system was introduced, but it did not solve the problem. Long lines appeared 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, began a strike, demanding an increase in wages due to rising costs. On February 20, the plant administration, under the pretext of interruptions in the supply of raw materials, fired the strikers and announced the closure of some workshops for an indefinite period. The Putilovites were supported by workers from other city enterprises. On February 23 (New Style March 8 - International Women's Day) it was decided to start a general strike. Opposition figures in the Duma also decided to take advantage of the day of February 23; as early as February 14, from the rostrum of the State Duma, they sharply criticized the incompetent ministers and demanded their resignation. Duma figures - Menshevik N.S. Chkheidze and Trudovik A.F. Kerensky - established contact with illegal organizations and created a committee to hold a demonstration on February 23.

On that day, 128 thousand workers from 50 enterprises went on strike - a third of the capital's workers. A demonstration also took place, which was peaceful. A rally was held in the city center. The authorities, in order to reassure the people, announced that there was enough food in the city and there was no reason to worry.

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

Authorities initially viewed them as spontaneous food riots. However, events grew stronger every day and took on a threatening character for the authorities. On February 25, strikes covered over 300 thousand people. (80% of city workers). The demonstrators were already speaking with political slogans: “Down with the monarchy!”, “Long live the republic!”, rushing to the central squares and avenues of the city. They managed to overcome police and military barriers and break through to Znamenskaya Square near the Moskovsky Station, where a spontaneous rally began at the monument to Alexander III. Rallies and demonstrations took place in the main squares, avenues and streets of the city. The Cossack squads sent against them refused to disperse them. Demonstrators threw stones and logs at the mounted policemen. The authorities have already seen that the “unrest” is taking on a political character.

On the morning of February 25, columns of workers again rushed to the city center, and on the Vyborg side they were already destroying police stations. A rally began again on Znamenskaya Square. Demonstrators clashed with police, resulting in several demonstrators being killed and injured. On the same day, Nicholas II received from the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General S.S. Khabalov’s report about the outbreak of unrest in Petrograd, and at 9 o’clock in the evening Khabalov received a telegram from him: “I command you to stop the riots in the capital tomorrow, which are unacceptable in the difficult times of the war with Germany and Austria.” Khabalov immediately ordered the police and reserve unit commanders to use weapons against the demonstrators. On the night of February 26, the police arrested about a hundred of the most active figures of the left parties.

February 26 was a Sunday. Factories and factories did not work. Masses of demonstrators with red banners and singing revolutionary songs again rushed to the central streets and squares of the city. There were continuous rallies on Znamenskaya Square and near the Kazan Cathedral. By order of Khabalov, the police, who sat on the roofs of houses, opened fire with machine guns on demonstrators and protesters. On Znamenskaya Square, 40 people were killed and the same number were wounded. 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 captured.

The outcome of any revolution depends on whose side the army is on. Defeat of the revolution 1905 - 1907 was largely due to the fact that despite a series of uprisings in the army and navy, on the whole the army remained loyal to the government and was used by it to suppress peasant and worker revolts. In February 1917, there was a garrison of up to 180 thousand soldiers in Petrograd. These were mainly spare parts that were to be sent to the front. There were quite a few recruits here from regular workers, mobilized for participation in strikes, and quite a few front-line soldiers who had recovered from injuries. The concentration of a mass of soldiers in the capital, who were easily influenced by revolutionary propaganda, was a major mistake by the authorities.

The shooting of demonstrators on February 26 caused strong indignation among the soldiers of the capital's garrison and had a decisive influence on their transition to the side of the revolution. On the afternoon of February 26, the 4th company of the reserve battalion of the Pavlovsky regiment refused to take the place assigned to it at the outpost and even opened fire on a platoon of mounted police. 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 to 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. Units of troops are shooting at each other.” In conclusion, he asked the king: “Immediately entrust a person who enjoys the trust 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 sessions. In response to Rodzianko's telegram, the tsar sent a second version of the decree - on the break of the Duma from February 26 to April 1917. At 11 o'clock in the morning on February 27, deputies of the State Duma 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 tsar's decree put the Duma members in a difficult position: on the one hand, they did not dare not fulfill the will of the tsar, on the other, they could not help but take into account the threatening unfolding of revolutionary events in the capital. Deputies from the left parties proposed not to obey the tsar’s decree and, in an “address to the people,” declare themselves the Constituent Assembly, but the majority was against such an action. In the Semicircular Hall of the Tauride Palace, they opened a “private meeting”, at which a decision was made, in fulfillment of the tsar’s order, not to hold official meetings of the Duma, but the deputies did not disperse and remained 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 its members a “Provisional Committee of the State Duma to restore order in Petrograd and to communicate with institutions and individuals.” On the same day, a Committee of 12 people, chaired by Rodzianko, was formed. At first, the Provisional Committee was afraid to take power into its own hands and sought an agreement with the tsar. On the evening of February 27, Rodzianko sent a new telegram to the Tsar, in which he invited him to make concessions - to instruct the Duma to form a ministry responsible to it.

But events unfolded rapidly. On that day, strikes covered 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 consisting of 600 people from the reserve battalion of the Volyn regiment rebelled. The team leader was killed. Non-commissioned officer T.I., who led the uprising. Kirpichnikov raised the entire regiment, which moved towards the Lithuanian and Preobrazhensky regiments and carried them along with him.

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 to 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, the arsenal was captured, from which 40 thousand rifles and 30 thousand revolvers were distributed to the working detachments. On Liteiny Prospekt, the building of the District Court and the House of Pre-trial Detention were destroyed and set on fire. Police stations were burning. The gendarmerie and 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, who had settled in the Admiralty together with Khabalov, surrendered. The Mariinsky Palace was taken and the tsar's ministers and senior 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. Ministers and generals from the Tauride Palace were escorted to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the rest - to places of detention prepared for them.

Military units from Peterhof and Strelna who had gone over to the side of the revolution arrived in Petrograd through the Baltic Station and along the Peterhof Highway. On March 1, the sailors of the Kronstadt port rebelled. Commander of the Kronstadt port and military governor 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 sailors entrusted to him to the Tauride Palace at the disposal of the revolutionary power.

On the evening of February 28, in the conditions of the already victorious revolution, Rodzianko proposed to announce 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 addressed the people of Russia with an appeal that it was taking upon itself the initiative to “restore state and public order” and create a new government. As a first measure, he sent commissioners from members of the Duma to the ministries. In order to take control of 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 during the revolution, became more effective revolutionary power. As early as February 26, a number of members of the Union of Workers' Cooperatives of Petrograd, the Social Democratic faction of the State Duma and other working groups put forward the idea of forming Soviets of Workers' Deputies along the lines of 1905. This idea was also supported by the Bolsheviks. On February 27, representatives of working groups, together with a group of Duma deputies and representatives of the left-wing intelligentsia, gathered in the Tauride Palace and announced the creation of the Provisional Executive Committee of the Petrograd Council of Working People's Deputies. The Committee made an appeal to immediately elect deputies to the Council - one deputy from 1 thousand workers, and one from a company of soldiers. 250 deputies were elected and gathered in the Tauride Palace. They, in turn, elected the Executive Committee of the Council, the chairman of which was the leader of the Social Democratic faction of the State Duma, Menshevik N.S. Chkheidze, and his deputies were Trudovik A.F. Kerensky and Menshevik M.I. Skobelev. The majority in the Executive Committee and in the Council 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 a body of revolutionary power, making a number of important decisions. On February 28, on his initiative, district council committees were created. He formed military and food commissions, armed militia, and established control over printing houses and railways. By decision of the Petrograd Council, the financial resources of the tsarist government were seized and control was established over their spending. Commissars from the Council were sent to the districts of the capital to establish people's power in them.

On March 1, 1917, the Council issued the famous “Order No. 1,” which provided for the creation of elected soldiers’ committees in military units, abolished the titles of officers and the giving of honor to them outside of service, but most importantly, it 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 soldier committees with little competence in military matters, he violated the principle of unity of command necessary for any army and thereby contributed to the decline of military discipline.

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

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

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

The Chairman of the Provisional Government and at the same time the Minister of Internal Affairs became a large landowner, chairman of the All-Russian Zemstvo Union, cadet, Prince G.E. Lvov, ministers: foreign affairs - leader of the Cadet Party P.N. Miliukov, military and naval - leader of the Octobrist party A.I. Guchkov, trade and industry - large manufacturer, progressive, A.I. Konovalov, communications - “left” cadet N.V. Nekrasov, public education - close to the cadets, professor of law A.A. Manuilov, agriculture - zemstvo doctor, cadet, A.I. Shingarev, Justice - Trudovik (since March 3, Socialist Revolutionary, the only socialist in the government) A.F. Kerensky, for Finnish affairs - cadet V.I. Rodichev, chief prosecutor of the Holy Synod - Octobrist V.N. Lvov, state controller - Octobrist I.V. Godnev. Thus, 7 ministerial posts, the most important ones, ended up in the hands of the Cadets, 3 ministerial posts were received by the Octobrists and 2 representatives of other parties. This was the “finest hour” of the cadets, who found themselves in power for a short time (two months). The assumption of office by the ministers of the Provisional Government took place on March 3-5. The Provisional Government declared itself for a transitional period (until the convening 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, agreed upon with the Petrograd Soviet, was also published: 1) complete and immediate amnesty for all political and religious affairs; 2) freedom of speech, press, assembly and strikes; 3) abolition of all class, religious and national restrictions; 4) immediate preparations for elections on the basis of universal, equal, secret and direct voting to the Constituent Assembly; 5) replacing the police with a people's militia with elected authorities subordinate to local government bodies; 6) elections to local government bodies; 7) non-disarmament and non-withdrawal from Petrograd of military units that took part in the uprising on February 27; and 8) providing soldiers with civil rights. 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, on February 28, the police were abolished and the people's militia was formed: instead of 6 thousand police officers, 40 thousand people were occupied with maintaining order in Petrograd. people's militia. She took protection of enterprises and city blocks. Detachments of the native militia were soon created in other cities. Subsequently, along with the workers' militia, combat workers' squads (Red Guard) also appeared. The first Red Guard detachment was created in early March at the Sestroretsk plant. The gendarmerie and secret police were liquidated.

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

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

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

France and England were the first to recognize the Provisional Government as “the exponent of 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 transition of the troops of the capital's garrison to the side of the rebels forced Headquarters to begin taking decisive measures to suppress the revolution in Petrograd. On February 27, Nicholas II, through the Chief of Staff of General Headquarters, General M.V. Alekseev gave the order to send “reliable” punitive troops to Petrograd. The punitive expedition included the St. George battalion, taken from Mogilev, and several regiments from the Northern, Western and Southwestern fronts. General N.I. was placed at the head of the expedition. Ivanov, who was also appointed instead of Khabalov and commander of the Petrograd Military District with the broadest, dictatorial powers - to the point that all ministers were at his complete disposal. It was planned to concentrate 13 infantry battalions, 16 cavalry squadrons and 4 batteries in the Tsarskoye Selo area by March 1.

Early in the morning of February 28, two letter trains, the Tsar's and the Svitsky, set off from Mogilev through Smolensk, Vyazma, Rzhev, Likhoslavl, Bologoe to Petrograd. Upon their arrival in Bologoye on the night of March 1, news was received that two companies with machine guns had arrived in Lyuban from Petrograd in order not to miss the royal trains to the capital. When the trains arrived at the station. Malaya Vishera (160 km from Petrograd) 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 be turned 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, Chief of Staff of Headquarters General M.V. Alekseev decided to abandon the military expedition to Petrograd. Having secured the support of the commanders-in-chief of the fronts, he ordered Ivanov to refrain from punitive actions. The St. George battalion, which reached Tsarskoe Selo on March 1, retreated back to Vyritsa station. After negotiations between the commander-in-chief of the Northern Front, Ruzsky, and Rodzianko, Nicholas II agreed to the formation of a government responsible to the Duma. On the night of March 2, Ruzsky conveyed this decision to Rodzianko. However, he said that the publication of a manifesto about this was already “late,” because the course of events had set “a certain demand” - the abdication of the tsar. Without waiting for a response from Headquarters, Duma deputies A.I. were sent to Pskov. 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 - Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, the Romanian - General V.V. Sakharov, South-Western - General A.A. Brusilov, Western - General A.E. Evert, commanders of the Baltic fleets - Admiral A.I. Nepenin and Chernomorsky - 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 homeland and the dynasty, consistent with the statement of the chairman of the State Duma, as the only thing apparently capable of stopping the revolution and saving Russia from the horrors of anarchy.” His uncle Nikolai Nikolaevich addressed Nicholas II from Tiflis with a telegram asking him to abdicate the throne.

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

Guchkov and Shulgin arrived in Pskov on the evening of March 2, reported that there was no military unit in Petrograd that could be relied upon, and confirmed the need for the Tsar to abdicate the throne. Nicholas II stated that he had already made such a decision, but now he is changing it and is already renouncing not only for himself, but also for his 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 his glaciers.

The new version of the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne was accepted by Guchkov and Shulgin, who only asked him that before signing the act of abdication, the tsar would approve the decree on the appointment of G.E. Lvov became the Prime Minister of the new government being formed, and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich again the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

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

On the morning of March 3, members of the Duma Committee and the Provisional Government met with Mikhail in the prince’s mansion. O. Putyatina on Millionnaya. Rodzianko and Kerensky argued for the need for his abdication of the throne. Kerensky said that the indignation of the people was too strong, the new tsar could die from the people’s anger, and with him the Provisional Government would die. However, Miliukov insisted on Mikhail accepting the crown, proving the need for strong power to strengthen the new order, and such power needs support - “a monarchical symbol familiar to the masses.” A provisional government without a monarch, said Miliukov, is “a fragile boat that can sink in the ocean of popular unrest”; it will not live to see the Constituent Assembly, since anarchy will reign in the country. Guchkov, who soon arrived at the meeting, supported Miliukov. Miliukov, in his impatience, even offered to take the cars and go to Moscow, where he would 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 gathered for the meeting. After lengthy discussions, the majority spoke in favor of Michael's abdication. Mikhail agreed with this opinion and at 4 o’clock in the afternoon signed the document drawn up by V.D. Nabokov and Baron B.E. Nolde's manifesto about his renunciation of the crown. The manifesto, published the next day, said that Mikhail “made a firm decision only if such is the will of our great people, who must establish a form of government and new fundamental laws of the state by popular vote through their representatives in the Constituent Assembly Russian". Mikhail appealed to the people to “submit to the Provisional Government, vested with full power.” All members of the royal family also made written statements of support for the Provisional Government and renunciation of claims to the royal throne. On March 3, Nicholas II sent a telegram to Mikhail.

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

The abdicated emperor went to Headquarters in Mogilev. A few hours before signing the act of abdication, Nicholas 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. to this position instead. Brusilova. On March 9, Nicholas and his retinue returned to Tsarskoye Selo. By order of the Provisional Government, the royal family was kept under house arrest in Tsarskoe Selo. The Petrograd Soviet demanded a trial of the former tsar and even on March 8 adopted a resolution to imprison him in the Peter and Paul Fortress, but the Provisional Government refused to comply with it.

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

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

The provisional government for the transitional period (until the convening of the Constituent Assembly) has both legislative, administrative and executive functions. This, for example, was the case during the Great French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. The same path of transforming the country after the revolutionary coup was envisaged in their projects by the Decembrists of the Northern Society, putting forward the idea of “Temporary Revolutionary Government” for the transition period, and then the convening of the “Supreme Council” (Constituent Assembly). All Russian revolutionary parties at the beginning of the 20th century, who wrote this down in their programs, envisioned the same way for the revolutionary reorganization of the country, the destruction of the old state machine and the formation of new authorities.

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

As already mentioned, the emergence of Soviets - bodies of people's power - dates back to the revolution of 1905-1907. and is its important conquest. This tradition was immediately revived after the victory of the uprising in Petrograd on February 27, 1917. In addition to the Petrograd Council, in March 1917, over 600 local Soviets arose, which elected from among themselves permanent authorities - executive committees. These were the elected representatives of the people, who relied 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, the predominant influence in the Soviets, both in Petrograd and in the provincial ones, was held by representatives of the Menshevik and Socialist Revolutionary parties, who were focused not on the “victory of socialism,” believing that in backward Russia there were no conditions for this, but on the development and consolidation of it bourgeois-democratic gains. Such a task, they believed, could be carried out during the transition period by a Provisional government, bourgeois in composition, which must be provided with support in carrying out the democratic transformations of the country, and, if necessary, put pressure on it. In fact, even during the period of dual power, real power was in the hands of the Soviets, because the Provisional Government could govern only with their support and carry out its decrees with their sanction.

At first, the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies acted together. They even held their meetings in the same building - the Tauride Palace, which then turned into 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 series of democratic reforms, which were mentioned above. At the same time, it postponed the solution to a number of pressing problems inherited from the old government until the Constituent Assembly, and among them was the agrarian question. Moreover, it issued a number of decrees providing for criminal liability for the unauthorized seizure of landowners', appanage and monastic lands. On the issue of war and peace, it took a defensist position, remaining faithful to the allied obligations accepted by the old government. All this caused growing dissatisfaction among the masses with the policies of the Provisional Government.

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

The dual power lasted no more than four months - until the beginning of July 1917, when, in the context of an unsuccessful offensive by 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 on the Bolsheviks. After the July days, the Provisional Government managed to subjugate the Soviets, who obediently carried out its will. However, this was a short-term victory for the Provisional Government, whose position was becoming increasingly precarious. Economic devastation in the country deepened: inflation grew rapidly, production fell catastrophically, and the danger of impending famine became real. In the village, mass pogroms of landowners' estates began, peasants seized not only landowners' lands, but also church lands, and information was received about the murders of landowners and even clergy. The soldiers are tired of the war. At the front, fraternization between soldiers of both warring sides became more frequent. The front was essentially falling apart. Desertion increased sharply, entire military units were withdrawn from their positions: soldiers hurried home to be in time for the division of the landowners' lands.

The February Revolution destroyed the old state structures, but failed to create a strong 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 devastation, the complete breakdown of the financial system, and the collapse of the front. The ministers of the Provisional Government, being highly educated intellectuals, brilliant speakers and publicists, turned out to be unimportant politicians and bad administrators, divorced from reality and poorly aware of it.

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

The power of the Provisional Government weakened every day. It increasingly lost control over the situation in the country. In a climate of political instability in the country, deepening economic ruin, and a protracted unpopular war. threats of impending famine, the masses longed for “firm power” that could “restore order.” The contradictory behavior of the Russian peasant also worked - his primordially Russian desire for “firm order” and at the same time primordially Russian hatred of any really existing order, i.e. a paradoxical combination in the peasant mentality of Caesarism (naive monarchism) and anarchism, obedience and rebellion.

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

“V.A. Fedorov. History of Russia 1861-1917".
Library "Self-Self" http://society.polbu.ru/fedorov_rushistory/ch84_i.html

Soldiers' demonstration in Petrograd. February 23, 1917 (Photo: RIA Novosti)

A general strike began in Petrograd, in which about 215 thousand workers took part. A spontaneous movement covers the entire city, and students join it. The police are unable to “stop the movement and gathering of people.” City authorities are putting efforts into strengthening the security of government buildings, the post office, telegraph office and bridges. Mass rallies continue throughout the day.

From the diary of Nicholas II.“At 10½ I went to the report, which ended at 12 o’clock. Before breakfast they brought me a military cross on behalf of the Belgian king. The weather was unpleasant - a snowstorm. I took a short walk in the kindergarten. I read and wrote. Yesterday Olga and Alexei fell ill with measles, and today Tatyana (the Tsar’s children - RBC) followed their example.”

The army and police set up checkpoints on all the main bridges in the morning, but crowds of protesters moved into the center of Petrograd straight along the ice of the Neva. The number of strikers exceeded 300 thousand people. Mass rallies took place on Nevsky Prospekt, and calls for the overthrow of the Tsar and the government were added to the demands for bread.

Clashes between protesters and the police continued, who had to open fire on the crowd several times. By evening, the unrest in the capital was reported to Nicholas II, who demanded that the city authorities decisively stop it. During the night, police arrested several dozen people.

From the diary of Nicholas II.“I got up late. The report lasted an hour and a half. At 2½ I went to the monastery and venerated the icon of the Mother of God. I took a walk along the highway to Orsha. At 6 o'clock I went to the all-night vigil. I studied all evening.”

Demonstration at the Petrograd Arsenal. February 25, 1917 (Photo: RIA Novosti)

Protesters continued to gather in the center of Petrograd, despite the raised bridges. Clashes with the army and police became increasingly violent, the crowds could only be dispersed after they were fired upon, and the death toll already numbered in the hundreds. Pogroms began in some areas. State Duma Chairman Mikhail Rodzianko sent a telegram to the Tsar in which he called what was happening in the city anarchy, but did not receive any response from him.

Later, Chairman of the Council of Ministers Nikolai Golitsyn announced the suspension of the work of both chambers of parliament - the State Council and the State Duma - until April. Rodzianko sent another telegram to the Tsar demanding that the decree be immediately suspended and a new government formed, but he also received no response.

From the diary of Nicholas II.“At 10 o'clock. went to mass. The report ended on time. There were a lot of people having breakfast and all the cash was foreigners. I wrote to Alix (Empress Alexandra Feodorovna - RBC) and drove along the Bobruisk highway to the chapel, where I took a walk. The weather was clear and frosty. After tea I read and received Senator Tregubov before lunch. “I played dominoes in the evening.”

The training team of the reserve battalion of the Life Guards Volyn Infantry Regiment mutinied - the soldiers killed their commander and freed those arrested from the guardhouse, simultaneously joining several neighboring units to their ranks. Armed soldiers linked up with the striking workers, after which they seized some of the weapons from the workshops of the Gun Factory. An armed uprising began in the capital.

The rebels managed to get to the Finlyandsky Station, on the square in front of which new numerous rallies began. Several tens of thousands of soldiers joined the crowd of protesters, the total number of demonstrators exceeded 400 thousand people (with a population of Petrograd of 2.3 million people). Prisons were being vacated throughout the city, including “Kresty”, from which several Mensheviks were released, who declared that the main task of the rebels was to restore the work of the State Duma.

The rebel soldiers of the Volyn Regiment march with banners to the Tauride Palace. February 27, 1917 (Photo: RIA Novosti)

In the afternoon, protesters gathered near the Tauride Palace, where the State Duma was meeting. The deputies decided to formally submit to the resolution of dissolution, but continued their work under the guise of a “private meeting.” As a result, a new government body was formed - the Provisional Committee, which essentially became the center of the protest movement. At the same time, representatives of the left parties created an alternative governing body - the Provisional Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet.

Towards evening, the government gathered for its last meeting and sent a telegram to Nicholas II, in which it said that it was no longer able to cope with the current situation, proposed to dissolve itself and appoint a person enjoying general confidence as chairman. The Tsar ordered troops to be sent to Petrograd and refused to accept the resignation of the government, which dispersed without waiting for a response from the monarch. Nicholas II decided to personally arrive in the capital, meanwhile the Provisional Committee of the State Duma announced that it was taking power in the city into its own hands.

From the diary of Nicholas II.“Unrest began in Petrograd several days ago; Unfortunately, troops also began to take part in them. It's a disgusting feeling to be so far away and receive fragmentary bad news! Was at the report for a short time. In the afternoon I took a walk along the highway to Orsha. The weather was sunny. After lunch I decided to go to Tsarskoe Selo as quickly as possible and at one in the morning I got on the train.”

City authorities inform Nicholas II that almost all the military personnel present in the city went over to the side of the protesters. During the day, armed workers and soldiers captured the Peter and Paul Fortress, taking control of all its artillery. The revolutionaries forced the head of the Petrograd Military District, Lieutenant General Khabalov, to leave the Admiralty. He carried out the instructions, withdrawing the remnants of the troops loyal to him to the Winter Palace, which was also soon occupied by the rebels.

On the morning of the same day, former Minister of Internal Affairs Alexander Protopopov was arrested in the Tauride Palace. The rebels actually took control of the situation in the city. There were almost no forces left in the capital ready to carry out the king’s orders.

Nicholas II (Photo: RIA Novosti)

Meanwhile, Nicholas II early in the morning left Mogilev for Tsarskoe Selo, where Empress Alexandra Feodorovna was at that time. While in Orsha, he received a telegram from members of the Provisional Committee, who informed him about the critical situation in the capital, which drove the masses to despair and forced the troops to join them. The Tsar was asked to “decisively change internal policy” and approve the composition of the new cabinet of ministers.

By this time, the Provisional Committee had managed to send out a message throughout the country that it was taking full control of the entire railway network in the empire. The chief of the tsar's military staff, General Mikhail Alekseev, who initially intended to seize this control, abandoned his decision. Moreover, he changed the rhetoric in his messages to other commanders-in-chief, moving away from describing chaos and anarchy in the capital. In his message to General Nikolai Ivanov, who was sent by the Tsar with prefabricated units to suppress the uprising in Petrograd, he reported that the Provisional Committee had managed to take control of the situation in the capital. Having received the letter, Ivanov decided not to send troops into the city until the situation became completely clear.

From the diary of Nicholas II.“I went to bed at 3 o’clock because... I spoke for a long time with N.I. Ivanov, whom I am sending to Petrograd with troops to restore order. Slept until 10 o'clock. We left Mogilev at 5 o'clock. morning. The weather was frosty and sunny. In the afternoon we passed Vyazma, Rzhev, and Likhoslavl at 9 o’clock.”

Nicholas II's train never managed to reach Tsarskoye Selo - in the area of Malaya Vishera, the tsar was informed that the neighboring stations were in the hands of the rebels. The Emperor turned the train around and went to Pskov, where the headquarters of the Northern Front was located. The new authorities unsuccessfully tried several times to block Nicholas's train to prevent his reunification with the army.

Nevertheless, the tsar managed to get to Pskov, where he received a telegram from Alekseev. He informed Nikolai about the unrest that began in Moscow, but called for avoiding a forceful solution to the problem and as soon as possible “put at the head of the government a person whom Russia would trust and instruct him to form a cabinet.” The commander-in-chief of the Northern Front, Ruzsky, made similar proposals in a personal conversation with the tsar.

Nicholas until the last refused to establish a government responsible to the Duma, not wanting to become a constitutional monarch and bear responsibility for decisions that he could not influence. However, towards the end of the day, another telegram arrived from Alekseev, containing a draft of the proposed manifesto on the establishment of a responsible government. Having lost the support of his own chief of staff, Nikolai sends a telegram to General Ivanov and asks him to abandon the armed suppression of the rebellion and suspend the advance of troops towards Petrograd.

Nicholas II (foreground right) and Mikhail Alekseev (foreground left). 1915 (Photo: RIA Novosti)

Meanwhile, in the capital, the Provisional Committee and the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet have already begun to discuss the composition of the new government. The parties agreed that a Provisional Government should be formed, which would declare a political amnesty, guarantee basic freedoms to the population and begin preparations for elections to the Constituent Assembly, which would determine how the new Russia would live.

That same night, the Petrograd Soviet, without any coordination, issued its “Order No. 1,” in which it subjugated the army located in the capital and transferred all leadership in military units to soldiers’ committees, depriving officers of power. A dual power arose: de jure power was in the hands of the Provisional Committee, but de facto in Petrograd the main decision-making body was the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.

From the diary of Nicholas II.“At night we turned back from M. Vishera, because Lyuban and Tosno were occupied by the rebels. We went to Valdai, Dno and Pskov, where we stopped for the night. I saw Ruzsky. He, [military leaders] Danilov and Savvich were having lunch. Gatchina and Luga also turned out to be busy. Shame and shame! It was not possible to get to Tsarskoe. And thoughts and feelings are there all the time! How painful it must be for poor Alix to go through all these events alone! Lord help us!

In his telegram, Alekseev said that “it is necessary to save the active army from collapse”, “the loss of every minute can be fatal for the existence of Russia” and that “the war can be continued to a victorious end only if the demands made regarding the abdication of the throne” are fulfilled in favor of his son Nicholas II. All front commanders in their responses asked the tsar to abdicate the throne in order to save the country.

In the afternoon, Nicholas II signed the abdication manifesto. A little later, representatives of the Provisional Committee Alexander Guchkov and Vasily Shulgin came to him, who told the tsar about the situation in the country and again asked him to transfer power to his son during the regency of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. Nicholas informed them that he had already abdicated the throne in favor of Tsarevich Alexei, but now, not wanting to lose contact with him, he was ready to abdicate in favor of Mikhail. Closer to midnight, the manifesto was handed over to deputies.

Manifesto of Nicholas II on abdication

During the days of the great struggle with an external enemy, who had been striving to enslave our Motherland for almost three years, the Lord God was pleased to send Russia a new ordeal. The outbreak of internal popular unrest threatens to have a disastrous effect on the further conduct of the stubborn war. The fate of Russia, the honor of our heroic army, the good of the people, the entire future of our dear Fatherland demand that the war be brought to a victorious end at all costs. The cruel enemy is straining his last strength, and the hour is already approaching when our valiant army, together with our glorious allies, will be able to finally break the enemy. In these decisive days in the life of Russia, we considered it a duty of conscience to facilitate close unity and rallying of all the people’s forces for our people to achieve victory as quickly as possible, and in agreement with the State Duma, we recognized it as good to abdicate the throne of the Russian state and relinquish supreme power. Not wanting to part with our beloved son, we pass on our legacy to our brother Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich and bless him to ascend the throne of the Russian state. We command our brother to rule over state affairs in complete and inviolable unity with the representatives of the people in legislative institutions on those principles that will be established by them, taking an inviolable oath to that effect. In the name of our beloved Motherland, we call on all the faithful sons of the Fatherland to fulfill their sacred duty to him by obedience to the Tsar in difficult times of national trials and to help him, together with representatives of the people, lead the Russian state onto the path of victory, prosperity and glory. May the Lord God help Russia.

After this, Nicholas went back to Headquarters, having previously sent a telegram to Grand Duke Mikhail. “The events of recent days have forced me to irrevocably decide to take this extreme step. Forgive me if I upset you and didn’t have time to warn you. I remain forever a faithful and devoted brother. I fervently pray to God to help you and your Motherland,” he wrote.

Mikhail, who never had time to receive this telegram from his brother, also abdicated the throne a day later. The Russian autocracy fell, all official power passed into the hands of the Provisional Government.

Editorial of the newspaper "Morning of Russia". March 2 (15), 1917 (Photo: Photo archive of M. Zolotarev)

From the diary of Nicholas II.“In the morning Ruzsky came and read his long conversation on the phone with Rodzianko. According to him, the situation in Petrograd is such that now the ministry from the Duma seems powerless to do anything, because The Social Democratic Party, represented by the workers' committee, is fighting against it. My renunciation is needed. Ruzsky conveyed this conversation to headquarters, and Alekseev to all commanders in chief. Replies came from everyone. The point is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front calm, you need to decide to take this step. I agreed. A draft manifesto was sent from Headquarters. In the evening, Guchkov and Shulgin arrived from Petrograd, with whom I spoke and gave them the signed and revised manifesto. At one o'clock in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced. There is treason, cowardice and deceit all around!”

The Red Army attacks Kronstadt

In the spring of 1921, the communist regime in Russia was teetering on the brink of collapse. The country was gripped by a peasant war, workers went on strike in factories, and then the Kronstadt sailors—the most reliable support of Lenin’s party since 1917—revolted. Why didn't the mass protests of 1921 lead to a new revolution? Could whites and other emigrants have helped the rebel sailors? Was the Bolshevik dictatorship and Stalinist totalitarianism inevitable in Russia, or were there alternative options for exiting the Civil War? Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Faculty of History of Moscow State University named after M.V. told Lenta.ru about this. Lomonosov Alexey Gusev.

Peasants against Lenin
"Lenta.ru": At the beginning of 1921, the Bolsheviks could triumph - the war with Poland was over, Kolchak and Wrangel were defeated. And then suddenly, almost simultaneously, numerous anti-Soviet peasant uprisings broke out throughout the country, and then the Kronstadt uprising. Why did the Bolshevik regime suddenly stagger at that moment?

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. Most of society opposed the monarchical system; 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

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 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 various 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

At the top, everything was also complicated: during the war years, there were four prime ministers with a lot of strong personalities who could stop the crisis of power and lead the country, at that time there were no in the ruling elite.

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

Starting in January 1917, there were massive strikes throughout the Russian Empire, 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 a decisive role in the history of the country.

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