By the evening of February 27, almost the entire composition of the Petrograd garrison - about 160 thousand people - went over to the side of the rebels. The commander of the Petrograd Military District, General Khabalov, is forced to inform Nicholas II: “Please report to His Imperial Majesty that I could not fulfill the order to restore order in the capital. Most of the units, one after another, betrayed their duty, refusing to fight against the rebels.”
The idea of a “cartel expedition”, which provided for the removal of individual military units from the front and sending them to rebellious Petrograd, also did not continue. All this threatened to result in a civil war with unpredictable consequences.
Acting in the spirit of revolutionary traditions, the rebels released from prison not only political prisoners, but also criminals. At first they easily overcame the resistance of the “Crosses” guards, and then took the Peter and Paul Fortress.
The uncontrollable and motley revolutionary masses, not disdaining murders and robberies, plunged the city into chaos.
On February 27, at approximately 2 o'clock in the afternoon, soldiers occupied the Tauride Palace. The State Duma found itself in a dual position: on the one hand, according to the emperor’s decree, it should have dissolved itself, but on the other, the pressure of the rebels and the actual anarchy forced it to take some action. The compromise solution was a meeting under the guise of a “private meeting.”
As a result, a decision was made to form a government body - the Temporary Committee.
Later, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government P. N. Milyukov recalled:
“The intervention of the State Duma gave the street and military movement a center, gave it a banner and a slogan, and thereby turned the uprising into a revolution, which ended with the overthrow of the old regime and dynasty.”
The revolutionary movement grew more and more. Soldiers seize the Arsenal, the Main Post Office, the telegraph office, bridges and train stations. Petrograd found itself completely in the power of the rebels. The real tragedy took place in Kronstadt, which was overwhelmed by a wave of lynching that resulted in the murder of more than a hundred officers of the Baltic Fleet.
On March 1, the chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Alekseev, in a letter begs the emperor “for the sake of saving Russia and the dynasty, put at the head of the government a person whom Russia would trust.”
Nicholas states that by giving rights to others, he deprives himself of the power given to them by God. The opportunity to peacefully transform the country into a constitutional monarchy had already been lost.
After the abdication of Nicholas II on March 2, a dual power actually developed in the state. Official power was in the hands of the Provisional Government, but real power belonged to the Petrograd Soviet, which controlled the troops, railways, post office and telegraph.
Colonel Mordvinov, who was on the royal train at the time of his abdication, recalled Nikolai’s plans to move to Livadia. “Your Majesty, go abroad as soon as possible. “Under current conditions, even in Crimea there is no way to live,” Mordvinov tried to convince the tsar. "No way. I wouldn’t like to leave Russia, I love it too much,” Nikolai objected.
Leon Trotsky noted that the February uprising was spontaneous:
“No one outlined the path for a coup in advance, no one from above called for an uprising. The indignation that had accumulated over the years broke out largely unexpectedly for the masses themselves.”
However, Miliukov insists in his memoirs that the coup was planned soon after the start of the war and before “the army was supposed to go on the offensive, the results of which would radically stop all hints of discontent and would cause an explosion of patriotism and jubilation in the country.” “History will curse the leaders of the so-called proletarians, but it will also curse us, who caused the storm,” wrote the former minister.
British historian Richard Pipes calls the actions of the tsarist government during the February uprising “fatal weakness of will,” noting that “the Bolsheviks in such circumstances did not hesitate to shoot.”
Although the February Revolution is called “bloodless,” it nevertheless claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers and civilians. In Petrograd alone, more than 300 people died and 1,200 were injured.
The February Revolution began the irreversible process of collapse of the empire and decentralization of power, accompanied by the activity of separatist movements.
Poland and Finland demanded independence, Siberia started talking about independence, and the Central Rada formed in Kyiv proclaimed “autonomous Ukraine.”
The events of February 1917 allowed the Bolsheviks to emerge from underground. Thanks to the amnesty declared by the Provisional Government, dozens of revolutionaries returned from exile and political exile, who were already hatching plans for a new coup d'etat.
Before the Emperor had time to leave for Headquarters, on Thursday, February 23, a strike began in Petrograd at some Petrograd factories. The strike was timed to coincide with the notorious revolutionary women's “holiday” on March 8th, which falls on February 23rd according to the Julian calendar. Therefore, the main instigators of the strike were the textile workers of the Vyborg region. Their delegates went to other factories and involved about 30 thousand people in the strike. By evening this number reached 90 thousand people. The main slogans of the strikers were not political, but “Give me bread!”From messages from the Security Department on February 23, 1917: “ On February 23, from 9 o’clock in the morning, in protest over the shortage of black bread in bakeries and small shops, workers’ strikes began at factories in the Vyborg region, which then spread to some factories, and during the day work was stopped in 50 factory enterprises, where 87,534 workers went on strike.
Workers of the Vyborg region, at about 1 o’clock in the afternoon, came out in crowds into the streets shouting “give me some bread”, and at the same time began to create riots in places, removing working comrades from work along the way and stopping the movement of trams, while the demonstrators took away the keys to electric trains from the tram drivers. engines, and windows in some cars were broken.
The strikers, energetically dispersed by police and mounted military units, scattered in one place, soon gathered in another, showing particular tenacity in this case. Only by 7 pm in the area of the Vyborg part was order restored.
By 4 o'clock in the afternoon, some of the workers nevertheless crossed alone across the bridges and along the ice of the Neva River along a large length of it, and reached the embankments of the left bank, where the workers managed to organize in the streets adjacent to the embankments and then, almost simultaneously, removed the workers from work 6 -ty factories in the area of the 3rd section of Rozhdestvenskaya and the 1st section of the Liteinaya part and then carry out demonstrations on Liteiny and Suvorovsky Avenues, where the workers were dispersed. Almost simultaneously with this, at 4 ½ o’clock in the afternoon on Nevsky Prospekt, near Znamenskaya and Kazanskaya squares, some of the striking workers made several attempts to delay the movement of trams and cause riots, but the demonstrators were immediately dispersed and tram traffic was restored.” .
From the reports of the Security Department it is clear that they perceived the workers' protests as simply another strike. Strikes in Petrograd were not uncommon and the authorities did not pay much attention to them. This is what those who organized these strikes were counting on. The crowd demanding bread did not cause either alarm among the authorities or hostility among the troops. Moreover, the sight of “hungry” women and children evoked sympathy.
The strikes began to take on an alarming character when it became clear that their main goal was to strike at military industry facilities. It also became clear that the demands for bread put forward by the strikers were demagogic. Thus, the strikers disrupted the work of the Ayvaz plant, where bread was baked specifically for the workers. Moreover, the baking work was done very well at this plant.
During the “peaceful” strike, the first victims of the February coup appeared. As on January 9, 1905, they were policemen: assistant bailiffs Kargels, Grotgus and warden Vishev, who were seriously injured at the hands of the rioters.
In the afternoon, the main blow of the strikers fell on military factories: the Cartridge Shop, the Shell Shop of the Naval Department, the Gun Factory, and the Aeronautics Plant.
The situation at the Putilov plant played a special role in the February events. There, back on February 18, 1917, workers of one of the workshops demanded a 50% increase in wages. Moreover, when putting forward such an exorbitant demand, the workers of the striking workshop did not consult with their comrades from other workshops. When the plant director flatly refused to comply with this demand, the workers staged a sit-in strike. The management promised to give a 20% increase, but at the same time, on February 21, they fired the workers of the striking workshop. This extremely stupid measure, from the point of view of the interests of the administration, led to the spread of the strike to other workshops. On February 22, the administration announced the closure of these workshops for an indefinite period. " This meant- G. M. Katkov rightly writes, - that thirty thousand well-organized workers, most of them highly skilled, were literally thrown out into the streets" .
There is no doubt that the actions of the administration of the Putilov plant contributed to the success of the revolution. Likewise, there is no doubt that this entire strike on February 23rd was carefully planned. As G. M. Katkov rightly writes again, “ The reasons for the strikes are still completely obscure. A mass movement of such scale and scope was impossible without some kind of guiding force.” .
Let's try to figure out who represented this guiding force in February 1917.
On February 22, 1917, that is, on the day of the Emperor’s departure to Headquarters, a group of workers from the Putilov plant came to a reception with State Duma deputy A.F. Kerensky. The delegation informed Kerensky that an event was brewing at the plant, which was locked out that day, which could have far-reaching consequences. Some big political movement is starting. The workers who came to the reception said that they considered it their duty to warn the deputy about this, since they do not know how this movement will end, but for them, from the mood of the workers around them, it is clear that something very serious is about to happen.
It is interesting that the “workers” came not to Guchkov, the generally recognized leader of the opposition, not to Rodzianko, the chairman of the State Duma, not to Miliukov, the leader of the “Progressive Bloc” - but to Kerensky.
Here it is necessary to explain what the Putilov workers told Kerensky.
In February 1916, temporary state control was introduced at a number of military factories, limiting the rights of use of private plant owners, the so-called sequestration. A new board was developed at the Putilov factories. Fleet Lieutenant General A. N. Krylov became its chairman. The famous shipbuilder Krylov was appointed to this position on the recommendation of the Minister of War Polivanov and the Navy Grigorovich. Member of the board, Major General Nikolai Fedorovich Drozdov, was appointed head of the Putilov plant. General Drozdov was a professional artilleryman: he graduated from the Mikhailovsky Artillery Academy and served in the artillery committee of the Main Artillery Directorate. This general was closely connected with the head of the GAU, General Manikovsky. V.V. Shulgin wrote about General Manikovsky: “ General Alexey Alekseevich Manikovsky was a talented person. […] In his hands are state-owned factories, and also private ones (for example, we took away the huge Putilov factory from the owners and gave it to Manikovsky fief).” .
The conspirators predicted Manikovsky to become a dictator. There is no doubt that General Drozdov was completely subordinate to Manikovsky. By the way, after the Bolshevik coup, both generals joined the ranks of the Red Army.
In this regard, it is obvious that the entire situation with the strike and layoffs at the Putilov plant was artificial and organized by Manikovsky and Drozdov. Only they controlled the situation at the plant, including revolutionary groups.
But Manikovsky, and especially Drozdov, could not act on their own initiative, without a leading political center. Moreover, it is unlikely that these generals would send crowds of rebels to military targets. This should have been done by the political center. And this center was in the person of A.F. Kerensky. V.V. Kozhinov directly writes that “ Manikovsky was a Freemason and a close associate of Kerensky.". It is no coincidence that in October 1917 Kerensky appointed Manikovsky as manager of the War Ministry.
It is interesting that the revolutionary leaders were well aware of the action plan of the military authorities in case of unrest. Social Democrat A. G. Shlyapnikov writes in his memoirs: “ We were very well aware of the preparations of the royal servants for the fight on the “internal front.” They even gave us some details. The head of the St. Petersburg Military District, General Khabalov, had the gendarmerie General Gordon “working” in his office, surrounded by maps and precise plans of St. Petersburg. He made notes on the maps indicating where, on which individual streets, intersections, etc., police units and machine guns should be stationed.” .
It is also impossible not to touch upon the role of the chairman of the board of the Putilov Factory Society A.I. Putilov. By February 1917, Putilov, in addition to the chairman of the board of the above company, was the director of the Moscow-Kazan Railway, the chairman of the Russian company Siemens-Schuckert (now the Elektrosila plant), the chairman of the Russian-Baltic Shipbuilding Society and the chairman of the board of the Russian-Asian Bank. By 1917, this bank had 102 branches in the empire and 17 abroad. His capital was 629 million rubles.
Meanwhile, it was Putilov’s unscrupulous activities that became one of the main reasons why state control was introduced at private military factories. Here is what O. R. Airapetov writes about this: “ Accepting significant advances as a breeder with one hand, Putilov appropriated them with the other hand as a banker» .
Putilov was a member of the Masonic lodge. But this is not the main thing, but the main thing is that he was very closely connected with the Broadway banking community. His representative at 120 Broadway was John McGregor Grant. A member of the banking consortium was Abram Leibovich Zhivotovsky, Leon Trotsky’s maternal uncle. After the February Revolution, Putilov actively contributed to financial flows, first in support of Kerensky and then the Bolsheviks.
The involvement of leading financial circles, both Russian and foreign, in the unrest of February 1917 is clear from the reports of the Security Branch. It reported that in February 1917 “ 40 senior members of the financial and industrial world attended the meeting. This meeting took place in the boardroom of a large industrial enterprise, with the participation of 3 or 4 representatives of large foreign banks. Financiers and industrialists decided almost unanimously that in the event of a new loan, they would give money only to the people, but would refuse this to the current composition of the government.” .
Let us remember that we are talking about loans that European and American banks gave to the imperial government for the purchase of weapons. The next loan after February 1917, the so-called “Freedom Loan,” was provided to the Provisional Government by US bankers on May 14, 1917.
A “peaceful” “hunger” demonstration could not be organized without professional leaders. It was these leaders who sent crowds to military factories, shot at police and soldiers, and smashed counter-intelligence departments and security departments. These militants existed, and their presence was reflected in memoirs. General A.P. Balk in his memoirs describes the English officers who led the rebels. But it would be more correct to say that Balk saw people dressed in English uniforms. It is difficult to say who they really were. In addition, many witnesses point to a large number of militants dressed in Russian uniforms and speaking little Russian. Back in 1912, one of the leaders of the Broadway group, Herman Loeb, called for “ send hundreds of mercenary fighters to Russia" .
If we remember about the militant detachments created by American capital and Leonid Trotsky in January 1917 in New York, as well as the frequent reports from the foreign bureau of the Security Branch about the deportation of so-called “American anarchists” to Russia, then we can assume that this It was they who took an active part in the riots in February 1917 on the streets of Petrograd.
Of course, we cannot discount the participation of German agents in organizing the unrest. The Germans, no less than the Broadway group, needed the collapse of Russia. Of course, the Germans were also behind the destruction of government and police institutions and the murder of high-ranking Russian military personnel. But the fact is that in this case it is very difficult to distinguish where the German saboteurs were operating and where the Broadway militants were, and to what extent their interests coincided. But it is obvious that the Germans alone, given the existence of a very powerful Russian counterintelligence system, would never have been able to organize unrest on such a scale.
Here we should mention one more name: V.B. Stankevich. Military engineer Stankevich was the secretary of the Central Committee of the Trudovik group and Kerensky's personal confidant (after the February coup, Kerensky appointed him to the high position of commissar of the provisional government at Headquarters). So, this Stankevich recalls that at the end of January 1917 he “ I had to meet Kerensky in a very intimate circle. We were talking about the possibilities of a palace coup.” .
Thus, we can confidently state that the events of February 1917 were not a spontaneous uprising of workers, but a deliberate subversive action, with the goal of overthrowing the existing system, organized by a group of people, which included the military management of factories, a number of bankers and politicians led by Kerensky. This group acted in the interests of a group of American bankers and acted according to their intended plan. The main goal of the unrest that began was to bring Kerensky to the forefront and give him the image of the leader of the revolution.
In his memoirs, Kerensky delicately keeps silent about what he did in the first days of the revolution. He wants to present the matter as if he joined the political struggle only on February 27th. Although he immediately notes meaningfully: “ The stage for the last act of the play was ready a long time ago. […] The hour of history has finally struck» .
From the very first days of February, Kerensky was at the epicenter of events. As S.I. Shidlovsky recalled: “ In the first days of the revolution, Kerensky found himself at ease, rushing around, making speeches everywhere, not distinguishing day from night, did not sleep, did not eat.” .
The tone of Kerensky’s speeches was so defiant that Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, in a letter to the Emperor dated February 24, expressed the hope that “ Kerensky from the Duma will be hanged for his terrible speech» .
Thus, on February 23, 1917, unexpectedly, both for most of the other conspirators and for the government, Kerensky, who was a protege of Wall Street, began a big game. In this game he was actively assisted by the “Old Believer” opposition party led by A.I. Guchkov, which acted mainly through the Central Military-Industrial Committee. However, whether Guchkov was privy to Kerensky’s plans from the very beginning, or whether he became involved in them as the unrest developed, is unknown. Nevertheless, the cooperation between Guchkov and Kerensky in the February days is beyond doubt. This can be seen from the reports of the Security Department. So, on February 26, it reported: “ Today at 8 o'clock in the evening, with the permission of A.I. Guchkov, in the premises of the Central Military-Industrial Committee (Liteiny 46), the remaining non-arrested members of the Working Group of the Central Military-Industrial Complex organized a meeting to resolve the supposed food issue, with the participation of members of the State Duma Kerensky and Skobelev and 90 workers" .
Neither the government nor the Duma attached any importance to the demonstrations that had begun. They were treated condescendingly: after all, they only ask for bread! While sorting out relations with each other, the government and the Duma did not notice either organized groups of militants attacking military factories, or casualties among the police. By evening the city was deserted, and the police reported: “ By the evening of February 23, through the efforts of police officials and military personnel, order was restored throughout the capital.” .
But this was just the calm before the storm.
From the new book “Nicholas II. A renunciation that never happened." -M.: AST, 2010.
The main political event of February could well be the resumption of meetings of the State Duma, scheduled for February 14.
The State Duma of the fourth convocation was elected in September-October 1912; its composition was, of course, bourgeois-landowner. After the defeats in the war in the spring-summer of 1915 and in connection with the growth of the labor movement in the State Duma, criticism of the government, calls and even demands for the creation of a “responsible government”, a government enjoying the “confidence of the country,” began to be increasingly heard. The State Duma met irregularly. So, in September 1915, it was dissolved for vacation, which lasted until February 1916. In November 1916, the Progressive Bloc demanded the resignation of the Stürmer government, then the new head of the government, Trepov. On December 16, the deputies were again sent on leave until January, which was “extended” until February 14.
The State Duma included 13 Social Democrats (7 Mensheviks and 6 Bolsheviks (later there were 5 of them, since R. Malinovsky was exposed as an agent of the secret police). In November 1914, all five Bolshevik Duma members participated in the Bolshevik conference in Ozerki, all participants in the conference , including the Bolshevik Duma members, were arrested. Their trial took place on February 10-13, 1915 and all 5 deputies were found guilty of participating in an organization aimed at overthrowing tsarism, and were sentenced to exile to a settlement in Eastern Siberia (Turukhansky Territory In 1916, many enterprises in the capital held meetings in connection with the anniversary of the verdict of the Bolshevik deputies, at which resolutions were passed demanding their release. In 1917, the Bolsheviks called for marking this date with demonstrations and a one-day strike “as a sign of readiness to give... their lives in the struggle for slogans that openly sounded in the mouths of our exiled deputies.”
The Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries made calls to “demonstrate” on February 14 at the Tauride Palace in order to express confidence and support in the State Duma, which on that day was supposed to resume work after the “vacation”.
February 8-9 strikes at a number of factories in Petrograd and Kolpin (Izhora plant) forced the commander of the Petrograd military district, General Khabalov, to issue an appeal to the workers demanding not to strike and threatening to use weapons.
February 10 Some factories were idle, others only worked until lunchtime. Rallies took place, the Bolshevik Party distributed 10 thousand leaflets. The workers' protests, which began on February 10, lasted for several days.
On February 10, 1917, the actual state councilor, chamberlain M.V. Rodzianko, who had presided over the State Duma for many years (since March 1911), arrived in Tsarskoe Selo with his last most loyal report. While assessing very little the actions of the government, especially the Minister of Internal Affairs Protopopov, he argued that Russia was on the eve of huge events, the outcome of which could not be foreseen. According to Rodzianko, it was necessary to immediately resolve the issue of extending the powers of the State Duma. He referred to the fact that such a measure - the extension of powers for the entire duration of the war - was recognized as naturally necessary not only by members of the State Duma, but also by the allies. If this is not done, Rodzianko emphasized, then the country, “exhausted from the hardships of life, due to the existing troubles in governance, can itself begin to defend its legal rights. This cannot be allowed in any way; it must be prevented in every possible way.”
Nicholas II did not agree with the report and to Rodzianko’s words: “You cannot put all the Rasputins at the forefront, you, sir, will reap what you sow” - he replied: “Well, God willing.”
Rallies and strikes at factories began (or rather, continued, as well as the distribution of leaflets calling “Down with autocracy!”) already in early February.
The 14th of February(on the opening day of the State Duma meeting), more than 80 thousand workers of 58 enterprises went on strike (Obukhovsky plant, Thornton factory, Atlas, factories: Aivaz, Old Lessner and New Lessner, etc.). Workers from many factories took to the streets with red banners and slogans: “Down with the government!”, “Long live the republic!”, “Down with the war!” Demonstrators broke through to Nevsky Prospekt, where clashes occurred with the police. Several attempts were made to arrest the demonstrators, but the crowd violently repulsed them. Gatherings took place in a number of higher educational institutions - University, Polytechnic, Forestry, Psychoneurological Institutes, etc.
At the call of the St. Petersburg Bolshevik Committee, workers of the Izhora plant in Kolpino held rallies in the workshops on February 13 and 14. Speeches were made by representatives of the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party and the factory workers themselves.
The head of the security department, Lieutenant Colonel Prutensky, reporting to the Petrograd Gendarmerie Directorate about strikes and rallies at the Izhora plant, noted the helplessness of the administration: “It should be noted that the Cossacks and lower ranks were friendly towards the workers and, apparently, recognized that the workers’ demands were fundamental and that measures should be taken in The authorities should not have anything to do with the emerging movement; in general, the impression was created that the Cossacks were on the side of the workers.”
Events showed that the “impression” did not deceive the royal servant. The atmosphere became tenser every day. The Bolsheviks called for open struggle. In a new leaflet issued after February 14, they wrote:
From a leaflet
Petersburg Committee of the RSDLPTO ALL WORKERS,
FOR WOMEN WORKERS
PETROGRAD
Together, comrades, keep up!
Let us strengthen our spirit in the fight,
The road to the kingdom of freedom
Let's pierce our chests!Comrades! Confess to each other that many of you have been waiting with curiosity for February 14th. Confess also and tell us what you had at your disposal, what forces you had mustered, what desires you had, clear and decisive, so that the day of February 14 would bring you what the entire working class longs for, what the entire suffering, hungry people of Russia are waiting for. Were the vague speeches that were heard in defense of the workers’ action at the Tauride Palace on the opening day of the State Duma enough? Is there really anyone among us who thinks that freedom can be obtained by beating the thresholds of palaces? No! The workers paid a high price for their enlightenment, and it would be an irreparable, shameful mistake to forget the dearly acquired science. But the tsarist government really wanted the St. Petersburg workers to be as blind and gullible as they were twelve years ago. After all, what a treat the royal ministers had prepared for the gullible! In each alley, a machine gun, a hundred policemen, wild, dark people were brought for this day, ready to rush at us at the first word. The bourgeois liberals, to whose support some bewildered workers were calling on the working class, seemed to have taken water in their mouths: they hid, not knowing what the St. Petersburg workers would do with the State Duma; and when there were none of them at the Tauride Palace, liberals in the Duma and in the newspapers whispered: of course, the workers of St. Petersburg could not do anything unpleasant to us, since the workers are at one with us, they want to wage the war to the end. Yes, comrades!
We want to fight the war to the end, and we must end it with our victory! But not the war that has been ruining and tormenting peoples for three years now. We want to wage war against this war. And our first weapon should be a clear consciousness of where our enemies are and who our friends are.
Thirty-one months of human carnage gave the people the death of many millions of lives, millions of cripples, the insane and the sick, military bondage in factories, serfdom in the countryside, flogging and abuse of sailors, lack of food, high prices, hunger. Only a handful of ruling capitalists and landowners are shouting about the war to the end and making hefty profits from the bloody deed. Suppliers of all sorts celebrate their feast on the bones of workers and peasants. The royal power stands guard over all the predatory brethren.
You can no longer wait and remain silent. ...There is no other outcome other than the people's struggle!
The working class and democracy should not wait until the tsarist government and the capitalists want to make peace, but now fight against these predators in order to take the fate of the country and the issues of the world into their own hands.
The first condition for real peace must be the overthrow of the tsarist government and the establishment of a Provisional Revolutionary Government to establish:
1. Russian Democratic Republic!
2. Carrying out an 8-hour working day!
3. Transfer of all landowners' lands to the peasantry!
The time has come for open struggle!
The workers' speeches were supported by students. On February 10, a student meeting took place at Petrograd University, the participants of which unanimously declared that they “join their protest in the form of a one-day strike and demonstration to the voice of the proletariat.” Student gatherings took place at the Polytechnic and Psychoneurological, Forestry and Medical Institutes, at the Lesgaft courses and the Higher Women's Courses. Several student gatherings advocated a two-day strike. And, naturally, the students “demonstrated” on Nevsky Prospekt.
On February 14, several hundred people came to rally at the Duma itself, responding to the call of the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. Both the police barriers and the position of the cadets, who called for refraining from demonstrations and maintaining order, interfered.
State Duma deputies discussed current bills, some speakers demanded the resignation of incapable ministers.
“How can you fight with legal means against someone who has turned the law itself into a weapon of mockery of the people? How can you cover up your inaction by implementing the law, when your enemies do not hide behind the law, but, openly mocking the entire country, mocking us, violate the law every day "With lawbreakers, there is only one way to physically eliminate them..."
The next key date in February for manifestations of public rally and demonstration activity could be February 23 (old style, and March 8 according to the new style), that is, International Women's Day, however...
February 17 In 1917, the fire monitor and stamping workshop of the Putilov plant went on strike. The workers demanded a 50% increase in prices for the return of recently fired comrades to the plant. On February 18, rallies took place in all workshops. The workers elected a delegation to present demands to the management. The director threatened settlement. On March 20, 4 more workshops went on strike, and rallies were held in others. Then on February 21, the entire plant stopped working and the Putilov shipyard went on strike. Only soldiers assigned to the plant continued work. On February 22, the plant was closed. The next day, 20 thousand Putilovites moved into the city. The day before, there were strong food riots in Petrograd. The appearance of the Putilovites seemed to add fuel to the fire. The Bolsheviks called for strikes in solidarity with the Putilovites. At several enterprises of the Vyborg and Narva outposts, strikes began in protest against the lack of food, bread and high prices.
February 22 Nicholas II went to headquarters in Mogilev. And now - the irony of fate - interruptions in the sale of bread have become completely intolerable.
February 23(according to the old calendar style, March 8) was International Women's Day. The Bolsheviks once again called on the workers to strike. About 90 thousand workers went on strike. During the day, the outskirts of Petrograd were dominated by demonstrators. The crowd was dominated by working women. Women abandoned lines where they had stood for hours for bread and joined the strikers. The demonstrators not only went on strike themselves - they removed others from work.
A huge crowd of workers surrounded the cartridge factory, where they removed five thousand people from work. The performances were held under the slogan “Bread!” There were already quite a few red banners with revolutionary slogans, especially in the Vyborg region, where the Bolshevik committee began vigorous activity. According to a police report, at about 3 pm, up to four thousand people broke through from the Vyborg side through the Sampsonievsky Bridge and occupied Trinity Square. Speakers appeared in the crowd. Policemen on horseback and on foot dispersed the demonstrations. Not yet strong enough to repel the police, the workers responded to the repression by smashing bakeries and beating up the most zealous policemen.
In the evening the Bolshevik Committee of the Vyborg District met. They decided to continue the strike and turn it into a general strike.
Events developed in several dimensions - on the one hand, strikes organized with the participation of the Bolsheviks, on the other hand, spontaneous street protests.
From the REPORT of the prosecutor of the Petrograd Judicial Chamber to the Minister of Justice on the strike movement of Petrograd workers. 24 February.
RAPORT
On the morning of February 23, the artisans of the Vyborg region who came to the factories gradually began to stop work and go out into the streets in crowds, openly expressing protest and dissatisfaction about the lack of bread. The movement of the masses for the most part was of such a demonstrative nature that they had to be broken up by police squads.
Soon, news of the strike spread to enterprises in other areas, whose workers also began to join the strikers. Thus, by the end of the day, 43 enterprises with 78,443 workers were on strike.
Note. According to some estimates, the number of strikers was more than 128 thousand people.
Late in the evening of February 23, in the Vyborg district, at the apartment of worker I. Alexandrov, a meeting of the leadership core of the Petrograd Bolsheviks took place. It recognized the need to continue the strike, organize demonstrations on Nevsky, intensify agitation among the soldiers, and take measures to arm the workers.
24 February Over 200 thousand workers were already on strike, that is, more than half of the St. Petersburg proletariat.
Up to 10,000 workers from the Vyborg side out of 40,000 who gathered at the Liteyny Bridge and several thousand workers from other areas broke through, despite police cordons, into the city center - onto Nevsky Prospekt. There were rallies at the Kazan Cathedral and on Znamenskaya Square.
Military units were sent to help the police, but the Cossack soldiers evaded orders.
Strike on the 25th in Petrograd it turned into a universal political one. On this day, according to an intelligence report to the police department, a meeting of the St. Petersburg Committee of the RSDLP took place.
From a note from the security department dated February 24, intended for the information of police bailiffs
On February 23, from 9 a.m., in protest over the shortage of black bread in bakeries and small shops, at factories in the Vyborg part of the region, strikes of workers began, which then spread to some factories located in the Petrograd, Rozhdestvenskaya and Foundry parts, and During the day, work was stopped in 50 factories and factory enterprises, where 87,534 workers went on strike.
The strikers, energetically dispersed by police squads and requested military units, scattered in one place, soon gathered in others, showing particular tenacity in this case, and only by 7 o’clock in the evening was order restored in the area of the Vyborg part. Attempts by workers of the Vyborg region to cross in crowds to the central part of the city were prevented throughout the day by police guards guarding bridges and embankments, but by 4 o’clock in the afternoon some of the workers nevertheless crossed one by one over the bridges and along the ice of the Neva River, along a large length of it, and reached the embankment of the left bank, where workers managed to group in the side streets adjacent to the embankment and then almost simultaneously remove workers from 6 factories from work in the areas of the 3rd section of the Rozhdestvenskaya part, the 1st section of the Liteinaya part and then carried out demonstrations on Liteiny and Suvorovsky prospects, where the workers were soon dispersed. Almost simultaneously with this, at 4 and a half o'clock in the afternoon, on Nevsky Prospekt, near Znamenskaya Square, part of the striking workers, who entered there in tram cars, as well as individually and in small groups from side streets, made several attempts to delay the movement of trams and cause riots *, but the demonstrators were immediately dispersed, and tram traffic was restored. By 7 pm normal traffic on Nevsky Prospekt was established. In the area of the Petrograd part, the striking workers made several attempts to remove non-striking workers from work, but these attempts were prevented and the demonstrators were dispersed.
In addition, at 3 o’clock in the afternoon, the public waiting in line for bread, having heard that it had been sold, broke the mirror glass in Filippov’s bakery, at number 61 on Bolshoy Prospekt, and then fled. In other parts of the city there were no strikes or demonstrations by workers.
During the pacification of the unrest, 21 workers were detained... On the morning of February 23, the Putilov shipyard was closed by order of the administration, and a settlement was announced to the workers.
* The police assessment of any political speech is one: chaos.
From the note
Head of the Security Department, Major General Globachev
the Minister of Internal Affairs, the mayor, the prosecutor's office,
director of the police department and commander of the troops
on the evening of February 24
The strike of workers that took place yesterday over a shortage of bread continued today, with 131 enterprises with 158,583 people not working during the day.
Among the demonstrators there was a significant number of students.
From the note
police department about the meeting
Petersburg Committee of the Bolshevik Party on February 25, 1917
The Petrograd organization of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, during the two days of unrest in Petrograd, decided to use the emerging movement for party purposes and, taking the leadership of the masses participating in it into its own hands, give it a clearly revolutionary direction.
For this purpose, the named organization proposed:
2) tomorrow, February 26, in the morning, convene a committee to resolve the question of the best and expedient procedure for managing the already excited, but not yet sufficiently organized masses of striking workers; at the same time, it was proposed, if the government does not take energetic measures to suppress the ongoing unrest, on Monday, February 27, to begin setting up barricades, cutting off electricity, damaging water pipes and telegraphs *;
3) immediately form a number of factory committees at the factories, the members of which should select representatives from their composition to the “Information Bureau”, which will serve as a link between the organization and the factory committees and will manage the latter, transmitting to them the directives of the Petrograd Committee. This “Information Bureau,” according to the conspirators’ assumption, should subsequently be formed into the “Council of Workers’ Deputies,” similar to the one that functioned in 1905;
4) from the Bureau of the Central Committee of the same organization (Petrograd), delegates that have not yet been clarified were sent to Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod on party assignments.
As for other revolutionary organizations, individual representatives of the Socialist Revolutionary Party existing in Petrograd (there are no organizations of this party in Petrograd), fully sympathizing with the movement that has begun, believe to join it in order to support the revolutionary action of the proletariat. Among students in higher educational institutions there is complete sympathy for the movement; Meetings led by speakers take place within the walls of institutions. Students take part in riots in the streets. In order to suppress such plans of revolutionary elements, it is planned to make up to 200 arrests tonight among the most active revolutionary figures and student youth...
* Leningrad researcher Yu. S. Tokarev suggested that the provocateur, on the basis of whose reports the note was drawn up, deliberately exaggerated the story in order to inflate himself with the police authorities, because the assertion that the Bolsheviks intended to disrupt telephone communications and deprive the city of water and electricity hardly legal. These measures were not dictated by the current situation and were alien to Bolshevik tactics.
From a leaf
Petersburg Committee of the Bolshevik Party,
published on February 25
Russian
It became impossible to live. There's nothing to eat. There is nothing to wear. There is nothing to heat it with. At the front there is blood, mutilation, death. Set after set. Train after train, like herds of cattle, our children and brothers are sent to human slaughter.
You can't be silent!
To hand over brothers and children to slaughter, while you yourself die of cold and hunger and remain silent endlessly, is cowardice, senseless, criminal, and vile. ...The time of open struggle has arrived. Strikes, rallies, demonstrations will not weaken the organization, but will strengthen it. Take advantage of every opportunity, every convenient day. Always and everywhere with the masses and with their revolutionary slogans.
Call everyone to fight. It is better to die a glorious death fighting for the workers’ cause than to lay down your life for the profits of capital at the front or to wither away from hunger and overwork. A single protest can grow into an all-Russian revolution, which will give impetus to revolution in other countries. There is a struggle ahead, but certain victory awaits us. All under the red banners of the revolution! Down with the royal monarchy! Long live the democratic republic! Long live the eight-hour workday! All the land of the landowners to the people! Long live the All-Russian General Strike! Down with the war! Long live the brotherhood of the workers of the whole world! Long live the Socialist International!
The employee's nickname is Stoker.
Lieutenant Colonel Tyshkevich received the informationStatement of information. Today, the agitation has taken on even greater proportions, and one can already note the leadership center from where directives are received... If decisive measures are not taken to suppress the unrest, then barricades may be erected by Monday. It should be noted that among the military units called to pacify the riots, flirting with the demonstrators is observed, and some units, even being patronizing, encourage the crowd with appeals: “Push harder.” If the moment is missed and the leadership moves to the top of the revolutionary underground, then events will take on the widest dimensions.
On the Vyborg side, workers destroyed police stations and interrupted telephone communications with the Petrograd city authorities. The Narva outpost actually came under the control of the rebels. At the Putilov plant, workers created a temporary revolutionary committee, which headed the fighting squad. The first armed clashes with the police occurred. The dead and wounded appeared. Near the Kazansky Bridge, demonstrators fired several shots at policemen, wounding two of them. Near the Anichkov Bridge on Nevsky Prospekt, a hand grenade was thrown at a group of mounted gendarmes. On Nizhegorodskaya Street, demonstrators killed the police chief of the Vyborg unit, and on Znamenskaya Square - a bailiff. Dozens of police were beaten. The outcome of the struggle largely depended on the behavior of the army. In a number of cases, soldiers and even Cossacks sent to disperse demonstrators refused to shoot at workers, and there were cases of fraternization. On Vasilievsky Island, the Cossack hundred refused to carry out the officer’s order to disperse the demonstration. At the Kazan Cathedral, the Cossacks of the 4th Don Regiment recaptured those arrested from the policemen. On Sadovaya Street, soldiers joined the demonstrators.
From the memoirs of P. D. Skuratov, a worker at the Putilov plant:
“We organized ourselves at the end of the Bogomolovskaya small group, about 300-400 people, and then, when we reached the Peterhof Highway, a huge mass of workers joined us. We tied red scarves onto sticks - a red banner appeared - and with the singing of “La Marseillaise” we moved towards the Narva Gate. When we reached Ushakovskaya Street, a mounted detachment of police rushed towards us and began whipping us left and right, and we were forced to run away... Thousands of Putilovites and chemical plant workers again gathered at the Narva Gate. We decided to give the procession an organized character. Those in front took hands and moved in this way... As soon as they turned from Sadovaya to Nevsky, a cavalry squadron gallops towards them with drawn sabers from the Anichkov Palace. We parted and they drove between us. We shouted “hurray” in an organized manner, but there was no response from them.
Having reached Liteiny, we met with the workers of the Vyborg district and continued the joint procession to Znamenskaya Square. A general meeting was held there. At this time, a mounted police detachment flew out from behind the Balabinskaya hotel, and the bailiff riding ahead hit the woman on the shoulder with a saber carrying a banner, who worked in the hospital cash desk of our plant. He didn’t have to leave - we pulled him off his horse, carried him down and threw him into the Fontanka. The Cossacks were galloping from the Central Hotel along Ligovka, then the policemen turned and drove back along Suvorovsky Prospekt, and the Cossacks followed us. We discussed among ourselves what it meant, that there was a discrepancy between the troops, and concluded: it means the revolution has won.”.
Priceless, beloved treasure! 8°, light snow - I’m sleeping well so far, but I miss you unspeakably, my love. Strikes and riots in the city are more than provocative (I am sending you a letter from Kalinin* to me). It is, however, not worth much, since you will probably receive a more detailed report from the mayor. This is a hooligan movement, boys and girls running around and shouting that they have no bread, just to create excitement, and workers who prevent others from working. If the weather had been very cold, they would all probably have stayed indoors. But this will all pass and calm down, if only the Duma behaves well. The worst speeches are not published**, but I think that anti-dynastic speeches must be immediately and very severely punished, especially since it is wartime... The strikers must be told directly not to organize strikes, otherwise they will be sent to the front or punish severely.* This is what the Romanovs called the Minister of Internal Affairs A.D. Protopopov.
** This refers to the debate in the State Duma on the food issue. Some of the speeches, according to the written order of the Minister of War, were prohibited from publication.
From a telegram from the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General S. S. Khabalov, to the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief
I report that on February 23 and 24, due to a lack of bread, a strike occurred in many factories. On February 24, about 200 thousand workers went on strike and forcibly removed those working. The tram service was stopped by workers. In the middle of the day on February 23 and 24, some of the workers broke through to Nevsky, from where they were dispersed... Today, February 25, the workers’ attempts to penetrate Nevsky were successfully paralyzed. The part that broke through is dispersed by the Cossacks... In addition to the Petrograd garrison, five squadrons of the 9th reserve cavalry regiment from Krasnoe Selo, a hundred of the Life Guards of the combined Cossack regiment from Pavlovsk are taking part in suppressing the unrest, and five squadrons of the guards reserve cavalry regiment are called to Petrograd.
Announcement
Commander of the Petrograd Military District Khabalov,
prohibiting demonstrations and speeches
In recent days, there have been riots in Petrograd, accompanied by violence and attacks on the lives of military and police officials. I prohibit any gathering on the streets. I preface the population of Petrograd that I have confirmed to the troops to use weapons, stopping at nothing to restore order in the capital.
Telegram from the Tsar to General Khabalov
To the General Staff Khabalov
I command you to stop the riots in the capital tomorrow, which are unacceptable during the difficult times of the war with Germany and Austria.
Telegram from Khabalov to the headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief
I report that during the second half of February 25, crowds of workers gathering on Znamenskaya Square and near the Kazan Cathedral were repeatedly dispersed by police and military officials. Around 5 p.m. near Gostiny Dvor, demonstrators sang revolutionary songs and threw out red flags with the inscription: “Down with the war!”... On February 25, two hundred and forty thousand workers went on strike. I have issued an announcement prohibiting the gathering of people on the streets and confirming that any manifestation of disorder will be suppressed by force of arms. Today, February 26, the city is calm in the morning.
Telegram
Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko Nicholas II
Your Majesty! The situation is serious. There is anarchy in the capital. The government is paralyzed. Transport, food and fuel were in complete disarray. Public discontent is growing. There is indiscriminate shooting on the streets. Troop units shoot at each other. It is necessary to immediately entrust a person enjoying the confidence of the country to form a new government. You can't hesitate. Any delay is like death. I pray to God that at this hour the responsibility does not fall on the crown bearer.
To help the garrison units and the Cossacks of the 1st Don Regiment, who, in the opinion of the ruling circles, were too hesitant in dispersing the demonstrators, five squadrons of the 9th reserve cavalry regiment from Krasnoe Selo, a hundred of the Life Guards of the consolidated Cossack regiment from Pavlovsk and five squadrons were called guards reserve regiment. At about 9 pm on February 25, the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General Khabalov, received a telegram from Nicholas II, who ordered the unrest in the capital to immediately stop. Having gathered the chiefs of the sections and commanders of the units located in Petrograd, Khabalov read out the text of the emperor’s telegram, giving instructions to shoot at the demonstrators after three warnings.
On the morning of February 26, arrests of representatives of revolutionary organizations began. In total, about a hundred people were captured.
On the afternoon of February 26, Sunday, crowds of workers from all proletarian districts of the capital began to move towards the center. In many places their path was blocked by military patrols. On Znamenskaya Square, on Nevsky, Ligovskaya Street, on the corner of 1st Rozhdestvenskaya and Suvorovsky Prospekt, military outposts, on the orders of officers, shot at demonstrators. According to a certificate from the security department, on Znamenskaya Square alone the police collected about 40 dead and approximately the same number of wounded that day, not counting those whom the demonstrators carried away with them. In total, during the February revolutionary events in Petrograd, 169 people were killed and about a thousand were wounded. The largest number of deaths occurred on February 26.
From the memoirs of a soldier of the training team of the Volyn regiment about the participation of Volyn residents in the execution of a workers’ demonstration:
“The team is already in place. The workers occupied the entire area of the Nikolaevsky station. The soldiers still hope that they were called only for appearances, to instill fear. But when the hour hand on the station clock moved towards twelve, the soldiers’ doubts were dispelled - they were ordered to shoot. A volley rang out. The workers rushed in all directions. The first volleys were almost without defeat: the soldiers, as if by agreement, fired upwards. But then a machine gun, aimed at the crowd by officers, began to crackle, and workers’ blood stained the snow-covered square. The crowd rushed into the courtyards in disorder, crushing each other. The mounted gendarmerie began to pursue the “enemy” who had been shot down from the position, and this pursuit continued until late at night. Only then were the military units separated into barracks. Our team, under the leadership of Staff Captain Dashkevich, returned to the barracks exactly at one in the morning.”
Pagetnykh K.I.
Volyntsi in February days. Memories
IGV Manuscript Fund, No. 488
Leaflet
Petersburg Committee of the Bolshevik Party
with an appeal to the soldiers to go over to the side of the rebel workers
to overthrow the autocracy
Russian
Social Democratic Labor PartyWorkers of all countries, unite!
BROTHER SOLDIERS!
For the third day, we, the workers of Petrograd, openly demand the destruction of the autocratic system, the culprit of the shed blood of the people, the culprit of the famine in the country, dooming your wives and children, mothers and brothers to death. Remember, comrade soldiers, that only the fraternal alliance of the working class and the revolutionary army will bring liberation to the enslaved people and an end to the fratricidal senseless massacre.
Down with the royal monarchy! Long live the fraternal alliance of the revolutionary army with the people!
Petersburg Committee
Russian Social Democratic
workers' party
The employee's nickname is Matveev.
Lieutenant Colonel Tyshkevich received informationIn the Vasileostrovsky district, the Social Democrats (Social Democrats) are conducting widespread campaigning for the continuation of the strike and street demonstrations. At the ongoing rallies, decisions were made to use terror on a large scale against those factories and factories that would begin work. Today, in the apartment of worker Grismanov, who lives on the 14th line of Vasilievsky Island in house No. 95, apt. 1, a meeting of Bolsheviks and Unitedists took place, at which about 28 people were present. At the meeting, appeals to the soldiers were handed over to those present for distribution among the lower ranks, and, in addition, the following resolution was adopted: 1) continuation of the strike and further demonstrations, taking them to extreme limits; 2) forcibly force cinema entrepreneurs and billiard room owners to close them in order to force workers to work on the street rather than engage in festive entertainment; 3) collect weapons for the formation of fighting squads and 4) engage in the disarmament of policemen through unexpected attacks.
The employee's nickname is Limonin.
Lieutenant Colonel Belousov received informationStatement of information. The general mood of the non-party masses is this: the movement broke out spontaneously, without preparation and solely on the basis of the food crisis. Since the military units did not interfere with the crowd, and in some cases even took measures to paralyze the initiatives of the police officials, the masses gained confidence in their impunity, and now, after two days of unhindered walking through the streets, when revolutionary circles put forward slogans: “Down with the war” and “Down with the government,” the people became convinced that a revolution had begun, that success belonged to the masses, that the government was powerless to suppress the movement due to the fact that the military units were not on its side, that a decisive victory was close, since the military units would not march today tomorrow it is open on the side of the revolutionary forces that the movement that has begun will not subside, but will grow without interruption until the final victory and coup d'etat. Water supply and power plants are expected to cease operations. It should be borne in mind that tomorrow the workers will go to the factories, but with the sole purpose of getting together, uniting and moving out into the streets again in an organized and planned manner to achieve complete success. At the moment, factories play the role of grand clubs, and therefore a temporary closure of factories for at least 2-3 days would deprive the masses of information centers where experienced speakers electrify the crowd, coordinate the actions of individual factories and give coherence and organization to all speeches. The question of creating a Council of Workers' Deputies has been raised, which is expected to be created in the near future. The mood of the masses is fueled by news of certain successes of the crowd in certain areas of the capital and by information received about the emergence of a movement in the provinces. Nowadays they say that in Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod there is already a complete repetition of the Petrograd events and that in a number of provincial cities there are also riots.
They say that a great movement has begun among the sailors of the Baltic Fleet and that the sailors are ready any minute to penetrate here and act on land as a major revolutionary force. The situation is aggravated by the fact that bourgeois circles also demand a change of government, i.e. the government remains without support from anyone, but in this case there is also a gratifying phenomenon: bourgeois circles only demand a change of government and are in favor of continuing the war to a victorious end , and the workers put forward slogans: “Bread, down with the government and down with the war.” This last point creates discord between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, and only because of this they do not want to support each other. This difference of views is a good circumstance for the government, which fragments the forces and disperses the initiatives of individual circles. Nowadays everything depends on the line of conduct of the military units: if the latter do not go over to the side of the proletariat, then the movement will quickly decline, but if the troops turn against the government, then nothing will save the country from a revolutionary coup. Only decisive and immediate action can weaken and stop the emerging movement. The election to the Council of Workers' Deputies will take place at the factories, probably tomorrow morning, and the Council of Workers' Deputies tomorrow evening. dep. can already begin its functions. This circumstance once again speaks for the need to prevent factory meetings tomorrow morning by closing all factories.
This was the last message that the security department received. From February 27, only two telephone messages from the polling stations were preserved, reporting on the performance of the Volynians, Lithuanians, Preobrazhentsev and other military units.
At about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the 4th company of the reserve battalion of the Pavlovsk regiment, indignant at the participation of the training team of its regiment in the execution of workers, went out into the street with the goal of returning fellow soldiers to the barracks and along the way fired at a mounted detachment of policemen. Khabalov ordered the battalion commander and the regimental priest to take the oath of office and place the company in barracks, taking away their weapons. When, having returned to the barracks, the company handed over its weapons, it was discovered that 21 soldiers, taking their rifles, went over to the side of the demonstrators. The battalion command arrested 19 people, they were sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress, they were subject to a military court, as the main instigators. The performance of the Pavlovians was a harbinger of the uprising, but not yet the uprising itself.
But activists of worker cooperatives, trade unions, Mensheviks, and Socialist Revolutionaries were preparing for a revolutionary development of events
.- revolutionary events that took place in Russia in early March (according to the Julian calendar - at the end of February - beginning of March) 1917 and led to the overthrow of the autocracy. In Soviet historical science it was characterized as “bourgeois”.
Its objectives were to introduce a constitution, establish a democratic republic (the possibility of maintaining a constitutional parliamentary monarchy was not excluded), political freedoms, and resolve land, labor and national issues.
The revolution was led to a significant deterioration in the socio-economic situation of the Russian Empire due to the protracted First World War, economic devastation, and the food crisis. It became increasingly difficult for the state to maintain the army and provide food to the cities; dissatisfaction with the military hardships grew among the population and among the troops. At the front, left-wing party agitators were successful, calling on soldiers to disobey and revolt.
The liberal-minded public was outraged by what was happening at the top, criticizing the unpopular government, the frequent change of governors and ignoring the State Duma, whose members demanded reforms and, in particular, the creation of a government responsible not to the Tsar, but to the Duma.
The aggravation of the needs and misfortunes of the masses, the growth of anti-war sentiment and general dissatisfaction with the autocracy led to mass protests against the government and the dynasty in large cities and primarily in Petrograd (now St. Petersburg).
At the beginning of March 1917, due to transport difficulties in the capital, supplies deteriorated, food cards were introduced, and the Putilov plant temporarily suspended work. As a result, 36 thousand workers lost their livelihood. Strikes in solidarity with the Putilovites took place in all districts of Petrograd.
On March 8 (February 23, old style), 1917, tens of thousands of workers took to the streets of the city, carrying slogans of “Bread!” and “Down with autocracy!” Two days later, the strike had already covered half of the workers in Petrograd. Armed squads were formed at the factories.
On March 10-11 (February 25-26, old style), the first clashes between strikers and the police and gendarmerie took place. Attempts to disperse the protesters with the help of troops were not successful, but only escalated the situation, since the commander of the Petrograd Military District, fulfilling the order of Emperor Nicholas II to “restore order in the capital,” ordered the troops to shoot at the demonstrators. Hundreds of people were killed or injured, and many were arrested.
On March 12 (February 27, old style), the general strike escalated into an armed uprising. A massive transfer of troops to the side of the rebels began.
The military command tried to bring new units to Petrograd, but the soldiers did not want to participate in the punitive operation. One military unit after another took the side of the rebels. Revolutionary-minded soldiers, having seized an armory, helped detachments of workers and students arm themselves.
The rebels occupied the most important points of the city, government buildings, and arrested the tsarist government. They also destroyed police stations, seized prisons, and released prisoners, including criminals. Petrograd was overwhelmed by a wave of robberies, murders and robbery.
The center of the uprising was the Tauride Palace, where the State Duma previously met. On March 12 (February 27, old style), the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was formed here, the majority of which were Mensheviks and Trudoviks. The first thing the Council took up was solving the problems of defense and food supply.
At the same time, in the adjacent hall of the Tauride Palace, the Duma leaders, who refused to obey the decree of Nicholas II on the dissolution of the State Duma, formed the “Provisional Committee of State Duma Members,” which declared itself the bearer of supreme power in the country. The committee was headed by Duma Chairman Mikhail Rodzianko, and the body included representatives of all Duma parties, with the exception of the far right. The committee members created a broad political program for the transformations necessary for Russia. Their first priority was to restore order, especially among the soldiers.
On March 13 (February 28, old style), the Provisional Committee appointed General Lavr Kornilov to the post of commander of the troops of the Petrograd District and sent its commissioners to the Senate and ministries. He began to perform the functions of the government and sent deputies Alexander Guchkov and Vasily Shulgin to Headquarters for negotiations with Nicholas II on the abdication of the throne, which took place on March 15 (March 2, old style).
On the same day, as a result of negotiations between the Provisional Committee of the Duma and the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, a Provisional Government was created, headed by Prince Georgy Lvov, which took full power into its own hands. The only representative of the Soviets who received a ministerial post was the Trudovik Alexander Kerensky.
On March 14 (March 1, old style), a new government was established in Moscow, and throughout March throughout the country. But in Petrograd and locally, the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies and the Soviets of Peasants' Deputies gained great influence.
The coming to power simultaneously of the Provisional Government and the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies created a situation of dual power in the country. A new stage of the struggle for power between them began, which, together with the inconsistent policies of the Provisional Government, created the preconditions for the October Revolution of 1917.
The material was prepared based on information from open sources
The February Revolution of 1917 in Russia is still called the Bourgeois-Democratic Revolution. 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 the elite in Russia completely changedCauses 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 resulted in 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 very bad due to the extraordinary snow, frosts and, most importantly, of course, because of the stress 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 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 commander in chief was the King of Romania, 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 brother of 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 hugged each other, crying. A solemn and jubilant cry of steam locomotives flew from the direction of the station (K. Paustovsky “Restless Youth”)
