Results of the February Revolution of 1917. On the way to the October Revolution

Causes:

Economic:

A) the food crisis in Russia in the winter of 1917. Rising prices.

b) unilateral development of industry due to militarization

c) disorder of cx and transport.

D) financial crisis.

E) The crisis of combat supply of the army.

Political:

a The contradictions between the bourgeoisie and the autocracy intensified.

in Not the ability of Nicholas 2 to organize power.

Rasputenschina Georgy Rasputin gained confidence in the wife of Nicholas 2 and ruled the whole country

Social:

A) Dissatisfaction of the bourgeoisie with their role in society.

b) Deterioration of the position of the workers and peasants.

C) the growth of the strike movement.

D) The growth of peasant unrest.

e Exacerbation of national problems.

Spiritual:

A) the absence of a national unifying idea.

B) the growth of anti-war sentiment

Military:

A) Difficult military situation at the front,

b) War fatigue, army and people. Tasks of the revolution:

1. overthrow the autocracy and establish a democratic republic

2. solve the agrarian issue and give the peasants land

3. legislate the eight-hour working day

4.Guarantee democratic freedoms.

5. Provide the peoples of Russia with independence or equality within Russia.

6.Russia must withdraw from the war and make peace.

Course of events:

February 18, 1917 -90 thousand workers of Petrograd went on strike. They demanded higher wages due to higher prices.

February 20 - the administration of the Putilov factory fired 30 thousand workers from the enterprise. - On February 22, the general strike of the workers of Petrograd begins. -February 23 - anti-war demonstration of workers and workers. February 23 - the beginning of the revolution. February 26 - the transition of troops to the side of the strikers February 27 - the general strike grew into a general uprising. February 27 - the victory of the revolution. results of the revolution.

one . New authorities were created: -February 27 -Created. Petrograd Soviet of Workers and Deputies. -February 27, an interim committee of the State Duma was formed. - March 1, order No. 1 was issued on the democratization of the army and the subordination of the Petrograd garrison to the Petrograd Soviet - on March 2, a provisional government was formed. 2. The fall of the monarchy.

On June 2, Nicholas II signed a manifesto on abdication. In terms of tasks and movements of the forces, the revolution had a bourgeois-democratic character. 3. A dual power was formed in Russia from March 2, 1917 to July 1917.

Conclusion: The victory of the February Revolution was the victory of all sections of the population over the autocracy. As a result of the revolution, dual power developed, power was simultaneously with the soviets and the provisional government.

57. Describe the struggle of social and political forces for power in Russia from March to October 1917. The events of the inter-revolutionary period took place until June 24 against the backdrop of dual power. Dual power - the simultaneous existence of two political directions.

1. Tips. power of anarchy

2. Provisional government power without power Provisional government in Russia: March 2 - May 5, 1917 Lvov was led by a constitutional democrat - The concept of a provisional government was the 1st coalition government May 2 - June 23 Prince Lvov. -After the first coalition government, a second coalition government was created. June 2 - September 24 Directed by Kiriensky. -After the second, the third was created from September 25-October 25 Why is it temporary They longed for a constituent government that would try on everyone. From March - April 1917 - The political process covers 5 political crises. 1. April 1917. On March 4, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Miliukov informed his allies that the government would continue the war. On April 18, Milyukov published a note from the provisional government that Russia would fight to the bitter end. There are riots in the streets. Milyukova and Guchkova Ministers of War in exile 2. June 1917. On June 18, the first congress of Soviets scheduled a demonstration in support of the first government, people came out and began to demand an end to the war. Down with ten capitalist ministers 3. June. Caused by the failure of performance at the front. On June 3 and 4, demonstrations were held under the slogan: All power to the Soviets. The demonstration was shot, and the Bolsheviks were arrested. 4. Karnilovsky rebellion. from August 25-31, his goal was to establish a military dictatorship. 5. October 26 October. Ends with the arrest of the provisional government. Kerinsky flees to France as a result.

58. Expand the causes, indicate the stages and results of the Civil War in Russia. A civil war is a state of society when armed struggle is the main means of resolving political issues. Reasons: 1. Armed seizure of power by the Bolsheviks 2. Dispersal of the Constituent Assembly 3. Bolsheviks' refusal to create a homogeneous socialist pr-va, which includes all watered. Parties standing on a socialist basis. 4. Nationalization of land and enterprises 5. Seizure of surplus grain and food from the peasants 6. Nationalization of the property of foreign citizens 7. Refusal to pay the debts of the tsarist government 8. The Entente was afraid of the spread of socialism around the world. 2 forces of revolution:

9. Carrying out a policy of military polonism in the city and countryside.

supporters of the Soviet government. Opponents of the Soviet government. - We advocated the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat - the power - for the restoration of the power of the landlords and capitalists - advocated socialism - for the restoration of capitalism - the elimination of private property - for the preservation of private property - the nationalization of land to the state! - the return of land to landowners - for the exit from the First World War - for the continuation. wars to the bitter end Stages of the Civil War: February 1917 - December 1922 Stage 1. February Revolution Prologue of the Civil War

Stage 2. March-October 1917 The growing polarization of society, there was an escalation of violence, on July 3-4, 1917, troops opened fire on the demonstration. Kornilov rebellion August 1917

The October Revolution, the overthrow of the provisional government, the dispersal of the constituent assembly.

Stage 4. March-June 1918.

The period of the "soft" civil war, the offensive of Krasnov's aria on Petrograd.

Stage 5 Summer 1918 - autumn 1920.

There was a performance of the Czechoslovak corps

Confrontation between regular white and red armies

Landing of the state troops in the Entente

There were military operations of the troops of Kolchak, Denikin, Yudenin

The white armies were defeated

Foreign troops were defeated and evacuated

May-June 1920 war with Poland

Stage 6 1920-1922

The last outbreak of the war

The victory of the Reds in Central Asia, in the Far East.

Results:

13 million people died - 4.5 million homeless people appeared. - industrial production decreased by 7 times. - 2 million people were forced to emigrate. -established a one-party system.

By January 1917 in Russia, both the bourgeois opposition and the workers' revolutionary forces were unanimous in their opposition to the tsar and the few top bureaucrats who remained loyal to him. Any slip of power with a tenfold force hit her like a boomerang. Everyone, even the loyal supporters of the tsar, saw the betrayals and intrigues of the Germans all around.

Two fatal events preceded the beginning of the revolution. At a meeting with ministers on February 21, Nicholas 2 suddenly announced that he was going to appear in the Duma and announce the granting of a responsible ministry. Perhaps he was influenced by the visits to Tsarskoye Selo of the Chairman of the 2nd Duma N.V. Rodzianko, who repeatedly asked the tsar to create a ministry immediately responsible to the Duma. On his last visit on February 10, Rodzianko predicted that the refusal would threaten revolution and such anarchy "that no one can stop" and expressed his firm conviction that this was his last visit to the autocrat and that in three weeks he would no longer reign. And so it happened: on the evening of February 22, literally on the eve of the revolution, before leaving for Headquarters, Nicholas 2 changed his mind and informed N.D. Golitsyn to change his mind.

On February 22, at the Putilov plant, a meeting of workers was held with demands of an economic nature addressed to the administration. This resulted in a massive lockout. All participants were calculated, and a crowd of 30,000 workers was thrown into the street for several days, which instantly revolutionized all the workers of the capital. When the big plenary session of the Fourth State Duma opened on February 23, the center of revolutionary events shifted to the streets.

The course and main events of the February Revolution of 1917

The events of the revolution began on February 23 (March 8), 1917. At the call of the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), the St. Petersburg Committee of the RSDLP (b) and the Interdistrict Committee of the RSDLP, a women's anti-war demonstration began in honor of the International Day of Women Workers. It grew into a large city strike, in which 128,000 people took part, a third of all the city's workers. Already on that day, the characteristic features of the revolution that had begun appeared: a combination of organizational spontaneous uprisings. The next day, the number of strikers reached 214,000, and demonstrations and rallies became the predominant form of the movement. On February 25, 305,000 were already on strike. At the enterprises of the city, especially on the Vyborg and Petrograd sides, strike committees began to be created - the prototypes of future factory committees.

The nature of the events of February 26 was already significantly different from the previous three days of the revolution. On the evening before, Nicholas 2, after receiving reports on the events, sent a telegram to the Commander-in-Chief of the Petrograd Military District, General Khabalov, demanding "tomorrow", that is, on the 26th, to stop the unrest in the capital. In pursuance of these instructions from the tsar, on the night of February 26, the police arrested over 100 members of the revolutionary parties, including five members of the Petrograd Committee and the Russian Bureau of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b). members of the Vyborg district party committee assumed the functions of the citywide party center. It was Sunday. The soldiers received live ammunition and for the most part complied with the order to use their weapons. One of the companies of the Pavlovsky Guards Regiment refused to shoot at the people and fired a salvo at a platoon of horse-police guards on the Ekaterininsky Canal.

February 27 is considered the day of the February bourgeois-democratic revolution. His events were truly a turning point. On the night of February 27, the soldiers of many guards regiments of the capitals discussed the results of yesterday and agreed not to shoot at the people. The first such soldier's "conspiracy" was implemented by the training team of the reserve battalion of the Volyn Guards Regiment. At the morning check they killed their company commander, dismantled their weapons and took them out into the city streets. On that day, the number of rebel soldiers reached a quarter of their total number in St. Petersburg, by the evening of the next day - half, and by March 1, there were no law-abiding troops in the capital. At the same time, on February 27, soldiers and workers set fire to the building of the District Court near the Gun and Petrograd party courts, stormed the building of the House of Preliminary Detention located behind the District Court, releasing all those under investigation. The soldiers of the outpost of the reserve battalion of the Moscow Guards Regiment refused to shoot at the 20,000-strong demonstration and let it through to the Vyborg side. Part of the soldiers went to the largest city prison "Crosses", took it by storm, released all the prisoners. On this day, bridges, railway stations, the courthouse, the most important government institutions were taken, the next - the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Winter Palace and the Admiralty. The crew of the cruiser Aurora rebelled. The uprising in Petrograd won.

“The point was that in this whole huge city it was impossible to find several hundred people who would sympathize with the authorities ... The point was that the authorities themselves did not sympathize ... There was, in fact, not a single minister who would believe in himself ... "

Establishment of dual power

On the morning of February 27, 1917, the official meeting of the 4th Duma began in the Tauride Palace. Standing, its participants listened to the royal decree on a break in work until April. Duma members, obedient to the tsar, decided not to disperse temporarily and, in order to emphasize the informal nature of their meeting, moved from the white to the Semicircular Hall of the palace. But at that moment, a large crowd headed by armed soldiers and members of the Menshevik Working Group of the TsVPK approached the Tauride Palace. The Bolsheviks failed to delay the procession at the Finland Station, where they intended to organize a revolutionary center in the form of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies. The appeal of the Menshevik Guards to go to the Duma evoked a warm response from the insurgents, for since the end of 1916 the authority of the Duma was great among the soldiers and the petty-bourgeois strata of the population. The clash between the rebels and the guards of the Duma was effectively prevented by the chairman of the Trudovik faction, A.F. Kerensky, who stood between the parties and announced that he was displacing the old guard and appointing a new one from the approaching soldiers. He was carried in his arms to the palace, which from that moment, unexpectedly for the Duma members, turned into a revolutionary center.

At 3 p.m., the culmination of the political life of the country came. In the halls of the Budgetary and Financial Commissions of the Duma, all left-wing forces gathered: members of the Menshevik and labor factions of the Duma, members of the working group of the Central Military Commission, several Bolsheviks, workers, representatives of the press. In the course of a swift and spontaneous discussion, an appeal was adopted to organize a temporary executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' Deputies. The created executive committee immediately called for the election of one deputy from 1000 workers and one deputy from a company of soldiers and send them to the meeting of the Council in the Tauride Palace by 20 o'clock on the same day.

At the same time, in the Semicircular Hall of the Palace, members of the 4th Duma decided to form a Provisional Committee of the State Duma to communicate with institutions and individuals. M.V. was elected chairman of the committee, which included almost all members of the Progressive Bloc and one representative each from the Menshevik (N.S. Chkheidze) and Trudovik (A.F. Kerensky) factions. Rodzianko. So there were two centers of power.

Late in the evening of February 27, thousands of people filled the headquarters of the revolution. All the tsarist ministers were brought here, and A.D. Protopopov came and surrendered himself. In full force, the Preobrazhensky Regiment approached the Tauride Palace and announced its transition to the side of the revolution. All these events prompted the Provisional Committee of the Duma to decide to take over the executive power in the country. Emissaries from the Duma were sent to all the most important state institutions and to the railroads.

The Petrograd Soviet, simultaneously and in the same building, opened its first meeting, to which elected deputies continued to arrive all night. It immediately showed itself as a real organ of revolutionary people's power.

On February 28, the soldiers' section of the Petrosoviet was formed. It was the executive committee of this section that, on the night of March 1-2, compiled and the next day published the famous “Order No. 1”, which actually removed the soldiers of the Petrograd garrison from under the command of the officers and subordinated them to the Petrograd Soviet.

The old power of the officers over the soldiers came to an end, along with it the army discipline collapsed and the foundation was laid for the future anarchy of the liberals.

The end of autocracy in Russia

Once in power, the Russian bourgeoisie was not at all going to lose the monarchical cover. She was not satisfied with the "old despot", with hope she fixed her eyes on the heir to the throne, 12-year-old Tsarevich Alexei. Only as a last resort were the liberals ready to sacrifice the dynasty.

At the height of the Petrograd uprising, on the night of February 28, the tsar, accompanied by an echelon of loyal troops, set out towards the capital. But, fearing arrest, he was forced, not reaching 160 km. to St. Petersburg, turn to Pskov, where the headquarters of the commander-in-chief of the Northern Front, General N.V. Ruzsky. March 1, the king was already in Pskov. After negotiations on a direct wire, N.V. Rodzianko with N.V. Ruzsky and N.V. Alekseev, the generals put pressure on Nicholas 2, and he agreed to hand over a manifesto on the formation of a government of trust in the country, headed by Rodzianko, responsible to the Duma. But in a conversation with Ruzsky, Rodzianko rejected the manifesto and raised the question of Nicholas II's abdication from the throne in favor of his son. The content of the negotiations Ruzsky informed Alekseev at the Mogilev headquarters, and he conveyed to all the commanders-in-chief of the dandies and fleets Rodzianko's demands to send to Pskov to Nicholas 2 requests to abdicate him from the throne in favor of his son.

On the morning of March 2, telegrams began to be received in Pskov from the commanders of the fronts, who unanimously joined the demand for renunciation. Under their influence and at the insistence of Ruzsky and the generals, the tsar announced his abdication in favor of his son. Nicholas 2 abdicates both for himself and for his son. This was a violation of the manifesto of Peter 1 on the succession to the throne, according to which the tsar had the right to abdicate only for himself. This fact in the future made it possible to declare the renunciation invalid. Guchkov and Shulgin, not foreseeing a complex combination, agreed to this option, although they had strict instructions regarding the renunciation in favor of their son.

The discussion of the fate of the Russian monarchy was completed in St. Petersburg at the apartment of Putyatin, where Mikhail Alexandrovich, the younger brother of Nicholas 2, was then living, who was planned to be regent under the young Alexei Nikolayevich, his nephew. But the Cadet lawyers V.D. Nabokov and B.E. Nolde drew up an act on Michael's refusal to accept supreme power. It indicated that he would only agree to accept the crown if it was by the decision of a Constituent Assembly elected through a general election. Thus ended the February Revolution.

Results of the February Revolution of 1917

The most important result of the revolution was the overthrow of the autocracy in Russia, which the revolutionary forces of the country so dreamed of from the very beginning of the 20th century. A unique political situation has developed in the country: two political forces coexisted simultaneously, different in character, but not yet able to establish themselves in the understanding of their difference. It took time, concrete actions to make it possible to delimit positions. Both of them never stood in power and had to learn to rule. For the first time in history, the working masses felt their real strength, and there was no turning back to obedience, even in relation to their temporary political ally, the liberals. Therefore, the search for compromises on both sides became so important. But as history has shown, the ability to compromise was not developed by either side. The aggravation of contradictions led the country to a new historical milestone.

Causes and character of the February Revolution.
Uprising in Petrograd February 27, 1917
The February Revolution of 1917 in Russia was caused by the same reasons, had the same character, solved the same tasks and had the same balance 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, and therefore the February Revolution, like the revolution of 1905-1907, bore a bourgeois-democratic character.

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

But the February Revolution of 1917 took place in a different situation than the revolution of 1905-1907. On the eve of the February Revolution, social and political contradictions sharply aggravated, aggravated by the hardships of a long and exhausting war in which Russia was drawn. The economic devastation generated by the war and, as a result, the aggravation of the need and misery of the masses, caused acute social tension in the country, the growth of anti-war sentiments and general dissatisfaction not only of the left and opposition, but also of a significant part of the right forces with the policy of the autocracy. The authority of autocratic power and its bearer, the reigning emperor, fell noticeably in the eyes of all sections of society. The war, unprecedented in its scale, seriously shook the moral foundations of society, introduced an unprecedented bitterness into the consciousness of people's behavior. The millions of front-line soldiers, who daily saw blood and death, easily succumbed to revolutionary propaganda and were ready to take the most extreme measures. They longed for peace, a return to the earth, and the slogan "Down with the war!" was especially popular at the time. The cessation of the war was inevitably associated with the liquidation of the political regime that had dragged the people into the war. So the monarchy lost its support in the army.

By the end of 1916, the country was 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 - the beginning of 1917. full of anxiety in anticipation of a threatening social explosion. They foresaw a social danger for the Russian monarchy and abroad. Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich, the Czar's cousin, wrote to him in mid-November 1916 from London: "The agents of the Intelligence Service [British Intelligence Service], usually well informed, are predicting a revolution in Russia. I sincerely hope Niki that you will find it possible to satisfy the fair the demands of the people before it is too late." Those close to Nicholas II with despair told him: "There will be a revolution, we will all be hanged, but it doesn't matter on what lamp." However, Nicholas II stubbornly did not want 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 will give. Rodzianko: - God will give nothing, 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 for the government. Not a single political party showed itself to be the organizer and leader of the revolution that took them by surprise.

The immediate cause for the revolutionary explosion was the following events that took place in the second half of February 1917 in Petrograd. In mid-February, the supply of food to the capital, especially bread, worsened. Bread was in the country and in sufficient quantity, but due to the devastation of transport and the sluggishness of the authorities responsible for the 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. There were long queues at the bakeries, which caused growing discontent among the population. In this situation, any act of the authorities or owners of industrial enterprises that irritates the population could serve as a detonator for a social explosion.

On February 18, the workers of one of the largest factories in Petrograd, Putilovsky, went on strike, demanding an increase in wages due to the increase in the high cost of wages. On February 20, the administration of the plant, under the pretext of interruptions in the supply of raw materials, dismissed the strikers and announced the closure of some workshops for an indefinite period. The Putilovites were supported by workers from other enterprises in the city. On February 23 (according to the new style, March 8 - International Women's Day), it was decided to start a general strike. Opposition Duma leaders also decided to take advantage of the afternoon of February 23, who on February 14, from the rostrum of the State Duma, sharply criticized mediocre ministers and demanded their resignation. Duma leaders - 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 workers of the capital. There was also a demonstration, which was peaceful. A rally was held in the city center. The authorities, in order to calm the people, announced that there was enough food in the city and there were no grounds for concern.

The next day, 214,000 workers were on strike. The strikes were accompanied by demonstrations: columns of demonstrators with red flags and singing "La Marseillaise" rushed to the city center. Women who took to the streets with the slogans "Bread"!, "Peace"!, "Freedom!", "Return our husbands!" took an active part in them.

Authorities first viewed them as spontaneous food riots. However, the events grew every day and took on a threatening character for the authorities. On February 25, more than 300,000 people went on strike. (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 the police and military barriers and break through to Znamenskaya Square near the Moscow railway station, where a spontaneous rally began at the monument to Alexander III. Rallies and demonstrations took place on the main squares, avenues and streets of the city. 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 "riots" are 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, police stations were already smashed. The rally began again on Znamenskaya Square. Demonstrators clashed with police, killing and injuring several demonstrators. On the same day, Nicholas II received from the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General S.S. Khabalov reported on the unrest that had begun in Petrograd, and at 9 o'clock in the evening Khabalov received a telegram from him: "I order tomorrow to stop the unrest in the capital, unacceptable in the difficult time of the war with Germany and Austria." Khabalov immediately ordered the police and the commanders of the spare parts 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 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. On Znamenskaya Square and near the Kazan Cathedral, there were continuous rallies. On the orders of Khabalov, the police, who sat on the roofs of houses, opened fire from machine guns on demonstrators and protesters. On Znamenskaya Square, 40 people were killed and the same number were wounded. The police fired at the 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 which side the army ends up on. The defeat of the revolution of 1905 - 1907 was largely due to the fact that despite a series of uprisings in the army and navy, in general, the army remained loyal to the government and was used by it to suppress peasant and worker riots. In February 1917, a garrison of up to 180,000 soldiers was stationed in Petrograd. Basically, these were spare parts that were to be sent to the front. There were quite a few recruits from cadre workers mobilized for participating in strikes, and quite a few veterans who had recovered from wounds. The concentration in the capital of a mass of soldiers who easily succumbed to the influence of revolutionary propaganda was a major mistake of the authorities.

The execution of demonstrators on February 26 aroused strong indignation among the soldiers of the capital's garrison and had a decisive influence on their going over 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 indicated to it at the outpost and even opened fire on a platoon of mounted police. The company was disarmed, 19 of its "instigators" were sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko telegraphed the tsar that day: "The situation is serious. There is anarchy in the capital. The government is paralyzed. There is indiscriminate shooting in the streets. Parts of the troops are shooting at each other." In conclusion, he asked the king: "Immediately instruct a person who enjoys the confidence of the country to form a new government. It is impossible to delay. Any delay is like death."

Even on the eve of the tsar's departure for Headquarters, two versions of his decree on the State Duma were prepared - the first on its dissolution, the second on a break in its sessions. In response to Rodzianko's telegram, the tsar sent the second version of the decree - on the suspension of the Duma from February 26 to April 1917. At 11 am on February 27, the deputies of the State Duma gathered in the White Hall of the Tauride Palace and silently listened to the tsar's decree on the adjournment of the session of the Duma. The tsar's decree placed the Duma members in a difficult position: on the one hand, they did not dare to disobey the tsar's will, and on the other hand, they could not but reckon with the menacing development of revolutionary events in the capital. Deputies from the left parties proposed not to obey the tsar's decree and to declare themselves the Constituent Assembly in the "appeal to the people", but the majority was against such an action. In the Semicircular Hall of the Tauride Palace, they opened a "private meeting", at which it was decided, in fulfillment of the tsar's order, not to hold official meetings of the Duma, but the deputies not to disperse and remain in their places. By half past three in the afternoon on February 27, crowds of demonstrators approached the Tauride Palace, some of them entered the palace. Then the Duma decided to form from among its members a "Provisional Committee of the State Duma for the Restoration of Order in Petrograd and for Relations with Institutions and Persons." 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 suggested that he make concessions - to instruct the Duma to form a ministry responsible to it.

But events unfolded rapidly. On that day, strikes swept almost all the enterprises of the capital, and in fact the 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 rebelled, consisting of 600 people from the reserve battalion of the Volynsky regiment. 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 dragged them along.

If on the morning of February 27, 10 thousand soldiers went over to the side of the rebels, then in the evening of the same day - 67 thousand. On the same day, Khabalov telegraphed the tsar that "the troops refuse to go out against the rebels." On February 28, 127 thousand soldiers turned out to be on the side of the rebels, and on March 1 - already 170 thousand soldiers. On February 28, the Winter Palace, the Peter and Paul Fortress were taken, the arsenal was captured, from which 40,000 rifles and 30,000 revolvers were distributed to workers. On Liteiny Prospekt, the building of the District Court and the House of Preliminary Detention were destroyed and set on fire. The police stations were on fire. The gendarmerie and the Okhrana 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, along with Khabalov, surrendered. The Mariinsky Palace was taken and the tsarist ministers and top dignitaries who were in it were arrested. They were brought or brought to the Tauride Palace. Minister of Internal Affairs A.D. Protopopov voluntarily appeared under arrest. The ministers and generals from the Taurida Palace were escorted to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the rest - to the places of detention prepared for them.

Military units from Peterhof and Strelna that had gone over to the side of the revolution arrived in Petrograd through the Baltic Station and along the Peterhof Highway. On March 1, the sailors of the Kronstadt port rebelled. The commander of the Kronstadt port and the military governor of the city of Kronstadt, Rear Admiral R.N. Viren and several senior officers were shot by sailors. Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich (cousin of Nicholas II) brought the sailors of the Guards crew entrusted to him to the Tauride Palace at the disposal of the revolutionary authorities.

On the evening of February 28, in the conditions of the already victorious revolution, Rodzianko proposed announcing that the Provisional Committee of the State Duma would assume government functions. On the night of February 28, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma appealed to the peoples of Russia to take the initiative to "restore state and social order" and create a new government. As a first step in the ministries, he sent commissars from among the members of the Duma. In order to seize the situation in the capital and stop the further development of revolutionary events, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma tried in vain to return the soldiers to the barracks. But this attempt showed that he was unable to take control of the situation in the capital.

The soviets, which were revived during the revolution, became a 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 on the model of 1905. This idea was also supported by the Bolsheviks. On February 27, representatives of the working groups, together with a group of Duma deputies and representatives of the left intelligentsia, gathered in the Tauride Palace and announced the creation of the Provisional Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet of Working People's Deputies. The committee issued an appeal to elect deputies to the Soviet without delay - one deputies from 1,000 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 Soviet, whose chairman was the leader of the Social Democratic faction of the State Duma, the Menshevik N.S. Chkheidze, and his deputies Trudovik A.F. Kerensky and Menshevik M.I. Skobelev. The majority in the Executive Committee and in the Soviet itself belonged to the Mensheviks and Social Revolutionaries - at that time the most numerous and influential left parties in Russia. On February 28, the first issue of Izvestia of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies came out (editor Menshevik F.I. Dan).

The Petrograd Soviet began to act as an organ of revolutionary power, taking a number of important decisions. On February 28, on his initiative, district committees of councils were created. He formed military and food commissions, armed militia, established control over printing houses and railways. By decision of the Petrograd Soviet, the financial resources of the tsarist government were withdrawn and control over their spending was established. Commissars from the Soviet were sent to the districts of the capital to establish people's power in them.

On March 1, 1917, the 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 saluting them outside of service, but most importantly, removed the Petrograd garrison from subordination to the old command. This order in our literature is usually regarded as a deeply democratic act. In fact, by subordinating unit commanders to soldiers' committees with little competence in military affairs, he violated the principle of unity of command necessary for any army and thereby contributed to the decline in military discipline.

The number of victims in Petrograd in the February days of 1917 amounted to 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 take shape. 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 for the Provisional Government to immediately proclaim civil liberties, an amnesty for political prisoners, and announce the convocation of a Constituent Assembly. When the Provisional Government fulfilled this condition, the Council decided to support it. The formation of the composition of the Provisional Government was entrusted to the Provisional Committee of the State Duma.

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 executives of central departments equated to ministers. 9 ministers were deputies of the State Duma.

A large landowner, chairman of the All-Russian Zemstvo Union, Cadet, Prince G.E. became the Chairman of the Provisional Government and at the same time the Minister of the Interior. Lvov, ministers: foreign affairs - the leader of the Cadet Party P.N. Milyukov, military and naval - the leader of the Octobrist party A.I. Guchkov, trade and industry - a major 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 Social Revolutionary, the only socialist in the government) A.F. Kerensky, on the affairs of Finland - cadet V.I. Rodiichev, Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod - Octobrist V.N. Lvov, the state controller - Octobrist I.V. Godnev. Thus, 7 ministerial posts, and 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. It was the "finest hour" of the Cadets, who came to power for a short time (two months). The entry into office of ministers of the Provisional Government took place during March 3-5. The provisional government declared itself for a transitional period (until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly) the supreme legislative and executive power in the country.

On March 3, the program of activities of the Provisional Government, agreed with the Petrograd Soviet, was also made public: 1) a complete and immediate amnesty for all political and religious matters; 2) freedom of speech, press, assembly and strikes; 3) the abolition of all class, religious and national restrictions; 4) immediate preparation for elections on the basis of universal, equal, secret and direct voting to the Constituent Assembly; 5) replacement of the police by the people's militia with elected authorities subordinate to local self-government bodies; 6) elections to local self-government bodies; 7) non-disarmament and non-withdrawal from Petrograd of military units that took part in the February 27 uprising; and 8) giving soldiers civil rights. The program laid the broad foundations of constitutionalism and democracy in the country.

However, most of the measures announced in the declaration of the Provisional Government on March 3 were carried out even earlier, as soon as the revolution had won. So, as early as February 28, the police was abolished and the people's militia was formed: instead of 6 thousand policemen, 40 thousand people were employed in the protection of order in Petrograd. people's militia. She took under the protection of enterprises and city blocks. Detachments in the native militia were soon created in other cities. Subsequently, along with the workers' militia, fighting workers' squads (the Red Guard) also appeared. The first detachment of the Red Guard was created in early March at the Sestroretsk plant. The gendarmerie and the Okhrana were liquidated.

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

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

In an effort to "become 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 navy units. At first, they met such support at rallies, meetings, meetings of various kinds, 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 spokesman of the true will of the people and the only government of Russia". In early March, the United States, Italy, Norway, Japan, Belgium, Portugal, Serbia and Iran recognized the Provisional Government.

Abdication of Nicholas II
The defection of the troops of the capital's garrison to the side of the insurgents forced the Stavka to begin taking decisive measures to suppress the revolution in Petrograd. On February 27, Nicholas II, through the chief of staff of the Headquarters, General M.V. Alekseev gave the order to send "reliable" punitive troops to Petrograd. The punitive expedition included the Georgievsky battalion, taken from Mogilev, and several regiments from the Northern, Western and Southwestern fronts. General N.I. was put 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 - up to the point that all ministers were at his full disposal. By March 1, it was planned to concentrate 13 infantry battalions, 16 cavalry squadrons and 4 batteries in the Tsarskoye Selo area.

In the early morning of February 28, two letter trains, the royal and the suite, set off from Mogilev via Smolensk, Vyazma, Rzhev, Likhoslavl, Bologoye 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 to prevent the tsar's trains from entering the capital. When the trains arrived at St. Malaya Vishera (160 km from Petrograd), the railway authorities reported that it was impossible to move on, because the following stations Tosno and Lyuban were occupied by revolutionary troops. Nicholas II ordered that trains be turned to Pskov - to the headquarters of the commander of the Northern Front, General N.V. Ruzsky. The tsarist trains arrived in Pskov at 7 p.m. on March 1. Here Nicholas II learned about the victory of the revolution in Petrograd.

At the same time, the Chief of Staff of the General Headquarters, General M.V. Alekseev decided to abandon the military expedition to Petrograd. Enlisting the support of the commanders-in-chief of the fronts, he ordered Ivanov to refrain from punitive actions. The Georgievsky battalion, which reached Tsarskoye Selo on March 1, withdrew back to the 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 the manifesto about this was already "belated", because the course of events put a "certain demand" - the abdication of the king. Without waiting for the answer of the Headquarters, deputies of the Duma A.I. were sent to Pskov. Guchkov and V.V. Shulgin. Meanwhile, Alekseev and Ruzsky requested all the commanders-in-chief of the fronts and fleets: Caucasian - Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, Romanian - General V.V. Sakharov, South-West - General A.A. Brusilov, Western - General A.E. Evert, commanders of the fleets - Baltic - Admiral A.I. Nepenin and Chernomorsky - Admiral A.V. Kolchak. The commanders of the fronts and fleets declared the need for the tsar's abdication "in the name of saving the motherland and the dynasty, agreed with the statement of the chairman of the State Duma, as the only one apparently capable of stopping the revolution and saving Russia from the horrors of anarchy." Those uncle Nikolai Nikolaevich addressed Nicholas II from Tiflis with a plea to abdicate.

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

Guchkov and Shulgin arrived in Pskov on the evening of March 2, reported that there was no military unit in Petrograd that could be relied upon, and confirmed the need for the tsar's abdication. Nicholas II stated that he had already made such a decision, but now he is changing it and is already abdicating not only for himself, but also for the heir. This act of Nicholas II violated the coronation manifesto of Paul I of April 5, 1797, which provided that the reigning person had the right to abdicate only for himself, and not for his own glaciers.

A new version of the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne was adopted by Guchkov and Shulgin, who only asked him that, before signing the act of renunciation, the tsar approved the decree on the appointment of G.E. Lvov as prime minister of the new government being formed, and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich again as supreme commander in chief.

When Guchkov and Shulgin returned to Petrograd with the manifesto of the abdicated Nicholas II, they met with strong dissatisfaction among the revolutionary masses with this attempt by the Duma leaders to preserve the monarchy. The toast in honor of "Emperor Mikhail", proclaimed by Guchkov upon his arrival from Pskov at the Warsaw railway station in Petrograd, aroused such strong indignation among the workers that they threatened him with execution. 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, that the tsar be arrested immediately, and that a republic be proclaimed.

On the morning of March 3, members of the Duma Committee and the Provisional Government met with Mikhail in the mansion of Prince. O. Putyatina on Millionnaya. Rodzianko and Kerensky argued the necessity of his renunciation of the throne. Kerensky said that the indignation of the people was too strong, the new tsar might die from the wrath of the people, and with it the Provisional Government would die. However, Milyukov insisted on Mikhail's acceptance of the crown, arguing that strong power is necessary to strengthen the new order, and such power needs support - "a monarchic symbol familiar to the masses." A provisional government without a monarch, said Milyukov, is "a fragile boat that can sink in the ocean of popular unrest"; it will not live to see the Constituent Assembly, as anarchy will reign in the country. Guchkov, who soon arrived at the meeting, supported Miliukov. Miliukov, in a temper, even suggested taking cars and going to Moscow, where to proclaim Michael emperor, to gather troops under his banner and move to Petrograd. Such a proposal clearly threatened civil war and frightened the rest of the meeting. After lengthy discussions, the majority voted for the abdication of Michael. Mikhail agreed with this opinion and at 4 p.m. signed the drafted by V.D. Nabokov and Baron B.E. Nolde's manifesto of his renunciation of the crown. The manifesto, promulgated the next day, said that Michael "made a firm decision only if he would accept supreme power, if such was the will of our great people, who should establish the form of government and new basic laws of the state by popular vote through their representatives in the Constituent Assembly Russian". Michael appealed to the people with an appeal "to obey the Provisional Government, invested with full power." Written statements of support for the Provisional Government and the renunciation of claims to the royal throne were also made by all members of the royal family. On March 3, Nicholas II sent a telegram to Mikhail.

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

The abdicated emperor went to Headquarters in Mogilev. A few hours before the signing of the act of abdication, Nikolai again appointed Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich to the post of Supreme Commander of the Russian Army. However, the Provisional Government appointed General A.A. Brusilov. 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 Tsarskoye 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.

In connection with the growth of anti-monarchist sentiments in the country, the deposed tsar asked the Provisional Government to send him and his family to England. The Provisional Government asked the British Ambassador in Petrograd, George Buchanan, to ask the British Cabinet about this. P.N. Miliukov, meeting with the tsar, assured him that the request would be granted and even advised him to prepare for his departure. Buchanan requested his cabinet. He first agreed to provide asylum in England for the deposed Russian tsar and his family. However, a wave of protest arose against this in England and Russia, and the English King George V turned to 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 transitional period - from the moment of the victory of the revolution to the adoption of the constitution and the formation of permanent bodies of power in accordance with it - the Provisional Revolutionary Government operates, which is entrusted with the duty of breaking 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 the constitution.

The provisional government for the transitional period (until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly) has both legislative and executive functions. This was the case, for example, during the French Revolution at the end of the 18th century. The same way of transforming the country after the revolutionary upheaval was envisaged in their projects by the Decembrists of the Northern Society, putting forward the idea of ​​a "Provisional revolutionary government" for the transitional period, and then convening a "Supreme Council" (Constituent Assembly). All the Russian revolutionary parties at the beginning of the 20th century imagined the path of the revolutionary reorganization of the country, the destruction of the old state machine and the formation of new organs of power, having written it down in their programs.

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 was created, which has no analogues in history - 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 - organs of people's power - dates back to the time of the revolution of 1905-1907. and is an important achievement. This tradition immediately revived after the victory of the uprising in Petrograd on February 27, 1917. In addition to the Petrograd Soviet in March 1917, more than 600 local Soviets arose, which elected from among their midst permanent authorities - executive committees. These were the chosen people, relying on the support of the broad working masses. The councils performed legislative, administrative, executive and even judicial functions. By October 1917 there were already 1,429 soviets in the country. They arose spontaneously - it was the spontaneous creativity of the masses. Along with this, local committees of the Provisional Government were also created. Thus, dual power was created at the central and local levels.

At that time, representatives of the Menshevik and Socialist-Revolutionary parties, who were guided not by the "victory of socialism", believing that there were no conditions for this in backward Russia, but by developing and consolidating it bourgeois-democratic conquests. Such a task, they believed, could be performed during the transitional period by the Provisional, bourgeois in composition, government, which, in carrying out the democratic transformations of the country, must be provided with support, 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, for 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 jointly. They even held their meetings in the same building - the Taurida 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 number of democratic reforms, which were mentioned above. At the same time, it postponed the solution of a number of acute problems inherited from the old government until the Constituent Assembly, and among them the agrarian question. Moreover, it issued a number of decrees providing for criminal liability for the unauthorized seizure of landlords, specific and monastic lands. On the question of war and peace, it took a defensive position, remaining faithful to the allied obligations assumed by the old regime. All this caused the growing dissatisfaction of the masses with the policy of the Provisional Government.

Dual power is not a separation of powers, but opposition of one power to 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 the unsuccessful offensive of the Russian troops on the German front, on July 3-4, the Bolsheviks organized a political demonstration and attempted to overthrow the Provisional Government. The demonstration was shot, and the Bolsheviks were subjected to repression. After the July days, the Provisional Government managed to subdue the Soviets, which obediently carried out its will. However, this was a short-term victory for the Provisional Government, whose position was becoming increasingly precarious. Economic ruin deepened in the country: inflation grew rapidly, production fell catastrophically, and the danger of impending famine became real. In the countryside, mass pogroms of landowners' estates began, the peasants seized not only landowners' lands, but also church lands, and information was received about the murders of landlords and even clergymen. The soldiers are tired of the war. At the front, the fraternization of the soldiers of both belligerents became more frequent. The front was essentially falling apart. Desertion increased sharply, entire military units were removed from their positions: the soldiers hurried home in order to be in time for the division of the landlords' lands.

The February Revolution destroyed the old state structures, but failed to create a solid and authoritative government. The provisional government was increasingly losing 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 orators 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 were replaced: its first composition lasted about two months (March-April), the next three (coalition, with "socialist ministers") - each no more than a month and a half . It survived two serious power crises (in July and September).

The power of the Provisional Government was weakening every day. It increasingly lost control over the situation in the country. In an atmosphere of political instability in the country, deepening economic ruin, a protracted unpopular war. threats of imminent famine, the masses longed for a "firm government" that could "put things in order." The inconsistency of the behavior of the Russian muzhik 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, humility and rebellion.

By the autumn of 1917, the power of the Provisional Government was virtually paralyzed: its decrees were not implemented or were ignored altogether. In fact, anarchy reigned 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 the earth and the world. Not abstract, incomprehensible to the masses, socialist ideas attracted them to the Bolsheviks, but the hope that they would indeed stop the hated war and once again give the peasants the coveted land.

“V.A. Fedorov. History of Russia 1861-1917.
Bookseller's Regiment Library. http://society.polbu.ru/fedorov_rushistory/ch84_i.html

for some time removed the sharpness of social contradictions. All segments of the population rallied around the government in a single patriotic impulse. However, it did not last long. Defeats at the front in the fight against Germany, the deterioration of the situation of the people caused by the war, - All of this created widespread discontent.. The internal situation in the country exacerbated the economic crisis emerging in 1915-1916. It was especially sharp food crisis. The peasants, not receiving the necessary industrial goods, refused to supply the products of their economy to the market. In Russia, for the first time, queues for bread appeared.

Speculation flourished. The government's attempts to overcome the crisis proved futile. Russia's defeats on the fronts of the First World War caused a significant blow to the public conscience. The population is tired of the protracted war. Worker strikes and peasant unrest grew. At the front, fraternization with the enemy and desertion became more frequent. National movements intensified. By the winter of 1916-1917, all sections of the Russian population were aware of the inability of the tsarist government to overcome the political and economic crisis. Thus, in the winter of 1916-1917, a revolutionary situation developed in the country - the situation in the country on the eve of the revolution.

Signs of a revolutionary situation:

The crisis of the upper classes: they could not govern in the old way, they did not want to govern in the new way, the lower classes do not want to live in the old way;

Deterioration above the usual position of the populace;

Rise above the usual revolutionary activity of the masses.

Causes of the February Revolution:

1) The unresolved agrarian-peasant question: the dominance of landownership, lack of land and landlessness of the peasants.

2) Unresolved labor issue: plight of workers, low wages, lack of labor legislation.

3) The national question, Russification policy of the authorities.

5) The destabilizing effect of war on all aspects of society.

Tasks of the revolution:

The overthrow of the autocracy

Convening a Constituent Assembly to establish a democratic order

Elimination of class inequality

The abolition of landownership and the allocation of land to the peasants

Reducing the length of the working day to 8 hours, the introduction of labor legislation

Achieving equal rights for the peoples of Russia

Cessation of the war

The nature of the revolution - bourgeois-democratic revolution.

Major events of the revolution

In February 1917 disruptions in food supplies to major Russian cities have intensified . By mid-February, 90,000 Petrograd workers went on strike because of a shortage of bread, speculation, and rising prices. On February 18, the workers of the Putilov factory joined them. demanding a raise in wages. The administration not only fired the strikers, but also announced a partial lockout, i.e. closed part of the shops. This was the reason for the beginning of mass demonstrations in the capital.

February 23, 1917 On International Women's Day (according to the new style, this is March 8), workers and women took to the streets of Petrograd with the slogans “Bread!”, “Down with the war!”, “Down with the autocracy!”. Their political demonstration marked the beginning of the revolution. On February 24, strikes and demonstrations continued, clashes with the police and troops began, political slogans were added to economic slogans.

On February 25, the strike in Petrograd became general.. Demonstrations and rallies did not stop. On the evening of February 25, Nicholas II from Headquarters, who was in Mogilev, sent a telegram to the commander of the Petrograd Military District S.S. Khabalov with a categorical demand to stop the unrest. Attempts by the authorities to use the troops did not give a positive effect, the soldiers refused to shoot at the people.

However, officers and police February 26 killed more than 150 people. In response, the guards of the Pavlovsky regiment, supporting the workers, opened fire on the police. Chairman of the Duma M. V. Rodzianko warned Nicholas II that the government was paralyzed and "anarchy in the capital". To prevent the development of the revolution, he insisted on the immediate creation of a new government headed by a statesman who enjoys the confidence of society. However, the king rejected his proposal. Moreover, he and the Council of Ministers decided to interrupt the meetings of the Duma and dissolve it for the holidays. The moment for a peaceful, evolutionary transformation of the country into a constitutional monarchy was lost. Nicholas II sent troops from the Headquarters to suppress the revolution, but they were detained by the rebel railroad workers and soldiers and were not allowed into the capital.

On February 27, the mass defection of soldiers to the side of the workers, their capture of the arsenal and the Peter and Paul Fortress marked the victory of the revolution. The arrests of tsarist ministers and the formation of new authorities began.

On the same day, February 27, 1917 , in factories and military units, based on the experience of 1905, were Elections were held for the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies . An Executive Committee was elected to direct its activities. The Menshevik N. S. Chkheidze became chairman, and the Socialist-Revolutionary A. F. Kerensky became his deputy. The Executive Committee took upon itself the maintenance of public order and the supply of food to the population. The Petrosoviet was a new form of socio-political organization. He relied on the support of the masses who owned weapons, and his political role was very great.

February 27 at a meeting of the leaders of the Duma factions it was decided to form a Provisional Committee of the State Duma headed by M. V. Rodzianko . The task of the committee was to "restore the state and public order", the creation of a new government. The Provisional Committee took control of all ministries.

On February 28, Nicholas II left Headquarters for Tsarskoye Selo, but was detained on the way by revolutionary troops. He had to turn to Pskov , to the headquarters of the Northern Front. After consultations with the commanders of the fronts, he became convinced that there were no forces to suppress the revolution. At the same time, in the highest military and government circles, the idea of ​​the need for the abdication of Nicholas II was ripening, since without this it was already impossible to take control of the popular movement.

On March 2, 1917, deputies A. Guchkov and V. Shulgin arrived in Pskov, who accepted the abdication Nicholas II . The emperor signed the Manifesto on abdication for himself and his son Alexei in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. However, when the deputies brought the text of the Manifesto to Petrograd, it became clear that the people did not want a monarchy. March 3 Michael abdicated , declaring that the Constituent Assembly should decide the further fate of the political system in Russia. The 300-year rule of the Romanov dynasty ended. Autocracy in Russia finally fell .

March 2, 1917 after negotiations between representatives of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma and the Executive Committee of the Petrosoviet Provisional government was formed . Prince G.E. Lvov became chairman and minister of the interior, Minister of Foreign Affairs - Cadet P. N. Milyukov, Minister of War and Naval Affairs - Octobrist A. I. Guchkov, Minister of Trade and Industry - Progressive AI Konovalov. From the "left" parties, the Socialist-Revolutionary A.F. Kerensky, who received the portfolio of the Minister of Justice, entered the government.

Political results of the February Revolution

Abdication of Nicholas II, liquidation of the monarchy in Russia

The conquest of a certain, political freedom, the prospects for the democratic development of the country

A specific solution to the question of power, the emergence of dual power

Dual power (March - July 1917)

On March 1, 1917, the Petrograd Soviet issued "Order No. 1" on the democratization of the army . Soldiers were equalized in civil rights with officers, titles of officers were abolished, rude treatment of lower ranks was prohibited, and traditional forms of army subordination were abolished. Soldiers' committees were legalized. The election of commanders was introduced. The army was allowed to conduct political activities. The Petrograd garrison was subordinate to the Soviet and undertook to carry out only its orders.

The February Revolution won. The old state system collapsed. A new political situation has emerged. However, the victory of the revolution did not prevent the further deepening of the crisis state of the country. Economic disruption intensified. To the former socio-political problems: war and peace, labor, agrarian and national issues, new ones were added: about power, the future state structure and ways out of the crisis. All this determined the peculiarity of the alignment of social forces in 1917.

The time from February to October is a special period in the history of Russia. It has two stages. On the first (March - early July 1917)) there was a dual power in which the Provisional Government was forced to coordinate all its actions with the Petrograd Soviet, which occupied more radical positions and had the support of the broad masses of the people.

At the second stage (July - October 25, 1917)) dual power was over. The autocracy of the Provisional Government was established in the form of a coalition of the liberal bourgeoisie (the Cadets) with the "moderate" socialists (Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks). However, this political alliance failed to achieve the consolidation of society.

Social tensions have increased in the country. On the one hand, the indignation of the masses was growing at the government's delays in carrying out the most urgent economic, social and political transformations. On the other hand, the rightists were dissatisfied with the weakness of the government, with insufficiently decisive measures to curb the "revolutionary element."

Thus, after the February Revolution, the country had the following development alternatives:

1) Monarchists and right-wing bourgeois parties were ready to support establishment of a military dictatorship .

2) The Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries supported establishment of a democratic socialist government .

The February Revolution Summary will help you gather your thoughts before the exam and remember what you remember from this topic and what you don't. This historical event was a landmark for the history of Russia. It opened the door to further revolutionary upheavals, which will not end soon. Without assimilation of this topic, it is pointless to try to understand further events.

It is worth saying that the events of February 1917 are of great importance for modern Russia. This year, 2017, marks the centenary of those events. I think that the country is facing the same problems as tsarist Russia then: the monstrously low standard of living of the population, the authorities' disregard for their people, who feed these authorities; the lack of will and desire at the top to change something in a positive direction. But then there were no TVs ... What do you think about this - write in the comments.

Causes of the February Revolution

The inability of the authorities to solve a number of crises faced by the state during the First World War:

• Transport crisis: due to the extremely small length of railways, there was a shortage of transport.
• Food crisis: the country had extremely low yields, plus peasant land shortages and the inefficiency of noble estates led to a disastrous food situation. The country was aggravated by famine.
• Arms crisis: for more than three years, the army has experienced a severe shortage of ammunition. Only by the end of 1916 did Russian industry begin to work on the scale necessary for the country.
• The unresolved worker and peasant question in Russia. The share of the proletariat and the skilled working class has grown many times over in comparison with the first years of the reign of Nicholas II. The issue of child labor and labor insurance was not resolved. The salary was extremely low. If we talk about the peasants, then land shortages persisted. Plus, in wartime, extortions from the population increased monstrously, all horses and people were mobilized. The people did not understand what to fight for and did not share the patriotism experienced by the leaders in the first years of the war.
• The crisis of the tops: in 1916 alone, several high-ranking ministers were replaced, which gave rise to the prominent rightist V.M. Purishkevich to call this phenomenon "ministerial leapfrog". This expression has become catchy.

The distrust of the common people, and even members of the State Duma, grew even more because of the presence at the court of Grigory Rasputin. Shameful rumors circulated about the royal family. Only on December 30, 1916, Rasputin was killed.

The authorities tried to solve all these crises, but to no avail. The Special Conferences that were convened were not successful. Since 1915, Nicholas II took command of the troops, despite the fact that he himself was in the rank of colonel.

In addition, since at least January 1917, a conspiracy against the tsar had been brewing among the top generals of the army (General M.V. Alekseev, V.I. Gurko, etc.) and the Fourth State Duma (Cadet A.I. Guchkov, etc.). ). The king himself knew and suspected of the impending coup. And even ordered in mid-February 1917 to reinforce the Petrograd garrison at the expense of loyal units from the front. He had to give this order three times, since General Gurko was in no hurry to carry it out. As a result, this order was never carried out. Thus, this example already shows the sabotage of the orders of the emperor by the top generals.

Course of events

The course of events of the February Revolution was characterized by the following points:

• The beginning of spontaneous unrest of the people in Petrograd and a number of other cities, presumably due to an acute shortage of food on International Women's Day (old style - February 23).
• Going over to the side of the rebel army. It consisted of the same workers and peasants who were acutely aware of the need for change.
• The slogans "Down with the tsar", "Down with the autocracy" immediately arose, which predetermined the fall of the monarchy.
• Parallel authorities began to emerge: Soviets of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies, based on the experience of the First Russian Revolution.
• On February 28, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma announced the transfer of power into its own hands as a result of the termination of the Golitsyn government.
• On March 1, this committee was recognized by England and France. On March 2, representatives of the committee went to the tsar, who abdicated in favor of his brother Mikhail Alexandrovich, and on March 3, he abdicated in favor of the Provisional Government.

The results of the revolution

• The monarchy in Russia fell. Russia became a parliamentary republic.
• Power passed to the bourgeois Provisional Government and the Soviets, many believe that dual power has begun. But in reality there was no dual power. There are a lot of nuances that I revealed in my video course “History. Preparation for the exam for 100 points.
• Many see this revolution as the first step .

Sincerely, Andrey Puchkov