The result of the February Revolution of 1917 was the establishment. February revolution: day by day

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 problems 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 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 of it, 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 political regime who 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, predict 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. none Political Party did not prove to be the organizer and leader of the revolution, which 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, deteriorated. 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 authorities or owners that irritates the population industrial enterprises could serve as a detonator of 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, fired the strikers and announced a closure for indefinite time some shops. 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. On the afternoon of February 23, opposition Duma figures also decided to take advantage, 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 at the monument Alexander III a spontaneous rally began. 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 a 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 Tauride 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 who had gone over to the side of the revolution arrived in Petrograd through the Baltic Station and along the Peterhof Highway. On March 1, the sailors of the Kronstadt port rebelled. 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 addressed the peoples of Russia with an appeal that they were taking 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 suspend further development 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 along the lines 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 Taurida Palace and announced the creation of the Provisional Executive Committee of the Petrograd Council 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 the unit commanders to soldiers' committees, little competent 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 February days 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. This was " finest hour"the cadets who a short time(for two months) were in power. 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 the 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 abdication of the tsar from the throne. 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 stipulated that the reigning person had the right to abdicate the throne 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 Michael", 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 was necessary to strengthen the new order, and such power needed 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 assumed supreme power, if such was the will of our great people, who should, by popular vote through their representatives in the Constituent Assembly, establish the form of government and the new basic laws of the state 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 former king and even on March 8 he 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 shape of the future state structure 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. late XVIII in. The same way of transforming the country after the revolutionary upheaval was envisaged by the Decembrists of the Northern Society in their projects, 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 formation process state power in Russia, as a result of the February Revolution of 1917, it 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 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 in backward Russia there were no conditions for this, had the predominant influence in the Soviets, both in Petrograd and in the provincial ones, but on the development and consolidation of its 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, complete disorder financial system, 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 peasant also worked - his primordially Russian desire for "firm order" and, at the same time, primordially Russian hatred of any really existing order, i.e. a paradoxical combination in the peasant mentality of Caesarism (naive monarchism) and anarchism, 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

History message.

"February" revolution of 1917

Dual power.

University: MGUIE.

Faculty student: IE

Groups I-14

Tseitin Georgy Stanislavovich.

INTRODUCTION

In this essay, I tried to reveal the topic “February Revolution of 1917. Dual power".

In my work, I decided:

Reflect the causes that led to the February Revolution;

Show short stroke events taking place during the days of the revolution and after it;

To lead to an understanding of the dual power in Russia, the disagreement of which, along with other reasons, led Russia to the bloody October Revolution.

The main source that helped me in realizing my goals was the book by Ostrovsky V.P. and Utkina A.I. "Russian history. XX century.

To begin with, in the period from 1907 to 1917, two processes developed in Russia that mutually excluded each other.

The first is a process of modernization of society, the goals of which were:

Expanding the economic freedom of the individual,

free market development,

Creation of market infrastructure.

During this period, along with large-scale entrepreneurship, a middle class of wealthy owners was formed; a civil society developed naturally; principles of law were introduced into real life. In other words, there was a transformation of the state, the state power of which could gradually become a strong observer, monitoring the implementation of laws. This process was actually broken.

Second process- this is the desire of the state for ever greater control over economic life, limiting the number of owners and their rights. This process was strengthened and accelerated by the First World War which began in August 1914. This war also increased the trend public consciousness to revolutionary change and rapid change.

All this led to the revolutions of 1917, in particular, to the February revolution, which is considered bloodless, but entailed significant changes in the political and socio-economic development of Russia.

Causes that led to the February Revolution of 1917

On August 1, 1914, the First World War began in Russia, which lasted until November 11, 1918, the cause of which was the struggle for spheres of influence in conditions when a single European market and legal mechanism had not been created.

Russia was on the defensive in this war. And although the patriotism and heroism of the soldiers and officers was great, there was neither a single will, nor serious plans for waging war, nor a sufficient supply of ammunition, uniforms and food. This instilled uncertainty in the army. She lost her soldiers and suffered defeats. The Minister of War was put on trial, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief was removed from his post. Nicholas II himself became commander-in-chief. But the situation has not improved. Despite continuous economic growth (the production of coal and oil, the production of shells, guns and other types of weapons grew, huge reserves were accumulated in case of a prolonged war), the situation developed in such a way that during the war years Russia found itself without an authoritative government, without an authoritative prime minister. minister, and without an authoritative Headquarters. The officer corps was replenished with educated people, i.e. intelligentsia, which was subject to oppositional moods, and everyday participation in the war, which lacked the most necessary, gave food for doubts.

The growing centralization of economic management, carried out against the backdrop of a growing shortage of raw materials, fuel, transport, and skilled labor, accompanied by widespread speculation and abuse, led to the fact that the role of state regulation increased along with the growth of negative factors in the economy. Queues appeared in the cities, standing in which was a psychological breakdown for hundreds of thousands of workers and workers.

The predominance of military production over civilian production and the rise in food prices led to a steady increase in prices for all consumer goods. At the same time, wages did not keep pace with rising prices. Discontent grew both in the rear and at the front. And it turned primarily against the monarch and his government.

Considering that from November 1916 to March 1917 three prime ministers, two ministers of internal affairs and two ministers of agriculture were replaced, then the expression of the convinced monarchist V. Shulgin about the situation that developed at that time in Russia is really true: “autocracy without autocrat” .

Among a number of prominent politicians, in semi-legal organizations and circles, a conspiracy was ripening and plans were discussed to remove Nicholas II from power. It was supposed to seize the tsar's train between Mogilev and Petrograd and force the monarch to abdicate.

Events of February 1917

Unrest in the army, rural unrest, the inability of the political and military leadership to protect the national interests of Russia, which catastrophically aggravated the internal situation of the country, did not alert the tsarist government, therefore, the February revolution that began spontaneously became unexpected for the government and all political parties.

The beginning of the first riots was put on strike by the workers of the Putilov factory on February 17, the workers of which demanded a 50% increase in prices and the hiring of laid-off workers. The administration did not meet the stated requirements. In solidarity with the Putilov workers, many enterprises in Petrograd went on strike. They were supported by the workers of the Narva outpost and the Vyborg side. Thousands of random people joined the crowds of workers: teenagers, students, small employees, intellectuals. On February 23, a demonstration of the women workers of Petrograd took place.

Demonstrations demanding bread that began in Petrograd escalated into clashes with the police, who were taken by surprise by the events. Part of the Pavlovsky regiment also opposed the police.

There was no order from the government to open fire on the demonstrators. The Cossacks were not given whips. Police officers were disarmed in various districts of the city, and dozens of revolvers and checkers were taken from them. Finally, the police stopped opposing the demonstrators, and the city was in their hands.

According to estimates, the number of strikers was about 300,000! In fact, it was a general strike. The main slogans of these events were: “Down with the autocracy!”, “Down with the war!”, “Down with the tsar!”, “Down with Nicholas!”, “Bread and peace!”.

On the evening of February 25, Nicholas II gave the order to stop the unrest in the capital. The State Duma was dissolved. The Okhrana handed over dozens of addresses of activists of all parties to the police for their immediate arrest. A total of 171 people were arrested overnight. On February 26, rifle shots rang out into the unarmed crowd, which managed to disperse huge crowds of people. Only the 4th company of the Pavlovsky regiment, stationed in the buildings of the Stable Department, refused to act against the people.

On the night of February 26-27, insurgent soldiers joined the workers, on the morning of February 27 the district court was burned and the house of pre-trial detention was seized, prisoners were released from prison, among whom were many members of the revolutionary parties who had been arrested in recent days.

On February 27, the Arsenal and the Winter Palace were captured. The autocracy was overthrown. On the same day, the Executive Committee of the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies of Petrograd was formed, and members of the Progressive Bloc created the Provisional Committee of the Duma, which took the initiative to "restore state and public order." Almost simultaneously with this, several people from among the left intelligentsia called themselves the Provisional Executive Committee of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies.

On March 2, 1917, having learned about the opinion of the commanders of all fronts that he should leave, Nicholas II signed the abdication, making the following entry in his diary: "There is treason, and cowardice, and deception all around."

On the same day, at the request of the Chairman of the Provisional Committee of the Duma M.V. Rodzianko and with the consent of Nicholas II, L.G. was appointed temporary commander of the Petrograd District. Kornilov

Arriving on March 5 in Petrograd, Kornilov, finding himself in such a high post in an extremely politicized city, showed his qualities as a politician. Demonstrative measures - the arrest of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna and the royal children, the awarding of the Order of St. George to ensign Kirpichnikov, the organizer of the performance of the Volyn regiment in February, the purge of officers and units of artillerymen, cadets and Cossacks, the most loyal to the government, as well as the development of a project for the Petrograd Front, in which was supposed to pour in the demoralized and revolutionary Petrograd garrison for allegedly military purposes - real steps taken by the district commander to calm the revolutionary city.

Dual power.

With the abdication of Nicholas II from the throne, the legal system that had developed since 1906 ceased to exist. No other legal system regulating the activities of the state was created.

Now the fate of the country depended on political forces, the activity and responsibility of political leaders, their ability to control the behavior of the masses.

The structure of state power after the February events of 1917

Several political groups have formed in the country, proclaiming themselves the government of Russia:

1) The Provisional Committee of the members of the State Duma formed the Provisional Government, whose main task was to win the confidence of the population. The Provisional Government declared itself the legislative and executive power, in which the following disputes immediately arose:

About what the future Russia should be: parliamentary or presidential;

On the ways of solving the national question, questions about land, etc.;

On the electoral law;

On elections to the Constituent Assembly.

At the same time, the time for solving current, fundamental problems was inevitably lost.

2) Organizations of persons who have declared themselves authorities. The largest of these was the Petrograd Soviet, which consisted of moderate-left politicians and invited the workers and soldiers to delegate their representatives to the Soviet.

The Council declared itself the guarantor against a return to the past, against the restoration of the monarchy and the suppression of political freedoms.

The Council also supported the steps taken by the Provisional Government to strengthen democracy in Russia.

3) In addition to the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet, other bodies of de facto power were formed on the ground: factory committees, district councils, national associations, new authorities in the "national outskirts", for example, in Kyiv - the Ukrainian Rada.

The current political situation began to bear the name of "dual power", although in practice it was a multi-power, developing into an anarchic anarchy. Monarchist and Black Hundred organizations in Russia were banned and dissolved. In the new Russia, two political forces remained: the liberal-bourgeois and the left-wing socialist, but in which there were disagreements.

In addition, there was a powerful pressure from the bottom:

Hoping for a socio-economic improvement in life, the workers demanded an immediate increase in wages, the introduction of an eight-hour working day, unemployment guarantees and social security.

The peasants advocated the redistribution of neglected lands,

The soldiers insisted on softening the discipline.

The disagreements of the “dual power”, its constant reform, the continuation of the war, etc., led to a new revolution - the October Revolution of 1917.

CONCLUSION.

So, the result of the February Revolution of 1917 was the overthrow of the autocracy, the abdication of the tsar from the throne, the emergence of dual power in the country: the dictatorship of the big bourgeoisie in the person of the Provisional Government and the Council of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies, representing the revolutionary democratic dictatorship of the proletariat and peasantry.

The victory of the February Revolution was a victory for all active sections of the population over the medieval autocracy, a breakthrough that brought Russia on a par with the advanced countries in terms of proclaiming democratic and political freedoms.

The February Revolution of 1917 was the first victorious revolution in Russia and turned Russia, thanks to the overthrow of tsarism, into one of the most democratic countries. Arising in March 1917. the dual power was a reflection of the fact that the era of imperialism and the world war unusually accelerated the course of the country's historical development, the transition to more radical transformations. The international significance of the February bourgeois-democratic revolution is also extremely great. Under its influence, the strike movement of the proletariat intensified in many belligerent countries.

The main event of this revolution for Russia itself was the need to carry out long overdue reforms on the basis of compromises and coalitions, the rejection of violence in politics.

The first steps towards this were taken in February 1917. But only the first...

List of used literature:

1. Vyrubova-Taneeva A. The royal family during the revolution // February Revolution.

2. Denikin A.I. "The campaign and death of General Kornilov."

3. Nolde B. "From the history of the Russian catastrophe."

4. Ostrovsky V.P., Utkin A.I. Russian history. XX century.

5. Spiridovich A. I. Great War and the February Revolution of 1914–1917.

The first stage of the 1917 revolution in Russia, which took place in early March (according to the Julian calendar - in late February - early March). It began with mass anti-government demonstrations by Petrograd workers and soldiers of the Petrograd garrison, and as a result led to the abolition of the monarchy in Russia and the establishment of the power of the Provisional Government. In Soviet historical science, it was characterized as "bourgeois".

Russia on the eve of the revolution

Of all the great powers of Europe that participated in the First World War, Russia entered it the weakest in economic terms. Then, in August 1914, in Petrograd it was believed that the war would last only a few months. But the hostilities dragged on. The military industry could not meet the demands of the army, the transport infrastructure was underdeveloped. Morale was declining not only in the army, but also in the rear: the villagers were dissatisfied with the departure of able-bodied workers into the army, the requisition of horses, and the reduction in the receipts of urban manufactured goods; city ​​dwellers - by tension at enterprises, rising high prices and interruptions in supply. By the beginning of 1917, the socio-economic situation Russian Empire worsened significantly. It became more and more difficult for the state to support the army and provide food for the cities, dissatisfaction with military hardships grew among the population and in the troops.

The progressive public was indignant at what was happening at the "top", criticizing the unpopular government, the frequent change of governors and ignoring the Duma. In the conditions of the passivity of state power, committees and associations were created throughout the country to solve those problems that the state could no longer solve: the Committee of the Red Cross tried to control the sanitary situation in the country, Zemsky and city unions - all-Russian military public organizations - tried to centralize the supply of the army. The Central Military Industrial Committee (TsVPK) in Petrograd became a kind of parallel ministry.

Cities swept new wave strikes and strikes. In January-February, the number of strikers reached 700,000, and 200,000 workers took part in the strike alone on the occasion of the 12th anniversary of Bloody Sunday in Petrograd. In some cities, the demonstrators came out under the slogan "Down with the autocracy!" Anti-war sentiments grew and gained popularity. The conclusion of a separate peace was called for by the Russian Social Democrats (Bolsheviks), whose leader V. I. Lenin became one of the most prominent figures in the Russian political emigration. Lenin's anti-war program was to turn the imperialist war into a civil war. The more moderate Social Democrats, such as N. S. Chkheidze and the leader of the Trudoviks, A. F. Kerensky, called themselves “defence workers” and advocated waging a defensive war in the name of the motherland, but not autocracy.

The authorities missed the opportunity to improve the situation: the emperor and his entourage consistently rejected proposals from liberal circles to expand the powers of the Duma and attract public figures to the government. Instead, a course was taken to neutralize the opposition: organizations that advocated the reorganization of power were closed, and instructions were sent to the army and police to suppress possible unrest.

Start of strikes in Petrograd

On February 19, due to transport difficulties in Petrograd, the food supply deteriorated. Food cards were introduced in the city. The next day, huge queues lined up at the doors of empty bakeries. On the same day, the administration of the Putilov factory announced a lockout due to interruptions in the supply of raw materials, and as a result, 36,000 workers lost their livelihoods. The government sided with the administration of the plant. Strikes in solidarity with the Putilovites took place in all districts of the capital. Representatives of the legal, Duma opposition (Menshevik N. S. Chkheidze, Trudovik A. F. Kerensky) tried to establish contacts with illegal organizations. A committee was set up to prepare a demonstration on February 23 (March 8, New Style), International Women's Day. At that time, up to 129,000 people were already on strike - a third of all the workers of Petrograd. They were supported by the intelligentsia, students, employees, artisans. AT educational institutions classes have stopped. The Bolsheviks at first did not support the initiative of the demonstration that day and joined it at the last moment. In the evening, the authorities introduced the so-called 3rd position in the capital - thus, from February 24, the city was transferred under the responsibility of the military. The police were mobilized and reinforced by Cossack and cavalry units, the troops occupied the main administrative buildings, river police - crossings over the Neva. Military outposts were established on the main streets and squares, they were connected by horse patrols.

The spontaneous movement grew like an avalanche. On February 24, more than 200 thousand people were on strike, and on February 25 - more than 30 thousand. The strike turned into a general strike. Workers from all districts flocked to the city center, bypassing the police barriers in detours. Economic slogans were replaced by political ones: cries of “Down with the tsar!” were heard more and more often. and "Down with the war!" Armed squads were formed at the factories. The emperor was not aware of the scale of what was happening: on February 25, he ordered the commander of the Petrograd Military District to stop the unrest in the capital before the onset next day, but by this time the general was no longer able to do anything. On February 25-26, the first clashes between the strikers and the police and gendarmerie took place, hundreds of people were killed or injured, many were arrested. On February 26 alone, more than 150 people died on Nevsky Prospekt and Znamenskaya Square. On the same day, Nicholas II issued a decree dissolving the State Duma, thus missing the chance to move to a constitutional monarchy.

Demonstrations turn into revolution

On the night of February 27, part of the soldiers and officers of the "elite" Volyn and Preobrazhensky regiments rebelled. In a few hours, most of the regiments of the 200,000-strong Petrograd military garrison followed their example. The servicemen began to go over to the side of the demonstrators, to take over their protection. 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. The soldiers fastened red bows on hats and bayonets. The work of the authorities, including the government, was paralyzed, strategically important points and infrastructure facilities - stations, bridges, government offices, post office, central telegraph - came under the control of the rebels. The demonstrators also seized the Arsenal, where they took more than a hundred thousand guns. The mass demonstration, now armed, was joined not only by soldiers, but also by prisoners, including criminals released from the prisons of the capital. Petrograd was overwhelmed by a wave of robberies, murders and robbery. Police stations were subjected to pogroms, and the police themselves were lynched: law enforcement officers were caught and, at best, beaten, and sometimes killed on the spot. Looting was carried out not only by freed criminals, but also by rebellious soldiers. Members of the government were arrested and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress.

The center of the uprising was the Tauride Palace, where the Duma had previously met. On February 27, the Provisional Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' Deputies was spontaneously formed here with the participation of Mensheviks, Socialist-Revolutionaries, trade union leaders and cooperators. This body appealed to the collectives of factories and plants with an appeal to elect their representatives to the Petrograd Soviet. By the end of the same day, the first dozens of deputies were registered, and delegates from military units joined them. In the evening, the first meeting of the Council opened. The leader of the Social Democratic faction of the Duma, the Menshevik N. S. Chkheidze, became the chairman of the Executive Committee of the Soviet, and the Trudovik A. F. Kerensky and the Menshevik M. I. Skobelev became his deputies. The Executive Committee also included the Bolsheviks P. A. Zalutsky and A. G. Shlyapnikov. The forces grouped around the Petrograd Soviet began to position themselves as representatives of "revolutionary democracy". The first thing the Council did was to solve the problems of defense and food supply.

Meanwhile, in the adjacent hall of the Tauride Palace, the Duma leaders, who refused to obey the decree of Nicholas II to dissolve the Duma, formed the government. On February 27, the "Provisional Committee of the Members of the State Duma" was established, which declared itself the bearer of supreme power in the country. The Committee was headed by Duma Chairman M. V. Rodzianko, and the body included representatives of all Duma parties, with the exception of the extreme right. The members of the committee created a broad political program of reforms necessary for Russia. Their first priority was to restore order, especially among the soldiers. To do this, the Provisional Committee needed to reach an agreement with the Petrograd Soviet.

Renunciation of NicholasII

Nicholas II spent all the days from February 24 to February 27 at the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander in Mogilev. Poorly and untimely informed, he was sure that only "riots" were taking place in the capital. On February 27, he removed the head of the Petrograd Military District, S. S. Khabalov, and appointed General N. I. Ivanov to this position, giving the order to "put an end to the unrest." Chief of Staff of the Stavka M. V. Alekseev ordered Ivanov to refrain from forceful methods of restoring order, and by the evening of February 28, having enlisted the support of the front commanders, he convinced Nicholas II to agree to the formation of a government responsible to the Duma.

On the same day, February 28, the monarch left Headquarters for Tsarskoye Selo - there, in the imperial residence, was his wife, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, and their children, who were ill with measles. On the way, his train was detained by order of the revolutionary authorities and redirected to Pskov, where the headquarters of the Northern Front was located. A delegation of the Provisional Committee of members of the State Duma also went there to propose to the emperor that he abdicate in favor of his son Alexei under the regency of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, the younger brother of Nicholas II. The proposal of the Duma members was supported by the command of the army (fronts, fleets and Headquarters). On March 2, Nicholas II signed an act of abdication in favor of his brother. In Petrograd, this move caused a flurry of protests. Ordinary participants in the revolution and socialists from the Petrograd Soviet strongly opposed the monarchy in any form, and the Minister of Justice of the Provisional Government A.F. Kerensky noted that he did not vouch for the life of the new monarch, and already on March 3 Grand Duke Michael abdicated. In the act of abdication, he declared that the future of the monarchy would be decided by the Constituent Assembly. Thus, the monarchy in Russia ceased to exist.

Formation of a new government

By the morning of March 2, long and intense negotiations between the two centers of power - the Provisional Committee and the Petrograd Soviet - were completed. On this day, the composition of the new government headed by Prince G. E. Lvov was announced. Prior to the convocation of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly, the government proclaimed itself Provisional. The declaration of the Provisional Government set out a program of priority reforms: an amnesty for political and religious affairs, freedom of speech, press and assembly, the abolition of estates and restrictions on religious and national grounds, the replacement of the police by the people's militia, and elections to local governments. Fundamental questions - about political system countries, agrarian reform, self-determination of peoples - it was supposed to be decided after the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. It was precisely the fact that the new government did not solve the two main issues - the end of the war and the land - that was subsequently adopted by the Bolsheviks in the struggle for power.

On March 2, addressing the "sailors, soldiers and citizens" gathered in the Catherine's Hall, P. N. Milyukov announced the creation of the Provisional Government. He said that Prince Lvov would become the head of the government, and he himself would head the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The speech of the cadet leader was received with great enthusiasm. The only representative of the Soviets who received a ministerial post was the Trudovik A.F. Kerensky.

Results of the February Revolution

The February Revolution exposed the deep socio-economic, political and spiritual contradictions in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Various social groups tried to defend their interests and solve the accumulated problems. This led to the activation of already existing and the emergence of new organizations that sought to put pressure on the authorities. Following the example of Petrograd, Soviets began to appear throughout the country - in March 1917, there were about 600 of them only in provincial, district and industrial centers. Soldiers' committees were formed in the army environment, which quickly became the real owners of military units. By May 1917, there were almost 50 thousand such committees, they consisted of up to 300 thousand soldiers and officers. Workers at enterprises united in factory committees (FZK). Detachments of the Red Guard and workers' militia were formed in large cities. The number of trade unions reached two thousand by June.

The February Revolution gave impetus and national movements. For the Finnish, Polish, Ukrainian, Baltic and other national intelligentsia, it became the key to obtaining autonomy, and then national independence. Already in March 1917, the Provisional Government agreed to the demand to grant independence to Poland, and the Ukrainian Central Rada appeared in Kyiv, which subsequently proclaimed the national-territorial autonomy of Ukraine against the wishes of the Provisional Government.

Sources

Buchanan D. Memoirs of a diplomat. M., 1991.

Gippius Z. N. Diaries. M., 2002.

Journals of meetings of the Provisional Government, March - October. 1917: in 4 vols. M., 2001 - 2004.

Kerensky A.F. Russia at a turning point in history. M., 2006.

The country is dying today. Memories of the February Revolution of 1917. M., 1991.

Sukhanov N. N. Notes on the Revolution: In 3 vols. M., 1991.

Tsereteli I. G. Crisis of power: memoirs of the leader of the Mensheviks, deputy of the II State Duma, 1917-1918. M., 2007.

Chernov V. The Great Russian Revolution. Memoirs of the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly. 1905-1920. M., 2007.

1. February 23 - March 3 (March 8 - 18, according to a new style), 1917, the February Revolution took place in Russia, as a result of which the tsar was overthrown, the monarchy was abolished, democratic transformations began, which grew into a revolutionary process and a civil war.

The driving forces of the February Revolution of 1917 had a dual nature:

- on the one hand, it was of a mass, spontaneous and popular character (“revolutions from below”);

- on the other hand, since 1916, there was a conscious preparation for the overthrow of Nicholas II, who had lost his authority - some of the leading leaders of the "Progressive Bloc" of the State Duma, progressive-minded officers of the Petrograd garrison, entered into the conspiracy.

From December 1916, the implementation of the conspiracy began. Rasputin was killed in Yusupov's house, which immediately deprived the tsar of his inner support. Work was carried out among the officers of the Petrograd garrison to prepare a military coup. In early February 1917, a shortage of bread was created in Petrograd (bread was not brought into the city and was hidden in warehouses, although after the abdication of Nicholas II, the importation of bread began in droves). The Petrograd garrison did not support the tsar at the decisive moment. 2. Events began to develop spontaneously:

- the cessation of the supply of bread to Petrograd caused acute discontent and spontaneous demonstrations;

- On February 23 (March 8, 1917 according to the global calendar), on International Women's Day, a major strike began in Petrograd, which is considered the beginning of a revolution - the Putilov plant stopped working, followed by more than 50 enterprises, more than 100 thousand workers took to the streets with the slogans "Bread!", "Peace!", "Freedom!";

- February 26 - riots began - the defeat of police stations, the secret police, attacks on government officials, Chairman of the State Duma M. Rodzianko sends a telegram to the tsar, who is at headquarters in the city of Mogilev, with a proposal to form a government of national unity;

- February 26, evening - Tsar Nicholas II of Mogilev rejected the proposals of the deputies of the State Duma and ordered the commander of the Petrograd district, General S. Khabalov, to suppress the speeches by force and restore order;

- February 27 - a split in the army - the Petrograd garrison refused to follow the orders of its commander S. Khabalov and went over to the side of the protesting workers; the fraternization of the army and the inhabitants of Petrograd begins; there is a destruction of the district court, prisons, police stations; on the same day, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma (leaders: M. Rodzianko, P. Milyukov, G. Lvov, etc.) and the Petrograd Council (chairman - N. Chkheidze, deputies - A. Kerensky and M. Skobelev, G. Khrustalev-Nosar (leader of the Petrosoviet during the revolution of 1905);

- The Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Committee of the State Duma are equally popular among the people and proclaim themselves the highest authority in the country, which laid the foundation for dual power;

- February 28 - power in Petrograd completely passes into the hands of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma and the Petrograd Council; previously trained officers and units loyal to them, who supported the rebels, take control of the mail, telegraph, telephone, bridges; the commander of the Petrograd district, S. Khabalov, also goes over to the side of the rebels, sends a telegram to the tsar about the impossibility of suppressing the unrest;

- March 1 - Chairman of the State Duma M. Rodzianko arrived in Mogilev to Tsar Nicholas II with a proposal to abdicate in favor of 14-year-old son Alexei;

- March 2 - after daily deliberation, having changed his mind many times, Nicholas II signs the abdication of the throne for himself and for his son Alexei in favor of his brother, Mikhail Romanov. The abdication of Nicholas II was not voluntary and was obtained after the refusal of the army to defend the tsar - and this became the decisive argument;

- on the same day, March 2, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, together with the Petrograd Soviet, forms the Provisional Government (until the elections to the Constituent Assembly) headed by G. Lvov;

- dual power begins in Russia - the State Duma and the Provisional Government, on the one hand, and the councils of workers', peasants' and soldiers' deputies, which are spontaneously created throughout the country, on the other;

- March 3 - Mikhail Romanov, the uncrowned Tsar Michael II, who enjoys a reputation as a liberal and a certain authority in society, abdicates the throne - before the convocation of the Constituent Assembly (the abdication of Mikhail was also obtained by force - under many hours of pressure from the leaders of the State Duma and the armed sailors who came with them ; Michael's abdication was formalized already without succession);

- on the same day, the Provisional Government publishes its first document - the Declaration of the Provisional Government to the citizens of Russia, which proclaims fundamental rights and freedoms, the abolition of estates, a general political amnesty, the liquidation of the police and gendarmerie, their replacement by the people's militia, and the holding at the end of 1917. general and equal elections to the Constituent Assembly.

As a result of the victory of the February bourgeois-democratic revolution in February - March 1917 in Russia:

- the monarchy was overthrown;

- the 304-year rule of the Romanov dynasty was actually terminated;

- fundamental human rights and freedoms were proclaimed and became a reality for a short time;

- Dual power began - the activities of the Provisional Government and the Soviets;

- Revolutionary transformations began, culminating in the coming to power of the Bolsheviks.

It did not solve the economic, political and class contradictions in the country, but it was the prerequisite for the February Revolution of 1917. Participation tsarist Russia in the First World War showed the inability of its economy to carry out military tasks. Many factories stopped their work, the army felt the lack of equipment, weapons, food. Transport system country is absolutely not adapted to martial law, Agriculture gave up their positions. Economic difficulties have increased Russia's foreign debt to enormous proportions.

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

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

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

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

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

The main events of the February Revolution took place rapidly. For several days in Petrograd, Moscow and other cities there was a wave of strikes with the slogans "Down with the tsarist government!", "Down with the war!". On February 25, the political strike became general. Executions, arrests were not able to stop the revolutionary onslaught of the masses. Government troops were put on alert, the city of Petrograd was turned into a military camp.

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

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

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

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

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

Russia after the February Revolution experienced an acute political crisis. Therefore, the need was ripe for the development of the bourgeois-democratic revolution into a socialist one, which was supposed to bring the proletariat to power.

One of the consequences of the February Revolution is the October Revolution under the slogan "All power to the Soviets!".