February Revolution. Discovery of new speculation

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January Strikes in Petrograd, rescue of Riga and the suffragette at the White House

Revolution On January 22 (January 9 according to the old style), on the anniversary of Bloody Sunday, the largest strike during the war began in Petrograd, more than 145 thousand workers of the Vyborg, Narva and Moscow regions took part in it. The demonstrations were dispersed by the Cossacks. Strikes also took place in Moscow, Kazan, Kharkov and other major cities Russian Empire; in total, more than 200,000 people went on strike in January 1917.

War On January 5 (December 23, 1916, old style), the Russian army launched an offensive on the Northern Front in the Mitava region (modern Jelgava in Latvia). An unexpected blow made it possible to break through the line of fortifications of the German army and move the front from Riga. The initial success of the Mitav operation could not be consolidated: the soldiers of the 2nd and 6th Siberian Corps rebelled and refused to take part in the hostilities. In addition, the command of the Northern Front refused to provide reinforcements. The operation was terminated on January 11 (December 29).

Picket at the gates of the White House. Washington, January 26, 1917 Library of Congress

On January 10, a suffragist movement known as the "Quiet Guards" begins picketing outside the White House in Washington. For the next two and a half years, six days a week, women picketed the residence of the American president, demanding equal voting rights with men. During this time, they were repeatedly beaten, detained for “obstructing traffic”, and tortured during arrests. The picket ended on June 4, 1919, when both houses of Congress passed the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution: "The right to vote of the citizens of the United States shall not be denied or restricted by the United States or by any state on account of sex."

February Submarine Warfare, Duma Opposition, and the Mexican Constitution

Revolution On February 27 (14), the first meeting of the State Duma in 1917 opened. It was supposed to take place in January, but at the beginning of the year, by decree of the emperor, it was postponed to a later date. A demonstration took place near the Tauride Palace, many deputies at the meeting demanded the resignation of the government. The leader of the Trudovik faction, Alexander Kerensky, called for fighting the authorities not only by legal means, but also with the help of “physical elimination”.

War

German submarine U-14. 1910s Library of Congress

On February 1, Germany began unrestricted submarine warfare. German submarines easily overcame barriers and attacked both military convoys and civilian ships. During the first week of February, 35 ships were sunk in the English Channel and on the western approaches to it. For the whole month, the German fleet lost only 4 submarines out of 34, and the British troops were cut off from supplies due to constant attacks on merchant ships in the strait and in the Atlantic.

Peace On February 5, Mexico published the text of the Constitution adopted in January by the Constituent Assembly. The new basic law transferred all land to the state, reduced the powers of the church to a minimum, divided the branches of government and established an eight-hour working day. Thus, the revolutionaries achieved the fulfillment of all their demands. However, the armed struggle between the government and the rebel leaders continued even after that. The revolution began in 1910 with the struggle against the dictatorship of President Porfirio Diaz. Then the peasants joined the movement, and land reform became the main goal.

March Renunciation in Pskov, the capture of Baghdad and the first jazz record

Revolution March 8 (February 23), International Women's Day, another strike began, which grew into a general one. Workers from the Vyborg side broke through to Nevsky Prospekt, the strike turned into a political action. March 11 (February 26) as a result of clashes, demonstrators were killed, guards regiments began to go over to the side of the rebels, the unrest could not be extinguished. On March 15 (2) in Pskov, Nicholas II signed an act of renunciation; in Petrograd, a Provisional Government was formed, headed by the leader of the Zemsky Union, Prince Georgy Lvov.

War

British troops enter Baghdad. March 11, 1917 Wikimedia Commons

On March 11, British troops took Baghdad, forcing the Ottoman army to retreat. Great Britain took revenge for the defeat at El Kut in early 1916, when the defenders of the fortress were forced to capitulate after a long siege. In January 1917, British troops first recaptured El Kut and then moved north, delivered a surprise blow to the Ottoman army and entered Baghdad. This allowed the British to gain a foothold in Mesopotamia, and the Ottoman Empire lost control of another territory.

"Livery Stable Blues" performed by the Original Dixieland Jass Band. 1917

On March 7, the first commercial jazz recording goes on open sale - the single "Livery Stable Blues" by the white orchestra of the Original Dixieland Jass Band. With the release of this record, an explosion in the popularity of jazz is associated. 1917 also saw the birth of future jazz musicians Ella Fitzgerald (April 25), Thelonious Monk (October 10), and Dizzy Gillespie (October 21).

April Lenin's Theses, Wilson's War and Gandhi's Nonviolent Protest

Revolution

Sketch of the "April Theses". Manuscript of Vladimir Lenin. 1917 RIA News"

On April 9 (March 27), the Provisional Government sent a note to France and Great Britain, in which it assured the allies that Russia would not withdraw from the war and would not conclude a separate peace. In response, the Petrograd Soviet, which consisted of Bolsheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, led the soldiers and workers to an anti-war demonstration. The April crisis led to a split between the Provisional Government and the Soviets. At the same time, Lenin published his "April Theses" - the Bolsheviks' program of action: ending the war; refusal to support the Provisional Government; new, proletarian revolution.

War On April 6, the United States entered the First world war. Up to this point, the United States had remained neutral, but American ships were increasingly becoming victims of the submarine war that Germany had been waging since February. The reason for the war was also a telegram from German Foreign Minister Arthur Zimmermann, in which he asked the German ambassador to the United States to achieve an alliance with Mexico. The British intercepted the telegram, deciphered it, and presented it to US President Woodrow Wilson, who made it public. Shortly thereafter, with several more American ships sunk in the Atlantic, Congress declared war on Germany.

Peace On April 10, 47-year-old lawyer and social activist Mohandas Gandhi launched the first civil disobedience campaign in India. Gandhi called this form of protest Satyagraha (from Sanskrit "satya" - "truth", and "agraha" - "firmness"). In the Champaran district, he began to fight against the colonial authorities, who forced the peasants to grow indigo and other commercial crops instead of cereals that could be eaten. The main goal was the independence of India from the British Empire. The first stage of peaceful resistance ended with Gandhi's arrest. Thousands of people demanded his release, calling him Mahatma - the Great Soul, and the police had to release Gandhi a few days later.

May Coalition Government, Commander-in-Chief Pétain and the Birth of Surrealism

Revolution The April crisis, above all, the statement of the Minister of Foreign Affairs Milyukov about the "war to a victorious end", led to a change of government. The new coalition included six socialists: the Socialist-Revolutionary Kerensky became the Minister of War and the Navy, the leader of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party Viktor Chernov became the Minister of Agriculture, the Mensheviks Irakly Tsereteli and Matvey Skobelev, the Trudovik Pavel Pereverzev and the People's Socialist Alexei Peshekhonov also entered the coalition.

War On May 15, General Henri Philippe Pétain became commander-in-chief of the French army. After the battle of Verdun, which lasted almost the entire year 1916, Pétain became one of the most revered generals of the soldiers. In the spring of 1917, Commander-in-Chief Robert Nivel sent troops to break through the German front, the losses of the French army reached 100 thousand people killed and wounded. A crisis began in the army - the soldiers rebelled. Pétain calmed the troops, promised to give up suicidal attacks, and shot the instigators of the rebellion. Later, in 1940, he would head the government of the Vichy regime, which collaborated with the Nazis.

Leonid Myasin as a Chinese magician. Costume designed by Picasso for the ballet "Parade". Photograph by Harry Lachman. Paris, 1917

Horse. Costume designed by Picasso for the ballet "Parade". Photograph by Harry Lachman. Paris, 1917© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

American manager. Costume designed by Picasso for the ballet "Parade". Photograph by Harry Lachman. Paris, 1917 © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Acrobat. Costume designed by Picasso for the ballet "Parade". Photograph by Harry Lachman. Paris, 1917© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

American baby. Costume designed by Picasso for the ballet "Parade". Photograph by Harry Lachman. Paris, 1917© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

French manager. Costume designed by Picasso for the ballet "Parade". Photograph by Harry Lachman. Paris, 1917© Victoria and Albert Museum, London

On May 18, the term "surrealism" appeared. The poet Guillaume Apollinaire applied this definition to the ballet Parade. The performance with music by Eric Satie, script by Jean Cocteau, costumes by Pablo Picasso and choreography by Leonid Myasin, based on a parade of performers of a farce circus, caused a real scandal. The audience whistled, critics after the premiere called the production a stain on the reputation of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes and a blow to French society. Apollinaire passionately defended the ballet in his manifesto "Paradade and the New Spirit", explaining that this combination of scenery, costumes and choreography "led to a kind of sur-réalisme" in which the New Spirit could begin to take off.

June All-Russian Central Executive Committee, abdication of Constantine I and Act on espionage

Revolution On June 16 (3) the Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies opened in Petrograd. The majority on it were Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. Lenin's "April theses" on ending the war and transferring power to the Soviets were rejected. Following the results of the congress, the deputies elected their leadership - the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (All-Russian Central Executive Committee), headed by the Menshevik Nikolai Chkheidze.

War On June 11, King Constantine I of Greece abdicated under pressure from the Entente. Since the beginning of the war, the monarch has remained neutral, despite the opposition of the government. Constantine I was married to the sister of the German Kaiser Wilhelm II, which gave rise to reproaches for the pro-German position of the king. Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos approved the British landing in Thessaloniki, was dismissed, but then formed the opposition Provisional Government of National Defense. Dual power arose in the country, and as a result, Constantine I abdicated and left for Switzerland, passing the throne to his son Alexander, who had no real power as a king.

Winsor McKay. Cartoon of the Espionage Act from the New York American. May 1917 Library of Congress

On June 15, the U.S. passed the Espionage Act. the federal law, which was intended to strengthen the national security of a country that had just entered the First World War, but was immediately perceived as an attack on freedom of speech. It specifically prohibits the dissemination of information that could harm the US military or advance its enemies. The Espionage Act is still in use today - in particular, its violation is blamed on Edward Snowden, who made public the data on how American intelligence agencies monitor people around the world.

July Government crisis, failed offensive and execution of Mata Hari

Revolution On July 17-18 (4-5) in Petrograd, demonstrations of anarchists and Bolsheviks lead to clashes with government troops. The armed uprising failed, the Bolshevik leaders Lenin and Zinoviev had to flee the capital. At the same time, a crisis is also taking place in the Provisional Government: first, the Cadets leave it in protest against the granting of broad powers to the Ukrainian Central Rada, and then the chairman of the government, Prince Georgy Lvov, also resigns.

War At the end of June, the Russian army began preparations for a large-scale strategic offensive. July 1 (June 18) the offensive began on Southwestern Front in the direction of Lviv. In the first two days, the troops advanced significantly, which allowed Kerensky, Minister of War and Marine, to declare "the great triumph of the revolution." On July 6 (June 23), the 8th Army of General Lavr Kornilov attacked the positions of the Austro-Hungarian troops. But a week later, the impulse dried up: fermentation began in the army, military committees decided to abandon hostilities. Meanwhile, the Austro-German command transferred additional forces to this sector of the front. The counteroffensive turned to Russian army catastrophic: entire divisions fled from the front.

Mata Hari in stage costume. Postcard. 1906Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand

Mata Hari on the day of his arrest. 1917 Wikimedia Commons

On July 24, the trial of the Dutch dancer Marga-re-ta Gertrude Zelle, better known by her stage name Mata Hari, began in France. She was accused of spying for Germany and passing on to the Germans information that caused the death of several divisions of soldiers. The very next day, the court sentenced Mata Hari to death. She was shot on October 15, 1917, she was 41 years old.

August Mustard, the Bolshevik Congress and the miraculous appearance of the Virgin

Revolution On August 6 (July 24), a second coalition government was formed, already led by. The Provisional Government after the July days returned the death penalty and announced its intention to liquidate the Soviets. In Moscow, at the initiative of the government, a State Conference was convened with the participation of all political forces, except for the Bolsheviks, demanding the gradual liquidation of military committees, a ban on rallies and meetings, and the return death penalty. The Bolsheviks, in turn, held a party congress in Petrograd, at which they announced the need for an armed uprising.

War In August, the most difficult stage of the battle of Passchendaele in Belgium (the third battle of Ypres) began, which had been going on since July 11. British troops decided to break through the German front, the main goal was the base of German submarines. On the third day of the battle, the German army used a new poison gas - mustard gas: it hit the skin and eyes, the losses from it were greater than from any other chemical weapon during the war. In August, due to the rains, the area turned into an impenetrable swamp, in which the armies fought. The tanks got stuck in the mud. The British did not manage to overcome the German fortifications, and only in October they were able to move forward.

Lucia Santos, Francisco Marta and Jacinta Marta. Fatima, Portugal, 1917 Wikimedia Commons

From May to October 1917, every 13th day, three children from the Portuguese city of Fatima - Lucia Santos and her cousins ​​Francisco and Jacinta Marta - according to them, appeared to the Virgin Mary. The exception was August 13, when the children were arrested by a local official and journalist, Artur Santos, a well-known anti-clerical and anti-monarchist in the district. He tried to get them to admit that they had not actually seen any miracles, but in vain. Coming out from under arrest, the children witnessed another appearance of the Virgin on August 19. The field on which this took place, back in 1917, became a place of mass pilgrimage.

September Kornilov rebellion, surrender of Riga and bacterial viruses

Revolution September 8 (August 26) The Supreme Commander presented an ultimatum to the Provisional Government. He demanded to give him full power before the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. In response, Kor-nilov was called a rebel. Troops loyal to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief moved to Petrograd, but under the influence of agitators they stopped at the approaches to the capital. After the failure of the rebellion, the government collapsed: the Cadets, who supported Kornilov's speech, left it. During the transitional period, the highest authority was formed - the Directory, headed by Kerensky.

War

German infantry in Riga. September 1917© IWM (Q 86949)

Kaiser Wilhelm II and Leopold of Bavaria on the banks of the Western Dvina (Daugava). Riga, September 1917© IWM (Q 70272)

Russian prisoners of war. Riga, September 1917© IWM (Q 86680)

On September 1, German troops began shelling the positions of the Russian army near Riga. This was followed by a massive offensive, the purpose of which was to encircle the 12th Army. In two days, Russian troops lost 25 thousand people killed and already on September 3 left Riga. However, the 12th Army left the encirclement. The city was one of the main targets of the German army on the Eastern Front. After the capture of Riga, fears arose that the Germans would be able to occupy Petrograd. Panic arose in the Russian capital and preparations began for evacuation.

Peace On September 3, French-Canadian microbiologist Felix d'Herelle, who works at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, published a paper describing bacteriophages, viruses that infect bacteria. This is one of the most ancient and numerous groups of viruses, which is now used in medicine as an alternative to antibiotics, and in biology as one of the tools of genetic engineering. Initially, bacteriophages were described in 1915 by the Englishman Frederick Twort (calling them bacteriolytic agents), but his research went unnoticed, and d'Herelle made his discovery on his own.

October Attack on Petrograd, the capture of the Moonsund Islands and the navel of Cleopatra

Revolution On October 8 (September 25), the composition of the third coalition government was announced, with Kerensky remaining chairman. At this time, in Petrograd, the Bolsheviks began preparing an armed uprising. They received a majority in the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, and on October 29 (16) the proposal of the head of the Petrograd Soviet, Lev Trotsky, to create a Military Revolutionary Committee was approved, formally - to protect against the Kornilovites and the German troops approaching the capital. After that, the Petrograd garrison came under the control of the Petrograd Soviet.

War On October 12, German troops launched an operation to capture the Russian-owned Moonsund Islands in the Baltic Sea. The operation was a combi-ni-ro-bath: it involved and ground troops, and fleet, and aviation (aircraft and airships). The German Navy unexpectedly encountered fierce resistance from the Russian fleet. Only by October 17 did the German dreadnoughts manage to get to the archipelago and gain control over it.

An excerpt from the film "Cleopatra" (1917)

On October 14, Cleopatra, the most expensive film of its time, is released, with a budget of $500,000 (almost $10 million today). The title role was played by Theda Bara, one of the main sex symbols of the 1910s. The film was subjected to significant censorship - for example, during screenings in Chicago, a scene was cut from the first part in which Cleopatra stands in front of Caesar with a "bare navel" and "ambiguously bows" to the Roman ruler. The last two complete copies of the film burned down in a fire at the Fox Studios in 1937, it is currently considered lost, only minor fragments have survived.

November The Bolshevik coup, the battle from Farewell to Arms! and Jews in Palestine

Revolution November 7 (October 25) Petrograd was almost completely in the hands of the Military Revolutionary Committee, which issued an appeal "To the citizens of Russia!", Reporting that power had passed to the Petrograd Soviet. On the night of November 7-8 (October 25-26), the Bolsheviks and their political allies took the Winter Palace and arrested the ministers of the Provisional Government. The next day, the Second Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies formed the authorities and adopted decrees on peace and land.

War

The retreat of the Italian army during the Battle of Caporetto. November 1917 Italian Army Photographers/Wikimedia Commons

On November 9, the active phase of the Battle of Caporetto in northeastern Italy ended. It began on October 24, when the 14th Army under the command of General Otto von Belov, consisting of German and Austro-Hungarian divisions, broke through the Italian front. The Italian army, demoralized by the chemical attack, began to retreat. The Entente allies transferred additional forces to this sector, but the German-Austrian troops continued to move forward. By November 9, the Italian army was forced to withdraw across the Piave River. Ernest Hemingway described this retreat in A Farewell to Arms. The defeat at Caporetto led to the resignation of the Italian government and commander-in-chief Luigi Cadorna, the army of the kingdom lost more than 70 thousand people killed and wounded.

Peace On November 2, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour sent an official letter to Lord Walter Rothschild, representative of the British Jewish community, for onward transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland. The purpose of the letter was to enlist the support of not only British but also American representatives of the diaspora, so that they would contribute to a more active US participation in the First World War. Minister Balfour stated that the government was "considering with approval the question of establishing in Palestine a national home for the Jewish people." This document was called the Balfour Declaration and became the basis for the post-war settlement in Palestine and for the UK to obtain a mandate over the territories, and in the future for the creation of the State of Israel.

December Peace talks, Cheka and NHL

Revolution By mid-December, the left SRs entered the new government, the Council of People's Commissars, and the highest authority, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. On December 20 (7), the Council of People's Commissars created the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage (VChK). And on December 26 (13), Lenin's "Theses on the Constituent Assembly" appeared in Pravda, which stated that the composition of the assembly (where the Right Socialist-Revolutionaries had a majority) did not correspond to the will of the people.

War

Meeting of the delegation of the RSFSR at the station in Brest-Litovsk. Early 1918 Wikimedia Commons

On December 3 (November 20), negotiations begin in Brest-Litovsk between Germany and Soviet Russia about a truce. Having adopted, on the one hand, the Decree on Peace at the Second Congress of Soviets and hoping for an early revolution in the countries of Central Europe, on the other hand, the Bolsheviks initiated these negotiations, but tried their best to drag them out. Three months later, on March 3, despite the desperate inner-party struggle of the Bolsheviks, peace was concluded, but even the main supporter Vladimir Lenin called it "obscene": Russia agreed to pay colossal reparations and lose the western territories with a total area of ​​​​780 thousand square kilometers with a population over 50 million people. The Entente called the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk a "political crime". However, Russia, in fact, did not have to comply with his conditions: in November 1918, Germany was defeated in the First World War. Part of the seized territories became part of the USSR following the results of the Civil War, part was occupied Soviet Union at the start of World War II.

Peace On December 19, the first match in the history of the National Hockey League took place, which arose as a result of disagreements within the National Hockey Association that existed since 1909. The Toronto Arenas and Montreal Wanderers played in the NHL opening game. Two more Canadian teams participated in the first championship - the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Sena Torz, which, unlike the first two clubs, still exist. Toronto became the champion of the first season. The NHL predicted an imminent collapse: in the third year of the war, many hockey players went to the front. However, the league proved to be a successful project and soon attracted clubs not only from Canada, but also from the United States.

The sovereign arrived in Mogilev in order to say goodbye to his Headquarters, in which His Majesty worked so hard, put so much into the great cause of fighting our stubborn and powerful enemies of the soul, heart, mind and extraordinary strain of all his moral and physical strength. Only those who had the high honor of seeing this intense activity on a daily basis during the year and a half from August 1915 to March 1917 of Emperor Nicholas II's direct command of his multi-million army, stretching from the Baltic Sea through all of Russia to Trebizond and into the depths of Asia Minor, can say what kind of work it was and what moral strength was needed in order to endure this everyday work, without leaving huge national concerns throughout the Empire, where treason and betrayal were already widely ripening.
And how this work was done by the Russian Tsar! Without the slightest affectation, without any advertising, the Sovereign calmly and deeply thoughtfully worked. His chief of staff, General Alekseev, was a valuable collaborator, an excellent officer of the General Staff. General Alekseev enjoyed the full confidence of the Sovereign, and they both worked together all the time. The Sovereign, as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, gave instructions, and the Chief of Staff, General Alekseev, carried them out with full attention, and the results, as everyone knows, during these one and a half years were successful.
M. V. Alekseev himself told me more than once that he really does not like it when His Majesty leaves Headquarters and leaves him alone.
“It is much calmer with the Sovereign, His Majesty gives such instructions, corresponding to military and strategic tasks, that you develop these directives with full conviction of their expediency. The sovereign is not worried, he knows the front very well and has a rare memory. We slept with him. And when the Tsar leaves, there is no one to consult with, you can’t send telegrams about all the phenomena of the war for every hour. You send only about the most important events. A personal report is a great thing."

From the very first days of the Sovereign's command of his armies, a highly visible case of the joint work of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief and his chief of staff appeared. It was in early September 1915. The news from all fronts was disappointing. Our troops, leaving Warsaw, Kovno, Grodno in command of the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, retreated into the depths of Russia. Fighting began near Vilna, and a breakthrough of our front near Molodechno was determined by a huge mass of German cavalry. Stavka was worried. There were rumors that Mogilev was not safe from the raid. They spoke in whispers about the need to move the Headquarters closer to Moscow - to Kaluga ... By the night of September 2, the rumors became especially tense. On September 3, at nine o'clock in the morning, even before the usual report of General Alekseev to His Majesty, I went to the chief of staff in order to find out, for a daily record, events on the fronts.
General Alekseev was sitting in his office at a huge table, surrounded by maps and papers. He looked upset and worried.
To my question: “What is the state of our armies these days and is the anxiety that has seized the Headquarters so fair?” - Mikhail Vasilyevich clutched his head and answered in a voice of complete despair: “What armies we have! Our troops perished on the fields of Galicia and Poland. All the best is gone. We now have hundreds of people left in the regiments, and dozens of people in the companies. Sometimes we don't have cartridges, shells... I don't know what we are going to do, how we will hold back the pressure and where we will stop... I find that our situation has never been so bad. Now I will report all this to His Majesty.
Apparently, the man was in complete horror from the events and did not control himself. I left Alekseev embarrassed and with great anxiety in my soul.
At half past one on the same day I again saw General Alekseev at the Supreme Breakfast. He completely changed, looked cheerful, spoke animatedly, and the anxiety that I had seen a few hours ago disappeared. I asked him the question that probably the best news had been received from the front and he began to look more cheerfully at the future.
“No, no new news has been received, but after the report to His Majesty on the situation at the front, I received certain instructions from the Sovereign. He ordered a telegram to be sent along the entire front that now not a step further. We need to hold on and get stronger. And the Vilna-Molodechno breakthrough was ordered to be liquidated by the troops of General Evert. Now I am already carrying out the order of the Sovereign, and, God willing, we will cope.”
There was another person in front of me. Instead of the nervous, bewildered General Alekseev, there was a calm, confident chief of staff of the Supreme Commander, carrying out the will of the Commander-in-Chief, the Russian Emperor. This is a classic example of giving an order and carrying it out, with all the beneficial results of the joint friendly work of both the Commander-in-Chief and his Chief of Staff.
The result of such an order of the Sovereign was, as you know, enormous. military history will appreciate our brilliant counterattacks at Molodechno-Vilna and all subsequent events.
Only after this successful September operation did we get the opportunity, without fear of a further offensive by enemy forces, to prepare for a new struggle. Vast Russia began to form and train new troops everywhere. Shells, cannons, rifles, machine guns and all kinds of military and naval equipment were worked in factories and factories. All this became possible only when there was a firm conviction that the enemy would not go further into Russia, and by the spring of 1917 powerful armies were created, ready for the offensive. Here is the first example of the orders of the Sovereign as the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
The results of this courageous and calm instruction and for this one and a half year of hard work would give Russia greatest victories, if it were not for the treason and betrayal that destroyed the Tsar, his armies and our entire Motherland.
And now, on the first days of the spring of 1917, the Sovereign arrived at his Headquarters not to start victorious operations, but in order to say goodbye to his headquarters, to military agents and representatives of the allied powers and to clarify the conditions of his stay as a private person in Russia and abroad.
On Saturday, March 4, after morning tea at the beginning of the tenth hour, the Sovereign went in his usual order to the quartermaster general's unit (the house next to the palace) to receive General Alekseev's report on the situation on the fronts.
This last report to His Majesty was reported to me by General Klembovsky, who was present at it, together with General Lukomsky, in his service. The emperor, as I said, at the beginning of the tenth hour came to the quartermaster general and took his usual place at the table, where these reports took place daily. Calmly, attentively listened to Sovereign Alekseev, who at first was agitated, in a hurry, and only a few minutes later, under the influence of His Majesty's questions, remarks and instructions, began to report as always. The sovereign recalled the front with amazing accuracy, pointing to parts of the troops, the names of the commanders and characteristics one place or another in the battle line. But it stretched for almost three thousand miles.
“I could not take my eyes off the Tsar,” said Klembovsky, this reserved and cold man. - How much willpower the Sovereign had to have in order to listen to the last report on the Great War for an hour and a half. After all, the Sovereign, there is nothing to hide, treated military operations not only consciously, but he led them and gave certain instructions to Mikhail Vasilyevich. And to cut it all off, to end it, against our will, knowing full well that this, probably, will make our affairs worse. I even asked myself the question: what is it, indifference or a clearly realized need to finish my role in order in front of my headquarters? Just before leaving us all, the Tsar seemed to become agitated and in a voice quieter than usual and more cordial said that it was hard for him to part with us and sad for the last time to be at the report, but, apparently, the will of God is stronger than my will. I would like to believe that Russia will remain victorious and all the sacrifices it has made will not be lost... Then the Sovereign shook hands with all of us and quickly left, accompanied by General Alekseev. This is how this historic last report to Emperor Nicholas II from his chief of staff took place, ”concluded General Klembovsky.
Around noon on the same day, it became known that Empress Maria Feodorovna was arriving from Kiev this afternoon to meet with the Sovereign.
It was windy, fresh weather. By three o'clock in the afternoon, His Majesty, the entire retinue of the Sovereign, the Grand Dukes Alexander and Sergei Mikhailovich, General Alekseev with the senior ranks of his headquarters arrived on the military platform.
We had to wait about twenty minutes for the arrival of the Empress Mother's train. The sovereign, again in Kuban Cossack uniform, walked with the Duke of Leuchtenberg, the adjutant on duty, keeping quite far from all other persons.
Among the retinue and staff there was talk that fermentation had begun between the lower ranks in the Headquarters garrison, there were rallies and a statement was made, handed over to General Alekseev, that the soldiers demanded the removal of Count Frederiks and the palace commandant General Voeikov from Mogilev. It is as if the soldiers do not trust these persons, and if their desire is not immediately granted, then the excitement may threaten His Majesty as well. General Alekseev had already reported this to the Sovereign and, with the permission of His Majesty, gave instructions to the Minister of the Court, Count Frederiks and General Voeikov, that they must now leave the Headquarters. This message surprised everyone and outraged many. It is clear that the fable, gossip was immediately given importance and hastened to satisfy the impudent demand of the excited soldiers. General Alekseev knew perfectly well that both Count Frederiks and General Voeikov were innocent, but he did not dare to refuse the soldiers: General Alekseev perfectly understood that by forcibly removing the Minister of the Court and the palace commandant from the Headquarters, he thereby insulted His Majesty and, as it were, confirmed the absurd rumors about betrayal and betrayal of Russia by these closest persons of the Sovereign.
Finally, the late train approached the platform. The Sovereign approached the carriage where the Empress Maria Feodorovna was. The Queen Mother came out to meet him; they embraced and kissed three times, then talked among themselves for several minutes. Then the Empress walked around the Grand Dukes, the retinue, talking and smiling affably. The Empress was cheerful and had her usual, kind, affectionate appearance, dear to all Russians. After that, the Sovereign and the Empress Mother went to some small, random shed that stood here on the platform and remained there, talking with each other face to face, for a quarter of an hour.
I remember that everyone present at this meeting of the Queen Mother with her son, Emperor Nicholas II, who had left the throne, was amazed at the restraint at which this first meeting between them took place after the greatest act in the history of Russia took place - the result of a terrible revolution during an unprecedented world war .
For a long time no one spoke, as if they were afraid to violate the seriousness of the meeting with their voice. I remember that General Alekseev kept to himself, there was no one around him. He was confused and agitated.
Upon leaving the shed, the Sovereign and the Empress Mother got into the car and proceeded to the house where His Majesty lived, and for a long time they remained alone with each other. Then, in the evening, the Sovereign went with his mother to her train, from where he returned to himself only at night.
Together with Empress Maria Feodorovna, the manager of her court, the master of the horse, Prince Shervashidze, who is with Her Majesty, Major General Prince Sergei Dolgorukov and Her Majesty's maid of honor Countess Mengden, arrived. All of them remained on the train with Her Majesty during all the days of the Empress Mother's stay in Mogilev.
And the events went on and on. The revolution unfolded more and more menacingly. It has already become known that Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich was forced to refuse to accept the throne under pressure and threats from the leaders of the revolution. The Provisional Government, having overthrown the legitimate Sovereign Nicholas II, is in a hurry to prevent the new Tsar, whom he himself indicated, from reaching the throne. Less than a day after the deputies Guchkov and Shulgin returned from Pskov with a manifesto on the transfer of the Russian state to Tsar Michael, a new act of revolution took place. It is amazing how the members of the "government", these persons, "entrusted with the trust of the country", in the very first minutes of their power did not try to protect Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich from accidents and arbitrariness. The main figure in the first hours and days of the revolution, Chairman of the State Duma Rodzianko, and then the Provisional Government itself, allowed the Duma building to be turned into some kind of square for rallies, for revolutionary orgies, for receiving deputations of rebellious soldiers and did not even try to organize order in the city and the Duma itself . From the first minutes of his "reformative activity in the War Ministry", the "expert in military affairs", the new Minister of War and Naval Affairs Guchkov, recognized the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies and probably hoped that with the help of these new military organizations the "free" army would flourish. The Minister of War of the Provisional Government did not even find it necessary to give protection to the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, who at that time lived in the Winter Palace and was subjected to all the accidents of the revolutionary days. In Petrograd there were several thousand cadets of military schools who could firmly maintain security and order.
It has to be noted that apart from the flow of words, apart from the malicious, senseless activity of arresting more or less prominent figures in the tsarist government of Nicholas II, the Provisional Government did not show itself in any way and gave full freedom to develop anarchist manifestations, dragged on the heels of the revolution.
The government of Prince Lvov reached out for Kerensky, who with every passing hour was acquiring greater power and greater importance. In Mogilev it was difficult to find out all the details of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich's refusal to accept the throne. I was only told that the Grand Duke could not stay in the Winter Palace and moved to the apartment of the colonel of the cavalry regiment, Prince Putyatin, on March 1 or 2. On March 3, Chairman of the State Duma M. V. Rodzianko, Prince Lvov, P. N. Milyukov, A. I. Guchkov, A. A. Kerensky and other members of the Provisional Government arrived here and entered into lengthy negotiations with His Highness on the conditions for accepting the throne according to the will expressed by his brother Sovereign Emperor Nicholas II. During these negotiations, Kerensky especially insistently began to demand that Mikhail Alexandrovich not take the throne, while intimidating with unrest among the people, workers and troops and the supposedly inevitable bloodshed in the capital.
The Grand Duke did not agree to this demand for a long time and expressed the opinion that the interests of Russia oblige him, in accordance with the will of his brother, despite the difficulty of the situation, to accept the kingdom. Mikhail Alexandrovich, after long and heated explanations, wished to consult separately on this issue with the head of government, Prince Lvov, and the chairman of the Duma, Rodzianko. However, at first even this desire of the Grand Duke was objected to and many of the members of the Provisional Government said that they were all equal and that there could be no separate meetings, but in the end the Grand Duke insisted and left with Rodzianko and Prince Lvov to another room. Discussing the situation that had arisen, Prince Lvov and Rodzianko, alone with Mikhail Alexandrovich, spoke out in favor of the need for no one from the House of Romanov to remain in power because of the alleged desire of the people, and therefore the Grand Duke must renounce the throne before the Constituent Assembly.
After the news of the refusal of Mikhail Alexandrovich, not only among the people surrounding the Sovereign, but among the entire Headquarters, there was almost no hope that Russia would be able to wage war and continue any kind of correct state life. The hope that the Constituent Assembly would be correctly convened and approve Mikhail Alexandrovich as Tsar was very weak, and almost no one believed in it. K. D. Nilov was right when he said that Mikhail Alexandrovich would not be able to resist and that this would lead to a general collapse.
Especially gloomy rumors began to circulate among the Stavka, which in its vast majority was against the coup, after the news appeared about the organization of the Soviet of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies in Petrograd, whose demands are aimed at the collapse of the army and the transfer of power in the troops to the mass of soldiers.
Already today, General Alekseev spoke by direct wire for an hour and a half with Minister of War Guchkov and urged him not to allow the publication of Order No. 1, since this would introduce complete disorganization in part of the troops and we would not be able to wage war. Guchkov, however, replied that it was necessary to give in to the demand of the representatives of the "liberated army", and the order was published and sent out.
Regarding Order No. 1 and the soldiers' committees, General Klembovsky told me that General Alekseev was indignant at Guchkov and said angrily: “The only thing left is to immediately give permission to off-duty officers to wear civilian clothes. Only this will sometimes help them get rid of the arbitrariness and arrogance of revolutionary soldiers.
It seems that on the evening of March 4, Count Frederiks and General Voeikov left Headquarters. I went to say goodbye to them. They lived in the same house where His Majesty was placed. Count Fredericks already had everything packed, and he excitedly paced the room, talking in French with Baron Stackelberg. The count kept complaining about the slander against him, about the newspaper agitation. He said: “For sixty years I have honestly served the Tsar and the Motherland. I was with the Sovereigns for half a century, I was always ready to give my life at their disposal, and now I consider it unacceptable for myself to leave His Majesty, and if I do this, then only under the insistence of General Alekseev, who demands this and says that if I and Voeikov stay at Headquarters, he does not vouch for His Majesty's calmness. This shocked me deeply, I am so devoted to the entire Royal House.” And the old count wept. Count Frederiks was leaving for Petrograd and did not want to go anywhere and could not hide. We hugged, kissed and parted with tears in our eyes. I was very sorry for the old man, whom I always deeply respected for his noble character, for his deep devotion to Russia and the Sovereign. Then S. P. Fedorov, Prince Dolgorukov, K. D. Nilov came to say goodbye. They started taking things out. The count kept standing and repeating the same mournful thoughts to everyone ...
A few days later, here at Headquarters, an eyewitness told me that, by chance, being in Petrograd on Zagorodny Prospekt near Tsarskoselsky Station, he saw how Count Fredericks, having arrived from Headquarters, got out to get into the car. The crowd yelled, shouted, demanded that "this German traitor" be torn to pieces. The escort barely held back the revolutionary rabble, and the count walked calmly, not at all paying attention to the chaos that reigned in the street. “Count Fredericks was very handsome and stood out so with his noble figure above this crazy and dirty street,” a witness to this scene told me. With great difficulty, the car with the Minister of the Court could move. Frederiks sat calmly with his permanent secretary, Petrov, showing neither fear nor embarrassment.
After parting with Count Fredericks, I went to the rooms of the palace commandant. There were a lot of people here, all the subordinates of General Voeikov, colleagues, the entire retinue of the Sovereign came to see off Vladimir Nikolaevich. He was in good spirits, all the time disposed of his huge, in an unusual order, luggage, gave orders to the servants and abruptly exchanged words with all of us.
“I hope to get to my Penza estate and maybe I can live there ...” he said.
Soon the palace commandant, together with Lieutenant Colonel Tal, a former officer of the Life Guards of His Majesty's Hussars, commanded by General Voeikov before the war, went to the station. They fit in a second-class carriage unnoticed, but, of course, they could not go far and were detained at one of the stations closest to Mogilev and sent through Moscow to Petrograd, where General Voeikov was arrested.

Adjutant wing Romanovsky Alexander Georgievich, Duke of Leuchtenberg (1881-1942)

In the context of a sharply aggravated food crisis, the events of February 1917 took place. On February 22, 1917, "until special permission" the Putilov plant in Petrograd was closed. The workers turned to the entire proletariat of the capital for support. The government took steps to prevent a revolution. In early February 1917, the Petrograd Military District was withdrawn from the command of the Northern Front and transferred to the jurisdiction of Minister of War M. A. Belyaev. The commander of the district, General S.S. Khabalov, received emergency powers to suppress possible unrest.

On February 23, 1917, events spontaneously began in Petrograd, which ended just a few days later with the overthrow of the monarchy. Thus, the International Day of Women Workers (March 8, according to the new style) became the first day of the revolution. The rallies of workers that began at the textile factories of the Vyborg side grew into mass demonstrations. From the workers' outskirts, columns of demonstrators headed for the city center. The behavior of the soldiers and Cossacks set the workers in an optimistic mood. Petrograd, meanwhile, took the form of a military camp. Machine guns were installed on fire towers and on some houses. The government decided to fight by arming the police and using the army. On February 25, the soldiers, at the command of their officers, began to use weapons. General Khabalov - received an order from the tsar to immediately end the unrest in the capital. To keep the soldiers from communicating with the rebels, the command of some units did not give them overcoats and shoes.

On February 26, the streets of Petrograd were stained with blood - there was a mass execution of the insurgent workers. These events marked the turning point of the revolution. On February 27, troops began to cross over to the side of the rebels - the execution had an effect that the authorities did not count on. The Petrograd garrison, which at that time numbered 180 thousand people, and together with the troops of the nearest suburbs 300 thousand people, took the side of the people.

Nicholas II wrote in his diary on February 27, 1917: “Unrest broke out in Petrograd a few days ago; unfortunately, the troops began to take part in them. It's a disgusting feeling to be so far away and receive fragmentary bad news. On the afternoon of February 28, the Peter and Paul Fortress was occupied. The position of the remnants of the government troops, who were led by General Khabalov in the Admiralty and tried to gain a foothold there, became hopeless, and they laid down their arms and dispersed to their barracks. The tsar's attempt to organize a punitive expedition, led by General I.I. Ivanov, ended in failure.

On the night of February 28, the 4th State Duma, from among its members, created a Provisional Committee to govern the state (chairman - Octobrist M.V. Rodzianko). The committee sought to restore order and save the monarchy. The Committee sent its representatives A.I. Guchkov and V.V. Shulgin to the Headquarters, where the tsar was located, for negotiations with him. Nicholas II still hoped to suppress the uprising with the armed forces, but the troops sent by him went over to the side of the rebels.

Nicholas II, meanwhile, departed from Headquarters, located in Mogilev, hoping to arrive in Tsarskoe Selo. However, the path was occupied by the rebels, and only in the middle of the day on March 1 did the tsar arrive in Pskov, where the headquarters of the Northern Front was located. The question of abdication was soon raised. On the morning of March 2, the front commander, General N. V. Ruzsky, read to Nicholas II "his longest conversation on the apparatus with Rodzianko." The latter insisted on renunciation.

A. I. Guchkov and V. V. Shulgin of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma left for Pskov. Moreover, it was decided to act secretly and quickly, "without asking anyone, without consulting anyone." By the time Guchkov and Shulgin arrived, Nikolai had already made his decision. The abdication was signed by the tsar on March 2 at 11:40 p.m., but in order not to seem as if this act was of a violent nature, the time was set on the manifest when it was signed - 15 hours.

Nicholas II abdicated the throne for himself and for his young son Alexei in favor of his younger brother Mikhail Alexandrovich, however, the latter, in turn, refused to accept supreme power. This meant the complete victory of the revolution. Leaving Pskov late at night on March 2, former king wrote in his diary bitter words: "All around is treason, and cowardice, and deceit." From the evening of March 3 until the morning of March 8, Nikolai was at Headquarters. Leaving, he said goodbye to its inhabitants. According to General N.M. Tikhmenev, head of the Military Communications of the theater of operations, the separation procedure turned out to be very difficult for many: “convulsive, intercepted sobs did not subside ... The officers of the St. two of them fainted. At the other end of the hall, one of the convoy soldiers collapsed.

Meanwhile, in the course of the February events, the workers of Petrograd set about creating Soviets of Workers' Deputies, and elections of deputies were held by enterprises. On the evening of February 27, the first meeting of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies took place in the Tauride Palace. With the full support of the rebels, the Council began to show itself as a real power. The majority in the Soviet turned out to be the Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, who believed that the democratic revolution should culminate in the creation of a democratic government.

The issue of creating such a government was decided in the IV State Duma. The Octobrist and Cadets parties had a majority and influenced the Social Democrats and the Socialist-Revolutionary deputies. On March 1 (14), the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet decided to give the Provisional Committee of the State Duma the right to form a provisional government from representatives of the political parties that were members of the Soviet. On the same day it was formed headed by Prince G.E. Lvov. Along with it, another power arose - the Soviets, although not officially recognized. A dual power was created in the capital: the power of the Provisional Government and the power of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. Following Petrograd, the revolution won in Moscow, and then peacefully (“by telegraph”) in most cities and provinces. The provisional government, not having the strength to resist the revolutionary elements, was forced to seek support from the Petrograd Soviet, which relied on armed workers and soldiers. The leadership of the Soviet, which consisted of Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, provided this support.

The new "tops" who came to power immediately found themselves faced with the need to solve the urgent historical tasks facing the country - ending the war, liquidating the landlord latifundia, allocating land to the peasants, and solving national problems. However, the Provisional Government promised to solve them at the Constituent Assembly and tried to restrain the dissatisfaction of the masses with references to the impossibility of carrying out fundamental reforms during the war.

The multi-authority, which became a nationwide phenomenon, was deepened by two parallel processes occurring simultaneously - the emergence and formation of authorities of different political orientations - the Soviets and various committees: public security, rescue committees. In addition, city dumas, zemstvos, elected under tsarism, continued to function, consisting mainly of representatives of the Octobrist parties, the Cadets, as well as the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks.

The manifestation of an extraordinary political activity the broad masses of the people who made the revolution was their participation in thousands of rallies and demonstrations held on a variety of occasions. It seemed that the country could not get out of a state of anarchy, euphoria from an unexpectedly victorious revolution. At the rallies there were searches for answers to questions about what had happened, how to end the war, how to build a Russian democratic republic. The answers offered by the political parties and the authorities were supported by the thesis that henceforth the war was waged in the name of defending the gains of the revolution.

Questions that agitated the country were also discussed daily at meetings of the Petrograd Soviet. On the main thing, about power, the majority proceeded from the fact that the people should have power. An 8-point declaration was drawn up, which the Provisional Government was supposed to base its activities on. Chief among them: freedom of speech, press, unions, the abolition of all class, religious and national restrictions, immediate preparations for the convocation of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly on the basis of a universal, equal, secret and direct vote, which will establish the form of government and prepare the country's constitution.

The interim government postponed the solution of all key issues (on war and peace, agrarian, national) until the Constituent Assembly. Thus, the victory of the February Revolution did not immediately solve the tasks facing the country, which left objective conditions for continuing the struggle to solve them.

“The following cities recognized the new government: Riga, Rostov-on-Don, Vladikavkaz, Samara, Balakhna, Sarapul, Poltava, Aleksin, Armavir, Novocherkassk, Bakhmut, Novo-Nikolaevsk, Voronezh, Orel, Belozersk, Uglich, Spassk, Odessa, Tobolsk , Nikolaev, Omsk. Everywhere the news of the coup was greeted with rejoicing. Order was not violated.
Telegrams from the Petrograd Telegraph Agency
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YAKUTSK. According to the March 9 newspaper “ Russian word”: “The renewal went smoothly, thanks to the deputy of the Social-Democrats, who is languishing here in exile. G.I. Petrovsky and political exiles, who organized the Committee of Public Security on March 3. On March 4, the City Duma transferred powers to the committee.”
SAMARA. On February 22, a strike began at the Pipe Factory. The organizers of the strike were arrested and sent to the city of Nikolaevsk, where marching companies were formed to the front. Among them was the Samara Bolshevik Nikolai Shvernik. On March 1, after the news of the revolution, all political prisoners were released from prison. At an emergency meeting of the city duma, a Special Temporary City Security Committee was organized, which was under the control of the Cadets. The Committee was recognized by the Samara Soviet of Workers' Deputies, in which at the first stage most places were occupied by the Mensheviks, since the leaders of the Samara Bolsheviks were in Turukhansk exile.
BAKU. Head of the Caucasian region Vel. Book. Nikolai Nikolaevich recognized the Provisional Government. The provisional government abolished the governorship in the Caucasus and abolished the post of governor-general. These duties were assigned to the "Provincial Commissars of the Provisional Government". On March 5 (18) the Baku Council of Public Organizations was formed, oriented towards the Provisional Government. On March 8 (21) the Baku Soviet of Workers' and Military Deputies was formed, and S. Shaumyan was elected chairman of the executive committee.
KIEV. On March 4 (17), public organizations and political parties (mainly Cadets and Octobrists) formed an executive committee headed by Baron Steingel. In Kharkov, Poltava and other large cities, Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies were created, consisting mainly of Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries. On March 7 (20) in Kiev, representatives of Ukrainian political parties formed the Ukrainian Central Rada. Thus, triarchy began to form here.

No king, no anointed

On March 5 (18), 1917, the executive committee of the Petrosoviet decided to arrest the royal family, confiscate their property and deprive them of civil rights. The provisional government supported the decision.
"Resolved: Recognize the abdicated Emperor Nicholas II and his wife as deprived of their liberty and deliver the abdicated Emperor to Tsarskoye Selo."
Journal of meetings of the Provisional Government, March 7 (20), 1917.
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On March 6 (19), the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church decided to serve in all the churches of the empire prayer services with the proclamation of many years "to the God-protected state of Russia and its faithful Provisional Government."
The Provisional Government and the Holy Synod received numerous telegrams of greetings from the clergy from all over Russia.
“The Yekaterinburg clergy enthusiastically welcomes free Russia in your person. Ready to devote all its strength to assisting the new government in its efforts to renew the state and social system of our country on the basis of freedom, offers fervent prayers to the Lord God, may He strengthen the Russian Almighty Power in the world, and may the Provisional Government become wiser in leading the country on the path of victory and prosperity."
Telegram to the Chairman of the State Duma of the Clergy of Yekaterinburg.

"The general meeting of employees in the religious and educational institutions of Odessa welcomes in your person the Provisional Government of Free Russia and expresses its full readiness to serve it in good conscience for the benefit of the Church and the Motherland."
From a telegram to the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod.

Army

Troops have deserted! My sailors are my own sailors. I can't believe it."
Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, March 2 (15), 1917, Tsarskoye Selo.

On March 2 (15) an uprising of sailors began in Kronstadt. During the unrest, about 100 senior officers were killed.
It was also restless on the fronts. Having learned about Order No. 1 of the Petrograd Soviet, the lower ranks did not want to obey the officers. The war exacerbated the huge social, class and ideological gap between soldiers and officers. For the soldiers, mostly illiterate peasants, the geopolitical reasons that justified the war did not exist. The war was fought on foreign territories, that is, it was not perceived as domestic. The soldiers wanted immediate peace and land.
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While by Russian cities bread riots rolled, the tsarist, and then the Provisional government continued to send grain abroad.
"It is necessary to immediately stop sending wheat to the allies, which we ourselves need."
Lieutenant General Lukomsky at a meeting at Headquarters on March 18 (31), 1917.

“The election of delegates to the committee of the 12th army showed that the army was steadily revolutionizing, and the main thing was that the delegates were strictly punished to stand on the “platform” (as they said then) of those who stand for peace at all costs.”
From the memoirs of L.N. Punin, in March 1917, an officer in a detachment of special importance on the front near Riga.
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On March 9 (22), the St. Petersburg Committee of the Bolsheviks decided to create a military commission, which then prepared the constituent assembly of the military organization under the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b). At the meeting, a presidium of 9 people was elected, headed by V.I. Nevsky and N.I. Podvoisky. Military organizations of the RSDLP(b) existed on all fronts and garrisons. Military organizations actively promoted the Bolshevik agrarian program, for this they participated in the work of compatriot organizations, peasant Soviets and soldiers' committees, and also sent agitators to the village.

"It is necessary to restore the party!"

With the outbreak of the First World War, the Bolsheviks were subjected to repression: some of the leaders, including deputies of the State Duma, were arrested and sent to Siberia, others were forced to emigrate or operate underground. After the overthrow of the monarchy, it was necessary to revive the organization.
“Our tactics: complete distrust, no support for the new government; Kerensky is especially suspect; arming the proletariat is the only guarantee; immediate elections to the Petrograd Duma; no rapprochement with other parties.”
Telegram to V.I. Lenin to the Bolsheviks leaving for Russia. March 6 (19), 1917.

“The proletariat must remember that only with arms in hand can it consolidate its gains and carry the cause of the revolution to the end. ... It is necessary to restore the party and its organizations, it is necessary to restore party literature. So, comrades:
1) Sign up as party members.
2) Create party organizations.
3) Create cadres of proletarian and democratic guards.
4) Create a party press.
5) Conduct a broad campaign of social-democracy. ideas and slogans written on the banner of R. S.-D. R.P.
6) Collect funds for organization, agitation and literature.”
The first issue of Pravda after the resumption of publication, March 5 (18), 1917.

“In the revolutionary struggle, the proletariat strives to achieve freedom to fight for socialism - its ultimate goal. He can get this freedom only in a democratic republic. The confiscation of land from the landlords is the conquest which the peasantry achieves by following the working class in the revolutionary struggle. Our deputy must watch the affairs of the bourgeoisie vigilantly. Replacing the king, she will try to save the reigning house. The monarchy gives the bourgeoisie support against the workers, the landowners against the revolutionary peasants.
Order of the RSDLP elected to the Moscow Soviet of Workers' Deputies.
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In February 1917, the number of Bolsheviks throughout Russia was 24 thousand, at the end of April 1917, during the VII (April) conference of the RSDLP, it grew to 80 thousand.

"Must renounce"

Deputy of the State Duma A.I. GUCHKOV:

“We came with a member of the State Duma, Shulgin, to report on what happened these days in Petrograd, and at the same time to consult on those measures that could save the situation. Position in the highest degree threatening: first the workers, then the troops joined the movement, the unrest spread to the suburbs, Moscow is restless.
This is not the result of some kind of conspiracy or premeditated coup, but this movement broke out of the very soil and immediately received an anarchist imprint, the authorities faded into the background. I went to General Zankevich, who was replacing General Khabalov, and asked him if he had any reliable unit, or at least separate lower ranks, on whom one could count. He answered me that there were none, and all units that arrived immediately went over to the side of the rebels.
Since it was fearful that the rebellion would take on an anarchist character, we formed the so-called provisional committee of the State Duma and began to take measures, trying to return the officers to the command of the lower ranks; I personally traveled to many parts and urged the lower ranks to remain calm.
In addition to us, there is also a Committee of the Workers' Party in the Duma, and we are under its authority and its censorship. The danger is that if Petrograd falls into the hands of anarchy, we moderates will also be swept away, because this movement is already beginning to overwhelm us. Their slogans: the proclamation of a social republic. This movement captures the lower classes and even the soldiers, who are promised to give the land.
The second danger is that the movement will spread to the front, where the slogan is: sweep away the authorities and choose those you like. There is the same combustible material, and a fire can spread along the entire front, since there is not a single military unit that, having fallen into the atmosphere of movement, would not immediately become infected. Yesterday, representatives of the Consolidated Infantry Regiment, the Railway Regiment, Your Majesty's escort, and the Palace Police came to our Duma and announced that they were joining the movement. They are told that they must continue to guard those persons that they have been entrusted with; but the danger still exists, for the crowd is now armed.
There is a deep consciousness among the people that the situation has been created by the mistakes of the authorities, and therefore some act is needed that would have an effect on the consciousness of the people. The only way is to transfer the burden of supreme government to other hands. You can save Russia, save the monarchical principle, save the dynasty.
If you, Your Majesty, announce that you are transferring your power to your little son, if you transfer the regency to Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, and if a new government is instructed in your name or in the name of the regent, then, perhaps, Russia will be saved; I say "maybe" because events are moving so fast that at the present time Rodzianko, me and other moderate members of the Duma are considered traitors by the extreme elements; they, of course, are against this combination, since they see in it an opportunity to save our primordial principle.
Here, Your Majesty, only under these conditions can an attempt be made to restore order. This is what we, me and Shulgin, were instructed to convey to you. Before deciding on this, you, of course, should think carefully, pray, but still decide not later than tomorrow, because tomorrow we will not be able to give advice if you ask us for it, since you may be afraid of aggressive crowd action.

Emperor Nicholas II:

“Before your arrival and after a direct conversation between Adjutant General Ruzsky and the Chairman of the State Duma, I thought during the morning, and in the name of the good, tranquility and salvation of Russia, I was ready to abdicate in favor of my son, but now, after rethinking the situation, I came to the conclusion that, in view of its morbidity, I should renounce both for myself and for him, since I cannot be separated from him.

From the protocol of negotiations between Guchkov and Shulgin on March 2, 1917 with Nicholas II about his abdication.

Unrest begins in the military units stationed in Tsarskoe Selo, the total number of which was about 40 thousand people. Shortly before this, the Tsarskoye Selo commandant, General Nikolai Osipov, sent parts of the garrison to Kolpino, where a strike began at the Izhora plant. Resentment arose among the soldiers, most of whom were former workers. The situation was aggravated by poor supply - allowances were reduced back in 1916.
On February 16, 1917, unrest and spontaneous rallies began in the units. Agitation was launched right in the barracks. Slogans were openly heard: "Down with the war!", "Down with the autocracy!", "Support the workers of Petrograd!". Most of the career officers were at the front, and the warrant officers who commanded the units did not have sufficient experience and authority to calm the unrest. Meanwhile in Petrograd full swing preparations were underway for a big strike at the Putilov factory, which began the next day.

March 5 (February 20 old style)

The General of the Security Department, Alexander Spiridovich, wrote about the events of that day and the mood that prevailed in Petrograd: “Having seen someone from the Security Department, I realized that they were looking at the state of affairs hopelessly. A catastrophe is approaching, but the minister apparently does not understand the situation, and proper measures are not being taken. There will be trouble. The murder of Rasputin marked the beginning of some kind of chaos, some kind of anarchy. Everyone is waiting for some kind of revolution. Who will do it, where, how, when - no one knows anything. And everyone is talking and everyone is waiting ... They hate the Queen. They don’t want the sovereign anymore… They talked about the departure of the Emperor, as it were, about the change of an objectionable minister. They talked about the fact that the Tsaritsa and Vyrubova would soon be killed as simply as about some kind of hospital operation. They called the officers who were allegedly ready to march, called some regiments, talked about the conspiracy of the Grand Dukes, almost everyone called V.K. Mikhail Alexandrovich as the future Regent.

March 7 (February 22 old style)

Nicholas II leaves Petrograd and goes to Mogilev, to the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander. Before that, he met with Interior Minister Alexander Protopopov and received assurances from him that the situation in the capital was completely under control. Apparently, the minister was really sincerely convinced of this after the mass arrests carried out at the end of January. At the front, things were not going well - cases of fraternization of Russian and German soldiers were periodically recorded, morale continued to fall.
On the same day, Empress Alexandra Feodorovna wrote to Nicholas: “Everyone in the Duma is a fool. Stavka is full of idiots. There are only animals in the Synod. Ministers are bastards. Our diplomats must be hanged. Disperse everyone. I beg you, my friend, do it as soon as possible ... We are not a constitutional state, thank God, be a lion in the fight against a small bunch of scoundrels and republicans, be Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible and Pavel the First, crush them all.

March 8 (February 23 old style)

The beginning of the revolution. Anti-war rallies dedicated to the Day of the Worker are turning into political demonstrations everywhere. The main slogans: "Bread", "Down with the war", "Down with the autocracy!". Dozens of enterprises have been stopped, the total number of strikers is about 128 thousand people. There was no talk of a peaceful protest - policemen were beaten all over Petrograd. In the evening it became clear that the participation of troops was necessary to suppress the unrest. In the following days, reserve guards regiments and Cossacks were taken to the streets. But it was already too late. The strikes grew - by February 25, more than 300 thousand people were on strike. Troops and police are ordered to shoot at the rebels. However, not everyone is in a hurry to fulfill them. The Cossacks sometimes openly oppose the police.

March 11 (February 26 old style)

Clashes between demonstrators and police and soldiers continue throughout Petrograd. The death toll is already in the tens. The unrest covers the troops. Involved in dispersing the workers, the 4th company of the reserve battalion of the Pavlovsky Life Guards Regiment begins to shoot at its own officers and police, about 20 people desert with weapons. Chairman of the State Duma Mikhail Rodzianko sends a telegram to Nicholas II, saying that "anarchy is in the capital." The tsar, in a conversation with the minister of the imperial court, Vladimir Frederiks, angrily remarks: “Again, this fat Rodzianko wrote me various nonsense, to which I will not even answer him.” Meanwhile, the chairman of the Council of Ministers, Prince Nikolai Golitsyn, announces a break in the work of the Duma until April, using a previously prepared form of a royal decree. Rodzianko urgently rebuffs another telegram to Mogilev, warning that if it goes on like this, then "the collapse of Russia, and with it the dynasty, is inevitable." No answer.

March 12 (February 27 old style)

The training team of the reserve battalion of the Volynsky regiment rebelled. The soldiers, who did not want to shoot at the demonstrators, killed Staff Captain Pashkevich and, seizing their rifles, ran out into the streets. Soon, about 20 thousand soldiers joined the armed uprising, who united with the striking workers. A huge crowd moved to the Petrograd prison "Crosses", which contained about 2 thousand people, among whom there were many political prisoners. The liberated Mensheviks Kuzma Gvozdev, Mark Broido and Boris Bogdanov immediately called for support for the State Duma. The proposal was met with enthusiasm. By two o'clock in the afternoon, the Tauride Palace was surrounded by thousands of workers and soldiers. The deputies had no choice but to support the uprising. A new body of power was created - the Committee of members of the State Duma to restore order in the capital and to communicate with persons and institutions, better known as the Provisional Committee. Mikhail Rodzianko became chairman. In the afternoon, members of the tsarist government gathered for their last meeting. A telegram was sent to Nicholas II in Mogilev stating that the ministers could not cope with the situation and were proposing to dissolve the government. At night, the tsar boards the train to urgently go to Tsarskoe Selo.

March 13 (February 28 old style)

The Provisional Committee of the State Duma declares that it is taking power into its own hands in connection with the self-dissolution of the government. However, in parallel with it, the temporary executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' Deputies is actively operating. Competitors sit literally two steps away from each other, occupying different wings of the Tauride Palace. Nikolai Chkheidze was elected Chairman of the Petrosoviet, Alexander Kerensky and Matvey Skobelev were elected as his deputies. The paradox is that all three are at the same time members of the Duma. Meanwhile, mass strikes and armed clashes continue throughout Petrograd. Around noon, the rebels took the Peter and Paul Fortress, by evening they established control over the railways. Almost all the troops in the city went over to the side of the rebels. The police, whose number did not exceed 3.5 thousand people, turned out to be powerless.

March 15 (March 2 old style)

Late in the evening, Nicholas II signed his abdication in the car of the royal train, which was delayed in Pskov. Nikolai himself described it this way: “In the morning Ruzsky came and read his long conversation on the phone with Rodzianko. According to him, the situation in Petrograd is such that now the ministry from the Duma seems to be powerless to do anything, because. The social[ial]-dem[ocratic] party in the person of the working committee is fighting against him. I need my renunciation. Ruzsky passed this conversation on to the headquarters, and Alekseev to all the commanders-in-chief. By 2-6 pm, answers came from everyone. The bottom line is that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front in peace, you need to decide on this step. I agreed. A draft manifesto was sent from headquarters. In the evening Guchkov and Shulgin arrived from Petrograd, with whom I spoke to and handed over to them a signed and reworked manifesto. At one o'clock in the morning I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had experienced. There is treason and cowardice and deceit all around!"

March 16 (March 3 old style)

Members of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma are going to an urgent meeting due to the fact that Nicholas II abdicated in favor of his brother Mikhail. This is recognized by all as an unacceptable and dangerous option. For several hours, Mikhail Alexandrovich was persuaded to sign his abdication. As a result, a document was signed with the following text: “A heavy burden has been placed on me by the will of my brother, who transferred the Imperial All-Russian Throne to me in a time of unprecedented war and unrest of the people.
Encouraged by the same thought with all the people that the good of our Motherland is above all, I made a firm decision in that case to accept the Supreme power, if such is the will of our great people, which should by popular vote, through its representatives in the Constituent Assembly, establish a form of government and new fundamental laws of the Russian State.
Therefore, invoking the blessing of God, I ask all citizens of the Russian State to submit to the Provisional Government, which, at the initiative of the State Duma, has arisen and is invested with all the fullness of power, until it is possible to convene the shortest time on the basis of universal, direct, equal and secret suffrage, the Constituent Assembly, by its decision on the form of government, will express the will of the people.

March 18 (March 5 old style)

The Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet adopts a resolution on the arrest of Nikolai Romanov and his family. This should be accompanied by confiscation of all property and deprivation of civil rights. The provisional government initially ignores this initiative, but then decides: "Recognize the abdicated Emperor Nicholas II and his wife as deprived of their liberty and deliver the abdicated Emperor to Tsarskoye Selo." Before leaving for Tsarskoye Selo, Nicholas II issues a farewell order to the troops, bequeathing them to fight until victory" and "obey the Provisional Government." However, this order was never published. Meanwhile, in Kronstadt and Helsingfors (Helsinki), massacres of naval officers begin. Including the chief commander of the Kronstadt port, Admiral Robert Viren, and the commander of the Baltic Fleet, Admiral Adriyn Nepenin, were killed.

March 17 (March 4, old style), 1917

The newspapers published the Manifesto on the abdication of Nicholas II and the Manifesto on the abdication of Mikhail Alexandrovich.
“The man rushed towards us.
- Lovely! he shouted and grabbed my hand. - Have you heard? There is no king! Only Russia remained.
He kissed everyone warmly and rushed to run on, sobbing and muttering something ... It was already one in the morning ... Suddenly, at this inopportune hour, there was a booming and short strike of the cathedral bell. Then the second blow, the third.
The blows became more frequent, a tight ringing was already floating over the town, and soon the bells of all the surrounding churches joined it.
Lights were lit in all the houses. The streets were filled with people. Doors in many houses stood wide open. strangers crying, hugging each other. From the side of the station, a solemn and jubilant cry of steam locomotives flew ”(Konstantin Paustovsky.“ Restless Youth ”).

March 22 (March 9, old style), 1917

US Ambassador David Francis, on behalf of the United States, announced the official recognition of the Provisional Government.
Thus, the United States (or, as they were then called, the North American United States) became the first state in the world to recognize the legitimacy of the revolution that took place in Russia.
The owner of the White House during this period was Democrat Woodrow Wilson, who sharply condemned the "imperialist policy" of other great powers and emphasized his country's disinterest in territorial acquisitions.
However, in March 1917, American public opinion was already sufficiently prepared to enter the First World War. The formal reason for this was the attacks of German submarines on the ships of neutral powers, but the actual reasons were the desire to guarantee the victory of the Entente, which was financially dependent on the United States.
Two weeks remained before America's official entry into the war.

March 24 (March 11, old style), 1917

The grandmother of the Russian revolution returned to Petrograd from Minusinsk exile ”Ekaterina Konstantinovna Breshko-Breshkovskaya (nee Verigo, 1844-1934).
In 1874, she participated in the "going to the people", organized by representatives of the progressive youth, who dreamed of raising the peasants against the autocracy. She went through prisons, hard labor, and during her stay at liberty she was usually in an illegal position. She was one of the founders of the party of socialist revolutionaries (herov), as well as her "sword" - the Combat Organization, which was engaged in the Shooting of tsarist officials.
She arrived in the capital in a special wagon, and the solemn meeting organized by her bore the features of mass hysteria. The Kadet "Rech" wrote in those days: Free Russia grandmother is waiting to bow low to her, to share with her her great joy, the happiness of long-desired freedom.
By personal order of Kerensky, Breshko-Breshkovskaya was settled in the royal chambers of the Winter Palace. The latter circumstance deeply outraged the monarchists. Guards Colonel F.V. Vinberg, retelling the rumors, according to which the “grandmother”, having climbed into the Palace, hastened to “plunder the wardrobe of the Empress”, noted that “a prisoner’s robe with an ace of diamonds” is much more suitable for her.

March 25 (March 12 old style), 1917

Three prominent Bolsheviks returned to Petrograd from Achinsk exile - Joseph Stalin, Lev Kamenev and Matvey Muranov.
On the way, at intermediate stations, they were greeted with the singing of the Marseillaise and flowers.
The leaders of the Moscow Bolsheviks (Russian Bureau of the Central Committee) during this period were Alexander Shlyapnikov, Pyotr Zalutsky and Vyacheslav Skryabin (Molotov). They met their senior comrades without enthusiasm, and personally they agreed to accept Stalin into their circle only with an advisory vote "in view of some of his personal traits."
However, soon the Bureau suddenly changed its original decision, probably not wanting to spoil relations with the former exiles.
As representatives of the Central Committee of the party, all three were introduced to the Petrograd Soviet and the editorial board of the Pravda newspaper.
About three weeks before the return of Lenin, it was these three who led all the Bolshevik structures in Russia.

March 27 (March 14 old style)

The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies adopts the appeal "To the Polish People", which states that "the democracy of Russia ... proclaims that Poland has the right to be completely independent in state and international relations." Two days later, this example was followed by the Provisional Government, issuing an appeal “To the Poles. In this document, Poland's independence was conditional on a "free military alliance" with Russia, which had to be approved by the Constituent Assembly. These documents became crucial for Poland, which for the last century and a half has been actively divided between the great European powers. Since 1915, the territory of Poland was occupied by Germany and Austria-Hungary. In 1916, the German Kaiser and the Austro-Hungarian emperor promised to create an independent Kingdom of Poland in the former Russian territories, but everyone understood that it was only about the legislative registration of the occupation. Now the new Russian authorities offered the Poles real independence.

March 31 (March 18 old style)

The Pravda newspaper publishes information on how the revolution is developing in the provinces. Among other messages, there is also this, from the Yaznensky volost of the Vilna province (now the territory of Belarus): “ The area is flooded with gendarmes, policemen and guards. The old authorities are still everywhere, calming the agitated minds with severity and lies. So, they say that the king was not at all dismissed, but only fell ill. And he will recover, so he will reward everyone according to his deeds. Roadblocks are placed on the roads so that troublemakers do not penetrate. But after all, the Vilna province is not such a remote corner, and if there is still complete tsarist arbitrariness, then what is going on in the remote Russian villages, separated from railways 500, 1000 miles? Yes, they do not sleep. But what is the Provisional Government doing?».