Sampsonievsky Prospekt was clogged with crowds of thousands of workers from the Vyborg side. The demonstration entered the narrow throat of the avenue like a funnel, and there was no further way - the Cossacks stood in a slender, beautiful row, waiting for the rebels.
All factories on the Vyborg side stopped. The striking workers went from factory to factory and removed from work those who had not yet decided to join general strike Petrograd proletariat.
How did the Lyuli with red banners and slogans in the front rows of the column feel? They couldn’t, and there was nowhere to run. And from behind pressed the body of a hundred-thousand-strong crowd, which grew like a fairy-tale hero by the minute.
The officer stood up in his stirrups, turned his head, shouted something to the Cossacks and drew his saber.
It suddenly became very quiet, but no one had time to make out the officer’s words. And so everything was clear. This was not the first time that workers clashed with the Cossacks.
A hundred blades flashed in the air. The Cossacks rushed forward, but none of the workers ran, they only parted in front of the muzzles of the officers' horses.
Holding their horses, the Cossacks slowly rode one at a time into the gaps made by the officers, placing their blades on the horses' manes. They had contemptuous smiles on their faces, directed at the backs of the officers. It is important to note that one younger Cossack winked at the young worker. Cossacks do not whip workers with whips; it was hard to believe, standing next to the Cossack horses, but it was even more difficult to believe that the Cossacks were on the side of the people. And suddenly a “hurray” thundered over the crowd. And the Cossacks grin.
Again the command and again the officers zealously crash into the crowd, now from the rear.
And again “hurray” in honor of the Cossacks, who did not want to beat up the hungry workers.
There is anger and fear on the distorted, pale faces of the officers, but the turning point has not yet occurred. The Cossacks were not taken away, but were again lined up in front of the demonstrators.
Coming close to the Cossacks, the workers spoke to them. Let us note that they listened, smiled and pretended not to notice how thousands of people, like a river between boulders, were passing through their formation.
There was a strong outpost of police and Cossacks at the Liteiny Bridge. Its boss, an old colonel, went to the workers and tried to persuade them to disperse, but, noticing how hundreds of people were “seeping” through the Cossack outfit on the bridge, he shouted in a loud voice:
On the whips!
Mounted police attacked those who broke through, but the demonstrators held on, tried to fight back and shouted to the police:
What the hell are you doing? The Cossacks are standing over there, and you people's blood do you want to drink?
The sight of the calmly standing Cossacks was truly embarrassing. It is worth saying that the police felt somehow uneasy. It is worth noting that they hesitated and lowered their whips.
It is important to note that one colonel did not hear or see anything except the heads of the rebels, each of which he wanted to mark with a whip. Workers ran up to him - they pulled him, his overcoat swelled like a bubble over the colonel who had fallen onto the cobblestones, but immediately fell under the blows. It’s worth saying that the police barely fought off the half-dead boss.
The demonstration moved towards the bridge, but those who had previously crossed the Neva ran towards them. "They're shooting! They're shooting!" - they shouted.
The crowd hesitated. The material was published on http://site
Someone shouted: “Comrades, on the ice!”
From all over St. Petersburg, thousands of workers walked to the center, to Nevsky.
The first section of the Liteinaya part.
By 11 o'clock in the morning a huge crowd had formed on Nevsky, scattered by mounted units. Then crowds appeared on Nevsky Prospect throughout the day until late in the evening, as a result of which they had to be dispersed many times by police and mounted units.
The first section of the Kazan part.
At 11:10 a.m., a crowd of workers, numbering up to 1,000 people, mostly women and teenagers, gathered on the Kazansky Bridge, on Nevsky Prospekt, shouting: “Give us some bread, we want to eat.” This crowd was soon dispersed by Cossacks and foot policemen.
Second section Do not forget that the Vasilyevskaya part.
At about 9 o'clock in the morning, a crowd of men and women stopped in front of the Siemens and Halske plant (6th line, 61), calling out workers with shouts and whistles, but the crowd of 19 people arrived and dispersed the crowd. Later, information was received that workers from the said plant had joined the strike and took to the streets.
The resulting crowd of up to 5,000 people headed towards the middle avenue, singing: “get up, rise up, working people.” A mounted detachment of policemen crashed into the crowd in order to disperse it. At this time, a patrol of Cossacks of 9 people appeared under the command of a police officer, to whom the assistants of the second precinct, who were in a police outfit, did not forget that the Vasilievsky unit, titular councilor Evseev and Lieutenant Pachoglo turned to for help. The patrol first followed the crowd, without taking part in the actions of the mounted policemen, and, having reached Sredny Avenue, disappeared. On the Cossacks' shoulder straps were the initials "N.2".
The majority of this crowd, scattered by the police, headed to the Gavansky precinct area.
"My priceless one!
The weather is warmer, 4 1/2 degrees. Yesterday there were riots on Don’t forget, Vasilievsky Island and Nevsky, because the poor took the bakeries by storm. It is worth noting that they smashed Filippov1 to smithereens and called the Cossacks against them. I found out everything unofficially. Baby was happy last night. Olga has 37.7. She looks worse, exhausted. How terribly alone you must have felt the first night. I can’t imagine you without Baby, my poor, sweet angel!
I hope that Kedrinsky2 will be hanged from the Duma for his terrible speech - this is extremely important (military law, war time) and ϶ᴛᴏ will be an example. Everyone is eager and begging for you to be firm. Olga and Tatyana's place is completely dark, so I eat by the lamp (on the sofa). The riots are worse at 10 o'clock, less at 1 o'clock - now they are in the hands of Khabalov.
I kiss you endlessly, your tenderly devoted and ardently loving old
Wifey."
Security department reports:
The fourth section of the Petrograd part.
At 6 o'clock. In the evening, up to 1,500 evening shift workers gathered at the Petrograd Mechanical Plant, who had not started work, were scattered by a police squad. At the same time, from the crowd of workers, lumps of frozen snow were thrown at the mounted police guards Foma Dolgov and Ilya Kulemin, causing the first a bruise to his chin and the second a bruise to his back. The bruises were minor and the city data remained in service.
Havana section.
It is worth mentioning that the police detained Nikolai Burmashev, 16 years old, for trying to stop a tram and Lazar Erokhin, 17 years old, for inciting a strike.
"My brain rests here - no ministers, no troublesome issues to think about."
Order of General Khabalov, commander of the Petrograd Military District, dated February 24, 1917: “The troops must use weapons, stopping at nothing to restore order.”
Kirpichnikov, to the gun!
What's happened?
Who goes?
The devil knows,” Staff Captain Tsurikov waved his hand and left the basement, where the first platoon of the training team of the Life Guards Volynsky Regiment was located this morning.
Kirpichnikov took the platoon to Znamenskaya Square and formed it in front of Nevsky Prospekt. The soldiers, who still knew nothing about the events in the city or why they were taken out of the barracks onto the street, looked around with concern. A demonstration with flags was coming right at them, a crowd was approaching from behind, which included workers, students, and the general public.
The demonstrators shouted:
Soldiers, don't shoot!
Kirpichnikov, with difficulty unclenching his stiff lips for some reason, shouted in response:
Don't be afraid, we won't shoot.
Poorly understanding what he was doing, he approached Tsurikov:
It is worth noting that they are coming, asking for bread, they will pass and disperse.
The staff captain looked at him with a mocking smile and did not answer. Tonight he was leaving for the front and was not going to do the dirty work for the head of the training team.
The crowd walked around the soldiers, surrounded the monument to Alexander III, shouted “hurray” to the soldiers and began to rally.
They stood like that until six o'clock in the evening.
Kirpichnikov again approached Tsurikov:
Don’t forget that your honor, the soldiers haven’t been fed this morning, they can barely stand, they need to leave.
The staff captain patted his gloves on the palm of his left hand and stood there, pretending to be solving this issue, although in fact he was unbearably bored and wanted to eat and drink. Having feigned hesitation, which the non-commissioned officer watched with a serious expression on his face, Tsurikov went to the telephone. At the same time, it was not possible to contact the battalion commander, and Kirpichnikov sent a soldier.
Security department report:
The first section of the Alexander Nevsky part.
At about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, a crowd moving along Nevsky Prospekt towards Znamenskaya Square, in front of which Cossacks (about fifty) rode in loose formation, broke into the square. This crowd was met by 15 policemen of the mounted police guard, who tried to disperse it, but met with squeals, whistles, shouts and a hail of logs, stones and ice fragments, the horses got scared and carried their riders back. The Cossacks remained in place, in the presence of whom a rally meeting took place at the monument to Emperor Alexander III, from where shouts were heard: “Long live the republic, down with the war, down with the police,” as well as shouts of “hurray” at the inactive Cossacks, who responded to the crowd with bows.
In a collision with the crowd, mounted policeman Bokov was wounded by a piece of wood in the right cheek, and sergeant Oreshkin received a bruise on his left arm.
Diary of Nikolai P:
"Friday 24th. At 10 1/2 I went to the report, which ended at 12 o'clock. Before breakfast, on behalf of the Belgian king, I was presented with a military cross. The weather was unpleasant - a snowstorm3. I walked for a short time in the kindergarten. I read and narrated. Yesterday Olga and Alexey fell ill with measles, and today Tatyana followed their example."
By the evening of February 27, almost the entire composition of the Petrograd garrison - about 160 thousand people - went over to the side of the rebels. The commander of the Petrograd Military District, General Khabalov, is forced to inform Nicholas II: “Please report to His Imperial Majesty that I could not fulfill the order to restore order in the capital. Most of the units, one after another, betrayed their duty, refusing to fight against the rebels.”
The idea of a “cartel expedition”, which provided for the removal of individual military units from the front and sending them to rebellious Petrograd, also did not continue. All this threatened to result in civil war with unpredictable consequences.
Acting in the spirit of revolutionary traditions, the rebels released from prison not only political prisoners, but also criminals. At first they easily overcame the resistance of the “Crosses” guards, and then took the Peter and Paul Fortress.
The uncontrollable and motley revolutionary masses, not disdaining murders and robberies, plunged the city into chaos.
On February 27, at approximately 2 o'clock in the afternoon, soldiers occupied the Tauride Palace. The State Duma found itself in a dual position: on the one hand, according to the emperor’s decree, it should have dissolved itself, but on the other, the pressure of the rebels and the actual anarchy forced it to take some action. The compromise solution was a meeting under the guise of a “private meeting.”
As a result, a decision was made to form a government body - the Temporary Committee.
Later, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government P. N. Milyukov recalled:
“The intervention of the State Duma gave the street and military movement a center, gave it a banner and a slogan, and thus turned the uprising into a revolution, which ended with the overthrow of the old regime and dynasty.”
The revolutionary movement grew more and more. Soldiers seize the Arsenal, the Main Post Office, the telegraph office, bridges and train stations. Petrograd found itself completely in the power of the rebels. The real tragedy took place in Kronstadt, which was overwhelmed by a wave of lynching that resulted in the murder of more than a hundred officers of the Baltic Fleet.
On March 1, the chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Alekseev, in a letter begs the emperor “for the sake of saving Russia and the dynasty, put at the head of the government a person whom Russia would trust.”
Nicholas states that by giving rights to others, he deprives himself of the power given to them by God. The opportunity to peacefully transform the country into a constitutional monarchy had already been lost.
After the abdication of Nicholas II on March 2, a dual power actually developed in the state. Official power was in the hands of the Provisional Government, but real power belonged to the Petrograd Soviet, which controlled the troops, railways, post office and telegraph.
Colonel Mordvinov, who was on the royal train at the time of his abdication, recalled Nikolai’s plans to move to Livadia. “Your Majesty, go abroad as soon as possible. “Under current conditions, even in Crimea there is no way to live,” Mordvinov tried to convince the tsar. "No way. I wouldn’t like to leave Russia, I love it too much,” Nikolai objected.
Leon Trotsky noted that the February uprising was spontaneous:
“No one outlined the path for a coup in advance, no one from above called for an uprising. The indignation that had accumulated over the years broke out largely unexpectedly for the masses themselves.”
However, Miliukov insists in his memoirs that the coup was planned soon after the start of the war and before “the army was supposed to go on the offensive, the results of which would radically stop all hints of discontent and would cause an explosion of patriotism and jubilation in the country.” “History will curse the leaders of the so-called proletarians, but it will also curse us, who caused the storm,” wrote the former minister.
British historian Richard Pipes calls the actions of the tsarist government during the February uprising “fatal weakness of will,” noting that “the Bolsheviks in such circumstances did not hesitate to shoot.”
Although the February Revolution is called “bloodless,” it nevertheless claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers and civilians. In Petrograd alone, more than 300 people died and 1,200 were injured.
The February Revolution began the irreversible process of collapse of the empire and decentralization of power, accompanied by the activity of separatist movements.
Poland and Finland demanded independence, Siberia started talking about independence, and the Central Rada formed in Kyiv proclaimed “autonomous Ukraine.”
The events of February 1917 allowed the Bolsheviks to emerge from underground. Thanks to the amnesty declared by the Provisional Government, dozens of revolutionaries returned from exile and political exile, who were already hatching plans for a new coup d'etat.
Chronicle of events. February 22 (March 7) 1917 – March 31 (April 13) 1917
E.N.Maslov
February 22 (March 7)- workers of the Putilov plant, which carried out military orders, went on strike; its workers were considered mobilized under wartime laws. Russian political parties did not act in this case as “instigators” of this strike. One group of rebel Putilovites went on this day to the “Trudovik” A.F. Kerensky (1881-1970), the other - to the leader of the Socialist Revolutionaries N.S. Chkheidze (1864-1926). Many researchers consider this day to be the date of the beginning of the February Revolution.
“Trudoviki” - already in the 1st State Duma a group of deputies arose from peasants and intellectuals of the “populist” trend. The group consisted of about 80 people and was the second largest after the cadets. They did not call themselves a party. The group, already after the opening of the 1st Duma, declared the need to solve the agrarian question by transferring the land into the hands of those who cultivate it; pointed out the need to resolve political issues through general, equal, direct and secret elections. The group demanded an 8-hour working day. After the February Revolution, the Trudoviks united with the People's Socialists (Enes), the Labor People's Socialist Party was formed.
"Socialist Revolutionaries" is a party of socialist revolutionaries, one of the most influential political parties in Russia. The beginning of its activities can be dated back to 1894, but only in May 1906 was the Party Program adopted. The party was attractive to the population due to its ideas of democratic socialism and a peaceful transition to it, as well as a radical solution to the land issue. After the murder of the Minister of Internal Affairs Dmitry Sipyagin in 1902, the Combat Organization of the Party became known. The Socialist Revolutionary terror is one of the darkest pages of our history. We emphasize that the Constitutional Democratic Party (Cadets), unlike the Bolsheviks, supported this direction of activity of the Socialist Revolutionaries. With the outbreak of World War I, the party's terrorist activities ceased. At this time, an “internationalist” group broke away from the party - the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, who joined the Bolsheviks.
A group of State Duma deputies, including a deputy from the peasants of the Moscow province, a resident of the village of Zhegalovo, Bogorodsky district, A.I. Chistov (1867-1942), addressed the Chairman of the Council of Ministers and the Minister of War with a request: did Putilov’s workers legally stop working in wartime? The request remained unanswered.
February 23 (March 8)– On International Women’s Day, women took to the streets of the city. The main reason is long queues for bread. Let us note that they were indignant not at the introduction of any infringing norm, but at the interruptions in the delivery of bread to stores. The women were joined by workers, the total number of demonstrators was about 130 thousand.
Nicholas II arrives from Tsarskoe Selo to Mogilev - to headquarters. Contemporaries noted that “ the king arrived greatly changed, at once aged».
February 24 (March 9)– the number of strikers in Petrograd and demonstrators simply taking to the streets has already reached 160 thousand. There were no clashes with the police, as in previous days.
February 25 (March 10)– the strike covered 240 thousand; during the dispersal by police and soldiers, several dozen people were killed and injured. The Food Commission, consisting of representatives of health insurance funds, cooperatives and elected workers, met at the Central Military-Industrial Committee in Petrograd. The bailiff of the Liteiny District of Petrograd came to the meeting with a police squad and presented a document confirming the detention of all those present, and stated: “ the police will continue to arrest these philistine commissions". Chairman of the Duma M.V. Rodzianko (1859-1924) considered this to be “ artificially fanning the flame of a spark».
February 26 (March 11)– they fired at the demonstrators again, and the number of casualties grew to dozens. But, for the first time, some military units showed disobedience to the order " use weapons, stopping at nothing to restore order in the capital" By decree of the Tsar, the work of the State Duma was terminated. The Duma members, however, did not disperse; they made a decision: “ To obey the imperial decree on dissolution..., but the members of the Duma should not disperse and immediately gather for a “private meeting”»… entrust the election of a temporary committee to the council of elders».
Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko sent a telegram to the emperor: “... unrest... are taking on a spontaneous character and threatening proportions... Sovereign, immediately call on a person whom the whole country can trust and instruct him to form a government that the entire population will trust... In this unprecedented and terrible hour of horrific consequences, there is no other way out and it is impossible to hesitate».
Meeting M.V. Rodzianko and several other Duma deputies with Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich (1878-1918) about the catastrophic situation in Petrograd did not produce any results. Rodzianko attributes this to the indecisiveness of the Grand Duke.
Comrade of the Synodal Chief Prosecutor Prince N.D. Zhevakhov (1874-1946) turned to the first present member (chairman) of the Synod - Metropolitan of Kyiv Vladimir (Epiphany) (1848-1918) with a proposal to issue an appeal in support of the monarchy and read it from church pulpits. The proposal was not accepted.
February 27 (March 12)– M.V. Rodzianko sends another telegram to Nicholas II: “... Order the legislative chambers to be reconvened in order to cancel your Highest Decree... Do not hesitate... If the movement spreads to the army, the Germans will triumph and the collapse of Russia, and with it the Dynasty, will inevitably... The hour that decides the fate of you and your Motherland has come. Tomorrow may be too late…».
In Petrograd, reserve regiments rebelled, the uprising began with the murder of officers, and in the following days, the atrocities of soldiers and sailors became monstrous in their cruelty. It was the uprising of soldiers, and not the labor movement, according to many researchers, that ensured the victory of the February Revolution. Let's turn to V.V. Shulgin (1878-1976): “ Workers gathered on the Vyborg side... some kind of elections are going on, volatile elections,... with a show of hands... Some regiment mutinied... It seems Volynsky... They killed the commander... The Cossacks refused to shoot... fraternizing with the people... There are barricades on Nevsky... They say they are killing policemen ... For some reason they are called “pharaohs”"...". From that day on, the police and gendarme units were spontaneously disbanded everywhere, and the creation of the militia " temporary“They will remember only in April. The country began to plunge into chaos... Deputies of the State Duma create a new government body - the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, headed by M.V. Rodzianko. The decision was made "… take power into your own hands" A few lines from the Appeal of the Provisional Committee: “ The Committee... entrusts plants and factories with the protection of citizens... It must be remembered that the damage and destruction of institutions and property, without bringing benefit to anyone, causes enormous harm to both the state and the population... Encroachments on life and health, as well as the property of private citizens, are also unacceptable persons The shedding of blood and the destruction of property will be a stain on the conscience of the people who committed these acts.…».
An initiative group led by a member of the RSDLP since 1898, Menshevik Nikolai Chkheidze (1864-1926), following a meeting with representatives of Petrograd workers, announced the creation of the Petrograd Soviet - the Petrograd Council of Workers' Deputies and at 21.00 the Council held its first meeting. In the Executive Committee of the Council, which determined the direction and tasks of the new government, along with N. Chkheidze and the Trudovik, and from March 1917 - the Socialist-Revolutionary, A. Kerensky, the troika of socialists dominated in those days: N.N. Sukhanov (Himmer) (1882-1940), N.D. Sokolov (1870-1928) and Yu.M. Steklov (Ovshy Nakhamkis) (1873-1941).
I.A. Bunin (1870-1953) in “Cursed Days” cites the story of the famous Menshevik Bogdanov (Bogdanov B.S. 1884-1960-EM) with the following version of the creation of the Petrograd Soviet: “ about how the Petrograd Soviet was formed: - Gimmer and Steklov came, not elected by anyone, not authorized by anyone, and declared themselves at the head of this yet non-existent council! It should be mentioned that Chkheidze, Kerensky, and Sokolov were members of the Masonic lodge “Great East of the Peoples of Russia”.
The “Mensheviks” are the moderate wing of the RSDLP, since April 24, 1917, an independent party with the same name, in contrast to the Bolsheviks, who added the letter “b” to the name of the party - RSDLP (b). Lenin figuratively pointed out the differences: “... a Menshevik, wanting to get an apple, standing under a tree, will wait until the apple itself falls to him, but a Bolshevik will come up and pick the apple.” After February, the party had enormous influence in the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' Deputies, which it created together with the Socialist Revolutionaries, and in local Soviets throughout the country. The Mensheviks were also part of the Provisional Government. The party has always declared the need for close cooperation with the bourgeoisie and the “inevitability of two stages of the revolutionary process: the bourgeois revolution and, after a significant historical interval, the socialist revolution.” The party was characterized by structural “looseness” and “discord,” which did not allow it to adequately respond to the historical challenges of the time.
The magazine “Bulletin of Europe” (Petrograd. February 1917) in its editorial article “Coup d’état. February 27 - March 2, 1917" states: " On the unforgettable day of February 27, 1917, a new era of Russian history begins. The old, completely rotten state system, supported by cruel measures of violence and lawlessness, was overthrown by the unanimous impulse of the people and the army. The government that oppressed and ruined the country fell in an inglorious struggle with its own people.”.
In Petrograd, the first atrocities occurred - the District Court and the Main Artillery Directorate were destroyed, about 40 thousand rifles were stolen from the military Arsenal by workers and they were distributed to the forming detachments of the Red Guard. Chairman of the Duma M. Rodzianko writes: “... On the streets... a formal massacre began, the night was spent extremely anxiously».
The entire tsarist government resigned - the country suddenly finds itself without a central government. Almost all central institutions were destroyed and on fire, including police stations - their archives were thrown into the streets.
Chief Prosecutor N.P. made a proposal to the Synod to condemn the revolutionary movement. Raev (1855-1919). The Synod replied: “ it is still unknown where the betrayal comes from - from above or from below».
February 28 (March 13)- the rebels captured the Mariinsky and Winter Palaces, the Admiralty, and the Peter and Paul Fortress. Police departments and stations were destroyed. Soldiers filled the Tauride Palace. The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' Deputies adds to its name " and soldiers».
Nicholas II left Headquarters for Petrograd, but he was unable to travel to the capital along the railways seized by workers and soldiers.
The Petrograd Soviet issued a proclamation: “ The old government brought the country to complete collapse and the people to starvation. It has become impossible to tolerate anymore... The Council of Workers' Deputies... sets as its main task the organization of popular forces and the struggle for the final strengthening of the political freedom of people's rule in Russia…»
On this day in Kupavna, at 12 noon, local Bolshevik D.V. Zhukov stopped work in the hardware and spinning department of the Kupavino cloth factory, then the weaving shop was stopped, and workers from the chemical plant approached. A rally began in the square in front of the factory. It was decided to elect a commissar of the village of Kupavna and the Council of Workers' Deputies. Second Lieutenant Kuzin, a military representative at the Kupava chemical plant, was almost drowned in the lake. Bolshevik Mikhail Eremeev proposed organizing a workers' militia instead of the police.
The Bogorodsk Equipment Plant produced its first products on this day. Let us recall that the prominent industrialist N.A. Vtorov (1866-1918) in 1916, in the Zatishye tract near the city of Bogorodsk, in a remote place, began the construction of a new plant for filling shells and grenades with explosives. For this purpose, about 6 thousand peasants were mobilized. The pace of construction corresponded to wartime - the plant was built in just 250 days.
March 1 (14)- soldiers burst into the plenary meeting of the Petrograd Soviet and dictated their demands to the Executive Committee: “... t They accepted this without much reluctance, but there was nothing left to do but issue Order No. 1 of the Petrograd Soviet. The actions of the soldiers, like a catapult, threw the Petrograd Soviet into the center of power…” writes American researcher Tsuyoshi Hasegawa. Shulgin conveys his conversation with Chkheidze regarding “Order No. 1” as follows: “- Do you really think that elected officers are good?.. he [Chkheidze] said: - And in general, everything is lost... To save... to save, you need a miracle... Maybe elected officers will be a miracle... Maybe it won’t... We have to try... it can’t get any worse... Because I’m telling you: everything is lost..." The significance of this order in subsequent events is difficult to overestimate - the collapse of the army followed, the collapse of the fronts, and the country collapsed.
On the night of March 1st to 2nd, at a meeting of the Provisional Duma Committee, a decision was made to form the Provisional Public Council Ministers, the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet was invited to agree on the composition and program of the government. Members of the Executive Committee A. Kerensky and N. Chkheidze were invited to join the Government. The Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet rejected the proposal, as it believed that “ the cabinet must be composed of the bourgeois classes" There was a lot of controversy about the candidacy of A. Kerensky for the post of Minister of Justice in the new government; he himself showed a persistent desire to take this post in this matter. He nevertheless became the Minister of Justice, and on March 2 he received consent to this general meeting Petrograd Soviet.
The Government did not include the Chairman of the State Duma M. Rodzianko and other members of the Duma Temporary Committee. Thus, from the very beginning, all connections with all branches of the previous government were categorically severed; formally, the activities of the Duma and the State Council would be terminated much later.
March 2 (15)– M.V. Rodzianko sent a telegram to Nicholas II on this day: “... At present, power will be transferred by the Provisional Committee of the State Duma to the Provisional Government.".
A delegation was sent to the Emperor to receive the original text of his abdication from the throne in favor of his younger brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich, already signed by Nicholas II. The message about the end of imperial rule was transmitted by telegraph throughout the empire. The debate about the motives for the renunciation and the historical significance of this step still does not subside. The English historian Dominic Lieven characterizes the actions of the emperor as follows: “... Being the head of state and head of government for almost your entire adult life is beyond human capabilities. Even strong professional Western politicians rarely last more than a decade in top government positions, and the countries they rule have never experienced crises of such magnitude as Russia under NicholasII. In 1915-1917, the emperor showed signs of decline in physical and mental strength... NikolaiIIwas a patriot, devoted to his army, the honor and security of Russia. When his front commanders told him that the successful prosecution of the war required his abdication, he yielded to them with little resistance. The same day Pavel Milyukov " popularly"announced the creation of a Provisional Government. To a question from the people: “ Who chose you?", he replied: " The revolution chose us". At the same time, he admitted that the government represents the propertied circles: “... Only they are capable of organizing the country».
The Provisional Government of the first composition acted from March 2 to May 2, 1917, and consisted mainly of representatives of liberal parties - Cadets, Octobrists, Progressives. A. Kerensky represented the Socialist Revolutionaries (he joined them from the Trudoviks). The post of Minister of Finance was taken by the non-party multimillionaire M.I. Tereshchenko (1886-1956).
“Cadets” - “Party of People's Freedom”, “Constitutional Democratic Party”, “Constitutional Democrats” - this party consisted of liberal representatives of the intelligentsia, zemstvo nobility, middle urban bourgeoisie and was formed in 1905. The permanent leader of the party was P.N. Miliukov, who characterized the party as “non-class and social reformist.” The party supported the “peaceful” but “formidable” strike movement and provided moral support for the terrorist activities of the Socialist Revolutionaries. The first years of the party's activity are characterized by its significant popularity, then, against the backdrop of the general radicalization of society, its popularity declines. Only after February, during the entry of the party elite into the Provisional Government, did the party “swell”, but long before October there were hopes for party dominance in political life countries are collapsing, and the party itself is collapsing. The party advocated the establishment of a constitutional-monarchical government in the country, and the party leader at one time insisted to the. book Mikhail Alexandrovich about his acceptance of the Kingdom. By the way, in Bogorodsk there was a significant group of cadets led by N.M. Sukhodrev, published the newspaper “Bogorodskaya Rech”, the name of which echoes the central newspaper of the party - “Rech”. The party included, among other things, Bogorodsk factory owners S.A. Morozov and E.I. Polyakov
“Octobrists” - “Union of October 17th”, a moderate right-wing political party of the “property” circles and high-ranking officials. Existed from 1905 to 1917. Party members were M.V. Rodzianko, member of the Provisional Government A.I. Guchkov, brothers Vladimir and Pavel Ryabushinsky... The party somehow gradually “shrank”, by 1915 the publication of the party newspaper “Voice of Moscow” ceased, the Central Committee ceased to convene... In Bogorodsk the party was represented by prominent people of the city P.A. Morozov, F.A. Detinov, S.I. Chetverikov.
“Progressives” - left “Octobrists” from the Duma faction “Union of October 17” and some deputies from the Zemstvo Octobrist faction formed the so-called. "Progressive block.
In the very first days, the Provisional Government released thousands of criminals from prisons; they were ironically called “Kerensky’s chicks” and “Kerensky cadets” - A. Kerensky assumed that the criminals “ crowds will go to enroll in the army».
On this day, a private meeting of members of the Synod and representatives of the capital's clergy took place in Petrograd. It was decided - " immediately establish contact with the Temporary Committee of the State Duma».
The Order of the Commander of the Moscow Military District has been published, authorizing the execution of military units elections to the Council of Soldiers' Deputies. The order stipulated the following condition: “... a soldier is obliged to unquestioningly observe military discipline" The Bolsheviks considered this " an attempt by the counter-revolution to nullify the revolutionary demands of the soldiers"..., they sought "... wrest the army from the influence of conciliatory elements and turn it into the supporting force of the revolution».
In Bogorodsk, at a spontaneous meeting of residents near the house of the former district police officer, Prince N.V. Vadbolsky (now house number 100 on Sovetskaya Street), a temporary city mayor was elected, he became Alexander Petrovich Smirnov (1877-1938), a professional revolutionary, the future People's Commissar of Agriculture in the Bolshevik government, head of the so-called. Peasant International. By 2 o'clock in the afternoon, workers of Bogorodsk, factories under construction in Zatishye, suburban factories had gathered, political prisoners were being released from prison, not a single policeman was visible in the city. The demonstrators were joined by prisoners of war who worked at enterprises in the city and in nearby villages. At many enterprises, the creation of Factory Committees began already on this day.
In Fryanov " overthrow“The tsar was greeted with rallies; the director of the local factory, cadet S.I., showed particular enthusiasm in public. Stavrovsky, the owner of the factory G.V. was also a cadet. Zaglodin. Only the factory women, a contemporary recalled, were unhappy - they shouted: “ We cannot live without the Tsar-Father».
In Shchelkovo in primary school factory L. Rabenek " a group of young people from the Shchelkovo Commercial School, led by I.F., burst in noisily. Panfilov"- the future Komsomol leader in Shchelkovo. " They removed portraits of the king and relatives of the royal family from the walls, threw them on the floor and trampled them underfoot. They then disarmed the policemen and staged a short rally. Shchelkovo residents learned about the beginning of the February revolution“,” recalled S.A., a veteran of the Bolshevik Party since 1919. Matveev.
In the district, as throughout the country, officials and institutions of the state apparatus were replaced by city and district Commissars of the Provisional Government. The temporary performance of the duties of the Commissioners was entrusted to the chairmen of the district Zemstvo councils. For a very short time, the chairman of the district Zemstvo government, nobleman Ilya Nikolaevich Legault, was such a commissioner. We, unfortunately, know nothing about him - neither as a zemstvo figure, nor as a person in general.
March 3 (16) - Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich refused to take the throne, “ having given» decision about the future state structure Russia " at the discretion of Constituent Assembly" Tsuyoshi Hasegawa writes: “... At first, liberals did not intend to destroy the monarchy. Two significant events changed their view. The first was the angry opposition of the masses to the attempt to preserve the monarchy. The second was Nikolai’s unexpected decisionIIrenounce not only his own name, but also the name of his son in favor of his brother Mikhail».
The composition of the “Provisional Government” has been announced. The same American researcher writes: “... no body had real power. Real power was in fact distributed among all kinds of grassroots organizations... This position was consolidated thanks to a deep revolution in the consciousness of the masses. They unexpectedly believed in their ability to decide their own destiny... The February Revolution meant the end of the previous regime and the beginning of a new revolutionary process A".
The Declaration of the Provisional Government - Government Program was published; it was later repeated on March 6 (19) in an address to the Citizens of Russia. The government announced its intention to wage war " until the bitter end", fulfill alliance agreements, grant amnesty to political prisoners, promised to introduce political freedoms, begin preparations for the Constituent Assembly, replace the police with militia and carry out local government reform. Mentions of social reforms were missing from it.
At a meeting of the synodal bishops, it was decided to send a messenger to the State Duma with a message about the resolutions adopted by the church authorities in connection with the abdication of Nicholas II. At the same time, the new Chief Prosecutor of the Synod, V.N., took office. Lvov (1872-1930), who joined the Provisional Government as a minister.
The entire population of Glukhovka took to the streets in the morning; after a rally in the square near the factory management, thousands of workers with their families moved to Bogorodsk. They were joined by military units stationed in the city and district. The orchestra played "La Marseillaise" - " The people rejoiced, they talked about the arrival of the long-awaited freedom" Representatives of the workers of Glukhovka announced their decision to immediately arrest all police and guards. The Glukhov Bolsheviks declared: “... in order to become complete masters of our destiny and our happiness, we will still have to fight a lot with the capitalists and their minions who have seized power…».
On the same day, a meeting of city and county public organizations, representatives of the county Zemstvo, opened in the building of the Zemstvo Government (now: Noginsk, Sovetskaya St., 42). Representatives of the workers demanded the transfer of power to the Councils of Workers' Deputies, but they were in the minority - the majority was with the Cadets, Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, "Octobrists" ... Representatives of the latter attempted to organize elections to a certain executive body under the district commissar of the Provisional Government - the "Revolutionary People's Committee of Bogorodsky county." It was supposed to consist of 35-40 people, but on that day only 8 were chosen. Among them were representatives of cooperation, workers, an assistant military commander, and the intelligentsia. Those arrested have already appeared, and they have been sent to Moscow.
Councils of Workers' Deputies are being formed everywhere, and Soldiers' Deputies will soon join them. In the district, as in the country, dual power was established. Other public structures were also created - Unions of Employees appeared in factories, united in the Central Union of Employees of the City of Bogorodsk, the Glukhovsky Union of Textile Workers, the Union of Factory Owners of the Bogorodsk District...
At 12 noon the “Bogorodsk People’s Temporary Commandant’s Office” met in Bogorodsk. The chairman was a nobleman, the son of a cloth manufacturer from Gorodishchi, Bogorodsky district, I.S. Chetverikov, appointed by member of the State Duma Gruzinov as Temporary Commissioner of the Bogorodsky district. Participated: " Temporary People's Commandant of the city of Bogorodsk and its environs - I.N. Lego, his assistants: A.S. Kiselev, A.I. Babarin, P.S. Proschin, V.K. Tsvetkov, Chairman of the Board of the Bogorodsky Partnership of Cooperatives V.A. Tikhomirov, member of the same Board A.S. Amelyushkin, Chairman of the Military-Industrial Committee V.I. Elagin, representatives of zemstvo employees A.V. Vyatkin and I.P. Buldakov, representative of the Pochinkovsky Credit Partnership V.G. Belyakov" Let us quote the meeting document in more detail as an illustration of the first steps of the new government in the district: “... The commandant reported on the course of events in Bogorodsk. On March 2, at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, a small group of people from representatives of the zemstvo, city administration, city intelligentsia and workers gathered in the City Council. This group chose the Provisional People's Commandant's Office consisting of a Commandant and 6 assistants. I.N. was elected commandant. Lego, assistants – V.P. Smirnov, P.S. Proschin, M.M. Vostokov, A.I. Babarin, A.S. Kiselev and V.K. Tsvetkov." We quote further: “... The Provisional Administration took the following measures: 1) organized food for the soldiers and people, primarily those who came to Bogorodsk from Zatishya and other environs of the city, for which tea shops were opened and work was started in bakeries; 2) the confiscation of weapons taken from soldiers of local units and their transfer ... to the subject units was organized; 3) the weapon was taken away from the police and she was arrested; 4) city security has been organized, which is entrusted to police officers and military units; 5) telephone numbers of suspicious persons are isolated; 6) many appeals were issued... calling on the population to remain calm...».
On the same day, in Orekhovo-Zuyevo, the local bourgeoisie created its own “Committee of Public Security.” This Committee soon became known as the Temporary Executive Committee of Public Organizations; it consisted of 38 people, five of whom were workers, the rest were factory inspectors, judicial investigators, merchants, liberal intelligentsia... At the same time, the Committee created the police.
A letter with the following content was sent from Shchelkovo to the Provincial Zemstvo Administration: “... In Shchelkovo, a temporary executive commission was created from representatives of workers and 8 public organizations, and Sergei Ivanovich Bulygin was chosen as its chairman. The responsibility of the commission is to maintain order... I ask the Administration to inform me who I should contact in the future for instructions and information. Now I humbly ask you to help my messengers I.M. Osmukhin. and Sorokin P.I. assistance in obtaining and delivering to Shchelkovo the weapons necessary to arm the police. At least 10 shotguns and 5 revolvers, and a supply of ammunition for them. Chairman Bulygin».
District Commissioner I.S. On this day, Chetverikov arrested and transferred to the disposal of the Commander-in-Chief of the Moscow District the following district police officials: Bogorodsk police officer Zhukov; bailiff 4 camp I.V. Akhmetyev; bailiff 1 of the Welker camp; sergeants: Bogorodsk - Samokhin, Yamkinskaya volost - Myagkov, Babkin's factory - Zheltonosov, Shibaevskaya factory - Uskov; policemen of the Shibaev factory: Anton Artemov, Gerasim Bykov, Yakov Eroshenkov, Grigory Karpov, A. Kovalev, Mikhail Obukhov, Nikolai Khramchenko; senior policeman of Bogorodsk Ivan Gavrilin; plant manager st. “Quiet” Andrey Glazunov.
March 4 (17)- Chairman of the Provisional Government, Prince G.E. Lvov (1861-1925) « arrived at the government meeting in a state of some panic - it became known that throughout the country various committees of public organizations were taking power into their own hands..." On this day, the prince issued an order to remove governors from their posts, assigning their duties to provincial commissars. The chairmen of the district Zemstvo Boards were renamed into district Commissars, and they were also assigned the duties of district police officers. Security departments were liquidated and the gendarmerie was disbanded. The leadership of a separate corps of gendarmes was arrested. The police were to be reorganized into militia.
On " officially solemn"At the meeting of the Synod, the new Chief Prosecutor announced " on granting the Russian Orthodox Church freedom from the destructive tutelage of the state.” The members of the synod expressed “... sincere joy at the advent of a new era in the life of the church and the great prospects that have opened up after the revolution" The royal chair was taken out of the synod meeting room.
On this day, elections of Factory Committees began at the Glukhov factories. The Bolsheviks in Glukhovka were still in the minority, but their representatives entered all the factory committees. Soon the factory committees of individual factories of the manufacture will unite into the General Factory Committee.
March 5 (18)- The Synod ordered - many years to the reigning house " from now on do not proclaim".
In Orekhovo-Zuevo, the Committee of Public Organizations held the first elections to the Council of Workers' Deputies; the Bolsheviks found themselves in the minority. The chairman of the first composition of the Council was the worker P.D. Mochalin. The council of 46 people found itself entirely in the hands of the Mensheviks and the factory administration, calling for support for the Provisional Government and the continuation of the war. This situation did not last long - the old Bolsheviks I.P. began to return from exile. Kulikov, V.A. Baryshnikov, M.I. Petrakov, V.I. Mishkin, I.V. has returned from the Lena mines. Bugrov and others... The Council of Soldiers' Deputies was formed separately, as an independent body. At the initiative of the Moscow Bolsheviks, a group of Bolsheviks from Zamoskvorechye arrived in Orekhovo-Zuevo. Gradually, the preponderance of the Bolsheviks in the Orekhovo-Zuevsky Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies became more and more obvious. In Drezna, at the Zimin factory, on this day deputies were elected to the Orekhovo-Zuevsky Council of Workers' Deputies, and the local Council was also elected at the same time.
March 6 (19)– Minister of War of the Provisional Government A.I. Guchkov (1862-1936) « established a commission to "democratize" the armed forces by recognizing and streamlining the soldiers' committees created during the revolution».
The Synod decided " in all churches of the Empire to serve prayers with the proclamation of many years« To the God-protected Russian Power and the Blessed Provisional Government».
A group of Russian political emigrants, including the Bolshevik leader V.I. Lenin (1870-1924), on this day, at a private meeting in Bern (Switzerland), the question of ways of possible return to Russia was considered. All of them were listed in " military control lists of the Entente countries"as opponents of war, and would not be allowed through the borders of these countries. Menshevik leader Yu.O. Martov (1870-1924) put forward a project to exchange Russian emigrants for Austro-German subjects interned in Russia, Lenin supported this idea.
At the Moscow Council of Workers' Deputies, on the initiative of the Socialist Revolutionaries, a meeting was held with " peasant walkers" From the meeting resolution: “ The working peasantry, as the largest layer of the working masses, must go hand in hand with the workers and the people's army to defend the gains of freedom and for the further struggle for the convening of the Constituent Assembly and for a democratic republic" A widespread struggle for influence over the peasant masses unfolded between the Socialist Revolutionaries and the Bolsheviks.
The former chairman of the Bogorodsk Zemstvo Council, now the Commissioner of the Provisional Government, Ilya Nikolaevich Legault, submitted an application to the Provincial Commissioner, in which he asked to be relieved of this position and to appoint Ivan Sergeevich Chetverikov - “ to calm the population", since he " deservedly enjoys authority and love among the population" Let us note, by the way, the confusion with the positions held in the “ modern times» Lego and Chetverikov.
Elections of delegates to the first Uyezd Congress of Soviets took place in Kupavna. A.S. was elected from the Kupavino factory. Toropchenkov, V.S. Yudin, V.P. Shelaputin, A.P. Kulikov. At the same meeting, the people's militia was elected. The first worker policemen were E.A. Tychinin and P.I. Zabotnov. Based on the minutes of this meeting, Tychinin made arrests in the village " opponents of the new system and disruptors of order" P.I. was elected Commissioner of Kupavna. Boldin, his secretary A.V. Kulikov.
March 7 (20)– Chief Prosecutor of the Synod V.N. Lvov stated that “... he and the Provisional Government consider themselves vested with the same powers that the imperial power possessed in the ecclesiastical sphere.”. This " strange“The declaration was an extreme contradiction to the initial slogans of the Provisional Government and the aspirations of the Church.
The All-Russian Union of Democratic Orthodox Clergy and Laity was founded in Petrograd. The Union put forward the slogan - “ Christianity is on the side of labor, not on the side of violence and exploitation».
By this day, the Holy Synod officially abandoned the second component of the slogan “For Faith, Tsar and Fatherland”; all places in the liturgical books where the royal power was mentioned were corrected. The Synod, as it were, predetermined the onset of republican power in the country, taking upon itself what was the prerogative of the Constituent Assembly.
The Bogorodsky District Council of Workers' Deputies was formed, numbering 60 people (1 deputy from 500 workers) - 28 industrial enterprises were represented. The Chairman of the Council at the first stage was the representative of Glukhovka A.S. Kiselev. The Bogorodsk Council of Workers' Deputies was called United, since the Council included representatives of peasants, cooperatives, teachers and postal and telegraph personnel. Two weeks later, all factories in the county had “ revolutionary» an 8-hour working day was introduced.
These days, a Council of Commissioners was organized at the Glukhovskaya manufactory, which was soon transformed into the Council of Workers' Deputies; at first it was headed by a doctor, “ female god ", as he was called in Glukhovka, N.N. Float. The people's militia was elected. It included, as the Bolsheviks dissatisfied with this noted, high school students, “ merchant sons", intelligentsia and " various henchmen of the owners" Just welcome back from the links " old»members of the RSDLP(b), the Bolshevization of the Soviets will rapidly increase.
“Bolsheviks” are the radical wing of the RSDLP; the name “Bolsheviks” appeared after the Second Congress of the RSDLP. The main “point” of the split was the demand for the party to become more structured and submit to the principle of “democratic centralism.” Party members who did not support Lenin's theses began to be called Mensheviks. Unlike the Bolsheviks, the Mensheviks, as a party, are characterized by “looseness, confusion and vacillation.” Many considered the split of the party into Mensheviks and Bolsheviks to be temporary, and in the State Duma until 1913 the party was represented by one faction. The Bolsheviks finally separated into the RSDLP(b) only in the spring of 1917; the Mensheviks retained the name RSDLP. After February, the Bolsheviks were among the three leading socialist parties, but in the Soviets everywhere they constituted a minority (at the First Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies they made up about 12%) and only over time - by October 1917, the Bolsheviks became “more energetic and better organized.” are pushing aside other socialist parties.
In Pavlovsky Posad, the Executive Committee of the Council of Workers' Deputies elected a new posad commissar - Vasily Vasilyevich Gusev. The former commissioner N.S. Kobylin's military leave ended and he had to go to his military unit.
March 8 (21)- Nikolai Romanov and his wife were arrested by order of the Government...
March 9 (22)- in the formations of the Russian army they read last order abdicated Emperor, marked: “Bet. March 8/21, 1917." On this day, Nikolai Romanov said goodbye to the headquarters officers and Cossacks of the convoy. Eyewitnesses recalled that the population of Mogilev did not see off the former tsar...
The Synod addressed " To the faithful children of the Russian Orthodox Church regarding the events currently being experienced... The will of God has been accomplished. Russia has embarked on the path of a new state life».
The Provisional Government abolished the Food Commission created by the Petrograd Soviet and created a National Food Committee under the Minister of Agriculture. Later, “grassroots” such Committees will be created everywhere - in provinces, districts, volosts and at individual enterprises, including in Bogorodsky district. Chairman of the Food Commission of the Petrograd Soviet, member of the RSDLP since 1898, Menshevik V.G. Groman (1874-1940) proposed solving the food problem as follows: “ establish monopoly prices in industry and agriculture, establish non-market commodity-price relations, extract agricultural surplus from peasants at prices below market prices, establish consumption standards for peasant farms- the rest is all surplus...».
The School Council of Bogorodsky District recognized itself in its previous composition " inoperative" And "… among 300 people took into his own hands the organization of the new School Council" The meeting lasted from March 9 to 12 and adopted a resolution to create it consisting of: the Chairman of the Zemstvo Council, members of the Council, the head of the department of public education, 2 members chosen by the Zemstvo Assembly, representatives from the teachers of the law, the sanitary department, the Ministry of Public Education, Bogorodsky and Pavlovo Posad city government, representatives of factory schools and 10 representatives of teaching staff.
March 10 (23)– The ministers have already officially named their cabinet the “Provisional Government” - “ until a permanent government is established" The Police Department was completely abolished and “ Temporary Department for Public Police Affairs and Ensuring Personal and Property Security of Citizens" On March 15, the word “police” in the name of the institution will be replaced by the word “militia”.
The Shchelkovo Council of Workers' Deputies (60 people strong) was formed; a resident of the village of Ledovo, mechanic I.A., was elected as the first chairman. Myagkov, by the end of March the majority in the Council " followed the Bolsheviks"and A.P. Pustov (1870-1943), a member of the RSDLP(b) since 1903, was elected its chairman. During these same days, the Council of Workers' Deputies was created in Losino-Petrovskaya Sloboda, headed by textile worker N. M. Zaguskin
March 11 (24)– late at night from March 10th to 11th I.S. Chetverikov telephones the province: “... The people's representation elected: Chetverikov for the position of commissar, Dmitry Konstantinovich Chudinov as assistants, Ivan Stepanovich Kolesnikov from the cooperators, and the presidium from the workers.(apparently, the Council of Workers' Deputies - EM)." Departments were created: police, food, financial, editorial, information. Chetverikov further reports: “ Friday passed quietly in the city; There were elections of workers' delegates to organizational meetings everywhere, some factories were working. To this day my appointment to Bogorodsk has not been received, which is delaying the proper functioning of state and public institutions».
In the afternoon a meeting of the Provisional Revolutionary Committee took place in Bogorodsk People's Council, chaired by A.S. Kiselev, secretary – S.G. Antonenkov: “ The meeting decided: 1. Approve departments: 1) information department, the head of which should be appointed A.S. Kiseleva... 2) editorial with the head S.P. Gladkov... 3) financial, the head of which should be appointed A.A. Makarova" Managers are assigned monthly salaries. The Commissioner was instructed to apply to the District Zemstvo Administration for a loan. It was decided to create Police Departments: “... Instigate before the Commander of the People's Troops of the Moscow District about the secondment to Bogorodsk of I.S. Kupriyanov to participate in the development of the issue of organizing the police in the city and district.” Most likely, this appointment did not take place. A permanent Food Department was established consisting of: I.N. Legault, A.N. Lyubantera, V.A. Tikhomirova, A.S. Amelyushkina, A.S. Kiseleva, S.G. Antonenkova, V.K. Tsvetkova, P.S. Proshchina and V.I. Elagina. The commissioner was asked to find funds for the unemployed workers of the electro-theater “Colosseum”, “ requisitioned from April 1 for meetings and rallies of revolutionary committees" The Commissioner was instructed to subject the dean of the 1st District, Archpriest Konstantin Golubev, to strict house arrest and to convene the clergy of the district to elect Golubev’s deputy.
March 12 (25)– The Main Committee of the All-Russian Peasant Union published an appeal calling on the peasants to support the Provisional Government, stop the seizure of landowners’ lands and support the continuation of the war. The history of the All-Russian Peasant Union is directly connected with the Socialist Revolutionary Party and dates back to 1905, at which time the Peasant Union of the Moscow Province was created. In Bogorodsky district, back in 1906, a group of peasants and merchants who were distributing leaflets of the Union was arrested. Then the Peasant Union for the first time announced the need to convene a Constituent Assembly to resolve the land issue. It is characteristic that the Union recognized the solution to the land issue “ sacred cause of the entire peasantry" and called " stop drinking wine: let the peasantry, fighting for land and rights, always be sober».
A Bolshevik faction was created in the Moscow Council of Workers' Deputies, and V.P. entered it. Nogin (1878–1924). At the Council meeting, a discussion broke out about the introduction of an 8-hour working day. Bolshevik M.K. Vladimirov proposed introducing an 8-hour working day in a revolutionary way, but Nogin suggested first turning to the Provisional Government with a corresponding petition.
At a meeting of the Bogorodsk Provisional Revolutionary People's Council, it was decided to create a commission consisting of V.A. Tikhomirova, D.K. Chudinov and Radzyuminsky to develop a plan for elections to the Revolutionary Council. Representatives were elected to the Provincial Committee of Public Organizations: V.I. Elagin, Mezentsev, Tarakanov and A.S. Kiselev.
In Bogorodsk, Archpriest and Dean of the Bogorodsk District Konstantin Alekseevich Golubev (1852-1918) was subjected to house arrest - “ as a supporter of the old order and an opponent of the liberation movement and the new order" In one of the documents I.S. Chetverikov reports to the provincial commissar: “... Since for his previous activities in promoting the removal of unreliable persons from among the workers, the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies decided to evict him from the Bogorodsky district, which was carried out. For the peace of the population, I ask you to inform the Moscow Metropolitan about his transfer to another district" Later, the new commissioner, A.V. Kiselev reports to the province: “... It was definitely discovered that Golubev had supporters of his reactionary beliefs, who excited the population and led the crowd to a clash, to eliminate which it was necessary to resort to arrest... The Executive Committee filed a petition with the Moscow Spiritual Consistory for the immediate transfer of Archpriest Golubev from the Bogorodsky district" The priest will soon take a three-month leave and leave for his homeland - Saratov.
I.S. Chetverikov agreed to be elected chairman of the Uyezd Zemstvo Government - “ if the provincial commissioner gives consent to this" The following were unanimously elected as members of the Board: for public education - P. Budrin, for the medical department - F. Kastorsky, for the economic department - Bulygin. Bulygin refused and D.K. was chosen in his place. Chudinov. It was decided to choose two more members from the peasants.
March 13 (26)– The Bogorodsk People’s Revolutionary Committee considered that the previous composition of the Bogorodsk Zemsky Assembly, elected by the previous government, was subject to immediate replacement, and instructed the District Commissioner I.S. Chetverikov, together with the Revolutionary Committee, to prepare a “National Zemstvo Assembly” in the district, at which to elect a new composition of the Zemstvo Assembly.
In Pavlovsky Posad, rallies were held at most enterprises, the demand was put forward: "fight for a democratic republic." The Council of Workers' Deputies was formed, its composition was dominated by Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. Matvey Osipovich Shilkov, a member of the RSDLP (b) since 1917, a worker in the tambour and embroidery workshop of the Staropavlovsk factory, was elected as a member of the executive committee. Vasily N. Karpov was elected a member of the Council; he had been in the revolutionary movement since 1905, and headed the trade union at the Staro-Pavlovsk factory. He was also elected chairman of the factory's Fab Committee. The leader of the Bolshevik faction in the Council was Timofey Matveevich Vystavkin, members of the faction: Efimov, Brykalov, Kruglov, Mushkevich. The leader of the Bolshevik cell in Posad is Latvian August Lukin, a member of the RSDLP(b) since 1913. On the same days, he was elected chairman of the Fabcom by the workers of the Zemgora factory (a flax processing factory in the village of Bolshie Dvory). By the way, the chairman of the government, Prince G.E., came to the factory in Bolshie Dvory. Lvov (1862-1936) and asked the workers " agree to a 10-hour work day and maintain discipline", but was booed by the workers and the chairman A. Lukin was forced to interrupt the meeting.
On this day, the provincial commissioner ordered I.S. Chetverikov: “... personally... take measures to restore order in Pavlovsky Posad by organizing correct elections temporary committee and commissioner for city management... explain to the current committee: not to interfere in the economic functions of city government.”.
On this day, the Bogorodsk Provisional People's Revolutionary Council dealt with the issue of organizing the police in the district. Present: I. Chetverikov, A. Kiselev, Antonenkov, I. Gulyutkin, Gladkov, F. Davydov, I. Travis (Israel Travis, a member of the BUND party, was a delegate from Bogorodsk at the 10th BUND conference in Moscow on April 1-4, 1917. ), Tikhomirov, Radzyuminsky, I. Tarakanov, N. Solovyov, Mezentsev, M. Kuznetsov, Tsvetkov and T. Skvortsov. A. Kiselev presided. It was decided to divide the county into 9 police stations, some volosts were combined into one section, for example: Yamkinskaya and Bunkovskaya; Aksenovskaya, Ivanovskaya, Grebnevskaya and Oseevskaya volosts... The district commissar was placed at the head of the people's militia. To assist him, a Commissioner from the population must be elected at each site. These Commissioners will be in charge of police chiefs, of whom there are planned to be 27 for the entire district. Commissioners and police chiefs subordinate to them were elected at each site by the population " without distinction of classes" Men and women over 20 years of age could participate in the elections. The planned salaries are: 300 rubles for commissioners, 200 rubles for police chiefs.
March 15 (28)– At the meeting of the Bogorodsk Provisional Revolutionary People’s Council, several decisions were made, including: “... subject to house arrest the inspector of public schools M.K. Okaemov, put a guard at his apartment..."; according to the statement of representatives of workers and soldiers of the Elektrostal plant that the administration “ picks up food from the local grocery store first necessity, which could lead the plant workers to a hunger strike in the near future", decided "... investigate this matter on the spot and report the results to the Council».
March 17 (30)– published the Resolution of the Provisional Government “ On easing the fate of persons who have committed criminal offenses", convicted convicts had their sentence reduced by half. The decree provoked an unprecedented level of crime. Of the 88 thousand released, political “criminals” accounted for about six thousand. Although among the latter there were terrorists, “bomb throwers”.
March 18 (31)- The founding meeting of the Moscow Provincial Council of Peasant Deputies took place. The Bolsheviks were not satisfied with the wording of the meeting: “ do not touch the landowners' land and wait for the Constituent Assembly, the convening of which was endlessly postponed».
On this day V.I. Lenin, following negotiations among a group of emigrant socialists, stated that “ It’s impossible to delay leaving" And "… authorized the Secretary of the Swiss Social Democratic Party Fr. Platten to complete negotiations with the German government as soon as possible».
The Bogorodsk Council of Workers' Deputies sent its representatives to the Moscow, Shchelkovo, Pavlovo-Posad, Guslitsky Soviets, and sent 3 of its deputies to the Bogorodsk Council of Peasant Deputies.
March 19 (April 1) – The First All-Russian Trade and Industrial Congress took place in Moscow. Prominent industrialist P.P. Ryabushinsky (1871-1924) said at the opening of the congress: “... The peculiarity of our last revolutionary movement was that it was popular among the people, and our commercial and industrial class, represented by its representatives, took an active part in the preparatory work of this movement, ... having done the destructive work in the past to remove our old power, ... we must tell those who did the destructive work with us that it is time to end it. Despite the fact that the past was bad, there was still a lot in it that should pass on to our descendants... Sometimes it is more correct not to destroy a building, but, perhaps, just to rebuild it…».
In Orekhovo-Zuevo, a meeting of workers convened in the Winter Theater on the initiative of local Bolsheviks re-elected the Council of Workers' Deputies, it became Bolshevik and the Bolshevik A.I. was elected chairman in 1904. Lipatov. From the end of March, power in the city will be concentrated entirely in the hands of the Council. At the same time, the very first resolution of the Orekhovo-Zuevsky Council reflected the attitude of the opportunist elite of the Moscow Council of Workers' Deputies: “ Support the government insofar as it pursues the line of revolution" The Bolsheviks, in this regard, “ pursued a line to establish unity of command in the Council" The workers of Likino, Dulevo, Drezny, Kurovskoy, Kosterevo, Sobinka and Undola had their representatives in the Council. This Council will carry out the work of uniting Zuev, Orekhov and Nikolsky into one administrative center.
During these days, the Shchelkovo sub-district of the RSDLP (b) was created, headed by party member since 1915 I. I. Chursin (party pseudonym, present: Osip Petrovich Khoteenkov, 1895-1919), which soon predetermined the creation of an administrative center in Shchelkovo. At the same time, a regional organization of Bolsheviks was created, headed by A.I. Kudryavtsev and two Bolshevik cells: one at the factory A.F. Sinitsyn, headed by A.F. Bychkov; the other - at the spinning and weaving factory of L. Rabenek, headed by worker I.I. Pelevin (1889-1940).
March 20 (April 2)- these days, at the Elektrostal plant under construction, elections were held for the Factory Committee, which included: the first Bolshevik at the plant, I.A. Pachkov, mechanic Lapshin, Koshkin, excavator M.E. Rogov, Pukhov, M.S. Kuznetsov, Krainov and others. From the soldiers who worked on the construction of the mobilization plant, but could not be sent to the front due to poor health, A. Sizov was elected to the factory committee. Pachkov, Lapshin and Koshkin were elected to the Bogorodsk Council of Workers' Deputies.
March 21 (April 3)- at the front, a serious failure of Russian troops on the banks of Stokhod. They wrote about this: “... failure was called the first warning. And that is, indeed, its meaning. She showed what dire consequences Even a short weakening of vigilance, even a short-term loss of discipline, can lead. German troops act against the troops of liberated Russia with the same ferocity, with the same tension with which they acted against Nicholas’s armyII».
The Diocesan Congress of Clergy and Laity met in Moscow (it will finish its work on March 23). One of the resolutions of the congress stated: “ Firmly believing, according to the word of Scripture, that power is given to kings and rulers and is taken away from those who have exhausted God’s long-suffering by the will of Providence, we express unshakable, not out of fear, but out of conscience, loyalty and devotion to the Provisional Government... We honor in him the herald of new, bright and free things that we vividly sense began life... To pray before the altar, on the field of honor, in a bloody mortal battle, to the rear for help, to the infirmary to the bed of a sufferer, for a factory machine, for a plow, for a scythe, wherever anyone can, but all towards the same goal, all in one rush! Labor, knowledge, prosperity, heat of the heart, fire of inspiration, blood, life - all against the enemy, all for the homeland and freedom!».
For all dioceses "free" An epidemic of regional and district congresses of clergy and laity is sweeping across Russia; There is an unbridled passion for the elective principle in filling all church and clergy places without exception. They elect and re-elect metropolitans, prosvirens, sextons, abbess of monasteries, church guards and “ anyone else»…
The Bogorodsk Provisional People's Revolutionary Council heard at its meeting the request of students of the 7th and 8th grades of the Bogorodsk women's gymnasium for the release of Archpriest Konstantin Golubev from arrest and decided: “... taking into account that the arguments brought by the students of the gymnasium in their petition cannot serve as a sufficient basis for the release from arrest of Archpriest Golubev, on the one hand, and on the other, bearing in mind that Golubev has adherents of his reactionary beliefs among the population of Bogorodskoe district, a circumstance that could affect the liberation movement in the most unfavorable way, the People's Revolutionary Council decided to reject the request of the students of the gymnasium and initiate, where appropriate, a petition for the removal of Archpriest Golubev from the Bogorodsky district...».
March 22 (April 4)- The Bogorodsk Provisional People's Revolutionary Council considered the statement of the Jewish workers of the Gurevich factory that they did not elect Radzyuminsky as their representative to the Council. They decided: to consider it “ retired from the Council" Let us recall that Jews who arrived in Bogorodsk from the western regions of Russia during the war years created about 30 different small enterprises in the city. At the meeting, the minutes of the meeting of the Council of Workers' Deputies at the N.A. plant were heard. Vtorov on the removal of employee A.P. from the plant. Urlova. "... given the obvious predilection for the old system, hostility to the new Government", a decision was made to remove Urlov from the plant and arrest him.
March 24 (April 6)- ten deans of Moscow turned to the Diocesan authorities with a petition: “ At the Moscow Diocesan Congress, which opened on March 21, so much was said that was undeservedly insulting to us, so much offensive that we consider it impossible for us to continue to fulfill our duties without humiliating our dignity. Therefore, we ask the Consistory to release us from the duties of dean entrusted to us." They were joined by the famous preacher John Vostorgov, and similar petitions were submitted by the majority of deans of the Moscow province.
A meeting of the Council of Workers' Deputies took place in Orekhovo-Zuevo. It adopted a resolution on the issue of attitude towards the war and the Provisional Government: " Real war there is an imperialist war, caused by the desire of the bourgeoisie of all warring countries to seize and expand markets, and therefore we demand an end to the war and the conclusion of peace without annexations and indemnities... we appeal to the proletariat of all countries with a call to begin the struggle against their governments to conclude peace. The Provisional Government, which emerged from the revolution, is a spokesman for the interests of the bourgeoisie and is essentially counter-revolutionary... We demand... the convening of a Constituent Assembly, which would establish a democratic republic in Russia..."
At the meeting, the Executive Committee of Pavlovsky Posad unanimously confirmed the election of Vasily Vasilyevich Gusev as Commissioner, which took place on March 7th. Chairman of the Executive Committee S. Shcherbakov telegraphs to the province: «… The mandates of the members of the executive committee are correct, the choice of the chief of police was given personally to Vasily Vasilyevich Gusev, who elected Sergievsky to this position, who had previously been elected assistant commissioner at the committee meeting on March 4. Executive committee brings this to your attention for registration of officials».
March 25 (April 7)– The Provisional Government adopted the Resolutions: “ On the transfer of grain to the state" And " Temporary regulations on local food authorities" The grain monopoly, however, did not eradicate the free food market and the various types of abuse and speculation that accompany it.
The Moscow Regional Conference of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies began its work; the Bolsheviks were in the minority at it. From the conference resolutions: “... The Provisional Government is recognized as the only authorized body"; it was admitted “the only body that should have decided the issue of war”; “...do not introduce an 8-hour working day until the government decides" The Bolsheviks were not happy that instead of calling for the omnipotence of the Soviets, the conference limited itself to the demand “ control over government actions." Lenin taught: “ control without power is a fiction».
March 26 (April 8)- the community of the Rogozhsky cemetery, the Old Believer center of the priestly consent, sent a telegram to the head of the Provisional Government expressing its sincere devotion and confidence that “ the entire multimillion-strong Old Believers, who had suffered so much from the previous government, accepted the new political system with relief and joy" At the same time, in the Old Believer magazine, literally next to the text of the telegram given above, an article appeared in which there were the following words: “ new slogans appeared: « take, capture, rob, beat!.. Without God and without love - this alone led to the death of the revolution" On April 3, at a meeting of Old Believers in Yegoryevsk, which is close to us, a Resolution was adopted, which included the following words: “ ask the workers not to abuse this freedom with exorbitant demands and strikes that are harmful at the moment and threaten incalculable consequences harmful properties both for the country and for the workers themselves... Ask the peasants... that unauthorized seizures of land and even just attempts to do so will worsen the country's food supply, and will bring final chaos into the life of the state, which can lead to the death of the state as a political whole" In 1918, the Old Believers of the Rogozhsky cemetery adopted a resolution rejecting Marxist, Bolshevik ideology.
March 27 (April 9)- Petrograd troops adopt a resolution recognizing the need to bring the war to a victorious end: “... peace without the consent of the allies will be a shameful peace, threatening Russian freedom…».
A group of emigrants led by Lenin and Zinoviev, without waiting for the end of the negotiations, left for Russia through Germany and Sweden. Later, the Swedish Social Democratic newspaper Politiken reported that “... European socialists are aware of all the nuances of the state of negotiations on the possibility of Russian internationalists leaving for Russia, as well as the reasons for choosing the route of this departure through Germany and Sweden».
The Bogorodsk People's Revolutionary Council considered several issues that day: Antonenkov was elected representative in the Provincial Executive Committee from the district instead of Lyusin. At the meeting a question arose: “... what kind of affairs should the People's Council deal with, zemstvo or revolutionary?" The council decided: “... delay the execution of the resolution declaring the Council a Zemstvo Assembly until this issue is resolved in the Council of Peasants' Deputies" It was appointed " content» To the 14 Cossacks who guarded the People's Council. Yakov Novozhilov’s application for granting him benefits was decided to be transferred to the Council of Workers’ Deputies. Assistant Commissioner and Chairman of the People's Council A. Kiselev was assigned a salary of 350 rubles per month, “ regardless of what he gets in Glukhov" Commissioner Chetverikov refused the remuneration due to him - “ he donates to the cause of propaganda" Tikhonov was included in the People's Council as a representative from the Council of Workers' Deputies.
March 29 (April 11) - The First All-Russian Conference of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies opened in St. Petersburg on this day (continued until April 3 (16). The All-Russian Central Executive Committee was elected from Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. At the conference, some of the left Socialist Revolutionaries united with the left Mensheviks and Bolsheviks in criticizing the Provisional Government and the war. A.F. Kerensky appeared at the meeting and declared: “ The work of the Provisional Government is huge and responsible. We all... bear the same responsibility for the fate of our homeland, and in the name of duty to our homeland, we must all work together in complete unity..." At the congress, under the influence of Kerensky’s speech, a resolution was adopted on “ war to the bitter end».
March 31 (April 13)– G.V. returned to Russia. Plekhanov. At the Finlyandsky station, where he was met, he said: “ At the moment, there is little unity: complete unity of all fighters for the freedom of Russia is necessary in order to vigorously repel the external enemy who poses a threat to both Russia and its freedom».
These days at the Elektrostal plant, Bolshevik I.A. Pachkov with his comrades Zhadenkov, M.S. Kuznetsov, Tikhonov, Lapshin and M.E. Rogov organized a meeting of workers, at which they elected a Factory Committee. Its chairman was I.A. Pachkov. Engineering and technical workers and plant employees were unable to create their own public organization at the enterprise.
In the context of a sharply worsened food crisis, the events of February 1917 took place. On February 22, 1917, the Putilov plant in Petrograd was closed “until special permission.” The workers turned to the entire proletariat of the capital for support. The government took measures to prevent revolution. At the beginning of February 1917, the Petrograd Military District was removed from the command of the Northern Front and transferred to the subordination of the Minister of War M. A. Belyaev. The district commander, General S.S. Khabalov, received emergency powers to suppress possible unrest.
On February 23, 1917, events spontaneously began in Petrograd, which just a few days later ended with the overthrow of the monarchy. Thus, International Women's Day (March 8, new style) became the first day of the revolution. The rallies of workers that began at textile factories on the Vyborg side grew into mass protests. From the working-class outskirts, columns of demonstrators headed towards the city center. The behavior of the soldiers and Cossacks set the workers in an optimistic mood. Petrograd, meanwhile, took on the appearance 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, soldiers, at the command of their officers, began to use weapons. General Khabalov - received an order from the tsar to immediately stop the unrest in the capital. To keep soldiers from communicating with the rebels, the command of some units did not issue them overcoats and shoes.
On February 26, the streets of Petrograd were stained with blood - a mass execution of the rebel workers took place. These events became turning point revolution. On February 27, troops began to go over to the side of the rebels - the execution had an effect that the authorities did not count on. The Petrograd garrison, numbering 180 thousand people at that time, and together with the troops of the nearest suburbs 300 thousand people, sided with the people.
Nicholas II wrote in his diary on February 27, 1917: “Unrest began in Petrograd several days ago; Unfortunately, troops also began to take part in them. It’s a disgusting feeling to be so far away and receive fragmentary bad news.” On the afternoon of February 28, the Peter and Paul Fortress was occupied. The position of the remnants of the government troops, led by General Khabalov in the Admiralty and trying to strengthen themselves there, became hopeless, and they, laying down their arms, 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 IV State Duma created a Temporary Committee from among its members to govern the state (chaired by 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 Headquarters, where the Tsar was located, to negotiate with him. Nicholas II still hoped to suppress the uprising with armed forces, but the troops he sent went over to the side of the rebels.
Nicholas II, meanwhile, left 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, the tsar arrived in Pskov, where the headquarters of the Northern Front was located. Soon the question of abdication was raised. The front commander, General N.V. Ruzsky, on the morning of March 2, read to Nicholas II “his longest conversation on the apparatus with Rodzianko.” The latter insisted on renunciation.
The Provisional Committee of the State Duma A. I. Guchkov and V. V. Shulgin went to 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 renunciation was signed by the tsar on March 2 at 23:40, but in order to avoid the impression that this act was of a violent nature, the time was set on the manifesto when it was signed - 15:00.
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, the former tsar wrote bitter words in his diary: “There is treason, cowardice, and deception all around.” From the evening of March 3 until the morning of March 8, Nikolai was at Headquarters. When leaving, he said goodbye to its inhabitants. According to the testimony of the head of the Military Communications of the theater of military operations, General N. M. Tikhmenev, the separation procedure turned out to be very difficult for many: “convulsive, intercepted sobs did not subside... The officers of the St. George battalion - people, for the most part, wounded several times - could not stand it: two of them fainted. At the other end of the hall, one of the convoy soldiers collapsed.”
Meanwhile, during February events Petrograd workers began to create Soviets of Workers' Deputies; elections of deputies were held at enterprises. On the evening of February 27, the first meeting of the Petrograd Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies took place in the Tauride Palace. Having the full support of the rebels, the Council began to show itself as a real power. The majority in the Council was held by the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries, who believed that the democratic revolution should end with 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 Socialist Revolutionary deputies. On March 1 (14), the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet decided to grant the Temporary Committee of the State Duma the right to form a provisional government from representatives of the political parties that were members of the Council. On the same day it was formed under the leadership of 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 Council 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, lacking 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 Council, consisting 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 landowners’ latifundia, allocating land to the peasants, solving national problems. However, the Provisional Government promised to solve them at the Constituent Assembly and tried to restrain the discontent of the masses by citing the impossibility of carrying out fundamental reforms during the war.
The plurality of power, which became an all-Russian phenomenon, was deepened by two parallel processes occurring simultaneously - the emergence and formation of government bodies of different political orientation - the Soviets and various committees: public safety, rescue committees. In addition, city dumas and zemstvos, elected under tsarism, continued to function, consisting mainly of representatives of the Octobrist, Cadets, Socialist-Revolutionary and Menshevik parties.
A manifestation of the extraordinary political activity of the broad masses of the people who carried out the revolution was their participation in thousands of rallies and demonstrations that took place on a variety of occasions. It seemed that the country could not get out of the state of anarchy, euphoria from the unexpectedly victorious revolution. At the rallies there was a search for answers to questions about what happened, how to end the war, how to build a Russian democratic republic. The answers proposed by political parties and the authorities were supported by the thesis that from now on the war was fought in the name of protecting the gains of the revolution.
Issues that worried the country were discussed on a daily basis at meetings of the Petrograd Soviet. On the main point, about power, the majority assumed that power should be with the people. An 8-point declaration was developed, which the Provisional Government was supposed to form the basis of its activities. The main ones are: freedom of speech, press, unions, abolition of all class, religious and national restrictions, immediate preparation for the convening of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly on the basis of universal, equal, secret and direct voting, which will have to establish the form of government and prepare the constitution of the country.
The Provisional Government postponed the resolution of all key issues (war and peace, agrarian, national) until the Constituent Assembly. Thus, the victory of the February Revolution did not immediately solve the problems facing the country, which left objective conditions for continuing the struggle to solve them.
Although the factors that prepared the revolutionary explosion in February 1917 had been taking shape for a long time, politicians and publicists, right and left, predicted its inevitability; the revolution was neither “prepared” nor “organized”; it broke out spontaneously and suddenly for all parties and the government. Not a single political party showed itself to be the organizer and leader of the revolution, which took them by surprise.
The immediate cause of the revolutionary explosion was the following events that occurred in the second half of February 1917 in Petrograd. In mid-February, the capital's food supply, especially bread, deteriorated. There was bread in the country and in sufficient quantity, but due to the devastation in transport and the sluggishness of the authorities responsible for supply, it could not be delivered to the cities in a timely manner. A card system was introduced, but it did not solve the problem. Long queues appeared at bakeries, which caused growing discontent among the population. In this situation, any act of the authorities or owners of industrial enterprises that irritated the population could serve as a detonator for a social explosion.
On February 18, workers at one of the largest factories in Petrograd, Putilovsky, began a strike, demanding an increase in wages due to rising costs. On February 20, the plant administration, under the pretext of interruptions in the supply of raw materials, fired the strikers and announced the closure of some workshops for an indefinite period. The Putilovites were supported by workers from other city enterprises. On February 23 (New Style March 8 - International Women's Day) it was decided to start a general strike. Opposition figures in the Duma also decided to take advantage of the day of February 23; as early as February 14, from the rostrum of the State Duma, they sharply criticized the incompetent ministers and demanded their resignation. Duma figures - Menshevik N.S. Chkheidze and Trudovik A.F. Kerensky - established contact with illegal organizations and created a committee to hold a demonstration on February 23.
On that day, 128 thousand workers from 50 enterprises went on strike - a third of the capital's workers. A demonstration also took place, which was peaceful. A rally was held in the city center. The authorities, in order to reassure the people, announced that there was enough food in the city and there was no reason to worry.
The next day, 214 thousand workers were already on strike. The strikes were accompanied by demonstrations: columns of demonstrators with red flags and singing the Marseillaise rushed to the city center. Women took an active part in them and took to the streets with the slogans “Bread”!, “Peace”!, “Freedom!”, “Bring back our husbands!”
Authorities initially treated them as spontaneous food riots. However, events grew stronger every day and became threatening for the authorities. On February 25, strikes covered over 300 thousand people. (80% of city workers). The demonstrators were already speaking with political slogans: “Down with the monarchy!”, “Long live the republic!”, rushing to the central squares and avenues of the city. They managed to overcome police and military barriers and break through to Znamenskaya Square near the Moskovsky Station, where a spontaneous rally began at the monument to Alexander III. Rallies and demonstrations took place in the main squares, avenues and streets of the city. The Cossack squads sent against them refused to disperse them. Demonstrators threw stones and logs at the mounted policemen. The authorities have already seen that the “unrest” is taking on a political nature.
On the morning of February 25, columns of workers again rushed to the city center, and on the Vyborg side they were already destroying police stations. A rally began again on Znamenskaya Square. Demonstrators clashed with police, resulting in several demonstrators being killed and injured. On the same day, Nicholas II received from the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General S.S. Khabalov’s report about the outbreak of unrest in Petrograd, and at 9 o’clock in the evening Khabalov received a telegram from him: “I command you to stop the riots in the capital tomorrow, which are unacceptable in the difficult times of the war with Germany and Austria.” Khabalov immediately ordered the police and reserve unit commanders to use weapons against the demonstrators. On the night of February 26, the police arrested about a hundred of the most active figures of the left parties.
February 26 was a Sunday. Factories and factories did not work. Masses of demonstrators with red banners and singing revolutionary songs again rushed to the central streets and squares of the city. There were continuous rallies on Znamenskaya Square and near the Kazan Cathedral. By order of Khabalov, the police, who sat on the roofs of houses, opened fire with machine guns on demonstrators and protesters. On Znamenskaya Square, 40 people were killed and the same number were wounded. Police shot at demonstrators in Sadovaya Street, Liteiny and Vladimirsky prospects. On the night of February 27, new arrests were made: this time 170 people were captured.
The outcome of any revolution depends on whose side the army is on. Defeat of the revolution 1905 - 1907 was largely due to the fact that, despite a series of uprisings in the army and navy, on the whole the army remained loyal to the government and was used by it to suppress peasant and worker revolts. In February 1917, there was a garrison of up to 180 thousand soldiers in Petrograd. These were mainly spare parts that were to be sent to the front. There were quite a few recruits here from regular workers, mobilized for participation in strikes, and quite a few front-line soldiers who had recovered from injuries. The concentration of a mass of soldiers in the capital, who were easily influenced by revolutionary propaganda, was a major mistake by the authorities.
The shooting of demonstrators on February 26 caused strong indignation among the soldiers of the capital's garrison and had a decisive influence on their transition to the side of the revolution. On the afternoon of February 26, the 4th company of the reserve battalion of the Pavlovsky regiment refused to take the place assigned to it at the outpost and even opened fire on a platoon of mounted police. The company was disarmed, 19 of its “ringleaders” were sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress. Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko telegraphed to the Tsar that day: “The situation is serious. There is anarchy in the capital. The government is paralyzed. There is indiscriminate shooting in the streets. Units of troops are shooting at each other.” In conclusion, he asked the king: “Immediately entrust a person who enjoys the trust of the country to form a new government. You cannot hesitate. Any delay is like death.”
Even on the eve of the tsar's departure to Headquarters, two versions of his decree on the State Duma were prepared - the first on its dissolution, the second on the interruption of its sessions. In response to Rodzianko's telegram, the tsar sent a second version of the decree - on the break of the Duma from February 26 to April 1917. At 11 o'clock in the morning on February 27, deputies of the State Duma gathered in the White Hall of the Tauride Palace and silently listened to the tsar's decree on the break of the Duma session. The tsar's decree put the Duma members in a difficult position: on the one hand, they did not dare not fulfill the will of the tsar, on the other, they could not help but take into account the threatening unfolding of revolutionary events in the capital. Deputies from the left parties proposed not to obey the tsar’s decree and, in an “address to the people,” declare themselves Constituent Assembly, but the majority was against such an action. In the Semicircular Hall of the Tauride Palace, they opened a “private meeting”, at which a decision was made, in fulfillment of the tsar’s order, not to hold official meetings of the Duma, but the deputies did not disperse and remained in their places. By half past three in the afternoon on February 27, crowds of demonstrators approached the Tauride Palace, some of them entered the palace. Then the Duma decided to form from its members a “Provisional Committee of the State Duma to restore order in Petrograd and to communicate with institutions and individuals.” On the same day, a Committee of 12 people, chaired by Rodzianko, was formed. At first, the Provisional Committee was afraid to take power into its own hands and sought an agreement with the tsar. On the evening of February 27, Rodzianko sent a new telegram to the Tsar, in which he invited him to make concessions - to instruct the Duma to form a ministry responsible to it.
But events unfolded rapidly. On that day, strikes covered almost all enterprises in the capital, and in fact an uprising had already begun. The troops of the capital's garrison began to go over to the side of the rebels. On the morning of February 27, a training team consisting of 600 people from the reserve battalion of the Volyn regiment rebelled. The team leader was killed. Non-commissioned officer T.I., who led the uprising. Kirpichnikov raised the entire regiment, which moved towards the Lithuanian and Preobrazhensky regiments and carried them along with him.
If on the morning of February 27, 10 thousand soldiers went over to the side of the rebels, then in the evening of the same day - 67 thousand. On the same day, Khabalov telegraphed to the tsar that “the troops refuse to go out against the rebels.” On February 28, 127 thousand soldiers were on the side of the rebels, and on March 1 - already 170 thousand soldiers. On February 28, the Winter Palace and the Peter and Paul Fortress were captured, the arsenal was captured, from which 40 thousand rifles and 30 thousand revolvers were distributed to the working detachments. On Liteiny Prospekt, the building of the District Court and the House of Pre-trial Detention were destroyed and set on fire. Police stations were burning. The gendarmerie and secret police were liquidated. Many policemen and gendarmes were arrested (later the Provisional Government released them and sent them to the front). Prisoners were released from prisons. On March 1, after negotiations, the remnants of the garrison, who had settled in the Admiralty together with Khabalov, surrendered. The Mariinsky Palace was taken and the tsar's ministers and senior dignitaries who were in it were arrested. They were brought or brought to the Tauride Palace. Minister of Internal Affairs A.D. Protopopov voluntarily came under arrest. Ministers and generals from the Tauride Palace were escorted to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the rest - to places of detention prepared for them.
Military units from Peterhof and Strelna who had gone over to the side of the revolution arrived in Petrograd through the Baltic Station and along the Peterhof Highway. On March 1, the sailors of the Kronstadt port rebelled. Commander of the Kronstadt port and military governor of Kronstadt, Rear Admiral R.N. Viren and several senior officers were shot by the sailors. Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich ( cousin Nicholas II) brought the guards crew sailors 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 to announce that the Provisional Committee of the State Duma would take over government functions. On the night of February 28, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma addressed the people of Russia with an appeal that it was taking upon itself the initiative to “restore state and public order” and create a new government. As a first measure, he sent commissioners from members of the Duma to the ministries. In order to take control of the situation in the capital and stop 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, revived during the revolution, became more effective revolutionary power. As early as February 26, a number of members of the Union of Workers' Cooperatives of Petrograd, the Social Democratic faction of the State Duma and other working groups put forward the idea of forming Soviets of Workers' Deputies along the lines of 1905. This idea was also supported by the Bolsheviks. On February 27, representatives of working groups, together with a group of Duma deputies and representatives of the left-wing intelligentsia, gathered in the Tauride Palace and announced the creation of the Provisional Executive Committee of the Petrograd Council of Working People's Deputies. The Committee appealed to immediately elect deputies to the Council - one deputy from 1 thousand workers, and one from a company of soldiers. 250 deputies were elected and gathered in the Tauride Palace. They, in turn, elected the Executive Committee of the Council, the chairman of which was the leader of the Social Democratic faction of the State Duma, Menshevik N.S. Chkheidze, and his deputies were Trudovik A.F. Kerensky and Menshevik M.I. Skobelev. The majority in the Executive Committee and in the Council itself belonged to the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries - at that time the most numerous and influential left-wing parties in Russia. On February 28, the first issue of Izvestia of the Council of Workers' Deputies was published (editor: Menshevik F.I. Dan).
The Petrograd Soviet began to act as a body of revolutionary power, making a number of important decisions. On February 28, on his initiative, district council committees were created. He formed military and food commissions, armed militia, established control over printing houses and railways. By decision of the Petrograd Council, the financial resources of the tsarist government were seized and control was established over their spending. Commissars from the Council were sent to the districts of the capital to establish people's power in them.
On March 1, 1917, the Council issued the famous “Order No. 1,” which provided for the creation of elected soldiers’ committees in military units, abolished the titles of officers and the giving of honor to them outside of service, but most importantly, it removed the Petrograd garrison from subordination to the old command. This order in our literature is usually regarded as a deeply democratic act. In fact, by subordinating unit commanders to soldier committees with little competence in military matters, he violated the principle of unity of command necessary for any army and thereby contributed to the decline of military discipline.
The number of victims in Petrograd in the February days of 1917 was about 300 people. killed and up to 1200 wounded.
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