By Tatyana Shvetsova
These were the words of an outstanding contemporary thinker – Metropolitan of St.Petersburg and Ladoga Joann Snychiov, who died in 1994. Like many other of our historians and philosophers, he couldn’t but be drawn to events of 1917, the consequences of which impact our country to this day. Moscow historian Yegor Holmogorov recently wrote in one of the central newspapers: “By 1917 Russia was pregnant with social revolution. This was acknowledged by everyone: from anarchists-socialists to extreme monarchists. However, few wanted this revolution. They feared it, and attempted to provoke the country into premature labour, more reminiscent of an abortion… February of 1917 was precisely such an attempt to abort the revolution. It was an endeavor to make the revolution serve the development of capitalism.” Another contemporary Russian historian Oleg Platonov, basing his studies on archive documents that became accessible at the end of the 20th century, came to the following conclusion: “In early 1917, under the influence of purposeful destabilizing activity of leftist liberal parties, the German agents and freemason activity the very foundations of Russian statehood were undermined. The balance between the Russian people and anti-Russian forces, comprising a major part of the country’s educated intellectual ruling elite was disrupted.
A peculiar feature of this revolution was the fact that its ‘success’ was determined by the participation in it of all top ruling and military circles, besides the ruling elite of Entente. People that Czar Nicholas II most relied on and had complete faith in, turned out to be treacherous plotters. It was their disloyal collusion … that forced the Czar to abdicate the throne in favor of his brother Mikhail…” And here is the opinion of a direct participant of the events of 1917, member of the state Duma, Freemason Vasily Maklakov, who would become an ambassador of the Provisional Government to Paris. In his memoirs, published in New York in 1954, he wrote: “In February 1917 the revolution could have been avoided. The abdication (of the Czar) – is not in itself a revolution. The Czar did not limit himself to just abdication alone. He accompanied it by decrees which radically improved the then constitutional setup in a way that the public had long been trying to achieve: he transferred the throne to his brother Mikhail under the condition that his successor would rule in inviolable unity with the State Duma, and that he swear an oath on that; and himself, behindhand, appointed as head of Government a person suggested by a representative of the State Duma.” Be that as it may, the revolution did take place. The collapse of Imperial Russia occurred most unexpectedly. This is how it happened… At the end of February 1917 St.Petersburg, which had changed its German name for the Russian ‘Petrograd’ due to the war with Germany, was the scene of mass unrest apparently due to shortages of bread and other food products in town. In actual fact the city had more than enough food supplies. It was the revolutionaries that had instigated the situation with the shortages and the general unrest. Through tireless efforts of the socialist revolutionaries and Bolsheviks the striking masses gradually substituted slogans demanding bread for political ones. They were now brandishing slogans that read: “Down with the Czarist Government!” and “Long Live the Provisional Government and Constituent Assembly!” They were singing the “Marseilles”… Analyzing the situation that shaped itself in early 1917 historian Pyotr
Deinichenko wrote: “…neither the Government nor the protesters were conscious, as yet, of what was happening. Strikes at the industrial outskirts complete with protest marches, singing of revolutionary songs and red flags had long become a customary sight. The Council of Ministers never even broached the subject during its sitting of February 24th. The police dispersed the crowds, which simply reemerged in another part of town. Both the protesters and the police avoided any violence. Shooting at the people was not an option that the Government ever considered. Even the Bolsheviks at the time refused to arm the protesters, so as to avoid provoking the army.” This peaceful standoff ended after a telegram came in from the frontline General headquarters on February 25th, demanding that all disturbances be immediately done away with. On February 25th Emperor Nicholas II issued a decree where he closed the session of the Russian Parliament, called the Duma in this country. On one of the central squares of Petrograd the soldiers opened fire on protesters, who refused to obey the Czar’s decree. Scores of people were killed. The following morning revolutionary crowds overran the entire city. The shooting began on all sides. Policemen and officers were killed. Revolutionaries seized the town prison and released all the inmates. Soldiers of the Preobrazhensky regiment started a riot. Historian Pyotr Deinichenko noted: “Deputies of the Duma refused to obey the Czar’s decree and formed a Provisionary Committee, which appointed its commissars to all government institutions. Deputies from among the workers and soldiers formed the Petrograd Council of Workers and Soldiers deputies. The two new powers immediately found themselves on the brink of a conflict, since each one appointed its own city Governor. However, the Council found it expedient to retreat and make concessions, leaving the initiative to the Duma. The latter, in its turn, showed due regard for the wishes of the Council since the soldiers’ deputies had already secured from the Council the so-called “Order ? 1”. According to this order, which was instrumental in bringing on the collapse of the army, it was prohibited to give out any kind of weaponry to the officers. The weapons were to be exclusively under the control of company and battalion Committees. The orders of military commissars of the State Duma were to be obeyed only in cases when they did not run counter to the orders and decrees of the Council of Workers and Soldiers’ deputies.
All was in turmoil at the General Headquarters. The reports coming in from Petrograd were contradictory and the Emperor’s decrees were not obeyed. Accepting the fact that the situation was drastic, Emperor Nicholas II left Petrograd. However, he didn’t manage to reach the capital. The railway workers turned round the royal train and directed it to Pskov, instead. In the meantime the Petrograd military garrison had crossed to the revolutionaries’ side. The Headquarters Commander-in-chief Mikhail Alekseev suggested the Front Commanders send the Czar telegrams recommending that he abdicate. Fearing that events might take a really drastic turn, Nicholas II abdicated the throne on behalf of himself and his heir in favor of his brother Mikhail. Yet, it was too late to save the Monarchy. Historian Pyotr Deinichenko wrote: “The moment news of the Czar’s abdication reached the capital the rioters demanded a republic be proclaimed. Under such circumstances Nicholas II’s brother Mikhail Romanov didn’t dare accept the crown. On March 3rd 1917 the Russian Monarchy ceased to exist. And on March 8th the royal family was arrested.” Historian Oleg Platonov notes that legislative acts of the new powers undermined the centuries old legal system in Russia.
The national policy of the Provisional Government openly connived with the separatists all across the country. This is what historian Pyotr Deinichenko writes: “On March 4th on the basis of several democratic organizations the so-called Central Soviet of Ukraine was established. On March 6th the population of Southern Siberia – the Buryats – demanded national autonomy. On March 7th the constitution of Finland was reinstated. Awaiting independence were the German-occupied Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Demands for autonomy were voiced by the Bashkirs, Uzbeks, Azeris… There were also Muslims-‘unitarists’ hoping to unite all Islamic peoples of Russia under the aegis of the Crimean Tatars. The nationalist movement in the Transcaucasian region wasn’t quite as active. In Armenia they realized that without Russia, Turkey could wipe out the entire Armenian people. After all, in 1915 the Turkish authorities had already carried out a mass genocide of the Armenians. As for Georgia, after the February revolution in Russia the Georgian
revolutionaries had claimed vanguard positions in the new Russian bodies
of power, and there were no separatist sentiments to be heard of.” The Provisional Government immediately announced that it intended to fight to victory. This was a political step, because during the last year of Nicholas II’s rule certain rumors reached Russia’s allies in the Entente alliance regarding covert preparations for a separate peace treaty with Germany. On April 3rd 1917 the leader of the Bolsheviks, Vladimir Lenin arrived in Petrograd. As of 1907 he was in emigration and he was able to return to Russia only with the assistance of German Special Services. The latter supported the Russian revolutionary movement in the hopes that the revolution would draw Russia out of the war with Germany. In turn, Lenin and other radical social-democrats were convinced that a social upheaval in Russia would mark the beginning of a world socialist revolution, which would put an end to the world war. On the following day Lenin expounded his “April Theses” before the leadership of the party he headed. This is how historian Pyotr Deinichenko sums up their essence:
At the present moment, Lenin believed, it was imperative to press for a speedy end to the war at any cost, ignoring the decisions of the government and intercepting all power from it with the help of the Soviets.” Lenin’s suggestions were met with a wariness and uncertainty. The fact is, some were inclined to resort to open opposition to the authorities, others feared that anti-government propaganda would undermine the authority of the party in the masses. And one thing they all shared was a dubious attitude to the thesis regarding a speedy withdrawal of Russia from the war. On the one hand, the country’s resources were totally exhausted, on the other – Russia could withdraw from the war only at the expense of a separate peace treaty with Germany and on its conditions. This spelled inevitable occupation of a vast territory of the country, suppression of the revolutionary movement by the German troops, a mammoth contribution and, quite possibly, war with yesterday’s allies. The conflict with Japan could turn out to be particularly dangerous. Japan was siding with the Entente. The only remaining hope was that the German-Austrian block, exhausted by the war no less than Russia, wouldn’t hold out long. These were the considerations that the Petrograd Soviet of workers and soldiers deputies went by. On March 14th 1917 it called on the peoples of the warring states to immediately conclude a peace ‘without annexations and contribution’. “The Russian revolution shall not baulk before the bayonet of the conquerors,” said the appeal. The allies were concerned over the pacifist appeals being issued from Petrograd. Historian Pyotr Deinichenko writes: “The allies sent their delegations to Petrograd headed by representatives of socialist parties. They participated in the congress of Soldiers’ Committees of the Western front and ascertained that the Russian army was fully battle-seasoned and there was no talk of separate peace. However, the contradictions between the soldiers and officers were too irreconcilable. For many officers it was easier to announce themselves socialists than to learn to speak politely and respectfully to a soldier...” Pyotr Deinichenko notes that the Russian Provisional Government exacerbated the already tense situation in the country. “On the 18th of April 1917,” he writes, “the Foreign Minister of the
Provisional Government Pavel Miliukov sent the allies a circular note,
where he reaffirmed that Russia was prepared to go on with the war ‘to
the victorious end’. The same day… Petrograd witnessed a large-scale demonstration under anti-war slogans. Another three days later the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies organized an impressive manifestation of workers and soldiers, which brandished Bolshevist slogans such as “All power to the Soviets!”, and “Down with the Provisional Government!” The April demonstrations led to a government crisis. A month later the Defense Minister Alexander Guchkov and Foreign Affairs Minister Pavel Miliukov handed in their resignations. Although Prince Georgy Lvov found himself at the head of the new government, the actual leader was freemason and socialist Alexander Kerensky. The new government conceded to a policy line proposed by the Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ deputies aimed at ending the war. However, the Allies refused to hear anything about an end to the military actions.” Kerensky placed his hopes with the final, decisive offensive at the
frontline, which, if it were successful, could be According to this order, which was instrumental in bringing on the collapse of the army, it was prohibited to give out any kind of weaponry to the officers. The weapons were to be exclusively under the control of company and battalion Committees. The orders of military commissars of the State Duma were to be obeyed only in cases when they did not run counter to the orders and decrees of the Council of Workers and Soldiers’ deputies. As a result of the Declaration of Soldiers’ rights, issued by Alexander Kerensky, there was a disastrous decline in discipline. Historian Pyotr Deinichenko writes: “The officers’ orders were ignored; whole units willfully abandoned their positions. Propagandist Bolshevist and anarchist literature was widely disseminated within the army.” In the meantime, on the 22nd of May General Alexei Brusilov was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief. The General launched an offensive in Galicia. The Austrians fled… In the course of some two weeks the Russian troops advanced successfully. However, the moment the enemy resorted to counter-offensive, some of the units began to abandon their positions. As a result the Germans experienced little difficulty in breaking the Russian front, and the danger of occupation loomed over all the south-western Russian lands. News of the failure of the Russian army’s offensive, accompanied by disastrous loss of life, yet again set the masses in turmoil. Doctor of History Professor Oljshtynsky wrote: “On the 4th of July a 500-strong demonstration in Petrograd passed under Bolshevist slogans. The Provisional Government summoned troops to quell it. Over 700 people were killed or wounded. A martial law was imposed in Petrograd and the disarmament of workers set into motion. Repressions began against the Bolsheviks, who were blamed for the plight of the victims of the demonstration. At Government order the editorial office of the Bolshevist newspaper “Pravda” was busted and the paper itself – banned. Leon Trotsky and several Bolshevist leaders were arrested. An order was issued for the arrest of Vladimir Lenin, too. It was at that time that facts regarding the collaboration of Lenin with the German Special services were disclosed to the population. The Party of Bolsheviks was forced to resort to a semi-legal status. In the meantime, Lenin left Petrograd and disappeared from sight in Finland. However, many of the Bolsheviks stayed on in the Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies. The unreliable army units were made to disarm and redeployed from Petrograd.” On the 8th of July the head of the Government Prince Georgy Lvov handed in his resignation. Alexander Kerensky formed a new Cabinet, where the majority belonged to the socialists. However, in the 16 days that the government crisis continued, the overall situation in the country had declined drastically. The agricultural produce chain was completely disrupted, with the peasants disinclined to hand over their grain for fixed prices, while the state couldn’t even get to the towns what little it succeeded in procuring. The Northern and central gubernias (or regions) were particularly in need of bread. At the end of August 1917 the daily bread ration in Moscow and Petrograd was half a pound. In central Asian parts of the country famine set in… From that moment the conservative circles began exerting serious pressure on the government. Historian Pyotr Deinicheno writes: “Various monarchic organizations lifted their head. However, it was
the Union of Army and Navy Officers” that After the collapse of the Russian army offensive, General Lavr Kornilov addressed the Government with a call to speedily boost discipline in the army. Government Commissars supported it, and as of July the 12th the death penalty for desertion was reinstated at the front. Six days after this General Kornilov was appointed Commander-in-Chief. At that, he demanded from the Government unlimited powers and stretching the regime of war to embrace the rear. Thus, he demanded that martial law be introduced at mines, factories and railroads. Kornilov was supported by such people of authority as General Mikhail Alekseev and Alexei Brusilov. Round about that time the ‘Kornilov crack regiment’ was established, which was to acquit itself well in battle during the years of Civil war. On their service caps they sported a macabre emblem: “a scull and crossbones.” General Kornilov’s demands found response among the liberal bourgeoisie, which had altered its political course. It supported the idea of establishing a “strong power” and fighting the spreading revolutionary movement. The leader of the constitutional democrats Pavel Miliukov made the following conclusion at a meeting of his Party’s Central Committee: “We should no longer commit ourselves to the revolution. Quite the opposite: we need to prepare and accumulate the strength to fight it.” So, what plan of action did the opponents of the revolution chart out for themselves? This is what Professor Oljshtynsky writes: “Those opposed to the revolution nominated General Kornilov for the role of dictator. He was to rely on the support of monarchically-minded officers and the more influential bourgeoisie. They elaborated a plan whereby troops would be introduced to Petrograd, the Soviets – destroyed, the Government – reinforced with the help of a union between Alexander Kerensky and Lavr Kornilov.” As for the actual head of the government – Alexander Kerensky – he intended to use the above-mentioned plan to eliminate the opposition and reinforce central power through simultaneously fighting on two fronts – against the leftists and the right forces. In the meantime, at the front the German forces started an offensive in the Baltics, and captured Riga on August 21st. The army was increasingly corroding. Instances of officers being murdered grew alarmingly… On August 22nd General Kornilov demanded from Alexander Kerensky that the Petrograd military district be handed over under his control. Kerensky refused to comply. So then Kornilov sent his troops to Petrograd with the intention of bringing down the government. Initially, Alexander Kerensky was somewhat nonplussed. However, information that Kornilov intended to overthrow the government and introduce martial law in Petrograd allowed him to perceive this in the light of a riot. Thus, he displaced Kornilov from his post of Supreme Commander-in-Chief. But Kornilov had no intention of giving up his post. On August 28th he went on the radio with the following address to the country: “Russian people! Our great Motherland is perishing! Forced to speak
openly, I, General Kornilov, announce that the Provisional Government,
under pressure of the Bolshevist majority of the Soviets, is acting in
full compliance with the plans of the German Central Headquarters.”
“Kornilov had all chances of seizing power in the country,” historian Pyotr Deinichenko insists. “The officers and a major part of the Cossacks, entrepreneurs and intellectual elite were on his side. Kornilov could also rely on the support of the allies in Antanta, who nurtured hopes he wouldn’t allow Russia to step out of the war. In this situation Alexander Kerensky turned for support to the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ deputies, where the Bolsheviks, as is known, wielded a majority. On the order of the Soviet all staff workers of the post and telegraph immediately disconnected, while troops that were allegiant to the government advanced to face off with Kornilov. The Socialist organizations were also supportive of Kerensky. The authorities released arrested bolshevist leaders from prison. As a result, the riot was put down. On September 1st General Kornilov was arrested.” The Kornilov revolt, notes historian Leonid Katzva, greatly impacted the political situation in the country: “Radical leftist sentiments immediately started to spread among the workers and soldiers. On September 1st, the day when General Kornilov was arrested, the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ deputies adopted a bolshevist resolution calling for a transfer of power to the revolutionary proletariat and peasants, and the proclamation of a democratic republic. The resolution also contained a call to confiscate the lands from the landowners and for nationalization of leading branches of industry. In this situation the Provisional Government headed by Kerensky, without waiting for the Constitutive assembly, proclaimed Russia a republic.” Alexander Kerensky began forming a new cabinet. However, his possibilities were limited from the first due to the influence of the Soviets. As historian Pyotr Deinichenko writes, “the Kornilov revolt in point of fact cleared the way for the Bolsheviks. On September the 9th Leon Trotsky was elected Chairman of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ deputies. Several days later Lenin summoned the Bolsheviks to an armed uprising. A short while later the Congress of Peoples of Russia, working in Kiev, demanded the formation of a Federative state.” All-round devastation set in in the country. Hundreds of plants and factories ground to a halt due to shortages of raw materials and energy resources. Workers organizations protested against mass dismissals, but this couldn’t influence the situation: there was no work to be found. Dozens of thousands of people found themselves out in the streets, destitute. The railroads were on strike…
The relationship between town and village grew extremely tense. The peasants no longer agreed to feed the townsfolk free of charge, while the latter had no means of paying for the food, and no work to earn the means. Food prices soared. In mid-September Lenin announced that the country was in for a ‘catastrophe of unseen-of scale and famine’, which could only be avoided if the Soviets of Workers’ and Soldiers’ deputies, under the leadership of the Bolsheviks, take absolute power into their hands. This could only be done by taking up arms and overthrowing the government. In September over 50 Soviets in different towns of Russia demanded total power.” One of the leaders of the White Guards movement, General Anton Denikin, later wrote in his memoirs: “…power was slipping from the feeble hands of the Provisional government, and in the entire country there was nobody but the Bolsheviks, no other organization, that could wield real power in laying claim to the burdensome legacy.” The proclamation of Russia a republic put paid to the history of the Russian Empire. The dissolution of the state was gathering momentum… And the October Socialist revolution was already visible in the distance…
______________________ Illustrations: “Russia. A Complete Encyclopaedic Guide.” Moscow, OLMA-PRESS,
2002
11/18/2005
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The
(February) revolution of 1917 was of a national, anti-Russian nature, rather
than a social one. It was directed against the Russian civilization and
the bearer of its traditions and values – the Russian people. In this revolution
the well-organized anti-Russian forces waged a war against national Russia
by subversive, treacherous means, preliminarily destroying (from within)
its vital life sources, physically eliminating or morally discrediting
by means of slanderous propaganda all the national leaders of the country.
Taking
this into consideration and desirous of avoiding a conflict, on March 1st
leaders of the Duma and Council signed an agreement on the establishment
of a Provisional Government headed by Prince Georgy Lvov. Constitutional
Democrats formed a majority in this government. The sole socialist was
freemason Alexander Kerensky, appointed Justice Minister. The virtual leader
of the new government was Minister of Foreign Affairs Pavel Miliukov.
“During
the first few weeks bodies responsible for maintaining public order, intelligence,
counterintelligence were eliminated, thus rendering the country totally
helpless in the face of the undermining activity of hostile secret services
and clandestine organizations, besides the numerous criminal elements,
released by the so-called ‘revolutionary masses’.
“Lenin
maintained that the February revolution was only the first step towards
a genuine socialist revolution, that the party should deny the Provisional
Government any support, and, instead, set itself the task of creating a
Republic of the Soviets, which would become a state form of proletarian
rule. In the future Soviet republic, Lenin said, all land would become
the property of the state, private property would be confiscated, all banks
united in one national bank, functioning under the control of the Soviets.
All production and distribution should be taken under workers control.
conducive
to ending the war. In order to boost the flagging morale of the troops,
he issued the Declaration of Soldiers’ rights, one even more radical than
the so-called Order ? 1. Let us remind you its contents.
became
the force to be reckoned with. It was set up by former Supreme Commander-in-Chief
Mikhail Alekseev and General Anton Denikin. By August the organization
united dozens of thousands of patriotically-minded people. At the front
the “Union” was setting up crack units.”
“After
the Kornilov uprising the officers had lost all authority,” historian Pyotr
Deinichenko writes. “The soldiers refused to obey orders and left the front,
homeward bound. Only the massive advance of the allies on the Western front
saved Russia from a military catastrophe. The return to the villages of
anarchically-minded, endangered soldiers only served to heighten the already
tense situation. There began a spontaneous voluntary share-out of the landowners’
property, looting of the estates. The well-to-do peasant folk - ‘kulaks’
- also caught it.
