February 23 (March 8) - Demonstration of Petrograd workers at the call of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party against hunger, war and tsarism.
February 25-26 (March 10-11) - General strike of Petrograd workers.
February 26 (March 11) - Decree of Nicholas II on a break in the work of the State Duma.
February 27 (March 12) - Victory of the February Revolution in Russia; overthrow of the autocracy; the formation of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, headed by M. V. Rodzianko.
March 2 (15) - Formation of the Provisional Government in Russia; abdication of Nicholas II from the throne.
March 4(17) - Creation of the Central Rada in Ukraine.
April 18 (May 1) - Note of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government P. N. Milyukov to the governments of the allied countries on the continuation of the war "to a victorious end."
April 20-21 (May 3-4) - Demonstration of workers and soldiers in Petrograd demanding Milyukov's resignation; the first crisis of the Provisional Government.
May 5 (18) - Formation of the first coalition Provisional Government headed by Prince G. E. Lvov.
June 18 (July 1) - The beginning of the offensive of the troops of the Southwestern Front, mass anti-war demonstrations of workers in Petrograd, Moscow and other cities.
July 24 (August 6) - Formation of the second coalition Provisional Government chaired by A.F. Kerensky.
In the summer of 1917, by decision of the Provisional Government, the All-Russian Agricultural and Land Census was carried out. At the same time, a population census was carried out in cities and urban-type settlements. The household card had the following sections: surname, first name of the householder, his age, marital status, land ownership, agricultural implements, livestock, commercial and industrial establishments, the number of hiring agricultural workers - a total of 187 points.
August 31 (September 13) - The transition of the Petrograd Soviet to the side of the Bolsheviks.
September 1 (14) - Formation of the Directory headed by A.F. Kerensky; declaration of Russia as a republic.
September 5 (18) - The transfer of the Moscow Soviet to the side of the Bolsheviks.
September 14-22 (September 27 - October 5) - "Democratic Conference" in Petrograd; resolution on the organization of the Pre-Parliament.
September 25 (October 8) - Formation of the third coalition Provisional Government headed by A. F. Kerensky.
October 24-25 (November 6-7) - Armed uprising of workers, soldiers and sailors in Petrograd.
October 25 (November 7) - Establishment of Soviet power in Petrograd; appeal of the Military Revolutionary Committee "To the citizens of Russia!".
October 25-27 (November 7-9) - 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies in Petrograd; the adoption of the Decree on Peace and the Decree on Land; the formation of the Council of People's Commissars under the chairmanship of V. I. Lenin; election of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.
October 26 (November 8) - Arrest of the Provisional Government in the Winter Palace.
October 29 (November 11) - Decree of the Council of People's Commissars on the introduction of an 8-hour working day.
October-November - suppression of opponents in Petrograd and near Petrograd.
November 1 (14) - Elimination of the counter-revolutionary rebellion of Kerensky - Krasnov near Petrograd.
November 2 (15) - Adoption of the "Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia" by the Council of People's Commissars.
November 8 (21) - Election of Ya. M. Sverdlov as chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.
Decree on the abolition of estates and civil ranks.
Art. 1. All classes and class divisions of citizens that have existed in Russia until now, class privileges and restrictions, class organizations and institutions, as well as all civil
ranks are abolished.
Art. 2. All titles (nobleman, merchant, tradesman, peasant, etc.), titles (princely, county, etc.) and the names of civil ranks (secret, state and other advisers) are destroyed and one common name of citizens for the entire population of Russia is established Russian Republic.
Art. 3. The property of noble class institutions is immediately transferred to the relevant zemstvo self-governments.
Art. 4. The property of merchant and petty-bourgeois societies shall immediately be placed at the disposal of the respective city self-governments.
Art. 5. All estate institutions, affairs, productions and archives are immediately transferred to the jurisdiction of the relevant city and zemstvo self-governments.
Art. 6. All relevant articles of the hitherto effective laws are repealed.
Art. 7. This decree shall enter into force on the day of its publication and shall be immediately enforced by the local Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies.
This decree was approved by the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies at a meeting on November 10, 1917.
Signed:
Chairman of the Central Executive Committee Ya. Sverdlov.
Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars Vl. Ulyanov (Lenin).
V. Bonch-Bruyevich, manager of the Council of People's Commissars.
Council Secretary N. Gorbunov.
November 11 (24) - November 25 (December 8) - Extraordinary All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Peasants' Deputies in Petrograd.
November 14 (27) - Adoption of the regulation on workers' control by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.
November 20 (December 3) - Liquidation of the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander in Mogilev; the beginning of negotiations in Brest-Litovsk on an armistice between the Soviet Republic and the countries of the German bloc; appeal of the Council of People's Commissars "To all working Muslims of Russia and the East".
November 22 (December 5) - Decree of the Council of People's Commissars on the organization of courts and the establishment of revolutionary tribunals.
December 2 (15) - Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and Council of People's Commissars on the organization of the Supreme Economic Council; signing of an armistice with Germany in Brest-Litovsk.
On December 5 (November 22, O.S.), 1917, the Council of People's Commissars adopted Decree No. 1 “On the Court”, which abolished the former judicial system. Local (general) courts and revolutionary tribunals were introduced. Any citizen exercising political rights could act as accusers and defenders. The congresses of local judges served as the court of cassation. Revolutionary tribunals consisted of a judge and six assessors elected by the Soviets.
December 7 (20) - Decree of the Council of People's Commissars on the organization of the Cheka (All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution, Profiteering and Offenses) headed by F. E. Dzerzhinsky.
December 11-12 (24-25) - 1st All-Ukrainian Congress of Soviets in Kharkov; formation of the Ukrainian Soviet Republic.
December 14 (27) - Decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee on the nationalization of banks.
December 16 (29) - Decrees of the Council of People's Commissars on the democratization of the army.
December 18 (31) - Decree of the Council of People's Commissars on the recognition of the state independence of Finland.
Decrees of the Soviet government on the establishment of the People's Commissariat of Education headed by A. V. Lunacharsky, on the press, on the organization of the State Publishing House.
ACT TRAGEDY
On December 18, 1917, the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR "On civil marriage, on children and on the maintenance of books of acts of state" was adopted, which destroyed the old procedure for maintaining act records. The church marriage procedure was cancelled. Husband and wife were endowed with equal rights and duties. Religious functions were left behind the church, that is, baptisms, weddings and funerals were later registered there, but since then the state itself intended to register births, marriages and deaths, although it did not yet have the appropriate authorities for this. As a result, some birth records have been lost, some births, marriages, and deaths have not been registered;
Troops with a large number of Poles fought as far as possible from the Polish lands. After divided Poland ceased to exist in 1916, the formation of Polish formations was allowed, which led to the creation in 1917 of several Polish corps. The Poles had a relatively high percentage of deserters since the beginning of the war.
The October Revolution of 1917 in Russia is the armed overthrow of the Provisional Government and the coming to power of the Bolshevik Party, which proclaimed the establishment of Soviet power, the beginning of the liquidation of capitalism and the transition to socialism. The slowness and inconsistency of the actions of the Provisional Government after the February bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1917 in solving labor, agrarian, national issues, Russia's continued participation in the First World War led to a deepening of the national crisis and created the preconditions for the strengthening of extreme left parties in the center and nationalist parties in the outskirts countries. The Bolsheviks acted most vigorously, proclaiming a course for a socialist revolution in Russia, which they considered the beginning of a world revolution. They put forward popular slogans: "Peace to the peoples", "Land to the peasants", "Factories to the workers".
In the USSR, the official version of the October Revolution was the version of "two revolutions". According to this version, in February 1917, the bourgeois-democratic revolution began and ended in the coming months, and the October Revolution was the second, socialist revolution.
The second version was put forward by Leon Trotsky. While already abroad, he wrote a book about the united revolution of 1917, in which he defended the concept that the October Revolution and the decrees adopted by the Bolsheviks in the first months after coming to power were only the completion of the bourgeois democratic revolution, the realization of what the insurgent people fought for. in February.
The Bolsheviks put forward a version of the spontaneous growth of the "revolutionary situation". The very concept of a "revolutionary situation" and its main features were first scientifically defined and introduced into Russian historiography by Vladimir Lenin. He called the following three objective factors its main features: the crisis of the "tops", the crisis of the "bottoms", the extraordinary activity of the masses.
Lenin characterized the situation that developed after the formation of the Provisional Government as "dual power", and Trotsky as "dual anarchy": the socialists in the Soviets could rule, but did not want to, the "progressive bloc" in the government wanted to rule, but could not, being forced to rely on the Petrograd Council, with which he disagreed on all issues of domestic and foreign policy.
Some domestic and foreign researchers adhere to the version of the "German financing" of the October Revolution. It lies in the fact that the German government, interested in Russia's withdrawal from the war, purposefully organized the transfer from Switzerland to Russia of representatives of the radical faction of the RSDLP headed by Lenin in the so-called "sealed wagon" and financed the activities of the Bolsheviks aimed at undermining the combat capability of the Russian army and disorganization of the defense industry and transport.
To lead the armed uprising, a Politburo was created, which included Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Joseph Stalin, Andrei Bubnov, Grigory Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev (the last two denied the need for an uprising). The direct leadership of the uprising was carried out by the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, which also included Left Social Revolutionaries.
Chronicle of the events of the October Revolution
On the afternoon of October 24 (November 6), the junkers tried to open the bridges across the Neva in order to cut off the workers' districts from the center. The Military Revolutionary Committee (VRK) sent detachments of the Red Guard and soldiers to the bridges, who took almost all the bridges under guard. By evening, the soldiers of the Keksholmsky regiment occupied the Central Telegraph Office, a detachment of sailors captured the Petrograd Telegraph Agency, and the soldiers of the Izmailovsky Regiment - the Baltic Station. The revolutionary units blocked the Pavlovsk, Nikolaev, Vladimir, Konstantinovskoye cadet schools.
On the evening of October 24, Lenin arrived at Smolny and directly took charge of the armed struggle.
At 1 h 25 min. On the night of October 24-25 (November 6-7), the Red Guards of the Vyborg region, soldiers of the Keksgolmsky regiment and revolutionary sailors occupied the Main Post Office.
At 2 am, the first company of the 6th reserve engineer battalion captured the Nikolaevsky (now Moscow) station. At the same time, a detachment of the Red Guard occupied the Central Power Plant.
On October 25 (November 7), at about 6 o'clock in the morning, the sailors of the naval guards' crew took possession of the State Bank.
At 7 o'clock in the morning, the soldiers of the Keksholm regiment occupied the Central Telephone Exchange. At 8 o'clock. the Red Guards of the Moscow and Narva regions captured the Varshavsky railway station.
At 2:35 p.m. An emergency meeting of the Petrograd Soviet was opened. The Soviet heard a report that the Provisional Government had been overthrown and state power had passed into the hands of an organ of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.
On the afternoon of October 25 (November 7), revolutionary forces occupied the Mariinsky Palace, where the Pre-Parliament was located, and dissolved it; the sailors occupied the Military Port and the Main Admiralty, where the Naval Headquarters was arrested.
By 6 p.m. the revolutionary detachments began to move towards the Winter Palace.
On October 25 (November 7), at 21:45, on a signal from the Peter and Paul Fortress, a cannon shot from the cruiser Aurora thundered, and the assault on the Winter Palace began.
At 2 am on October 26 (November 8), armed workers, soldiers of the Petrograd garrison and sailors of the Baltic Fleet, led by Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko, occupied the Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government.
On October 25 (November 7), following the victory of the uprising in Petrograd, which was almost bloodless, an armed struggle began in Moscow. In Moscow, the revolutionary forces met with extremely fierce resistance, and stubborn battles were going on in the streets of the city. At the cost of great sacrifices (during the uprising, about 1,000 people were killed), on November 2 (15) Soviet power was established in Moscow.
On the evening of October 25 (November 7), 1917, the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies opened. The congress heard and adopted Lenin's appeal "To the Workers, Soldiers and Peasants", which announced the transfer of power to the Second Congress of Soviets, and in the localities - to the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies.
On October 26 (November 8), 1917, the Decree on Peace and the Decree on Land were adopted. The congress formed the first Soviet government - the Council of People's Commissars, consisting of: Chairman Lenin; people's commissars: Lev Trotsky for foreign affairs, Joseph Stalin for nationalities, and others. Lev Kamenev was elected chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, and after his resignation, Yakov Sverdlov.
The Bolsheviks established control over the main industrial centers of Russia. The leaders of the Cadets Party were arrested, the opposition press was banned. In January 1918, the Constituent Assembly was dispersed, and by March of the same year, Soviet power was established in a large part of Russia. All banks and enterprises were nationalized, a separate truce was concluded with Germany. In July 1918, the first Soviet Constitution was adopted.
On February 23, 1917, the February Revolution of 1917 began, otherwise called the February Bourgeois-Democratic Revolution, or the February Revolution - mass anti-government protests by the workers of the city of Petrograd and the soldiers of the Petrograd garrison, which caused the overthrow of the Russian autocracy and led to the creation of the Provisional Government, which concentrated in its hands all legislative and executive power in Russia.
The February revolution began with spontaneous demonstrations by the masses, but its success was also facilitated by an acute political crisis at the top, a sharp dissatisfaction of the liberal-bourgeois circles with the one-man policy of the tsar. Bread riots, anti-war rallies, demonstrations, strikes at industrial enterprises of the city were superimposed on discontent and ferment among the many thousands of the capital's garrison, which joined the revolutionary masses that took to the streets. On February 27 (March 12), 1917, the general strike turned into an armed uprising; the troops that went over to the side of the rebels occupied the most important points of the city, government buildings. In the current situation, the tsarist government showed an inability to take quick and decisive action. The scattered and few forces that remained loyal to him were unable to independently cope with the anarchy that engulfed the capital, and several units withdrawn from the front to suppress the uprising could not break through to the city.
The immediate result of the February Revolution was the abdication of Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty and the formation of a Provisional Government chaired by Prince Georgy Lvov. This government was closely connected with the bourgeois public organizations that arose during the war years (the All-Russian Zemstvo Union, the City Union, the Central Military Industrial Committee). The provisional government united legislative and executive power in its person, replacing the tsar, the State Council, the Duma and the Council of Ministers and subordinating the highest institutions (the Senate and Synod) to itself. In its Declaration, the Provisional Government announced an amnesty for political prisoners, civil liberties, the replacement of the police by the "people's militia", and the reform of local self-government.
Almost simultaneously, the revolutionary democratic forces formed a parallel body of power - the Petrograd Soviet - which led to a situation known as dual power.
On March 1 (14), 1917, a new government was established in Moscow, during March - throughout the country.
However, the end of the February Revolution and the abdication of the tsar did not end the tragic events in Russia. On the contrary, the period of unrest, war and blood was just beginning.
The main events of 1917 in Russia
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the date (old style) |
Event |
| February 23 |
Beginning of revolutionary demonstrations in Petrograd. |
| February 26 |
Dissolution of the State Duma |
| February 27 |
Armed uprising in Petrograd. Creation of the Petrograd Soviet. |
| March 1 |
Formation of the Provisional Government. Establishment of dual power. Order No. 1 on the Petrograd garrison |
| 2nd of March | |
| April 16 |
The arrival of the Bolsheviks and Lenin in Petrograd |
| April 18th | |
| June 18 - July 15 | |
| June 18 |
June crisis of the Provisional Government. |
| July 2 |
July Crisis of the Provisional Government |
| July 3-4 | |
| July 22 - 23 |
Successful offensive of the Romanian-Russian troops on the Romanian front |
| July 22-23 |
The Great Russian Revolution is the revolutionary events that took place in Russia in 1917, starting with the overthrow of the monarchy during the February Revolution, when power passed to the Provisional Government, which was overthrown as a result of the October Revolution of the Bolsheviks, who proclaimed Soviet power.
February Revolution of 1917 - The main revolutionary events in Petrograd
Reason for revolution: Labor conflict at the Putilov factory between workers and owners; interruptions in the supply of food to Petrograd.
Main events February Revolution took place in Petrograd. The leadership of the army, headed by the chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Alekseev M.V., and the commanders of the fronts and fleets, considered that they did not have the means to suppress the riots and strikes that had engulfed Petrograd. Emperor Nicholas II abdicated. After his intended successor, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich also abdicated, the State Duma took control of the country, forming the Provisional Government of Russia.
With the formation of Soviets parallel to the Provisional Government, a period of dual power began. The Bolsheviks form detachments of armed workers (Red Guards), thanks to attractive slogans, they are gaining considerable popularity, primarily in Petrograd, Moscow, in large industrial cities, the Baltic Fleet, and the troops of the Northern and Western fronts.
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Demonstrations of women demanding bread and the return of men from the front. |
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The beginning of a general political strike under the slogans: "Down with tsarism!", "Down with autocracy!", "Down with war!" (300 thousand people). Clashes between demonstrators and police and gendarmerie. A telegram from the tsar to the commander of the Petrograd military district demanding "to stop the unrest in the capital tomorrow!" |
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Arrests of leaders of socialist parties and workers' organizations (100 people). Execution of workers' demonstrations. Proclamation of the tsar's decree on the dissolution of the State Duma for two months. The troops (4th company of the Pavlovsky regiment) opened fire on the police. |
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Mutiny of the reserve battalion of the Volynsky regiment, its transition to the side of the strikers. The beginning of the mass transition of troops to the side of the revolution. Creation of the Provisional Committee of the members of the State Duma and the Provisional Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet. |
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Establishment of a provisional government |
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Abdication of Tsar Nicholas II from the throne |
The results of the revolution and dual power
October Revolution of 1917 main events
During October revolution Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee, established by the Bolsheviks headed by L.D. Trotsky and V.I. Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government. At the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, the Bolsheviks endure a hard struggle against the Mensheviks and Right Social Revolutionaries, and the first Soviet government is formed. In December 1917, a government coalition of Bolsheviks and Left Social Revolutionaries was formed. In March 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed with Germany.
By the summer of 1918, a one-party government was finally formed, and the active phase of the Civil War and foreign intervention in Russia began, which began with the uprising of the Czechoslovak Corps. The end of the Civil War created the conditions for the formation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
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Main events of the October Revolution |
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The provisional government suppressed peaceful demonstrations against the government, arrests, the Bolsheviks were outlawed, the death penalty was restored, the end of dual power. |
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The 6th Congress of the RSDLP has passed - a course has been set for the socialist revolution. |
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State meeting in Moscow, Kornilova L.G. wanted to declare him a military dictator and at the same time disperse all the Soviets. Active popular action frustrated plans. Increasing the authority of the Bolsheviks. |
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Kerensky A.F. declared Russia a republic. |
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Lenin secretly returned to Petrograd. |
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The meeting of the Central Committee of the Bolsheviks, made by Lenin V.I. and stressed that it is necessary to take power 10 people - for, against - Kamenev and Zinoviev. They elected a Political Bureau headed by Lenin. |
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The executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet (headed by Trotsky L.D.) adopted the regulation on the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee (military revolutionary committee) - the legal headquarters for the preparation of the uprising. The VRTs, a military revolutionary center, was created (Ya.M. Sverdlov, F.E. Dzerzhinsky, A.S. Bubnov, M.S. Uritsky and I.V. Stalin). |
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Kamenev in the newspaper "New Life" - with a protest against the uprising. |
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Petrograd garrison on the side of the Soviets |
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The Provisional Government ordered the Junkers to seize the printing house of the Bolshevik newspaper Rabochy Put and arrest members of the Military Revolutionary Committee who were in Smolny. |
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The revolutionary troops occupied the Central Telegraph, the Izmailovsky railway station, controlled the bridges, blocked all the cadet schools. The Military Revolutionary Committee sent a telegram to Kronstadt and Tsentrobalt about calling the ships of the Baltic Fleet. The order was carried out. |
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October 25 - meeting of the Petrograd Soviet. Lenin delivered a speech, uttering the famous words: “Comrades! The workers' and peasants' revolution, about the necessity of which the Bolsheviks have been talking all the time, has come to pass. |
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The volley of the cruiser "Aurora" was the signal for the storming of the Winter Palace, the Provisional Government was arrested. |
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2 Congress of Soviets, which proclaimed the Soviet government. |
Provisional government of Russia in 1917
Heads of the Russian government in 1905 - 1917
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Witte S.Yu. |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers |
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Goremykin I.L. |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers |
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Stolypin P.A. |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers |
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Kokovtsev V.II. |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers |
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Stürmer B.V. |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers |
January - November 1916 |
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Trenov A.F. |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers |
November - December 1916 |
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Golitsyn N.D. |
Chairman of the Council of Ministers |
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Lvov G.E. |
March - July 1917 |
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Kerensky A.F. |
Minister-Chairman of the Provisional Government |
July - October 1917 |
Causes of the February Revolution
- The unfortunate participation of Russia in the First World War, accompanied by defeats on the fronts, the disorganization of life in the rear
- The inability of Emperor Nicholas II to rule Russia, which degenerated into unsuccessful appointments of ministers and military leaders
- Corruption at all levels of government
- Economic difficulties
- Ideological decomposition of the masses, who ceased to believe in the king, and the church, and local leaders
- Dissatisfaction with the policy of the tsar by representatives of the big bourgeoisie and even his closest relatives
“... For several days we have been living on a volcano ... There was no bread in Petrograd, - transport was very disordered due to unusual snows, frosts and, most importantly, of course, because of the tension of the war ... There were street riots ... But it was, of course, not in bread... That was the last straw... The fact was that in this whole huge city it was impossible to find several hundred people who would sympathize with the authorities... And not even that... The point is that the authorities did not sympathize with themselves... There was no , in fact, not a single minister who would believe in himself and in what he is doing ... The class of former rulers came to naught .. "
(Vas. Shulgin "Days")
The course of the February Revolution
- February 21 - Bread riots in Petrograd. Crowds smashed bakery shops
- February 23 - the beginning of the general strike of the workers of Petrograd. Mass demonstrations with the slogans "Down with the war!", "Down with the autocracy!", "Bread!"
- February 24 - More than 200 thousand workers of 214 enterprises, students went on strike
- February 25 - Already 305 thousand people were on strike, 421 factories were standing. Employees and artisans joined the workers. The troops refused to disperse the protesters
- February 26 - Continued riots. Decomposition in the troops. The inability of the police to restore calm. Nicholas II
postponed the start of meetings of the State Duma from February 26 to April 1, which was perceived as its dissolution - February 27 - armed uprising. The reserve battalions of Volynsky, Lithuanian, Preobrazhensky refused to obey the commanders and joined the people. In the afternoon, the Semyonovsky regiment, the Izmailovsky regiment, and the reserve armored division revolted. The Kronverk Arsenal, the Arsenal, the Main Post Office, the telegraph office, railway stations, and bridges were occupied. The State Duma
appointed a Provisional Committee "to restore order in St. Petersburg and to communicate with institutions and persons." - On February 28, at night, the Provisional Committee announced that it was taking power into its own hands.
- On February 28, the 180th Infantry Regiment, the Finnish Regiment, sailors of the 2nd Baltic Naval Crew and the cruiser Aurora revolted. The insurgent people occupied all the stations of Petrograd
- March 1 - Kronstadt and Moscow revolted, the tsar's close associates offered him either the introduction of loyal army units into Petrograd, or the creation of the so-called "responsible ministries" - a government subordinate to the Duma, which meant turning the Emperor into an "English queen".
- March 2, night - Nicholas II signed a manifesto on the granting of a responsible ministry, but it was too late. The public demanded renunciation.
"The Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief," General Alekseev, requested by telegram all the commanders-in-chief of the fronts. These telegrams asked the commanders-in-chief for their opinion on the desirability under the circumstances of the abdication of the emperor from the throne in favor of his son. By one in the afternoon on March 2, all the answers of the commanders-in-chief were received and concentrated in the hands of General Ruzsky. These answers were:
1) From Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich - Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Front.
2) From General Sakharov - the actual commander-in-chief of the Romanian front (the king of Romania was actually commander-in-chief, and Sakharov was his chief of staff).
3) From General Brusilov - Commander-in-Chief of the Southwestern Front.
4) From General Evert - Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front.
5) From Ruzsky himself - the commander-in-chief of the Northern Front. All five commanders-in-chief of the fronts and General Alekseev (gen. Alekseev was the chief of staff under the Sovereign) spoke in favor of the abdication of the Sovereign Emperor from the throne. (Vas. Shulgin "Days")
- On March 2, at about 3 p.m., Tsar Nicholas II decided to abdicate in favor of his heir, Tsarevich Alexei, under the regency of the younger brother of Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. During the day, the king decided to abdicate also for the heir.
- March 4 - The Manifesto on the abdication of Nicholas II and the Manifesto on the abdication of Mikhail Alexandrovich were published in the newspapers.
“The man rushed to us - Darlings! - He shouted and grabbed my hand - Did you hear? There is no king! Only Russia remained.
He kissed everyone warmly and rushed to run on, sobbing and muttering something ... It was already one in the morning when Efremov usually slept soundly.
Suddenly, at this inopportune hour, there was a booming and short strike of the cathedral bell. Then the second blow, the third.
The blows became more frequent, a tight ringing was already floating over the town, and soon the bells of all the surrounding churches joined it.
Lights were lit in all the houses. The streets were filled with people. Doors in many houses stood wide open. Strangers, crying, hugged each other. From the side of the station, a solemn and jubilant cry of steam locomotives flew (K. Paustovsky "Restless Youth")