The February Revolution of 1917 causes a move. Abstract February Revolution. Causes, course of events, consequences

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: “I ask you to report to His Imperial Majesty that I could not fulfill the order to restore order in the capital. Most of the units, one after the other, betrayed their duty, refusing to fight against the rebels.

The idea of ​​a “cartel expedition”, which provided for the removal of hotel military units and sending them to rebellious Petrograd. All this threatened to turn into a civil war with unpredictable consequences.
Acting in the spirit of revolutionary traditions, the rebels released from prisons not only political prisoners, but also criminals. At first, they easily overcame the resistance of the Kresty guards, and then they took the Peter and Paul Fortress.

The unruly and motley revolutionary masses, not disdaining murders and robberies, plunged the city into chaos.
On February 27, at about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, the soldiers occupied the Tauride Palace. The State Duma found itself in a dual position: on the one hand, according to the decree of the emperor, it should have dissolved itself, but on the other hand, the pressure of the rebels and the virtual anarchy forced them to take some action. A compromise solution was a meeting under the guise of a "private meeting".
As a result, it was decided to form a body of power - the Provisional Committee.

Later former minister 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 thereby turned the uprising into a revolution that ended in the overthrow of the old regime and dynasty.”

The revolutionary movement grew more and more. The soldiers capture the Arsenal, the main post office, telegraph, bridges and train stations. Petrograd was completely in the hands of the rebels. A real tragedy broke out in Kronstadt, which was swept by a wave of lynching, resulting 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 implores 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 declares that by giving rights to others, he deprives himself of the power granted to them by God. The possibility of a peaceful transformation of the country into constitutional monarchy was already missed.

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 the real power belonged to the Petrograd Soviet, which controlled the troops, railways, mail 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, leave as soon as possible abroad. Under the current conditions, even in the Crimea there is no life,” Mordvinov tried to convince the king. "No way. I would not want to leave Russia, I love her too much, ”Nikolai objected.

Leon Trotsky noted that the February uprising was spontaneous:

“No one planned in advance the ways of a coup, no one from above called for an uprising. The indignation that had accumulated over the years broke out to a large extent unexpectedly for the masses themselves.

However, Milyukov, in his memoirs, insists that the coup was planned shortly 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.
The 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 stop before executions."
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.

February Revolution began an irreversible process of the collapse of the empire and the decentralization of power, accompanied by the activity of separatist movements.

Independence was demanded by Poland and Finland, they started talking about independence in Siberia, and the Central Rada formed in Kyiv proclaimed "autonomous Ukraine".

The events of February 1917 allowed the Bolsheviks to come out of hiding. Thanks to the amnesty announced by the Provisional Government, dozens of revolutionaries returned from exile and political exile, who were already hatching plans for a new coup d'état.

In February 1917, the second revolution after the events of 1905 took place in Russia. Today we are talking briefly about the February Revolution of 1917: the causes of the popular uprising, the course of events and the consequences.

Causes

The revolution of 1905 was defeated. However, its failure did not destroy the prerequisites that led to the very possibility of its occurrence. It's the same as if the disease receded, but did not go away, hiding in the depths of the body, so that one day it would burst again. And all because the suppressed uprising of 1905-1907 by force is the treatment of external symptoms, while the root causes - social and political contradictions in the country continued to exist.

Rice. 1. The military who joined the insurgent workers in February 1917

After 12 years, at the very beginning of 1917, these contradictions escalated, which led to a new, more serious explosion. The aggravation occurred due to the following reasons:

• Russia's participation in the First World War : a long and exhausting war required constant costs, which led to devastation in the economy and, as a natural consequence of it, an aggravation of need and the deplorable situation of the already poor masses of the people;
• A number of fateful mistakes that were made by the Russian Emperor Nicholas II in governing the country : refusal to revise agrarian policy, adventurous policy on Far East, defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, a penchant for mysticism, G. Rasputin's admission to state affairs, military defeats in the First World War, unsuccessful appointments of ministers, military leaders and more;
• Economic crisis: war requires large expenditures and consumption, in connection with which failures in the economy begin to occur (rising prices, inflation, the problem of food supply, the emergence of a rationing system, aggravation of transport problems);
• crisis of power : frequent change governors, ignoring the State Duma by the emperor and his entourage, an unpopular government that was solely responsible to the tsar, and much more.

Rice. 2. Destruction of the monument to Alexander III during the events of February 1917

All of the above points did not exist separately. They were closely interconnected and gave rise to new conflicts: general dissatisfaction with the autocracy, distrust of the reigning monarch, the growth of anti-war sentiment, social tension, and the strengthening of the role of leftist and opposition forces. The latter included such parties as the Mensheviks, Bolsheviks, Trudoviks, Socialist-Revolutionaries, Anarchists, as well as various national parties. Some called on the people to decisively attack and overthrow the autocracy, while others were confronting the tsarist government in the Duma.

Rice. 3. The moment of signing the manifesto on the abdication of the king

In spite of various methods struggle, the goals of the parties were the same: the overthrow of the autocracy, the introduction of a constitution, the establishment of a new system - democratic republic, the establishment of political freedoms, the establishment of peace, the solution of pressing problems - national, land, labor. Since these tasks of transforming the country were of a bourgeois-democratic nature, this uprising also went down in history under the name of the February bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1917.

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The tragic events of the second winter month 1917 are summarized in the following table:

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Today, the main causes of the February Revolution of 1917, which became the second in a row, since 1905, were considered. In addition, the main dates of the events are named and their detailed description is given.

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Hastened the approach of the revolutionary crisis. Having lost 6 million people in a war that lasted more than two and a half years, Russia was a country with a war-weary people, a ruined economy, fuel and food starvation, and an upset financial system and huge foreign debt.

The difficult economic situation has pushed the government to involve in the management of the economy bourgeoisie. Numerous committees and bourgeois unions appeared, the purpose of which was to provide assistance to the victims of the war. Military-industrial committees dealt with issues of defense, fuel, transport, food, etc.

A “ministerial leapfrog” began - six months before the start of the revolution, three Chairmen of the Council of Ministers, two ministers of the interior, four ministers were replaced Agriculture. The royal family was under a pernicious influence G. Rasputin, which caused discontent, both among the liberals and in the upper strata of society. All these facts were the constituent parts of the "crisis of the tops". The inability of the bourgeoisie to govern the country became obvious.

At the beginning of 1917 the level of the strike movement reached a critical point. In January-February 1917, 676,000 workers went on strike, presenting mainly (95% of the strikes) political demands. The growth of the workers' and peasants' movement showed the "unwillingness of the lower classes to live in the old way."

February 14 at the Tauride Palace a demonstration was held demanding that the deputies of the State Duma create a "government of people's salvation." At the same time, the Bolsheviks, calling on the workers to a one-day general strike, led 90,000 people out onto the streets of Petrograd. The revolutionary explosion was facilitated by the introduction of bread cards, which caused its rise in price and panic among the population. February 22 Nicholas II left for Mogilev, where his Headquarters was located. On February 23, the Vyborg and Petrograd sides went on strike, pogroms of bakeries and bakeries began in the city.

The Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries united for the joint leadership of the revolutionary uprising.

With the slogans "Down with the autocracy!", "Down with the war!", "Bread!" The demonstrators moved into the city center. More than 300 thousand people took part in the strike. On February 26, troops opened fire on demonstrators on Nevsky Prospekt.

The success of the revolution began to depend on which side the Petrograd garrison would take. On the morning of February 26, soldiers of the Volynsky, Preobrazhensky and Lithuanian regiments joined the rebels, they captured the armory and arsenal.

Political prisoners held in the Kresty prison were released. By the end of the day, most of the units of the Petrograd garrison went over to the side of the rebels.

The corps directed to suppress the demonstrators under the command of N.I. Ivanov was disarmed on the outskirts of the city. Without waiting for support and realizing the futility of resistance, on February 28, all other troops, led by the commander of the military district, General S.S. Khabalov surrendered.

The rebels have established control over the most important objects in the city.

On the morning of February 27 members of the "working group" at the Central Military Industrial Committee announced the creation of the "Provisional Executive Committee Soviets of Workers' Deputies" and called for the election of representatives to the Soviet.

Nicholas II from Headquarters tried to break through to Tsarskoye Selo. In a situation of a developing revolutionary crisis, the emperor was forced to sign a manifesto on abdication for himself and his young son Alexei in favor of his brother, Mikhail Alekseevich Romanov. However, Michael refused the throne, saying that the issue of power should be resolved constituent Assembly.

Together with the abdication, Nicholas II signed a decree on the formation of a new government. He appointed Prince G.E. as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Lvov. On March 4, documents on the abdication and transfer of power to the Provisional Government were published. Autocracy in Russia fell.

The main reasons for the revolution were:

1) the existence in the country of the remnants of the feudal serf system in the form of autocracy and landlordism;

2) an acute economic crisis that hit the leading industries and led to the decline of the country's agriculture;

3) heavy financial position countries (depreciation of the ruble to 50 kopecks; an increase in public debt by 4 times);

4) the rapid growth of the strike movement and the rise of peasant unrest. In 1917 there were 20 times more strikes in Russia than on the eve of the first Russian revolution;

5) the army and navy ceased to be the military backbone of the autocracy; the growth of anti-war sentiment among soldiers and sailors;

6) the growth of opposition sentiments among the bourgeoisie and intelligentsia, dissatisfied with the dominance of tsarist officials and the arbitrariness of the police;

7) rapid change of government members; the appearance in the entourage of Nicholas I of personalities such as G. Rasputin, the fall of the authority of the tsarist government; 8) the rise of the national liberation movement of the peoples of the national outskirts.

On February 23 (March 8, NS) demonstrations took place in Petrograd on the International Day of Women Workers. The next day, a general strike swept the capital. On February 25, the events were reported to the headquarters of the emperor. He ordered to "stop the riots." The Duma, by decree of Nicholas II, was dissolved for two months. On the night of February 26, mass arrests of the leaders of the revolutionary uprisings took place. On February 26, troops opened fire on demonstrators, killing and injuring more than 150 people. But after this, the troops, including the Cossacks, began to go over to the side of the rebels. On February 27, Petrograd was engulfed in revolution. The next day, the city passed into the hands of the rebels. The Duma deputies created a Provisional Committee for the Restoration of Order in Petrograd (Chairman M.V. Rodzianko), which tried to take the situation under control. In parallel, elections were held for the Petrograd Soviet, its executive committee was formed, headed by the Menshevik N.S. Chkheidze.

On the night of March 1-2, by agreement of the Provisional Committee and the Petrograd Soviet, the Provisional Government was formed (chairman G.E. Lvov).

On March 2, Nicholas II abdicated in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. He refused the crown and transferred power to the Provisional Government, instructing him to hold elections to the Constituent Assembly, which would determine the future structure of Russia.

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

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

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

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

On the electoral law;

On elections to the Constituent Assembly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The peasants advocated the redistribution of neglected lands,

The soldiers insisted on softening the discipline.

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

CONCLUSION.

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

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

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

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

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

Sentinels guard the arrested tsarist ministers.

February revolution(also February bourgeois-democratic revolution) - a revolution in the Russian Empire, the result of which was the fall of the monarchy, the proclamation of the republic and the transfer of power to the Provisional Government.

Causes and prerequisites: economic, political, social

The inability of society to influence the government is the limited capacity of the State Duma and the lack of control of the government (and at the same time, the limited powers of the government).

The emperor could no longer single-handedly resolve all issues, but he could radically interfere with the conduct of a consistent policy without bearing any responsibility.

Under these conditions, politics could not express the interests of not only the majority, but also any significant part of the population, which caused spontaneous discontent, and restrictions on the public expression of protest led to the radicalization of the opposition.

Draft composition of the Provisional Government, represented by representatives of the parties "Kadets", "Octobrists" and a group of members of the State Council. Editing of Emperor Nicholas II.

The February Revolution was not only a consequence of the failures of the Russian government during the First World War. But it was not the war that caused all the contradictions that were then in Russia, the war exposed them and accelerated the fall of tsarism. The war forced the crisis of the autocratic system.

The war struck the system of economic ties - primarily between the city and the countryside. The situation with food became aggravated in the country; Famine began in the country. The highest state power was also discredited by the chain of scandals around Rasputin and his entourage, who were then called "dark forces". By 1916, indignation at Rasputin had already reached the Russian armed forces - both officers and lower ranks. fatal mistakes the king, combined with the loss of confidence in the royal power, led her to political isolation, and the presence of an active opposition created fertile ground for a political revolution.

On the eve of the February Revolution in Russia, against the backdrop of an acute food crisis, the political crisis deepens. For the first time the State Duma demanded the resignation of the tsarist government, this demand was supported by the State Council.

The political crisis grew. On November 1, 1916, P. N. Milyukov delivered a speech at a meeting of the State Duma. "Stupidity or treason?" - with such a question, P. N. Milyukov characterized the phenomenon of Rasputinism on November 1, 1916 at a meeting of the State Duma.

The demand of the State Duma for the resignation of the tsarist government and the creation of a "responsible government" - responsible to the Duma, led to the resignation on November 10 of the chairman of the government, Stürmer, and the appointment of a consistent monarchist, General Trepov, to this post. The State Duma, trying to diffuse discontent in the country, continued to insist on the creation of a "responsible government" and State Council joins her demands. Nicholas II on December 16 sends State Duma and the State Council for the Christmas holidays until January 3rd.

Growing crisis

Barricades on Liteiny Prospekt. Postcard from the State Museum political history Russia

On the night of December 17, Rasputin was killed as a result of a conspiracy of monarchists, but this did not resolve the political crisis. On December 27, Nicholas II dismissed Trepov and appointed Prince Golitsyn as Chairman of the Council of Ministers. During the transfer of cases, he received from Trepov two decrees signed by the tsar on the dissolution of the State Duma and the State Council with unmarked dates. Golitsyn was supposed to find a compromise and resolve the political crisis through behind-the-scenes negotiations with the leaders of the State Duma.

In total, in Russia in January-February 1917, only at enterprises subordinate to the supervision of the factory inspectorate, 676 thousand people went on strike, of which participants political strikes in January were 60%, and in February - 95%).

On February 14, sessions of the State Duma opened. They showed that events in Russia were getting out of the control of the authorities, the State Duma abandoned the demand for the creation of a “responsible government” and limited itself to agreeing to the creation by the tsar of a “government of trust” - a government that the State Duma could trust, the Duma members were completely at a loss.

Subsequent events have shown that Russian society eat more powerful forces, who did not want a solution to the political crisis, and deeper reasons for the democratic revolution and the transition from a monarchy to a republic.

Difficulties in supplying the city with bread, rumors about the imminent introduction of bread cards led to the disappearance of bread. Long queues lined up at the bread shops - "tails", as they said then.

February 18 (on Saturday at the Putilov Plant - the largest artillery plant in the country and Petrograd, which employed 36 thousand workers - the workers of the Fire Monitor and Stamping Workshop (workshop) went on strike, demanding a 50% increase in wages. February 20 (Monday) Administration factory agreed to raise wages by 20% on the condition of "immediately start work". The delegates of the workers asked for the consent of the Administration to start work from the next day. The administration did not agree and closed the Fire Monitor and Stamping "workshop" on February 21. In support of the strikers on February 21, they began to stop work and other workshops.On February 22, the Administration of the plant issued an order to dismiss all workers of the Fire Monitor and Stamping "workshop" and close the plant for an indefinite period - announced a lockout. .

As a result, 36 thousand workers of the Putilov factory found themselves in war conditions without work and without armor from the front.

On February 22, Nicholas II leaves Petrograd for Mogilev to the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.

The main events

• On February 24, demonstrations and meetings of the Putilov workers resumed. Workers from other factories began to join them. 90 thousand workers went on strike. Strikes and political actions began to grow into a general political demonstration against tsarism.

Announcement by the commander of the troops of the Petrograd Military District S. S. Khabalov on the use of weapons to disperse demonstrations. February 25, 1917

• On February 25, a general strike began, which involved 240,000 workers. Petrograd was declared state of siege, by decree of Nicholas II, meetings of the State Duma and the State Council were suspended until April 1, 1917. Nicholas II ordered the army to suppress the protests of workers in Petrograd
• On February 26, columns of demonstrators moved towards the city center. Troops were brought into the streets, but the soldiers began to refuse to shoot at the workers. There were several clashes with the police, by the evening the police cleared the city center of demonstrators.
• On February 27 (March 12), an armed uprising of the soldiers of the Petrograd garrison began early in the morning - the training team of the reserve battalion of the Volynsky regiment, consisting of 600 people, rebelled. The soldiers decided not to shoot at the demonstrators and join the workers. The team leader was killed. The Volynsky regiment was joined by the Lithuanian and Preobrazhensky regiments. As a result, a general strike of workers was supported by an armed uprising of soldiers. (On the morning of February 27, there were 10 thousand rebel soldiers, in the afternoon - 26 thousand, in the evening - 66 thousand, the next day - 127 thousand, on March 1 - 170 thousand, that is the whole garrison Petrograd.) The insurgent soldiers marched in formation to the center of the city. Arsenal-Petrogradsky was captured on the way artillery depot. The workers received 40,000 rifles and 30,000 revolvers in their hands. The city prison "Crosses" was captured, all the prisoners were released. Political prisoners, including the Gvozdev group, joined the rebels and led the column. The City Court was burned down. The rebellious soldiers and workers occupied the most important points of the city, government buildings and arrested ministers. At about 2 p.m., thousands of soldiers came to the Taurida Palace, where the State Duma was meeting, and occupied all its corridors and the surrounding area. They had no way back, they needed political leadership.

• The Duma faced a choice either to join the uprising and try to control the movement, or to perish along with tsarism. Under these conditions, the State Duma decided to formally obey the tsar's decree on the dissolution of the Duma, but by decision of a private meeting of deputies, it created a Provisional Committee of the State Duma at about 5 pm, chaired by the Octobrist M. Rodzianko, by co-opting 2 deputies from each faction. On the night of February 28, the Provisional Committee announced that it was taking power into its own hands.

• After the insurgent soldiers came to the Tauride Palace, the deputies of the left factions of the State Duma and representatives of the trade unions created the Provisional Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' Deputies in the Tauride Palace. He distributed leaflets to factories and soldier units with a call to choose their deputies and send them to the Taurida Palace by 19 o'clock, 1 deputy from every thousand workers and from each company. At 9 pm, meetings of workers' deputies opened in the left wing of the Tauride Palace and the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' Deputies was created, headed by the Menshevik Chkheidze and the Trudovik A.F. Kerensky, deputy chairman of the Executive Committee. Representatives of the Petrograd Soviet socialist parties(Mensheviks, Social Revolutionaries and Bolsheviks), trade unions and non-party workers and soldiers. The Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries played a decisive role in the Soviet. The Petrograd Soviet of Workers' Deputies decided to support the Provisional Committee of the State Duma in creating the Provisional Government, but not to participate in it.
• February 28 (March 13) - Chairman of the Provisional Committee Rodzianko negotiates with the Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Alekseev, on the support of the Provisional Committee from the army, and also negotiates with Nicholas II, in order to prevent a revolution and overthrow the monarchy.

Order number 1 decomposed the Russian army, eliminated the main components of any army at all times - the most severe hierarchy and discipline.

The Provisional Committee formed a Provisional Government headed by Prince Lvov, who was replaced by the socialist Kerensky. The provisional government announced elections to the Constituent Assembly. The Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies was elected. A dual power was established in the country.

The development of the revolution in Petrograd after the overthrow of the monarchy:

• March 3 (16) - the murders of officers began in Helsingfors, among which were Rear Admiral A.K. Nebolsin, Vice Admiral A.I. Nepenin.
• March 4 (17) - two manifestos were published in the newspapers - the Manifesto on the abdication of Nicholas II and the Manifesto on the abdication of Mikhail Alexandrovich, as well as Political program 1st Provisional Government.

Effects

The fall of autocracy and the establishment of dual power

The peculiarity of the revolution was the establishment of dual power in the country:

bourgeois-democratic power was represented by the Provisional Government, its local bodies (committees public safety), local government(city and zemstvo), the government included representatives of the parties of the Kadets and Octobrists;

revolutionary democratic power - Soviets of workers', soldiers', peasants' deputies, soldiers' committees in the army and navy.

Negative results of the fall of autocracy

The main negative results of the overthrow of the autocracy by the February Revolution in Russia can be considered:

1. Transfer from evolutionary development society to development along a revolutionary path, which inevitably led to an increase in the number of violent crimes against the person and infringement of property rights in society.
2. Significant weakening of the army(as a result of revolutionary agitation in the army and order number 1), a drop in its combat effectiveness and, as a result, its ineffective further struggle on the fronts of the First World War.
3. Destabilization of society, which led to a deep split in the existing civil society in Russia. As a result, there was a sharp increase in class contradictions in society, the growth of which during 1917 led to the transfer of power into the hands of radical forces, which ultimately led to the Civil War in Russia.

Positive results of the fall of autocracy

The main positive result of the overthrow of the autocracy by the February Revolution in Russia can be considered a short-term consolidation of society due to the adoption of a number of democratic legislative acts and a real chance for society, on the basis of this consolidation, to resolve many long-standing contradictions in the country's social development. However, as further events showed, which ultimately led to a bloody civil war, the leaders of the country, who came to power as a result of the February revolution, could not take advantage of these real, albeit extremely small (given that Russia was at that moment in a state of war) chances for this.

Change of political regime

• old government bodies were abolished. The most democratic law on elections to the Constituent Assembly was adopted: universal, equal, direct by secret ballot. On October 6, 1917, by its decree, the Provisional Government dissolved the State Duma in connection with the proclamation of Russia as a republic and the start of elections to the All-Russian Constituent Assembly.
• The State Council of the Russian Empire was dissolved.
• The Provisional Government formed an Extraordinary Commission of Inquiry to investigate the malfeasance of tsarist ministers and senior officials.
• On March 12, a Decree was issued on the abolition of the death penalty, which was replaced in especially serious criminal cases with 15 years of hard labor.
• On March 18, an amnesty was announced for those convicted on criminal grounds. 15 thousand prisoners were released from places of detention. This caused a surge in crime in the country.
• On March 18-20, a series of decrees and resolutions were issued to abolish religious and national restrictions.
• Restrictions in the choice of place of residence, property rights were abolished, complete freedom of occupation was proclaimed, women were equalized in rights with men.
• The Ministry of the Imperial Court was gradually liquidated. Property of the former imperial house, members royal family- palaces with artistic values, industrial enterprises, lands, etc. in March-April 1917 became the property of the state.

• Decree "On the establishment of the police". Already on February 28, the police was abolished and the people's militia was formed. 40,000 people's militia guarded enterprises and urban areas instead of 6,000 policemen. Detachments of the people's militia were also created in other cities. Subsequently, along with the people's militia, fighting workers' squads (the Red Guard) also appeared. According to the adopted resolution, uniformity was introduced into the already created detachments of the workers' militia, the limits of their competence were established.
• Decree on Assemblies and Unions. All citizens could form unions and hold meetings without restrictions. There were no political motives for closing the unions; only the court could close the union.
• Decree on amnesty for all persons convicted for political reasons.
• The Separate Corps of Gendarmes was abolished, including the railway police and security departments, and special civil courts (March 4).

Trade union movement

On April 12, a law on assemblies and unions was issued. The workers restored the democratic organizations banned during the war years (trade unions, factory committees). By the end of 1917, there were more than 2 thousand trade unions in the country, headed by the All-Russian Central Council trade unions(Chairman - Menshevik V.P. Grinevich).

Changes in the local government system

• On March 4, 1917, a resolution was adopted to remove all governors and vice-governors from office. In the provinces where the Zemstvo worked, the governors were replaced by the chairmen of the provincial zemstvo councils, where there were no zemstvos, the places remained unoccupied, which paralyzed the local government system.

Preparations for the elections to the Constituent Assembly

Immediately after the February Revolution, preparations began for elections to a constituent assembly. The most democratic law on elections to the Constituent Assembly was adopted: universal, equal, direct by secret ballot. Preparations for the elections dragged on until the end of 1917.

crisis of power

The inability of the Provisional Government to get out of the crisis caused an increase in revolutionary ferment: mass demonstrations took place on April 18 (May 1), in July 1917. The July uprising of 1917 - the period of peaceful development ended. Power passed to the Provisional Government. The duality is over. The death penalty was introduced. The failure of the August speech of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Army, Infantry General L. G. Kornilov, became prelude to Bolshevism, since the elections to the Soviets that followed shortly after the victory of A.F. Kerensky in his confrontation with L.G. Kornilov brought victory to the Bolsheviks, which changed their composition and their policy.

Church and revolution

Already on March 7-8, 1917, the Holy Synod issued a ruling that ordered all the clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church: in all cases, at divine services, instead of commemorating the reigning house, offer prayers for the God-protected Power of Russia and its Blessed Provisional Government .

Symbol

The symbol of the February Revolution was a red bow, red banners. The former government was declared "tsarism" and the "old regime". The word "comrade" was included.

Notes

Links

• On the Causes of the Russian Revolution: A Neo-Malthusian Perspective
• Journal of meetings of the Provisional Government. March-April 1917. rar, djvu
• Historical and documentary exhibition “1917. Myths of revolutions»
• Nikolay Sukhanov. "Notes on the Revolution. Book one. March coup February 23 - March 2, 1917"
• A. I. Solzhenitsyn. Reflections on the February Revolution, .
• NEFEDOV S. A. FEBRUARY 1917: POWER, SOCIETY, BREAD AND REVOLUTION
• Mikhail Babkin "OLD" AND "NEW" STATE Oaths

Bibliography

• Archive of the Russian Revolution (edited by G. V. Gessen). M., Terra, 1991. In 12 volumes.
• Pipes R. Russian Revolution. M., 1994.
• Katkov G. Russia, 1917. The February Revolution. London, 1967.
• Moorhead A. The Russian Revolution. New York, 1958.
• Dyakin V. S. ABOUT ONE FAILED ATTEMPT OF TSARISM TO "SOLUTE" THE LAND ISSUE DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR. (Goals and nature of the so-called liquidation of German land ownership in Russia)

Photos and documents