Revolutionary events of 1917. When was the revolution in Russia? September Kornilov mutiny, surrender of Riga and bacterial viruses

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 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 powers in Russia.

The February Revolution began with spontaneous demonstrations of the masses, but its success was also facilitated by an acute political crisis at the top and sharp dissatisfaction among liberal-bourgeois circles with the tsar’s one-man policies. Bread riots, anti-war rallies, demonstrations, strikes at the city’s industrial enterprises superimposed on discontent and unrest among the capital’s garrison of thousands, who joined the revolutionary masses who took to the streets. On February 27 (March 12), 1917, the general strike developed into an armed uprising; The troops who went over to the side of the rebels occupied the most important points of the city and government buildings. In the current situation, the tsarist government showed its 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 removed from the front to suppress the uprising were unable to break through to the city.

The immediate result of the February Revolution was the abdication of Nicholas II, the end of the reign of the Romanov dynasty and the formation of the Provisional Government chaired by Prince George Lvov. This government was closely connected with the bourgeois public organizations that arose during the war (the All-Russian Zemstvo Union, the City Union, the Central Military-Industrial Committee). The Provisional Government united legislative and executive powers, replacing the Tsar, the State Council, the Duma and the Council of Ministers and subordinating the highest institutions (the Senate and the Synod). In its Declaration, the Provisional Government announced amnesty for political prisoners, civil liberties, replacement of the police with a “people's militia”, and reform of local self-government.

Almost simultaneously, 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, and throughout March throughout the country.

However, the end of the February Revolution and the abdication of the Tsar did not mark the end of the tragic events in Russia. On the contrary, the period of unrest, war and blood was just beginning.

Main events of 1917 in Russia

date (old style)	Event
February 23	The 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 for the Petrograd garrison
2nd of March
April 16	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 Romanian-Russian troops on the Romanian front
July 22-23

The October Revolution of 1917 in Russia was 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 elimination 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 resolving labor, agrarian, and national issues, the continued participation of Russia in the First World War led to a deepening of the national crisis and created the preconditions for the strengthening of far-left parties in the center and nationalist parties in the outskirts countries. The Bolsheviks acted most energetically, proclaiming a course towards a socialist revolution in Russia, which they considered the beginning of the 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, the bourgeois-democratic revolution began in February 1917 and was completely completed 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 unified 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 implementation 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 was first scientifically defined and introduced into Russian historiography by Vladimir Lenin. He named the following three objective factors as its main features: the crisis of the “tops,” the crisis of the “bottoms,” and the extraordinary activity of the masses.

The situation that arose after the formation of the Provisional Government was characterized by Lenin as “dual power”, and by 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, finding themselves forced to rely on Petrograd a council with which it disagreed on all issues of domestic and foreign policy.

Some domestic and foreign researchers adhere to the version of “German financing” of the October Revolution. It lies in the fact that the German government, interested in Russia’s exit from the war, purposefully organized the move from Switzerland to Russia of representatives of the radical faction of the RSDLP led by Lenin in the so-called “sealed carriage” and financed the activities of the Bolsheviks aimed at undermining the combat effectiveness 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 latter 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 the Left Social Revolutionaries.

Chronicle of the events of the October Revolution

On the afternoon of October 24 (November 6), the cadets tried to open bridges across the Neva in order to cut off the working areas from the center. The Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) sent detachments of the Red Guard and soldiers to the bridges, who took almost all the bridges under guard. By evening, soldiers of the Kexholm Regiment occupied the Central Telegraph, a detachment of sailors took possession of the Petrograd Telegraph Agency, and soldiers of the Izmailovsky Regiment took control of the Baltic Station. Revolutionary units blocked the Pavlovsk, Nikolaev, Vladimir, and Konstantinovsky cadet schools.

On the evening of October 24, Lenin arrived in Smolny and directly took charge of the leadership of the armed struggle.

At 1:25 a.m. on the nights of October 24 to 25 (November 6 to 7), the Red Guards of the Vyborg region, soldiers of the Kexholm regiment and revolutionary sailors occupied the Main Post Office.

At 2 a.m. the first company of the 6th reserve engineer battalion captured the Nikolaevsky (now Moskovsky) 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, sailors of the Guards naval crew took possession of the State Bank.

At 7 a.m., soldiers of the Kexholm Regiment occupied the Central Telephone Station. At 8 o'clock. Red Guards of the Moscow and Narva regions captured the Warsaw station.

At 2:35 p.m. An emergency meeting of the Petrograd Soviet opened. The Council heard a message that the Provisional Government had been overthrown and state power had passed into the hands of the body 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; sailors occupied the Military Port and the Main Admiralty, where the Naval Headquarters was arrested.

By 18:00 the revolutionary detachments began to move towards the Winter Palace.

On October 25 (November 7) at 21:45, following a signal from the Peter and Paul Fortress, a gun shot rang out from the cruiser Aurora, and the assault on the Winter Palace began.

At 2 a.m. 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, armed struggle began in Moscow. In Moscow, the revolutionary forces met extremely fierce resistance, and stubborn battles took place on the streets of the city. At the cost of great sacrifices (about 1,000 people were killed during the uprising), Soviet power was established in Moscow on November 2 (15).

On the evening of October 25 (November 7), 1917, the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies opened. The congress heard and adopted the appeal “To Workers, Soldiers and Peasants” written by Lenin, which announced the transfer of power to the Second Congress of Soviets, and locally to the Councils 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: for foreign affairs Leon Trotsky, for nationalities Joseph Stalin 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 Cadet Party were arrested, and the opposition press was banned. In January 1918, the Constituent Assembly was dispersed, and by March of the same year, Soviet power was established over a large territory of Russia. All banks and enterprises were nationalized, and a separate truce was concluded with Germany. In July 1918, the first Soviet Constitution was adopted.

By the evening of February 27, almost the entire composition of the Petrograd garrison - about 160 thousand people - went over to the side of the rebels. The commander of the Petrograd Military District, General Khabalov, is forced to inform Nicholas II: “Please report to His Imperial Majesty that I could not fulfill the order to restore order in the capital. Most of the units, one after another, betrayed their duty, refusing to fight against the rebels.”

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

The uncontrollable and motley revolutionary masses, not disdaining murders and robberies, plunged the city into chaos.
On February 27, at approximately 2 o'clock in the afternoon, soldiers occupied the Tauride Palace. The State Duma found itself in a dual position: on the one hand, according to the emperor’s decree, it should have dissolved itself, but on the other, the pressure of the rebels and the actual anarchy forced it to take some action. The compromise solution was a meeting under the guise of a “private meeting.”
As a result, a decision was made to form a government body - the Temporary Committee.

Later, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government P. N. Milyukov recalled:

“The intervention of the State Duma gave the street and military movement a center, gave it a banner and a slogan, and thus turned the uprising into a revolution, which ended with the overthrow of the old regime and dynasty.”

The revolutionary movement grew more and more. Soldiers seize the Arsenal, the Main Post Office, the telegraph office, bridges and train stations. Petrograd found itself completely in the power of the rebels. The real tragedy took place in Kronstadt, which was overwhelmed by a wave of lynching that resulted in the murder of more than a hundred officers of the Baltic Fleet.
On March 1, the chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General Alekseev, in a letter begs the emperor “for the sake of saving Russia and the dynasty, put at the head of the government a person whom Russia would trust.”

Nicholas states that by giving rights to others, he deprives himself of the power given to them by God. The opportunity to peacefully transform the country into a constitutional monarchy had already been lost.

After the abdication of Nicholas II on March 2, a dual power actually developed in the state. Official power was in the hands of the Provisional Government, but real power belonged to the Petrograd Soviet, which controlled the troops, railways, post office and telegraph.
Colonel Mordvinov, who was on the royal train at the time of his abdication, recalled Nikolai’s plans to move to Livadia. “Your Majesty, go abroad as soon as possible. “Under current conditions, even in Crimea there is no way to live,” Mordvinov tried to convince the tsar. "No way. I wouldn’t like to leave Russia, I love it too much,” Nikolai objected.

Leon Trotsky noted that the February uprising was spontaneous:

“No one outlined the path for a coup in advance, no one from above called for an uprising. The indignation that had accumulated over the years broke out largely unexpectedly for the masses themselves.”

However, Miliukov insists in his memoirs that the coup was planned soon after the start of the war and before “the army was supposed to go on the offensive, the results of which would radically stop all hints of discontent and would cause an explosion of patriotism and jubilation in the country.” “History will curse the leaders of the so-called proletarians, but it will also curse us, who caused the storm,” wrote the former minister.
British historian Richard Pipes calls the actions of the tsarist government during the February uprising “fatal weakness of will,” noting that “the Bolsheviks in such circumstances did not hesitate to shoot.”
Although the February Revolution is called “bloodless,” it nevertheless claimed the lives of thousands of soldiers and civilians. In Petrograd alone, more than 300 people died and 1,200 were injured.

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

Poland and Finland demanded independence, Siberia started talking about independence, and the Central Rada formed in Kyiv proclaimed “autonomous Ukraine.”

The events of February 1917 allowed the Bolsheviks to emerge from underground. Thanks to the amnesty declared by the Provisional Government, dozens of revolutionaries returned from exile and political exile, who were already hatching plans for a new coup d'etat.

According to modern history, there were three revolutions in Tsarist Russia.

Revolution of 1905

Date: January 1905 - June 1907. The impetus for the revolutionary actions of the people was the shooting of a peaceful demonstration (January 22, 1905), in which workers, their wives and children took part, led by a priest, whom many historians later called a provocateur who deliberately led the crowd under rifles.

The result of the first Russian revolution was the Manifesto adopted on October 17, 1905, which provided Russian citizens with civil liberties based on personal integrity. But this manifesto did not solve the main issue - hunger and industrial crisis in the country, so tension continued to accumulate and was later discharged by the second revolution. But the first answer to the question: “When was the revolution in Russia?” it will be 1905.

February bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1917

Date: February 1917 Hunger, political crisis, protracted war, dissatisfaction with the tsar's policies, fermentation of revolutionary sentiments in the large Petrograd garrison - these factors and many others led to a worsening of the situation in the country. The general strike of workers on February 27, 1917 in Petrograd developed into spontaneous riots. As a result, the main government buildings and main structures of the city were captured. Most of the troops went over to the side of the strikers. The tsarist government was unable to cope with the revolutionary situation. The troops called from the front were unable to enter the city. The result of the second revolution was the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a Provisional Government, which included representatives of the bourgeoisie and large landowners. But along with this, the Petrograd Council was formed as another government body. This led to dual power, which had a negative impact on the establishment of order by the Provisional Government in the country exhausted by the protracted war.

October Revolution of 1917

Date: October 25-26, old style. The protracted First World War continues, Russian troops are retreating and suffering defeats. Hunger in the country does not stop. The majority of people live in poverty. Numerous rallies are taking place at plants, factories and in front of military units stationed in Petrograd. The majority of the military, workers and the entire crew of the cruiser Aurora took the side of the Bolsheviks. The Military Revolutionary Committee announces an armed uprising. October 25, 1917 There was a Bolshevik coup led by Vladimir Lenin - the Provisional Government was overthrown. The first Soviet government was formed, later in 1918 peace was signed with Germany, already tired of the war (Brest-Litovsk Peace), and the construction of the USSR began.

Thus, it turns out that the question “When was the revolution in Russia?” You can briefly answer this: only three times - once in 1905 and twice in 1917.

The October Revolution of 1917 is an important historical event. During the revolution, there was an armed uprising against the Provisional Government and the Bolshevik Party coming to power.

October Revolution of 1917:

Laid the beginning of Soviet power;
Began the liquidation of capitalism;
It became the start of the transition to socialism.

Now it is difficult to judge whether the country could have taken a different path, or whether the revolution was inevitable, but the event itself turned the course of national history.

Causes of the October Revolution

Historians have different assessments of the causes of the October Revolution of 1917. People were dissatisfied with the large gap in the living standards of the government and the people, they wanted to eliminate social injustice, equalize people's rights and responsibilities, and eradicate world wars. Objective reasons for the dissatisfaction of a certain segment of the population include:

Economic instability and crisis that resulted from participation in the First World War;
Human losses, which also affected the psychological state of the population;
The complexities of the peasant question;
Difficult living conditions and low level of education among people.

A charismatic leader (V.I. Lenin) and a clear organization of the Bolshevik Party played a significant role.

Goals of the October Revolution

The goals of the October Revolution were put forward as noble and fair. Unfortunately, the results of the revolution indicate that people took the wrong path and in many ways became victims of manipulation.

Stop wars;
Achieve economic and social equality;
To bring to life the slogans “land to peasants”, “factories to workers”.

Of course, this is not a complete list, but the ideologists of the revolution promised people a new standard of living, the opportunity to get an education and eliminate the economic gap.

Events of the October Revolution

The events of the October Revolution of 1917 developed rapidly:

On October 24 (November 6), 1917, a planned armed uprising against the Provisional Government began.
On the afternoon of October 24 (November 6), the cadets tried to open bridges across the Neva, this would help cut off other areas from the center. But the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) sent Red Guard detachments and soldiers to the bridges to guard the bridges. Soldiers blocked the cadet schools.
On the evening of October 24, Lenin personally arrived in Smolny and led an armed uprising.
On the night of October 24-25, Red Guards of the Vyborg region, soldiers of the Kexholm regiment and revolutionary sailors occupied the Main Post Office.
The sapper battalion, meanwhile, captured the Nikolaevsky station.
A Red Guard detachment occupied the Central Power Plant.
On October 25 (November 7) at about 6 o'clock in the morning, sailors of the Guards naval crew took possession of the State Bank.
Early in the morning, soldiers of the Kexholm Regiment occupied the Central Telephone Station. At 8, the Red Guards of the Moscow and Narva regions captured the Warsaw station.
After an emergency meeting of the Petrograd Council, a statement appeared that the Provisional Government had been overthrown and state power had passed into the hands of the body of the Petrograd Council 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; sailors occupied the Military Port and the Main Admiralty, where the Naval Headquarters was arrested.
By evening, revolutionary detachments began to move towards the Winter Palace.
On October 25 (November 7) at 21:45, after a shot from the cruiser Aurora, the assault on the Winter Palace began.
On the night of October 26 (November 8), revolutionary forces occupied the Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government.
On October 25 (November 7), following the victory of the uprising in Petrograd, the struggle began in Moscow, where armed resistance became more brutal and “bloody.”
On the evening of October 25 (November 7), 1917, the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies opened. The congress heard and adopted the appeal “To Workers, Soldiers and Peasants” written by Lenin, which announced the transfer of power to the Second Congress of Soviets, and locally to the Councils 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: for foreign affairs Leon Trotsky, for nationalities Joseph Stalin 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 Cadet Party were arrested, and the opposition press was banned. In January 1918, the Constituent Assembly was dispersed, and by March of the same year, Soviet power was established over a large territory of Russia. All banks and enterprises were nationalized, and a separate truce was concluded with Germany. In July 1918, the first Soviet Constitution was adopted.

Results of the October Revolution

The results of the October Revolution showed that the goals were not achieved, and the armed uprising only led to new tragedies.

In the semi-basement of Ipatiev's house in Yekaterinburg on the night of July 16-17, 1918, in pursuance of the resolution of the executive committee of the Ural Regional Council of Workers', Peasants' and Soldiers' Deputies, headed by the Bolsheviks, the Royal Family was shot, and with it the new martyrs, members of the Royal House.

The time of fighting against God was established, since the leaders of the revolution chose the line of militant atheism as their instrument. Clergymen, members of their families and ordinary believers were arrested and shot.
In Russia, the ruling elite changed, and the ideology of Orthodoxy was replaced by communist ideology, which fought Orthodoxy with bloody methods.