RED REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA
The Russian Revolution was not a sudden movement of the people. Long
before the war it had raised its head. The Duma itself came into
existence as one of its fruits; but when the war began all parties
joined in patriotic support of the Russian armies and laid aside for
the time their cherished grievances. The war was immensely popular.
Slavonic nationalism turned against Austria-Hungary and Germany who
were bent upon crushing the Slavonic sister state, Serbia. The Liberal
elements saw in Germany the stronghold of reaction and of militarism,
and trusted that its downfall would be followed by that of Russian
autocracy. But so glaring was the incapacity of the old régime, that a
union was formed during the war by all the Liberal parties. This group
united on the single aim of pushing on the war, and silently preparing
for the moment when the catastrophe to Czarism was to come.
This was long before the revolution. But a conviction of the necessity
of immediate change gradually came to all. The Czar himself brought
matters to an issue. His vacillation, his appointment of ministers who
were not only reactionary, but were suspected of being German tools,
were too much for even honest supporters of the Imperial régime. Some
of these reactionaries, it is true, were easily driven from power. In
1915 Sukhomlinov and Maklakov were overthrown by the influence of the
army and the Duma. But in 1916 the parasites came to life again. M.
Boris Stuermer became Prime Minister, and appointed as Minister of the
Interior the notorious Protopopov. On November 14, 1916, Miliukov, the
leader of the Constitutional Democrats, or Cadet Party, attacked the
Premier in one of the fiercest speeches ever made in the Russian Duma.
Stuermer was compelled to resign, but his successor, M. Trepov, though
an honest man with high ambitions, was forced to retain Protopopov at
the Interior. For a moment there was calm. But it was the calm before
the storm.
The Russian Revolution, now recognized as the most bloody revolution
in history, began with the assassination of a single man. This man was
Gregory Novikh, known throughout the world under the name of Rasputin.
A Siberian peasant by birth, immoral, filthy in person, untrained in
mind, he had early received the nickname of Rasputin, which means
“ne’er-do-well,” on account of his habits. A drunkard, and a libertine
always, he posed as a sort of saint and miracle worker, let his hair
grow long, and tramped about the world barefoot.
Rasputin had left his district of Tobolsk and at Moscow had started a
new cult, where mystical séances were mingled with debauchery. Through
Madame Verubova he had been introduced to the Empress herself. He
became the friend of Count Witte, of Stuermer, and Protopopov was his
tool. Rumor credited him with exercising an extraordinary influence
upon the Czarina, and through her upon the Czar. This influence was
thought to be responsible for many of the Czar’s unpopular policies.
In times of great public agitation the wildest rumors are easily taken
for truth and the absurd legends which were easily associated with his
name were greedily accepted by people of every rank. The influence
of Rasputin over the Imperial family was denied again and again. It
has been said from authoritative sources that the Czar did not know
him by sight, and that the Czarina knew him only as a superstitious
and neurotic woman might know some fortune teller or other charlatan.
Nevertheless the credulous public believed him to be the evil spirit
of the Imperial circle, and every false move, every unpopular act, was
ascribed to his baneful influence. But such a career could not last
long, and the end became a tragedy.
Several times Rasputin had been attacked, but had escaped. At last, on
the 29th of December, 1916, Prince Yusapov, a young man of wealth and
position, invited him to dine with him at his own home. The Prince came
for him in his own car. Entering the dining-room, they found there the
Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovitch. M. Purishkevitch, a member of the Duma,
had acted as chauffeur, and he followed him in. The three told him that
he was to die and he was handed a pistol that he might kill himself;
instead of doing so, he shot at the Grand Duke, but missed, and then
was shot in turn by his captors. The noise attracted the attention of
the police who inquired what had happened. “I have just killed a dog,”
was the reply.
His body was taken in an automobile to the Neva River, a hole cut in
the ice, and weighted with stones, it was dropped into the waters.
On the next day his executioners notified the police of what they
had done, and the news was announced at the Imperial Theatre, whose
audience went wild with enthusiasm, and sang the National Hymn. No
legal action was ever taken against Rasputin’s executioners. His body
was recovered and given honorable burial. The Czarina, according to
report, following the coffin to the grave. And so disappeared from the
Imperial Court one evil force.
But his tool, Alexander Protopopov, still survived. Protopopov was an
extraordinary man. In 1916 he had visited England and France and made
a splendid impression. His speeches, full of fire and patriotism, were
regarded as the best made by any deputation that had come from Russia.
But on his return to Petrograd he fell completely into the hands of the
Court party. He became associated with Rasputin, and his wild talk and
restless conduct suggested to many that his mind had become affected.
After the death of Rasputin, the meeting of the Duma, which should
have taken place on January 25, 1917, was postponed for a month. The
censorship was drawn tighter, the members of the secret police were
greatly increased, and a deliberate endeavor, under the direction of
Protopopov was made to encourage an abortive revolution, so that its
overthrow might establish the reactionaries in power. But the attempt
failed.
During January and February the people were calm. No one wanted
revolution then. On February 9th, the labor members of the War Industry
Committee were arrested. This was regarded as plainly provocative,
and M. Miliukov wrote appeals to the people for patience. These were
suppressed, but no disturbance ensued. A British Commission, then on
a visit to Russia, reported that there was no danger of revolution.
But the people were hungry. Speakers in the Duma discussed the food
problem. It became harder and harder to procure bread, and little that
was practical seemed to be done to improve the situation, though in
some parts of the country there were large surplus stocks. On March 8th
crowds gathered around the bakery shops, and looted several of them.
The next day the crowds in the streets increased. Groups of Cossacks
rode here and there, fraternizing with the people. They, too, were
hungry. In the afternoon two workmen were arrested for disorder by
the police. A band of Cossacks freed them. Street speakers began to
appear here and there, and crowds gathered to listen to their fiery
denunciations of the government.
On March 11th, General Khabalov, military Governor of the city, issued
a proclamation announcing that the police had orders to disperse all
crowds, and that any workman who did not return to work on Monday
morning would be sent to the trenches. The main streets of the city
were cleared and guarded by the police and soldiery. The crowds were
enormous, and disorderly, and more than two hundred of the rioters were
killed. Yet it seemed as if the government had the situation in a firm
grasp, though an ominous incident was that the Pavlovsk regiment on
being ordered to fire upon the mob, mutinied and had to be ordered to
their quarters.
Meantime Rodzianko, the President of the Duma, had telegraphed to the
Czar:
Situation serious. Anarchy reigns in Capital. Government is
paralyzed. Transport food and fuel supplies are utterly disorganized.
General discontent is growing. Disorderly firing is going on in
streets. Various companies of soldiers are shooting at each other. It
is absolutely necessary to invest someone, who enjoys the confidence
of the people with powers to form a new government. No time must
be lost, and delay may be fatal. I pray to God that in this hour
responsibility may not fall on the wearer of the crown.
The Prime Minister, Prince Golitzin, acting under power which he had
received from the Czar, prorogued the Duma. But the Duma refused to be
prorogued. Its President, Rodzianko, holding in his hand the order for
dissolution, announced that the Duma was now the sole constitutional
authority of Russia.
During the night following, the soldiers at the Capital, and the
Socialists, decided upon their course. The soldiers determined that
they would not fire upon their civilian brothers. The Socialists
planned an alternative scheme of government.
On March the 12th, the city was taken possession of by a mob. The
Preo Crajenski Guards refused to fire upon the crowd. The Volynsky
regiment, sent to coerce them, joined in the mutiny. Followed by the
mob, the two regiments seized the Arsenal. A force of 25,000 soldiers
was in the revolt. At 11 A. M., the Courts of Law were set on fire and
the fortress of SS. Peter and Paul was seized. The police, fighting
desperately, were hunted from their quarters, their papers destroyed
and the prisoners, political and criminal, released from the jails.
[Illustration: CAPITAL OF THE NEW REPUBLIC OF RUSSIA]
During the day the Duma kept in constant session, awaiting the Emperor,
who did not come. Telegram after telegram was sent him, each more
urgent. There is reason to believe that these telegrams never reached
the Czar. When information finally did come to him it was too late.
Meantime the Duma appointed an executive committee. Their names were
Rodzianko, Nekrasov, Konovalov, Dmitrikov, Lvov, Rjenski, Karaulov,
Miliukov, Schledlovski, Shulgin, Tcheidze and Kerensky. The workmen
and soldiers also formed a committee, which undertook to influence the
troops now pouring into Petrograd. But the center of the revolution
was still the Duma, and crowds gathered to listen to its speeches. In
the evening Protopopov surrendered to the Russian guards, but General
Khabalov still occupied the Admiralty building with such forces as were
faithful.
On March 13th it became evident that the army in the field was
accepting the authority of the provisional government. The Duma
committee was composed mainly of men of moderate political views.
They moved slowly, fearing on the one hand the Reactionaries who
still preserved their loyalty to the Czar, and on the other hand the
Council of Labor, with its extreme views, and its influence with the
troops. The siege of the Admiralty building was ended by the surrender
of General Khabalov. The police, however, were still keeping up a
desultory resistance, but the mob were hunting them like wild beasts.
On Wednesday, the 14th of March, the revolution was over.
The Executive Committee of the Duma and the Council of the Workmen’s
and Soldiers’ Delegates, now universally known as the Soviet, were
working in harmony. Every hour proclamations were issued, some of them
foolish, some of them, it is thought, inspired by German agents, and
some of them wise and patriotic. One of the most unfortunate of these
proclamations was one to the army directing that “the orders of the
War Committee must be obeyed, saving only on those occasions when they
shall contravene the orders and regulations of the labor deputies and
military delegates.” This same proclamation abolished saluting for
private soldiers off duty. It was the beginning of the destruction of
the Russian military power. The proclamation of the Duma committee
itself was admirable:
CITIZENS:
The Provisional Executive Committee of the Duma, with the aid and
support of the garrison of the capital and its inhabitants, has now
triumphed over the baneful forces of the old régime in such a manner
as to enable it to proceed to the more stable organization of the
executive power. With this object, the Provisional Committee will
name ministers of the first national cabinet men whose past public
activity assures them the confidence of the country.
The new cabinet will adopt the following principles as the basis of
its policy:
1. An immediate amnesty for all political and religious offenses,
including military revolts, acts of terrorism, and agrarian crimes.
2. Freedom of speech, of the press, of associations and labor
organizations, and the freedom to strike; with an extension of
these liberties to officials and troops, in so far as military and
technical conditions permit.
3. The abolition of social, religious, and racial restrictions and
privileges.
4. Immediate preparation for the summoning of a Constituent Assembly,
which, with universal suffrage as a basis, shall establish the
governmental régime and the constitution of the country.
5. The substitution for the police of a national militia, with
elective heads and subject to the self-governing bodies.
6. Communal elections to be carried out on the basis of universal
suffrage.
7. The troops that have taken part in the revolutionary movement
shall not be disarmed, but they are not to leave Petrograd.
8. While strict military discipline must be maintained on active
service, all restrictions upon soldiers in the enjoyment of social
rights granted to other citizens are to be abolished.
Meantime the Emperor, “the Little Father,” at first thoroughly
incredulous of the gravity of the situation, had at last become
alarmed. He appointed General Ivanov Commander-in-Chief of the army,
and ordered him to proceed to Petrograd at the head of a division
of loyal troops. General Ivanov set out, but his train was held up
at Tsarskoe-Selo, and he returned to Pskov. The Czar himself then
started for the city, but he, too, was held up at the little station
of Bologoi, where workmen had pulled up the track, and he returned to
Pskov.
He sent for Ruzsky and declared that he was ready to yield to the Duma
and grant a responsible ministry. Ruzsky advised him to get in touch
with Rodzianko, and as a result of a telephone communication with
Rodzianko and with several of his trusted generals, it became clear
that there was no other course than abdication. Guchkov and Shulgin,
messengers from the Duma, arrived on the evening of March 15th, and
found the Emperor alone, except for his aide-de-camp, Count Fredericks.
“What do you want me to do?” he asked.
“You must abdicate,” Guchkov told him, “in favor of your son, with the
Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch as Regent.”
The Emperor sat for a long time silent. “I cannot be separated from my
boy,” he said. “I will hand the throne to my brother.” Taking a sheet
of paper he wrote as follows:
By the Grace of God, We, Nicholas II, Emperor of all the Russias, to
all our faithful subjects:
In the course of a great struggle against a foreign enemy, who has
been endeavoring for three years to enslave our country, it has
pleased God to send Russia a further bitter trial. Internal troubles
have threatened to compromise the progress of the war. The destinies
of Russia, the honor of her heroic army, the happiness of her people,
and the whole future of our beloved country demand that at all costs
victory shall be won. The enemy is making his last efforts, and
the moment is near when our gallant troops, in concert with their
glorious Allies, will finally overthrow him.
In these days of crisis we have considered that our nation needs the
closest union of all its forces for the attainment of victory. In
agreement with the Imperial Duma, we have recognized that for the
good of our land we should abdicate the throne of the Russian state
and lay down the supreme power.
Not wishing to separate ourselves from our beloved son, we bequeath
our heritage to our brother, the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovitch,
with our blessing upon the future of the Russian throne. We bequeath
it to him with the charge to govern in full unison with the national
representatives who may sit in the legislature, and to take his
inviolable oath to them in the name of our well-beloved country.
We call upon all faithful sons of our land to fulfil this sacred and
patriotic duty in obeying their Emperor at this painful moment of
national trial, and to aid him, together with the representatives of
the nation, to lead the Russian people in the way of prosperity and
glory.
May God help Russia.
So ended the reign of Nicholas the Second, Czar of all the Russias.
The news of the Czar’s abdication spread over the world with great
rapidity, and was received by the Allies with mixed feelings. The Czar
had been scrupulously loyal to the alliance. He was a man of high
personal character, and his sympathies on the whole, liberal; but he
was a weak man in a position in which even a strong man might have
failed. He was easily influenced, especially by his wife. Warned again
and again of the danger before him, he constantly promised improvement,
only to fail in keeping his promises. He deeply loved his wife, and
yielded continually to her unwise advice.
The Empress Alexandra Feodorovna is but another instance of a devoted
queen who dethroned her consort. She believed in Divine Right and
looked with suspicion upon popular leaders. Her one object in life was
to hand on the Russian crown to her son, with no atom of its power
diminished. She surrounded herself and her husband with scoundrels and
charlatans.
[Illustration: © _Underwood and Underwood, N. Y._
THE WOMEN’S “BATTALION OF DEATH” IN NATIONAL DANCE
A unique outgrowth of the Russian revolution was this organization of
women, which came into prominence at the beginning of the break-up of
the Russian front.]
On the whole, the feeling among the Allies was one of relief. There was
a general distrust of the influences which had been surrounding the
Czar. The patriotism of the Grand Duke Michael was well known, and a
government conducted by him was sure to be a great improvement. But
it was not to be. Before the news of the abdication reached Petrograd
a new ministry had been formed by the Duma. Miliukov announced their
names and explained their credentials. The Prime Minister was Prince
George Lvov. Miliukov was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guchkov Minister
of War and Marine, Kerensky, a new name in the government, Minister of
Justice. The ministry included representatives of every party of the
left and centre.
Miliukov declared that their credentials came from the Russian
revolution: “We shall not fight for the sake of power. To be in power
is not a reward or pleasure but a sacrifice. As soon as we are told
that the sacrifice is no longer needed, we shall give up our places
with gratitude for the opportunity which has been accorded us.”
He concluded by informing his hearers that the despot who had brought
Russia to the brink of ruin would either abdicate of his free will, or
be deposed. He added that the Grand Duke Michael would be appointed
Regent.
This announcement at once produced an explosion. A ministry of
moderates and a continuance of the Imperial government under a regency
stirred the delegates of the workmen and soldiers to revolt. For a time
it seemed as if the new government would disappear in the horrors of
mob rule. But Kerensky saved the situation. Making his way into the
meeting of the Soviet he burst into an impassioned speech.
“Comrades!” he cried, “I have been appointed Minister of Justice. No
one is a more ardent Republican than I, but we must bide our time.
Nothing can come to its full growth at once. We shall have our Republic
but we must first win the war. The need of the moment is organization
and discipline and that need will not wait.”
His eloquence carried the day. The Soviet passed a resolution
supporting the provisional government with only fifteen dissenting
votes. But it had been made clear that the people did not approve
of the regency, and on the night of the 15th of March, Prince Lvov,
Kerensky and other leaders of the Duma sought out the Grand Duke
Michael and informed him of the situation. The Grand Duke yielded to
the people, and on Friday, March the 16th, issued a declaration which
ended the power of the Romanovs in Russia:
I am firmly resolved to accept the supreme power only if this should
be the desire of our great people, who must, by means of a plebiscite
through their representatives in the Constituent Assembly, establish
the form of government and the new fundamental laws of the Russian
state. Invoking God’s blessing, I, therefore, request all citizens of
Russia to obey the provisional government, set up on the initiative
of the Duma, and invested with plenary powers, until within as short
a time as possible the Constituent Assembly elected on a basis of
equal, universal and secret suffrage, shall enforce the will of the
nation regarding the future form of the constitution.
With this declaration the sacred monarchy had disappeared. In one week
the people had come to their own and Russia was free. But what the form
of new government was to replace the old régime was still the question.
There were two rival theories as to the principles to be followed, one
that of the Moderates, the other of the Extremists. The Moderates,
who controlled the provisional government, were practical men. They
realized that Russia was at war and that efficient administration was
the great need.
The Extremists of the Soviet were a different type of men. They were
profoundly ignorant of all practical questions of government; their
creed was socialism. The Socialistic party in Russia may be divided
into three different groups. The first, the Social Revolutionary party,
came into prominence in Russia about 1900. It was composed of followers
of the Russian Lavrov who believed in the socialist state, but a state
which should not be a tyrant overriding the individual. Liberty was his
watchword and he made his appeal not only to the workmen in the shops
but with a special force to the peasant. He did not preach class war
in the ordinary sense, and believed in the value of national life. To
this party belonged Kerensky, more and more becoming the leader of the
revolutionary movement.
The second group of the Socialist party were the Bolsheviki. This
group were followers of the German Karl Marx. The revolution which
they sought was essentially a class revolution. To the Bolsheviki the
fate of their country mattered not at all. They were eager for peace
on any terms. The only war in which they were interested was a class
war; they recognized no political boundaries. The leader of this group
was Vladimir Iljetch Uljanov, who, under his pen name of Lenine, was
already widely known and who had now obtained the opportunity which he
had long desired.
The third group were the Mensheviki. The Mensheviki believed in the
importance of the working classes, but they did not ignore other
classes. They were willing to use existing forms of government to carry
out the reforms they desired. They saw that the Allied cause was their
own cause, the cause of the workman as well as the intellectual.
The Soviet contained representatives of these three groups. It did not
represent Russia, but it was in Petrograd and could exert its influence
directly upon the government.
The attitude of the provisional government toward the Imperial family
was at first not unkindly. The Czar and the Czarina were escorted to
the Alexandrovsky Palace in Tsarskoe-Selo. The Czar for a time lived
quietly as plain Nicholas Romanov. The Czarina and her children were
very ill with measles, the case of the little Prince being complicated
by the breaking out of an old wound in his foot. The Grand Duchess
Tatiana was in a serious condition and oxygen had been administered.
As his family improved in health the Czar amused himself by strolls
in the palace yard, and even by shoveling snow. Later on Nicholas
was transferred to Tobolsk, Siberia, and then, in May, 1918, to
Yekaterinberg. His wife and his daughter Marie accompanied him to the
latter place, while Alexis and his other three daughters remained in
Tobolsk. On July 20th a Russian government dispatch announced his
assassination. It read as follows:
At the first session of the Central Executive Committee, elected by
the Fifth Congress of the Councils, a message was made public that
had been received by direct wire from the Ural Regional Council,
concerning the shooting of the ex-Czar, Nicholas Romanov. Recently
Yekaterinberg, the Capital of the Red Urals, was seriously threatened
by the approach of Czecho-Slovak bands, and a counter-revolutionary
conspiracy was discovered, which had as its object the wresting of
the ex-Czar from the hands of the Council’s authority. In view of
this fact the President of the Ural Regional Council decided to shoot
the ex-Czar, and the decision was carried out on July 16th.
The wife and the son of Nicholas Romanov had been sent to a place of
security. In a detailed account of the execution, published in Berlin,
it appeared that the Czar had been awakened at five o’clock in the
morning, and informed that he was to be executed in two hours. He spent
some time with a priest in his bedroom and wrote several letters.
According to this account, when the patrol came to take him out for
execution he was found in a state of collapse. His last words, uttered
just before the executioners fired, are reported to have been “Spare my
wife and my innocent and unhappy children. May my blood preserve Russia
from ruin.”
The Russian press, including the Socialist papers, condemned the
execution as a cruel and unnecessary act. The charges of conspiracy
were utterly unproven, and were merely an excuse. The Central Executive
Committee, however, accepted the decision of the Ural Regional Soviet
as being regular, and a decree by the Bolshevist Government declared
all the property of the former Emperor, his wife, his mother and all
the members of the Imperial house, forfeit to the Soviet Republic.
Meantime the provisional government, which had taken power on the 16th
of March, seemed as if it might succeed. Miliukov, whose announcement
of the Regency had made him unpopular, declared for a Republic. The
great army commanders for the most part accepted the revolution.
The Grand Duke Nicholas was removed from his command and the other
Grand Dukes were ordered not to leave Petrograd. Alexeiev became
commander-in-chief; Ruzsky had the northern group of armies, Brusilov
the southern; Kornilov was in command of Petrograd, and the central
group was put under the command of Lechitsky. Reports came that
discipline was improving everywhere on the front.
The plans of the government, too, met with general approval. Their
policy was announced by Prince Lvov. “The new government considers it
its duty to make known to the world that the object of free Russia
is not to dominate other nations and forcibly to take away their
territory. The object of independent Russia is a permanent peace and
the right of all nations to determine their own destiny.”
Kerensky, in inspiring speeches, encouraged the country to war, and
declared against a separate peace. The new government announced that
Poland was to receive complete independence, with a right to determine
its own form of government, and its relation, if any, to Russia. In
Finland the Governor, Sein, was removed. A Liberal was appointed
Governor and the Finnish Diet was convened. A manifesto was issued
on March 21st, completely restoring the Finnish constitution. To the
Armenians Kerensky expressed himself as in favor of an autonomous
government for them, under Russia’s protection, and on March 25th,
absolute equality of the Jews was proclaimed by the new government. A
number of Jews were made officers in the army, and two Jewish advocates
were appointed members of the Russian Senate and of the Supreme Court.
On April 4th full religious liberty was proclaimed, and on the same
date the Prime Minister promised a delegation of women that women would
be given the right to vote.
These acts caused a general subsidence of unrest, and public good
feeling was increased by the return of the political exiles and
prisoners from Siberia. A full hundred thousand of such prisoners were
released, and their progress across Siberia to Russia was one grand
triumphal march.
The most celebrated of these political prisoners were two women,
Catherine Breshkovskaya and Marie Spiridonova. Catherine Breshkovskaya
was known as the grandmother of the revolution. Forty-four years of
her life were spent in exile. When she reached Petrograd she was met
at the railroad depot by a military band, and carried in procession
through the streets. Equally popular was Marie Spiridonova, who, though
still young, had suffered martyrdom. She had been tortured with cruelty
that is unprintable. Her face had been disfigured for life. The agents
who had inflicted the torture were assassinated by the revolutionists.
It was a great day for Russia, and the outlook seemed full of promise.