"Stupidity or treason?"
World War I was the most vivid example of how Russia was used to the advantage of the masters of the West. Romanovskaya Russia allowed the use of Russian soldiers as “cannon fodder”, stirring the public with “hurray-patriotic” slogans of the march on Berlin and Vienna. Although such campaigns did not give any benefit to the Russian people, only harm and colossal losses.
The patriotic excitement of 1914 of the year quickly subsided when Russian troops washed up with blood in East Prussia. Over and over again, Russian troops rushed to the Austro-German positions, saving France from a decisive defeat, enabling France and England to transfer the economy, population and rear to "war rails", to carry out total mobilization. It is thanks to us that the German corps did not take Paris in the 1914 year, the Anglo-French troops in the 1915-1916 did not shred. We defeated the Ottoman army in the Transcaucasus, when the Allies were defeated on the Dardanelles and in Iraq, which eventually allowed our "allies" to divide Turkey, but without us. At the same time, the Romanovs' empire became the “cash cow” of our “partners” in the Entente, sending them hundreds of tons of gold to buy tools, rifles, machine guns, shells, cartridges, various equipment and materials. At the same time, Petersburg got into huge debts to support the financial system.
The Russian Empire, having a backward industry and a peripheral raw materials economy, could not provide the army with everything necessary. This resulted in the “shell, cartridge and rifle hunger” 1914-1915. And the “allies” banally “threw” us, took the money, and supplies slowed down (at the same time they made plans to destroy the autocracy and dismember Russia). The army did not have enough heavy guns, we quickly began to give way to the number of airplanes (before the war we were among the leaders, but there was no industrial capacity for large-scale production), we could not create the first armored units, unlike the Allies in the Entente. The warring country did not have enough railways, highways to supply the army and the city.
Army in 1914-1916 she washed herself with blood, saving the allies, and sustaining losses due to command errors and weak industry. The daily losses of the Russian army during individual attacks reached thousands of dead. The cadre of the imperial Russian army, the former pillar of the autocracy, almost completely fell on the battlefields. As Peter Durnovo, the former Minister of Internal Affairs of Russia, wrote right before the war: “... the army, which, besides, lost its most reliable cadre staff during the war, embraced in the most part by a spontaneously common peasant desire for land, would be too demoralized to serve as a bulwark of law and order. "
Under the gun put millions of peasants. They will be separated from the land, from peaceful concerns, but they will remember the great injustice and desire to redistribute the land. A huge mass of people will be accustomed to arms, murder and rape. In this case, the Russian peasant will fight for goals he does not understand. At the same time, retired personnel officers will be replaced mostly by formerly intellectuals in the mass of liberal-minded students, teachers, doctors, lawyers, representatives of creative professions, etc. The army itself will become a source of chaos, ready to explode when the time comes.
The peasant world, deprived of millions of workers, and because of the growing problems in the economy, began to live even worse. The workers found themselves in a similar position, some improvements in the pre-war years had to be forgotten. Russia, following the majority of other belligerent countries, is beginning to feel more and more a shortage of food and essential goods. In the Russian provinces in mid-July, the first food ration cards were introduced in 1916, it was decided to distribute sugar among them. In connection with the reduction of production, difficulties appeared with the supply of the population in the provinces and cities. By the fall of 1915, three-quarters of the cities experienced a need for certain food products.
Since 1915, state intervention in the food supply has been episodic, since 1916, bread harvesting for the population has been included in the government assignment. If at the beginning of the war it was necessary to feed an ever increasing army (6,5 million people - end of 1914, 11,7 million people - 1915, 14,4 million - 1916 and 15,1 million - 1917), Since 1915, the state has had to assume the support of the civilian population of a number of cities and, in part, of the provinces.
29 November (12 December) 1916, the manager of the Ministry of Agriculture, Alexander Rittikh, signed a decree “On the development of grain breads and fodder purchased for defense-related needs”. The essence of the distribution was that the Chairman of the Special Meeting distributed between the provinces (in accordance with the size of the crop, stocks and consumption standards) the amount of bread to be harvested. Not surprisingly, in the fall of 1916, the spontaneous movements of the workers strengthened in the empire, and the soldiers began to support them. Which ultimately led to the February Revolution.
Also consider the factor of millions of refugees. In Russia in 1914-1915 according to various data, from 3,7 to 7,4 million people (on average, more than 20% of the population of provinces occupied by Germany and Austria-Hungary) were forced to leave their homes and households, their homes. In the summer of 1915, the retreating Russian army often used the scorched-earth tactics — burning villages, crops, and supplies, destroying what they did not have time to take out. The General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander ordered the local population not to remain on ashes, but also to leave. At the same time there was no clear evacuation plan outside major cities. Huge crowds of hungry, ragged people moved to the east - on their own, on carts, often mingling with the troops.
A wave of refugees has intensified the destabilization of the empire. Writer Konstantin Paustovsky in August 1915 of the year, being in a village in the Minsk province, described what was happening around him: “Refugees are worrying, mostly embittered, inert, all too wild mass. Because of the bread they fight to the blood with each other. If there is not enough food or there is any misunderstanding, they can kill. Everywhere robbery, arson. Every morning we find around the hut abandoned corpses of cholera - there is not a single refugee furman who is not infected. Corpses lightly covered with sand. The stench is unbearable.
In the summer of 1915, it was decided to send flows of immigrants not only to the nearest rear provinces - Livonia, Vitebsk, Minsk, Kiev, Yekaterinoslav (as it was before), but also to the "internal gubernias" of the empire in order to relieve the front-line district from the "excess population". So the problems of the refugees fell like snow on the heads of the governors and zemstvos of Central Russia, the European North, the Volga region, the Urals. Refugees even appeared in Siberia and Turkestan. The relations of ordinary residents of the majority of “internal” cities with refugees were also not simple. At first, many really tried to help disinterestedly - provided free rooms in their homes, fed, shared things. But then the refugees began to see more often either “competitors” who were willing to work for less money and who were hitting salaries, or “parasites” (most of the settlers were old people, children and the sick), and even “crooks”. Refugees often starved, stole, arbitrarily chopped wood for firewood, etc.
In addition, some did not even know the Russian language and traditions, which made it difficult to establish contacts with local residents. A large flow of refugees came from the Caucasus, where Armenians and Assyrians fled from the Turkish genocide. Armenians made up more than 10% of all refugees, in some provinces - up to 13%, only about half a million people. The First World War led to the actual abolition of the Pale. In view of the extraordinary circumstances of the war and the occupation of areas of which for more than 120 years the Jews were not allowed to relocate deep into Russia, the restrictions (except for Moscow and St. Petersburg with the environs) were lifted. Jews made up 10-15% of all refugees. Thus, the wave of refugees contributed to the creation of a revolutionary situation in the country.
The situation has worsened in the national suburbs. Thus, in July 1916, martial law was introduced in the Turkestan district of the Russian Empire to combat the insurrection that had begun, caused by the authorities' decision to call for labor logistical work of local residents who were not subject to conscription.
25 June 1916, Tsar Nicholas II signed a decree on the mobilization of the male "alien" population of Turkestan and the Steppe region from the age of 19 to 43 years for front-line work. Mobilized peasants from the central provinces for digging trenches was not enough. Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Uzbeks, Tajiks and Turkmen responded with a general uprising: the decree was deliberately in the midst of agricultural work and on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan for Muslims, which, of course, was perceived particularly offensively. In addition, the ground for the uprising was already prepared by the burden of war. The indigenous population had to bear new duties: mandatory deliveries of meat, mass requisition of cattle, and fodder were introduced for the Kazakhs and Kyrgyz. A new military tax was imposed on the tent, as well as travel and other charges. Uzbeks and Tajiks were forced to grow "strategic" and very labor-intensive cotton, taxes on them also increased several times. This led in some areas to a fall in yields and a decrease in livestock numbers. At the same time, the fire of the uprising was fanned by the Russian revolutionaries, Turkish and German agents. They spread rumors about the Gazavat announced by the Sultan against the infidels, about the alleged successes of the Ottoman army at the front and the imminent appearance of Turkish troops in Turkestan, about the alleged performance of China against Russia. The base of the enemy agents was China. From Xinjiang to Central Asia, even delivered weapons.
During the uprising and during its suppression, tens of thousands of people were killed - both local residents and Russian immigrants. Tens of thousands of nomads fled to neighboring China. Turkestan could not completely calm down (it exploded again after the 1917 revolution of the year) for more than a quarter of a century. The last "basmachs" were eliminated by the Red Army in the years of the next world war. As a result, the 1916 uprising of the year became one of the forerunners of the coming collapse of the empire, and the national question will become one of the gravediggers of the Romanov empire.
Public opinion was already ready for a revolution. In Russia, conversations about a speedy revolution, which foreign diplomats are already beginning to discuss, are becoming commonplace. On October 8, the French ambassador to Russia, Maurice Palaeolog, referring to his source in the security department of the Police Department, wrote in his diary: “The leaders of the [revolutionary] movement are the three State Duma Trudovik deputies: Cheidze, Skobelev and Kerensky. A very strong influence also acts from abroad, and the influence of Lenin, who took refuge in Switzerland. ” Thus, information about the leaders of the future revolution was not a secret. However, the security organs were paralyzed, inactive, while the februaryists (liberal bourgeois leaders) were preparing to overthrow the autocracy.
The socio-political and labor movement has intensified. So, on October 16 a citywide political strike began in Rostov-on-Don. For almost ten days, almost all enterprises and university students went on strike at the same time, the usual life of the city stopped. The strikers issued slogans: “Down with the war!”, “Down with the government!”, “Long live the revolution!” In the fall of 1916, workers of almost all the main Don mines working for the front period were on strike - there were about 70 strikes in total.
Almost simultaneously, there were two major disasters of their time, which became “signs” of a future disaster. October 20, 1916 in Sevastopol on one of the most modern Russian ships fleet (commissioned only in 1915), the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet battleship "Empress Maria" there was an explosion of a powder cellar. After a series of new explosions, the ship died. It is still unknown what happened: whether it was a diversion or just a tragic accident (As the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet battleship "Empress Maria" died).
The 26 of October in the port of Arkhangelsk, during unloading, exploded the steamer “Baron Drizen”, which arrived from Great Britain with a cargo of metals, vehicles and ammunition, including asphyxiation and explosives. At the time of the disaster, 1600 tons of cargo remained in its holds. It was one of the largest stories non-nuclear explosions and one of the worst disasters of the First World War (One of the greatest catastrophes of the Great War). As a result of the tragedy, hundreds of people died. When studying the causes of the tragedy, investigators concluded that it was a diversion, but they did not find the ends.
Russia is in turmoil. October 29 1916 began the strike of most of the factories of Petrograd. The striking nature with which the workers left the enterprises and the absence of any clear requirements gave the strike a special character. It is believed that in most cases these were spontaneous performances in the wake of discontent from the shortage of products and price increases, sometimes turning into pogroms of shops and stores. The strikes continued until November 2 and went down in history as the October Strikes, which became the forerunners of the February revolution. Tens of thousands of people participated.
October 31 in the area of the automobile factory "Louis Renault", an event unprecedented until then - the soldiers went over to the side of the protesters, opening fire on the police. First, a crowd of strikers approached the plant and began to demand from the workers of Louis Renault to join the strike (the workers of the factory belonging to the French refused to participate in the strike). When engineers and factory directors came out to the crowd, stones flew at them, revolving shots rang out. One engineer and three French directors were badly injured. The police arrived at the scene, but few law enforcement officers were powerless in front of thousands of people. Then, the 181 Infantry Reserve Regiment, whose barracks were nearby, was sent to the aid of law enforcement officers. However, instead of “calming the mob”, the soldiers joined her and opened fire on the police and gendarmes. Only the arrival of four Cossack regiments "restored order" on the street: part of the workers and soldiers were scattered, partly killed and detained. However, the subsequent arrests of the rebels provoked a new wave of strikes.
The French ambassador to Russia, Maurice Paleologue, wrote these days in his diary: “The people are suffering and angry. The ministers are openly accused of supporting hunger in order to cause unrest and to have an excuse for reprisals against socialist organizations ... they repeat everywhere that "this cannot continue." The Bolsheviks or “extremists” are worried, they organize meetings in the barracks, they declare that “the great day of the proletariat is nearing.”
It is worth noting that the British and French diplomats themselves did not stand apart from the revolution. They actively stirred up the Februaryists, held meetings with them, set up the aristocracy accordingly. As a result, the top of the empire itself will destroy autocracy, stirring up civil unrest, sabotaging the supply of the capital, and worsening the military’s ability to eliminate unrest. At the same time, the security organs and the police as a whole were paralyzed and were unable to eliminate the antimonarchist plot in a preventive manner.
On November 9 in Petrograd, 150 soldiers of the 181 Infantry Reserve Regiment were shot, which October 31 supported the workers and fired at the police while suppressing a strike at the Louis Renault factory. In response, the workers of Petrograd announced a new strike, which continued until November 13 (old style - until October October). To suppress the workers ’performance, the commander of the Petrograd Military District, Sergey Khabalov, 31 and 9, November, ordered the closure of 10 large enterprises in Petrograd for“ indefinite time ”. In addition, about 15 thousand workers who took the most active part in the demonstrations were laid off from the factories. However, this only aggravated the situation, and the strike was expanded under purely political slogans. Demonstrators demanded the release of detained workers and soldiers, as well as sailors of the Baltic Fleet, arrested for participating in an underground revolutionary organization. The strike reached its peak (up to 40 thousand people participated in it). Frightened by the scale of the strike movement, the authorities were forced to save the lives of the arrested sailors and 90 November was allowed to resume the work of previously closed enterprises.
Unrest occurred in other cities. November 18 in Samara, unrest occurred in the urban market, which grew into the mayhem of trade shops and stores. The unrest was triggered by a sharp rise in prices for food, kerosene and other essential goods, moreover, the main part in them was taken by women. When suppressing unrest, the police used a weapon, several women were killed and injured. Samara workers soon sent a protest note to the State Duma: “We, organized workers in Samara, in the strongest terms, protest against this kind of reprisals against the food crisis brought to extremes. We are protesting against the policy of the execution of our wives. "
Liberal circles began their offensive on power. On November 14 in Petrograd, at a meeting of the State Duma, the leader of the cadet party, Pavel Milyukov, made a famous speech (“Stupidity or treason?”), In which he directly accused Prime Minister B. V. Sturmer and the Empress of preparing a separate peace with Germany. It was immediately banned by the censorship to the press and publicity, but the very next day it was sold out across Petrograd.
From Milyukov’s speech: “... We have lost faith in the fact that this power can lead us to victory, because with respect to this power, both the attempts of correction and the attempts of improvement that we undertook here have not been successful. ... When, with ever more persistence, the Duma reminds that it is necessary to organize the rear for a successful struggle, and the authorities continue to repeat that to organize means to organize a revolution, and consciously prefers chaos and disorganization — what is this, stupidity or betrayal? ... We have many, many separate reasons to be dissatisfied with the government. ... And all private reasons boil down to this one: the inability and malice of a given composition of the government. This is our main evil, a victory over which will be equivalent to winning the entire campaign ... ".
The Council of Ministers discussed the possibility of the dissolution of the State Duma and the arrest of Milyukov. However, none of the ministers, with the exception of Interior Minister A. D. Protopopov, did not want to take it up. As a result, the proposal was not implemented. Thus, the tsarist government at the most decisive moment, when the fate of the empire was decided and decisive actions could lead to the defeat of the fevralists, took an “ostrich position”. The government was known for certain the work of many public figures and members of the Duma in preparing the coup. As a result, the inaction of the tsarist government (apparently, the betrayal of some ministers) at the most crucial moment will be one of the main reasons for the victory of the February revolution.
Moreover, the supreme power also once again showed weakness. On November 23, the chairman of the Council of Ministers, Boris Stürmer, was dismissed in the Russian Empire. Tsar Nicholas II was forced to take this step after the scandalous speech in the Duma of the Cadet Party leader Pavel Milyukov, who directly accused Sturmer and the Empress of complicity with Germany. The work of the Sturner in the government annoyed almost the whole of society, including some members of the royal family, as well as representatives of the Allies of the Entente, as he persistently defended the interests of Russia. As a result, Nikolai de facto confirmed Milyukov’s words about “treason”. Alexander Trepov was appointed new chairman of the Council of Ministers, who previously held the post of Minister of Railways and Communications.
The weakness of the supreme power, the government, which at the most dangerous time made concessions to the liberal-bourgeois part of society, having arranged the so-called ministerial leapfrog, will contribute to the fall of the Romanov empire.
- Alexander Samsonov
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