"There is treason, cowardice and deceit all around"
Abdication of Nicholas II on March 2, 1917. In the royal carriage: Minister of the Court Baron Fredericks, General N. Ruzsky, V. V. Shulgin, A. I. Guchkov, Nicholas II.
General situation
The elite conspirators, the future Februaryist revolutionaries, planned a coup for the beginning of 1917 with the aim of overthrowing Emperor Nicholas II and forming a new regime – a constitutional monarchy or a republic following the example of “dear Europe” (How old Russia was broken).
For this purpose, the activities of the state security organs of that time were sabotaged: signals and information about the conspiracy, together with the names of the leading conspirators, went to the top, but did not reach the tsar. In particular, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Alexander Protopopov, not only did not take any measures against the conspirators, but also did not report all the information to the tsar in full.
A "street element" was also being prepared. In particular, a food shortage in the capital with a general abundance of food products in the country. Petrograd and its environs were filled with reserve battalions, whose soldiers did not want to go to the front. They were already beginning to disobey, did not follow the orders of officers, and resisted the police and the Cossacks. Another huge revolutionary nest became the Baltic fleet, whose crews practically did not fight and were greatly disorganized. Up to the point of anarchist sentiments dominating. A strike movement was also provoked.
At first, the coup did not take off. The Tsar promised to disperse the State Duma, the police broke up a couple of demonstrations. Law enforcement officers made preventive arrests of agitators at factories, and threw the workers' section of the Military-Industrial Committee into prison.
These measures were weak and inconsistent. The main conspirators were not touched. However, they showed that with decisive action, if at the head of the country at that time there was a person like Napoleon or Suvorov, who was not afraid of a little bloodshed in order to avoid a lot, then the conspiracy could have been crushed.
On February 22 (March 8), 1917, Nicholas II left Petrograd for Headquarters. The Petrograd Bolshevik Committee believed that the momentum had run out, gave orders to end the strikes and prepare for new actions. The Liberal Democrats were also bored. The leadership of the Cadets (constitutional democrats) celebrated the anniversary of their newspaper Rech in the Medved restaurant. Champagne flowed like a river, but they considered the latest round of the struggle against the autocracy to be lost.
The Bolsheviks generally believed that revolution in Russia during this period was still impossible. Their leaders were abroad, and their activists were in exile and prison.
Main sponsors and organizers
However, the then collective West needed a coup. Germany needed the collapse of the Russian Empire simply to survive. To get the opportunity to send divisions and resources from the Eastern (Russian) Front to the Western Front. To pump out material resources, gold and food from Russia. But the Germans believed that a coup in Russia could not happen before the autumn of 1917.
The Russian Empire was opposed by its "allies-partners" in the Entente - France, Britain and the USA. They first used Russia's potential to stop the German "steamroller" and save France. They used Russia as "cannon fodder", betting with the German world, and a "cash cow", pumping gold out of it.
At the same time, from the very beginning, Paris and London did not intend to share the “skin” of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Turkey with Russia. To give the Russians Galician and Carpathian Rus (as part of Austria-Hungary), parts of Poland (as part of the Second Reich and Austria-Hungary), the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits, Constantinople, the lands historical Armenia and Georgia (Ottoman Empire). After the victory, Russia's power was to increase sharply in several strategic directions at once - in Central and Southern Europe, the Black Sea (it was turning into a Russian lake), the Caucasus, Anatolia and the Eastern Mediterranean. The French and the British used the Russians and at the same time feared the enormous power of the Russian Empire.
In the final stages of the First World War, using Russia's resources to contain the onslaught of the German world, the Westerners planned to overthrow the autocracy, dismember and rob Russia. To create in its place a series of colonial bantustans and banana republics dependent on the Western great powers. Russian wealth was needed to overcome another crisis of capitalism, to create a new world order led by England and the United States.
The coup was carried out in early 1917, since Germany was on the verge of defeat, and Austria-Hungary and Turkey had already been defeated and were holding the front only with the help of the Germans. It was impossible to allow Tsarist Russia to win and thereby gain a chance to carry out internal modernization.
Therefore, the Westerners, with the help of official diplomats, their agents and a network of Masonic lodges, prepared and organized the revolution in Russia. Among the conspirators were ministers and grand dukes, aristocrats and church hierarchs, large bankers and industrialists, representatives of leading parties and generals. Financing was provided through a branch of several banks, and the Russian Minister of Finance Pyotr Bark covered them up. The conspirators – the then Russian elite – were directed by the British and French ambassadors Buchanan and Paleologue. The American ambassador Francis kept to the side, but kept the situation under control.
A major role in the future revolution was also played by a major American businessman, banker Charles Richard Crane, an adviser to US President Woodrow Wilson on Russia. Crane acted in Russia as the personal representative of the American president. According to former ambassador to Germany William Dodd, Crane "did much to bring about the Kerensky revolution, which gave way to communism."
The Petrograd Conference of the Entente Allies in January-February 1917 was organized mainly for the purpose of preparing a coup. Along with the British Minister of War and banker Alfred Milner, a whole team of British intelligence officers arrived - Lockhart, Cromie, and others. The British also brought large sums of cash with them. The Hotel France, where the British delegation was accommodated, practically became the headquarters of the revolution. Russian conspirators came here for consultations.
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner (1854 - 1925) - British statesman, major industrialist and banker, Minister of War. One of the organizers of February
"Spontaneous Revolt"
Comrade (Deputy) Minister of Railways Lomonosov worked efficiently. There were snowdrifts on the roads, then frosts hit. The Ministry sent out instructions on the lines on what mode to keep the locomotives in. 1200 locomotives broke down (their pipes burst). Thousands of carriages, including those with food, were stuck at the stations. Petrograd was not threatened by famine. However, there were shortages with black bread.
Agents with British and American money began to stir up trouble in the queues. The city's "bottom", corrupted by the previous impunity, joined in. They robbed shops, stopped trams, and carried out wine cellars. Revolutionary activists joined in, stirring up the workers.
On February 24, General Sergei Khabalov, commander of the Petrograd Military District, received full power in the capital. The man, who had virtually no combat experience and had made a career as a staff officer and chief of the military education system, was confused and did nothing. Or he himself was involved in the conspiracy. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Protopopov, sent the tsar cheerful reports for three days, holding back information. The activities of the "siloviki" were sabotaged. There were no decisive leaders, as well as loyal units. Golitsyn's weak government was paralyzed.
Only on February 25 (March 10), 1917, information about the rebellion in the capital reached the Tsar from private individuals and officers who had arrived at Headquarters. Nicholas II ordered Golitsyn to dissolve the Duma and Khabalov to stop the unrest.
But it was too late. On the night of February 27, the reserve battalions of the Pavlovsky and Volynsky regiments rebelled. An armed mass of many thousands poured down the street, killing those officers and policemen who did not understand the situation at the time. They were joined by workers, students, and residents of the city's "bottom". They smashed police stations and prisons. Criminals joined the riot. The rebels occupied the arsenal, stealing tens of thousands of rifles and ammunition.
Khabalov had 150 thousand soldiers, military schools, but he fell into prostration. He considered the regiments unreliable and ordered them to sit in the barracks. It is possible that this was deliberate sabotage.
One of the organizers of the February Revolution, Charles Richard Crane (1858 - 1939), a major American businessman and banker, advisor to US President Woodrow Wilson on Russia.
The end of autocracy
The government did nothing. Protopopov suggested "self-dissolution". The ministers submitted a collective resignation and went home.
There was complete chaos in the capital. The Duma refused to disband, but there was also confusion in it. The majority of deputies believed that the elements and pogroms had to be stopped. The Chairman of the State Duma Rodzianko believed that the monarchy had to be preserved, he wandered around the city, spoke at rallies.
The socialist deputies believed that the coup should be led, and formed the Petrograd Soviet. Nikolai Chkheidze, the leader of the Social Democratic (Menshevik) faction, became the head of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, and the comrades (deputies) of the chairman were the Menshevik Matvei Skobelev and the Socialist Revolutionary Alexander Kerensky (all three were members of the IV State Duma and Masons).
The liberal democrats were quite ready for the coup and created their own center of power. On February 27 (March 12), the Provisional Committee of the State Duma was formed ("Committee of members of the State Duma for the establishment of order in the capital and for communication with persons and institutions"), headed by Rodzianko. It included N. V. Nekrasov (Cadet), I. I. Dmitryukov (Duma Secretary, Left Octobrist), V. A. Rzhevsky (Progressive), N. S. Chkheidze (at the same time Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, Social Democrat), A. F. Kerensky (at the same time Deputy Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, Socialist Revolutionary Trudovik), P. N. Milyukov (Cadet), A. I. Konovalov (Progressive), M. A. Karaulov (Independent), S. I. Shidlovsky (Chairman of the Bureau of the Progressive Bloc, head of the Left Octobrist faction), V. V. Shulgin (leader of the "progressive Russian nationalists" faction in the Duma), V. N. Lvov (Chairman of the Center faction in the Duma), and B. A. Engelhardt (commandant of the Petrograd garrison).
They began to form their own government, to seize control. Commissars were appointed to manage the ministries, military, food and other commissions were formed. The Provisional Committee assumed the rights of a legitimate monarch.
On March 1 (14), Rodzianko appealed to the active army and navy to continue the fight. On the same day, the Provisional Committee received de facto recognition from the governments of Great Britain and France.
Members of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma. Sitting (from left to right): V. N. Lvov, V. A. Rzhevsky, S. I. Shidlovsky, M. V. Rodzianko. Standing: V. V. Shulgin, I. I. Dmitryukov, B. A. Engelhardt (commandant of the Petrograd garrison), A. F. Kerensky, M. A. Karaulov.
Renunciation
In general, nothing had been lost yet. Petrograd is far from being the whole of Russia. And several reserve regiments are not the whole army. To disperse the soldiers who did not want to fight, the city crowd, one or two regular divisions were enough while the unrest was still in its infancy. It is enough to remember how the Paris Commune was crushed in France.
All the levers of control were concentrated at Headquarters. Nicholas II entrusted his favorite, General Nikolai Ivanov, to lead the punitive expedition to Petrograd. He was given the St. George Battalion, and four regiments were sent from each front.
However, the Tsar himself made a mistake - he decided to leave Headquarters and go to Tsarskoe Selo. There was a family there, for whom Nikolai Alexandrovich was very worried. And there, on the approaches to the capital, loyal troops were supposed to arrive.
This was a fatal mistake. The Tsar immediately lost control, decisions were already being made behind his back. General Ivanov hesitated. The Tsar's echelon was sent not to the capital, where it was possible to gather loyal forces, but to Pskov, the headquarters of the Northern Front. To the conspirator Ruzsky.
On the way and at the headquarters of the Northern Front, Tsar Nicholas was properly processed. They reported that all commanders and troops were against him, although this was a deception. The Tsar could well have gathered loyal forces, and those who wavered in such a situation simply would not have dared to act against, to break their oath.
At first, Nikolai agreed to a "responsible ministry." From the Dno station (a symbolic name), the tsar sent a telegram to the Duma, inviting Rodzianko along with Prime Minister Golitsyn and a candidate for the post of head of government. The telegram did not reach Rodzianko, it was intercepted. Guchkov and Shulgin went to the tsar, bringing a list of the government, which the entire Duma had allegedly approved.
Ruzsky, Guchkov and Shulgin put pressure on the Tsar. They said that the Fatherland had to be saved, the crowd had to be pacified. The only way was abdication. This was the demand of the Duma, the public and the people. They lied that the uprising was taking place throughout the country. The Tsar's connections were cut off, they went through Ruzsky's headquarters, where they could correct any information.
The bluff was brazen and assertive, and Nikolai Alexandrovich broke. On March 2 (15), 1917, in Pskov, while in a train carriage, Nikolai II abdicated the throne in favor of his brother Mikhail Alexandrovich. At the same time, the emperor signed decrees appointing Prince Lvov as head of government, and Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich as supreme commander-in-chief. Nikolai II also abdicated the throne for his heir, Alexei Nikolaevich, in violation of the coronation manifesto of Emperor Paul I of April 5, 1797, which provided for the possibility of abdication only for the ruler, but did not provide for the possibility of abdication for the heir.
On this day, Nikolai made an entry in his diary:
“In the morning, Ruzsky came and read his long conversation with Rodzianko over the telephone. According to him, the situation in Petrograd was such that the ministry from the Duma was now powerless to do anything, since the Social Democratic Party, represented by the workers’ committee, was fighting against it. My abdication was needed. Ruzsky passed this conversation on to headquarters, and Alekseyev to all the commanders-in-chief. By 2:1 p.m., responses had arrived from everyone. The gist of it was that in the name of saving Russia and keeping the army at the front calm, it was necessary to decide on this step. I agreed. Headquarters sent a draft of the manifesto. In the evening, Guchkov and Shulgin arrived from Petrograd, with whom I had a talk and gave them the signed and revised manifesto. At one o’clock in the morning, I left Pskov with a heavy feeling of what I had been through. There was treason, cowardice, and deceit all around!”
No one arrested Nikolai. He freely returned to Headquarters and personally announced his abdication.
Negotiations were also held with Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. He was afraid to take power, to become "bloody" by suppressing unrest in the capital. They proposed the idea of a Constituent Assembly, which would express the will of the people. On March 3 (16), the Grand Duke renounced supreme power until the Constituent Assembly made a decision. In the meantime, power was transferred to the Provisional Government. Supreme Commander-in-Chief Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich called on the army to wait for "the expression of the will of the Russian people." At that time, many believed that Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich would become the new tsar.
The last bond had fallen, Pandora's box was open. The Great Russian Time of Troubles began in the country, which destroyed the great power and took millions of lives.
Abdication of Emperor Nicholas II. March 2, 1917. Typescript. In the lower right corner, in pencil, the signature of Nicholas II: Nicholas; in the lower left corner, in black ink over the pencil, the certification inscription by V. B. Frederiks: Minister of the Imperial Court, Adjutant General Count Frederiks.
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