What events took place in 1917. Great October Socialist Revolution. Consequences of the October Revolution

The October Revolution of 1917 in Russia - 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 solving workers, agrarian, 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 the extreme left parties in the center and nationalist parties in the outskirts country. 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 the 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 "two revolutions" version. According to this version, in February 1917, the bourgeois democratic revolution began and in the coming months was completely completed, and the October Revolution was the second, a socialist revolution.

The second version was put forward by Leon Trotsky. While already abroad, he wrote a book about the united revolution of 1917, in which he defended the concept that the October coup 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 were the first to be 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 "upper classes", the crisis of the "lower classes", and the extraordinary activity of the masses.

Lenin characterized the situation that developed after the formation of the Provisional Government as "dual power", and Trotsky as "dual power": the socialists in the Soviets could rule, but did not want to, the "progressive bloc" in the government wanted to rule, but could not, being forced to rely on the Petrograd advice with which he disagreed on all issues of domestic and foreign policy.

Some domestic and foreign researchers adhere to the version of the "German financing" of the October Revolution. It lies in the fact that the German government, interested in Russia's withdrawal from the war, purposefully organized the transfer from Switzerland to Russia of representatives of the radical faction of the RSDLP, headed by Lenin in the so-called "sealed carriage" and financed the activities of the Bolsheviks aimed at undermining the combat capability 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 immediate leadership of the uprising was carried out by the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, which also included the Left SRs.

Chronicle of events of the October coup

In the afternoon of October 24 (November 6), the cadets tried to open bridges across the Neva in order to cut off the workers' districts from the center. The Military Revolutionary Committee (VRK) sent detachments of the Red Guards and soldiers to the bridges, who took almost all the bridges under guard. By evening, the soldiers of the Keksholm regiment occupied the Central Telegraph, a detachment of sailors seized the Petrograd Telegraph Agency, the soldiers of the Izmailovsky Regiment - the Baltic Station. The revolutionary units blocked Pavlovskoe, Nikolaevskoe, Vladimirskoe, Konstantinovskoe cadet schools.

On the evening of October 24, Lenin arrived at Smolny and directly led the leadership of the armed struggle.

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

At 2 am the first company of the 6th reserve sapper battalion captured the Nikolaevsky (now Moscow) railway 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, the sailors of the Guards naval crew took possession of the State Bank.

At 7 o'clock in the morning, the soldiers of the Kexholm regiment occupied the central telephone exchange. At 8 o'clock. the Red Guards of the Moscow and Narva districts seized the Varshavsky railway station.

At 14 hours 35 minutes. an emergency meeting of the Petrograd Soviet was opened. The Soviet heard a report that the Provisional Government had been deposed and that state power had passed into the hands of an organ 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; the sailors occupied the Naval Port and the Main Admiralty, where the Naval Headquarters was arrested.

By 6 pm the revolutionary detachments began to move towards the Winter Palace.

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

At 2 am on October 26 (November 8), armed workers, soldiers of the Petrograd garrison and sailors of the Baltic Fleet, headed by Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko, occupied the Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government.

On October 25 (November 7), following the victory of the almost bloodless uprising in Petrograd, an armed struggle began in Moscow as well. In Moscow, the revolutionary forces met with extremely fierce resistance, and stubborn battles were fought on the streets of the city. At the cost of great sacrifices (during the uprising, about 1000 people were killed) on November 2 (15), Soviet power was established in Moscow.

On the evening of October 25 (November 7), 1917, the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies opened. The congress heard and adopted an appeal written by Lenin "To Workers, Soldiers and Peasants," which announced the transfer of power to the Second Congress of Soviets, and locally to the Soviets 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, composed of: Chairman Lenin; People's Commissars: Lev Trotsky for Foreign Affairs, Joseph Stalin for Nationalities and others. Lev Kamenev was elected Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, and after his resignation, Yakov Sverdlov.

The Bolsheviks took control of the main industrial centers of Russia. The leaders of the Cadet Party were arrested, the opposition press was banned. In January 1918, the Constituent Assembly was dispersed; by March of the same year, Soviet power had been 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.

Reasons for the October Revolution of 1917:

• war weariness;
• industry and agriculture of the country were on the verge of complete collapse;
• catastrophic financial crisis;
• the unresolved agrarian question and the impoverishment of the peasants;
• delaying socio-economic reforms;
• contradictions of the Dual Power became a prerequisite for the change of power.

On July 3, 1917, unrest began in Petrograd demanding the overthrow of the Provisional Government. Counterrevolutionary units, by order of the government, used weapons to suppress the peaceful demonstration. Arrests began, the death penalty was reinstated.

The dual power ended in the victory of the bourgeoisie. The events of July 3-5 showed that the bourgeois Provisional Government did not intend to fulfill the demands of the working people, and it became clear to the Bolsheviks that it was no longer possible to take power peacefully.

At the 6th Congress of the RSDLP (b), which took place from July 26 to August 3, 1917, the party took the orientation toward a socialist revolution through an armed uprising.

At the August State Conference in Moscow, the bourgeoisie intended to declare L.G. Kornilov as a military dictator and to coincide with this event the dispersal of the Soviets. But an active revolutionary action thwarted the plans of the bourgeoisie. Then Kornilov on August 23 moved his troops to Petrograd.

The Bolsheviks, conducting extensive agitational work among the toiling masses and soldiers, clarified the meaning of the conspiracy and created revolutionary centers to fight the Kornilovism. The revolt was suppressed, and the people finally realized that the Bolshevik Party is the only party that defends the interests of the working people.

In mid-September V.I. Lenin worked out a plan for an armed uprising and ways of implementing it. The main goal of the October Revolution was the conquest of power by the Soviets.

On October 12, the Military Revolutionary Committee (VRK) was created - a center for the preparation of an armed uprising. Zinoviev and Kamenev, opponents of the socialist revolution, gave the dates for the uprising to the Provisional Government.

The uprising began on the night of October 24, the day of the opening of the Second Congress of Soviets. The government was immediately able to isolate from the armed units loyal to it.

October 25 V.I. Lenin arrived in Smolny and personally led the uprising in Petrograd. During the October Revolution, important objects such as bridges, telegraphs, and government offices were seized.

On the morning of October 25, 1917, the Military Revolutionary Committee announced the overthrow of the Provisional Government and the transfer of power to the Petrograd Soviet of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies. On October 26, the Winter Palace was captured and members of the Provisional Government were arrested.

The October Revolution in Russia took place with the full support of the popular masses. The alliance of the working class and the peasantry, the transition of the armed army to the side of the revolution, the weakness of the bourgeoisie determined the results of the October 1917 revolution.

On October 25 and 26, 1917, the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets was held, at which the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) was elected and the first Soviet government, the Council of People's Commissars (SNK), was formed. V.I. Lenin. He put forward two decrees: the "Decree on Peace", which called on the belligerent countries to end hostilities, and the "Decree on Land", which expresses the interests of the peasants.

The adopted decrees contributed to the victory of Soviet power in the regions of the country.

On November 3, 1917, with the capture of the Kremlin, Soviet power also won in Moscow. Further, Soviet power was proclaimed in Belarus, Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Crimea, the North Caucasus, and Central Asia. The revolutionary struggle in Transcaucasia dragged on until the end of the civil war (1920-1921), which was a consequence of the October 1917 revolution.

The Great October Socialist Revolution divided the world into two camps - capitalist and socialist.

The February Revolution of 1917 in Russia is still called Bourgeois Democratic. It is the second revolution in a row (the first occurred in 1905, the third in October 1917). The February revolution began a great turmoil in Russia, during which not only the Romanov dynasty fell and the Empire ceased to be a monarchy, but the entire bourgeois-capitalist system, as a result of which the elite in Russia was completely replaced

Causes of the February Revolution

• Unhappy participation of Russia in the First World War, accompanied by defeats at the fronts, disorganization of life in the rear
• The inability of Emperor Nicholas II to rule Russia, which resulted in unsuccessful appointments of ministers and military leaders
• Corruption on all levels of government
• Economic difficulties
• The ideological decay of the masses, who have ceased to believe in the tsar, the church, and the local leaders
• Discontent with the tsar's policies by representatives of the big bourgeoisie and even his closest relatives

“… For several days we lived on a volcano… There was no bread in Petrograd, - the transport was badly disordered due to extraordinary snows, frosts and, most importantly, of course, because of the tension of the war… There were street riots… But it was certainly not in bread ... This was the last straw ... The point was that in this whole huge city it was impossible to find several hundred people who would sympathize with the authorities ... And not even that ... The point is that the authorities did not sympathize with themselves ... , in fact, not a single minister who would believe in himself and in what he is doing ... The class of the former rulers was fading away .. "
(Vas. Shulgin "Days")

February Revolution

• February 21 - grain riots in Petrograd. Crowds smashed grain shops
• February 23 - the beginning of the general strike of the workers of Petrograd. Mass demonstrations with slogans "Down with war!", "Down with autocracy!", "Bread!"
• February 24 - More than 200 thousand workers of 214 enterprises went on strike, students
• February 25 - 305 thousand people have already gone on strike, 421 factories stood. The workers were joined by white-collar workers and artisans. The troops refused to disperse the protesters
• February 26 - Riots continue. Decay in the troops. Police failure to restore calm. Nicholas II
  postponed the beginning of meetings of the State Duma from February 26 to April 1, which was perceived as its dissolution
• February 27 - armed uprising. The spare battalions of Volynsky, Litovsky, Preobrazhensky refused to obey the commanders and joined the people. In the afternoon, the Semyonovsky regiment, the Izmailovsky regiment, and the spare armored division rose up. The Kronverksky arsenal, the Arsenal, the main post office, the telegraph office, railway stations, and bridges were occupied. The State Duma
  appointed a Provisional Committee "to establish order in St. Petersburg and to communicate with institutions and individuals."
• February 28, night, the Provisional Committee announced that it was taking power into its own hands.
• On February 28, the 180th Infantry Regiment, the Finnish Regiment, sailors of the 2nd Baltic Fleet Crew and the cruiser Aurora revolted. The insurgent people occupied all the stations of Petrograd
• March 1 - Kronstadt, Moscow revolted, the tsar's associates offered him either the introduction of loyal army units into Petrograd, or the creation of the so-called "responsible ministries" - a government subordinate to the Duma, which meant the transformation of the Emperor into an "English queen."
• March 2, night - Nicholas II signed a manifesto on the granting of a responsible ministry, but it was too late. The public demanded renunciation.

"The Chief of Staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief," General Alekseev, requested by telegram all the commanders-in-chief of the fronts. These telegrams asked the commanders-in-chief for their opinion on the desirability of the emperor's abdication in favor of his son under the given circumstances. By one o'clock on the second of March, all the answers of the commanders-in-chief had been received and concentrated in the hands of General Ruzsky. These answers were:
1) From Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich - Commander-in-Chief of the Caucasian Front.
2) From General Sakharov - the actual commander-in-chief of the Romanian front (in fact, the commander-in-chief was the king of Romania, and Sakharov was his chief of staff).
3) From General Brusilov - Commander-in-Chief of the Southwestern Front.
4) From General Evert - Commander-in-Chief of the Western Front.
5) From Ruzsky himself - the commander-in-chief of the Northern Front. All five commanders-in-chief of the fronts and General Alekseev (General Alekseev was the chief of staff under the Emperor) spoke in favor of the Emperor's abdication from the throne. " (Vas. Shulgin "Days")

• On March 2, at about 15:00, Tsar Nicholas II decided to abdicate in favor of his heir, Tsarevich Alexei, during the regency of the younger brother of the Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich. During the day, the king decided to abdicate also for the heir.
• March 4 - the newspapers published the Manifesto on the abdication of Nicholas II and the Manifesto on the abdication of Mikhail Alexandrovich.

“The man rushed to us - Lovely!” He shouted and grabbed my hand. “Have you heard? There is no king! Only Russia remained.
He kissed everyone hard and rushed to run on, sobbing and muttering something ... It was already one o'clock in the morning when Efremov usually slept deeply.
Suddenly, at this inopportune hour, the cathedral bell rang out, echoing and briefly. Then the second blow, the third.
The blows became more frequent, a tight ringing was already floating over the town, and soon the bells of all the surrounding churches joined it.
Lights were lit in all the houses. The streets were filled with people. The doors in many houses were thrown wide open. Strangers, crying, hugged each other. A solemn and jubilant cry of locomotives flew from the station (K. Paustovsky "Restless Youth")

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

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

The unruly and motley revolutionary masses, not disdaining murder and robbery, plunged the city into chaos.
On February 27, at about 2 pm, the soldiers occupied the Tauride Palace. The State Duma found itself in an ambiguous position: on the one hand, according to the emperor's decree, it should have dissolved itself, but on the other hand, the pressure of the rebels and the actual anarchy forced it to take some action. A compromise solution was a meeting disguised as a "private meeting".
As a result, it was decided to form a government body - the Provisional 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 that ended with the overthrow of the old regime and dynasty."

The revolutionary movement grew more and more. The soldiers seize the Arsenal, the Central Post Office, the telegraph office, bridges and train stations. Petrograd was completely at the mercy of the rebels. A real tragedy broke out in Kronstadt, which was swept by a wave of lynching, which 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, pleads with the emperor "for the sake of saving Russia and the dynasty to put at the head of the government a person whom Russia would trust."

Nicholas declares that by giving rights to others, he deprives himself of the power bestowed on them by God. The possibility of a peaceful transformation of the country into a constitutional monarchy had already been missed.

After the abdication of Nicholas II, which took place on March 2, a dual power actually took shape 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 office.
Colonel Mordvinov, who was on the tsar's train at the time of his abdication, recalled Nikolai's plans to move to Livadia. “Your Majesty, go abroad as soon as possible. Under the current conditions, even in the Crimea, there is no life, ”Mordvinov tried to convince the tsar. "No way. I would not want to leave Russia, I love her too much, ”objected Nikolai.

Leon Trotsky noted that the February uprising was spontaneous:

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

However, Miliukov insists in his memoirs that the coup was planned shortly after the start of the war and before "the army was supposed to go on the offensive, the results of which would have radically stopped all hints of discontent and would have caused 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,” the former minister wrote.
British historian Richard Pipes calls the actions of the tsarist government during the February uprising "fatal weak will", noting that "the Bolsheviks in such circumstances did not hesitate to be shot."
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 1200 were injured.

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

Poland and Finland demanded independence, they started talking about independence in Siberia, and the Central Rada formed in Kiev proclaimed an "autonomous Ukraine".

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

The Great October Socialist Revolution took place on October 25-26, 1917 (November 7-8, new style). This is one of the greatest events in the history of Russia, as a result of which there have been cardinal changes in the position of all classes of society.

The October Revolution began as a result of a number of facts:

• in 1914-1918 Russia was involved in, the situation at the front was not the best, there was no intelligent leader, the army suffered heavy losses. In industry, the growth of military production prevailed over consumer production, which led to a rise in prices and aroused the discontent of the masses. The soldiers and peasants wanted peace, while the bourgeoisie, who profited from the supply of military means, thirsted for the continuation of hostilities;
• national conflicts;
• the intensity of the class struggle. The peasants, who for centuries dreamed of getting rid of the oppression of the landlords and kulaks and taking possession of the land, were ready for decisive action;
• the fall of the authority of the Provisional Government, which was unable to solve the problems of society;
• the Bolsheviks had a strong authoritative leader V.I. Lenin, who promised the people to solve all social problems;
• the prevalence of socialist ideas in society.

The Bolshevik Party achieved tremendous influence over the masses. In October, there were already 400 thousand people on their side. On October 16, 1917, the Military Revolutionary Committee was created, which began preparations for an armed uprising. During the revolution on October 25, 1917, all key points in the city were occupied by the Bolsheviks under the leadership of V.I. Lenin. They captured the Winter Palace and arrested the Provisional Government.

On the evening of October 25, at the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, it was announced that power would pass to the 2nd Congress of Soviets, and in the localities - to the Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies.

On October 26, the decrees on peace and on land were adopted. At the congress, a Soviet government was formed, called the Council of People's Commissars, which included Lenin (chairman), L.D. Trotsky (People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs), I.V. Stalin (People's Commissar for National Affairs). The Declaration of the Rights of the Peoples of Russia was introduced, which stated that all people have equal rights to freedom and development, there is no longer a nation of masters and a nation of oppressed people.

As a result of the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks won a victory, the dictatorship of the proletariat was established. The class society was abolished, the landlord's land was transferred to the hands of the peasants, and industrial buildings - factories, factories, mines - into the hands of the workers.

As a result of the October coup, it began, because of which millions of people died, many emigrated to other countries. The Great October Revolution influenced the subsequent course of events in world history.