Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:38,240
Italy, 1913
2
00:00:48,159 --> 00:00:49,679
Hello.
3
00:00:54,799 --> 00:00:59,359
In 1913 a Russian philosopher and writer of political essays
4
00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:03,600
Boris Valentinovitch Yakovenko crossed the border of Italy.
5
00:01:05,120 --> 00:01:08,320
He was arrested for his revolutionary activities in Russia
6
00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:12,640
and left his Motherland for good after his release.
7
00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,240
In four years, a revolution will take place in Petrograd.
8
00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:30,000
Boris Valentinovitch will fail to witness the event he had been waiting for
9
00:01:30,079 --> 00:01:34,239
all his life. He was only reading newspapers and collecting information
10
00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:38,479
about what was going on in Russia. Years will pass,
11
00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:41,200
and he’ll write a book based on those notes
12
00:01:41,280 --> 00:01:44,879
called “The History of the Great Russian Revolution”.
13
00:01:44,959 --> 00:01:49,039
It’ll become one of the first descriptions of the tragic events
14
00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:53,680
that shook not only the Russian Empire but the entire world.
15
00:02:15,520 --> 00:02:22,320
The History of the Russian Revilution. February. Episode One
16
00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,560
The beginning of the 20th century; the Russian Empire.
17
00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:43,920
“Give us twenty peaceful years, and you won’t recognize Russia”.
18
00:02:44,000 --> 00:02:46,879
These were the words of the Prime-Minister Petr Stolypin
19
00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:51,599
who started large-scale economic reforms in 1906.
20
00:02:51,919 --> 00:02:56,239
In September of 1911 Stolypin was murdered.
21
00:02:56,319 --> 00:02:58,959
However, the transformations in Russia went on.
22
00:02:59,039 --> 00:03:03,199
Even Lenin acknowledged that if Stolypin’s reforms had been successful
23
00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:05,120
the revolution wouldn’t be possible.
24
00:03:05,280 --> 00:03:09,039
The Russian Empire was undergoing an unprecedented upsurge.
25
00:03:10,919 --> 00:03:15,039
Agriculture was then the main branch of the Russian economy.
26
00:03:15,199 --> 00:03:20,719
It was bringing in 55,7% of the state income.
27
00:03:20,800 --> 00:03:24,640
Almost all the agricultural works were performed manually
28
00:03:24,719 --> 00:03:26,800
or with the help of the farm animals.
29
00:03:26,879 --> 00:03:31,439
Still, Russia remained the leading world exporter of grain.
30
00:03:31,520 --> 00:03:36,240
Its share amounted to 40% of the entire world export.
31
00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,400
As for the industrial production, Russia occupied a humble fifth place.
32
00:03:42,479 --> 00:03:47,199
For example, the state yielded to the USA in electricity production by 60%.
33
00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,719
However, it was decreasing the gap step by step.
34
00:03:53,439 --> 00:03:55,599
The pace of growth of the Russian economy exceeded that
35
00:03:55,759 --> 00:04:00,159
of the other countries and amounted to 8% per annum.
36
00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:06,319
In 1913, the total price of the goods exported from Russia
37
00:04:06,479 --> 00:04:09,599
constituted 1,052 billion rubles,
38
00:04:09,759 --> 00:04:13,919
while the import constituted 1,037 billion rubles.
39
00:04:14,080 --> 00:04:18,240
It meant constant increase of the gold reserve of the state.
40
00:04:18,319 --> 00:04:21,839
The sales of the butter alone were bringing Russia more money
41
00:04:21,920 --> 00:04:24,480
that gold mining even though Russia was mining more gold
42
00:04:24,639 --> 00:04:27,519
than any other country of the world.
43
00:04:27,759 --> 00:04:32,399
The gold reserve secured the paper money for over 100%.
44
00:04:32,480 --> 00:04:34,800
For example, at the same time in Germany
45
00:04:34,879 --> 00:04:38,639
the gold provided for no more than 50% of the paper money.
46
00:04:38,879 --> 00:04:41,360
The quality of life in the country was changing too.
47
00:04:41,439 --> 00:04:44,959
The average wages of a worker amounted to about 20 rubles per month
48
00:04:45,120 --> 00:04:51,519
when a loaf of bread cost 3-5 kopeks, 1 kg of potatoes cost 1.5 kopeks,
49
00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:54,640
and 1 kg of beef - 30 kopeks.
50
00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,800
An 8-hour working day was a rarity even at the West at those times.
51
00:05:00,879 --> 00:05:04,480
In Russia, it was about 10.5 hours long on average.
52
00:05:04,560 --> 00:05:07,040
That limit was protected by the legislation;
53
00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:12,800
however, it didn’t prevent some enterprises from setting longer working hours.
54
00:05:13,600 --> 00:05:18,720
Still, some manufacturers limited the working day to 9 and even 8 hours.
55
00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:24,319
They provided their workers with lodging, medical care and vacations.
56
00:05:24,399 --> 00:05:26,799
There weren’t a lot of such enterprises
57
00:05:26,879 --> 00:05:30,159
but the quality of life of the workers did improve year after year.
58
00:05:30,800 --> 00:05:36,319
In 1912, the social insurance for the workers was introduced in Russia –
59
00:05:36,399 --> 00:05:40,399
earlier than at the West. Although the conditions of life
60
00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,759
for ordinary workers were far from ideal, the President of the USA
61
00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:50,159
William Taft said: “Your Emperor created such a perfect labor legislation
62
00:05:50,319 --> 00:05:54,719
that none of the democratic countries may yet boast”.
63
00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:57,759
New hospitals and schools were opening in the country.
64
00:05:57,839 --> 00:06:03,119
It was planned to completely overcome illiteracy by 1920.
65
00:06:03,199 --> 00:06:10,319
Cinema, arts and theatre were on the rise. Russia was in fashion.
66
00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:14,720
It was impossible to get tickets for Diaghilev’s ballet performances in Paris.
67
00:06:14,879 --> 00:06:19,439
The names of Serov, Bakst, Bilibin, Vereschagin and other painters
68
00:06:19,519 --> 00:06:24,000
were known all over the world. Europe read Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky
69
00:06:24,160 --> 00:06:30,320
and staged the plays by Chekhov. In 1900 at the World Exhibition in Paris
70
00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:35,040
the Russian pavilion received 1,589 awards,
71
00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,000
with 212 out of them being of the highest rank.
72
00:06:38,079 --> 00:06:42,399
This is what newspaper “Liberte” wrote on the impressions
73
00:06:42,560 --> 00:06:46,879
from the Russian pavilions: “We’re still under the impression
74
00:06:46,959 --> 00:06:53,039
of surprise and admiration after the visit to the Russian exhibition”.
75
00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:58,319
The social life in Russian was booming like everywhere in the world.
76
00:06:58,399 --> 00:07:02,399
Europe had been ruled by generations of monarchs, aristocrats
77
00:07:02,480 --> 00:07:06,240
and nobles for hundreds of years. The lands and riches belonged to them.
78
00:07:06,319 --> 00:07:09,839
They wrote laws; they had the power.
79
00:07:10,000 --> 00:07:11,439
However, the times were moving on.
80
00:07:11,519 --> 00:07:17,120
The developing capitalism gave birth to the new financial and industrial elite.
81
00:07:17,199 --> 00:07:20,560
By the start of the 20th century, private companies and banks
82
00:07:20,639 --> 00:07:23,599
were controlling capitals comparable to the budgets
83
00:07:23,759 --> 00:07:27,279
of their respective countries. Producers, traders and bankers
84
00:07:27,439 --> 00:07:30,959
demanded new rights, new conditions and new laws
85
00:07:31,040 --> 00:07:34,080
from the government for the development of their businesses.
86
00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:37,680
They bribed bureaucrats and lobbied the appointment of “their” people
87
00:07:37,839 --> 00:07:42,479
to the state authorities to achieve the adoption of the legal drafts
88
00:07:42,639 --> 00:07:47,519
in their favor. They wanted to create the laws themselves,
89
00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:50,879
in other words, to take the power into their own hands.
90
00:07:53,199 --> 00:07:54,719
Common folk was the instrument of the fight
91
00:07:54,879 --> 00:07:57,600
between the old and the new money.
92
00:07:57,759 --> 00:08:02,560
Both sides were using the people to defend their right to power.
93
00:08:02,720 --> 00:08:06,320
The government appealed to the patriotic feelings of the subjects.
94
00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:11,520
The opposition promised the citizens all the possible freedoms –
95
00:08:11,600 --> 00:08:17,200
the freedom of entrepreneurship, freedom of speech, religion and ethics.
96
00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:21,439
These new ideas that were called “liberal” were in essence inspiring people
97
00:08:21,600 --> 00:08:25,280
to only one thing – the overthrow of the old regime.
98
00:08:25,360 --> 00:08:28,800
Do they think we’re fool? We’re working and working…
99
00:08:28,879 --> 00:08:32,879
Russia was bursting with illegal revolutionary literature.
100
00:08:33,039 --> 00:08:35,919
It was disseminated by the groups of revolutionaries
101
00:08:36,000 --> 00:08:39,600
but published at the expense of the large capitalists and industrialists.
102
00:08:39,679 --> 00:08:43,919
The brochures were sold among the workers for high prices
103
00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:48,160
that generated good income for the revolutionaries and their sponsors.
104
00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:51,759
In this way the Social-Democrats, including the Bolsheviks,
105
00:08:51,840 --> 00:08:55,840
were getting huge profits from the sales of the illegal political literature
106
00:08:55,919 --> 00:08:58,639
which was published abroad.
107
00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:06,560
Those sabotaging activities and a row of provocations
108
00:09:06,639 --> 00:09:10,559
led to the revolution of 1905 in Russia,
109
00:09:10,639 --> 00:09:14,000
that started amidst the war with Japan.
110
00:09:14,159 --> 00:09:18,240
Barricades, street fights and terrorist acts claimed the lives
111
00:09:18,399 --> 00:09:24,480
of over 9,000 people. Those tragic events forced the Tsar
112
00:09:24,639 --> 00:09:27,679
to make the first concessions to the opposition.
113
00:09:27,759 --> 00:09:32,000
In 1905, the Russian Emperor permitted the activities
114
00:09:32,159 --> 00:09:34,399
of different political parties.
115
00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:37,600
Nicolay II saw that the country couldn’t stand still.
116
00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:40,879
It did need the reforms.
117
00:09:42,159 --> 00:09:46,319
The newly formed parties mostly represented the interests of capitalists,
118
00:09:46,399 --> 00:09:51,519
landowners and liberals. Their goal remained the same –
119
00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:53,279
the seizing of the power.
120
00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,360
They still bet on the support of the workers and peasants.
121
00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,480
Agitation, dissemination of the illegal literature
122
00:10:00,559 --> 00:10:04,799
and establishment of illegal political circles didn’t stop.
123
00:10:05,279 --> 00:10:08,399
However, it wasn’t the revolution that shook the country.
124
00:10:08,480 --> 00:10:12,080
A catastrophe was looming not only over Russia.
125
00:10:12,159 --> 00:10:18,159
On August 1, 1914 one of the most terrible wars in the history of the mankind
126
00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:23,039
broke out. The war that will later be called the First World War
127
00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:27,200
engulfed the entire Europe and then almost all the continents.
128
00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:29,919
The world changed forever.
129
00:10:32,240 --> 00:10:38,080
Forty-four years had passed since the German states united into one Empire –
130
00:10:38,159 --> 00:10:41,759
the German Reich. Germany was pushing France and England
131
00:10:41,840 --> 00:10:46,320
out of the markets and winning over new colonies in Asia and Africa.
132
00:10:46,480 --> 00:10:51,039
Its closest ally, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was fighting over the control
133
00:10:51,120 --> 00:10:56,000
at the Balkans threatening the Orthodox Serbia, Russia’s ally.
134
00:10:56,159 --> 00:10:59,120
The situation in the world was becoming tenser and tenser.
135
00:10:59,279 --> 00:11:01,279
The states were arming themselves.
136
00:11:01,440 --> 00:11:05,760
France, Russia and Great Britain established a military union
137
00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:10,560
called the “Entente”. Germany, Austro-Hungary and Italy
138
00:11:10,639 --> 00:11:15,919
established the so-called Triple Alliance. In June of 1914,
139
00:11:16,000 --> 00:11:20,559
in Bosnia the heir to the Austrian throne Franz Ferdinand was murdered.
140
00:11:20,639 --> 00:11:24,000
Austria accused the Serbian special services of the assassination
141
00:11:24,159 --> 00:11:26,719
and declared a war with Serbia. Russia claimed
142
00:11:26,799 --> 00:11:30,079
that it wouldn’t permit the occupation of Serbia.
143
00:11:30,159 --> 00:11:34,559
The Russian Emperor Nicolay II sent a telegram to the German Emperor
144
00:11:34,720 --> 00:11:39,680
Wilhelm II with an offer to discuss that conflict at The Hague Conference
145
00:11:39,759 --> 00:11:43,039
and prevent the war. Wilhelm didn’t answer.
146
00:11:43,200 --> 00:11:45,680
Mobilizations started in Europe.
147
00:11:45,759 --> 00:11:51,360
On August 1, 1914 Germany declared the war with Russia,
148
00:11:51,440 --> 00:11:54,960
on August 3 – with France. In three more days,
149
00:11:55,039 --> 00:11:58,159
Austro-Hungary declared the war with Russia too.
150
00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:00,640
That was how Russia came to be involved in the fight
151
00:12:00,799 --> 00:12:03,359
for division of power in the world against its wish.
152
00:12:03,519 --> 00:12:05,759
However, it was too late to move out.
153
00:12:07,840 --> 00:12:17,440
Italy, 1914
154
00:12:54,320 --> 00:12:56,320
The war...
155
00:13:32,399 --> 00:13:35,519
Germany’s aggression led to an unprecedented upsurge
156
00:13:35,679 --> 00:13:37,519
of patriotism in Russia.
157
00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:40,399
The war was called the Second Patriotic War
158
00:13:40,559 --> 00:13:43,119
by analogy with the war against Napoleon.
159
00:13:43,200 --> 00:13:45,360
A many-thousand strong demonstration gathered
160
00:13:45,519 --> 00:13:47,759
by the Palace Square in St.-Petersburg.
161
00:13:47,919 --> 00:13:50,799
The exuberant crowd greeted the Tsar.
162
00:13:50,879 --> 00:13:54,159
The people united around the Emperor like in the previous years
163
00:13:54,240 --> 00:13:57,919
when the enemy was approaching the borders of the Russian state.
164
00:13:58,799 --> 00:14:02,639
Nicolay II, the Emperor of All Russia from the House of the Romanovs.
165
00:14:02,720 --> 00:14:06,320
He was a relative to the monarchs of Britain and Germany.
166
00:14:06,399 --> 00:14:11,120
In the course of his rule, radical reforms of state organization,
167
00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:14,400
agriculture and manufacturing were carried out.
168
00:14:14,639 --> 00:14:19,120
The population of the country increased by at least 50 million of people.
169
00:14:19,200 --> 00:14:22,720
The state regime of the country was still autocratic
170
00:14:22,879 --> 00:14:26,000
but with the elements of the constitutional monarchy.
171
00:14:26,240 --> 00:14:28,960
The Emperor initiated the convention of the first ever
172
00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:31,600
Hague Peace Conference in history,
173
00:14:31,759 --> 00:14:37,519
was the first to raise the issue of all-round disarmament of the countries.
174
00:14:37,600 --> 00:14:39,200
Despite a wide-spread opinion,
175
00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:42,240
he wasn’t among the richest people of the Empire.
176
00:14:42,399 --> 00:14:47,519
Until the end of his life, he remained a deeply religious Orthodox Christian.
177
00:14:48,240 --> 00:14:50,720
The war became a common cause.
178
00:14:50,879 --> 00:14:55,200
Patriotic manifestations were held everywhere, money was raised,
179
00:14:55,360 --> 00:15:00,159
the army was flooded with volunteers. Strikes stopped.
180
00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:04,080
In the State Duma, the supports of the Tsar and the oppositional parties
181
00:15:04,159 --> 00:15:08,240
finally came to terms and both chose the side of Russia.
182
00:15:08,399 --> 00:15:10,399
That was what people were talking about in the streets,
183
00:15:10,480 --> 00:15:12,000
what was written in the newspapers
184
00:15:12,159 --> 00:15:15,519
which Boris Yakovenko was reading in the far-away Italy.
185
00:15:16,879 --> 00:15:18,559
Italy, 1916
186
00:15:18,639 --> 00:15:20,319
From the book of Boris Yakovenko
187
00:15:20,480 --> 00:15:22,960
“The History of the Great Russian Revolution”:
188
00:15:23,120 --> 00:15:28,960
“The meeting of the State Duma held on July 26 was the most expressive.
189
00:15:29,120 --> 00:15:33,200
The representatives of the Germans, Poles, Lithuanians, Latvians,
190
00:15:33,279 --> 00:15:36,799
Tatars and Jews all expressed the feeling of national unity
191
00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:39,680
that filled them up to the brim”.
192
00:15:42,080 --> 00:15:47,040
However, the war campaign of 1914 started for the Russian troops
193
00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:51,200
with a tragedy. The First and the Second Armies entered the territory
194
00:15:51,279 --> 00:15:55,199
of Germany. At first, the assault was a success.
195
00:15:55,279 --> 00:15:57,759
But soon, the Second Army was defeated
196
00:15:57,919 --> 00:16:01,279
and dozens of thousand soldiers ended up prisoners.
197
00:16:01,440 --> 00:16:04,560
At the same time, the Russian troops continued their active assault
198
00:16:04,720 --> 00:16:07,920
against Austro-Hungary. Lvov was seized;
199
00:16:08,000 --> 00:16:10,720
the impregnable fortress of Peremyshl fell.
200
00:16:10,799 --> 00:16:15,199
However, in May of 1915 the enemy broke the front line
201
00:16:15,279 --> 00:16:18,480
by the town of Gorlitsa. Under the threat of encirclement,
202
00:16:18,559 --> 00:16:21,519
the Russian troops were forced to leave Poland behind.
203
00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:26,399
The so-called Great Retreat of the Russian army began.
204
00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:30,879
After Poland, the troops lost significant territories in Belarus
205
00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:32,639
and the Baltic states.
206
00:16:34,159 --> 00:16:35,439
Before the First World war,
207
00:16:35,600 --> 00:16:39,920
none of the war conflicts had ever been so protracted.
208
00:16:40,080 --> 00:16:41,280
The leaders of all the states were certain
209
00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:45,200
that the war wouldn’t last for more than a couple of months.
210
00:16:45,279 --> 00:16:49,600
They weren’t ready for a catastrophe of that magnitude.
211
00:16:49,679 --> 00:16:55,039
New types of weapons, colossal artillery guns, machine guns,
212
00:16:55,120 --> 00:17:00,320
armored trains, dirigibles, airplanes were bringing the part of a human
213
00:17:00,399 --> 00:17:04,240
in that war to a naught. Attacks of infantry and cavalry were cut short
214
00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:06,400
by the fire of cannons and machine guns.
215
00:17:06,559 --> 00:17:10,720
It seemed that the horror of that war would never come to an end.
216
00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:14,799
Prolonged battles led to enormous overexpenditure of the ammunition
217
00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:21,120
in the Russian army. The troops lacked shells and rifles.
218
00:17:21,200 --> 00:17:24,720
The industry couldn’t cope with all the military orders.
219
00:17:24,799 --> 00:17:27,919
The state planned to get the ammunition, weapons
220
00:17:28,079 --> 00:17:30,399
and military equipment from abroad.
221
00:17:30,480 --> 00:17:34,640
However, the shells and weapons Russia paid for were confiscated by the allies.
222
00:17:34,720 --> 00:17:39,039
They lacked the ammunition no less than the Russians.
223
00:17:40,799 --> 00:17:45,680
To overcome the crisis, the government retorted to titanic efforts.
224
00:17:45,759 --> 00:17:49,359
New equipment was bought, new plants were constructed.
225
00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:54,000
In a year, the number of shells manufactured reached 1 million per month.
226
00:17:54,160 --> 00:17:59,759
It was a colossal achievement - in comparison with 1914,
227
00:17:59,839 --> 00:18:03,359
the manufacturing of shells was increased 90-fold.
228
00:18:03,519 --> 00:18:07,200
However, the renewed supply system didn’t start working at once.
229
00:18:07,279 --> 00:18:11,599
The crisis was overcome only in 1916.
230
00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:16,000
News from the front were plunging the country into depression.
231
00:18:16,079 --> 00:18:20,319
The state lost the Western provinces with great economic potential.
232
00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:23,759
Millions of refugees were following the retreating troops;
233
00:18:23,839 --> 00:18:28,559
they were to be provided with lodgings, food and medical care.
234
00:18:28,640 --> 00:18:31,440
Inflation was growing and the prices of the goods rose.
235
00:18:31,519 --> 00:18:33,839
Food became in short supply.
236
00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:38,320
The government attempted to fix the prices to prevent speculation.
237
00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:40,800
The result turned out to be the opposite.
238
00:18:40,880 --> 00:18:44,480
The goods were disappearing from the shop shelves to be sold on the sly.
239
00:18:44,559 --> 00:18:48,159
The speculation was only growing. Some were ready to hold on
240
00:18:48,319 --> 00:18:52,960
and to work until the complete victory. Some found the guilty at once
241
00:18:53,039 --> 00:18:56,960
and started blaming the Tsar and his government – first of all,
242
00:18:57,039 --> 00:19:00,720
the liberal politicians. They set the tone in the mass media,
243
00:19:00,880 --> 00:19:03,600
and the foreign diplomats were inclined to listen to them.
244
00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:09,120
They were influencing the government. Since October of 1905,
245
00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:14,640
a state regime called “constitutional monarchy” was established in Russia.
246
00:19:14,799 --> 00:19:19,119
The Emperor presided over the foreign affairs and the military forces,
247
00:19:19,200 --> 00:19:22,799
headed the executive and the judicial branches of power.
248
00:19:22,880 --> 00:19:25,680
The Council of Ministers was its highest body;
249
00:19:25,759 --> 00:19:28,559
its composition was defined by the Emperor.
250
00:19:28,640 --> 00:19:32,960
The Emperor executed the legislative power together with the parliament.
251
00:19:33,039 --> 00:19:36,720
The State Council consisting of the Tsar’s bureaucrats
252
00:19:36,799 --> 00:19:39,519
was the upper chamber of the parliament.
253
00:19:39,599 --> 00:19:45,199
The lower chamber was the State Duma that consisted of the elected deputies.
254
00:19:45,279 --> 00:19:49,440
The legislative initiatives and the budget were developed by the Duma,
255
00:19:49,599 --> 00:19:52,000
transferred for the discussion to the State Council
256
00:19:52,079 --> 00:19:57,679
and then approved by the Emperor. After the revolution of 1905,
257
00:19:57,759 --> 00:20:01,680
different political parties were legalized in the country
258
00:20:01,839 --> 00:20:04,959
which started meeting in the Duma. The majority of them
259
00:20:05,039 --> 00:20:07,119
were in opposition to the authorities,
260
00:20:07,279 --> 00:20:09,759
and that influenced the decisions taken by the Duma.
261
00:20:09,839 --> 00:20:14,959
The deputies constantly criticized the government and the ministers.
262
00:20:15,119 --> 00:20:19,599
During the war, those internal struggles didn’t help the efforts
263
00:20:19,680 --> 00:20:26,080
of the government and the army. In 1915, there were 442 deputies
264
00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:29,360
in the State Duma, including:
265
00:20:29,440 --> 00:20:33,200
120 representatives of the National-Patriotic Forces;
266
00:20:33,279 --> 00:20:38,319
98 deputies of the Union of the 17th of October Party
267
00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:45,920
which was representing large landowners; 65 – right monarchists;
268
00:20:46,079 --> 00:20:51,599
59 - of the Constitutional-Democratic Party, “cadets” for short,
269
00:20:51,680 --> 00:20:56,240
which included traders, bankers, clerks, doctors and teachers;
270
00:20:56,319 --> 00:21:01,919
48 – the so-called Party of Progress consisting of manufacturers
271
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:07,359
and representatives of the business; 21 from the national minorities –
272
00:21:07,440 --> 00:21:10,799
the Polish, Lithuanian and Belorussian group, the Polish Circle,
273
00:21:10,880 --> 00:21:17,520
the Muslim Group; 14 – Social-Democrats (Bolsheviks and Mensheviks);
274
00:21:17,599 --> 00:21:22,399
10 – deputies of the Labor Group which claimed to represent the interests
275
00:21:22,559 --> 00:21:27,359
of the working population; 7 deputies didn’t belong to any party.
276
00:21:29,200 --> 00:21:32,319
The majority of those parties (October Party, cadets,
277
00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:35,840
Party of Progress, Labor Group, Social-Democrats)
278
00:21:35,920 --> 00:21:38,640
were in opposition to the government, the Tsar
279
00:21:38,720 --> 00:21:41,680
and the very idea of the monarchical state regime.
280
00:21:41,759 --> 00:21:46,400
In the circumstances of a difficult war, that played a fateful part.
281
00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:52,640
Hold here!
282
00:21:53,279 --> 00:21:55,119
”Everything for the war!”
283
00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:58,960
That was the slogan that united the Russian society.
284
00:21:59,039 --> 00:22:02,319
However, it took time to reorganize old enterprises
285
00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:04,559
and open new ones.
286
00:22:06,960 --> 00:22:08,720
Criticizing the government for its mistakes
287
00:22:08,799 --> 00:22:11,119
and inflexibility, the opposition announced
288
00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:13,759
that it would take the affairs into its own hands.
289
00:22:13,920 --> 00:22:17,200
One of the prominent politicians from the opposition
290
00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:20,799
Prince Georgiy Lvov headed that movement.
291
00:22:21,599 --> 00:22:25,919
Georgiy Lvov, Prince, a descendant of the Rurik kin,
292
00:22:26,000 --> 00:22:28,960
member of different oppositional movements.
293
00:22:29,039 --> 00:22:31,759
He headed the All-Russian Provincial Union
294
00:22:31,839 --> 00:22:35,519
which was rendering charity assistance to the families of soldiers,
295
00:22:35,599 --> 00:22:40,319
sick and wounded. He enjoyed reputation of an unselfish person.
296
00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:44,079
On the basis of the All-Russian Provincial Union,
297
00:22:44,160 --> 00:22:47,680
a “Zemgor” was established – the main joined committee
298
00:22:47,759 --> 00:22:52,960
of the provincial and city unions for the supply of the army.
299
00:22:53,200 --> 00:22:57,120
Zemgor announced that it could redistribute a part of the military orders
300
00:22:57,200 --> 00:23:01,120
among the cottage industries. At first, the plan was to raise money
301
00:23:01,279 --> 00:23:06,559
for that from private people. The government passed to the Zemgor a right
302
00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:11,520
to re-distribute a part of the military orders among petty entrepreneurs.
303
00:23:11,599 --> 00:23:14,319
However, the coordinated works failed.
304
00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,079
The Zemgor soon became a place
305
00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:22,560
when one could hide from the mobilization and avoid the trenches.
306
00:23:22,640 --> 00:23:27,200
The authorized representatives of the Zemgor were wearing
307
00:23:27,279 --> 00:23:31,279
a close-to-military uniform but stayed in the rear.
308
00:23:32,240 --> 00:23:37,920
The so-called “military-industrial committees” appeared in the country.
309
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,119
These organizations of the manufacturers were re-distributing
310
00:23:41,279 --> 00:23:44,559
the orders from the government to the large enterprises.
311
00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,440
In other words, they became intermediaries
312
00:23:47,519 --> 00:23:50,879
between the state and large industrialists.
313
00:23:50,960 --> 00:23:52,960
All the local committees were to report
314
00:23:53,119 --> 00:23:58,399
to the Central Military and Industrial Committee headed by Alexander Guchkov,
315
00:23:58,480 --> 00:24:01,200
the leader of the October Party.
316
00:24:01,920 --> 00:24:06,080
Alexander Ivanovitch Guchkov came from a Moscow trader’s family
317
00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:09,680
and was the chairman of the Central Committee of the October Party.
318
00:24:09,759 --> 00:24:15,359
He supported Stolypin’s reforms but later stopped supporting his government.
319
00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:20,080
He participated in duels many times and earned reputation of a fighter.
320
00:24:20,400 --> 00:24:24,080
The Emperor liked Guchkov; he appreciated his sharp mind
321
00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:26,640
and capabilities until Guchkov passed the details
322
00:24:26,799 --> 00:24:29,839
of their private conversation to mass media.
323
00:24:30,079 --> 00:24:33,519
The Tsar justly perceived it as an act of betrayal
324
00:24:33,599 --> 00:24:37,119
and changed his attitude towards Guchkov. Guchkov got offended
325
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:42,319
and was ready for any actions to overthrow the Emperor.
326
00:24:42,480 --> 00:24:47,680
Nicolay II called him ”Yan Shi-Kai” after the Chinese revolutionary dictator
327
00:24:47,759 --> 00:24:50,720
and considered him to be his personal enemy.
328
00:24:52,480 --> 00:24:54,559
People had different views on the activities of the Zemgor
329
00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:57,040
and military and industrial committees. On one hand,
330
00:24:57,200 --> 00:25:01,039
new military plants were constructed, hospitals were built,
331
00:25:01,119 --> 00:25:04,319
the army was getting supplies. On the other hand,
332
00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:09,120
corruption was on the rise. Private funds were quickly exhausted,
333
00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:12,319
leading to the use of the state money.
334
00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:15,440
In 1916, the Zemgor was functioning almost fully
335
00:25:15,519 --> 00:25:18,319
at the expense of the state treasury;
336
00:25:18,480 --> 00:25:27,039
the committees, therefore, became the sources of great illegal profits.
337
00:25:27,119 --> 00:25:29,439
Prince Lvov was fighting the corruption in his establishment
338
00:25:29,519 --> 00:25:32,240
as ardently as he could, though without any success.
339
00:25:32,319 --> 00:25:35,839
The police reported that despite the growth of the prices,
340
00:25:35,920 --> 00:25:43,120
the sales were booming in the shops selling pearls, diamonds, furs and silk.
341
00:25:45,279 --> 00:25:48,399
But the main thing was that the zemgors soon transformed
342
00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:52,559
into organizations where the future of the revolution was brewing.
343
00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:56,400
Their connections to the large capitalists, foreign diplomats,
344
00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:00,400
bureaucratic elite as well as the mass media allowed them
345
00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:05,519
to set the largest-scale goals. A paradoxical situation occurred –
346
00:26:05,599 --> 00:26:10,959
the government struggled with solving the simplest issues in the country
347
00:26:11,119 --> 00:26:14,959
while the coalition of the liberals opposing the government
348
00:26:15,039 --> 00:26:18,639
was making people believe that they were the real saviors of the nation.
349
00:26:18,720 --> 00:26:22,400
They were appropriating all the successes of the government.
350
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:25,440
At that time, the people were in turmoil for reasons
351
00:26:25,519 --> 00:26:28,799
that had nothing to do with parliamentarianism.
352
00:26:28,880 --> 00:26:34,160
In May of 1915, Moscow was shaken by the German pogrom.
353
00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,600
The pre-revolutionary Russia was connected to Germany
354
00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:42,320
with extremely strong ties. By 1914,
355
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:45,840
2.5 million Germans were living in the country.
356
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,519
While preparing for the war, Germany was paying close attention to them.
357
00:26:49,599 --> 00:26:54,559
Spies, agents of influence and common Russophobes appeared among them.
358
00:26:54,640 --> 00:26:57,360
Their numbers, though, were comtemtible,
359
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:01,600
while in Russia an anti-German campaign started.
360
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:04,320
People wouldn’t speak German in public places;
361
00:27:04,480 --> 00:27:07,440
St.-Petersburg was renamed into Petrograd;
362
00:27:07,519 --> 00:27:10,799
many Germans even changed their surnames.
363
00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:16,320
The defeat of the Russian troops in spring and summer of 1915
364
00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:20,319
added fuel to the fire. The Great Retreat was explained
365
00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,279
with the ”Great Treason” at the very top,
366
00:27:23,359 --> 00:27:27,839
where a lot of generals and high-ranking officials were Germans.
367
00:27:27,920 --> 00:27:33,039
Many commoners didn’t like the German origins of the Emperor’s wife
368
00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:38,319
Alexandra Fedorovna, born Alix Viktoria Helene Luise Beatrix
369
00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:43,759
of Hesse-Darmstadt. The Empress was loyal to Russia
370
00:27:43,839 --> 00:27:47,279
until the end of her life. However, the rumors about her treason
371
00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:51,199
were circulating around the country, and some believed in them.
372
00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:53,279
Open up!
373
00:27:53,359 --> 00:27:55,439
Your time is up!
374
00:27:55,519 --> 00:27:56,960
Closed
375
00:27:57,119 --> 00:28:01,679
Get out, German swine!
376
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:07,600
Is somebody in?
377
00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:11,360
One of the reason for Moscow pogroms was a stupid rumor
378
00:28:11,440 --> 00:28:15,680
that the Germans intentionally infected the workers of one of the factories
379
00:28:15,759 --> 00:28:20,960
with dysentery. The police didn’t react to the first manifestations,
380
00:28:21,119 --> 00:28:24,479
and they soon turned into mass unrest.
381
00:28:24,559 --> 00:28:26,240
The anger of the participants of the pogroms
382
00:28:26,400 --> 00:28:29,040
turned to all foreigners indiscriminately.
383
00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:32,399
The Russians who got in their way in the heat of the moment
384
00:28:32,480 --> 00:28:36,079
suffered the most. The people were ruining shops and wine cellars;
385
00:28:36,160 --> 00:28:38,320
fires started in Moscow.
386
00:28:41,839 --> 00:28:45,039
What, German sausage?
387
00:28:48,480 --> 00:28:49,839
Wine Trade. Herr Krause
388
00:28:49,920 --> 00:28:52,720
To restore order, troops had to be called in.
389
00:28:52,799 --> 00:28:57,279
The soldiers opened fire, and only after that the pogroms stopped.
390
00:28:57,359 --> 00:28:59,599
It’s unknown how many people died
391
00:28:59,680 --> 00:29:03,920
but the damages inflicted by the pogroms amounted to 40 million rubles.
392
00:29:04,079 --> 00:29:07,519
It’s the amount needed for the construction of a dreadnought,
393
00:29:07,599 --> 00:29:13,519
a huge military shop equipped with the most modern armament.
394
00:29:20,720 --> 00:29:24,240
At the same time, a wave of workers’ uprisings engulfed the country.
395
00:29:24,319 --> 00:29:27,839
In the middle of the assault, the most important military plant
396
00:29:27,920 --> 00:29:30,880
in Petrograd – “Putilovsk” – went on a strike.
397
00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:33,920
The strikers demanded to get rid of the spies at the top
398
00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:38,400
and to raise the wages. The arrests were numerous;
399
00:29:38,559 --> 00:29:40,639
troops were sent to the plants.
400
00:29:40,799 --> 00:29:44,079
It was impossible to avoid those harsh measures during the war.
401
00:29:44,160 --> 00:29:46,320
However, the authorities were clearly losing the trust
402
00:29:46,400 --> 00:29:49,040
they had gained at the beginning of the war.
403
00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:52,960
Italy, 1915
404
00:29:53,440 --> 00:29:54,880
From the book of Boris Yakovenko:
405
00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:57,039
“The History of the Great Russian Revolution”:
406
00:29:57,200 --> 00:30:01,920
“Under the influence of all the facts, events, phenomena, rumors
407
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:06,720
and worries the Russian society plunged into the state of alarm
408
00:30:06,799 --> 00:30:09,119
filled with the darkest suspicions
409
00:30:09,279 --> 00:30:12,960
and mixed with the feeling of the deepest protest”.
410
00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:31,279
Since the first days of the war, the position of the Commander-in-Chief
411
00:30:31,359 --> 00:30:35,599
of the Russian Army was occupied by the Great Duke Nicolay Nicolayevitch.
412
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:39,359
Nicolay Nicolayevitch (Junior), the Grand Duke,
413
00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:41,680
the grandson of the Emperor Nicolay I,
414
00:30:41,759 --> 00:30:50,400
a participant of the Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, a cavalry general.
415
00:30:50,480 --> 00:30:54,559
He was very popular at the army. He was nicknamed “Sly”
416
00:30:54,640 --> 00:30:59,759
for his excessive love to power and disposition towards intrigues.
417
00:31:01,119 --> 00:31:04,000
However, as they say, “victory has a hundred fathers
418
00:31:04,079 --> 00:31:06,879
while a defeat is always an orphan”. In Russia,
419
00:31:07,039 --> 00:31:11,039
the first person is accountable for everything, especially for the failures.
420
00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:15,279
After the Great Retreat, the Tsar didn’t lay the blame for that
421
00:31:15,440 --> 00:31:22,960
on the Grand Duke. On August 23, 1915 Emperor Nicolay II took the position
422
00:31:23,039 --> 00:31:28,319
of the Commander-in-Chief. “At such a critical moment,
423
00:31:28,480 --> 00:31:35,279
the highest chief of the army shall head it”. It was a brave decision.
424
00:31:35,440 --> 00:31:37,759
The Tsar considered it to be his duty to lead the army
425
00:31:37,920 --> 00:31:41,120
at that difficult time. The Grand Duke Nicolay Nicolayevitch
426
00:31:41,200 --> 00:31:45,200
wasn’t a prominent war leader. However, for many it was he
427
00:31:45,359 --> 00:31:48,719
who personified the chief of the fighting army.
428
00:31:48,799 --> 00:31:53,200
His impressive height and loud voice created an attractive image
429
00:31:53,359 --> 00:31:56,879
among the troops. Even the Great Retreat
430
00:31:56,960 --> 00:32:01,039
which was entirely his fault didn’t damage the popularity
431
00:32:01,200 --> 00:32:05,840
of Nicolay Nicolayevitch. Still, the Emperor discharged him from his post
432
00:32:05,920 --> 00:32:08,960
and sent to head the Caucasian Front.
433
00:32:09,039 --> 00:32:12,399
The soldiers disapproved of the news.
434
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:15,440
Many believed that the enemy was stopped in its tracks
435
00:32:15,519 --> 00:32:17,599
specifically thanks to the Grand Duke.
436
00:32:17,680 --> 00:32:20,160
On hearing on the Tsar’s decision to head the army
437
00:32:20,240 --> 00:32:25,200
many people asked with surprise: “Why did he go to fight on his own?”
438
00:32:26,640 --> 00:32:29,840
The direct influence of the Emperor on the course of the war
439
00:32:29,920 --> 00:32:34,720
was minimal. In reality, it was the head of the Headquarters
440
00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:40,960
of the Commander-in-Chief, a talented war leader Mikhail Vasilyevitch Alexeyev.
441
00:32:41,519 --> 00:32:43,680
However, it was Nicolay II, the ruler of all Russia,
442
00:32:43,759 --> 00:32:48,240
who was held responsible for everything before his country and his people.
443
00:32:48,319 --> 00:32:53,599
In 1905, he signed the manifesto on establishing of a parliament
444
00:32:53,680 --> 00:33:00,080
what meant the end of autocracy as the unlimited power of the monarch.
445
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,840
However, he never forgot about his personal responsibility
446
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:06,160
before the state and the people.
447
00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,839
All the Russian Tsars were responsible for that before the God;
448
00:33:09,920 --> 00:33:13,680
being a deeply religious man, Nicolay remembered about it
449
00:33:13,759 --> 00:33:17,119
until the last minutes of his life. By that time,
450
00:33:17,200 --> 00:33:22,160
the liberal ideas became popular even in the family circle of the Tsar’s house.
451
00:33:22,319 --> 00:33:27,519
Some of the Grand Dukes believed that if not the abolition of the monarchy
452
00:33:27,599 --> 00:33:28,879
then at least limiting the role of the Emperor
453
00:33:28,960 --> 00:33:32,319
in the management of the country would be for the best.
454
00:33:32,960 --> 00:33:37,120
However, Nicolay II, like his father Emperor Alexander III,
455
00:33:37,200 --> 00:33:41,440
was sure that it was monarchy that created the historical individuality
456
00:33:41,519 --> 00:33:46,079
of the state. “If the monarchy falls, Russia will follow”.
457
00:33:46,880 --> 00:33:49,200
The Emperor was right.
458
00:33:55,359 --> 00:33:58,639
In those difficult days, the State Duma concentrated
459
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:02,880
not on strengthening the country but on opposing the Tsar
460
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:06,799
and his government. During the Great Retreat,
461
00:34:06,880 --> 00:34:10,480
the opposition formed the so-called Progressive Block.
462
00:34:10,559 --> 00:34:14,639
Its members had the closest ties with Lvov’s Zemgor
463
00:34:14,719 --> 00:34:18,399
and the military and industrial committees of Guchkov.
464
00:34:18,480 --> 00:34:21,440
The deputies of that block demanded a lot from the Tsar,
465
00:34:21,519 --> 00:34:27,039
first of all to establish “the government of trust”. In other words,
466
00:34:27,119 --> 00:34:29,839
they wanted to appoint new ministers out of the candidates
467
00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,320
proposed by the Duma instead of old ones.
468
00:34:32,400 --> 00:34:34,960
The Zemgor even threatened with direct sabotage
469
00:34:35,039 --> 00:34:38,480
promising to stop the work of all the communal establishments
470
00:34:38,559 --> 00:34:43,519
servicing the army. However, in September of 1915
471
00:34:43,599 --> 00:34:46,159
the Duma was disbanded for a vacation.
472
00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:49,919
The Tsar and his government managed to fight off the first attack
473
00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:52,000
of the liberal opposition.
474
00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:55,919
Amidst the defeats and the Great Retreat
475
00:34:56,000 --> 00:35:00,880
another political crisis started. In the course of just a few war years
476
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:02,960
under the pressure from the State Duma
477
00:35:03,039 --> 00:35:05,599
the state went through four Prime-Ministers,
478
00:35:05,679 --> 00:35:09,759
six Ministers of Internal Affairs, and three military Ministers.
479
00:35:09,840 --> 00:35:12,960
The things weren’t much better in the other ministries.
480
00:35:13,039 --> 00:35:16,320
By those appointments, the Emperor was trying to reach a compromise
481
00:35:16,400 --> 00:35:18,000
in the relations with the Duma.
482
00:35:18,159 --> 00:35:21,599
However, the opposition wanted not so much to strengthen the government
483
00:35:21,760 --> 00:35:24,720
but to criticize the authorities. Under such circumstances,
484
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:27,600
the relocations only exacerbated the situation.
485
00:35:28,480 --> 00:35:31,199
By changing the ministers, the authorities hoped to soften the tension
486
00:35:31,360 --> 00:35:35,599
of political struggles. However, the society was bewildered.
487
00:35:35,679 --> 00:35:38,719
The newspapers were writing about some “irresponsible influences”
488
00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:43,440
ruining Russia. The Empress Alexandra Fedorovna was blamed for that or,
489
00:35:43,599 --> 00:35:49,679
more often - Grigoriy Rasputin who became one of the most mysterious
490
00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:53,120
and contradictory personalities in the history of Russia.
491
00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:58,160
Grigoriy Efimovitch Rasputin was a peasant from the village of Pokrovskoye
492
00:35:58,239 --> 00:36:02,879
of the province of Tobolsk. He came to Petersburg in 1903.
493
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:05,599
In some circles close to the Emperor’s family,
494
00:36:05,679 --> 00:36:10,319
he enjoyed reputation of the Tsar’s friend, visionary and healer.
495
00:36:10,400 --> 00:36:14,480
Rasputin had a mysterious gift – he could stop the bleeding
496
00:36:14,559 --> 00:36:19,119
without any medicines or bandages. The only son of the Emperor,
497
00:36:19,280 --> 00:36:22,240
Prince Alexei, was sick with hemophilia.
498
00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:25,600
This dicease makes the blood coagulation inadequate,
499
00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:32,080
and any internal bleeding or an accidental trauma may lead to death.
500
00:36:32,159 --> 00:36:36,239
Rasputin provided the Prince with urgent care on a few occasions
501
00:36:36,320 --> 00:36:39,280
and as a result of that became close with the Tsar’s family.
502
00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:42,960
A circle of high-society ladies quickly formed around him;
503
00:36:43,119 --> 00:36:45,759
they were wives of different traders and career-makers
504
00:36:45,840 --> 00:36:49,920
who hoped to achieve their goals through the old man.
505
00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:53,840
The measure of Rasputin’s influence on the Tsar’s house
506
00:36:53,920 --> 00:36:58,800
still remains unknown. Still, silly rumors about an illiterate peasant
507
00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:03,440
manipulating the Tsar were gradually spreading around Petersburg
508
00:37:03,519 --> 00:37:05,759
and the entire country.
509
00:37:07,119 --> 00:37:13,279
Guchkov was personally responsible for making public the alleged letters
510
00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:16,480
of the Empress and the Grand Duchecess to Rasputin;
511
00:37:16,559 --> 00:37:20,079
they were probably faked. That correspondence was copied
512
00:37:20,159 --> 00:37:23,039
at the hectograph and disseminating as agitation materials against the Tsar.
513
00:37:23,199 --> 00:37:27,359
On finding out, Nicolay II entrusted the Military Minister Sukhomlinov
514
00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:30,559
with telling Guchkov that he was a bastard.
515
00:37:31,840 --> 00:37:33,200
I know.
516
00:37:33,920 --> 00:37:40,240
By 1915, a real hysteric was brewing around Rasputin.
517
00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:45,200
The newspapers were choking with hatred and mixed truth with open lies.
518
00:37:45,280 --> 00:37:47,600
Rasputin was suspected of espionage;
519
00:37:47,679 --> 00:37:50,159
they called him a “behind-the-scenes ruler of the Empire”,
520
00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:53,200
“an evil genius of the poor Russia”.
521
00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:57,840
Both common folk and the society that considered itself to be progressive
522
00:37:57,920 --> 00:38:02,240
were heeding that hysteric. The Grand Dukes demanded Rasputin to be sent away;
523
00:38:02,320 --> 00:38:04,720
however, the Tsar was standing his ground.
524
00:38:04,800 --> 00:38:07,200
Rasputin remained with the Court.
525
00:38:08,559 --> 00:38:12,799
In 1916 the position of Russia improved.
526
00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:16,880
The “shell hunger” was over. General Alexeyev was ruling the army
527
00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:20,240
with a capable hand. The Caucasian army of General Yudenitch
528
00:38:20,320 --> 00:38:24,320
successfully stormed an impregnable Turkish fortress of Erzurum
529
00:38:24,400 --> 00:38:28,720
and in May, the famous Brusilov’s Breakthrough started.
530
00:38:28,719 --> 00:38:32,719
The troops of the South-Western Front under the head of General Brusilov
531
00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:35,280
broke through the defenses of the Austro-Hungarian army
532
00:38:35,360 --> 00:38:44,079
at the front 550 km long and moved 150 km further causing it great losses.
533
00:38:44,239 --> 00:38:49,199
The assault wasn’t supported by the other fronts and couldn’t continue.
534
00:38:49,280 --> 00:38:51,600
That blow mitigated the troubles of the allies
535
00:38:51,679 --> 00:38:54,719
and even saved the Italian army from demise.
536
00:38:54,800 --> 00:38:59,039
The situation at the war was reversing in the favor of Russia and the Entente.
537
00:38:59,199 --> 00:39:02,559
Russia’s spirits lifted. The victory was close.
538
00:39:02,719 --> 00:39:05,759
The war at the two fronts was exhausting Germany.
539
00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:08,400
However, while losing the initiative at the front
540
00:39:08,480 --> 00:39:11,039
the enemy attempted to win the war in the rear.
541
00:39:11,119 --> 00:39:15,599
The German government set the task to revolutionize Russia
542
00:39:15,760 --> 00:39:21,200
by any means possible. Huge money was allotted for the provocative propaganda.
543
00:39:21,440 --> 00:39:25,679
Alexander Lvovitch Parvus was one of the organizers of that mission,
544
00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:29,120
a trader and a former Social-Democrat who had wide connections
545
00:39:29,199 --> 00:39:33,279
with the Russian opposition abroad and personally knew
546
00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:37,680
Vladimir Ulyanov-Lenin. To realize his plan,
547
00:39:37,760 --> 00:39:39,840
he asked for five million golden marks
548
00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:41,760
from the German Ministry for Foreign Affairs
549
00:39:41,840 --> 00:39:43,840
and received two million on spot.
550
00:39:43,920 --> 00:39:48,720
There are data suggesting that huge amounts were transferred
551
00:39:48,800 --> 00:39:51,680
to Lenin’s Bolsheviks’ Party through set-up banks and companies.
552
00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:55,680
Lenin himself was an active supporter of Russia’s defeat in the war.
553
00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:58,559
He appealed for that war to be transformed into the civil war
554
00:39:58,639 --> 00:40:00,879
since the day it had started.
555
00:40:08,079 --> 00:40:12,079
The internal politics of Russia was getting more and more complicated
556
00:40:12,159 --> 00:40:16,719
and contradictory. The Emperor tried to overcome the crisis in the country
557
00:40:16,800 --> 00:40:21,280
by making good appointments. But the appointment of Boris Shturmer
558
00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:25,679
for the position of the Prime-Minister enraged the liberals again.
559
00:40:33,840 --> 00:40:38,400
Boris Vladimirovicth Shturmer, a descendant of the Russified Germans,
560
00:40:38,480 --> 00:40:42,000
a member of the State Council. After becoming the chairman
561
00:40:42,079 --> 00:40:44,000
of the Council of Ministers, he took the posts
562
00:40:44,079 --> 00:40:46,559
of the Minister of Internal Affairs and the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
563
00:40:46,639 --> 00:40:49,359
Being the head of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs,
564
00:40:49,519 --> 00:40:52,960
he made the allies agree to all Russia’s demands in case they win the war.
565
00:40:53,039 --> 00:40:58,639
Namely, the Russian Empire was to control the Black Sea Straits and Istanbul,
566
00:40:58,719 --> 00:41:03,279
the capital of Turkey. The representatives of the allies came to hate Shturmer
567
00:41:03,440 --> 00:41:08,480
for his rigid position and started a real harassment campaign.
568
00:41:10,159 --> 00:41:15,920
In September of 1916, at Shturmer’s initiative the “Russkoye Slovo” newspaper
569
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:18,480
made public the information that the Zemgor
570
00:41:18,639 --> 00:41:21,119
and the military and industrial committees were functioning solely
571
00:41:21,199 --> 00:41:24,079
at the expense of the state treasury.
572
00:41:25,760 --> 00:41:28,400
Out of 562 million of rubles
573
00:41:28,559 --> 00:41:33,519
spent by those organizations they only raised 9 million themselves.
574
00:41:33,599 --> 00:41:38,079
The rest was allotted from the state budget.
575
00:41:39,920 --> 00:41:45,440
The Zemgor that received orders for the amount of 242 million of rubles
576
00:41:45,519 --> 00:41:48,320
from the Military Ministry fulfilled them only for 80 million.
577
00:41:48,400 --> 00:41:51,039
The military and industrial committees received the orders for the amount
578
00:41:51,199 --> 00:41:56,159
of 400 million of rubles but fulfilled less than a half of the works.
579
00:41:57,360 --> 00:42:01,519
At the meeting of the Council of Ministers Shturmer raised an issue
580
00:42:01,599 --> 00:42:04,559
of disbanding the Zemgor and the military and industrial committees
581
00:42:04,719 --> 00:42:07,359
and of transferring their functions to the state bodies.
582
00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:11,119
It’s not surprising that the opposition hated Shturmer’s guts.
583
00:42:11,199 --> 00:42:14,319
The embassies of the allied countries joined the fight against him.
584
00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:18,400
They didn’t like Shturmer for his rigidity during negotiations.
585
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:21,280
The German spy network that was operating in Russia
586
00:42:21,440 --> 00:42:25,519
was supplemented by the spies from France and England.
587
00:42:27,280 --> 00:42:30,960
The Embassy of England and its special services did everything they could
588
00:42:31,039 --> 00:42:34,880
to ensure that the Tsar’s government was replaced with the liberals.
589
00:42:34,960 --> 00:42:37,519
Everybody would gain from that except for Russia.
590
00:42:37,599 --> 00:42:41,679
On feeling the support of the allies, the opposition intensified its efforts
591
00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:44,800
in a fight with the Tsar’s government threefold.
592
00:42:45,039 --> 00:42:50,000
The liberals were courting the proletariat trying to enlist its support.
593
00:42:50,079 --> 00:42:54,319
As a result of that, during the entire 1916 Russia was feverish
594
00:42:54,400 --> 00:42:59,119
with strikes and conspiracies. The people protesting against the authorities
595
00:42:59,280 --> 00:43:01,440
were talking about saving the country from some “dark forces”
596
00:43:01,519 --> 00:43:04,719
allegedly possessing Russia. But in reality,
597
00:43:04,800 --> 00:43:07,840
they were only pushing both the weakened authorities
598
00:43:07,920 --> 00:43:10,400
and the country itself into the abyss.
599
00:43:10,480 --> 00:43:13,920
Different conspiracies arose around Nicolay Nicolayevitch
600
00:43:14,079 --> 00:43:18,000
and the other Grand Dukes. The circles of conspirators intertwined
601
00:43:18,079 --> 00:43:22,319
to fashion out plans and put down memorandums.
602
00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:26,639
Those memorandums ended up on the Tsar’s table but he didn’t react.
603
00:43:26,719 --> 00:43:30,959
The State Duma was shaken by one scandal after another.
604
00:43:31,440 --> 00:43:32,800
Yes, act according to the plan.
605
00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:40,000
On November 1, 1916, a leader of the Party of the Constitutional Democrats
606
00:43:40,159 --> 00:43:43,279
Pavel Milyukov ascended the chair of the State Duma.
607
00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:49,119
Pavel Nicolayevitch Milyukov, a son of an architect,
608
00:43:49,199 --> 00:43:54,000
a descendant of an ancient noble family. A deputy of the State Duma
609
00:43:54,079 --> 00:43:56,639
who was engaged in the activities of the opposition
610
00:43:56,800 --> 00:43:59,120
for what he had spent a couple of months in prison.
611
00:43:59,199 --> 00:44:02,399
He had close ties with the British diplomats.
612
00:44:02,480 --> 00:44:05,760
Vasilyev, Director of the police department wrote:
613
00:44:05,840 --> 00:44:09,360
“If the English Ministry for Foreign Affairs at some point permits
614
00:44:09,440 --> 00:44:12,400
the publication of the documents from its archives,
615
00:44:12,480 --> 00:44:18,000
it would shed a new and not pleasant light at Milyukov’s “patriotism”.
616
00:44:18,559 --> 00:44:23,199
Milyukov’s speech was clearly prepared jointly by the opposition
617
00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:26,480
and the embassies of France and England with a sole goal –
618
00:44:26,559 --> 00:44:30,559
to get rid of Shturmer by any means. To achieve that,
619
00:44:30,639 --> 00:44:37,119
the most terrible and silly accusation of all was chosen – the state treason.
620
00:44:37,199 --> 00:44:40,799
By mixing facts and fantasies, Milyukov accused the head of the government
621
00:44:40,880 --> 00:44:44,480
together with the Empress of preparation of a separatist peace treaty
622
00:44:44,559 --> 00:44:47,759
with Germany. At the end of his speech he exclaimed:
623
00:44:47,840 --> 00:44:52,320
“What is it? Foolishness or treason?”
624
00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:01,760
Italy, 1916
625
00:45:04,880 --> 00:45:09,920
“That speech gave a decisive push to the political and social process
626
00:45:10,079 --> 00:45:15,199
that in four months was fated to burst in the deepest
627
00:45:15,280 --> 00:45:17,760
and most exciting revolution”.
628
00:45:20,880 --> 00:45:25,200
Living in emigration, Milyukov will write about that speech of his:
629
00:45:25,280 --> 00:45:30,160
“We took the decision to use the war to overthrow the power
630
00:45:30,239 --> 00:45:34,799
soon after the outbreak of the war. We couldn’t wait any longer
631
00:45:34,960 --> 00:45:38,480
for we knew that at the end of April or at the beginning of May
632
00:45:38,559 --> 00:45:42,480
our army was to start the assault the outcomes of which
633
00:45:42,559 --> 00:45:47,360
would stop any hints at discontent at once and would give rise
634
00:45:47,519 --> 00:45:50,800
to an explosion of partiotism and excitement in the country”.
635
00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:55,360
Still, Shturmer was forced to resign and Milyukov remained the deputy
636
00:45:55,519 --> 00:46:01,360
of the State Duma. The country made another step towards a catastrophe.
637
00:46:02,800 --> 00:46:05,760
The next Prime-Minister Alexander Fedorovitch Trepov
638
00:46:05,840 --> 00:46:09,440
lasted for only one month and was replaced by Prince Golitsin
639
00:46:09,599 --> 00:46:13,039
who lacked serious experience of ministry work.
640
00:46:14,400 --> 00:46:17,920
The appointment of Alexander Protopopov as the Minister of the Internal Affairs
641
00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:20,559
turned out to be even more controversial.
642
00:46:20,719 --> 00:46:23,919
He used to be the deputy chairman of the State Duma
643
00:46:24,000 --> 00:46:28,159
and was considered to be one of the liberals. By appointing him
644
00:46:28,320 --> 00:46:31,200
to a key position, the authorities wanted to please the opposition.
645
00:46:31,280 --> 00:46:33,040
However, they achieved the opposite result.
646
00:46:33,199 --> 00:46:38,239
The liberals called Protopopov “a traitor” and came to hate him.
647
00:46:38,320 --> 00:46:42,480
Besides, the minister seemed to be not entirely in his right mind,
648
00:46:42,559 --> 00:46:46,639
and his mental disorder became more and more apparent with each passing day.
649
00:46:47,119 --> 00:46:51,279
The Emperor knew that Protopopov wasn’t the best candidature.
650
00:46:51,440 --> 00:46:56,240
He often said: “It’s risky to leave the ministry in the hands of such a person
651
00:46:56,400 --> 00:47:02,160
in such times”. However, the Chairman of the State Duma Rodzyanko
652
00:47:02,239 --> 00:47:05,359
and the Minister for the Foreign Affairs Sazonov recommended him.
653
00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:08,000
That’s why the Tsar didn’t make him resign.
654
00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:12,560
Soon the capital was shaken by a new piece of news.
655
00:47:12,719 --> 00:47:18,480
In December of 1916, Rasputin was murdered in Petrograd.
656
00:47:18,800 --> 00:47:20,720
From the book of Boris Yakovenko
657
00:47:20,880 --> 00:47:23,519
“The History of the Great Russian Revolution”:
658
00:47:24,880 --> 00:47:28,880
“The news of Rasputin’s death and the circumstances
659
00:47:28,960 --> 00:47:33,519
under which it had happened impressed the society,
660
00:47:33,679 --> 00:47:39,359
and the mass media talked of nothing else but rumors regarding that event”.
661
00:47:43,119 --> 00:47:47,359
The entire Petersburg seemed to know the circumstances of Rasputin’s murder.
662
00:47:47,440 --> 00:47:51,280
The newspapers named the conspirators almost openly,
663
00:47:51,360 --> 00:47:56,800
including the member of the Emperor’s family Grand Duke Dmitry Pavlovitch.
664
00:47:56,880 --> 00:48:00,480
Still, not all the secrets of that mysterious murder
665
00:48:00,559 --> 00:48:03,759
have been revealed to this day. It looks like the investigation
666
00:48:03,840 --> 00:48:06,960
was deliberately thrown off the right track.
667
00:48:09,840 --> 00:48:14,480
Prison
668
00:48:14,639 --> 00:48:18,719
1916 was nearing its end.
669
00:48:21,599 --> 00:48:24,079
The newspapers were full of terrible rumors.
670
00:48:24,239 --> 00:48:26,799
The embassies of England and France were scheming.
671
00:48:27,119 --> 00:48:30,079
The front was preparing for a decisive advance
672
00:48:30,159 --> 00:48:34,399
and the rear was preparing for conspiracies and unrest.
673
00:48:41,599 --> 00:48:44,239
The Tsar knew of all those problems.
674
00:48:44,400 --> 00:48:47,280
However, during the war he believed that his main task
675
00:48:47,440 --> 00:48:50,559
was to save the country from the aggression. He said:
676
00:48:50,719 --> 00:48:53,839
“I’ll sort the internal affairs out when we drive the German away”.
677
00:48:53,920 --> 00:48:58,720
These words became the so-called slogan, a spell the Emperor was clinging to.
678
00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:02,880
In times of the war, the internal policy held second-rate importance for him.
679
00:49:02,960 --> 00:49:08,400
It’s possible that this political mistake sealed the fate of the Russian Emperor.
680
00:49:09,440 --> 00:49:14,000
On the last day of the year, Nicolay II wrote in his diary:
681
00:49:14,079 --> 00:49:18,559
“We prayed passionately to God to have mercy for Russia.”
682
00:49:18,639 --> 00:49:22,079
The year 1917 was on the threshold.
65176
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.