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In February of 1917, a coup took place in Russia.
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The power was overtaken by the Temporary Government;
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however, the upheavals in the state didn't stop there.
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In July of the same year, the Bolsheviks made another attempt to take control.
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After the failure of their revolt,
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the military headed by General Kornilov rebelled.
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After Kornilov's mutiny had been suppressed as well,
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the Temporary Government lost its support in the army
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and couldn't resist the Bolsheviks who were gaining more and more influence.
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The Russian revolutionary Boris Yakovenko wrote about those days:
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"The main evidence of complete helplessness of the coalitional government
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was the general state of the country in all the spheres of the life:
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economic, administrative and military.
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That state could be adequately and exactly expressed in the scary words
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“destruction' and 'anarchy”."
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Autumn of 1917 was early.
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The cold rain was washing away the last episodes of the past life.
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Meetings were held in the streets. Red banners waved.
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The Communist anthem "International" sounded everywhere;
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it scared peaceful civilians tired of the revolutionary disorders.
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The future looked grim.
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The people who were interested in nothing but the politics just recently
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were now sick and tired of it.
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The inflation was clearing the commoners' pockets.
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In September, the government started to issue the new money
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which people nicknamed "the Kerenki" after Kerenskiy.
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First, 40 notes were printed on a big piece of paper.
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First people cut the necessary amount of the Kerenkis with scissors;
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later, they paid with the entire big piece of paper;
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and later still, even a pile of papers wasn't enough to pay for anything.
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Because those notes were so easy to print, people started counterfeiting them.
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With piles of the Kerenkis in their hands, people gathered by the shops.
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Endless queues snaked along the streets.
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A few months ago, such "tails" by the groceries became one of the reasons
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of the revolts in the Russian capital.
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Those revolts led to the February Revolution
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and the downfall of the centuries-old Russian monarchy.
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Now the queues were a usual part of the daily Petrograd life.
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However, more and more often people waited in queues in vain.
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There were no goods, there was lack of bread.
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Even the ration cards didn't help.
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The ghost of hunger appeared at the horizon.
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Well? Open.
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In those dark days, only criminals had a free and happy life.
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The country was engulfed by crimes.
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There was nobody to fight them,
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and the recent hopes for the revolutionary upbringing
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of the criminals didn’t come true.
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Hey, owner! Do you have something to swear with butter? Like bread?
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What is going on? They only have soap again!
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Helplessness of the law-enforcement officials – the people's police –
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led to lynching and bloody carnages.
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The commoners were defending themselves the best they could,
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and often killed the caught criminals on the spot.
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Wine pogroms became another type of widespread thefts and burglaries.
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After the beginning of the World War,
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the prohibition was introduced in Russia.
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The Temporary Government prolonged its action.
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However, the masses swept off all obstacles on the way to the spirits
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with great revolutionary enthusiasm.
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In summer of 1917, the wine stores both in the capital and in the provinces
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were ransacked. The soldiers were the most active thieves.
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The people's police usually did nothing about that.
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It didn't have the forces at its disposal to contain the crowds.
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The head of the government had to interfere.
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Kerenskiy addressed the thieves with a passionate appeal:
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"Representatives of the irresponsible groups and dark forces of Russia
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are making people get drunk to destroy the state,
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lead it to the anarchy, restore the old order.
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I demand to catch the guilty and hand them over to the court.
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The freedom is in danger, and it's our duty to protect it."
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However, nobody was scared of the head of the government.
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Out of a yesterday's hero and idol he was gradually turning into a hated jocker.
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Mocking poems spread about the country.
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-May I be free? -Yes, thanks.
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"He is ruling the confused Russia with his clean-shaved face.
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He isn't the God's representative but a former advocate."
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Those who saw Kerenskiy during those days noticed
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that the Minister and the head of the government
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looked unwell and depressed.
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His face coarsened and his eyes were dull and sunk.
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Just three months ago, it was an energetic, active
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and even a bit feverish person.
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The burden of power turned out to be too much for Alexander Fedorovitch.
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However, he had no intention of letting it go.
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After the military headed by General Kornilov attempted to overthrow
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the power and failed, Russia was left without the government.
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All the ministers resigned and Kerenskiy was the only person who stayed.
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He started to form a new ruling coalition, but it was difficult to do
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as the Petrograd Council was constantly against its new members.
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In a result of that, a new temporary higher authority was formed in the country –
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the Directory. The name came from the times of the French Revolution.
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The Directory officially proclaimed Russia to be a republic
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and legalized the liquidation of the police.
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Five people became the members of the Directory –
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the Minister for Foreign Affairs Mikhail Tereschenko,
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Minister of Post and Telegraph Alexei Nikitin,
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Military Minister Alexander Verkhovskiy,
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Naval Minister Dmitry Verderevskiy
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and Kerenskiy himself.
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The appointments of Verkhovskiy and Verderevskiy
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were a serious concession to the left forces.
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General Major Verkhovskiy was an active participant
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of the struggle against Kornilov, thanks to what he became Kerenskiy's favorite.
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Counter-Admiral Verderevskiy refused to fight against the Bolsheviks
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in July and was imprisoned. It worked for his benefit;
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after his release, he became the Naval Minister.
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Kerenskiy gave people who used to be revolutionary officers
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posts of military ministers on purpose.
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However, his calculations didn't live up to his expectations.
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The division of posts and chairs couldn't solve anything anymore.
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The failure of Kornilov's advance not only provided for Kerenskiy’s victory
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but also brought the Bolsheviks into the spotlight.
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The liberal and revolutionary forces and groups were afraid
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of the possible dictatorship of Kornilov's generals
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realizing that after coming to power the military would dismiss
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both the Temporary Government and its political opponents.
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To the liberals, Kornilov seemed to be scarier than the Bolsheviks.
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In that situation, according to Lenin's words, Kerenskiy looked like
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"Kornilov's supporter who fell out with Kornilov
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but still keeps a very intimate union with other Kornilov's supporters."
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The Councils and the Bolsheviks looked like the saviors
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of the ideas of the February Revolution,
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and the Temporary Government was accused of the conspiracy
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with the counter-revolutionary forces. In that way,
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the struggle against Kornilov literally resurrected the Bolsheviks' party.
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The July mutiny of the Bolsheviks was forgotten.
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Meanwhile, the struggle with the generals allowed the Bolsheviks
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to form their own armed detachments – the Red Guards.
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The Red Guards were the voluntary formations
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established by the territorial organizations of the Bolsheviks' party.
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In spring of 1917, the working detachments were first formed in Petrograd,
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Moscow and other cities of Russia.
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After the July events, they were disbanded.
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The resurrection of the Red Guards took place during Kornilov's mutiny.
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By the end of September, detachments of the Red Guards
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had been formed in 104 settlements.
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They amounted to 250,000 people.
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In Petrograd alone, the workers had over 40,000 rifles.
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The disarmament of those detachments
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after the suppression of Kornilov's mutiny was out of the question –
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the Temporary Government simply didn't have the forces to do that.
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Lenin's agenda on gaining the influence in the Councils bore its fruits.
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Despite the order to arrest the leaders of the Bolsheviks' party,
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the influence of the Bolsheviks in the Petrograd Council became decisive.
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It influenced the decisions of the Council immediately.
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At night of September 1, the deputies voted for the resolution
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put forward by the Bolsheviks for the very first time.
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It included a direct appeal to the establishment of the new power –
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the authority of the revolutionary proletariat and peasantry.
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The common members of the fractions supported the Bolsheviks' revolution.
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The management of the Council included the members
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of the socialist revolutionaries and Mensheviks –
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Nicolay Tchkheidze, Abram Gotz, Fedor Dan, Irakliy Tsereteli and Viktor Chernov.
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They tried to resist the majority of the Bolsheviks in the Council but in vain.
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In a result of that, all the chairmen resigned.
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Just a few months ago, such a step would frighten the ordinary deputies
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and make them compromise.
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However, now they voted for the resignation of the top members of the Council.
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In a few days, Bolshevik Lev Trotskiy who had been released
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from the "Kresty" prison became its chairman.
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Lenin was still hiding in Finland.
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It remained a part of the Russian State,
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but the police couldn't arrest Lenin there.
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The Finnish Social Democrats as well as officials
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dreaming about the independence of Finland were actively assisting him.
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At some point, Lenin was hiding in the house of the head of police of Helsingfors.
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In his letters, Lenin kept urging his comrades to start an armed revolt.
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"Move the loyal regiments to the most important points…
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take over the Fortress of Peter and Paul,
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arrest the General Headquarters and the Government."
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Alexander Fedorovitch?
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However, not all leaders of the Bolsheviks supported Lenin.
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The memory about the failed July mutiny was still fresh.
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The Bolsheviks' advantage in the Council
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was a serious cause of worry for the Directory.
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The newspapers spread the rumour that the authorities were moving to Moscow,
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as far from the Petrograd's Bolsheviks as possible.
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However, the Moscow Council also fell under the control of Lenin's people,
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so Kerenskiy had no place to run.
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On September 14, the All-Russian Democratic Consultations
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started in Petrograd. On opening it,
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the chairman of All-Russian Central Executive Committee
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Nicolay Tchkheidze claimed: "Instead of a leap into the kingdom of freedom
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we made a leap into the kingdom of anarchy."
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These words were confirmed almost at once.
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The speech of Kerenskiy – the first person of the state –
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was disrupted by shouts and insults.
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The Bolsheviks were the hosts of the situation in that hall.
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The majority of the participants Of the meeting felt
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that they just lost time in vain.
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From the book of Boris Yakovenko "History of the Great Russian Revolution":
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"The result of that Democratic Meeting was evidently tragic
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for it demonstrated with full clarity that both the democracy
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and the revolution were at the complete deadlock."
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The so-called democracy and government was at a deadlock too.
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Nobody trusted either the Directory or the remains of the Temporary Government.
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Their politicians were neither decisive nor respected.
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The majority of people felt irritation at the Councils
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because of their illegality, aggressiveness and irresponsibility.
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The Bolsheviks kept criticizing any attempt to establish legality and order.
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One of the decisions of the Democratic Consultation
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was the establishment of some sort of a parliament.
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It was officially called the Temporary Council of Russian Republic
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but it was more often called the "Pre-Parliament".
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The Bolsheviks got only 58 places in the Pre-Parliament out of 555.
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At Lenin's recommendation, they were sabotaging its work.
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Kerenskiy's only achievement was the formation of the new government.
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The socialist revolutionaries and the Mensheviks finally agreed
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to the coalition with the cadets' party.
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The Directory ceased its existence;
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its members joined the new Temporary Government.
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The Bolsheviks didn't take part in the government's work.
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The forming of the government became Kerenskiy's last success.
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The Prime-Minister had long been looking like a man
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on the verge of tiredness and depression.
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People talked behind his back he was taking stimulants and even drugs.
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The country was sliding into the abyss,
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but Kerenskiy could only help the situation
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by delivering speeches that nobody wanted to listen to.
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You're the Minister of Industry. Make the machines!
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People were now listening to Trotskiy,
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an influential Bolshevik who was almost as popular as Lenin.
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Do what you must, and Russia will get its freedom!
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The new government demonstrated complete helplessness.
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The first body to attack it was the All-Russian Executive Committee
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of the Railways’ Professional Union.
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The Union arranged an all-Russian strike demanding the raise of the wages
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for the railways’ workers and the shortening of the working day.
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The strike threatened to paralyze the economic life of the state,
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and the authorities had to surrender.
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The government suffered its next defeat at the Don.
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Ataman Alexei Kaledin headed the Don Kazak troops there.
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He was an active supporter of Kornilov
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and demanded the restoration of the order in the country.
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In spring of 1917, the Temporary Government dismissed the General
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from the commandment of the 8th army.
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The disgraced war leader left for the Don
239
00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:23,440
where he was elected the ataman of the Don Kazak Troop.
240
00:17:23,440 --> 00:17:27,759
After Kornilov's advance, an order to arrest Kaledin was issued.
241
00:17:27,759 --> 00:17:30,640
However, the government of the Don district refused to execute that order,
242
00:17:30,720 --> 00:17:33,120
and the Petrograd government had no choice
243
00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:36,640
but to claim that it was a sheer misunderstanding.
244
00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:42,480
Kaledin remained at his post and ruled the Don province as he liked.
245
00:17:42,559 --> 00:17:47,359
At the same time, the Finnish Seim adopted a law on the autonomy of Finland.
246
00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,920
The Temporary Government rejected that law and dismissed the Seim.
247
00:17:51,920 --> 00:17:56,320
The General Governor even ordered to seal the building of the Seim.
248
00:17:56,319 --> 00:17:59,599
However, the Finnish deputies tore off the seals, held a session
249
00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:03,600
and adopted laws which were out of favour with the Russian authorities.
250
00:18:03,599 --> 00:18:07,119
In Ukraine, the Central Rada was in control.
251
00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:10,799
It demanded the right to independently appoint the commanders
252
00:18:10,880 --> 00:18:14,080
of all the military units on the territory of Ukraine
253
00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:16,000
as well as of all the regiments and divisions
254
00:18:16,079 --> 00:18:18,480
that declared themselves to be Ukrainian.
255
00:18:18,960 --> 00:18:22,160
The Temporary Government couldn't agree to that.
256
00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,440
It summoned the heads of the Rada for personal explanations.
257
00:18:25,440 --> 00:18:27,680
However, they refused to go to Petrograd.
258
00:18:27,759 --> 00:18:31,599
They adopted a couple of resolutions and prohibited anybody
259
00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:34,320
to execute instructions of any officials
260
00:18:34,400 --> 00:18:38,720
appointed without the consent of the Central Rada.
261
00:18:41,920 --> 00:18:44,800
To strengthen its positions, the Rada organized
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00:18:44,799 --> 00:18:48,639
the so-called Convention of the Enslaved Nations of Russia in Kiev.
263
00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:53,039
It included representatives of Ukrainians, Poles, Jews, Belarusians,
264
00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:59,519
Georgians, Baltic peoples, Moldavians, Kazaks, Buryats and Turks.
265
00:18:59,599 --> 00:19:03,119
It was unclear how those people were chosen to represent their nations
266
00:19:03,119 --> 00:19:04,399
but the Convention approved
267
00:19:04,480 --> 00:19:07,120
the transformation of Russia into a federation.
268
00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:12,000
It also formed a Council of Nations in Kiev.
269
00:19:12,079 --> 00:19:16,720
The new Temporary Government in Petrograd watched the chaos
270
00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:20,079
that engulfed the entire country, protested, expressed outrage
271
00:19:20,160 --> 00:19:21,840
but could do nothing.
272
00:19:25,039 --> 00:19:28,000
The situation in the army was even worse.
273
00:19:28,079 --> 00:19:32,720
After Kornilov's advance, a wave of carnages against the officers
274
00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:36,400
hit all the fronts again.
275
00:19:43,759 --> 00:19:48,400
From the book of Boris Yakovenko "History of the Great Russian Revolution":
276
00:19:50,799 --> 00:19:54,720
"The echo of the anti-governmental action of General Kornilov
277
00:19:54,720 --> 00:20:00,720
was a wilful execution of four naval officers of the battleship “Petropavlovsk”.
278
00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:06,400
That execution was, alas, the first swallow of the future beatings
279
00:20:06,480 --> 00:20:10,720
and repressions carried out by the soldiers against the officers."
280
00:20:18,160 --> 00:20:20,480
Deserting became massive.
281
00:20:20,880 --> 00:20:25,040
The soldiers were running from the fronts en masse, taking their weapons with them.
282
00:20:25,119 --> 00:20:29,759
To get home faster, they were seizing railway trains.
283
00:20:29,839 --> 00:20:32,959
Those who stayed at the front lines kept refusing to fight.
284
00:20:33,039 --> 00:20:35,119
The entire divisions were passing resolutions
285
00:20:35,119 --> 00:20:38,559
stating that they would only stay at the front until November 1,
286
00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:42,400
and leave home afterwards.
287
00:20:42,880 --> 00:20:45,680
Under such circumstances, the German troops started an operation
288
00:20:45,759 --> 00:20:50,400
under the code name "Albion" aimed at the capture of the Moonsund archipelago
289
00:20:50,480 --> 00:20:52,880
and the strait of the same name.
290
00:20:52,960 --> 00:20:57,440
That island had a strategic importance for the attack at Petrograd.
291
00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:00,960
First the army and the fleet resisted the enemy as well as they could.
292
00:21:01,039 --> 00:21:04,159
They destroyed some enemy forces with the naval mines –
293
00:21:04,160 --> 00:21:09,360
the Germans lost nine ships, plus, some were damaged.
294
00:21:09,440 --> 00:21:12,559
The Russian ironclad "Slava" was fighting until the end
295
00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:15,040
when it was drowned by the enemy.
296
00:21:15,039 --> 00:21:17,519
A few other ships went into the battle too.
297
00:21:17,599 --> 00:21:21,599
Six seamen with a machine gun were defending the tactically important dam
298
00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:23,440
on the island of Moonsund Mukhu).
299
00:21:23,519 --> 00:21:27,359
A battery on the Tserel Cape was shooting at the advancing enemy.
300
00:21:27,359 --> 00:21:30,079
However, when the enemy approached, the team of the battery
301
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:33,440
simply escaped leaving their wounded commander behind.
302
00:21:33,519 --> 00:21:35,279
The course of the battle could be changed
303
00:21:35,279 --> 00:21:38,559
by the new battleships from Helsingfors.
304
00:21:38,559 --> 00:21:41,200
However, their crews decided to stay in the port
305
00:21:41,200 --> 00:21:45,200
and supported their dying comrades with nothing more than meetings.
306
00:21:46,799 --> 00:21:49,359
The Germans seized the Moonsund archipelago.
307
00:21:49,440 --> 00:21:52,080
It cost them nine drowned ships.
308
00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:55,040
The Russian fleet lost two ships.
309
00:21:55,039 --> 00:21:58,720
The Germans lost 381 people.
310
00:21:58,799 --> 00:22:01,359
The Russians didn't lose many people
311
00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:05,039
but over 20,000 people surrendered and were taken prisoners.
312
00:22:05,119 --> 00:22:07,919
The Germans even didn't disarm some of them.
313
00:22:08,000 --> 00:22:11,279
The soldiers of the revolutionary army were in such a hurry to surrender
314
00:22:11,279 --> 00:22:14,319
that the enemy wasn't afraid of their possible escape.
315
00:22:14,559 --> 00:22:19,679
The country that was one step away from a victory in the war
316
00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:23,920
just six months ago was now on the verge of a complete collapse.
317
00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:25,519
The front was in agony.
318
00:22:25,519 --> 00:22:28,160
Just recently, the liberals were accusing the Tsar's ministers
319
00:22:28,160 --> 00:22:30,960
of preparing a peace treaty with Germany.
320
00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:33,759
Now, the Military Minister Verkhovskiy was openly talking
321
00:22:33,759 --> 00:22:35,680
about the need to conclude peace.
322
00:22:35,759 --> 00:22:38,319
The delegates from the army echoed him.
323
00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:41,360
Everybody demanded peace at any expense.
324
00:22:49,279 --> 00:22:52,399
This war is the war of the people and not of the governments.
325
00:22:56,720 --> 00:22:59,839
The Russian people know of the feelings these great sacrifices brought.
326
00:23:05,359 --> 00:23:08,639
The Tsar's regime left the country in a state of disorganization.
327
00:23:13,279 --> 00:23:16,399
It would be better if our allies
328
00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:20,600
expressed as little respect to the Tsarist government as possible,
329
00:23:24,799 --> 00:23:27,200
and call him to account for his sins.
330
00:23:30,160 --> 00:23:34,240
However, the allies of Russia didn't want peace with Germany and Austro-Hungary.
331
00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:35,920
They wanted a victory.
332
00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:39,920
They needed to keep the Eastern front at any cost.
333
00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:44,480
London and Paris were pressing on the Temporary Government.
334
00:23:44,559 --> 00:23:47,919
The government had to listen to its allies
335
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:51,599
and refused to raise the issue of the peaceful negotiations.
336
00:23:51,599 --> 00:23:55,919
The Bolsheviks, on the contrary, promised peace here and now.
337
00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:01,279
For that, they needed just a bit – take the power into their hands.
338
00:24:06,880 --> 00:24:10,160
At the beginning of October, Lenin returned to Petrograd.
339
00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:13,120
He came secretly, in a wig and make-up.
340
00:24:13,200 --> 00:24:15,920
He settled at a secret address.
341
00:24:16,000 --> 00:24:19,759
The leader of the Bolsheviks could still be arrested for the July revolt.
342
00:24:19,839 --> 00:24:23,919
Lenin's personal bodyguard Eino Rahja accompanied him.
343
00:24:28,559 --> 00:24:32,799
Rahja Eino Abramovitch, a Finnish revolutionary and Communist;
344
00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,280
worked as a metalworker at the railways;
345
00:24:35,359 --> 00:24:39,599
used to smuggling illegal literature and arms into Russia.
346
00:24:39,599 --> 00:24:43,519
In 1917, he became Lenin's personal bodyguard.
347
00:24:43,599 --> 00:24:46,959
Served at the top positions in the Red Guards.
348
00:24:46,960 --> 00:24:51,039
One phrase told to Fedor Shalyapin made his famous:
349
00:24:51,119 --> 00:24:53,919
"We shall cut talented people
350
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:59,200
for no one shall have any advantage over other people.
351
00:24:59,279 --> 00:25:01,680
A talent is a violation of the equality."
352
00:25:01,839 --> 00:25:04,319
He died of tuberculosis and alcoholism.
353
00:25:04,319 --> 00:25:06,240
Two of his brothers, also Communists,
354
00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:09,039
went into smuggling after the revolution
355
00:25:09,119 --> 00:25:13,919
and were delivering luxury items and food from Finland to Russia.
356
00:25:16,480 --> 00:25:19,360
On October 10, the Central Committee of the Bolsheviks' party
357
00:25:19,440 --> 00:25:24,000
gathered at a secret address. After passionate debates,
358
00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:27,359
the Central Committee supported Lenin's plan of a revolt.
359
00:25:27,440 --> 00:25:29,360
The decision wasn't an easy one to take.
360
00:25:29,440 --> 00:25:32,080
Lenin was pressing on his comrades.
361
00:25:32,079 --> 00:25:34,319
"The majority is for us now.
362
00:25:34,319 --> 00:25:38,399
Politically, the situation is ripe for the transfer of the power."
363
00:25:38,480 --> 00:25:41,599
The power was indeed lying under the feet,
364
00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:46,320
and anybody who had enough of strength and decisiveness could take it.
365
00:25:46,400 --> 00:25:48,640
Vladimir Ilyitch, there will be too many victims.
366
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:50,640
Too many indeed! This is the army!
367
00:25:50,640 --> 00:25:55,520
Hasn't there been many victims before? I suggest voting.
368
00:25:55,599 --> 00:25:57,359
Who is for?
369
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:03,039
Ten members of the Central Committee voted for the revolt.
370
00:26:03,039 --> 00:26:06,879
Kamenev and Zinovyev voted against it.
371
00:26:22,720 --> 00:26:24,880
There was one problem.
372
00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:27,440
The Bolsheviks could carry out an armed revolt
373
00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:29,360
only with the help of the workers and soldiers
374
00:26:29,359 --> 00:26:32,159
who supported the Petrograd Committee.
375
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:37,039
In other words, it looked like the Council was organizing the revolt.
376
00:26:37,039 --> 00:26:40,480
However, should the revolt fail, then all the Bolshevik majority
377
00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:43,279
at the Council would be arrested.
378
00:26:43,279 --> 00:26:47,359
To protect the top management of the party in case of a failure,
379
00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:50,000
a new body was formed at the Council
380
00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:54,480
that was called the Military Revolutionary Committee.
381
00:26:54,480 --> 00:26:57,279
Formally, it was formed for the alleged defence of Petrograd
382
00:26:57,359 --> 00:27:02,000
in case if the German attack. It was headed by a representative
383
00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:05,039
of the left socialist revolutionaries Pavel Lazimir.
384
00:27:05,119 --> 00:27:11,439
In reality, its task was to organize the revolt and it was fully controlled
385
00:27:11,519 --> 00:27:15,440
by the chairman of the Council Bolshevik Lev Trotskiy.
386
00:27:15,519 --> 00:27:16,480
Should the revolt fail,
387
00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:20,559
only the leaders of the socialist revolutionaries would be arrested.
388
00:27:20,559 --> 00:27:24,240
Soon representatives of the Military and Revolutionary Committee
389
00:27:24,240 --> 00:27:26,000
visited all the units of the Petrograd garrison.
390
00:27:26,079 --> 00:27:28,000
The Bolsheviks became more and more numerous.
391
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:34,000
In February of 1917, the party amounted to 24,000 members,
392
00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:36,240
in April – to 80,000,
393
00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:38,640
in August - 240,000,
394
00:27:38,640 --> 00:27:41,600
in October – 400,000.
395
00:27:41,599 --> 00:27:43,759
The Council became Bolshevik too.
396
00:27:43,759 --> 00:27:47,039
The Petrograd Council was headed by Bolshevik Trotskiy
397
00:27:47,119 --> 00:27:50,239
and the Moscow Council was headed by Bolshevik Nogin.
398
00:27:52,880 --> 00:27:55,440
"Alarming rumours spread about the city
399
00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:59,200
that an armed revolt of the Bolsheviks was under way.
400
00:27:59,200 --> 00:28:02,960
Groups of armed Red Guards appeared in the streets;
401
00:28:02,960 --> 00:28:06,000
sometimes they were riding armoured cars
402
00:28:06,000 --> 00:28:10,640
with threatening posters saying something like "Death to Kerenskiy!"
403
00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:16,000
However, the Temporary Government was making one mistake after another,
404
00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:18,720
as if it didn't understand what was going on.
405
00:28:18,799 --> 00:28:24,319
Kerenskiy ordered to send 200,000-strong garrison of the capital to the front.
406
00:28:24,319 --> 00:28:28,079
The commanders described the mood of the garrison in the following way:
407
00:28:28,160 --> 00:28:33,440
"A small part of it is closely tied to the Bolshevik Council and is very active.
408
00:28:33,519 --> 00:28:38,639
The mood of the other part one may call passive, even apathic…"
409
00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:44,320
However, when the soldiers found out that they would be sent to the trenches,
410
00:28:44,319 --> 00:28:46,720
they claimed that they had to be fully equipped and armed.
411
00:28:46,799 --> 00:28:51,200
The demand seemed sound, and the Military Ministry satisfied it.
412
00:28:51,279 --> 00:28:55,920
Even the units which were disarmed in July as unreliable
413
00:28:56,000 --> 00:29:01,039
got rifles and machine guns. The Red Guards received weapons as well.
414
00:29:01,119 --> 00:29:03,759
However, the garrison didn't leave for the front.
415
00:29:03,759 --> 00:29:09,920
But the Bolsheviks gained a well-armed support for their upcoming revolt.
416
00:29:18,160 --> 00:29:22,640
"The majority of the garrison is geared up against the government
417
00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:26,400
and is ready to act at the first signal of the Petrograd Council,
418
00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:30,480
and actively resists the dispatching of the Petrograd troops to the front."
419
00:29:41,839 --> 00:29:45,119
Meanwhile, the struggle for the organization of the armed revolt
420
00:29:45,119 --> 00:29:50,559
was still raging within Lenin's party and was sometimes taking funny turns.
421
00:29:50,640 --> 00:29:53,360
After the end of the secret meeting of the Central Committee,
422
00:29:53,359 --> 00:29:59,439
one of the closest comrades of Lenin Lev Kamenev published an article
423
00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:03,680
in the newspaper in which he spoke against the armed revolt.
424
00:30:03,759 --> 00:30:07,599
One member of the Central Committee Grigoriy Zinovyev supported him.
425
00:30:11,599 --> 00:30:14,159
When Lenin found out about the publication, he flew into a fit of rage
426
00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:17,680
and demanded to expel Kamenev from the party.
427
00:30:17,680 --> 00:30:21,360
However, soon the comrades-in-arms made up…
428
00:30:24,640 --> 00:30:30,000
A famous writer Maksim Gorkiy was against Lenin's plan too.
429
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,400
He had been supporting the Bolsheviks for a long time
430
00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:36,480
and became a member of their party in 1905.
431
00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:39,680
Gorkiy welcomed the February Revolution.
432
00:30:39,759 --> 00:30:43,599
But he disapproved of the plans of the armed revolt –
433
00:30:43,599 --> 00:30:46,240
he was afraid of new blood and chaos.
434
00:30:46,319 --> 00:30:50,000
Gorkiy spoke against the revolt openly and directly.
435
00:30:50,079 --> 00:30:52,799
In a newspaper "Novaya Zhizn" ("New Life") the writer published an article
436
00:30:52,799 --> 00:30:56,000
"We Can't Keep Silence" in which he appealed to the Bolsheviks
437
00:30:56,000 --> 00:30:58,240
to denounce their plans.
438
00:31:01,440 --> 00:31:06,000
Now the entire Petrograd knew about the Bolsheviks' secret plans.
439
00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:08,720
Trotskiy was forced to publicly lie
440
00:31:08,720 --> 00:31:10,880
that they weren't preparing for a revolt.
441
00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:15,039
Few believed his words, but the Temporary Government acted passively
442
00:31:15,200 --> 00:31:17,759
even in that decisive moment.
443
00:31:17,839 --> 00:31:20,240
We are not planning any armed disturbances…
444
00:31:20,960 --> 00:31:23,519
Kerenskiy plunged into a complete depression.
445
00:31:23,599 --> 00:31:27,119
He publicly acknowledged: "I'm a doomed person.
446
00:31:27,200 --> 00:31:30,000
I don't care for anything now and I dare say,
447
00:31:30,079 --> 00:31:33,039
this provocation that is being organized
448
00:31:33,119 --> 00:31:36,639
by the Bolsheviks in the city is unbelievable."
449
00:31:43,519 --> 00:31:47,359
Meanwhile the situation exacerbated.
450
00:31:47,359 --> 00:31:50,639
The commandment of the Petrograd district reported to the government
451
00:31:50,640 --> 00:31:52,400
that the troops weren't reliable.
452
00:31:52,480 --> 00:31:56,160
The Military Minister Verkhovskiy tried to resign.
453
00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:00,480
He didn't believe in his ability to successfully resist the Bolsheviks.
454
00:32:00,559 --> 00:32:04,079
The government didn't fire the Minister but gave him a vacation –
455
00:32:04,160 --> 00:32:07,279
to restore his health. On October 21,
456
00:32:07,279 --> 00:32:10,480
four days before the revolt of the Bolsheviks,
457
00:32:10,480 --> 00:32:13,440
the Military Minister left for Valaam.
458
00:32:13,519 --> 00:32:18,480
The government went on making mistakes pushing away those people
459
00:32:18,559 --> 00:32:22,159
who could support it at a critical moment.
460
00:32:23,680 --> 00:32:28,480
The next day, on October 22, the Kazaks organized a cross procession
461
00:32:28,559 --> 00:32:31,839
in honour of the holiday of the Kazan Mother of God.
462
00:32:31,839 --> 00:32:35,039
The Kazaks were considered to be the supporters of the counter-revolution,
463
00:32:35,119 --> 00:32:38,959
and so, the cross procession could seriously hinder the Bolsheviks' plans.
464
00:32:38,960 --> 00:32:43,440
It coincided with another holiday – the day of the Petrograd Council,
465
00:32:43,440 --> 00:32:47,039
in honour of which a demonstration was planned.
466
00:32:47,119 --> 00:32:51,119
The Council put forward an ultimatum - to cancel the cross procession.
467
00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:54,240
The government satisfied their request.
468
00:32:54,400 --> 00:32:57,200
Lenin was excited. He wrote:
469
00:32:57,279 --> 00:33:01,359
"The cancellation of the Kazaks' demonstration is a giant victory of ours."
470
00:33:01,359 --> 00:33:05,599
The chief of the Bolsheviks was still in Petrograd illegally.
471
00:33:05,599 --> 00:33:10,399
At night from October 23 to 24 of 1917,
472
00:33:10,400 --> 00:33:14,560
the Minister of Justice of the Temporary Government Pavel Malyantovitch
473
00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:16,880
issued an order to arrest Lenin.
474
00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:19,760
However, it didn't interfere with the Bolsheviks' plans.
475
00:33:19,839 --> 00:33:23,759
Moreover, the Minister of Justice Malyantovitch was a Menshevik
476
00:33:23,839 --> 00:33:28,639
but had close ties with the Bolsheviks and even warned Lenin personally
477
00:33:28,640 --> 00:33:30,720
about the arrest that was being prepared.
478
00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:33,279
Under those circumstances, the effectiveness of actions
479
00:33:33,359 --> 00:33:36,479
of the Temporary Government was close to nil.
480
00:33:44,400 --> 00:33:49,280
Trotskiy who was preparing for the revolt was rushing about Petrograd.
481
00:33:52,319 --> 00:33:55,839
He visited the caserns, the plants, the Smolniy, the meetings,
482
00:33:55,839 --> 00:33:58,879
and spoke clearly and directly.
483
00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:02,480
“You have two fur coats, capitalist.
484
00:34:02,559 --> 00:34:06,559
Give one to a soldier who is cold in the trenches.
485
00:34:06,640 --> 00:34:14,559
Do you have warm boots? A worker needs your boots.
486
00:34:14,559 --> 00:34:19,440
Stay at home…”
487
00:34:23,599 --> 00:34:25,839
Those appeals found an eager audience.
488
00:34:25,920 --> 00:34:30,480
Soldiers, seamen and workers were ready to follow Trotskiy anywhere.
489
00:34:39,920 --> 00:34:43,280
On October 24, at 5:30 a.m.
490
00:34:43,360 --> 00:34:47,760
a commissar of the Temporary Government accompanied by a detachment of cadets
491
00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:50,079
came to the printing house were the Bolshevik newspapers
492
00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:52,159
"Rabochiy Put" ("the Workers' Way") and "Soldat" ("Soldier") were printed.
493
00:34:52,239 --> 00:34:54,719
At his order, the door of the typography was sealed
494
00:34:54,719 --> 00:34:57,119
and the guards were placed around the building.
495
00:34:57,199 --> 00:35:01,439
However, it was too late to stop the Bolshevik agitation.
496
00:35:01,840 --> 00:35:05,200
Work was in progress in the building of the former Smolniy Institute for Noble Girls
497
00:35:05,280 --> 00:35:08,240
that became the Headquarters
498
00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:09,840
of the Military and Revolutionary Committee.
499
00:35:10,000 --> 00:35:13,599
The troops received an order to execute the resolution of the headquarters
500
00:35:13,599 --> 00:35:15,839
of the Petrograd military district.
501
00:35:21,679 --> 00:35:24,960
That was too much for Kerenskiy,
502
00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:27,840
and he ordered to arrest the members of the Committee.
503
00:35:27,920 --> 00:35:31,519
However, it was easier said than done.
504
00:35:31,599 --> 00:35:34,880
The government summoned reliable military troops to Petrograd
505
00:35:34,960 --> 00:35:38,639
but received a reply from the Northern Front:
506
00:35:38,639 --> 00:35:40,879
"The organization and dispatch of a detachment
507
00:35:40,960 --> 00:35:44,639
for the defence of the Temporary Government is impossible.
508
00:35:44,639 --> 00:35:46,960
Nobody will follow that slogan."
509
00:35:47,599 --> 00:35:51,759
Meanwhile, the Fortress of Peter and Paul took the side of the Bolsheviks.
510
00:35:51,840 --> 00:35:55,039
The Winter Palace in which the Temporary Government was sitting
511
00:35:55,039 --> 00:35:57,599
was now under the aim of the Fortress' guns.
512
00:35:57,679 --> 00:36:02,319
The scared government called upon the cadets to protect them.
513
00:36:05,360 --> 00:36:08,720
The cadets were the students of the military institutes
514
00:36:08,800 --> 00:36:10,720
and schools of warrant officers of the Russian army.
515
00:36:10,719 --> 00:36:16,719
After the graduation, they received a junior officer rank of a warrant officer.
516
00:36:16,719 --> 00:36:20,319
In Petrograd and its suburbs, there were the Pavlov
517
00:36:20,400 --> 00:36:25,280
and Vladimir Military Colleges, Nicolay Cavalry Institute,
518
00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:29,760
Mikhail Artillery and Nicolay Engineer Colleges
519
00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,640
as well as a couple of schools of warrant officers.
520
00:36:32,719 --> 00:36:35,839
The total number of the cadets who were in Petrograd
521
00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:39,680
and its suburbs was about 7,000 people.
522
00:36:41,280 --> 00:36:44,560
The well-trained cadets patrolling the streets
523
00:36:44,559 --> 00:36:48,719
were live impersonation of order and calm in the eyes of the commoners.
524
00:36:48,800 --> 00:36:53,360
The cadets became the last hope of the Temporary Government.
525
00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:57,200
The Bolsheviks went on with their distractive manoeuvres.
526
00:36:57,199 --> 00:36:59,599
The Military and Revolutionary Committee adopted a resolution
527
00:36:59,679 --> 00:37:03,519
stating that it wasn't planning to organize an armed revolt.
528
00:37:03,519 --> 00:37:06,480
However, in reality the revolt had already started.
529
00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:13,519
Kerenskiy's mood changed radically; he claimed that he dreamt of a revolt
530
00:37:13,599 --> 00:37:16,480
because it was giving him a chance to crush the Bolsheviks.
531
00:37:16,559 --> 00:37:20,480
The Minister and the chairman of the government agreed for violent measures.
532
00:37:20,559 --> 00:37:24,480
Simultaneously, he turned to the Pre-Parliament for support.
533
00:37:24,559 --> 00:37:28,960
Kerenskiy delivered a passionate speech in front of the deputies:
534
00:37:31,679 --> 00:37:34,480
"The Temporary Government, including me,
535
00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:38,400
prefers to be killed and destroyed, but we won't surrender
536
00:37:38,480 --> 00:37:42,639
the life, honour and independence of our state."
537
00:37:46,079 --> 00:37:50,079
People applauded Kerenskiy wildly but in a few hours,
538
00:37:50,079 --> 00:37:52,960
they adopted a resolution against him.
539
00:37:52,960 --> 00:37:55,360
The Pre-Parliament only ruled to form a committee
540
00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:59,840
to resolve the conflict between the government and the Bolsheviks.
541
00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:03,599
Kerenskiy threatened to resign from the post of the head of the government;
542
00:38:03,679 --> 00:38:06,239
however, he still hoped to win.
543
00:38:08,079 --> 00:38:12,319
On October 24, at his order the Headquarters of the Petrograd district
544
00:38:12,320 --> 00:38:15,039
tried to isolate the working suburbs.
545
00:38:15,119 --> 00:38:19,279
However, the attempt to raise the bridges over the Neva failed.
546
00:38:19,280 --> 00:38:21,360
The detachments of the Red Guards managed to interfere
547
00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:24,320
with the cadets' activities almost everywhere.
548
00:38:24,320 --> 00:38:26,480
The Bolsheviks seized the Central Telegraph
549
00:38:26,480 --> 00:38:31,199
as well as the railway stations, the State Bank and the telephone station.
550
00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:34,960
The troops loyal to the government gathered on the Palace Square.
551
00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:37,119
They controlled the Winter Palace,
552
00:38:37,119 --> 00:38:39,039
the building of the Headquarters of the military district
553
00:38:39,039 --> 00:38:43,440
and the Mariinskiy Palace. The defenders didn't have more forces.
554
00:38:43,519 --> 00:38:47,920
To stop the enemy, a barricade from firewood was erected on the square.
555
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,239
The Bolsheviks went on gathering their forces.
556
00:38:50,239 --> 00:38:52,399
A telegram signed by the member of the Bolshevik Central Committee
557
00:38:52,400 --> 00:38:57,519
Yakov Sverdlov was sent to the Central Committee of the Baltic Fleet,
558
00:38:57,599 --> 00:38:59,599
"Send the Charter".
559
00:38:59,599 --> 00:39:01,440
It was an arbitrary sign.
560
00:39:01,440 --> 00:39:02,559
After getting the telegram,
561
00:39:02,559 --> 00:39:07,119
the Baltic Fleet sent almost 2,000 seamen to Petrograd.
562
00:39:09,519 --> 00:39:12,880
The very same day, Lenin went to the Smolniy.
563
00:39:13,760 --> 00:39:17,600
For the sake of conspiracy, he was made-up and had false documents.
564
00:39:17,599 --> 00:39:22,880
Lenin put a cap on, tied a kerchief around his cheek as if he had toothache.
565
00:39:22,960 --> 00:39:27,840
Eino Rahja accompanied him, armed to his teeth.
566
00:39:33,119 --> 00:39:38,079
On their way, patrols stopped them twice to check the documents.
567
00:39:38,159 --> 00:39:41,199
However, neither of them recognized Lenin.
568
00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:46,880
At the Smolniy, he enjoyed a happy reception and got down to work at once.
569
00:39:54,559 --> 00:40:01,199
On October 25, at 4 a.m. at the order of the Military and Revolutionary Committee
570
00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:05,440
cruiser "Aurora" approached the Nicolay Bridge.
571
00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:12,960
"Aurora" was a cruiser of the first rank of the Baltic Fleet.
572
00:40:13,039 --> 00:40:18,880
Its crew consisted of 578 people, 20 officers and 550 seamen.
573
00:40:19,760 --> 00:40:22,560
During the Russian-Japanese War the cruiser took part
574
00:40:22,559 --> 00:40:24,799
in the campaign of the Second Pacific Ocean Squadron
575
00:40:24,880 --> 00:40:27,599
that ended with a battle of Tsushima.
576
00:40:27,679 --> 00:40:31,199
During the February Revolution, a mutiny started onboard,
577
00:40:31,199 --> 00:40:35,599
and Captain Nicolskiy was forced to shoot at the rebels.
578
00:40:35,679 --> 00:40:40,879
The enraged crowd murdered their Captain and his Senior Assistant violently.
579
00:40:40,880 --> 00:40:45,280
By summer, the crew included 42 members of the Bolsheviks' party.
580
00:40:45,360 --> 00:40:49,440
By the end of October, the cruiser was in Petrograd at the repair dock.
581
00:40:49,519 --> 00:40:53,759
The crew elected a new Captain – Senior Lieutenant Nikonov,
582
00:40:53,840 --> 00:40:57,360
but on October 25 he left for the Headquarters,
583
00:40:57,360 --> 00:41:00,079
and Lieutenant Ericson was in charge on the ship.
584
00:41:01,840 --> 00:41:06,720
"Aurora's" task was to restore movement along the Nicolay Bridge
585
00:41:06,719 --> 00:41:10,079
that had been overtaken and raised by the cadets the day before.
586
00:41:10,159 --> 00:41:13,599
For that, the cruiser had to sail to the middle of the river.
587
00:41:13,679 --> 00:41:19,039
Ericson refused to do that saying that he didn't know the fairwaters well.
588
00:41:19,039 --> 00:41:22,239
After threats and long conversations he agreed to do it
589
00:41:22,320 --> 00:41:25,760
fearing that without his help the seamen would run the ship aground.
590
00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:29,200
When the "Aurora" approached, the cadets left the bridge.
591
00:41:29,280 --> 00:41:33,120
The electricians from the ship landed on the shore and drew the bridge.
592
00:41:35,119 --> 00:41:37,920
By the morning of October 25, Kerenskiy started to realize
593
00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:42,480
that he was sitting in the Winter Palace like in a besieged fortress.
594
00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:45,440
Nobody was answering his calls for help.
595
00:41:45,519 --> 00:41:51,519
He only had a half of the Female Battalion he had summoned at his disposal.
596
00:41:53,519 --> 00:41:58,800
The Female Battalion was a military unit consisting solely of women.
597
00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:01,200
Such battalions were formed by the Temporary Government
598
00:42:01,199 --> 00:42:04,480
out of the female volunteers primarily with a propagandistic goal –
599
00:42:04,559 --> 00:42:07,039
to raise the patriotic mood.
600
00:42:07,119 --> 00:42:11,359
The second company of the battalion amounting to 137 people
601
00:42:11,440 --> 00:42:14,159
took part in the defence of the Winter Palace.
602
00:42:14,400 --> 00:42:19,039
In the morning of October 25, the weather was vile in Petrograd.
603
00:42:19,039 --> 00:42:23,519
It was cloudy and cold, and bitter cold wind was blowing.
604
00:42:23,519 --> 00:42:27,599
Everywhere, there were leaflets with prohibitions from the Temporary Government.
605
00:42:27,599 --> 00:42:30,159
They prohibited "wilful demonstrations"
606
00:42:30,159 --> 00:42:35,359
and "execution by the troops of any orders from different organizations".
607
00:42:35,440 --> 00:42:39,119
They ordered to find and arrest Lenin.
608
00:42:39,119 --> 00:42:41,039
The leaflets were still on the walls
609
00:42:41,039 --> 00:42:44,880
when the Temporary Government was no more in power.
610
00:42:45,280 --> 00:42:49,680
The city was under almost full control of the Bolsheviks.
611
00:42:49,840 --> 00:42:52,480
Realizing that it made no sense to sit in the Winter Palace,
612
00:42:52,480 --> 00:42:55,760
Kerenskiy decided to move forward towards the loyal troops
613
00:42:55,760 --> 00:42:58,320
that had been summoned to Petrograd.
614
00:42:58,480 --> 00:43:03,280
However, the ruler of Russia didn't even have a good car in his disposal.
615
00:43:03,360 --> 00:43:06,880
With great efforts, he managed to borrow a car from the US Embassy.
616
00:43:07,599 --> 00:43:11,360
At the last moment, Kerenskiy's personal car was found.
617
00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:16,720
The driver put an American flag on the front desk and drove into the night.
618
00:43:17,039 --> 00:43:20,880
The Head of the Temporary Government left Petrograd.
619
00:43:23,199 --> 00:43:25,759
Telegrams were flying to all corners of the country
620
00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:28,960
from the telegraph captured by the Bolsheviks:
621
00:43:29,039 --> 00:43:33,279
"To the citizens of Russia. The Temporary Government is overthrown.
622
00:43:33,280 --> 00:43:37,600
The state power now rests with the Petrograd Council of the Deputies
623
00:43:37,679 --> 00:43:41,519
from Workers and Soldiers and the Military and Revolutionary Committee
624
00:43:41,519 --> 00:43:45,840
that heads the Petrograd proletariat and garrison."
625
00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:47,760
It wasn't true yet.
626
00:43:47,840 --> 00:43:50,640
Officially, the Temporary Government still existed
627
00:43:50,719 --> 00:43:53,839
though it couldn't exercise any real power.
628
00:43:55,760 --> 00:43:57,280
In the afternoon of October 25,
629
00:43:57,360 --> 00:44:00,720
the Ministers gathered in the Winter Palace for a session.
630
00:44:00,719 --> 00:44:04,159
There, they found out that the commander of the Petrograd military district
631
00:44:04,159 --> 00:44:09,920
Colonel Polkovnikov panicked and couldn't lead the troops.
632
00:44:10,000 --> 00:44:14,079
A decision was taken to hand the power in the city to one of the Ministers –
633
00:44:14,159 --> 00:44:19,679
Nicolay Kishkin, a physiotherapist.
634
00:44:19,679 --> 00:44:24,960
Dr. Kishkin became a governor with extraordinary competence.
635
00:44:25,039 --> 00:44:28,800
He tried to organize the resistance to the Bolsheviks as hard as he could.
636
00:44:28,880 --> 00:44:32,480
However, he only had the servants of the Winter Palace,
637
00:44:32,559 --> 00:44:36,239
cadets, a detachment of the Kazaks and a couple of dozens of women
638
00:44:36,320 --> 00:44:38,480
from the Female Storm Battalion at his disposal.
639
00:44:38,559 --> 00:44:42,480
Kishkin dismissed Polkovnikov and appointed a battle General Bagratuni
640
00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:44,400
the commander of the district.
641
00:44:44,480 --> 00:44:47,920
However, by that time the majority of Petrograd garrison units
642
00:44:47,920 --> 00:44:50,800
were listening to the orders of only one authority –
643
00:44:50,880 --> 00:44:53,599
the Military and Revolutionary Committee.
644
00:44:57,199 --> 00:45:00,239
It didn't take the Bolsheviks long to dismiss the Pre-Parliament
645
00:45:00,320 --> 00:45:02,640
that was sitting in the Mariinskiy Palace.
646
00:45:02,719 --> 00:45:05,519
The delegates who were at the hall adopted a resolution
647
00:45:05,519 --> 00:45:08,800
with a protest against violence and went home.
648
00:45:08,880 --> 00:45:11,360
None of them showed any resistance.
649
00:45:14,800 --> 00:45:18,000
Meanwhile, reinforcements arrived to the Winter Palace –
650
00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:20,239
a joint battalion of the school of the warrant officers
651
00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:21,680
of the engineering troops.
652
00:45:21,679 --> 00:45:25,119
People in the Palace immediately started to plan the counter-attack.
653
00:45:25,199 --> 00:45:29,919
They tried to free the Mariinskiy Palace, then the Central Telephone Station.
654
00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:33,920
All was in vain. One armoured car under a red banner
655
00:45:34,000 --> 00:45:38,000
was enough to send the troops loyal to the government running.
656
00:45:38,079 --> 00:45:40,559
Closer to the evening the Military and Revolutionary Committee
657
00:45:40,559 --> 00:45:44,079
seized the Headquarters of the Petrograd military district.
658
00:45:44,719 --> 00:45:47,679
In the evening, Lenin delivered a speech at the Petrograd Council
659
00:45:47,679 --> 00:45:52,719
and said the words that became famous all over the world,
660
00:45:53,039 --> 00:45:56,880
"The revolution of workers and peasants, the necessity for which
661
00:45:56,960 --> 00:46:00,480
was constantly explained by the Bolsheviks, has happened!"
662
00:46:00,639 --> 00:46:03,359
Simultaneously, the Second All-Russian Convention
663
00:46:03,440 --> 00:46:04,720
of the Councils started its work.
664
00:46:04,719 --> 00:46:08,159
Its task was to legalize the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks.
665
00:46:10,159 --> 00:46:13,519
Lenin and his comrades did everything to make the population
666
00:46:13,599 --> 00:46:17,759
perceive the coup not as the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks.
667
00:46:17,840 --> 00:46:23,039
They wanted them to see that the Military and Revolutionary Committee
668
00:46:23,039 --> 00:46:26,960
of the Petrograd Council – allegedly a body elected by the people –
669
00:46:27,039 --> 00:46:28,719
took the power into its hands.
670
00:46:28,719 --> 00:46:31,359
They kept the fact that the Bolsheviks had been already heading
671
00:46:31,360 --> 00:46:33,519
and completely controlling the Council hushed.
672
00:46:35,679 --> 00:46:39,039
The Ministers remained in the Winter Palace.
673
00:46:39,039 --> 00:46:42,480
They only had one telephone line at their disposal.
674
00:46:42,559 --> 00:46:45,199
The defenders of the Palace got depressed.
675
00:46:45,199 --> 00:46:49,519
The artillery cadets left taking four cannons with them;
676
00:46:49,519 --> 00:46:53,039
a part of the school of the warrant officers of the engineering troops left too,
677
00:46:53,039 --> 00:46:54,719
as did the Kazaks.
678
00:46:56,880 --> 00:47:00,480
In the evening, the Bolsheviks got ready for the storm.
679
00:47:00,559 --> 00:47:04,960
An ultimatum on the immediate capitulation was delivered to the Winter Palace.
680
00:47:05,039 --> 00:47:07,519
It threatened that the "Aurora" would open fire at the Palace.
681
00:47:07,599 --> 00:47:11,119
The Ministers decided not to reply to the ultimatum.
682
00:47:11,199 --> 00:47:14,319
They received the last support from the City Duma.
683
00:47:14,400 --> 00:47:17,920
Its deputies decide to organize a procession to the Winter Palace
684
00:47:18,000 --> 00:47:20,960
to support the besieged Ministers
685
00:47:20,960 --> 00:47:26,159
or to "die together with them" should they fail.
686
00:47:26,239 --> 00:47:30,159
The Red Guards’ patrols simply didn't let their demonstration pass through.
687
00:47:30,239 --> 00:47:33,599
The deputies didn't die and went on to their sessions.
688
00:47:33,599 --> 00:47:35,039
When it got completely dark,
689
00:47:35,119 --> 00:47:38,880
the Bolsheviks attacked the barricades by the Winter Palace.
690
00:47:38,880 --> 00:47:44,079
However, the attack was repelled by just two blank shots from the cannons.
691
00:47:44,079 --> 00:47:47,759
The Temporary Government could still go home at that point.
692
00:47:47,840 --> 00:47:50,480
The only thing that kept the Ministers in the Palace was the responsibility
693
00:47:50,480 --> 00:47:54,960
before those few fighters who stayed to defend them.
694
00:47:55,039 --> 00:47:59,519
After their first failure, the Bolsheviks intensified their efforts.
695
00:47:59,519 --> 00:48:01,440
According to some witnesses,
696
00:48:01,440 --> 00:48:04,559
"Aurora" did shoot at the Palace a couple of times.
697
00:48:04,559 --> 00:48:06,559
The cannons of the Fortress of Peter and Paul
698
00:48:06,639 --> 00:48:09,199
were fired above the Palace's roof.
699
00:48:09,199 --> 00:48:11,919
The historians still discuss
700
00:48:11,920 --> 00:48:15,200
whether the "Aurora" fired at the Winter Palace.
701
00:48:15,199 --> 00:48:18,399
According to some data, the storm of the Winter Palace
702
00:48:18,480 --> 00:48:22,000
started after a blank shot of a cruiser's cannon.
703
00:48:22,000 --> 00:48:25,280
According to other evidence, the "Aurora" was firing at the Palace
704
00:48:25,280 --> 00:48:30,000
with battle shells. However, some researchers doubt the fact
705
00:48:30,079 --> 00:48:33,599
that the cruiser had any battle shells onboard.
706
00:48:33,679 --> 00:48:36,239
Meanwhile the infantry started to get into the Winter Palace
707
00:48:36,320 --> 00:48:38,640
through the broken windows and side entrances
708
00:48:38,719 --> 00:48:40,959
that the soldiers simply forgot to lock.
709
00:48:41,039 --> 00:48:45,039
The crowd that burst into the Palace swept its defenders off their feet.
710
00:48:45,039 --> 00:48:48,159
The Winter Palace filled with soldiers and seamen.
711
00:48:48,800 --> 00:48:52,560
Some defenders resisted, but there wasn't any unified command.
712
00:48:52,559 --> 00:48:55,519
There were only 5 officers in the Palace.
713
00:48:55,519 --> 00:49:00,239
On October 25, at 1:30 a.m. a cadet ran into the room
714
00:49:00,239 --> 00:49:01,839
where the ministers were sitting.
715
00:49:01,840 --> 00:49:04,960
He said that he and his comrades were ready to fight
716
00:49:04,960 --> 00:49:09,760
until the last man standing. All the people present shouted,
717
00:49:09,760 --> 00:49:13,040
"No blood, please!" The cadet went out.
718
00:49:13,039 --> 00:49:17,440
In a few minutes, a door opened, and a crowd burst in.
719
00:49:17,519 --> 00:49:20,159
A man in a civilian overcoat and a hat asked
720
00:49:20,159 --> 00:49:22,799
where the members of the Temporary Government were;
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00:49:22,880 --> 00:49:25,200
they answered that they were the ones.
722
00:49:25,280 --> 00:49:26,880
Then the man said:
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00:49:26,960 --> 00:49:29,599
"I declare you arrested.
724
00:49:29,679 --> 00:49:34,159
I'm the Chairman of the Military and Revolutionary Committee Antonov."
725
00:49:36,960 --> 00:49:38,800
That was the end.
726
00:49:39,599 --> 00:49:42,400
At 3:00 a.m. Kamenev reported to the Convention of the Councils
727
00:49:42,480 --> 00:49:44,559
on the arrest of the government.
728
00:49:44,639 --> 00:49:50,079
The delegates adopted the appeal "To the Workers, Soldiers and Peasants"
729
00:49:50,079 --> 00:49:53,039
in which they informed that the Temporary Government was overthrown,
730
00:49:53,039 --> 00:49:56,320
and the power passed to the Convention of the Councils.
731
00:49:56,400 --> 00:49:58,639
The appeal also said:
732
00:49:58,639 --> 00:50:02,159
"The Council rules that in the provinces,
733
00:50:02,239 --> 00:50:04,639
the power shall be handed over to the Councils of the Deputies
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00:50:04,639 --> 00:50:07,519
from the Workers, Soldiers and Peasants…"
735
00:50:24,960 --> 00:50:30,240
The arrested Ministers were taken under guard to the Fortress of Peter and Paul.
736
00:50:30,400 --> 00:50:33,440
The crowd demanded to cut their heads off.
737
00:50:33,519 --> 00:50:35,679
However, the lynching was prevented.
738
00:50:35,760 --> 00:50:39,600
The guards delivered the disgraced government to the Fortress safe and sound.
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00:50:39,599 --> 00:50:45,039
The Russian revolution that started in February of 1917,
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00:50:45,119 --> 00:50:48,960
ended in October with the Bolsheviks' coup.
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