RUSSIA 



;>i22 



RUSSIA 



to year. Democracy was increasing and bu- 

 reaucracy was decreasing. Matters had aln 

 reached a crisis when all factions were united 

 by the entrance of Russia into the great Eu- 

 ropean war. (For Russia's part in the war, see 

 WAR OF THE NATIONS.) 



The Revolution of 1917. On Monday, March 

 12. H>17. Mi.-hael Rodzianko, president of the 

 Duma, telegraphed the czar, "The hour has 

 struck; the will of the people must prevail." 

 The most remarkable revolution of modem 

 not of history, was on. Within the 

 four days the ciar was compelled to ab- 

 dica' limbers connected with the old 



regime were deposed, and some of them were 

 imprisoned, and the government of all Rus- 

 sia came under the control of the Duma and 

 a responsible MmiMry. All this was accom- 

 plished with so little loss of life that the movc- 



t was styled ''the bloodless revolution." 

 While the revolution came with the sudden- 

 ness of a shock, it was the climax of many 

 years of preparation characterized chiefly by 

 the evolution of democracy. Possibly the most 

 powerful influence in this evolution was the 

 lemstvo. Strange as it may seem, the war 

 brought to the people the fruition of their 

 many years of waiting and struggle. In brief, 

 the immediate steps leading to the revolution 

 were the following: 



At the beginning of the war the Duma 

 pleaded for the united effort of all factions 

 and agencies in carrying it forward, but the 

 plea was not favorably received by the bureau- 

 cracy, whose acts were characterized by the 

 usual delays and peculations. The zemstvos, 

 realizing that united effort must be made to 

 maintain the troops at the front, formed the 

 Ml -Russian Zemstvos Union, of which Prince 

 Lvoff, afterwards Prime Minister of the new 

 government, was president. The organization 

 included all the zemstvos of the Empire, and 

 was a powerful factor in uniting the people in a 

 common cause. The Municipal Union, the 

 War Industry Committees and cooperative so- 

 ics all joined with the Zemstvos Union in 

 working for the success of the army. Up to 

 October, 1916, these organizations had estab- 

 lished more than 3,000 military hospitals; had 

 furnished food for 300,000 laborers engaged be- 

 hind the trenches; had provided fifty hospital 

 trains for the transportation of sick and 

 wounded soldiers; had supplied the armies in 

 the field with 3,000,000 tents and more than 

 35,000,000 articles of clothing, besides contrib- 

 uting in many other ways to the comfort and 



support of the troops. As the war progressed 

 these organizations increased in extent and in- 

 fluence. In other words, the war showed the 

 Russian people what they could do and gave 

 them much-needed confidence in themselves 

 and in their zemstvos. 



When the great Russian drive of 1915 was 

 followed by the retirement of the army from 

 the territory it had conquered, the people be- 

 gan to inquire into the causes. The influence 

 of the czarina (a German princess) in the coun- 

 cils of the nation 

 was looked upon 

 unfavorably. In- 

 vestigation s 

 showed that the 

 Russian forces 

 were not com- 

 pelled to retire 

 because there was 

 not a sufficient 

 supply of ammu- 

 nition, as had 

 been alleged, but 

 because that 

 ammunition and 

 other supplies had 

 been withheld by 

 orders of the bu- 

 reaucracy. Fur- ALEXANDER KERENSKY 



ther investigation He was at the head of the 



, provisional government fnun 



showed beyond July to November, 1917. In 



^,Kf +Vmf *K spite of his democratic prin- 



doubt that the c jp les> ability as an orator 



ruling faction in and personal magnetism, he 



was unable to satisfy the rad- 



the Ministry was icals and was forced out of 



in sympathy with c 



Germany, and that some of these Ministers 

 were traitors. In 1917 Professor Milyukov 

 in the Duma accused Prime Minister Stiirmer 

 of being a traitor to his country. The Minister 

 was removed, but the czar issued a ukase sus- 

 pending the Duma. Instead of obeying the 

 ukase, the Duma compelled the czar to abdi- 

 cate. 



Meantime the army had been recruited from 

 the ranks of the common people and realized 

 its dependence upon the people for its support. 

 Consequently the army was ready to support 

 the revolution, and without its support the 

 movement could nqt have . succeeded. Nicho- 

 las II abdicated in favor of his brother, the 

 Grand Duke Michael, but the latter wisely an- 

 nounced that he would not ascend the throne 

 unless he was elected to the position by Un- 

 people. The people favored a republic, and 

 the Grand Duke retired to obscurity. 



