The prologue to the July crisis was the exit from the government on July 2 (15), 1917, of four cadet ministers (A. Shingarev, D. Shakhovsky, A. Manuylov and V. Stepanov), who left the cabinet in protest against the recognition of the autonomy of Ukraine, about which Kerensky, Tsereteli and Tereshchenko agreed with the Central Rada. This agreement, in the opinion of the Cadet Central Committee, violated the will of the Constituent Assembly to determine the political future of the country. Of course, the ministerial demarche was a measure of pressure on the socialists in order to adjust their policy in the direction of tightening it, but it was also a manifestation of growing contradictions within the coalition. Unexpectedly for everyone, he caused a violent reaction from the soldiers of Petrograd.

On the evening of July 3, the government and the Council received the first reports of unrest in the city. Soldiers of the 1st machine gun regiment, 1st reserve infantry regiment, sailors and other military units who arrived from Kronstadt came out into the streets from the barracks. On the night of July 3-4, they were joined by 30 thousand workers of the Putilov plant. A huge crowd of people literally besieged the Tauride Palace, where the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was located, and demanded the resignation of all capitalist ministers and the transfer of power to the Soviets. The protesters were convinced that it was the bourgeois ministers who bore the main responsibility for the deepening economic devastation and the ongoing war.

The origin of the events of July 3-5 is still not entirely clear. It can definitely be said that the initial impulse of the action was caused by the reluctance of the revolutionary-minded parts of the garrison to leave the capital and go to the front for an offensive. Let us also note that the spontaneous explosion was largely prepared by the purposeful activities of the Bolsheviks, who paid great attention to work in the army and navy.

Immediately after the overthrow of the autocracy, Bolshevik organizations were created in a number of military units. At the end of March, 48 RSDLP(b) cells were already operating in the capital’s garrison. In May 1917, a special Military Organization (Voenka) was created under the Central Committee of the RSDLP(b). It included prominent Bolsheviks: V. Antonov-Ovseenko, V. Nevsky, N. Podvoisky, M. Lashevich, N. Krylenko, P. Dybenko and others. By July, Bolshevik military organizations existed in 43 cities, including Petrograd (6 thousand members of the RSDLP(b)) and Moscow (2 thousand). The strike force of the Bolsheviks in the fleet were Baltic sailors. In Kronstadt, by mid-summer, the Bolshevik party consisted of over 3 thousand sailors, in Reval about 3 thousand, in Helsingfors - 4 thousand. The Bolsheviks P. Dybenko, chairman of the Tsentrobalt (the highest elected body of sailors), and F. Raskolnikov enjoyed great influence in the fleet , who became one of the leaders of the July 4 demonstration in Petrograd.

Meanwhile, the Bolshevik plans initially did not provide for the active participation of soldiers and workers in spontaneous uprisings. Thus, on the afternoon of July 3, at a meeting of the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b), with the participation of members of the Petrograd Committee and the Military Commission, it was even decided that such actions were untimely. But already on the night of July 3-4, given the scale of the movement, the Bolsheviks declare their intention to lead the demonstration in order to give it an organized character, and firmly speak out for the immediate transfer of power to the Soviets. Lenin, who urgently returned early in the morning of July 4 from a short vacation to Petrograd, approved the actions of the party leadership. In fact, the Bolsheviks attempted their first decisive test of strength. As G. Zinoviev later recalled about these days: Lenin laughingly told us: “Shouldn’t we try now?” But he immediately added: “no, we can’t take power now, it won’t work now, because the front-line soldiers are not all ours yet...”

One way or another, the nearly half-million-strong demonstration that took place on July 4 in Petrograd took place under the Bolshevik slogan “All power to the Soviets!” During the demonstration, which included soldiers and sailors armed with rifles and machine guns, bloody incidents occurred. Shots were heard in different parts of Petrograd. Military men with red bows rode around the city in requisitioned trucks with machine guns mounted on them. According to city police, the shooting came from cars and from houses along Troitskaya Street. Nevsky Prospekt, near the Economic Society, from Sadovaya to Italianskaya Street, on the Moika. Demonstrators on Liteiny Prospekt, near Sennaya Square and other places were also fired upon. In response, some of them used force themselves. Having broken through to the Tauride Palace, where the All-Russian Central Executive Committee was meeting, the participants demanded to end the “deal with the bourgeoisie” and immediately take power. The leader of the Socialist Revolutionaries, Minister of Agriculture of the Provisional Government V. Chernov, fell into their hands. Only the intervention of L. Trotsky and F. Raskolnikov saved him from the lynching of the Kronstadt crowd.

It is difficult to establish exactly who first started shooting, the demonstrators themselves, among whom there were many anarchists and simply criminal elements, their opponents or the Cossacks who were patrolling the city that day. It is clear that the performance itself was far from peaceful in nature and the unrest that arose was a direct consequence of it.

On July 5 (18), a state of siege was introduced in Petrograd. Troops loyal to the government were called from the front. The Central Committee of the RSDLP (b) decided to stop the demonstration. On the same day, the Kshesinskaya Palace, where the Bolshevik Central Committee was located, was destroyed. Junker committed a pogrom against the editorial office and printing house of Pravda. On July 6 (19), the Provisional Government issued an order to detain and bring to trial for<государственную измену» Ленина и других большевистских руководителей. Все воинские части, принимавшие участие в выступлении, подлежали расформированию. Были арестова­ны и заключены в тюрьму «Кресты» активные участники со­бытий Л. Троцкий, Л. Каменев, Ф. Раскольников. Ленин и Зиновьев перешли на нелегальное положение и скрылись в 32 км от города, на станции Разлив в устроенном шалаше.

A loud anti-Bolshevik campaign developed in the press. The reason for it was the accusations of the Bolshevik leaders, and especially Lenin, of contacts with the German General Staff, betrayal and espionage. The failure of the offensive and the July events in Petrograd, which were presented by government propaganda as a Bolshevik attempt to break through the internal front, were linked together.

The question of “German Bolshevik gold” has long been debated in science. It can be considered established that the Bolsheviks, just like other socialist parties, received money from various sources during the war, including German military circles interested in the subversive activities of Russian revolutionaries against their state. Lenin probably knew about the secret channels of financing his party. However, to claim that the July uprisings were inspired by Lenin together with the Germans is clearly groundless. Lenin was the largest political figure of his time and the independence and originality of his line is beyond doubt. Ultimately, it was not monetary subsidies to the Bolsheviks that decided the fate of the country and the revolution.

It is significant that a number of socialist opponents of the Bolsheviks (Yu. Martov, I. Astrov, left Socialist Revolutionaries) spoke out sharply against the government’s persecution of the RSDLP(b) and the entire left wing of revolutionary democracy. This circumstance largely explains the fact that the authorities did not dare to undertake large-scale repressions against the Bolsheviks throughout the country. After the July events, Bolshevik organizations in different cities of Russia, which experienced a certain decline in their activities, soon became more active again. At the end of July - beginning of August 1917, the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b) was held in Petrograd, which revised the tactics of the Bolsheviks. It was stated that the period of peaceful development of the revolution under conditions of dual power had ended and a decision should be made on the need to prepare for an armed seizure of power by the proletariat.

The July events had significant consequences for both the Provisional Government and the Soviets. G. Lvov resigned from the post of head of the cabinet. On July 8 (21), A. Kerensky became minister-chairman, remaining at the same time minister of war and navy. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee of the Soviets recognized “unlimited powers” ​​and “unlimited power” for the Provisional Government, declaring it the government of “saving the revolution.” On July 24 (August 6), the 2nd coalition cabinet was formed. It included 8 cadet ministers or those close to them, 3 Socialist Revolutionaries (A. Kerensky, N. Avksentyev, V. Chernov), 2 Mensheviks (A. Nikitin, M. Skobelev), 2 people's socialists (A. Peshekhonov, A. Zarudny) and one “non-factional” Social Democrat (S. Prokopovich). Despite the apparent balance between the capitalist and socialist ministers within the government, there was a clear political turn to the right in society and an increased desire to establish a regime of personal power.

If you are confused by the date, I will remind you: January 5, 1918. The day of the first execution of a demonstration of Petrograd workers by the new revolutionary government.

January 5, 1918 - on the orders of the Bolsheviks, a peaceful demonstration in defense of the Constituent Assembly that took place in Petrograd was shot. According to various sources, the number of victims ranges from 7 to 100.

Together with the rear units of the Latvian riflemen and the Lithuanian Life Guards regiment, the Bolsheviks surrounded the approaches to the Tauride Palace. Assembly supporters responded with demonstrations of support; According to various sources, from 10 to 100 thousand people took part in the demonstrations. Supporters of the Assembly did not dare to use weapons in defense of their interests; according to Trotsky’s malicious expression, they came to the Tauride Palace with candles in case the Bolsheviks turned off the lights, and with sandwiches in case they were deprived of food, but they did not take rifles with them.

On January 5, 1918, as part of columns of demonstrators, workers, office workers, and intellectuals moved towards Tavrichesky and were shot with machine guns. From the testimony of Obukhov plant worker D.N. Bogdanov dated January 29, 1918, a participant in the demonstration in support of the Constituent Assembly:

“I, as a participant in the procession back on January 9, 1905, must state the fact that I did not see such a cruel reprisal there, what our “comrades” did, who still dare to call themselves such, and in conclusion I must say that after that I execution and the savagery that the Red Guards and sailors did to our comrades, and even more so after they began to tear out banners and break poles, and then burn them at the stake, I could not understand what country I was in: or a socialist country, or in a country of savages who are capable of doing anything what the Nikolaev satraps could not do, Lenin’s fellows have now done.» ... GA RF. F.1810. Op.1. D.514. L.79-80

According to official data (Izvestia of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, January 6, 1918), 21 people were killed and hundreds were wounded. Among the dead were the Socialist Revolutionaries E. S. Gorbachevskaya, G. I. Logvinov and A. Efimov. A few days later the victims were buried at the Preobrazhenskoye cemetery.

M. Gorky wrote about this in “Untimely Thoughts”:

... “Pravda” is lying - it knows very well that the “bourgeoisie” have nothing to rejoice about the opening of the Constituent Assembly, they have nothing to do among 246 socialists of one party and 140 Bolsheviks.

Pravda knows that workers from the Obukhov, Patronny and other factories took part in the demonstration, and that under the red banners of the Russian Social-Democratic Party. workers from Vasileostrovsky, Vyborg and other districts marched to the Tauride Palace. It was these workers who were shot, and no matter how much Pravda lies, it will not hide the shameful fact.

The “bourgeoisie” may have rejoiced when they saw how soldiers and the Red Guard snatched revolutionary banners from the hands of the workers, trampled them underfoot and burned them at the stake. But it is possible that this pleasant spectacle no longer pleased all the “bourgeois”, because even among them there are honest people who sincerely love their people, their country.

One of these was Andrei Ivanovich Shingarev, who was vilely killed by some animals.

So, on January 5, the unarmed workers of Petrograd were shot. They shot without warning that they would shoot, they shot from ambushes, through the cracks of fences, cowardly, like real murderers. ...

On January 9 (22), a demonstration in support of the Constituent Assembly in Moscow was shot. According to official data (Izvestia of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. 1918. January 11) the number of killed is more than 50, the number of wounded is more than 200

Of course, everyone knows the date January 9 (22), 1905 - so-called Bloody Sunday. Few people know that there is also bloody friday January 5 (18)1918. How much information can you find about her? Unfortunately, not much, but there is still some information. It is unlikely that we will know how many died that day, but it marked the prologue to a civil war that claimed millions of lives.

“The peaceful demonstration that took place in Petrograd on January 5, 1918 in support of the Constituent Assembly was shot by the Red Guard. The shooting took place at the corner of Nevsky and Liteiny prospects and in the area of ​​Kirochnaya Street. The main column of up to 60 thousand people was dispersed, but other columns of demonstrators reached the Tauride Palace and were dispersed only after additional troops arrived. The dispersal of the demonstration was led by a special headquarters headed by V.I. Lenin, Ya.M. Sverdlov, N.I. Podvoisky, M.S. Uritsky, V.D. Bonch-Bruevich. According to various estimates, the death toll ranged from 7 to 100 people. The demonstrators mainly consisted of intellectuals, office workers and university students. At the same time, a significant number of workers took part in the demonstration. The demonstration was accompanied by Socialist Revolutionary warriors, who did not offer serious resistance to the Red Guards. According to the testimony of the former Socialist Revolutionary V.K. Dzerulya, “all the demonstrators, including the PC, walked without weapons, and there was even an order from the PC in the districts so that no one would take weapons with them.”

The trial of the socialist revolutionaries (June-August 1922). Preparation. Carrying out. Results. Collection of documents / Comp. S.A. Krasilnikov, K.N. Morozov, I.V. Chubykin. -M.: ROSSPEN, 2002.

“From November 12 to 14, 1917, elections to the Constituent Assembly took place. They ended with a major victory for the Socialist Revolutionaries, who won more than half of the mandates, while the Bolsheviks received only 25 general electoral votes (Out of 703 mandates, the P.S.-R. received 299, the Ukrainian P.S.-R. - 81, and other national Socialist-Russian groups - 19; the Bolsheviks got 168, the left Socialist Revolutionaries - 39, the Mensheviks - 18, the Cadets - 15 and the people's socialists - 4. See: O. N. Radkey, “The elections to the Russian Constituent Assembly of 1917” , Cambridge, Maza., 1950, pp. 16-17, 21). By decision of the Central Committee of the P.S.-R. dated November 17, the question of convening the Constituent Assembly took a central place in the party’s activities. To protect the Constituent Assembly, the Central Committee recognized the need to organize “all the living forces of the country, armed and unarmed.” The Fourth Congress of the P.S.-R., held from November 26 to December 5 in Petrograd, pointed out the need to concentrate “sufficient organized forces” around the protection of the Constituent Assembly in order, if necessary, to “take the fight against the criminal encroachment on the supreme will of the people.” . The same fourth congress, by an overwhelming majority of votes, restored the left-center leadership of the party and “condemned the Central Committee’s delay in coalition politics and its tolerance of the “personal” policies of some right-wing leaders.”

The meeting of the Constituent Assembly was initially scheduled for November 28. On this day, about 40 delegates, with some difficulty, managed to get through the security posted by the Bolsheviks to the Tauride Palace, where they decided to postpone the official opening of the Assembly until a sufficient number of deputies arrived, and until then come to the Tauride Palace every day. That same evening the Bolsheviks began arresting the delegates. At first it was the cadets, but soon it was the SR’s turn: V.N. was arrested. Filippovsky. According to the Central Committee of the P.S.-R., the Bolshevik commander-in-chief V.N. Krylenko, in his order for the army, stated: “Let your hand not tremble if you have to raise it against the deputies.”

In early December, by order of the Council of People's Commissars, the Tauride Palace was cleared and temporarily sealed. In response to this, the Social Revolutionaries called on the population to support the Constituent Assembly. 109 deputies of the Socialist Republic wrote in a letter published on December 9 in the party newspaper “Delo Naroda”: “We call on the people to support their elected representatives by all measures and means. We call on everyone to fight against the new rapists against the will of the people. /.../ Be ready, at the call of the Constituent Assembly, to stand together in its defense.” And then, in December, the Central Committee of the P.S.-R. called on workers, peasants and soldiers: “Get ready to immediately defend it [the Constituent Assembly]. But on December 12, the Central Committee decided to abandon terror in the fight against the Bolsheviks, not to force the convening of the Constituent Assembly and to wait for a favorable moment. The Constituent Assembly nevertheless opened on January 5, 1918. It bore little resemblance to parliament, as the galleries were occupied by armed Red Guards and sailors holding the delegates at gunpoint. “We, the deputies, were surrounded by an angry crowd, ready every minute to rush at us and tear us to pieces,” recalled a deputy from the P.S.-R. V.M. Zenzinov. Chernov, elected chairman, was targeted by the sailors, and the same happened to others, for example, with O.S. Minor. After the majority of the Constituent Assembly refused to recognize the leading role of the Soviet government, the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries left the hall. After one day of meetings, at which the land law was also adopted, the Soviet government dispersed the Constituent Assembly."

In Petrograd, on the orders of the Bolsheviks, a peaceful demonstration in defense of the Constituent Assembly was shot. There were killed and wounded. Some claimed that 7-10 people were killed and 23 were injured; others - that 21 people died, and there were still others who claimed that there were about 100 victims." Among the dead were the Socialist Revolutionaries E.S. Gorbachevskaya, G.I. Logvinov and A. Efimov. In Moscow, a demonstration in defense of the Constituent Assembly was was also shot; among the dead was A.M. Ratner, brother of the member of the Central Committee of the P.S.-R. E.M. Ratner.”

The Socialist Revolutionary Party after the October Revolution of 1917. Documents from the AKP Archive. Collected and provided with notes and an outline of the history of the party in the post-revolutionary period by Mark Jansen. Amsterdam. 1989. pp. 16-17.

“The peaceful demonstration that took place in Petrograd on January 5, 1918 in support of the Constituent Assembly was shot by the Red Guard. The shooting took place at the corner of Nevsky and Liteiny prospects and in the area of ​​Kirochnaya Street. The main column of up to 60 thousand people was dispersed, but other columns of demonstrators reached the Tauride Palace and were dispersed only after additional troops arrived.

The dispersal of the demonstration was led by a special headquarters headed by V.I. Lenin, Ya.M. Sverdlov, N.I. Podvoisky, M.S. Uritsky, V.D. Bonch-Bruevich. According to various estimates, the death toll ranged from 7 to 100 people. The demonstrators mainly consisted of intellectuals, office workers and university students. At the same time, a significant number of workers took part in the demonstration. The demonstration was accompanied by Socialist Revolutionary warriors, who did not offer serious resistance to the Red Guards. According to the testimony of the former Socialist Revolutionary V.K. Dzerulya, “all the demonstrators, including the PC, walked without weapons, and there was even an order from the PC in the districts so that no one would take weapons with them.”

Telegram, P. Dybenko - Tsentrobalt, January 3, 1918:“Urgently, no later than January 4, send 1000 sailors for two or three days to guard and fight against the counter-revolution on January 5. Send a detachment with rifles and cartridges - if not, then the weapons will be issued on the spot. Comrades Khovrin are appointed commanders of the detachment and Zheleznyakov.”

P.E. Dybenko:" On the eve of the opening of the founding, a detachment of sailors, united and disciplined, arrives in Petrograd.

As in the October days, the fleet came to defend Soviet power. Protect from whom? - From ordinary demonstrators and soft-bodied intelligentsia.

B.F. Dodonov,
Candidate of Historical Sciences,
Chief Specialist of the State Archive of the Russian Federation

The article introduces the study of the July events in Petrograd in 1917. The author, based on archival documents from the funds of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, as well as eyewitness accounts of the events, criticizes the Soviet concept of the July crisis, describes the actions of the Provisional Government to suppress the pro-Bolshevik uprising and restore order in the capital.

The year 1917 was extremely eventful. After the rapid February Revolution and the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II, the Provisional Government came to power in the country. It lasted only eight months, but it had a huge impact on many subsequent years. However, the new government turned out to be extremely unstable - during the activities of the Provisional Government, three major political crises occurred, and the composition of the government was renewed four times.

In this article we examine the activities of the Provisional Government in one of the most acute periods of its history - during the July crisis of 1917, which arose after the unsuccessful attempt of the Bolsheviks to carry out a coup d'etat and overthrow the Provisional Government, relying mainly on materials from meeting journals and surviving secretarial records, materials of the Provisional Government Commission for the Investigation of the July Events.

It is necessary to especially note the works of G. A. Gerasimenko, G. Z. Ioffe and A. Rabinovich, which illuminate certain aspects of the July events from a modern point of view. It is important to note that the July crisis and the activities of the Provisional Government during these days in Soviet historical literature were considered extremely biased and biased; the adventuristic and aggressive course of the leadership of the Bolshevik Party in the July days was carefully hidden. The study itself was based on secondary sources - memoirs, the press, the works of V.I. Lenin. The main sources were deliberately not involved, primarily the journals of the meetings of the Provisional Government itself, and documents from the office of the Provisional Government. Currently, the journals of the meetings of the Provisional Government have been published and become available to a wide range of researchers. All conditions have been created for an objective and comprehensive study of the activities of the Provisional Government. In this article, the main areas of activity of the Provisional Government are examined using, first of all, meeting journals.

Defeat at the front in June 1917 again aggravated the situation in Petrograd. The question of strengthening discipline in the army also became acute.

Although the government fought against desertion, it was not possible to eliminate this phenomenon. The provisional government and military command tried to send revolutionary-minded units of the Petrograd garrison to the front. Caused mainly by military considerations, this decision made it possible to simultaneously withdraw from the capital the units most susceptible to Bolshevik propaganda. This threatened the Bolsheviks with the loss of influence on the military garrison of the capital; they would have lost the forces with which they hoped to seize power. In response to the government's measures, they organized a propaganda campaign denouncing the imperialist war and the bourgeois government, and again, as in February 1917, this led to unrest among the soldiers.

The July events were in many ways similar to the political crisis that arose at the end of April 1917. The ease with which the Bolsheviks managed to bring armed soldiers and workers ready for protest and rebellion into the streets was alarming and frightening. It is obvious that they tried to bring the situation in the capital to a similar one at the end of February 1917, when soldiers and workers took to the streets of Petrograd and overthrew the autocracy; a similar role was to be played by crowds of soldiers, sailors and workers on the streets of the city, allowing the overthrow of the Provisional Government. At the same time, the Bolshevik leaders did not think much about the organs of the uprising, its plan, etc. - they were counting on a spontaneous uprising of the masses.

The so-called Military Organization under the Petrograd Committee of the RSDLP (b) played an active role in the July events. It arose in March 1917, in April it was transformed into a Military Organization under the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b). Prominent Bolsheviks took an active part in the creation and activities of the military organization of the party: V. A. Antonov-Ovseenko, A. Ya. Arosev, K. E. Voroshilov, P. V. Dashkevich, P. E. Dybenko, M. S. Kedrov , S. M. Kirov, G. N. Korganov, N. V. Krylenko, K. A. Mekhonoshin, P. N. Mostovenko, A. F. Myasnikov, S. M. Nakhimson, V. I. Nevsky, N I. Podvoisky, E. F. Rozmirovich, S. G. Roshal, Ya. F. Fabritsius, M. V. Frunze, Em. Yaroslavsky and others.

An important role in increasing the role of this organization was played by the All-Russian Conference of front-line and rear military organizations of the RSDLP (b), held on June 16 - 23 (June 29 - July 6), 1917, which was attended by 167 delegates from 43 front-line and 17 rear military organizations representing 26 thousand party members, members of these organizations. Lenin made presentations at the conference on the current situation and the agrarian question. Podvoisky’s report was devoted to the goals and objectives of the military organization of the RSDLP (b); organizational issues - Nevsky's report
.
The Bolsheviks conducted active propaganda among parts of the Petrograd garrison. This primarily applied to the 1st Machine Gun Regiment, the largest part of the garrison (11,300 soldiers and 300 officers). In terms of numbers, it actually corresponded to the division. The 1st Machine Gun Regiment was formed at the beginning of the First World War. It was initially stationed in Oranienbaum, and from March 1917 in Petrograd (People's House and Palace of the Emir of Bukhara, Kamenoostrovsky Prospekt, 44 b, from mid-March three battalions were located on Bolshoy Sampsonievsky Prospekt (Vyborgsky district, near the Lessner plant), one battalion (3- j) and auxiliary teams returned to Oranienbaum. The number in February 1917 was 19.5 thousand soldiers, about 1.5 thousand machine guns. The regiment was replenished by representatives of the most diverse strata of society - not only workers, but also representatives of the intelligentsia were called up for military service, creative professions Naturally, this entire public was not eager to go to the front.

The regiment was the initiator of the Oranienbaum uprising and the campaign of the rebel troops against Petrograd, which contributed to the victory of the February Revolution. The regiment became the instigator of demonstrations in the July days of 1917 and went to demonstrations under Bolshevik slogans. The regiment was quartered in one of the most revolutionary-minded working-class districts of Petrograd - the Vyborg side. French journalist Claude Anet put it this way about the Vyborg side in July 1917: “Lenin and Trotsky reign here like gentlemen.” Due to numerous contacts with workers, the regiment was constantly exposed to socialist agitation. The regiment was formed as a large training team, sending a marching company to the front once a week, so the soldiers of the regiment were especially sensitive about possible sending to the front. With the start of the June offensive at the front, Headquarters ordered the regiment to send 30 machine-gun teams to the front at once; in response to this, on June 21, the regimental committee decided not to send marching companies “until the war takes on a revolutionary character.” In addition, there on the Vybskaya side, in the Durnovo dacha, the headquarters of the anarchists was located, which contributed to the spread of anarchist agitation in the area. The Kronstadt naval base, which was under the influence of the Bolsheviks and anarchists, also caused great concern to the Provisional Government. Since May 12, the Kronstadt Council has actually become the only power in this city.

However, the Bolsheviks and their anarchist allies failed to win over the entire Petrograd garrison to their side. A number of military units remained loyal to the Provisional Government (scooters, and, above all, Cossack units stationed in the city) - ultimately, it was they who decided the outcome of the matter, playing a leading role in the failure of the Bolshevik adventure.

By mid-June, the provisional government was trying to protect itself from possible excesses. In mid-June, military units loyal to the Provisional Government dispersed the anarchist headquarters at the former Durnovo dacha. But this measure escalated the situation even more - in addition to the anarchists, a number of public organizations were located in the building, and the garden at the dacha was used by the workers of the Petrograd side as a park - the actions of the authorities caused mass strikes. Rumors began to spread in Petrograd that the Provisional Government was allegedly calling 20 thousand Cossacks from the front as a punitive expedition.

On June 28, 1917, on the proposal of the War Ministry, the Provisional Government adopted a resolution “on the formation in Petrograd and Moscow of commissions on deserters, on the re-examination of white-ticket officers and on checking deferments of those liable for military service,” and on July 1, on the proposal of the War Ministry, on changes and additions to the resolution of the Provisional Government “ on the restoration of the death penalty and the establishment of military revolutionary courts."

From the testimony of numerous witnesses interviewed by the Commission of the Provisional Government to investigate the July events, it follows that at the end of June - beginning of July 1917, the barracks of military units stationed in Petrograd were filled with agitators who agitated for failure to comply with the orders of military commanders and called for demonstrations demanding resignation Provisional Government.

On July 3, 1917, mass demonstrations began. Lenin called for disobedience to the authorities. The speeches were held under the slogan of the immediate resignation of the Provisional Government and negotiations with Germany on concluding peace. Kronstadt sailors, soldiers of the 1st machine gun regiment, and workers of Petrograd factories took part in the unrest. The Bolsheviks expected to seize power by the time the VI Congress of the RSDLP (b) scheduled for July 26 began. It was supposed to achieve the goal using parts of the Petrograd garrison and squads of workers, putting daily pressure on the Provisional Government throughout July.

According to F. F. Raskolnikov, on July 3, the 1st Machine Gun Regiment sent its delegates to Kronstadt, calling on them to arm themselves and move to Petrograd. An organizational commission of 9 people was created in Kronstadt to lead the demonstration, it included Raskolnikov (Bolshevik), S. S. Gredyushko, S. M. Roshal (Bolshevik), P. N. Belyaevsky (Socialist Revolutionary), A. Pavlov, A. K. Samoukov, G. Popuridi (Socialist Revolutionary), M. M. Martynov, A. I. Remnev. The Central Committee and the Petrograd Committee of the RSDLP (b), the Military Organization under the Central Committee of the Party, the Interdistrict Committee of the RSDLP decided on the participation of soldiers and sailors in the armed movement, according to Lenin, “in order to give it a peaceful and organized character.”

By July 3, the so-called “revolutionary committee” had already been elected in the 1st Machine Gun Regiment, chaired by Warrant Officer Semashko, who took over the leadership of the armed uprising. At the request of activists, the Renault plant supplied gasoline for cars that drove onto the streets of Petrograd with machine guns mounted on them.

The rebels received instructions by telephone from the military organization under the Central Committee of the RSDLP. Moreover, the regiment's performance was far from universal - the majority of officers were against the performance. Among the rebels there were calls: “We must kill them all.”

The Provisional Government and its chairman, Prince G.E. Lvov acted actively at this decisive moment: the commander-in-chief of the Petrograd Military District, General Polovtsov, received an order to clear Petrograd “of armed people disturbing peace and order... today to take away the machine guns from the Machine Gun Regiment, to arrest all those guilty of using machine guns and participating in the violation of order in streets of Petrograd." The Chairman of the Government also instructed Polovtsov to “arrest both the participants in the riots” and the Bolsheviks who occupied Kshesinskaya’s house (the instructions were to “clear it and occupy it with troops”).

On July 4, Polovtsov addressed the residents of Petrograd with an appeal “not to go out into the streets unless absolutely necessary, to lock the gates of houses and take measures against the entry of unknown persons into houses.” Accordingly, on July 4, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee summoned the Volyn Regiment to protect the Tauride Palace from the alleged Bolshevik attack, and on the night of July 4-5 declared martial law in the city. The night of July 4 passed in Petrograd relatively calmly. However, in the morning soldiers of the 1st reserve machine gun regiment from Oranienbaum and the 3rd reserve regiment from Peterhof arrived in Petrograd; by 12 o'clock in the afternoon they were joined by the 1st and 176th reserve regiments, the 1st reserve machine gun regiment and the Guards Grenadier reserve battalion.

On the morning of July 4, sailors gathered on Anchor Square in Kronstadt and, boarding tugboats and passenger ships, set off for Petrograd. Having passed through the sea canal and the mouth of the Neva, the sailors landed at the pier of Vasilyevsky Island and on the English Embankment. The sailors crossed to the St. Petersburg side and, walking along the main alley of Alexander Park, arrived at the Bolshevik headquarters in the Kshesinskaya mansion. Comrade spoke to the demonstrators from the balcony of the mansion. Sverdlov, Lunacharsky and Lenin, calling on the armed sailors to go to the Tauride Palace and demand the transfer of power to the Soviets (that is, the removal of the Provisional Government from power). An armed demonstration marched along Trinity Bridge, Sadovaya Street, Nevsky Prospect and Liteiny Prospekt, moving towards the Tauride Palace.

At this time, the Minister-Chairman of the Provisional Government, Prince G. E. Lvov, members of the Government and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee were at the headquarters of the Petrograd Military District.

Regarding the armed clashes between demonstrators and supporters of the Provisional Government, opposing points of view are expressed in historical literature. Soviet historiography clearly and unequivocally stated that cadets and officers opened fire on the demonstrators on the orders of the Provisional Government. Modern historian V. Rodionov believes that the clashes were provoked by the Bolsheviks, who seated their riflemen on the roofs and began firing machine guns at the demonstrators, while the Bolshevik machine gunners inflicted the greatest damage on both the Cossacks and the demonstrators.

Eyewitnesses differ sharply in their assessment of the events. One of the leaders of the Kronstadt sailors, F. F. Raskolnikov, accused the Provisional Government of provocation; the acting head of counterintelligence of the Petrograd Military District, Captain B. V. Nikitin, in turn, wrote that the Bolsheviks provoked an armed clash; P. spoke similarly in his memoirs. A. Polovtsov.

Among the documents of the office of the next (after Prince Lvov) Minister-Chairman of the Provisional Government A.F. Kerensky, an important document has been preserved - a telegram from the commander of the Petrograd Military District P.A. Polovtsov, sent to Headquarters addressed to the then Minister of War Kerensky at 5:10 minutes July 5, 1917. The telegram describes the events of the decisive day, July 4, Polovtsov writes that, according to a report from the commander of the 19th Infantry Reserve Brigade, “parts of the brigade were called by deputies of the indignant units and workers for a peaceful but armed demonstration. Having met the Cossacks on Liteiny Prospekt, panic occurred in the ranks of the first reserve regiment, which resulted in shooting and losses in the ranks of the Cossacks and infantry.”

By noon, the rebel military units moved to the Tauride Palace, armed people were moving around the city “in trucks and cars,” “shooting was opened in many places in the city,” the commander of the troops, Major General Polovtsov, noted in a telegram to Minister of War Kerensky.

An eyewitness to the events, acting as chief of counterintelligence of the Petrograd Military District, Captain B.V. Nikitin, described what was happening as follows: “We were surrounded by a tight belt of an avalanche of several tens of thousands of people. The Bolsheviks really tried to catch up with as many people as possible, but it was precisely this number of participants that doomed them to failure today... they lost each other, they themselves were lost in this monstrous crowd of countless heads. The Bolsheviks, first of all, were stuck. As new people arrived, they lost control. By noon it was noticeable how the chains were breaking and the cordon was disappearing. And in the second half of the day, the technical controls were completely crushed by the mass, which was evident from all its stupid movements.”

It is important to note that in the events that took place, the Petrograd Soviet stood in solidarity with the Provisional Government and acted together, which predetermined the defeat of the Bolsheviks. On the evening of July 3, the head of counterintelligence of the Petrograd Military District, B.V. Nikitin, received information that the Bolsheviks were going to raise an armed uprising the next day: “The Bolsheviks, ignoring the Provisional Government, will go to the Tauride Palace, disperse that part of the deputies that supports the Provisional Government, and announce transfer of supreme power to the Soviets and form a new government.” A group of people who entered the Tauride Palace were looking for the Minister of Justice Pereverzev, but instead took the Minister of Agriculture Chernov. Thanks to the intervention of Trotsky, who gave a speech to the crowd, Chernov was released. The crowd parted with a dissatisfied look; Trotsky, grabbing Chernov by the sleeve, quickly led him away. Raskolnikov also tried to calm the crowd, but unsuccessfully.

Serious armed clashes between the rebels and units loyal to the Provisional Government took place at the Trinity Bridge. As Polovtsov notes, the Cossacks “suffered quite significant losses”2. The culmination of events has arrived. Polovtsov writes that the rebel units were the first to use artillery - opening artillery fire “at a platoon of horse artillery” - “The platoon fired four shots at the Vyborg side. After the artillery fire, the crowd at the Tauride Palace fled,” notes Polovtsov.

On July 4, 1917, events in Petrograd reached their highest intensity. The severity of the confrontation is evidenced by the surviving report of the commander of the 1st Don Cossack Regiment to the Special Investigation Commission dated August 17, 1917. The list of Cossacks of the 1st hundred killed, wounded and shell-shocked in the clashes on July 4, attached to the report, mentions 41 Cossacks (6 killed, died from wounds - 1, wounded - 12, shell-shocked - 23).

An armed uprising was evident and units loyal to the Provisional Government had to face serious resistance from the rebels. It is important to note that no documentary evidence of rebel losses has been preserved. Therefore, we can assume that they were not large - the rebels were not persistent and organized enough and immediately fled, having received rebuff from units loyal to the Provisional Government.

The commander of the district troops, P. A. Polovtsov, summoned the Cossacks, two squadrons of the 9th reserve cavalry regiment and guards horse artillerymen from Pavlovsk to the district headquarters and the Winter Palace.

Infantry units were ordered to remain in their barracks and be on alert. Compared to Lenin and Zinoviev, who fled from Petrograd, Trotsky’s actions in July were distinguished by their audacity: he alone spoke out in front of a crowd of virtually uncontrolled Kronstadt sailors, who by that time had already robbed up to three hundred “bourgeois” in Petrograd, and recaptured Chernov from them. In his speech, Trotsky declared: “Comrades of Kronstadt, the beauty and pride of the Russian revolution! I am convinced that no one will overshadow our today's holiday, our solemn review of the forces of the revolution, with unnecessary arrests. Whoever is in favor of violence here, let him raise his hand!”

According to Captain B.V. Nikitin, during the events who served as chief of counterintelligence of the Petrograd Military District, the sailor who grabbed Chernov “was an ordinary criminal who had previously been imprisoned in Kresty for theft.” Having learned by telephone about the arrest of Chernov and the violence of the sailors in the Tauride Palace, the commander of the military district, P. A. Polovtsov, decided that it was time to take active action, acting as the savior of the Council. Polovtsov ordered the colonel of the horse artillery regiment, Rebinder, with two guns and a hundred covering Cossacks to move at a trot along the embankment and Shpalernaya to the Tauride Palace and, after a short warning, or even without it, open fire on the crowd gathered in front of the Tauride Palace.

Rebinder, having reached the intersection of Shpalernaya and Liteiny Prospekt, was fired on from both sides. According to Nikitin’s description, the battle between Rebinder’s Cossacks in the Liteiny Bridge area was fought with the Bolshevized soldiers of the 1st Reserve Regiment, and the machine gun on the Liteiny Bridge was placed by soldiers of the Finnish Regiment. According to the memoirs of P. A. Polovtsov, a crowd of Bolsheviks near the Tauride Palace, hearing close artillery fire, ran away in panic in all directions. During this skirmish, 6 Cossacks, 4 horse artillerymen were killed, there were many wounded and many horses were killed.

According to B.N. Nikitin, who was in the Tauride Palace, panic among the crowd surrounding the palace arose not because of artillery shots from Rebinder’s detachment, but as a result of random rifle shots from the crowd itself at the palace, as a result of which people were wounded first rows near the palace.

Under these conditions, the Provisional Government decided to strike a political blow against its opponents - on the evening of July 4, Prince G. E. Lvov contacted I. G. Tsereteli by telephone and invited him to come to the government residence for a meeting of the Provisional Government.

Those present were familiarized with the document received by Minister of Justice Pereverzev, who proposed sending it to newspaper editorial offices. From this document it was clear that ensign of the Russian army D.S. Ermolenko, having been captured, on April 28 was transferred by the Germans behind the front line to the location of Russian troops with the task of conducting propaganda among his former comrades in arms in favor of the speedy conclusion of a separate peace with Germany . He probably, wittingly or unwittingly, revealed to the Russian officers the purpose for which he was sent across the front line and additionally reported some secret information, according to which two people, V.I. Lenin and a certain A.F. Skoropis-Yoltukhovsky, were sent to Russia to undermine trust in the Provisional Government. Moreover, they had money sent from Stockholm through trusted agents. Other names were mentioned there as well. This message was met with mixed reactions. Members of the government demanded verification of this information - nevertheless, a publication appeared in Novy Slovo, and on July 20 it was reproduced by the newspaper Rech. Other documents have been published, the origin of which many researchers associate with the government counterintelligence department.

Members of the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party greeted this message extremely negatively and tried to immediately neutralize the impression of this publication. Lenin demanded that a commission of investigation be appointed. Meanwhile, the Provisional Government ordered the arrest of members of the Bolshevik Central Committee, Lenin and Zinoviev went underground.

At night and in the morning of July 5, some of the sailors returned to Kronstadt. From dawn, combined detachments of St. George's cavaliers and cadets began arresting Bolshevik combat detachments. By the morning of July 5, the remnants of the defeated Bolshevik supporters gathered at the Kshesinskaya mansion and occupied the northern end of the Trinity Bridge. Some of the Kronstadt sailors, including several hundred, took refuge in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Government troops occupied the Trinity Bridge without a fight. On the morning of July 5, cadets occupied the editorial office and printing house of the newspaper Pravda, which Lenin had left literally a few minutes earlier. After the defeat of Pravda, the Bolsheviks for some time tried to publish a newspaper called Leaf of Pravda. In fact, everything was over and on this day the Minister-Chairman of the Provisional Government, Prince. G. E. Lvov sent a telegram to the provincial, regional and city commissars of the Provisional Government about the suppression of the July rebellion.

On July 6, Kuzmin’s combined detachment prepared to storm Kshesinskaya’s mansion with the support of heavy artillery, but the Bolsheviks decided not to defend it. During a search at the Bolshevik headquarters, a large number of weapons were discovered, and a warehouse of propaganda literature was discovered in one of the rooms. Seven Bolsheviks who were involved in the destruction of archives were arrested. On July 6, troops called from the front began to arrive in the capital: in the morning, scooter riders, an armored division and a squadron of Little Russian dragoons arrived, and in the evening, a detachment consisting of an infantry brigade, a cavalry division and a battalion of scooter riders arrived in Petrograd from the front. At the head of the detachment, Kerensky appointed a certain warrant officer G.P. Mazurenko (Menshevik, member of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee) with Colonel Paradelov as chief of staff. The forces that arrived from the front numbered, however, only 10 thousand people, significantly inferior in number to the Petrograd garrison.

The suppression of the Bolshevik rebellion in Petrograd did not end the political crisis in the Provisional Government. It arose in connection with the demands of the regional authorities in Ukraine - Central are happy to grant Ukraine autonomy. The socialist members of the Provisional Government were inclined to satisfy these demands, but the Cadets resolutely opposed this. The crisis in the government complicated the political situation in the country, led to the collapse of the first coalition government, the resignation of the Minister-Chairman of the Provisional Government, Prince G. E. Lvov, and the further weakening of the influence of the Cadet Party in the government.

At the end of June - beginning of July, the activity of all political forces intensified, and intensive negotiations began between various political groupings. I. G. Tsereteli in his memoirs argued that the Freemasons played an active role in them. It was intended to replace Prince G. E. Lvov as Minister-Chairman of the Provisional Government with A. F. Kerensky, which could help strengthen power.

Tsereteli also argued that the Cadets only used the Ukrainian issue as a pretext, but the main thing was the desire to shift responsibility for the situation in the country to their coalition partners.

Kerensky took advantage of the events in Petrograd - on July 4, he sent a sharp telegram to Prince Lvov demanding “an end to the treacherous actions, the disarmament of the rebellious units and the bringing to justice of all instigators and rebels.” The telegram was clearly provocative in nature. This telegram was the reason for the resignation of the minister-chairman.

On July 7, the Provisional Government was headed by A.F. Kerensky, and a new period in its history began. Kerensky was characterized by an authoritarian leadership style; for example, he himself noted that the decisive measures taken against the rebel soldiers and sailors in the July days were taken on his initiative.

The new style in the leadership of the Provisional Government can be traced to a certain extent in the journals of the meetings. The system of power established during the July crisis is characterized in modern historical studies as a center-right “democratic dictatorship.” The government was called the “Government of Salvation of the Revolution”; its efforts were focused primarily on suppressing political opponents of the extreme left. Moreover, many figures on the right accused Kerensky of insufficient repressive measures against left-wing radical groups.

The July political events were widely discussed at meetings of the Provisional Government. For example, at a meeting on July 6, 1917, the Minister-Chairman of the Provisional Government, Prince G. E. Lvov, proposed: to bring “to justice all those who participated in the organization and leadership of an armed uprising against state power” and to arrest “those guilty of public calls for murder, robbery , robbery, pogroms and other serious crimes, as well as violence against any part of the population”, “in a public call for non-compliance with lawful orders”, in calls for officers and soldiers “for non-compliance” with existing laws and orders of military authority.

The Minister of Labor Skobelev and the Manager of the Maritime Ministry Lebedev, as well as representatives of the Central Executive Committee of the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies and the Executive Committee of the Council of Peasants' Deputies were entrusted with the task of "unifying the actions of the military and civil authorities to restore order."

On July 7, 1917, at the proposal of the Minister of War and Navy, the Provisional Government decided “to disband all military units that took part in the armed rebellion on July 3, 4 and 5, 1917.” At the proposal of the Ministry of Justice “to investigate the organization of the armed uprising on July 3-5,” it was decided to concentrate the investigation into “the hands of the prosecutor of the Petrograd Judicial Chamber.”

The decree obligated “government and public institutions, as well as officials and private individuals, who are in possession of the information and materials available on this case, to immediately deliver them to the prosecutor of the Petrograd Judicial Chamber.” On the same day, the Bolshevik Kozlovsky was removed from the Special Meeting on the preparation of the “Regulations on the Elections to the Constituent Assembly” (magazine No. 125).

On July 8 (magazine No. 126), a declaration of the Provisional Government was adopted in connection with “the renewal of its composition and the events being experienced.”

In the document, the Provisional Government stated that “it will act with all the energy and determination that the extraordinary circumstances of the time require,” which considers its main task to be “the effort of all forces to fight the external enemy and to protect the new state order from all anarchist and counter-revolutionary attempts.” . The appeal set out a number of tasks, in particular on land reform, social issues, etc. On the same day, an appeal to the active army was also adopted. The Provisional Government also decided to arrest delegations of sailors from the Baltic Fleet who arrived in Petrograd on the ships “Orpheus” and “Threatening” and to prevent the penetration of “press organs that have a corrupting effect on the army” to the front.

July 9, 1917 The Provisional Government, at the proposal of the Ministry of Justice, decides to organize a “Special Investigative Commission to investigate the degree of participation in the uprising of July 3-5, 1917, of individual units of troops and ranks of the garrison of Petrograd and its environs” (magazine No. 127).

The surviving secretarial record of this meeting of the Government contains information about the course of discussion of this resolution, the participants in the discussion, etc. In particular, the question was raised about organizing one commission “or several commissions” to investigate the uprising itself, and the involvement of Bolshevik leaders in it (a decision was made form “one commission”).

As a result of the July crisis, serious changes occurred in the composition of the Provisional Government, the representation of the Cadet Party was reduced, and they were replaced by the Socialist Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. These changes were reflected in the office documentation. For example, on July 11, 1917, I. N. Efremov was appointed Minister of Justice, and I. G. Tsereteli was appointed temporary manager of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (magazine No. 128), and the resignation of the Chairman of the Meeting of Comrade Ministers of the Provisional Government (the so-called “small council”) was accepted. ), G.D. Skaryatin was appointed to this post.

The Provisional Government accepted the resignation of the Minister-Chairman, Prince G. E. Lvov “and the ministers-members of the Cadet Party: A. A. Manuylov, Prince. D.I. Shakhovsky, N.V. Nekrasov (he remained a member, but left the cadet party, and initially he announced his resignation along with everyone else), A.I. Shingarev, P.N. Pereverzev and the head of the Ministry of Trade V. A. Stepanova. The composition of the Provisional Government was discussed again on July 24. The resignations of I. G. Tsereteli, V. N. Lvov, I. V. Godnev were accepted and a new composition of the Government was finally formed (recorded in “special journal No. 13”).

It included: Minister-Chairman and Minister of War and Navy A.F. Kerensky, Deputy Minister-Chairman and Minister of Finance N.V. Nekrasov, Minister of Internal Affairs N.D. Avksentyev, Minister of Foreign Affairs M.I. Tereshchenko, Minister Justice A. S. Zarudny, Minister of Public Education S. F. Oldenburg, Minister of Trade and Industry S. N. Prokopovich, Minister of Agriculture V. M. Chernov, Minister of Posts and Telegraphs A. M. Nikitin, Minister of Labor M. I. Skobelev, Minister of Food A.V. Peshekhonov, Minister of State Charity I.N. Efremov, Minister of Railways P.P. Yurenev, Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod A.V. Kartashev, State Comptroller F.F. Kokoshkin. An interesting document was preserved in the secretarial records - a list of all those present at the meeting of the Provisional Government on July 12, 1917, and a diagram of the placement of Government members at the meeting table was drawn.

In July 1917, the political situation in the country continued to be very difficult, although the political tension subsided somewhat after the creation of the second coalition government. The Provisional Government managed to largely eliminate the threat from left-wing radical movements by showing firmness and determination. It is important to note that during the crisis there was a rapprochement between the Provisional Government and the leaders of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviets; the Provisional Government was then supported by most of the army.

Thus, the political situation in the summer of 1917 did not always develop as the Provisional Government wanted. Whether this is due to the miscalculations of the Provisional Government itself, or to the general slowness and ponderousness of the clumsy bureaucratic mechanism, which the Provisional Government failed to reform, or to objective circumstances - these aspects require deeper research.

“Lenta.ru”: The American historian argued that not a single event of the Russian Revolution of 1917 had as many lies written about it as about the July days. What do you think it really was - the first attempt at a Bolshevik coup or spontaneous riots demanding the transfer of power to the Soviets?

Tsvetkov: Pipes indeed wrote extensively about the July Crisis of 1917. I think it was actually a combination of the organizational principle and elements of spontaneity - a kind of test of strength. Remember when Lenin wrote that 1905 was a “dress rehearsal” for 1917? Following this analogy, we can say that July 1917 became a rehearsal for October.

On the one hand, this was a kind of attempt at grassroots self-organization of revolutionary soldiers and sailors. Few people now remember that literally on the eve of these events, on July 1-2, a meeting of the Military Organization under the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b) (abbreviated as “Military Commissariat”) was held in the Tauride Palace, which advocated a complete transfer of power to the Soviets. Even earlier, at the end of June, the All-Russian Conference of front-line and rear military organizations of the RSDLP(b) opened, which also supported the slogan “All power to the Soviets.”

On the other hand, the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party, including Lenin himself, believed that the moment for armed action had not yet arrived. When several regiments rebelled in the capital, joined by sailors from Kronstadt and workers from factories, the Bolshevik leadership had no choice but to try to ride this wave of protest. At the same time, we must not forget that all the rebellious military units had been propagandized by Bolshevik agitators since April.

What caused the bloody events of July 1917 in Petrograd?

There were many reasons: the protracted dual power between the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Government, growing economic problems in the country, the failure of the June offensive of the Russian army on the Southwestern Front and the government crisis due to disagreements on the Ukrainian issue.

What did Ukraine have to do with it?

The provisional government agreed to negotiate with the Central Rada in Kyiv on the autonomy of Ukraine within Russia. In protest against this decision, four cadet ministers left the Provisional Government: Shakhovsky, Manuilov, Shingarev and Stepanov. They were convinced that the status of Ukraine and its future borders should be determined only by the All-Russian Constituent Assembly, therefore neither the Provisional Government in Petrograd nor the Central Rada in Kyiv had any legal authority to resolve this complex and sensitive issue.

But Kerensky, having arrived in Kyiv on June 28 at the head of the delegation of the Provisional Government (he was then still Minister of War), in negotiations with the Rada promised to recognize the autonomy of Ukraine, which became the cause of the government crisis in Petrograd. It is clear that without four key ministers, the Provisional Government has effectively become ineffective.

Anarchy is the mother of riots

It is often said that the main striking force of the armed uprising in July 1917 in Petrograd was not the Bolsheviks, but the anarchists.

They acted in a coordinated manner. It is difficult to say which of them played a decisive role in those events. Anarchists, due to their ideology, were guided not by the decisions of some party bodies, but exclusively by the will of the masses - as they understood it then. That is, they believed that if the masses (in this case, soldiers and sailors) want a transfer of power from the Provisional Government to the Soviets, this should be achieved by all available means, including by organizing mass protests.

With the use of weapons?

Certainly. Anarchist sentiments in the Petrograd garrison (and even more so among the sailors of the Baltic Fleet) were very strong - it is no coincidence that the 1st Machine Gun Regiment went out for an armed demonstration on the streets of Petrograd on July 3. Although, for example, the soldiers’ committee of this regiment was headed by the Bolshevik Adam Semashko.

Isn’t this the one who will later become People’s Commissar of Health?

No, his name was Nikolai. Under Soviet rule, Adam Semashko would become the plenipotentiary representative of the RSFSR in Latvia, and in 1922 he would flee to the West.

But in other regiments that took up arms against the Provisional Government in early July (Reserve Moscow Guard, Reserve Grenadier Guard), the Bolsheviks had significant weight. For example, in the Grenadier Regiment, the chairman of the soldiers’ committee was the famous Bolshevik warrant officer Krylenko, who at the end of 1917 would become the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army, and under Stalin he would be a prosecutor and people’s commissar of justice. Sailors of the Baltic Fleet, led by the Bolsheviks, took an active part in the events: deputy chairman of the Kronstadt Council Raskolnikov and head of the city organization of the RSDLP (b) Roshal.

You said that the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party, headed by Lenin, objected to the uprising. What about party discipline?

At this time, Lenin, on the contrary, strongly encouraged any initiative from below. Therefore, the grassroots leaders of the RSDLP(b) in those circumstances could act according to the situation. It is not surprising that their revolutionary creativity often went beyond the bounds of reason.

These are all the reasons, but what was the reason for the July events in Petrograd?

Just these days, after the unsuccessful offensive of the Russian army in June 1917, the Austro-German counter-offensive began. Rumors began to spread in Petrograd that a significant part of the garrison personnel would now be sent to the front. Actually, this is why reserve regiments were kept in the capital - so that they could then be formed into marching companies to be sent to the active army. This became the immediate reason for the armed uprising: the less the soldiers understood why they were being sent to die, the more they liked the slogan “All power to the Soviets.”

Peacemaker Stalin

What role did Stalin play in the July crisis? I had to read that in the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party it was he who was assigned to negotiate with the Mensheviks and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. This is true?

Yes it's true.

Stalin as a peacemaker is an interesting story.

Certainly. The Chairman of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and the Petrograd Soviet was the Menshevik Nikolai Chkheidze, Stalin's old comrade-in-arms in the social democratic structures in Transcaucasia. The third participant in these negotiations was another comrade, the Minister of the Provisional Government Irakli Tsereteli, who, by the way, together with Kerensky in June went to Kyiv to establish contacts with the Central Rada.

In other words, in the critical days of July 1917, the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party hoped that the three Georgians would somehow be able to come to an agreement among themselves?

Yes. Oddly enough, Stalin then had a reputation as a very moderate Bolshevik. And after the October Revolution, he was the only member of the Council of People's Commissars who voted against declaring the Cadet Party enemies of the people. It was later, during the Civil War, that he would gradually become the Stalin we know. But in July 1917 he showed those traits which, I think, later helped him to win the struggle for power.

For example, what kind?

Prudence. When Trotsky, in the days of the July crisis, called from all platforms to overthrow the Provisional Government (and not only called, but also acted), Stalin behaved extremely cautiously. At meetings of the Party Central Committee, he, of course, resolutely spoke out in support of an armed uprising. But when he was sent to negotiate with Chkheidze at the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, Stalin demonstrated his readiness for any compromise. In the July days of 1917, he clearly took a wait-and-see attitude.

They say that this is what saved Stalin from arrest after the failure of the July armed uprising.

Certainly. Trotsky and other Bolshevik leaders were sent to Kresty on charges of attempting a violent change of power, but Stalin was not touched. And the same Lenin was generally accused of high treason, that is, of working for Germany.

Lenin and German money

To what extent do you think these accusations are justified?

I believe that they are completely far-fetched, since no supporting documents have yet been discovered. There are no serious reasons to consider Lenin a German spy.

What about the money from Parvus?

Parvus in 1917 was already a Menshevik and did not communicate with Lenin, although he did collaborate with German structures. There was also the story of Jakub Goniecki (Furstenberg), who had commercial contacts with German companies through Sweden. He transferred part of the profits to the party treasury - hence the talk about the “German trace”. But all this cannot be considered espionage in the then understanding of the word. Kerensky, by the way, knew about this since May 1917, but before the July events he did not even try to use such information against the Bolsheviks.

What role did Lenin play in the July crisis?

This is an interesting question. On the eve of the armed uprising in Petrograd, on June 29, Lenin unexpectedly went on vacation to Finland, to the town of Neivola. Bonch-Bruevich argued in his memoirs that events in the capital took Ilyich by surprise. It is still unclear whether Lenin knew about the impending uprising and was simply waiting on the sidelines to see how things would end, or whether he was actually not aware of the events.

In any case, he returned to Petrograd only on July 4th. But when he was charged with spying for Germany, it became an unpleasant surprise for him: Lenin was ready to go to prison as a revolutionary, but not as a traitor and provocateur. It is known that he was even going to appear in court to defend himself, but his party comrades (including Stalin) persuaded Vladimir Ilyich to hide in Razliv.

Is it true that Kerensky, having become the head of the Provisional Government after the July events, warned Lenin through third parties about the impending arrest?

This is a historical myth, which, however, has a basis in reality. They just mixed up similar names later. It was not Kerensky who warned Lenin about his impending arrest on charges of treason (he and Lenin sincerely hated each other), but the prosecutor of the Petrograd Court Chamber, Nikolai Sergeevich Karinsky.

On the evening of July 4, he called his fellow lawyer Bonch-Bruevich and, out of old friendship, told him about this. Lenin left the Kshesinskaya mansion, where the Bolshevik headquarters was then located, literally an hour before a team of cadets and scooter riders arrived there to arrest him. Not finding the Bolshevik leader, they staged a pogrom in the building, including destroying the printing house. By the way, after the arrest of the Provisional Government in October 1917, Lenin fully thanked Karinsky: he personally ordered his release from custody and allowed him to travel abroad.

In July 1917, Stalin waited, and Lenin was not entirely aware of events... It turns out that of the Bolshevik leaders, Trotsky was the most active in those days?

Yes, he acted decisively and was not afraid to take the initiative, for which he paid by going to prison.

Blood on the streets of the capital

Is it known who was the first to start shooting on the streets of Petrograd?

Most modern historians agree that there were no special execution orders - such as, for example, January 9, 1905 - initially. The first shots were fired on July 4 at five in the morning: an armed demonstration on Liteiny Prospekt was fired at from the upper floors of buildings. In response, demonstrators opened indiscriminate fire at the windows, resulting in the deaths of many civilians.

Who do you think could have shot at the march participants? Did the anarchists and Bolsheviks have opponents on the right?

Certainly. There were several completely legal armed structures: the Union of Army and Navy Officers, the Union of Knights of St. George, the Union of Cossack Troops, and the Military League. During the July crisis, they turned to the commander of the Petrograd Military District, General Polovtsev, and expressed their readiness to provide their combat troops to defend the legitimate government. It is quite possible that they were the ones who started shooting at Liteiny.

Real street fighting in Petrograd began around two o'clock in the afternoon on July 4, when, after a grenade explosion at the intersection of Nevsky Prospekt and Sadovaya, a chaotic shootout broke out between demonstrators and supporters of the Provisional Government. What kind of explosion it was and why it happened is still not known for certain. In general, there are many such blank spots left in the history of the July events. When tens of thousands of armed and angry people confront each other on the streets of the capital, it is almost impossible to figure out who opened fire first.

Approximately how many people died during the July crisis?

The exact number is unknown, but more than 700 people on both sides. The dead Cossacks were solemnly buried in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra; Kerensky himself took part in the funeral procession. The killed Red Guards, soldiers and sailors participating in the armed uprising against the Provisional Government were quietly interred in other capital cemeteries.

Who participated in the suppression of the Bolshevik and anarchist uprising in July 1917?

The Provisional Government was defended by the Guard's reserve Preobrazhensky, Semenovsky and Izmailovsky regiments, the Armored Division, the 2nd Baltic crew, the capital's cadet schools, Cossack units and, which turned out to be extremely important for the Provisional Government, artillery. Then the scooter division and army formations brought to the capital from the front got involved. They drove the Bolsheviks out of the Kshesinskaya mansion, and the anarchists from the Durnovo dacha. On July 5, the Kronstadt sailors tried to take refuge in the Peter and Paul Fortress, but the next day after negotiations (which, by the way, took place with the participation of Stalin), they surrendered to the Provisional Government.

Premonition of civil war

Why do you think this uprising failed?

I think we can agree with Lenin’s assessment of the July events: because the Bolsheviks in those conditions were not ready for a forceful seizure of power. Still, the armed uprising in July was organized very poorly. There were many glitches and unforeseen impromptu moments. When Lenin writes in October that “insurrection is an art,” he will take into account all the lessons of July. In addition, as we see, in July there were many people who were ready to defend the Provisional Government with arms in hand.

If they all supported Kerensky in July, then why didn’t they help him in October?

It was believed that in August Kerensky betrayed Kornilov - after which a significant part of the officers and Cossacks turned away from the prime minister.

What were the consequences of the July crisis?

The Bolshevik Party was not formally banned, but actually went semi-underground. Only in the wake of the struggle against the “Kornilovism” in August-September 1917 were the Bolsheviks able to restore and even strengthen their influence. After July, they abandoned the slogan “All power to the Soviets,” accusing the leaders of the Petrograd Soviet of conciliation and betrayal of the interests of the revolution.

Following the bloodshed on the streets of Petrograd, there was a noticeable polarization and radicalization in public sentiment in Russia. There was a demand for firm power that could restore order. It is noteworthy that at this time he even wrote in his diary about Kerensky, who headed the Provisional Government after the crisis: “This man is positively in his place at the present moment; The more power he has, the better.”

But general bitterness, intolerance towards people of other political views, inability to negotiate and make reasonable compromises, a penchant for violent methods of conducting political struggle - all this has become a distinctive feature of both the extreme left and the extreme right.

Street battles in Petrograd in the July days of 1917 became the first outbreaks of the future Civil War - it was then that its main warring parties began to take shape. Without the events of July, August with the failed Kornilov speech would have been impossible. The consequence of the collapse of the “Kornilovism” was the Bolshevik coup in October, and after the dispersal of the Constituent Assembly in January 1918, Civil War became inevitable in Russia.

"July Days"

July days - anti-government unrest on July 3-5 (new style July 16-18), 1917 in Petrograd, organized by the Bolsheviks after the defeat at the front in June 1917 (see June offensive). The unrest took place under the slogan of the immediate resignation of the Provisional Government and negotiations with Germany to conclude peace. The unrest was attended by Kronstadt sailors, soldiers of the 1st machine gun regiment, workers of Petrograd factories, whose armed uprising was supported by the Bolsheviks

The failure of the June offensive of the Russian army on the Southwestern Front, largely due to the demoralization of troops in the conditions of the revolution, ended with the disbandment of revolutionary military units, which caused criticism of the Provisional Government from left and right forces.

On July 2 (15), 1917, members of the Constitutional Democratic Party (Cadets) left the government, threatening representatives of the Socialist Revolutionary Party and the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDLP) to break the government coalition. Supporters of anarchy took advantage of the government crisis and agitated to oppose the government.

On July 3 (16), 1917, spontaneous anti-government demonstrations of soldiers, workers and sailors began in Petrograd. It all started with a meeting of the 1st Machine Gun Regiment, at which the anarchists called on the soldiers to open armed action. The soldiers sent a delegation to Kronstadt, calling on the sailors to arm themselves and move to Petrograd.

The Bolshevik Party (RSDLP (b)) considered the action premature. Members of the Central Committee spoke out against participation in the demonstration, and it was decided to publish a corresponding appeal in Pravda. The Bolsheviks had great influence on the soldiers and workers of Petrograd, but among the Kronstadt sailors the anarchists and their agitators were more popular.

The Bolshevik leaders were unable to hold back the onslaught of the masses, and on the night of July 4 (17), the party decided to lead the uprising. On the same day, a detachment of sailors from the Baltic Fleet under the leadership of F. F. Raskolnikov, who arrived from Kronstadt, joined the demonstrations of workers and soldiers. The demonstration took place under the slogan “All power to the Soviets!” The number of demonstrators, according to various estimates, reached 400-500 thousand people, of which 40-60 thousand were soldiers.

Demonstrators gathered at the Kshesinskaya mansion, where the Bolshevik headquarters were located. The leaders of the party spoke before them: Lenin, Lunacharsky, Sverdlov. They called for demanding the “expulsion of capitalist ministers from the government” and the transfer of power to the Soviets.

Anarchists simultaneously put forward the slogans “Down with the Provisional Government!” and “Anarchy and self-organization.” Soon, an armed crowd of thousands moved to the Tauride Palace, where the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) met.

The All-Russian Central Executive Committee had banned the demonstration the day before, declaring it a “Bolshevik conspiracy.”

Demonstrators surrounded the Tauride Palace. They allocated 5 delegates for negotiations with the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. The workers demanded that the All-Russian Central Executive Committee immediately take all power into its own hands, eliminating the Provisional Government. The leaders of the Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries promised to convene a new All-Russian Congress of Soviets in 2 weeks and, if there is no other way out, to transfer all power to it.

To protect the Tauride Palace, the Volynsky regiment and other detachments with a total number of 15-16 thousand military personnel were called from the front, and supporters of the Provisional Government went out to counter-demonstrations.

Thus, in those days there was a huge, uncontrollable crowd on the streets of the capital. The Bolsheviks, who tried to attract as many people as possible to the performance, themselves got stuck in this crowd and were unable to competently coordinate its actions. The revolutionary sailors, among whom there were many criminal elements, quickly scattered throughout the city, and robberies and violence began. A group of sailors and workers broke into the Tauride Palace, where they very impolitely arrested the Minister of Agriculture and leader of the Socialist Revolutionary Party V. Chernov. According to eyewitnesses, an unknown worker, raising his fist to the minister’s face, shouted: “Well, take power if they give it!” They refused to let Chernov go until the Council announced its decision to lead the country.

Trotsky managed to free Chernov with great difficulty, but the news of his arrest and the violence of the sailors in the Tauride Palace was received by the commander of the military district, P.A. Polovtsov as a signal to action.

Polovtsov ordered the colonel of the horse artillery regiment, Rebinder, with two guns and a hundred Cossacks of the 1st Don Regiment to move to the Tauride Palace. After a short warning, or even without it, Rebinder should have opened fire on the crowd.

Having reached the intersection of Shpalernaya with Liteyny Prospekt, Rebinder’s group was fired upon from a machine gun installed on the Liteyny Bridge. The colonel ordered return artillery fire. One shell exploded near the Peter and Paul Fortress, another dispersed a rally near the Mikhailovsky Artillery School, and the third hit the very middle of the machine gunners, who at that moment surrounded the lagging first gun of Rebinder’s detachment.

The crowd near Tavrichesky, hearing nearby artillery fire, fled in panic.

By the evening of July 4 (17), troops loyal to the Provisional Government established control over the city center. At night, most of the sailors returned back to Kronstadt. Only part of them, led by anarchists, settled in the Peter and Paul Fortress. A detachment was moved against them under the leadership of the deputy commander of the troops of the Petrograd military district, revolutionary captain A.I. Kuzmin.

From dawn on July 5 (18), combined detachments of St. George's cavaliers and cadets began arresting Bolshevik combat detachments.

The cadets occupied the editorial office and printing house of the newspaper Pravda, which Lenin had left literally a few minutes earlier. The Junkers searched the building, beating several employees, breaking furniture, and throwing freshly printed newspapers into the Moika.

On July 6 (19), the sailors of the Baltic Fleet, who had taken refuge in the Peter and Paul Fortress, were forced to surrender their weapons and go to Kronstadt, and the Bolsheviks were forced to leave the mansion of M. F. Kshesinskaya, which they occupied after the February Revolution and turned into the party headquarters.

On the same day, troops called from the front began to arrive in Petrograd, and A.F. Kerensky himself arrived. The number of troops sent did not exceed the number of the agitated Petrograd garrison. However, with their help, all military units participating in the demonstration were disarmed, reorganized and sent to the front.

Results

The main result of the July events was the end of the so-called “dual power” (the period from March to July 1917).

After the failed coup, the Socialist-Revolutionary-Menshevik Soviets transferred all power to the hands of the Provisional Government, which organized a Special Commission of Inquiry to clarify the circumstances of the July mass uprisings.

The Bolsheviks were forced to go underground. Charges of espionage and national treason were brought against them.

According to the order of the Provisional Government, the following were subject to arrest: Lenin, Lunacharsky, Zinoviev, Kollontai, Kozlovsky, Sumenson (Ganetsky's cousin Sumenson Evgenia Mavrikievna), Semashko, Parvus, Ganetsky, Raskolnikov, Roshal. On July 7, a search was carried out at the apartment of Lenin’s sister Elizarova, where Krupskaya lived, and a few days later an unsuccessful attempt was made to arrest Kamenev. In total, about 800 Bolsheviks were arrested. During the events, a Cossack patrol killed Pravda correspondent Voinov I.A. on Shpalernaya Street.

Lenin and Zinoviev, as is known, hid in Razliv. F.F. Raskolnikov and Roshal were arrested in Kronstadt. Trotsky spent 40 days in “Kresty”, whom the grateful V. Chernov tried to save from arrest, but Trotsky himself demanded arrest out of solidarity with his comrades.

The Petrograd Soviet actually ignored Lenin's accusations of high treason, and the Socialist-Revolutionary-Menshevik All-Russian Central Executive Committee called the Bolsheviks “misguided but honest fighters.” The Menshevik Dan stated that “today the Bolshevik Committee is exposed, tomorrow the Council of Workers’ Deputies will be brought under suspicion, and then the war against the revolution will be declared sacred.”

In August, at the VI Congress of the RSDLP(b), after the failure of the July speech, Lenin removed the slogan “All power to the Soviets.”

Stalin commented on this decision as follows: “We cannot count on a peaceful transfer of power into the hands of the working class by putting pressure on the Soviets. As Marxists, we must say: it is not the institutions that matter, but the policies of which class this institution pursues. We are, of course, for those Soviets where we have the majority. And we will try to create such Councils. We cannot transfer power to the Soviets, which have entered into an alliance with the counter-revolution.”

However, already in September, with the beginning of the active “Bolshevization of the Soviets,” the slogan “All power to the Soviets” returned, and the Bolsheviks headed for an armed uprising.