Kerensky on the February Revolution (1917)
The following account of the first days of the February Revolution comes from the memoirs of Alexander Kerensky. Here, Kerensky describes being summoned to the Tauride Palace after the mutiny of the...
View ArticleKerensky: the Provisional Government’s early days (1917)
This account of the early days of the newly formed Provisional Government in March 1917 is taken from the memoirs of Alexander Kerensky. Here he describes the chaotic situation that followed the...
View ArticleA peasant revolt in Orlov (1917)
Peasant revolts and land seizures became quite common as during the period of Dual Power. This account, taken from the August 1st 1917 edition of the Soviet newspaper Izvestia, describes spontaneous...
View ArticleKrupskaya: Lenin’s life in prison and exile
This account of Vladimir Lenin‘s life in prison and exile is from the memoirs of his wife, Nadezhda Krupskaya, published in 1930. Krupskaya explains how Lenin maintained communication with his fellow...
View ArticleKrupskaya on Lenin’s return to Russia (1917)
When the February Revolution erupted in Russia and brought tsarism to a rapid close, Vladimir Lenin was in exile in Switzerland. Desperate for a means to return to Russia, he struck up a deal with the...
View ArticleDecree forming the Red Army (1918)
On January 15th 1918, the Council of People’s Commissars passed the following decree, forming the Red Army: “The Council of People’s Commissars resolves to organise a new army called the Workers and...
View ArticleThe tsar’s final address to the army (1917)
In March 1917, shortly after his abdication, Nicholas II delivered this final address to the Imperial Army: Army headquarters, March 21st 1917 “I appeal to you for the last time, my beloved troops....
View ArticleA report on attitudes of Russian soldiers (1917)
This report, dated February 1st 1917 and compiled by military censors attached to the 12th Army, summarises the moral and attitudes of Russian soldiers, based on the contents of their letters: “Judging...
View ArticleThe tsar’s brother-in-law urges reform (1917)
Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich (1866-1933) was a brother-in-law and confidante of Nicholas II. In early 1917, Mikhailovich wrote the tsar a series of letters urging him to undertake political...
View ArticleThe Duma’s final plea for reform (1917)
On March 12th 1917, three days before the abdication of Nicholas II, the State Council of the Duma made one last plea to the tsar for political reform: March 12th, 1917 Your Imperial Majesty, “We, the...
View ArticleThe Bolsheviks call an end to the July Days (1917)
In early July 1917, Petrograd was gripped by demonstrations by soldiers, sailors and workers, many of them armed. This chain of protests became known as the July Days. The Bolsheviks, fearing their...
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Russian imperialism, diversity and control
A map showing the expansion of the Russian Empire to 1914 To understand the Russian Revolution in depth, it is important to know it erupted within a vast empire rather than a single nation. Russian...
View ArticleDecree on Suppression of Hostile Newspapers (1917)
On taking power, the Bolshevik government immediately took action against what it considered “hostile newspapers”. This decree, passed on October 27th 1917, declared itself to be a temporary measure,...
View ArticleProtected: Narodnaya Volya
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