Still not found. External criticism of the original declaration of the Provisional Government of 3 March is therefore impossible. But the published text itself and the memoirs of the direct authors of the declaration provide sufficient material for source studies.

The circumstances of the February Revolution led to the fact that in the Taurida Palace - residences State Duma- the center of the revolutionary workers and soldiers masses, the Petrograd Soviet, arose on a whim. By the evening of February 27, the Provisional Committee of Members of the State Duma was operating in the right roof of the Tauride Palace, and the Provisional Executive Committee of the Council of Workers' Deputies was operating in the left roof. Each of these organizations set its own goals and tried to use the rapidly developing popular movement for its own purposes. The Duma Committee, composed mainly of members of the Presidium of the Progressive Bloc from a number of factions of the State Duma, fought for the implementation of the program of this bloc. Moreover, the growing nature of the movement made it possible to hope for the maximum satisfaction of the requirements of the bloc: the creation of a government from its leaders, the introduction of a constitutional monarchy with the removal of Nicholas II from supreme power, the proclamation of the young Alexei Nikolayevich as emperor and Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich as regent. In area domestic policy it was supposed to fulfill the requirements of the program of the Progressive Bloc: to carry out an amnesty for political and religious crimes, to abolish national restrictions, to reform local government, to expand the rights of zemstvos and city dumas. The leaders of the Progressive Bloc had been fighting for this program for more than a year and a half, at first they intended to achieve its implementation through a deal with the tsarist government (July-August 1915), and then they hoped to snatch it out by organized public pressure on the authorities.

Thus, both the program of the future cabinet and its composition were planned many months and weeks before the February coup. We must add to this that the possibility of a popular, spontaneous revolution was well recognized by the leaders of the Progressive Bloc and the radical circles of the bourgeoisie. The revolution was predicted with great accuracy, and yet its actual beginning was unexpected for the bourgeois leaders, and the very course of the revolution from the first day confused many of the carefully worked out plans.

The main surprise was the organization of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies, and even here, in the Tauride Palace, in the closest neighborhood to the State Duma. Those leaders of the bourgeois opposition who had the opportunity to come into close contact with the workers understood that the organizations on which the bourgeoisie relies in its struggle for power - the State Duma, the Zemsky and City Unions, the Military Industrial Committees cover only a small layer. the qualified, bourgeois public and partly the radical intelligentsia. The main anti-government force, the working class, is outside these organizations. Attempts to influence the workers through the Military Industrial Committees were not particularly successful, since the majority of the workers did not support the Menshevik defencists like Gvozdev and Broido, who headed the working group of the Central Military Industrial Committee. Therefore, in the spring of 1916, A.I. Konovalov, deputy chairman of the TsVPK, put forward the idea of ​​an all-Russian workers' congress, which would create a Soviet of workers' deputies or a union of workers' deputies under bourgeois influence. The tsarist government forbade the convening of such a congress. And although some conspiratorial connections between the leaders of the liberal opposition and representatives of the revolutionary parties were established and maintained, the opposition as a whole refused to try to extend its influence to the workers.

And in the army, the Progressive Bloc had supporters primarily among the officers, while among the soldiers, the revolutionaries carried out intensive work. And in the plans for a military coup, which were developed by the circle of A.I. Guchkov, it was specifically stipulated how to carry it out, isolating the masses of soldiers from direct actions.

That is why the workers and soldiers appeared to the Duma Committee as two elements, formidable and anarchic, whose movement must be brought into the strict framework of laws as soon as possible. Instead, a center of representatives of the revolutionary parties arose in the State Duma, who claimed to lead precisely these masses of workers and soldiers and took up their special organization. And despite the fact that the goals of the Menshevik leaders of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies did not go beyond an ordinary bourgeois-democratic republic, they still differed significantly from the goals of the leaders of the Progressive Bloc. In the very first appeal to the population of Petrograd, the Soviet declared that the goal of the struggle was "people's rule" and the creation of "their own power organization" of the people. The Council called: “All together, with common forces, we will fight for the complete elimination of the old government and the convening of Constituent Assembly elected on the basis of universal, equal, direct and secret suffrage".

This could not please the members of the Duma Committee, since this document unequivocally proclaimed an application for the introduction of a republican form of government in the country. Meanwhile, there were no direct contacts between the Council and the Committee, except for the special position of A.F. Kerensky, invited to the Council for the post of Deputy Chairman. At the meetings of the Council, especially at the evening general meeting on February 28, 1917, a very critical mood was revealed in relation to the Provisional Committee of the State Duma. The members of the Council were inspired by their real strength, demanded to “dictate to the Duma Committee” conditions, called the Committee a “gang of politicians” who wanted to take advantage of the blood shed by the people, demanded the arrest of Duma Chairman M.V. Rod- zyanko. In any case, the desire was definitely stated to "appear at the Provisional Committee of the State Duma" with their demands.

For its part, the Provisional Committee could no longer ignore the Soviet, since their representatives constantly clashed with each other, and the dual power became a fait accompli. Therefore, when compiling a possible list of ministers, proposals were made: A.F. Kerensky - Comrade Chairman of the Council - to take the post of Minister of Justice, and N.S. Chkheidze - Chairman of the Council - to take the post of Minister of Labor. It must be said that the tsarist government [was not] the Ministry of Labor, but the possibility of its formation when a "government of trust" from the leaders of the progressive bloc came to power was considered even before the revolution. So, at a meeting with E.D. Kuskova on April 6, 1916, in the list worked out for discussion at the Congress of the Cadet Party, was the Ministry of Labor, the head of which [was] the “non-party left” L.I. Lutugin. The Cadets assumed that in order to satisfy the demands of the "socialists" and to tame them, the creation of such a ministry would be expedient.

If it were possible to get the chairman of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies into the government, then the Soviet itself would no longer be so terrible for the bourgeoisie. But N.S. Chkheidze immediately refused this offer. Kerensky, however, seeing in this the satisfaction of his ambitious plans, decided to agree and therefore began to indoctrinate individual members of the Executive Committee of the Soviet in the spirit that was desirable for him and the Duma Committee.

On the morning of March 1, 1917, the Executive Committee of the Council decided to discuss the issue of attitudes towards the question of power and the formation of a government, as well as the requirements or conditions for the Duma Committee. The mood of the majority of the members of the Executive Committee was expressed by N. Sukhanov, who said that "it was necessary to put the licensing power in such conditions in which it would be manual." In the Committee itself, and indeed in the camp of revolutionary democracy, there were at that moment three currents. The first, represented by the Bolsheviks and some Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, demanded that the power of the bourgeoisie not be recognized and that the Soviets fight for the creation of a Provisional Revolutionary Government. The second - from the right-wing Menshevik-defencists - called for the transfer of power to the bourgeoisie without any conditions and support for this power. Finally, the third, to which the majority adjoined, believed that in connection with the bourgeois character of the revolution that Russia was experiencing, the government, of course, should be made up of the bourgeoisie, but at the same time it was necessary to put forward such conditions that would make it possible to complete the bourgeois-democratic -tic revolution and to carry out the minimum programs of the Social Democrats and Socialist Revolutionaries. The Mensheviks from the Executive Committee considered themselves great tricksters and believed that the bourgeoisie needed to be "forced" to take power, and this could be done by appearing to them very accommodating and not making demands that could "frighten" the bourgeoisie. “We must not deprive the bourgeoisie of the hope of winning this struggle,” Sukhanov explained this plan in his memoirs.

“What specific conditions for the transfer of power,” he recalled, “could create the kind of status necessary for revolution and democracy? That is, under what specific conditions should power be handed over to the Milyukov government? In essence, I considered one such condition: "to ensure complete political freedom in the country, absolute freedom of organization and agitation." On the other hand, this condition could not but be accepted by the other side. Any other requirements, no doubt, less essential, could "break the combination"! Many of them Milyukov and Co. could not have taken in the face of their class, group personal position in the face of European public opinion. But this demand - not to encroach on the principles of freedom - they could not but accept, if they were at all ready to accept power in the given circumstances with the permission of Soviet democracy.

Sukhanov also formulated two other demands or conditions: an amnesty and an early convocation of the Constituent Assembly. “These three conditions: a declaration of complete political freedom, an amnesty, and immediate measures to convene a Constituent Assembly, seemed to me absolutely necessary, but at the same time, exhaustive tasks of democracy in transferring government functions into the hands of the census bourgeoisie. Everything else will apply, ”Sukhanov concluded.

The discussion of the issue of power began at about 12 noon in the 13th room of the Tauride Palace, but was soon interrupted in connection with the “Rodzianko incident”, his attempt to go to the tsar when he could not get a train due to opposition from So -veta of workers' and soldiers' deputies. At the general meeting of the Council on March 1, where this incident was discussed, N.D. Sokolov, whom, as Sukhanov points out, he had already won over to his side, called on him to be moderate towards the Cadets in order to carry the fight against tsarism to the end. But here, too, a fierce intensity of struggle and sharp anti-officer sentiments manifested themselves in the debate. F. Linde, for example, declared: “We have achieved certain freedoms with the blood, we will not let ourselves be bypassed. They will give you the minimum, we want the most.”

At six o'clock in the evening the debate on the question of the organization of power resumed in the Executive Committee. Sukhanov made his points. They were recorded by Yu.M. Steklov on a separate sheet of paper. Immediately, the demands were supplemented by representatives of the soldiers' deputies that political freedoms be extended to the soldiers, that the troops of the Petrograd garrison who took part in the revolutionary movement should not be withdrawn from Petrograd. Of particular importance was the inclusion in the text of the conditions of the requirement that the government "take no other steps prejudging the future form of government." By including this item, the leaders of the Soviet intended to conduct propaganda on its basis republican form board.

The Executive Committee rejected the proposal of the Duma Committee to send its representatives to the government, and the question of the personnel of the future ministry was entirely left to the discretion of the "bourgeoisie". By 12 o'clock in the morning on March 2, the text of the terms had been worked out and [elected] a delegation consisting of Chkhei-dze, Sokolov, Sukhanov, Steklov and Filippovsky. The text of the conditions, written down on a separate sheet of paper, carried Steklov with him.

The delegation moved to the right roof of the Taurida Palace and announced its desire to enter into negotiations with the Provisional Committee of the State Duma. The committee agreed, and negotiations began. Steklov made a report on the content of the conditions of the Petrograd Soviet, after which "Milyukov asked me to give him a paper where our program was outlined and, rewriting it, made his comments."

What did P.N. see in front of him? Milyukov? As far as can be judged from the published text of the declaration of the Provisional Government of March 3, the memoirs of Sukhanov and Milyukov himself, as well as other sources, the initial draft that was brought by Steklov did not differ much from the final text. It contained eight items. The first demanded a complete and immediate amnesty for political and religious matters. The second demanded freedom of speech, press, unions, meetings and strikes, with the extension of political freedoms to military personnel. The third paragraph spoke of the abolition of all class, religious and national restrictions. The fourth point was devoted to the speedy convocation of the Constituent Assembly and contained a statement that "the question of the form of government remains open" (Milyukov's wording). The fifth point required the replacement of the police by the people's militia with elected authorities. The sixth point contained the demand for re-elections of local self-government bodies on the basis of universal suffrage. In the seventh, the rights of the soldiers of the Petrograd garrison were stipulated not to withdraw the units that took part in the revolution from Petrograd. And finally, the last point again spoke about the provision of all civil rights soldiers and contained a requirement for the election of command personnel in the army.

Milyukov was very pleased with the modesty of these demands, which did not affect social questions at all and for the most part repeated the program of the Progressive Bloc! One cannot read Sukhanov's self-satisfied remarks without smiling: "Amnesty, of course, comes naturally." Milyukov, without actively taking a single step and only yielding, did not consider it proper to argue against the amnesty and endured it to the end, not very willingly, but quite obediently, writing down: "for all crimes: agrarian, military, terrorist." The same thing happened with the second point - political freedoms, the abolition of class, religious restrictions, etc. "They demanded from Milyukov, and he yielded." Naive "tricks"! They "demanded" from Milyukov what was written down in the program of his party, which he had to put into practice anyway. Moreover, they demanded from the "bourgeoisie" what its representatives only yesterday demanded from the tsarist government.

Here is the text of the “Program of the Ministry of Public Trust” written by Milyukov in mid-August 1915: “1. Amnesty for persons convicted of political and religious crimes, return of the S.-D. deputies. 2. A radical change in management practices, including the abolition of national restrictions. 3. The legislative program of the organization of the country for victory. 4. Measures to maintain social peace".

And although in the program of the Progressive Bloc some of these demands turned out to be curtailed, Miliukov's own views did not change from this. As for the program of the Cadet Party, a special section of eight points was devoted to the rights of citizens. Even in the program of the Octobrists, civil liberties and the abolition of restrictions were declared.

It is not surprising, therefore, that Milyukov, who was “yielding,” evaluated the project presented to him as follows:

“With the exception of paragraph 7, which was obviously temporary, and the application of the beginning of the choice to the police authorities in paragraph 5, everything else in this project (Milyukov means its second edition, which will be discussed a little later) was not only quite acceptable or allowed for an acceptable interpretation, but also directly followed from the newly formed government's own views on its tasks. On the other hand, it should be noted that there was nothing here that was subsequently introduced by the socialist parties into the understanding of the tasks of revolutionary power, and that served as the subject of long debates and repeated breaks between the socialist and non-socialist part of the coalition cabinets of the following compositions.

This appraisal of the conditions of the Soviet as very acceptable remained with Miliukov for many years. In his memoirs, he also wrote about the delegation of the Executive Committee:

“They also brought the finished text of these conditions, which were to be published on behalf of the government. For the left side of the block, most of these conditions were quite acceptable, since they were part of her own program. These included: all civil liberties, the abolition of all class, religious and national restrictions, the convening of the Constituent Assembly, which will establish the form of government, elections to self-government bodies on the basis of universal suffrage, a complete amnesty. But there were also points of significant disagreement, on which a long dispute ensued, ending with an agreement only at four o'clock in the morning.

On what issues did the dispute take place and what was agreed as a result? The first point that caused controversy was the fourth, on the future form of government. Miliukov refused to bind the government with a promise not to undertake "anything that would predetermine the future form of government" (Sukhanov's edition). Recall that the position of the majority of the Duma Committee was to achieve the abdication of Nicholas II in favor of his son and appoint Mikhail Alexandrovich as regent, that is, to preserve the constitutional monarchy. We also recall that no steps had yet been taken to induce Nicholas II, and the situation in this sense was not yet clear. After much debate, the following wording was agreed: "Immediate preparations for the convening<...>Constituent Assembly, which will establish the form of government and the constitution of the country.

The results of the rest of the disputes are reflected in the memoirs of Milyukov:

“They also agreed to strike out the requirement for the election of officers. I limited "to the limits permitted by military-technical conditions" the exercise by soldiers of "civil liberties" and defended "the maintenance of strict military discipline in the ranks and in the performance of military service", while introducing equality of soldiers "in the enjoyment of public rights". But I could not object to the non-disarmament and non-withdrawal from Petrograd of the military units that had taken part in the "revolutionary movement" and had just ensured our victory. After all, it was not known at that moment whether they would have to fight further with the “faithful” units sent to the capital.

So, Milyukov was very pleased with the results of the negotiations and believed that he had achieved a lot. Sukhanov was also pleased: the trick was a success, the government agreed to accept power on these conditions, “he read the entire program to the end, accepting both municipal elections and the abolition of the police, and the Constituent Assembly with its real name and all the proper attributes.” And Milyukov consoled himself with these words: “We were magnanimously granted a respite, and the whole question was for us how to use it. I myself shared this opinion about the psychology of all revolutions. I just didn't intend to fold my hands while waiting for the next stage to come." Thus, the leaders of the Soviet did not alienate the bourgeoisie, did not "frighten them with exorbitant demands." On the contrary, they inspired even Miliukov with the illusion that the bourgeoisie would be able to win in this struggle.

But then, at 4 am on March 2, 1917, the agreement was not yet destined to take place. Although the members of the Soviet delegation left the right wing of the Tauride Palace in full confidence that the agreement had already been concluded, in their absence events took place that effectively suspended the progress of the negotiations. A.I. arrived at the meeting of the Committee of the State Duma. Guchkov and began to sharply criticize the draft government declaration. “I remember that I objected to certain questions concerning the army and the death penalty,” Guchkov said during interrogation at the Extraordinary Investigative Commission exactly five months after the events described. About the death penalty, neither in the conditions worked out by the Council, nor in the objections of P.N. Miliukov did not speak. Perhaps A.I. Guchkov confused, or maybe he suggested introducing or saving a thread death penalty at the front? But the question of the army, that is, the rights of soldiers, was indeed discussed and, as mentioned above, was included in the draft declaration. Guchkov was chairman of the Military Commission of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, he came into close contact with the situation in the troops of the Petrograd garrison, he saw all the hatred of the soldiers for the officers, which had already manifested itself in a number of murders. And everywhere he saw the enormous authority of the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies. And here, it turns out, it is still necessary to agree with this Council on the program and personnel of the government: “It was a surprise for me that when creating this new combination, another third factor was the Executive Committee of R. and S. Deputies.” The situation was portrayed by Guchkov as "hopeless."

Therefore, he sharply opposed the draft agreed with the Council, and as a result of this, the State Duma Committee as a whole decided to consider the question of the agreement and the text of the program open.

As can be seen from Sukhanov's memoirs, Kerensky told him about this fact in passing, but apparently the members of the Executive Committee did not get the impression that the negotiations had broken down. Moreover, since the morning of March 2, at the insistence of M.V. Rod-Zianko Milyukov began to suggest that the members of the Executive Committee continue to work on the development of a government statement.

Soon the general meeting of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies began its work, at which Yu.M. Steklov. He characterized the Committee's acceptance of the conditions of the Petrograd Soviet as a "colossal historical achievement" and declared that the delegation of the executive committee had succeeded in "binding these people with a solemn declaration." Thus, the self-deception in which the members of the delegation found themselves, imagining that they were setting impossible conditions for the "bourgeoisie", continued. Those reforms that the members of the Provisional Government were going to carry out, true to their party program, were portrayed by the Menshevik leaders of the Soviet as concessions wrested from "these people." Next, Steklov listed the points of the declaration, accompanying them with his own comments. They also emphasized the role of the Soviet, whose representatives imposed their will on the censers. Steklov stated that the delegation was confident that the Committee would reject the idea of ​​convening a Constituent Assembly and the demand for universal suffrage. But "no one objected, except for Shulgin." And although Steklov was forced to say that "they" rejected the demand for democratic republic, he noted that “what we have achieved is not the maximum. These are the smallest conquests, ”and we must continue to fight for all further demands. This persistence stemmed from a firm awareness of the real strength of the Soviet and the weakness of the Provisional Committee of the Soviet, which was expressed in such words: three-quarters of the soldiers are "ours", one-quarter - "theirs".

All the party currents in the Soviet were reflected in the debate. The Bolsheviks criticized the delegation and demanded the creation of a Provisional Revolutionary Government. Critics from the left also suggested insisting on the inclusion in the declaration of the requirements of the minimum program of social democracy. Although some deputies condemned Kerensky for his consent to join the Provisional Government - the latter had just received a vote of confidence to enter the ministry directly from the majority of the members of the Soviet despite the opposition of the executive committee - there were other voices: that half of the seats in the -lyam Council. There were harsh condemnations of Miliukov and "Guchkov's anti-popular circles." But in the end, by an overwhelming majority against 14 votes, the line of conduct of the delegation of the Executive Committee of the Council and the conditions proposed by it were approved.

The Council decided to demand the inclusion in the government declaration of a special clause stating that the government should not rely on wartime conditions and delay in implementing the forms listed in the declaration. And the offensive spirit, manifested in Steklov's report, and the demand to supplement the declaration, as well as decision seeking to place under the declaration the signatures of all the ministers of the Provisional Government and the chairman of the State Duma - all this made the delegation face the need to take a tougher stance in the new negotiations.

Milyukov met with this increased pressure on the government that was being organized when he spoke at a huge impromptu meeting in the Tauride Palace on the afternoon of March 2. “Three days ago we were in modest opposition, and the Russian government seemed all-powerful,” he said. “Now this government has collapsed into the mud with which it has become related, and we and our friends on the left have been nominated by the revolution, the army and the people to the place of honor of members of the first Russian public cabinet.” If these words were covered with "noisy prolonged applause", then indignant cries soon began. "Who chose you?" - they asked Milyukov, and to his words that Prince Lvov represented the organized Russian public, they objected - “qualified!”. He said the following about the program: “I am very sorry that in answer to this question I cannot read you the papers on which this program is presented. But the fact is that the only copy of the program discussed yesterday at a long night meeting with representatives of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies is now under their final consideration. And I hope that in a few hours you will know about this program.

And if at the meeting of the Petrograd Soviet Steklov called for fighting for the republic, then Milyukov here just as fervently agitated for the preservation of the monarchy. He directly stated that Nicholas II would voluntarily renounce the throne or be deposed, Alexei would be the heir, and Grand Duke Mikhail Alexandrovich would be regent. The state system of Russia, according to Milyukov, was to be a "parliamentary constitutional monarchy." The final right to decide on the form of government should belong to the Constituent Assembly. “In our program,” continued Milyukov, “you will find a point according to which, as soon as the danger has passed and stable order has been restored, we will begin preparations for the convocation of the Constituent Assembly (loud applause), assembled on the basis of a universal, direct, equal and secret vote. niya. A freely elected people's representation will decide who will more accurately express the general opinion of Russia - we or our opponents. It is important to note in this connection that the consent of the delegation of the Petrograd Soviet to this most important point of the government declaration that the Constituent Assembly "will establish the form of government and the constitution of the country" meant, in the conditions of March 2 and even the night of March 3, consent to a constitutional monarchy . Nothing was known about the position of the king. Until three in the afternoon on March 2, Guchkov and Shulgin, delegated by the Provisional Committee of the State Duma to visit the tsar, were still in Petrograd. They had firm instructions to get Nicholas II to abdicate in favor of their son. And the combination - Emperor Alexei and Regent Michael - seemed to be ninety percent already implemented.

No one yet knew that the renunciation would be in favor of Mikhail Alexandrovich himself, and he, in turn, would also renounce the supreme power in favor of ... the Provisional Government! Therefore, we repeat, the postponement of the decision on the form of government until the Constituent Assembly meant on March 2, 1917, only that until the decision of the Constituent Assembly of this issue in Russia there would be a constitutional (still without a constitution!) Monarchy.

Sukhanov, who expected disputes on the question of universal suffrage and the Constituent Assembly, wondered why Miliukov was so insistent on the monarchy. However, if freedom is already today, if there is a Constituent Assembly, then it doesn't matter, he reasoned. Only many months later did he realize that Milyukov's actions had been directed by a long-range calculation. The preservation of the dynasty was an important trump card of the Provisional Government both within the country and in the international arena. It gave the illusion of preserving national unity, responded to the monarchical survivals in the psychology of the backward sections of the people, allowed us to hope for a greater stability of the internal situation in the country and in the army.

On the evening of March 2, the joint work of the delegation of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional Committee of the State Duma resumed. “With the decision of the “third point,” all discussion of questions of “high politics” was already over, and all that remained was to edit, put in order and put into print the first constitution of the Great Russian Revolution,” recalled Sukhanov. “It was necessary to stick a declaration to the finished piece of paper with a list of ministers, and then collect the signatures of cabinet members for it.” A surprise and, moreover, an unpleasant surprise for Milyukov was the demand of the Soviet to add a new clause to the declaration about "military circumstances", which should not be an obstacle to democratic reforms.

Another trouble was the altered text of the declaration of the Petrograd Soviet itself. The fact is that even at the first joint meeting of P.N. Milyukov, on behalf of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, asked the delegation of the Council to draw up their own declaration calling on the population to support the government. The draft of such a document was immediately drawn up by N.D. Sokolov. But Milyukov found it unsatisfactory and composed his own text, in which the soldiers were urged to be calm and orderly, to obey their officers. This text was accepted by the delegation of the Council. But on March 2, to two paragraphs written by N.D. Sokolov and P.N. Milyukov, added one more, introductory. It was written by Yu.M. Steklov. It noted that the Provisional Government was created from moderate bourgeois circles, that support for it, in essence, could only be provided conditionally. This provision was developed by the decision of the general meeting of the Petrograd Soviet of March 2, 1917, which later became very famous, that the Provisional Government should be supported "insofar as it goes along the line of implementing the planned tasks."

The General Assembly instructed the delegation to introduce the following new items into the declaration of the Provisional Government: “1. The provisional government stipulates that all planned activities will be carried out, despite the martial law. 2. The manifesto of the Provisional Government must be simultaneously signed by M. Rodzianko and the Provisional Government. 3. Include in the program of the Provisional Government an item on granting all nationalities the rights of national and cultural self-determination.

As far as can be judged from the published text of the declaration and memoirs, the last point was not discussed at the evening meeting on March 2 and was not included in any way in the adopted text. As for the first, its final text was worked out by Sukhanov, Milyukov, and Steklov in the following form: reforms and measures".

If Miliukov assessed the results of the negotiations on the night of March 1-2 positively for the interests of the Provisional Government, then the new negotiations, in his opinion, revised these results in favor of the Soviet, which was now becoming a controller from an equal partner. Recall that at the general meeting on March 2, it was also decided to "form a monitoring committee for the actions of the Provisional Government." In his History of the Second Russian Revolution, Milyukov commented on the results of the negotiations on the evening of March 2:

“Here, as we see, not only did not reflect the fact that the text of government obligations was basically compiled by the Council delegates themselves, and the text of their declaration by the Provisional Committee of the State Duma, but also that famous formula “in so far as” was adopted for the first time which in advance weakened the authority of the first revolutionary power among the population. He was expressed even more decisively in subsequent memoirs: “The whole correlation between our obligations, formulated by them and voluntarily accepted by us - their obligations, formulated by me and accepted by them, was thus obscured and changed towards class suspicion.”

One way or another, but by the beginning of the night of March 3, the text of the declaration had been finally edited. You need to sign it. The first signature, at the request of the Council, was put by the Chairman of the State Duma M.V. Rodzianko. Then the chairman of the Council of Ministers, Prince G.E. Lvov. It must be said, by the way, that Prince Lvov was not present at the first part of the negotiations with the delegation of the Executive Committee, and was mostly silent during the second part. After the signature of Lvov, the signatures of the ministers followed: P.N. Milyukov, Minister of Foreign Affairs, N.V. Nekrasov, Minister of Communications, Minister of Education A.A. Manuilov, trade and industry - A.I. Konovalov, Finance - M.I. Tereshchenko, chief pro-curator of the Synod V.N. Lvov, Minister of Agriculture A.I. Shingarev, Minister of Justice A.F. Kerensky.

Under the declaration there was no signature of A.I. Guchkov - military and naval minister. At that time he was in Pskov together with V.V. Shulgin, where he expected the act of abdication from Nicholas II. But he would hardly have signed this declaration, since it did not differ in any way from the project he had seen, especially in the area that was especially close to him, in the area of ​​​​the internal life of the army. In any case, the absence of Guchkov clearly facilitated Miliukov's task of finding a form of agreement with the Petrograd Soviet. The Octobrist I.V. did not sign the declaration. Godnev, who was invited to the post of State Comptroller. In this regard, his name was not mentioned in the list of ministers either.

The declaration was immediately retyped in the Soviet on a typewriter and handed over to the printer along with the appeal of the Petrograd Soviet. The original of the government program and one copy of N.N. Sukhanov gave P.N. Milyukov. In the morning, the declaration of the Provisional Government, together with the appeal of the Petrograd Soviet to the population, printed on one sheet, were pasted up in the form of posters all over the city. A.I. Guchkov, returning from Pskov, and driving along the streets of Petrograd, had already seen these documents and learned with amazement from them that, in addition to the post of Minister of War, about which he had previously been told, he was also awarded the post of Minister of the Navy. At the same time, the declaration was published in Izvestia of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.

What did its final text look like? First of all, it should be noted that the program of government measures, which was mentioned earlier, by no means exhausted the entire content of the declaration. It begins with a rather extensive introductory part, in the development of which, as it seems to us, the members of the delegation of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet did not participate. The first phrase of the introduction emphasized the role and significance of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma in the revolution: “The Provisional Committee of the members of the State Duma, with the assistance and sympathy of the capital’s troops and the population, has now achieved such a degree of success over the dark forces of the old regime, which allows it to proceed to a more stable organization. executive power". This phrase is composed in the accustomed style of diatribes of the leaders of the Progressive Bloc. It promotes the State Duma to the place of the only organized center in the revolution, while the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies is discerned only in the indefinite word "population". Let us also note that the Provisional Committee spoke of a “more durable structure” precisely of the executive branch, that is, only of the government. About the rights of the supreme power, the power of the monarch, nothing is said here.

“For this purpose,” the declaration reads further, “the Provisional Committee of the State Duma appoints the following persons as ministers of the first public cabinet, the confidence in which the country has been ensured by their past public and political activities» . And here we already see verbatim coincidences with the program of the Progressive Bloc: "creation of a united government from persons enjoying the confidence of the country." The use of this terminology also points us to the author of the above-mentioned phrases: he was most likely Milyukov, who also carried out the general revision of the document. And, in fact, the Provisional Government was the practical implementation of the idea of ​​a “ministry of trust” that Milyukov put forward in the summer of 1915 as the slogan of the Progressive Bloc. It was not a "responsible government", since there was no parliament yet, the State Duma was already hanging in the air, and the question of the monarchy had not been resolved. No one elected a provisional government. It chose itself. That influential group of bourgeois-liberal public figures, which had taken shape in Russia by the beginning of the First World War and which already in 1915 tried to come to power through negotiations with the tsarist government, is now under exceptional conditions people's revolution I finally saw a real opportunity to achieve my goal.

This was followed by a list of the ministers of the Provisional Government themselves. Moreover, it is interesting that the name of the government is preserved here still old: "Council of Ministers", as can be seen from the title of the post of Prince Lvov: "Chairman of the Council of Ministers." The term "Provisional Government", as a name for the executive branch, was first used in the Declaration only in its very last paragraph, where it refers to "military circumstances", and which was added only on the evening of March 2, 1917. In this regard, one can assume that the entire introduction and the list of ministers had been drawn up earlier, in general, even before the start of negotiations with the delegation of the Petrograd Soviet, since the documents of the Soviet for March 1 say that its representatives saw the list of ministers. The personal composition of the government was also discussed at the evening meeting of the Executive Committee on March 1. “It was known,” Sukhanov recalled, “that a zemstvo member, Lvov, an ordinary candidate for premier even in the era of His Majesty’s opposition,” was designated as the formal head.

A study of the list of ministers itself shows an even greater connection between the members of the Provisional Government and the projects of the "Ministry of Trust", which were drawn up in 1915 and 1916. Of the 10 ministries of the “first public cabinet”, 6 were mentioned in the well-known list of the “defence cabinet”, published by the newspaper “Morning of Russia” on August 13, 1915. And almost in the same posts: Milyukov - Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nekrasov - Minister of Communications, Konovalov - trade and industry, V.N. Lvov - chief prosecutor of the Synod. Both Guchkov and Shingarev were called there.

In another list, which was compiled on April 6, 1916, at a meeting arranged at the apartment of S.N. Prokopovich and E.D. Kuskova with representatives of the "left currents", also mentioned the book. Lvov as a candidate for prime minister, Milyukov as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Konovalov as a possible Minister of Trade and Industry, and Guchkov and Shingarev are already directly as Ministers of War and Ministers of Agriculture.

After the list of ministers, eight points of the government program followed, which were preceded by the following words: "In its present activity, the cabinet will be guided by the following grounds." The document ended with a special paragraph on "military circumstances" that should not be used by the government to delay reforms, and with the signatures of the ministers.

Thus, the first declaration of the Provisional Government was not the result of the individual creativity of the ministers. In its most important program part, it expressed an agreement between the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies and the Provisional Committee of the State Duma on the conditions on the basis of which the Council recognized the Provisional Government created by the committee. The initial text of these conditions was drawn up by members of the delegation of the Executive Committee of the Council, and after negotiations they were adopted by the Duma Committee, since their content corresponded to the views and party guidelines of the majority of the latter.

At the same time, the introductory part of the document and the list of ministers were drawn up, in all likelihood, even before the negotiations with the Petrograd Soviet and testify to the intention of the Duma Committee to form the Council of Ministers (Provisional Government) independently of the Petrograd Soviet. The program coordinated with the Petrograd Soviet proclaimed the complete democratization of the country and the broadest political freedoms, while at the same time keeping silent about the need for social transformations. At the time the declaration was drawn up, its authors, both members of the Petrograd Soviet and the Duma Committee, assumed that the state system of Russia until the Constituent Assembly would be a constitutional monarchy. The guarantee of the promised freedoms was the real armed force, which was at the disposal of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies.

IN AND. Startsev

From the collection "Between two revolutions 1905-1917" (Quarterly journal of the history and culture of Russia and of Eastern Europe"NESTOR" No. 3, 2000)

The text of the declaration is reprinted in the collection of documents and materials "The Revolutionary Movement in Russia after the Overthrow of the Autocracy". M., 1957. S. 419-420.

History of Russia Munchaev Shamil Magomedovich

No. 17 Declaration of the Provisional Government on its composition and tasks March 3, 1917

Declaration of the Provisional Government on its composition and tasks

Citizens!

The Provisional Committee of the members of the State Duma, with the assistance and sympathy of the capital's troops and the population, has now achieved such a degree of success over the dark forces of the old regime that it allows it to proceed to a more stable organization of executive power.

For this purpose, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma appoints the following persons as ministers of the first public cabinet, the confidence in which the countries have been ensured by their past social and political activities.

Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of the Interior - Prince G. E. Lvov.

Minister of Foreign Affairs - P. N. Milyukov.

Minister of War and Naval - A. I. Guchkov.

Minister of Railways - N.V. Nekrasov.

Minister of Trade and Industry - AI Konovalov.

Minister of Finance - M. I. Tereshchenko.

Minister of Education - A. A. Manuilov.

[Chief Prosecutor] of the Holy Synod - VL Lvov.

Minister of Agriculture - A. I. Shingarev.

Minister of Justice - A.F. Kerensky.

In its present activities, the Cabinet will be guided by the following principles:

1) Full and immediate amnesty for all political and religious cases, including: terrorist attacks, military uprisings and agrarian crimes, etc.

2) Freedom of speech, press, unions, meetings and strikes, with the extension of political freedoms to military personnel within the limits allowed by military technical conditions.

3) Cancellation of all class, religious and national restrictions.

4) Immediate preparations for the convocation of a Constituent Assembly on the basis of a universal, equal, secret and direct vote, which will establish the form of government and the constitution of the country.

5) Replacing the police with a people's militia with elected leaders subordinate to local self-government bodies.

6) Elections to local self-government bodies based on universal, direct, equal and secret suffrage.

7) Non-disarmament and non-withdrawal from Petrograd of military units that took part in the revolutionary movement.

8) While maintaining strict military discipline in the ranks and in the performance of military service - the elimination for soldiers of all restrictions in the use of public rights granted to all other citizens.

The Provisional Government considers it its duty to add that it does not at all intend to take advantage of military circumstances for any delay in the implementation of the above reforms and measures.

Chairman of the State Duma

M. Rodzianko. Chairman of the Council of Ministers

book. Lvov. Ministers: Milyukov,

Nekrasov, Manuilov, Konovalov, Tereshchenko,

V. Lvov, Shingarev, Kerensky.

Proceedings of the Petrograd Soviet

workers' and soldiers' deputies.

Mar 3 1917. No. 4. S. 1.