I'm playing whack-a-mole in Siberia

Chapter 655 Abdication

Catherine holds a grudge and has not yet forgiven Queen Mother Maria.

Catherine's dislike for Alex was even greater than that for Maria, and she didn't even want to mention it.

George was not stubborn; he didn't want to go to St. Petersburg in the first place.

After the outbreak of World War II, a military meeting was held in St. Petersburg every year. Every year, George proposed to focus on defense, not to overly provoke the Germans, and to let the Germans and the British and French forces consume each other.

It cannot be said that George's suggestions were completely useless. In every meeting, both Nicholas were very nice.

But when it came to execution, the impulsiveness in the Slav's character took over and he ignored George's reminder.

Last November, former Interior Minister Durnovo said pessimistically in an interview with reporters: Even if a responsible cabinet is established now, due to the weakness and incompetence of the liberals, their victory can only be temporary.

Durnovo was right, but his words did not attract the attention of the aristocracy and the bureaucracy. In 1917, the situation continued to deteriorate.

By 1917, the number of young and middle-aged people mobilized by the empire had reached 1400 million, accounting for 46% of the working-age population.

This is only the working-age population, under 20 years old, and men over 50 years old, who have not yet begun to mobilize.

In contrast, this year the UK, France and Germany have relaxed the conscription age to 55.

From 1914 to 1917, in just three years, the number of horses in the empire decreased by 500 million, and the amount of arable land decreased instead of increasing. The Russians described Nicholas as a wasteful cook who threw the Russians into the stove like firewood.

In order to whitewash its achievements, St. Petersburg focused its propaganda on progress in the Balkan theater.

However, people were already tired of the war. After the abolition of the death penalty, deserters appeared on a large scale. People in the rear even broke their own hands and feet to avoid military service.

This summer, Siberia had a bumper grain harvest, and Interior Minister Protopopov said that the empire would not have to worry about food problems throughout 1917.

This is indeed the case. Last winter, George sold the French grain worth 10 billion francs, and none of this grain even needed to be transferred from Siberia.

St. Petersburg was not short of food either. At the beginning of February, St. Petersburg still had 2 poods in stock.

One pood is approximately equivalent to 16.38 kilograms.

On March 3, Nikolai returned to base camp from St. Petersburg.

The very day after Nicholas returned to the base camp, large-scale walks took place on the streets of St. Petersburg, people shouted "Bread! Bread!", and the whole city was in turmoil.

Since January, there have been rumors in St. Petersburg that food is about to run out, causing residents to panic buy.

Protopopov asked the commander of the St. Petersburg Military District, Khabarov, to issue a notice asking people not to rush to buy food, saying that the grain reserves in St. Petersburg were sufficient for the people of St. Petersburg to eat.

But the problem is that Protopopov did not increase the market supply and allowed a food shortage to occur in the market.

As early as March 3, workers at the Putilov factory began to strike.

On March 3, the crowds of people walking around began to get out of control and clashed with the police who were there to maintain order.

The cavalry and dragoons began to move out to assist the police in maintaining order.

Khabarov continued to issue announcements telling people that there was enough food in St. Petersburg, but the food in the stores was sold out.

The escort cavalry and dragoons at this time were very different from the Guards before the outbreak of the World War. They were all new recruits who had just entered the army and were easily influenced by the outside world.

Khabarov and Protopopov reported the situation in St. Petersburg to the Chief of the General Staff Alexeev and the Chief of the Palace Guard Voyeikov respectively.

Alexeev reported to Nikolai and demanded that more severe measures be taken immediately.

Nikolai was inspecting the front line that day, and it was already one o'clock in the morning when he returned to his residence. When Voyeikov presented Alexeev's telegram to Nikolai, Nikolai said: I am tired, no matter what happens, let's talk about it tomorrow.

On March 3, about 10 people took to the streets, Neva Avenue was packed, traffic from the Kazan Cathedral to the Admiralty was completely blocked, and the Tauride Palace where the State Duma was located was also surrounded by angry crowds.

Both the Duma and the Council of Ministers held emergency meetings, and the Council of Ministers was split. Some ministers, led by Protopopov, demanded to follow Stolypin's example and dissolve the Duma, while another group of ministers hoped to negotiate with the Duma and have the Duma come forward to appease the people.

Nicholas did not get up until 9:11 in the morning, arrived at the headquarters at 12 o'clock, and drank tea with the Minister of Court Affairs Frigelikos until o'clock.

At 1 p.m., Nikolai had lunch, then went for a motorcycle ride, took a walk in the forest and picked mushrooms, had tea at 5 p.m. and had dinner at 7 p.m.

After dinner, Voyeikov finally found an opportunity to present Alexeev's letter to Nikolai.

Nikolai called Khabarov back: At this difficult time of war, there should be no chaos in the capital. You have until tomorrow to quell all the chaos.

At 11 o'clock that night, Nikolai's personal physician, Professor Fedorov, came to the base camp and wanted to tell Nikolai what had happened in St. Petersburg.

Nicholas had gone to bed, and a general of the chamberlain was nailing picture frames to the stairs.

When Professor Fedorov stated his purpose, the aide-de-camp general disagreed and thought that Professor Fedorov suffered from "revolutionary phobia."

Nikolai's telegram did not reach Khabarov until 9 o'clock in the evening.

Khabarov was filled with frustration and complained to his adjutant: If the people say "we want bread", then give them bread; but now they demand the overthrow of the Tsarist rule, how can I meet their demands?
Khabarov ordered his troops to disperse the crowd decisively if there were still people gathering tomorrow.

The scope of "decisiveness" includes firing. At 10 o'clock that night, three red flares were launched from St. Petersburg, signaling a state of emergency.

The 11th was Sunday, and perhaps after walking in the previous few days, people were tired. St. Petersburg was magically exceptionally quiet that day.

Nicholas received a telegram from Alex in the evening and was very satisfied with the situation in St. Petersburg.

"Look, the situation isn't that dire."

Nikolai took his routine walk after dinner and decided to return to St. Petersburg in a week.

On the night of the 11th, the Pavlov Regiment of the Guards revolted. Although the revolt was suppressed two hours later, Khabarov stayed awake all night and fell into a deep sleep at four in the morning.

On the 12th, the situation continued to deteriorate and more than 50 people took to the streets.

The Volynsky, Lithuanian, and Preobrazhensky Regiments of the Guards all refused to carry out the order to suppress the rebellion.

The Cossacks who barely reached the gathering site also refused to shoot at the crowd.

The people shouted "Long live the Cossacks", and many Cossacks immediately joined the walking crowd.

Prisons caught fire and political prisoners were released.

At noon on the 12th, the "Provisional Executive Committee" was established in the Tauride Palace, where the State Duma is located, and Chheidze was elected as the head of the committee.

On the afternoon of the 12th, Rodzianko called Nicholas and said that the situation had worsened and immediate measures must be taken. Now was the last chance to decide the fate of the empire.

Only then did Nicholas realize the seriousness of the matter. He urgently appointed General Ivanov to lead the Georgiev Regiment with artillery back to St. Petersburg to stabilize the situation.

Sadly, soon after George's regiment left its base camp, more than half of the soldiers deserted.

Ivanov ordered his troops to open fire, but was ignored by all officers and soldiers.

The speed at which the situation deteriorated was dizzying.

At noon on the 12th, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich found the St. Petersburg city defense commander Khabarov and asked Khabarov to immediately arrest Interior Minister Protopopov.

At this time, Protopopov and all members of the Council of Ministers were trapped in the Marion Palace. When Khabarov presented the arrest warrant, Protopopov did not resist: Alas, what can I do? I have to obey. Now I am just waiting to be shot.

At 6 o'clock in the evening, the Chairman of the Council of Ministers Goritsyn called Nicholas and announced that the government was no longer able to cope with the situation and suggested that the government be dissolved immediately and that a responsible government be established by a reputable person.

As to who the prestigious person was, Goritsyn did not say.

That day Alex sent three telegrams to Nicholas, asking him to return to St. Petersburg immediately to take charge of the situation.

At 7 o'clock in the evening, Nicholas held a meeting at the base camp to arrange work.

After the meeting, Nicholas sent a telegram to Goritsyn, asking him to form a cabinet and saying that Ivanov would cooperate with Goritsyn's work.

At this time, Nicholas did not know that Ivanov himself had been killed by the angry soldiers.

At 11 o'clock in the evening, Nikolai took a train from the base camp back to St. Petersburg.

150 versts from St. Petersburg, Nicholas learned that the station ahead had been occupied by the rebels, so he turned to another railway.

But this railway was also occupied by the rebels.

Nicholas had no choice but to go to Pskov, the headquarters of the Northern Army Group.

At this time, Ruzynski was appointed commander-in-chief of the Northern Army Group.

On March 3 (March 14 in the Russian calendar), Nicholas' special train arrived in Pskov.

On this day, Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, the Deputy Minister of the Navy, who was highly regarded by Nicholas, came to the Tauride Palace and announced that he and the Royal Marines he led would swear allegiance to the Provisional Government and accept its command.

Kirill carried with him a declaration signed by three grand dukes: Kirill, Nicholas's younger brother Mikhail, and Nicholas's uncle Paul.

This decision was of great significance. When the news came out, the Guards' remaining morale completely collapsed.

At 11 o'clock in the evening, Nicholas received a telegram from Alexeev, in which Alexeev demanded the establishment of a responsible cabinet.

Nicolae agreed to transfer most powers to a responsible cabinet, but demanded that the power to appoint the defense and foreign ministers be retained.

Alexeev did not send Nikolay a telegram.

That night, the telegraph room in Pskov was awake all night. Almost all the Grand Dukes and ministers of St. Petersburg, including the little Nicholas who was far away in the Caucasus, sent telegrams to Nicholas, asking him to abdicate immediately.

Ruzynski handed Nicholas a large stack of telegrams, hoping that Nicholas would abdicate immediately.

Flederikos and Voyeikov were going mad, with Voyeikov shouting that Ruzynskiy should be arrested.

Nicholas took a deep puff of his cigarette, was silent for a while, stood up and made the sign of the cross on his chest: I accept the resolution and pass the throne to Alexei.

(End of this chapter)