A key event in Russia in the year of the last Romanovs was the October Revolution which, coincidentally, was not in October at all according to the dating we use now. It took place 7 November 1917; however, in Old Style dating it took place on 25 October. Thus, it was called the October Revolution as Russia used Old Style during this time.
The October Revolution – also called the Bolshevik Revolution and Red October – took place in Petrograd or St. Petersburg, as it is now known, with an armed insurrection by workers, peasants, and soldiers. The result was a Bolshevik victory with Vladamir Lenin at the helm leading the country a socialist government.
It was on 5 November 1917 (O.S. 23 October 1917) that the Bolsheviks’ Central Committee held a vote in favour of an armed uprising. The following day soldiers loyal to the Russian government attacked a Bolshevik newspaper. Not long after, the government announced the closing of the Bolshevik newspaper, which the socialists denounced. Clashes over bridges then commenced, and the Bolshevik’s took over Petrograd’s communication with the seizing of the Central Telegraph of Petrograd.
On 7 November (O.S. 25 October), the large insurrection began with sailors arriving to announce their support of the revolutionary forces. Most of the military regiments in the city joined the rebels, and Petrograd fell to the Bolsheviks.
Lenin took the victory as a chance to issue a statement to the Russian people announcing that the Provisional Russian Government had fallen.
The Russian Imperial Family was not exempt from the October Revolution as the final assault occurred at the family’s Winter Palace (which was the family’s official residence before the abdication of Nicholas earlier in 1917). A bloodless battle, the guards eventually fled the premises to their barracks. The government inside deliberated on what to do while the Bolsheviks issued an ultimatum. As the night went on, insurgents worked their way into the Winter Palace. By 2:10 am on the 26 October (O.S), the Winter Palace had fallen to the rebels with the government surrendering.
It was said that Tsar Nicholas II followed the rebellion but was not concerned with the possible implications.
Be the first to comment