The Empress Alexandra Feodorovna is but another instance of a devoted queen who dethroned her consort. She believed in Divine Right and looked with suspicion upon popular leaders. Her one object in life was to hand on the Russian crown to her son, with no atom of its power diminished. She surrounded herself and her husband with scoundrels and charlatans.
On the whole, the feeling among the Allies was one of relief. There was a general distrust of the influences which had been surrounding the Czar. The patriotism of the Grand Duke Michael was well known, and a government conducted by him was sure to be a great improvement. But it was not to be. Before the news of the abdication reached Petrograd a new ministry had been formed by the Duma. Miliukov announced their names and explained their credentials. The Prime Minister was Prince George Lvov. Miliukov was Minister of Foreign Affairs, Guchkov Minister of War and Marine, Kerensky, a new name in the government, Minister of Justice. The ministry included representatives of every party of the left and center.
Miliukov declared that their credentials came from the Russian revolution: "We shall not fight for the sake of power. To be in power is not a reward or pleasure but a sacrifice. As soon as we are told that the sacrifice is no longer needed, we shall give up our places with gratitude for the opportunity which has been accorded us."
He concluded by informing his hearers that the despot who had brought
Russia to the brink of ruin would either abdicate of his free will, or
be deposed. He added that the Grand Duke Michael would be appointed
Regent.
This announcement at once produced an explosion. A ministry of moderates and a continuance of the Imperial government under a regency stirred the delegates of the workmen and soldiers to revolt. For a time it seemed as if the new government would disappear in the horrors of mob rule. But Kerensky saved the situation. Making his way into the meeting of the Soviet he burst into an impassioned speech.
"Comrades!" he cried, "I have been appointed Minister of Justice. No one is a more ardent Republican than I, but we must bide our time. Nothing can come to its full growth at once. We shall have our Republic but we must first win the war. The need of the moment is organization and discipline and that need will not wait."
His eloquence carried the day. The Soviet passed a resolution supporting the provisional government with only fifteen dissenting votes. But it had been made clear that the people did not approve of the regency, and on the night of the 15th of March, Prince Lvov, Kerensky and other leaders of the Duma sought out the Grand Duke Michael and informed him of the situation. The Grand Duke yielded to the people, and on Friday, March the 16th, issued a declaration which ended the power of the Romanovs in Russia:
I am firmly resolved to accept the supreme power only if this should be the desire of our great people, who must, by means of a plebiscite through their representatives in the Constituent Assembly, establish the form of government and the new fundamental laws of the Russian state. Invoking God's blessing, I, therefore, request all citizens of Russia to obey the provisional government, set up on the initiative of the Duma, and invested with plenary powers, until within as short a time as possible the Constituent Assembly elected on a basis of equal, universal and secret suffrage, shall enforce the will of the nation regarding the future form of the constitution.
With this declaration the sacred monarchy had disappeared. In one week the people had come to their own and Russia was free. But what form of new government was to replace the old regime was still the question. There were two rival theories as to the principles to be followed, one that of the Moderates, the other of the Extremists. The Moderates, who controlled the provisional government were practical men. They realized that Russia was at war and that efficient administration was the great need.
The Extremists of the Soviet were a different type of men. They were profoundly ignorant of all practical questions of government; their creed was socialism. The Socialistic party in Russia may be divided into three different groups. The first, the Social Revolutionary party, came into prominence in Russia about 1900. It was composed of followers of the Russian Lavrov who believed in the socialist state, but a state which should not be a tyrant overriding the individual. Liberty was his watchword and he made his appeal not only to the workmen in the shops but with a special force to the peasant. He did not preach class war in the ordinary sense, and believed in the value of national life. To this party belonged Kerensky, more and more becoming the leader of the revolutionary movement.