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April Crisis

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Appeal to All the Peoples of the World
The Petrograd Soviet issued this appeal on 1 March 1917 to renounce the war aims of the old government, namely, annexation and expansion. This provisional government into making similar statements.

Declaration of War Aims
The Petrograd Soviet pressured the Provisional Government to speak against the aims of the old, tsarist regime in the war. On 14 March 1917, the Provisional Government declared that Russia's goal was not to conquer people or territories, rather it was stable peace.

April Theses
On 3 April 1917 (16 April N.S.), Bolshevik leader, Vladimir Lenin arrived in Petrograd by way of a sealed train from Switzerland. At the Finland Station, he made statements against both the Appeal to All the Peoples of the World and the Declaration of War Aims and instead demanded "all power to the soviets." He rejected the idea of any sort of cooperation with the bourgeois government or the Mensheviks and called for withdrawal of Russia's troops from the war. Lenin's views on these issues were published in the Bolshevik newspaper, Pravda, on 7 April in what is known as his April Theses.

Leaking of Diplomatic Note
Foreign minister, Paul Miliukov, sent a note to the Allies that said that Russia was determined to fight until the end of World War I and victory. The note also explained that they would readily enforce the usual "guarantees and sanctions" that came with such a victory. This statement implied that this included, as previously agreed upon by the Allies in 1915, the Russian control of the Dardanelle Straits and Constantinople.

Mass Demonstrations
After the note was leaked, protests were held on the streets of Petrograd and Moscow against "Miliukov-Dardanelskii," the "capitalist ministers," and the "imperialist war."

Reshuffling of Government
In response to the unrest, Miliukov and the War Minister, Alexandr Guchkov, both resigned. The cabinet was subsequently reorganized so as to include Soviets. For example, Victor Chernov, a leader of the Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) was now Minister of Agriculture and Irakli Tsereteli, a Menshevik, was in charge of Posts and Telegraphs. The far-left leaning Bolsheviks, however, refused to participate in what they viewed as the "bourgeois" coalition government. This left Lenin and the Bolsheviks as the only group that held fast to their anti-war policy due the collaboration and compromise needed for the other left-leaning political groups to work with the coalition government.

Increase in Bolshevik Popularity
The Bolsheviks were the only political party left that remained unwavering in their stance against Russia's involvement in the war. Lenin believed that the "international, imperialist war," would be better turned into a series of revolutionary wars within the warring nations. The strict stance of the Bolshevik Party against the war led to an increase in the party's popularity.