User:Mcvillez/sandbox

The April Crisis was part of the Russian Revolution and took place in April 1917, and was the first of a series of political crises after the February Revolution, leading to the October Revolution. Conflict over Russia's foreign policy goals tested the "dual power" arrangement between the Petrograd Soviet and the Russian Provisional Government. The Executive Committee and the full Soviet endorsed N.N. Sukhanov's "An Appeal to All the Peoples of the World," which renounced war and "acquisitionist ambitions." This conflicted with the Provisional Government's position on annexations, and Foreign Minister Pavel Milyukov responded with the Milyukov note on 18 April, declaring Russia's right to Constantinople and the Dardanelles. Newspapers printed Milyukov's note on 20 April. Milyukov's note united disparate groups of Russians against the Provisional Government, and against Russian involvement in World War I.

The public responded with mass demonstrations and violence in the streets of Petrograd, forcing Milyukov and War Minister Alexander Guchkov to resign. These events blurred the distinction between the dual powers, and the main socialist rivals were associated with the Provisional Government, united against the Bolsheviks.

Background
After the end of Romanov rule in February 1917, Russia's new Provisional Government, appointed by the Duma, and the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies governed Russia as halves of the dual power. At the time, Russia was embroiled in World War I, but was suffering catastrophic losses to German armies.

February Revolution

On 23 February (8 March NS), the working class women stormed the streets of Petrograd, signifying the official beginning of the February Revolution. On this day, also being the socialist observed holiday of International Women's Day, women were protesting the shortage of food and high prices of bread. The next few days saw both men and women marching to the center of the city. The regular police, the Cossacks, and soldiers from the Volhynian regiment attempted to disseminate the crowd but had little to no success. Four days later, on 27 February (12 March NS), the key military units allied themselves with the crowd and their sentiments. On the next day, those same military units, arrested tsarist ministers. In the span of this time, Tsar Nicholas II had taken a personal command over the army. Hearing about the occurring events in Petrograd, the tsar had made the decision to return to the capital and restore order. However, his generals and a delegation of politicians from the State Duma had persuaded him that only his abdication of the throne can achieve social peace.

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 to the collaboration and compromise needed for the other left-leaning political groups to work with the coalition government.