On November 14, 1916, MP Pavel Milyukov delivered his famous anti-government speech in the State Duma:` `Stupidity or betrayal? & # 39; & # 39 ;, where he accused Nikolai & nbsp; of betraying; II & nbsp; & nbsp; and his wife Alexandra Fedorovna.
At the same time, he pointed out the foreign press, including German ones, as sources. The press of the country with which Russia at that time had already been at war for two years. If we consider Milyukov's actions in today's realities, then the deputy behaved, & nbsp; like a classic foreign agent & ndash; from the top of a rostrum, he shared some rumors that have destabilized the situation inside the belligerent country.
I went to Europe to collect rumors & nbsp;
Shortly before the speech in the Duma & ndash; in & nbsp; & nbsp; July-September 1916 & ndash; Milyukov & nbsp; & nbsp; went to Europe. If we continue the analogy of a foreign agent, then Milyukov traveled to Europe to meet with the conservatives. He himself explained, & nbsp; that the purpose of his trip was to collect information about the Russian government's attempts to strike a separate peace with Germany. Apparently, Milyukov managed to find materials & nbsp; & nbsp; testifying to the demarches of Prime Minister Stürmer in this direction. But these facts haven't been presented anywhere. In his speech, at most, he referred to publications in the Western press.
Milyukov's outrageous speech played into the hands of the people who spread absurd gossip. For example, in the & nbsp; royal palace, there is a secret radiotelegraph station, which transmits secret information to & nbsp; Germany. After the February Revolution, attempts were even made to find this telegraph station. Naturally, & nbsp; they came to nothing. In general, no evidence was found that could cast a shadow over Alexandra Fedorovna and Nicholas & nbsp; II.
& nbsp; In fact, the Empress & nbsp; and & nbsp; his two & nbsp; eldest daughters immediately after the outbreak of the war attended her & shy; military ter of mercy to attend hospital during operations of wounded soldiers. The royal family provided their palaces for the needs of the wounded. It was true. But this truth did not interest Mr. Milyukov – & nbsp; the leader of the early 20th century Russian Democrats, the leader of the Cadet Party, the deputy of the 3rd and 4th State Duma.
By martial law
Milyukov was driven by political ambitions. The desire to remove the legitimate head of state from the political arena. The politician understood that it would be unrealistic to get rid of Nicholas & nbsp; II after he & nbsp; won the war, and everything was going on. Therefore, we must act immediately. And all means are good for seizing power. If you superimpose this situation from World War I to the & nbsp; & nbsp; WWII you can imagine the following picture. A certain prominent Soviet politician in the fall of 1941 publicly accuses Stalin of being, according to them, the culprit of the defeats of the Red Army, only because of his inane actions & nbsp ; & nbsp; the enemy is near Moscow, 3 million Red Army soldiers have died and been taken prisoner, the army does not have enough weapons. What do you think would have happened to this politician in 1941? He was reportedly charged with treason and most likely shot.
Nothing like this happened to Milyukov. But with Russia, which he made a bargaining chip in his political game, there were terrible shocks. What did MP Milyukov achieve for himself personally?
How Milyukov himself became an enemy of the people
In the first composition of the provisional government, Miliukov received the portfolio of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The politician expected this & ndash; the start of the climb, but it turned out a steep descent awaited it. It only took two months for Milyukov, one of the creators of February 1917, to become an enemy of the people to those he cared about for the good. Already in April 1917, in the streets of Petrograd & nbsp; during the riots organized by the Bolsheviks, slogans were shouted: “ Milyukov to leave! '' and Down with the Provisional Government. It was the end of Milyukov's political career in Russia, free from autocracy.
The outrageous speech, based on rumors from the foreign press, remained his most defining act in history. Historic scrapping of Russia & ndash; the October coup, the civil war, which he promoted, unfolded without Milyukov. He took refuge safely in France, where he died in 1943.
“History will curse us who caused the storm”
After the October Revolution, the so-called “letter of repentance” was discovered. Milyukov. & Nbsp; & nbsp; In it, he admits his guilt for what he did, realizing that “ history will curse us, which caused the storm. & # 39; & # 39; Admits he rocked the boat on purpose while the country was at war. Milyukov himself insisted that this was a fake. Nevertheless, this document was put into circulation in Soviet historiography. A letter of repentance Milyukov in the USSR has been published several times, notably in the book & nbsp; V. & nbsp; S. & nbsp; & nbsp; Dyakin & nbsp; & nbsp; & laquo; Russian & nbsp; bourgeoisie and & nbsp; tsarism & nbsp; in & nbsp; 19 & nbsp; 19 & nbsp; the first war & nbsp; … L., 1967, and in the book & nbsp; V. L. Kuvshinova & # 39; The Bolshevik Party & # 39; s Exposure of Ideology & nbsp; & nbsp; and cadet tactics & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; (February & mdash; October 1917) Moscow University Publishing House 1982.
The original document titled & nbsp; & nbsp; “ Extract from a letter from the leader of the Cadet party, & nbsp; former minister of the first provisional government PN Milyukov & nbsp; former member of the Council of Monarchist Congresses IV Revenko & nbsp; (end of December 1917 & mdash; beginning of January 1918) & raquo; & nbsp; is stored in the archives of the FSB. The author writes: & nbsp; “ You know that the firm decision to use war to produce a coup was made by us shortly after the outbreak of this war. Note also that we could not wait any longer, as we knew that at the end of April or the beginning of May our army had to go on the offensive, the results of which would immediately completely stop all traces of discontent and provoke an explosion of patriotism and jubilation in the country … History will curse our leaders, the so-called proletarians, but it will also curse us, we who caused the storm. What to do now, ask yourself … I don't know. That is to say, inside we both know that the salvation of Russia is in the return to the monarchy, we know that all the events of the past two months have made it clear proved that the people were not capable of accepting freedom, that the mass of the population, not participating in rallies and congresses, is monarchical, that very many militants for the republic do so out of fear. & # 39; & # 39;
“ Conscious betrayal played a role & # 39; & # 39;
The author talks about the policy of the Bolsheviks in the following way: & nbsp; “ It goes without saying that the leaders of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies are leading us to economic and financial defeat and collapse quite deliberately. The scandalous pose of the question of a world without annexations and indemnities, in addition to its utter senselessness, has already fundamentally spoiled our relations with our allies and undermined our credit. Of course, this was no surprise to the inventors.
I won't explain to you why they needed all of this, I will briefly say that part of the willful betrayal played a part here, part of the urge to fish in troubled waters, part of the passion for popularity. But, of course, we have to admit that the moral responsibility for what happened lies with us, that is, the party bloc in the State Duma. What to do now, ask yourself … I don't know. That is to say, inside we both know that Russia's salvation is in the return to monarchy, we know that all the events of the past two months have clearly proved that the people were not able to accept freedom, that the mass of the population, not participating in rallies and congresses, is monarchical, that many agitators of the republic do so out of fear . & nbsp; But & nbsp; We just can't admit it. Recognition is the collapse of all of our life's work, the collapse of the whole worldview that we represent. We cannot admit, we cannot oppose, we cannot unite with these rights, submit to these rights with which they fought for so long and with such success. Of course, this letter is strictly confidential. You can only show it to members of the circle you know. & # 39; & # 39;
Milyukov himself did not confirm the authenticity of this letter until the end of his days. Which is not surprising. & Nbsp; Recognize it & nbsp; reliable would amount to an act of & nbsp; self-exposure. & Nbsp; Therefore, Milyukov & nbsp; continued to look good on a bad game. In addition, in Paris, he had every opportunity for that.
