By the end of the spring of 1918, it became finally clear that the defenders of the Constituent Assembly were ready to unleash a civil war in Russia. Even taking into account the fact that the Bolsheviks, in alliance with the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries and anarchists, dispersed the Constituent Assembly illegally, its complete failure as the highest authority in Russia became the logical finale of the domestic liberal experiment. But it began very brightly, when, in addition to the Soviets, there were various kinds of democratic conferences, numerous committees and even a pre-parliament.
By the fall of 1917, Russia had fallen to the left so much that the October coup almost throughout the country was taken almost for granted. Subsequently, this made it possible even to single out entire paragraphs in history textbooks for the "victorious march of Soviet power". At the same time, even before the coup, and even in cooperation with the leaders of the Soviets, the Provisional Government did not manage to prepare real ground for elections to the Constituent Assembly, from which, it seems, much more was expected of what it was really capable of.
After the Leninists came to power, the process of preparing for the elections was by no means left to chance, and it was the Bolsheviks who finally actually gave him the green light, knowing full well that they could hardly count on victory in a tough confrontation with the Socialist-Revolutionaries and other left-wing parties … The elections still took place, the meeting was assembled, but nothing of what the country and the people really needed at that time, the "founders" did not even begin to discuss.
The Constituent Assembly … After the fall of the monarchy, it seemed to many that as soon as it was elected, all the horrors and problems caused by the revolution would be left behind. Even the Bolsheviks and Left Socialist-Revolutionaries, who formed the Soviet government of People's Commissars, did not agree to abolish the elections to the Constituent Assembly. But the dispersal of the "constituent assembly" in itself, of course, is completely illegal, only confirmed that the idea of "Russian parliamentarism", unfortunately, exhausted itself much faster than it was born.
The very preparation of the elections to the Constituent Assembly can hardly be called successful, especially in the then Russian upper echelons. It must be admitted that political parties, including the Bolsheviks, and even after the October coup, were very active in this regard. But the actions of the executive branch, the notorious Provisional Government, in fact, were limited to the convocation of two large conferences - first the Moscow State, then the Petrograd Democratic. Their representativeness still raises doubts among historians by no means accidentally, moreover, only the second of them made at least some real step towards representative democracy - it was proposed to form the so-called pre-parliament.
Kerensky's cabinet made its first attempt to lay the foundation for the future "Russian parliament" right after the July events. The failed left-wing coup showed that under the pressure of the Soviets, which were rapidly turning into the patrimony of the RSDLP (b) and their fellow travelers, it would be more and more difficult to maintain power every day. In conditions when it would have been simply madness to reassemble the old Duma, the idea of convening a single, albeit deliberative body seemed to be in the air. And the thought almost suggested itself to gather not in left-wing Petrograd, but in a calmer and more conservative Moscow.
It was written more than once that in those days, and not only in two capitals, various kinds of conferences and congresses, party or professional, were held almost daily. However, all of them lacked some kind of unifying principle. Status was also clearly lacking. In this regard, the Provisional Government made a bet on convening a State Conference capable of uniting all who not only support the executive branch, but also really do not want the country to slide to the left. The State Conference was scheduled for August 12-15 at the Bolshoi Theater.
By that time, the right-wing press had already chosen its hero, announcing General L. G. Kornilov, he is not “not yet the savior of the fatherland,” but a man capable of putting things in order. This was done, among other things, at the suggestion of "public figures" who gathered in the capital just a few days before the State Conference - from 8 to 10 August. These "public figures" included several hundred specially invited entrepreneurs and merchants, zemstvo officials and officers, party and trade union functionaries. Among them were such figures as Ryabushinsky and Tretyakov, Konovalov and Vyshnegradsky, a group of cadets led by Pavel Milyukov himself, the highest military ranks - Brusilov, Kaledin, Yudenich and Alekseev, as well as a number of representatives of the army and front-line soldiers' committees loyal to the Provisional Government.
The meeting of "public figures" not only adopted a number of documents indicating positions on the eve of the State Conference, but also enthusiastically accepted the greeting to Kornilov. “May God help you,” the telegram said, “in your great feat of rebuilding the army and saving Russia.” The situation on the eve of the forum at the Bolshoi Theater was tense. There were rumors that Kornilov was ready to oppose the government, and at the same time posters were hung around the city with greetings to the general. For the sake of ensuring the security of the government and the delegates of the conference, the Moscow Soviet, then by no means Bolshevik, promptly formed a Provisional Revolutionary Committee. Representatives of all parties worked in it, including the Bolsheviks Nogin and Muralov.
The hastily conducted selection of 2,500 delegates gave the expected result - the majority among representatives of the commercial and industrial circles, trade unions, zemstvos, army and navy, surprisingly enough, were the cadets and monarchists. The left-wing parties planned to sabotage, but they still did not dare to completely abandon the All-Russian rostrum.
On the eve of the opening of the conference, a general strike was planned, and although the soldiers 'and workers' Soviets of Moscow voted against it, the city received the delegates unfriendly. Trams stopped, there were almost no cabs, restaurants and cafes were closed. Even in the Bolshoi Theater, the buffet did not work, and in the evening Moscow plunged into darkness - even workers of gas enterprises were on strike.
Against this background, statements by many delegates sounded that the government does not ensure the restoration of order and does not guarantee the safety of individuals and property. In fact, the final slogan of the meeting can be called the statement of the Cossack Ataman Kaledin: "The plundering of state power by central and local committees and Soviets should be immediately and sharply set a limit."
The government's action program adopted at the meeting also looked extremely tough: the liquidation of the Soviets, the abolition of public organizations in the army and, of course, the war, to a victorious end. And … practically not a word about the land. If we talk about preparations for the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, then at the State Conference it was actually failed. But the participants in the meeting, apparently without realizing it themselves, planted a time bomb under the Provisional Government. The support that they expressed to Kornilov was perceived by him and all his entourage as almost nationwide. Was this not what prompted the general to a final break with Kerensky and Co.?
Kornilov's arrival in Moscow was expected on August 14. He arrived on the 13th, a noisy meeting was organized for him with an honor guard, an orchestra and loyal Turkmen in red coats. Having traveled, following the example of the kings, to bow to the Iberian Icon, he then spent the whole day at the hotel, meeting with his supporters and the press. The next day, he spoke at the meeting, did not frighten anyone, but did not inspire anyone, received a standing ovation from the right and whistles and shouts from the left.
The meeting ended in nothing. Its main initiator, Kerensky, was especially disappointed, admitting: "It is difficult for me, because I am fighting the Bolsheviks with the Left and the Bolsheviks with the Right, and they demand from me that I rely on one or another … I want to go in the middle, but they do not help me." Kornilov, however, clearly overestimating the "nationwide support", with the departure from Moscow, continued to pull troops to the agitated Petrograd. A few days later, Riga unexpectedly fell, which was immediately accused of those who "worked to break up the army", although modern historians are inclined to a much more terrible version. Riga was surrendered by the high command in order to have an even stronger argument in favor of taking tough measures in its hands.
And then there was the Kornilov revolt, in the suppression of which the role of the RSDLP (b) and the units of the Red Guard created by it cannot be overestimated. After that, Kerensky went on to create another, even more leftist coalition cabinet, as well as the Directory.
The proclamation of Russia as a Republic looked somewhat strange against such a background. But the idea to revive the State Conference in the form of a Democratic Conference, of course, now - with the participation of representatives of the Soviets, looked quite logical in the fall of 1917. To some, she generally seemed to be salutary. It is significant that by the time the Democratic Conference was convened, the Bolsheviks had managed to take control of the Moscow and Petrograd Soviets of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies, and the latter was headed by none other than Leon Trotsky.
The new All-Russian deliberative forum, which lasted for nine days - from September 14 to 22 (according to the old style), 1917 was held in Petrograd. It was very different in composition from the State Conference. Here the rightists, led by the Cadets, could no longer count on not only the majority, but even on relative equality with the Socialist-Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, Trudoviks (at one time Kerensky was among them) and the Bolsheviks. Of the 1582 delegates who were hastily and at times absolutely unthinkable principles elected throughout Russia, exactly one third of them represented the party of socialist-revolutionaries - 532. Add to them 172 Mensheviks, 136 Bolsheviks and 55 Trudoviks to understand why such authorities as Milyukov or the millionaire minister Tereshchenko called the new meeting a "dummy."
However, this did not in the least prevent both of them, as well as several dozen more "rightists" from successfully elected to the Pre-parliament formed at the meeting. This is how, immediately after its formation, they began to call the Council of the Republic - a temporary body designed, first of all, to prepare the elections to the Constituent Assembly. In the meantime, before the elections, how would it be to replace him, at the same time giving more legitimacy to the Provisional Government, under which the chairs were obviously swaying.
The formation of the Pre-parliament is almost the only real achievement of the Democratic Conference. Everything else really looked more like an empty talking shop, since the delegates did not come to a consensus either on the issue of power or on the war, although even the Minister of War from among the "temporary" A. Verkhovsky declared: "Any attempts to continue the war will only bring the catastrophe closer."Even the ultra-right delegates of the Democratic Conference did not recall the not-so-old decisions of the State Conference, where it was proposed to disperse the Soviets and liquidate the army democracy, for fear of being immediately accused of striving for dictatorship.
The Pre-parliament was elected on the basis of a 15 percent representation of political parties and public organizations, which a little later, at the insistence of the Provisional Government, were supplemented by representatives of the so-called census organizations and institutions (zemstvo and trade and industrial associations, trade unions, etc.). As a result, the Council of the Republic, with a total of 555 deputies, included 135 Socialist-Revolutionaries, 92 Mensheviks, 75 Cadets, and 30 People's Socialists. Right SR N. Avksentyev was elected Chairman of the Council.
The Bolsheviks received only 58 seats in the Pre-Parliament, and a few days after the start of its work, they made an unexpected demarche - they declared a boycott. In the conditions when the rapid Bolshevization had already embraced not only Moscow and Petrograd, but also many provincial Soviets, this directly indicated that there was again dual power in the country. And the impossibility of “releasing” any decisions down to their places was rapidly turning the entire activity of the Council of the Republic into nonsense.
The Leninist party, with the tangible support of the left wing of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, was no longer hiding preparing an armed uprising against the Provisional Government, and in the Pre-parliament they abandoned all attempts to put forward their peace conditions for the allies, as well as the enemy. Many, in fact, are engaged in the salvation of their own persons and fortunes. This caused Pavel Milyukov's bitter grin a little later: “The Soviet had two days to live - and those two days were filled with worries not about a representative office abroad worthy of Russia, but about how to somehow cope with the newly flown internal squall that threatened to flood everything.
The October coup led not only to the actual, but also to the legal curtailment of the activities of the Council of the Republic. By the way, he held his regular meeting practically at the same hours when the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets was held in Smolny. And, as Miliukov stated with equal bitterness: “No attempt … to leave an organized body or group of members in order to react to events was made. This is reflected in the general consciousness of the impotence of this ephemeral institution and the impossibility for it, after the resolution adopted the day before, to take any joint action."
The irony of history! The Bolsheviks literally wanted to give legitimacy to that very Second Congress of Soviets. They twice suggested discussing the issue of its convocation not just anywhere, but in the Pre-Parliament. But that was before the boycott. And then there was October 1917, the elections to the Constituent Assembly, the beginning and the deplorable end of its work.
