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Began July political crisis which resulted in the end of “dual power”
3 (16) July 1917, in Petrograd began spontaneous anti-government demonstrations of soldiers, workers and sailors that resulted in the July political crisis, which led to the completion of the period of "dual power" and the transition of power in the hands of the Provisional Government.
These were the events of the end June - the early July 1917 that gave rise to the protest actions. The failure of the June offensive of the Russian army on the South-the Western front caused mostly by demoralization of troops in the situation of revolution, ended with disbandment of the revolutionary military units, which led to criticism of the Provisional Government by the leftist forces. 2 (15) July 1917 the members of the Constitutional Democratic Party (Cadets) seceded from the Government, threatening the representatives of the party of socialists-Revolutionaries and of the Russian Social-Democratic Labour Party (the RSDLP) to break the governmental coalition. The supporters of anarchy took advantage of the governmental crisis agitating to act against the authorities. On the following day, at the call of the soldiers of the 1-st machine-gun regiment in Petrograd began spontaneous anti-government demonstrations in which took part soldiers of a number of the garrison units of the city and workers from the factories of the capital.
Party of the Bolsheviks (the RSDLP (b)), which had a great influence on the soldiers and workers of Petrograd, considered the action premature, however it could not hold back onslaught of the masses and on the night of 4 (17) of July decided to head them in order to make the movement maximally peaceful. The same day the demonstrators were joined by a detachment of sailors of the Baltic Fleet and soldiers under the guidance of F. F. Raskolnikov who arrived from Kronstadt. The demonstration was held under the slogan "All power to the Soviets!». The number of demonstrators by different estimations reached 400-500 thousand people, of which 40-60 thousand were soldiers.
All-Russian Central Executive Committee (CEC), which prohibited the demonstration, declared it a "Bolshevik plot", rejected the demands of the demonstrators, and on the night of 5 (18) July resolved that "all power" should remain in the hands of the Provisional Government. In several areas of the capital the demonstrators were fired from windows and roofs of buildings, and government supporters began the counter-demonstration.
To restore order the Provisional Government led troops from the front to Petrograd, a total of 15-16 thousand servicemen, and by the evening of 5 (18) July, the troops loyal to the government took control of the center of the city, destroyed printing and editorial office of the Bolshevik newspaper "Pravda". At the same time the Central Committee of the RSDLP (b) issued an appeal calling for the termination of the demonstration. The next day the sailors of the Baltic Fleet, who had taken refuge in the Peter and Paul Fortress, were forced to surrender their arms and go to Kronstadt, and the Bolsheviks - to leave the mansion of M. F. Kshesinskaya occupied by them after the February Revolution of 1917, and turned into the headquarters of the party.
The SR-Menshevik Soviets gave all power in the hands of the Provisional Government, which organized the Special Committee of inquiry to determine all the circumstances of the mass July demonstrations, especially in the light of the fact that due to the events in Petrograd anti-government demonstrations were held in Moscow, Ivanovo-Voznesensk, Orekhovo-Zuyevo, Novgorod, Krasnoyarsk, Tomsk, and other cities of Russia.
The troops that in full force participated in the demonstration, were disarmed and disbanded, and their personnel sent to the front. On charges of organizing and directing an armed action against the government were arrested many Bolsheviks - the direct participants in the events of July. According to the preliminary investigation results 13 people, including G. E. Zinoviev, V. I. Lenin, A. V. Lunacharsky, A. M. Kollontai, F. F. Raskolnikov, L. D. Trotsky, were accused of entering into an agreement with the agents of Germany in order to disrupt the army and the home front, of receiving funds from abroad for propaganda among the population and forces the idea of “refusal to fight the enemy" and of organizing an armed revolt against the sovereign power. Those arrested pleaded not guilty, and the charge against the Bolsheviks in the organization of the demonstration was denied by witnesses engaged into the investigation. Further investigation into the cause of the July demonstrations in Petrograd was interrupted the October Revolution of 1917.
Lit.: 3-го — 5-го июля 1917 г. По неизданным материалам судебного следствия и архива Петроградского комитета РКП. Пг., 1922; Июльские дни в Петрограде // Красный архив. 1927. № 4; Калягин А. В. Росия: год 1917-й [Электронный ресурс] : (Лекции и материалы к теме). 2006. Тема: Июльский кризис 1917 года: причины, характер, последствия. URL: http://media.samsu.ru/editions/history/uchebnie/russia_1917/RUS_1917.html; Революционное движение в России в июле 1917 г. М., 1959; Рабинович А. Кровавые дни: Июльское восстание 1917 г. в Петрограде. М., 1992; Революционное движение в России в июле 1917 г. Июльский кризис. М., 1959; Токарев Ю. С. Июльские дни 1917 // Большая советская энциклопедия. Т. 11. М., 1973.
Based on the Presidential Library’s materials: