Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/848

634 General History of Europe astonishing revolution which led to the overthrow of the old Rus- sian despotism and the retirement of Russia from the war. The world conflict had hardly opened in 1914 before it revealed the corruption, the weakness, the inefficiency, indeed, in some cases, the treason, of the Tsar's court and his imperial officials. The millions of Russians who perished in the trenches of the Eastern Front in vain endeavors to advance into Germany and Austria-Hungary or to stem the tide of German invasion were ill supported by their government. The Duma became unman- ageable, and in December, 1916, it passed a resolution declaring that "dark forces" were paralyzing the government and betraying the nation's interests. The Tsar then proceeded to dismiss the liberals from the government and replace them by the most un- popular tyrannical officials he could find. He seemed to be de- claring war on every liberal movement and reverting to the methods of Nicholas I. There was a distressing scarcity of food in the cities and a growing repugnance to the continuance of the war. 1147. The Tsar Overthrown. Bread riots broke out in Petro- grad in March, 1917, but the troops refused to fire on the people, and the Tsar's government found itself helpless. When ordered to adjourn, the Duma defied the Tsar and called for the establishment of a provisional government. The Tsar, hastening back to Petrograd from the front, was stopped by representatives of the new provisional government on March 15, 1917, and in- duced to sign his own and his son's abdication in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Michael. But Michael refused the honor unless it were authorized by a constitutional assembly ; this amounted to an abdication of the Romanoffs, who had ruled Russia for more than three centuries. There was no longer any such thing in the world as "the autocrat of all the Russias." The Tsar's relatives renounced their rights, his high officials were imprisoned in the very fortress of Peter and Paul where they had sent so many revolutionists, and political prisoners in Russia and Siberia received the joyous tidings that they were