16 July 1917. Alfred Knox

Petrograd, Russian Empire

On the night of Monday, July 16th, the first Bolshevik revolt was launched in Petrograd.

The prime mover was the four depot machine-gun regiment, one of four depot machine-gun regiments formed in the autumn of 1916 to supply trained machine-gunners to regiments of the line. At the outbreak of the Revolution, on March 12th, the regiment numbered 19,000 men. By July 16th it had dwindled to 6,000-7,000, simply owing to desertion, for in the intervening four months it had not supplied a single man to the front. Immediately after the Revolution it had established its headquarters in the People’s Palace, and for weeks had refused to move back to barracks, in spite of the efforts of the workman Godev, who had been specially detailed by M. Guchkov, when Minister of War, to reason with the men.

As in the case of all bad units, the disaffection was led by an ensign—in this case Semashko. This man was arrested early in July as a deserter by order of Kcrenski, but he was liberated soon afterwards by the Guard on the demand of the men. Next day he led the regiment through the main streets of the capital in procession, trailing its machine-guns. The Government did nothing and the citizens trembled.

On Sunday, July 15th, the regiment held a meeting, in which “ the proceedings,” according to the Pravda, “ were remarkable for the exceptional enthusiasm of the ripening revolutionary movement.” The men were addressed by the two Bolsheviks, Trotski(Bronstein), and Lunacliarski, and were finally roused to grim indignation by the description of a soldier just returned from the front of the brutal disbandment of the Grenaderski Regiment of the Guard for having merely refused to obey an order to go to the trenches !

The Depot Battalion of the Grenaderski Regiment, which had corrupted by its drafts one of the finest fighting units of the Russian army, agreed to demonstrate with the machine-gunners.

The Bolsheviks held an all-night sitting at Kshinskaya’s house. Lenin himself was absent and only returned from Finland on the 17th.

On Monday delegates were sent to all the units of the Petrograd garrison, inviting them to join the armed demonstration, but the invitation met in most cases with a flat refusal.

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Vasily Kravkov

Podgaicy, Russian Empire

Near Kalush, which was taken by the 8th Army, our soldiers got drunk as pigs on spirits stored in warehouses. It seems likely that there, too, the troops will end up retreating back to their “initial position”! How is it that the Germans have never thought of rolling out barrels of vodka instead of firing missiles? See more

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Mikhail Prishvin

Khruschevo village, Eletskiy uezd, Solovievskaya volost, Russian Empire

We have propounded the slogan “Peace for the Whole World”, and Ukraine and Finland have grown up right beneath our noses. We didn’t want to fight the Germans, but we are fighting one another. The socialists have tempted the people with unfeasible unions.

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Central Rada of Ukraine

57, Vladimirskaya str., Kiev, Russian Empire

Citizens of the Ukrainian Land!

Representatives of the Provisional Government have informed us of the specific measures which the government proposes to introduce, before the convening of the Constituent Assembly, regarding the administration of Ukraine. The Provisional Government, which stands to serve the freedoms won by the revolutionary people, acknowledges the right of each people to self-determination and, designating the definitive establishment of the form this will take to the Constituent Assembly, it holds out its hand to the representatives of the Ukrainian democracy – the Central Rada – and calls on it to create, in agreement with the government, a new life for Ukraine that will benefit the whole of revolutionary Russia. See more

Petrograd Soviet of Workers and Soldiers Deputies

Tauride Palace, Petrograd, Russian Empire

Due to the crisis worker section considers it necessary to insist that the All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies assumes all power.

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Grigory Zinoviev

We need to dismiss the Interim committee of the State Duma and dissipate private meetings of the State Duma. Measures need to be taken to destroy the den of counter-revolution.

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Vladimir Nabokov

Petrograd, Russian Empire

The mug of the city has changed quickly. Private cars have disappeared, armored cars and trucks started rushing by, filled with armed workers and soldiers. Once in a while, in various locations, fire fights broke out, shots would crackle from different directions. See more

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Nicholas II

Tsarskoye Selo, Russian Empire

It was a warm, windy and cloudy day; but it only rained during dinner. During the morning I walked, and during the day we cut down a large pine tree by the railing. All four children got haircuts, and they look as if they belong in a choir.

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Sergey Prokofiev

Apartment house, 122, Fontanka embankment, Petrograd, Russian Empire

I returned to Petrograd and dined at the Contan, where it is elegant and lively and, despite the food crisis, you can eat quite well. True, the prices are insane, but the value of money gets cheaper every day, so why save it? As we walked through the streets in the evening, we witnessed unexpected events: the streets were noisy, armed soldiers marched, crowds carried posters with "Down with the capitalist ministers," private cars were stopped right before our eyes, owners were asked to get out, and machine guns were installed instead. In a word, as if by magic, the streets were instantly transformed into the first days of the revolution. See more

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Alfred Knox

Petrograd, Russian Empire

About 9 p.m. the 1st Machine-Gun Regiment, with Semashko at its head, the Grenaderski Depot Battalion, and about 1,000 men of the Moskovski Depot Battalion, marched south across the Troitski bridge and past the British Embassy, accompanied by large crowds of armed workmen. See more

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Nikolai Berdyaev

Bol'shoy Vlasyevskiy Lane, 4, Moscow, Russian Empire

There is nothing more horrible than a decaying war, a decaying army, and a multi-million army at that. The decay of the war and the army creates chaos and anarchy. Russia faces this type of chaos and anarchy.

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Alexandre Benois

Petrograd, Russian Empire

They took all the passengers off of the trams passengers and the cars are full of armed soldiers driving around the streets. There are the slogans: "Down with the Provisional Government!" and "Down with the Ten ministers." They tried to compel the Pavlovsky regiment to go against the Provisional Government, but they didn’t. From our windows, however, the street looks quite calm. But as I was sitting alone in my bedroom and skimming last summer’s diary, in the distance, from the Neva side, there was a very strong exchange of machine gun fire. It started 14 minutes before 12 o'clock. And ended exactly at midnight. After this, military music was rang out twice, the second time - before ten o'clock. Later I learned that it was the Finnish regiment. It was terrible to hear these sounds.

Especially nauseating was the loathsome feeling of personal and general hopeless impotence.

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Irakli Tsereteli

Petrograd, Russian Empire

Our responsibility—to protect the unity and integrity of the Russian revolution. He who thinks that he, walking out, armed, into the street, is walking with us—has been misled. We have to say that these types of demonstrations are not walking hand in hand with the revolution, but rather with counter-revolution. See more

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Alexander Kerensky

Petrograd, Russian Empire

When I was leaving the capital, trucks began flashing by on Petrograd streets, full of unknown armed people. Some were driving around the barracks, calling soldiers to join the armed revolt that was expected at any moment. One gang infiltrated the yard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and broke into the first floor, where the office of Duke Lvov was located, which I have just left. See more

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Alexander Blok

Attorney-at-Law, Goldstein, when his car was taken away, showed a permit for business trips, issued by Kerensky. He was told, “Kerensky has long been arrested. You might have as well showed us a permit from Nicholas II.”

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15 July

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