Public sentiments of the population in Vologda Governorate on the eve of the February Revolution

The article is devoted to the analysis of public sentiments of the population in Vologda Governorate in the period since the beginning of World War I and until the February Revolution. Reports of gendarmes and police officials to their administration adequately reflect the state of affairs locally and serve as the main source of information. The article shows how the patriotic spirit in the first months of the war began to give way to psychological and physical fatigue due to the hardships of war and disruption of the routine way of economic life. The author notes that the anti-German and, to a lesser degree, the anti-Semitic views that appeared during the war could be dangerous signs of aggravation of the social tension. Rising prices and the ongoing shortage of food and essential goods, together with the inability of the central and the local authorities to solve this problem, pushed the population to self-assembly and struggle. Immediately prior to the February Revolution, many people felt that the Tsarist regime was the reason of all failures and misery. Anti-war statements became widely spread, the Tsar and the government often faced sharp criticism; there were cases of open non-fulfilment of orders issued by the authorities. All the materials in the article acknowledge the naturally-determined character of the February Revolution.

Abstract licence: CC BY

A person counts once a day per paper. We keep no cookie and no address: a reader is a hash that changes every day. Any month under five reads shows no number.