Miliukov note

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The Miliukov Note is a document signed by the Russian government on April 18, Jul. / May 1, 1917 greg. Fears of the Western allies were countered that Russia would strive for a separate peace with Germany during the First World War . It was named after Pavel Nikolayevich Milyukov , who held the office of Minister for Foreign Affairs from March to May 1917.

Political background

After the February Revolution of 1917, the so-called “ dual power ” had established itself in Petersburg . On the one hand there was the bourgeois " Provisional Government ", on the other hand the Petrograd Soviet of Workers 'and Soldiers' Deputies . The latter sought an immediate end to the war with Germany, while the “Provisional Government”, despite the hunger and war weariness of the population, stuck to its continuation, as the West demanded. In this difficult constellation, Pavel Nikolayevich Miliukov, Russian Foreign Minister since March 1917, endeavored to gain international recognition for Russia and to maintain the guarantee of Russian control of Constantinople and the Turkish Straits of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles granted by England and France in the spring of 1915 . The prerequisite for this was the assurance that Russia would participate in the Allied conception of the “Siegfrieds” and not agree with Germany on a separate peace based on the formula “ Peace without annexations and contributions ”. With his stubborn foreign policy, whose goals included the annexation of Eastern Galicia and the Russian protectorate over Armenia, in addition to those already mentioned , Milyukov came increasingly into conflict with his more liberal cabinet colleagues, including Alexander Kerensky . The resulting dispute was finally settled by Prime Minister Prince Georgi Lwow , who expressed confidence in Miliukov, but took him more into discipline.

History of the Miliukov note

The starting point for the Miliukov Note was a declaration of March 27th July. / April 9, 1917 greg. , in which the Provisional Government and the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet agreed on a common foreign policy program on the question of war. The declaration initially only served as a domestic political instrument to make the grumbling population understand the fundamental decision against a separate peace. Under pressure from the Social Revolutionaries and Kerenskis, Milyukov was forced against his will to pass the declaration on to the allies in a note. Under the pressure of internal and external circumstances, Milyukov judged Jul. / May 1, 1917 greg. a circular telegram to the diplomatic representatives of Russia with the instruction to the Western governments the text of the declaration of March 27th July. / April 9, 1917 greg. forward. The delay in forwarding may also be the reason that some sources put the note on April 20th jul. / May 3, 1917 greg. is dated. The key messages of the note were the rejection of a separate peace and the affirmation that Russia would fulfill its obligations and work towards a victory peace in alliance with the allies.

consequences

The population in Petrograd reacts to the renewed proclamation of the "Siegfrieden" with demonstrations and strikes and demands a "peace without annexations and contributions". The resulting domestic political crisis, which led to the resignation of War Minister Alexander Gutschkow on April 29th . / May 12, 1917 greg. and finally on May 2nd jul. / May 15, 1917 greg. Led by Foreign Minister Miliukov, went down in the annals as the April crisis .

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