April Crisis

The April Crisis, which occurred in Russia throughout April 1917, broke out in response to a series of political and public controversies. Conflict over Russia's foreign policy goals tested the dual power arrangement between the Petrograd Soviet and the Russian Provisional Government. The Executive Committee and the full Soviet endorsed Nikolai Sukhanov's "An Appeal to All the Peoples of the World", which renounced war and "acquisitionist ambitions." This appeal conflicted with the Provisional Government's position on annexations, and Foreign Minister Pavel Milyukov responded with the Milyukov note on 18 April declaring Russia's right to Constantinople and the Dardanelles. Newspapers printed Milyukov's note on 20 April. Milyukov's note united disparate groups of Russians against the Provisional Government and Russian involvement in World War I. The public responded with mass demonstrations and violence in the streets of Petrograd, forcing Milyukov and War Minister Alexander Guchkov to resign. These events blurred the distinction between Dual Power, resulted in more governmental Soviet positions, and isolated the Bolsheviks as the only major Socialist party not affiliated with the Provisional Government.

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