Lenin returns to Petrograd

The Provisional Government removed many legal restrictions inherited from the monarchy and permitted greater use of non-Russian languages. The source date is 3/20/1917 Old Style.

Pravda published an abridged version of Lenin’s arguments that workers should not politically support the Provisional Government. The source date is 3/21/1917 Old Style.

British naval authorities removed Trotsky and other anti-war socialists from their ship and imprisoned them temporarily at Amherst.

The Provisional Government declared that continued participation in the war was defensive, winning qualified acceptance from Soviet leaders. The source date is 3/27/1917 Old Style.

Veteran Marxist Georgi Plekhanov returned to Petrograd but supported continued participation in the war, separating him from anti-war socialists. The source date is 3/31/1917 Old Style.

Lenin called for no support to the Provisional Government, an end to the imperialist war, land to the peasants and all power to the soviets. The source date is 4/4/1917 Old Style.

The Provisional Government enacted protections for public meetings and unions, widening the space for mass political organization. The source date is 4/12/1917 Old Style.

Mass demonstrations marked International Workers’ Day and displayed the political strength of organized workers after the fall of the monarchy. The source date is 4/18/1917 Old Style.

Foreign Minister Pavel Milyukov assured the Allied governments that Russia would pursue the war and its strategic objectives. The source date is 4/18/1917 Old Style.

Publication of the foreign minister’s commitments exposed the contradiction between popular demands for peace and government war policy. The source date is 4/20/1917 Old Style.