Chapter 569: Chapter 442: Earthquake in Russia Nation_3
Starting from the end of October, political parties led by the Workers\' Alliance began to distribute a portion of grain to those workers who could not afford food. The requirement was that these workers had to sign a declaration against the Russian Government.
Under normal circumstances, even if enduring hunger, most workers would not sign such a declaration.
If caught by the government, the signatories would bring about a catastrophe not only for themselves but also for their whole family and loved ones.
But now, things are different. If there is no more food aid, these workers and their families will starve to death.
It\'s a choice between starving to death now or possibly being discovered by the government in the future, and most intelligent people know what to choose.
Under the instigation of these political parties, tens of thousands of workers signed the declaration against the government, and they had no choice but to stand with these parties.
As time moved into early November 1916, Nicholas II successfully completed his large-scale purge, and Saint Petersburg regained its previous order.
The seizure of a massive amount of capitalist wealth provided Nicholas II and the Tsarist Government with large amounts of funds and supplies. Nicholas II generously distributed a small portion of the supplies to the people of Saint Petersburg.
If carried out immediately after the purge, this act might have won some public sentiment. But unfortunately, it\'s too late now. Apart from the workers who signed the declaration against the government and were coerced by the parties, it was impossible to return to their previous calm lives.
A crisis even more chaotic than the previous large demonstrations is about to erupt, and Nicholas II, who is currently complacent, has no idea.
The failure of the previous demonstrations made the reactionary forces clearly aware that mere moderate demonstrations would not change government policy.
Faced with dissatisfaction over Nicholas II\'s recent purge, after careful consideration, the Bolshevik Party and other political parties decided to launch an armed uprising to forcefully overthrow this savage and brutal government.
On November 7, 1916, thousands of workers forcibly occupied the armory in Saint Petersburg, seizing a large amount of guns and ammunition from the armory.
Because the purge had just ended, Nicholas II and the Russian upper echelons were very satisfied with the results of the purge, and they had long relaxed their vigilance over the order in Saint Petersburg.
This led to only a few dozen soldiers guarding the armory in Saint Petersburg, and there was no patrol system in place.
After the armory was occupied, a large number of weapons were distributed to the workers. At the same time, a small portion of the Saint Petersburg garrison who was sympathetic to the Workers\' Party also defected to the side of the rebellious workers and joined the armed uprising.
The combination of soldiers and workers totalled tens of thousands, they marched mightily toward the Winter Palace and various government departments, attracting a large crowd of spectators.
With the Tsarist Government completely unprepared, the rebel forces quickly occupied the Winter Palace and various government departments, arresting numerous high-ranking Russian officials and generals.
Lucky for Nicholas II, he was residing in his Travel Manor outside Saint Petersburg at that time and not in the Winter Palace, else he would have been arrested.
But the rebel forces that occupied the Winter Palace and the government departments effectively controlled the vast majority of Saint Petersburg.
The capture of the capital was a severe blow to both Nicholas II and Russia. If not handled properly, such rebellions could break out anywhere in Russia.
Nicholas II urgently called back the troops that had just withdrawn from Saint Petersburg on the one hand, and asked Britain, France, and Australasia for help on the other hand.
When Arthur received the news of the rebellion in Russia, it was already November 8th.
The news of internal conflict in Russia was not good news for the Allies, it almost certainly meant that Russia was going to withdraw from the war.
No matter who eventually gained power from the civil unrest, those in power in Russia would have no strength left to continue the war.
If Russia was no longer a distraction, the Germans, now fighting a single front, would be no weaker than the British and French forces, and they might even have the ability to help the already precarious Austro-Hungarian Empire.
In order to ensure as much stability as possible inside Russia, as well as to weaken the power of the future Soviet Union, Arthur made a quick decision, ordering the intelligence personnel in Russia to save the family of Nicholas II if possible, or at least rescue the direct heir to the throne such as Crown Prince Alexei, to ensure the continued existence of the Russian monarchy.
The Russian Empire ruled by the Romanov Dynasty was an ally of Australasia, but the rebel-controlled Russian government had no relationship with Australasia.
Nations formed by these political parties could easily influence the Russian people in Australasia and would also cause the Allies and Australasia to lose a major ally.
According to the trend of Russia\'s history after the rebellion, Russia and the United States together destroyed the colonial system that Britain and France had maintained for over a hundred years, dethroning these two top Powers.
For a large country like Australasia, with a considerable amount of colonies and territories, the collapse of the colonial system was not good news.
Therefore, weakening the power of this country that has yet to be established has become necessary.
On November 9, 1916, a huge tide of rebellion besieged the manor where Nicholas II resided.
This manor was guarded by thousands of soldiers, enough to ensure the safety of Nicholas II under normal circumstances.
But now, facing tens of thousands of besieging people, all Nicholas II could hope for was support from his allies and reinforcement from front-line troops.
The thing that worried Nicholas II the most happened. There was a military mutiny inside the manor, and although not successful, it reduced the combat effectiveness of the guards greatly.
After two days of continuous besiege, the manor was finally conquered by the rebels, and Nicholas II and his royal family members were arrested by the rebels with pale faces.
Although the rebellion in Russia was successfully carried out, the current situation in Russia was not as smooth as it appeared on the surface.
The rebel forces in Russia were actually still split into two factions. The more powerful faction was the Workers Alliance formed by the Bolsheviks and other workers\' parties.
This faction advocates the establishment of a completely democratic republic and the removal of the monarchy that has existed in Russia for thousands of years.
As for the other faction, it was dominated by big landlords and capitalists in Russia. The capitalists had been weakened before, so this faction was weaker than the workers\' class.
But the bourgeoisie feared the working class even more than they feared the previous Tsarist government because the workers and the bourgeoisie are naturally oppositional. The bourgeoisie represents exploitation, while the workers started the rebellion in order to resist exploitation.
Out of fear of being punished by the working class in the future, the bourgeoisie opposed the abolition of the monarchy and advocated the establishment of a constitutional monarchy to transfer power to the parliament, where all political parties would compete fairly.
The proposal of the bourgeoisie was soon opposed by the working class. Most of the bourgeoisie were grand nobles and capitalists, and although their power was weak, they had much more capital than the working class.
If they only compete in parliament, as long as the bourgeoisie is willing to splash money, the working class would never be able to compete with the bourgeoisie.
This was tantamount to giving power to the bourgeoisie. It not only violated the original intention of the working class to start the rebellion but also contrary to the desire of some workers\' alliance parties to gain power.