Kronstadt Naval Base
While the streets of the Capitol had erupted in violence, over 30,000 sailors and soldiers were stationed at nearby Kronstadt.
The sailors at Kronstadt, highly feared troops, were to play a major role in the Revolution. They were literate and well-trained, for at that time the Navy was at the forefront of technology.
Kronstadt was also a dangerous place, for a long time the seat of great frustration. Sailors were sometimes treated indignantly and severely punished for misdemeanors. Failure to salute might result in ten days detention
The ships were cauldrons of indiscipline and tension. As the sailors continued to hear more and more stories about what was going on in the capitol, their frustration began to erupt.
Officers and commanders tried to keep the violence of Petrograd a secret, but with Kronstadt so close to the capitol, this proved itself impossible. With so many contacts to the outside, they knew there were riots in the streets and hunger.
The sailors began asking the authorities what was happening and holding illegal meetings to discuss.
The sailors were receiving rumors and news of the uprising and soon found themselves swept away in the hysteria. The situation spun out of control. Some of the sailors were veterans of failed rebellions in the past, and had no intention to make the same mistakes of the past. They decided to organize a revolution, they must not drink, to control officers or maybe it was better to just kill them.
On March 1, 1917, the sailors elected a new revolutionary committee. The sailors wasted little time to get their hands on the officers who had treated them harsh. Those who were not with the revolutionaries, were killed. At the top of the list was Admiral Viren.
By the following morning the officers of Kronstadt have either been executed by the sailors, or they've been imprisoned and the old authority was destroyed.
Murder of Admiral Viren
With the deepening crisis, Czar Nicolas II is stopped on his journey back from the German front. Revolutionaries closed the line ahead and he is trapped on the imperial train.
The Czar now sits powerless...
References
Russian Revolution in Color (DVD)
The Russian Revolution and Civil War, this bloodsoaked time from the battlefields, testimonies, and colorized archives help unfold the dramatic story of the Communist rise and seizure of power in 1917.
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