Politics
Category
(420)1917
January
- 16
- Belyaev becomes Russian Minister of WarOn 16 January 1917 the Tsar dismissed War Minister Shuvayev. He was replaced by General Mikhail Belyaev, an efficient bureaucrat trusted by the Tsarina.
- Pokrovsky asks to resignOn 16 January 1917 the Russian foreign minister Nikolai Pokrovsky begged the Tsar to release him and to break with Protopopov. The Tsar told him to stay.
February
March
- 12
- Key eventFebruary RevolutionOn 12 March 1917 the Petrograd garrison joined the strikers. Tsarist rule in the capital collapsed; a Duma Committee and a Soviet arose in the Tauride Palace.
- United States arms its merchant shipsOn 12 March 1917 the State Department informed foreign governments that American ships sailing through the war zone would get guns and crews from the Navy.
- 15
- Key eventAbdication of Nicholas IILate on 15 March 1917 at Pskov Nicholas II gave up the throne for himself and his son in favour of his brother Michael. The next day Michael declined the crown.
- Formation of the Provisional GovernmentOn 15 March 1917 Milyukov announced the Provisional Government, led by Prince Lvov. It arose from an agreement of the Duma Committee and the Petrograd Soviet.
- 20
- Ribot governmentOn 20 March 1917 France had a new government. Alexandre Ribot became premier and foreign minister, and Paul Painlevé, a sceptic of Nivelle's plan, war minister.
- First meeting of the Imperial War CabinetOn 20 March 1917 the Dominion premiers and India's representatives sat in London with the British War Cabinet. The Imperial War Conference began next day.
April
May
June
July
- 06
- Canadian House of Commons passes conscriptionEarly on 6 July 1917 the Canadian House of Commons passed the conscription bill at second reading, 118 votes to 55. Laurier's referendum motion failed.
- Resignation of President Li YuanhongOn 6 July 1917 Vice-President Feng Guozhang assumed the duties of President of China in Nanking from Li Yuanhong, who was hiding in the Japanese legation.
- 19
- Carson leaves the AdmiraltyIn July 1917 Edward Carson moved from the Admiralty to the War Cabinet. The railwayman and organiser Eric Geddes became First Lord of the Admiralty.
- Reichstag peace resolutionOn 19 July 1917 the Reichstag, with Social Democrat, Centre and Progressive votes, called for a peace of understanding without forced annexations.
August
- 21
- Wekerle becomes prime minister of HungaryIn August 1917 Sándor Wekerle, 68, became Hungary's prime minister for the third time. He kept Esterházy's ministers and his promise of electoral reform.
- Ministry of ReconstructionOn 21 August 1917 the King approved the act creating the Ministry of Reconstruction. Christopher Addison was to prepare for the problems peace would bring.
September
- 12
- Painlevé governmentOn 12 September 1917 Paul Painlevé became French Prime Minister and Ribot Foreign Minister. For the first time since 1914 no socialists sat in the government.
- Key eventPatent on the Regency CouncilOn 12 September 1917 Germany and Austria-Hungary issued a patent giving power in the Kingdom of Poland to a three-man Regency Council, under occupiers' control.
- 14
- Collapse of the Kornilov affairOn 13 September 1917 General Krymov shot himself in Petrograd; next day General Alekseyev arrested Kornilov in Mogilev. The revolt collapsed without a fight.
- Russia becomes a republicOn 14 September 1917 the Provisional Government, not waiting for the Constituent Assembly, proclaimed the Russian Republic under a five-man Directory.
October
November
December
- 11
- The Constituent Assembly fails to openThe Constituent Assembly was due to meet in Petrograd on 11 December 1917. A few dozen deputies came, and that evening Lenin outlawed the Kadets.
- Sidónio Pais takes powerOn 11 December 1917 a revolutionary junta removed Portugal's President Bernardino Machado and exiled him, and Sidónio Pais became head of the government.
- Declaration of the TarybaOn 11 December 1917 the Lithuanian Taryba in Vilna proclaimed an independent state with Vilna as capital, bound to Germany by a "perpetual" alliance.
- 20
- Second conscription referendum in AustraliaOn 20 December 1917 Australians rejected conscription for overseas service for the second time. Almost 54 per cent voted no, more than a year earlier.
- Creation of the ChekaOn 20 December 1917 Lenin's government created the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission to Combat Counter-Revolution and Sabotage, headed by Felix Dzerzhinsky.