The Russian Telegraph – a featured Petrograd newspaper in #1917LIVE re-enactment project – has been overrun by Red Guards. A new publication has been set up, as the Russian Revolution approaches its climax. Watch our special CCTV footage.
The morning of November 6, 1917 started with the provisional government scrambling efforts. As the Bolsheviks held a meeting at their revolutionary headquarters in Smolny, Petrograd, Alexander Kerensky was busy summoning young men from the Junker academies – those still loyal to his government. Kerensky also attempted to convince the Pre-parliament to grant him special authority to crush the Bolshevist rebellion with full force, but was denied it. Instead, the multi-party body proposes the PM to set up a new government. But it was much too late for politics by this stage.
The government also made attempts to seize Bolshevik-run papers throughout the day, but by the afternoon of November 6, the gains were reversed, papers were taken back by Red Guards and forces loyal to the Bolsheviks, who also seized the city's telegraph. The Military-Revolutionary Committee (MRC), set up days ago by Vladimir Lenin’s most trusted Bolshevik, Leon Trotsky, is meanwhile busy taking up strategic positions around town.
READ MORE: Dive into the revolution with RT's #1917LIVE 360 cinema in Moscow Metro
The MRC got the last of the professional soldiers to ignore any orders delivered by the Petrograd Military District. This effectively meant that virtually every soldier in the Russian capital was now theirs.
A battle is on for strategic crossings - particularly the Palace Bridge, which leads to the government seat at the Winter Palace. The Junkers abandon their posts en-masse in the face of the red troops. By mid-afternoon, major government institutions are seized and taken over by the Bolsheviks.
The Russian Telegraph newsroom is being raided in broad daylight on November 6
After a brief altercation, The Telegraph ceases operations, and a fresh, Bolshevik-aligned newspaper, Revolutionary Times, is born.
The evening of the 6th progresses calmly, as artillery draws closer to the Winter Palace. Meanwhile, the ‘Aurora’ battleship defies government orders to set out to sea, and instead listens to the MRC, and trains its massive cannon on Petrograd.
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