reign: 1917)
LVOV Georgy Evgenievich(1861, Dresden - 1925, Paris) - Russian politician, prince, first prime minister of the Provisional Government in 1917.
He came from an ancient princely family. He graduated from the Polivanov Gymnasium in Moscow and the Faculty of Law of Moscow University. Successfully combined economic activity on his estate with a trial in the Tula District Court.
Although he admired Alexander II, Lvov did not accept the reactionary policies of Alexander III. Since 1891, in the position of an indispensable member of the provincial presence in Tula, Lvov stood up for the peasants cruelly punished by the boss, which led him to a break with the local administrative authorities and his resignation. He took an active part in the zemstvo movement and in 1900 was elected chairman of the Tula zemstvo government.
Lviv became widely known during the Russian- Japanese war 1904-1905, when he headed the authorized zemstvo organizations to provide assistance to the wounded on the battlefields. In 1905 Lvov was elected to the 1st State Duma. A convinced Tolstoyan, Lvov believed that the main human task is to promote " gradual renewal social order in order to eliminate the dominance of violence and establish conditions favorable to the benevolent unity of people".
Lvov took part in the fight against famine, tried to help settlers during the agrarian reform of P.A. Stolypin, went to study resettlement in Canada and the USA. In 1913, Lvov was elected mayor of Moscow, but his candidacy was rejected by the government. With the outbreak of the First World War, Lvov, having shown himself to be a man of remarkable organizational abilities, headed the Zemsky and City Unions, which were engaged in equipping hospitals and ambulance trains, and supplied clothing and footwear for the army.
After February Revolution 1917 Lvov became head of the Provisional Government and Minister of Internal Affairs. In conditions of dual power, in a disintegrating state, Lvov’s attempt to reorganize local government bodies led to a weakening of the government apparatus, could not prevent agrarian unrest, class strife, attacks against the individual, and made Lvov himself only a symbol of “conceived but unborn power.” When in July 1917 the socialist ministers published a government declaration promising to declare Russia a republic, convene a Constituent Assembly, begin developing laws on land, etc., Lvov announced his resignation, believing that the ministers had usurped the rights of the Constituent Assembly, and their speech was demagogic character. Lvov's secretary recorded his words: " I left because there was nothing left for me to do. In order to save the situation, it was necessary to disperse the Soviets and shoot at the people. I couldn't do it. But Kerensky can".
Lvov retired to Optina Pustyn. Having learned about the October Revolution, he changed his last name and fled to Tyumen, where in February 1918 he was arrested by the Cheka, but managed to escape to Omsk, and from there he left for the USA, where he unsuccessfully tried to get weapons and money for the White Army. Lvov moved to Paris, where he created the “Russian Political Conference”, which tried to become the center of the “white cause”. Lvov suffered from nostalgia, hoped for the imminent fall of the Bolsheviks and provided assistance to refugees from Russia.
LVOV Georgy Evgenievich(1861, Dresden - 1925, Paris) - Russian politician, prince, first prime minister of the Provisional Government in 1917.
He came from an ancient princely family. He graduated from the Polivanov Gymnasium in Moscow and the Faculty of Law of Moscow University. He successfully combined economic activities on his estate with judicial activities in the Tula District Court.
Although he admired Alexander II, Lvov did not accept the reactionary policies of Alexander III. Since 1891, in the position of an indispensable member of the provincial presence in Tula, Lvov stood up for the peasants cruelly punished by the boss, which led him to a break with the local administrative authorities and his resignation. He took an active part in the zemstvo movement and in 1900 was elected chairman of the Tula zemstvo government.
Lvov became widely known during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, when he headed the authorized zemstvo organizations to provide assistance to the wounded on the battlefields. In 1905 Lvov was elected to the 1st State Duma. A convinced Tolstoyan, Lvov believed that the main human task is to promote “ gradual renewal of the social system in order to eliminate the dominance of violence from it and establish conditions favorable to the benevolent unity of people“.
Lvov took part in the fight against famine, tried to help settlers during the agrarian reform of P.A. Stolypin, went to study resettlement in Canada and the USA. In 1913, Lvov was elected mayor of Moscow, but his candidacy was rejected by the government. With the outbreak of the First World War, Lvov, having shown himself to be a man of remarkable organizational abilities, headed the Zemsky and City Unions, which were engaged in equipping hospitals and ambulance trains, and supplied clothing and footwear for the army.
After the February Revolution of 1917, Lvov became the head of the Provisional Government and Minister of Internal Affairs. In conditions of dual power, in a disintegrating state, Lvov’s attempt to reorganize local government bodies led to a weakening of the government apparatus, could not prevent agrarian unrest, class strife, attacks against the individual, and made Lvov himself only a symbol of “conceived but unborn power.” When in July 1917 the socialist ministers published a government declaration promising to declare Russia a republic, convene a Constituent Assembly, begin developing laws on land, etc., Lvov announced his resignation, believing that the ministers had usurped the rights of the Constituent Assembly, and their speech was demagogic character. Lvov’s secretary recorded his words: “ I left because there was nothing left for me to do. In order to save the situation, it was necessary to disperse the Soviets and shoot at the people. I couldn't do it. But Kerensky can“.
Lvov retired to Optina Pustyn. Having learned about the October Revolution, he changed his last name and fled to Tyumen, where in February 1918 he was arrested by the Cheka, but managed to escape to Omsk, and from there he left for the USA, where he unsuccessfully tried to get weapons and money for the White Army. Lvov moved to Paris, where he created the “Russian Political Conference”, which tried to become the center of the “white cause”. Lvov suffered from nostalgia, hoped for the imminent fall of the Bolsheviks and provided assistance to refugees from Russia.
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Prince Georgy Lvov. Returning the name
Prince Lvov Georgy Evgenievich, an outstanding Russian statesman, political and public figure, head of the Provisional Government of Russia, an active participant in the zemstvo movement.
Born in Dresden. Various Russian and foreign reference books and encyclopedias indicate the date of birth of Prince Lvov - October 21 (old style) or November 2 (new style) 1861. However, in last years publications have appeared in which, based on new archival research, a different date of birth is named - November 18 (old style) or November 30 (new style).
Childhood of G.E. Lvov and his brothers took place on the Popovka estate in the Aleksinsky district of the Tula province. After graduating from high school, Lvov studied at the Faculty of Law of Moscow University, and upon graduation he worked as a member of the provincial presence in Tula.
In 1892, his participation in the zemstvo movement began in Aleksinsky district.
Prince Lvov was elected chairman of the Tula provincial zemstvo government (1903-1906), deputy of the First State Duma from the Tula province.
G.E. Lvov was one of the founders of the Joint Committee of the Zemstvo-City Union (Zemgora), of which he was chairman since 1915. In 1914-1918, he was chairman of the All-Russian Zemstvo Union.
In 1917, during the February Revolution, he was elected to the post of head of the Provisional Government.
In July 1917, Prince Lvov resigned.
Lvov never thought about revolution, was a supporter of peaceful struggle, and advocated democratic changes carried out only on the initiative of the tsar. He imagined the future of Russia in the form of a monarchy with ministers responsible to the legally elected people's representatives. When he was asked the question: “Wouldn’t it have been better to refuse?” (to head the government), he answered: “I could not help but go there.”
With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks G.E. Lvov fled to Tyumen, where he was arrested in February 1918 and transported to Yekaterinburg. He fled again, and already in Omsk, having contacted representatives of the white movement, he left for the USA in October 1918.
In December 1918, Prince Lvov left for France via London, where he continued his active political and social activities.
In 1920 in Paris, under the chairmanship of Prince G.E. Lvov, the Association of Zemstvo and City Leaders in France was created, main goal whose aim was to provide assistance to Russian emigrants in France, the “Russian Zemstvo-City Committee for Assistance to Russian Citizens Abroad” was created. The chairman of the new association was G.E. Lviv.
Prince G.E. died Lvov at the age of 64 on March 6, 1925 in Paris. He was buried in the Vyrubov family grave at the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery.
The ZEMGOR organization, created by the prince in 1921 in Paris, still exists (Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Paris Zemgor, Yu. A. Trubnikov).
As part of the “Historical Calendar” section, we started new project, dedicated to the upcoming 100th anniversary of the 1917 revolution. The project, which we called “Gravediggers of the Russian Kingdom,” is dedicated to those responsible for the collapse of the autocratic monarchy in Russia - professional revolutionaries, confrontational aristocrats, liberal politicians; generals, officers and soldiers who have forgotten about their duty, as well as other active figures of the so-called. “liberation movement”, voluntarily or unwittingly, contributed to the triumph of the revolution - first the February, and then the October. The column continues with an essay dedicated to Prince G.E. Lvov, whose lot fell to become the first head of the revolutionary Provisional Government.
Prince Georgy Evgenievich Lvov born October 21, 1861 in Dresden. His family was well-born (Rurikovich), but relatively poor. Having graduated from the private Polivanovsky gymnasium in Moscow (1881) and the law faculty of Moscow University (1885), Lvov served as a member of the Tula provincial presence until 1893, but in 1903 he resigned in protest against the “arbitrariness of the authorities”, which consisted in the use of military commands in suppressing peasant unrest. Having settled in family estate Popovka of the Tula province, Lvov devoted himself agriculture and zemstvo activities, soon gaining wide popularity in this field. The prince was the chairman of the Tula provincial zemstvo council (1903‒1906), took part in zemstvo congresses, was a member of the opposition-liberal circle "Conversation", in the "Union of Liberation" and the "Union of Zemstvo Constitutionalists", was well acquainted with Leo Tolstoy, who spoke approvingly of Lvov’s activities. Being a convinced Tolstoyan, Lvov proceeded from the beautiful principle that the main task of a public figure is to promote “the gradual renewal of the social system in order to eliminate the dominance of violence from it and establish conditions favorable to the benevolent unity of people”.
“It so happened,” the prince later recalled ‒ that in this struggle of life I found myself in the camp of new forces. All my memories are connected not with the defense and upholding of the past, but with an offensive movement forward, with the struggle in all directions for new forms of life.” During this period, recalled cadet F.I. Rodichev, " Lvov was a democrat in his feelings. He loved the people, the common people, he felt free in them, believed in them, maintaining until the end of his days “a proud faith in people and in other life.”
Thus, by the revolution of 1905, Prince G.E. Lvov became one of the leaders of the zemstvo liberal movement. In the summer of 1905, he was part of a delegation that appealed to Emperor Nicholas II to immediately convene “people's representatives” and quickly conclude peace with Japan to achieve internal peace. And in the fall of the same year, the prince joined the ranks of the left-liberal Constitutional Democratic Party. Having become a deputy of the First State Duma, Lvov joined the cadet faction and took part in the work of a number of Duma commissions. It should be noted that Lvov was on the right flank of the Cadet party and kept to himself, since on a number of issues he was much closer to the peaceful renovationists (he called Lvov a “dubious cadet”). When, after the dissolution of the First Duma, opposition deputies signed the famous “Vyborg Appeal,” which called for civil disobedience to the authorities, although Lvov condemned the dispersal of the first composition of the people’s representative office, he did not sign the appeal, “not being able to break his resistance to an act that he considered inappropriate and harmful."
The relative moderation of the prince (as well as his origin) apparently became the reasons why at first S.Yu. Witte (1905), and then P.A. Stolypin (1906) offered him to join a coalition government of representatives of the highest tsarist bureaucracy and opposition politicians, but the demands put forward by Lvov (convening a Constituent Assembly, etc.) made such an agreement impossible.
After the dissolution of the “Duma of Popular Wrath”, G.E. Lvov plunged headlong into charitable activities. He participated in the fight against hunger, tried to provide assistance to settlers during the agrarian reform of P.A. Stolypin, for which he specially went to study resettlement in Canada and the USA. In 1913, the prince was elected mayor of Moscow, but his candidacy was rejected by the conservative Minister of Internal Affairs N.A. Maklakov.
When World War I broke out, G.E. Lvov was nominated by the liberal public for the post of head of the All-Russian Zemstvo Union for Assistance to Sick and Wounded Military. This choice was not accidental, since during Russo-Japanese War the prince was the chief commissioner of all-zem organizations to provide assistance to sick and wounded soldiers. This election, which took place at the All-Russian congress of representatives of provincial zemstvos, took place in a very unique way. Member of the State Council V.I. Gurko, who considered Lvov a “zemstvo intriguer”, “unprincipled ambitious” and “destroyer of the Russian state,” recalled: “His first concern was the resurrection of the general land organization, and, of course, he made every effort to become the head of this matter. Not having any formal connections with the zemstvo, since he had long been no longer a member of either the provincial or the district zemstvo (his native district of the Tula province, which knew him thoroughly, had long ago voted him out), he nevertheless, without any hesitation, decided to head the general zemstvo in his own person organization. Getting upstairs and sitting in the chairman's chair by some indirect means was a familiar thing for him. He achieved this in this case as well.”. “The prince was not elected as a representative of any zemstvo organization, however, referring to past merits and funds supposedly preserved from the Japanese war, which he was ready to put at the disposal of the Union, he achieved his participation first in the congress, and then in its presidium, ‒ writes historian O.R. Airapetov. ‒ Since the undisputed favorite of the congress is the chairman of the Moscow provincial zemstvo government F.V. von Schlippe refused to participate in the election of the chairman, believing that at this moment the zemstvo organization could not be headed by a person with a German surname; this procedure quickly acquired the character of a staged farce.”. A year later, the Zemstvo Union merged with the All-Russian Union of Cities into “Zemgor” and, thus, Lvov became the chairman of the united organization.
The Zemstvo Union received millions in subsidies from the government to organize assistance to the warring army, equip hospitals and ambulance trains, supply clothing and footwear for the front, organize the evacuation of civilians, create hospitals and warehouses, etc. “G.E. Lvov was a convinced liberal and shared the general conviction of the Zemstvo people that a corrupt bureaucracy is not able to spend people’s money honestly and efficiently.”,” notes Airapetov. But at the same time, the historian continues, “He himself, apparently, in principle did not consider control necessary, readily agreeing to sign requests from zemstvos without familiarizing himself with their content. After the very first “business” conversation with the head of the Zemstvo Union, the provincial leader of the Samara nobility got the impression that “the strongest arbitrariness, party dominance and boundless monetary chaos should reign in all affairs, intentions and reporting.” At the same time, the Zemstvo people were categorically against control over the Zemsky and City Unions by the state, which would be justified if their organizations existed on their own, that is, on public funds. This did not stop the head of the Zemstvo Union, G.E. Lvov was generally a supporter of non-stop movement towards the goal. “When a fortress is taken by storm, with a bang,” he said, “you can’t look back. Stopping for a moment can ruin the whole thing. That’s why, at full speed of the ever-developing work, the All-Russian Zemstvo Union cannot give a detailed report on its activities.”. As a result, as it is not difficult to guess, huge government subsidies were spent by “social activists” inappropriately, or even directly for other purposes. The money allocated to help the army went to strengthen the liberal opposition. As the liberal-minded philosopher E.N. noted. Trubetskoy, head of Zemgor, Prince G.E. Lvov “sought to outdo the government” (with government money) and exalt the public. Cadet V.A. Maklakov also admitted that, along with helping the front, the leaders of public organizations also pursued another goal - to “show with their own eyes the advantage of “public” work over “bureaucratic” work.” “All the work of the unions (zemstvo and city - A.I.) was therefore work and politics,” he concluded. Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Prince N.B. Shcherbatov was forced to admit that the creation of Zemgor was a “colossal government mistake,” since it was impossible to allow the emergence of such an organization without a charter and defining the scope of its activities. As a result, the prince stated, public organizations“turned into huge institutions with a wide variety of functions, in many cases of a purely state nature, and replace government institutions.” However, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs recognized it as impossible to close them, due to the fact that these organizations work for the army and repressions against them could cause political complications. “...The government’s mode of action in relation to the general land organization, ‒ noted V.I. Gurko, - was completely incomprehensible. Treating it with complete distrust and often expressing this, it simultaneously supplied it with tens of millions, and did not subject their spending to any control. Under the pretext that zemstvo institutions are not subordinate to State control, but are audited by their own elected bodies, Lvov convinced Maklakov and the government that no government audit of the expenditure by a general zemstvo organization of the sums allocated to it by the state would be acceptable, that this would be an insult to the zemstvo and the public.” “It was an irony of fate,” recalled Finance Minister P.L. Barque. - Government with my own hands provided its political opponents with the means to overthrow the existing system".
Therefore, rave reviews from some political like-minded people G.E. Lvov, who praised his organizational abilities, were far from reality. According to historian O.R. Airapetova, “He was a deeply personally decent man, gentle by nature, who preferred to live in illusions rather than in realities. A convinced Tolstoyan, he believed it was possible to combine productive work with a lack of control over subordinates. The election of such a person had very sad consequences.”.
At the same time, G.E. Lvov became a very popular figure in the liberal camp during the war years. Member of the Main Committee of the All-Russian Union of Cities, cadet N.I. Astrov spoke about the prince like this: “Reputation of the book. Lvov was recognized by everyone as an exceptional practical worker and organizer in terms of the scope of his activities. Lviv's fame grew every day. All of Russia knew him. Zemstvo Russia and urban Russia knew him. (...) The army also knew Lvov in the person of military leaders and soldiers, who met public help everywhere. This help was associated with the name of Prince. Lvov. Russia knew him and appreciated him. I learned and learned to appreciate abroad too”.
Since 1916, the name G.E. Lvova appeared on many lists of members of the supposed "responsible ministry" or "ministry of trust" that was supposed to replace the existing tsarist government. As noted by historian I.L. Arkhipov, “In 1916 - early 1917, the figure of Lvov was considered as one of the key ones in the political life of Russia. In various social circles he was perceived almost as the “savior of the homeland”; legends surrounded by an aura of mystery arose around his name.”. At this time, Lvov, who struck up a friendship with the chief of staff of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, General M.V. Alekseev, discussed plans with him palace coup, the replacement of Emperor Nicholas II by Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich (who, we note, protected Lvov in every possible way) and the imprisonment of Empress Alexandra Feodorovna in a monastery. “A revolution always begins with a titled aristocrat,” noted publicist M.A. Aldanov : Count Mirabeau or Marquis Lafayette, Lord Argyll or Prince Poniatowski, Prince Max of Baden or Count Caroli...". In Russia, this role fell to the representative of the Rurikovich family, Prince G.E. Lvov.
When revolutionary events broke out in February 1917, the prince was appointed by the temporary committee of the State Duma as Chairman Minister and Minister of Internal Affairs of the Provisional Government on March 2. “The choice in favor of Lvov, made by the capital’s politicians, ‒ notes I.L. Arkhipov ‒ resembled the “calling of a Varangian.” Georgy Evgenievich rarely visited St. Petersburg in recent years and was not very familiar with many of the leaders who played a key role in the days of the February Revolution. However, this distance from the local political environment, on the contrary, only added to the attractiveness of Lvov’s figure. Paradoxically, as it turned out later, the politicians themselves who advocated the appointment of Lvov were captive of myths about him.”. V.V. Shulgin recalled: “Prince Lvov, about whom I personally had no idea - the public insisted that he was wonderful because he ruled Zemgor - indisputably entered the prime minister’s pedestal on Miliukov’s list.”. (As P.N. Milyukov claimed, he devoted “24 hours (...) to defend Prince Lvov against the candidacy of M.V. Rodzianko"). In fact, the prince was a compromise figure who suited everyone because of his gentle character, lack of dictatorial habits and formal non-partisanship. In addition, as researchers believe, Lvov’s connection with Freemasonry could also play an important role (since 1907, he was a member of the Ursa Minor lodge). Discussing the reasons for Lvov’s rapid political rise, member of the Central Committee of the Kadet Party A.V. Tyrkova-Williams, assumed that those who embarrassed her in the prince “the gentle smile and flattering courtesy with which he enveloped everyone”, and were “that special gift thanks to which this average, rather gray man, who had neither great intelligence nor political insight, created for himself such a wide reputation, which unfortunately did not justify his activities”. And indeed, the Tolstoyan prince, finding himself at the head of the new government, soon completely failed to live up to the hopes placed on him by the liberals.
His pathetic demagogic speeches, in which Lvov talked about how “the soul of the Russian people turned out to be a world democratic soul by its very nature” And " ready not only to merge with the democracy of the whole world, but also to stand in front and lead it along the path of human development on the great principles of freedom, equality and fraternity.”, was clearly not enough to cope with the situation and calm a society agitated by the revolution.
“The farthest thing from any symbolism of the revolution was Prince Lvov himself, although he experienced it deeply,” recalled A.F. Kerensky . -...He deeply believed in the people, lived for them. But the crowd did not know him and did not recognize him. To approach her, to throw himself headlong into that then raging sea, he either could not, or did not know how, or did not want to - I don’t know. He soon became a stranger and “his own.” There, in the meetings of the State Duma, the prince-ruler soon began to feel burdened. Then “ignore”, neglect for “powerlessness”. Finally, almost hated for “connivance with the left”...". “We must admit,‒ wrote the leader of the Cadet Party P.N. Miliukov , - that the choice of Prince Lvov as the head of the revolutionary government was as unfortunate as it was inevitable at one time. Hamlet’s indecision, covered up by Tolstoy’s non-resistance and clothed in a sugary and unctuous official optimistic style - this was the exact opposite of what was required of the revolutionary prime minister.”. Right-wing cadet V.A. assessed the activities of Prince Lvov in approximately the same way. Maklakov: “He not only did not do, but did not even try to do anything to counteract the ever-growing decay. He was sitting on the box, but didn’t even try to collect the reins.”. "In the center of chaos," wrote cadet V.A. Obolensky , ‒ a helpless, powerless figure of the head of government, who is ready to concede in everything and everyone”. “The stay of the prince. Lvov in the Government brought upon him countless criticisms and accusations.”,” noted F.I. Rodichev. And cadet N.I. Astrov summarized: “Lvov’s lot is that he had to take on his shoulders the unbearable. He broke under the overwhelming force...”.
The prince himself understood his inability to cope with the situation. In one of the private conversations, the chairman of the Provisional Government remarked: “We are doomed. Chips carried by the stream. (...) To start a fight means to start a civil war, and that means to open a front. This is impossible...". "I know, - testified by M.A. Aldanov ‒ that Georgy Evgenievich on the third day after the revolution was confident of its complete collapse".
After the failure of the June offensive of the Russian army and the speech organized by the Bolsheviks in Petrograd, on July 7, 1917 G.E. Lvov resigned from the posts of head of the cabinet and minister of internal affairs, giving his place as chairman of the Provisional Government to A.F. Kerensky. “At this hour, only one in whom, as if in a focal point, all the will, all the tension of the people, would be concentrated, could master the situation,” noted N.I. Astrov. - Lvov, with his mystical images and distractions, found himself outside of revolutionary reality, and it swept him away. Is Lvov to blame for this, because they wanted to accept him for something other than what he really was? He was entrusted with guiding the already sinking ship of Russian statehood amidst the already raging storm of the revolutionary elements. The task turned out to be beyond his capabilities. But who could cope with her? It is characteristic that, physically and mentally exhausted, Prince. G.E., having left the Provisional Government, took refuge in Optina Pustyn... and there he sought answers to the questions that tormented his conscience...". “Having left the Provisional Government, ‒ recalled one of his contemporaries, - Lvov disappeared. Nobody knew where he was. Later it became known that he spent some time in Optina Pustyn. This reflected his religiosity.”
After the Bolsheviks came to power, G.E. Lvov settled in Tyumen under a false name, and in the winter of 1918 he was arrested and transferred to Yekaterinburg. Taking advantage of the fact that three months later the Bolsheviks released him before trial on his own recognizance, the prince hastily left Yekaterinburg and made his way to Omsk, occupied by the rebel Czechoslovak corps. The Provisional Siberian Government instructed G.E. Lvov to go to the USA to meet with President W. Wilson and other government officials in order to receive help to fight the Bolsheviks. But in America, Lvov achieved absolutely no results and, due to the futility of negotiations, moved to France, where in 1918-1920. headed the Russian Political Conference in Paris. Having withdrawn from political activities, the prince, having practically lost his means, earned money by handicraft labor and physical work on farms, and wrote memoirs. Life of G.E. Lvov's life ended on March 7, 1925 in Paris. After the death of the prince, publicist M.A. Aldanov will call him “Kutuzov of the Russian Revolution,” meaning that he was the same atypical political figure as the one drawn by the pen of his fellow countryman L.N. Tolstoy’s novel “War and Peace” depicts the image of Kutuzov the commander. Other contemporaries compared him either to Don Quixote or to Hamlet. In fact, Prince Lvov was one of those many Russian aristocrats of the early 20th century, whose liberal-democratic “beautiful dreams” ultimately led to the collapse of statehood, Russia’s defeat in the war and the triumph of radical leftist ideas. Monarchist A.D. Muretov rightly noted in 1917: “We, monarchists, (...) found it funny to hear that Prince. Lvov would unite the entire people in trust. (...) It was funny (...) to see that people seriously imagined that the people would show to some Lvov or some Rodzianko the reverent trust that they had just killed in him towards the Tsar.” And so it happened, taking part in the collapse of the “old government”, “ new government» Prince G.E. Lvov was unable to establish himself, instantly losing authority among his own like-minded people, he quickly and ingloriously descended from the pedestal of power.
Prepared Andrey Ivanov, Doctor of Historical Sciences
