Landowners, capitalists, military
officials, and Intellectuals were united with the peasants and artisans, to
an even greater extent than in the early stages of the First Revolution.
Conservatives and Moderates joined with Social Democrats and
Socialist-Revolutionists in opposition to the corrupt and oppressive
regime. Even the president of the Duma, Michael Rodzianko, a conservative
landowner, assailed the government.
One of the principal reasons for this unexampled unity against the
government was the wide-spread conviction, based, as we have seen, upon the
most damning evidence, that Premier Sturmer and his Cabinet were not loyal
to the Allies and that they contemplated making a separate peace with
Germany. All factions in the Duma were bitterly opposed to a separate
peace. Rodzianko was loudly cheered when he denounced the intrigues against
the Allies and declared: "Russia gave her word to fight in common with the
Allies till complete and final victory is won. Russia will not betray her
friends, and with contempt refuses any consideration of a separate peace.
Russia will not be a traitor to those who are fighting side by side with
her sons for a great and just cause.
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