And so disappeared from the Imperial Court one evil force.

But his tool, Alexander Protopopov, still survived. Protopopov was an
extraordinary man. In 1916 he had visited England and France and made a
splendid impression. His speeches, full of fire and patriotism, were
regarded as the best made by any deputation that had come from Russia.
But on his return to Petrograd he fell completely into the hands of the
Court party. He became associated with Rasputin, and his wild talk and
restless conduct suggested to many that his mind had become affected.

After the death of Rasputin, the meeting of the Duma, which should have
taken place on January 25, 1917, was postponed for a month. The
censorship was drawn tighter, the members of the secret police were
greatly increased, and a deliberate endeavor, under the direction of
Protopopov was made to encourage an abortive revolution, so that its
overthrow might establish the reactionaries in power. But the attempt
failed.

During January and February the people were calm. No one wanted
revolution then. On February 9th, the labor members of the War Industry
Committee were arrested. This was regarded as plainly provocative, and
M. Miliukov wrote appeals to the people for patience. These were
suppressed, but no disturbance ensued. A British Commission, then on a
visit to Russia, reported that there was no danger of revolution. But
the people were hungry. Speakers in the Duma discussed the food problem.
It became harder and harder to procure bread, and little that was
practical seemed to be done to improve the situation, though in some
parts of the country there were large surplus stocks. On March 8th
crowds gathered around the bakery shops, and looted several of them. The
next day the crowds in the streets increased. Groups of Cossacks rode
here and there, fraternizing with the people. They, too, were hungry. In
the afternoon two workmen were arrested for disorder by the police. A
band of Cossacks freed them. Street speakers began to appear here and
there, and crowds gathered to listen to their fiery denunciations of the
government.

On March 11th, General Khabalov, military governor of the city, issued a
proclamation announcing that the police had orders to disperse all
crowds, and that any workman who did not return to work on Monday
morning would be sent to the trenches. The main streets of the city were
cleared and guarded by the police and soldiery. The crowds were
enormous,