March, Prince Lvov, Kerensky and other
leaders of the Duma sought out the Grand Duke Michael and informed him
of the situation. The Grand Duke yielded to the people, and on Friday,
March the 16th, issued a declaration which ended the power of the
Romanovs in Russia:

I am firmly resolved to accept the supreme power only if this should be
the desire of our great people, who must, by means of a plebiscite
through their representatives in the Constituent Assembly, establish the
form of government and the new fundamental laws of the Russian state.
Invoking God's blessing, I, therefore, request all citizens of Russia to
obey the provisional government, set up on the initiative of the Duma,
and invested with plenary powers, until within as short a time as
possible the Constituent Assembly elected on a basis of equal, universal
and secret suffrage, shall enforce the will of the nation regarding the
future form of the constitution.

With this declaration the sacred monarchy had disappeared. In one week
the people had come to their own and Russia was free. But what form of
new government was to replace the old regime was still the question.
There were two rival theories as to the principles to be followed, one
that of the Moderates, the other of the Extremists. The Moderates, who
controlled the provisional government were practical men. They realized
that Russia was at war and that efficient administration was the great
need.

The Extremists of the Soviet were a different type of men. They were
profoundly ignorant of all practical questions of government; their
creed was socialism. The Socialistic party in Russia may be divided into
three different groups. The first, the Social Revolutionary party, came
into prominence in Russia about 1900. It was composed of followers of
the Russian Lavrov who believed in the socialist state, but a state
which should not be a tyrant overriding the individual. Liberty was his
watchword and he made his appeal not only to the workmen in the shops
but with a special force to the peasant. He did not preach class war in
the ordinary sense, and believed in the value of national life. To this
party belonged Kerensky, more and more becoming the leader of the
revolutionary movement.

The second group of the Socialist party were the Bolsheviki. This group
were followers of the German Karl Marx. The revolution which they sought
was essentially a class revolution. To the Bolsheviki the fate of thei