The Duma That Tried to Save Russia: 1915 Constitutional Crisis

In August 1915, with the Russian army retreating from Galicia and Warsaw, the State Duma formed the Progressive Bloc — a coalition of moderate liberals and conservative nationalists who demanded a government of public confidence. Tsar Nicholas II responded by proroguing the Duma, then by taking personal command of the army, and finally by replacing the popular Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich as commander-in-chief. This episode examines the political crisis of 1915 as a critical turning point: the Duma's last serious attempt to reform the autocracy from within, the tsar's fateful decision to go to the front, and the collapse of the last bridge between the crown and educated society. Featuring key figures: Pavel Milyukov, Alexander Guchkov, Mikhail Rodzianko, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, and Ivan Goremykin. The crisis exposed the regime's inability to adapt and set the stage for the revolutionary upheavals of 1917.

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