ABSTRACT
The army came out in support of the Revolution and went over to the side of the people. The Autocracy was founded on the division between the army and the people, and on that alone. As soon as the hostility and distrust of the people, which the Autocracy had been instilling into the army for decades past, was broken down, the Autocracy had no place in Russia. The conflicts and excesses between the soldiers and officers in Petrograd, and still more the grave tension between the High Command and the army at the front, made it quite obvious in the very first weeks of the Revolution that a simple return to the old discipline was impossible. Generally speaking, when in a Revolution the army is said to have gone over to the side of the people, it is understood to mean that the officers went over, either inspiring or simply leading the soldiers after them.
