ABSTRACT
The feudal system, which in England was never more than half-developed, had given place, in the course of long years, to parliamentary government under a monarchy essentially constitutional. In Russia physics combined with politics to retard the realization of national unity and the development of representative institutions. In Russia Nicholas II made, at the eleventh hour, some effort to introduce constitutional reform. Although the Soviets ultimately formed the backbone of the Bolshevik party, it was not until November that the Bolsheviks definitely established themselves in power. The Counter-revolution was strictly native, marked by the formation of a volunteer army, which was organized, directly after the Bolshevik Revolution, by General Alexseev and General Kornilov, both of whom had been Commanders-in-chief of the Tsar's army. The brutal murder of the Romanovs intensified the horror with which the Bolshevik Revolution was regarded by the majority of Englishmen.
