Women demonstrating during the February Revolution in Petrograd. (See comment below for translation.)
Anger with the existing rule finally boils over in Petrograd as protesters pour into the streets to denounce the government, the war, and even the Imperial family.
A 1908 photograph of the Russian Empress Alexandra with her children, the four Grand Duchesses and the Crown Prince, their governess, and Grigori Rasputin. Note the prominence of Rasputin in the photograph.
When the Great War began, political parties in Russia, as in the other belligerent nations, pledged unity for the sake of the war effort. But the war went badly, the civilian economy suffered, and corruption and incompetence seemed to be the order of the day in the Russian government. The Imperial couple’s well-known but perplexing attachment to the peasant mystic Grigori Rasputin seemed only to be making matters worse, until at last political tensions reached the boiling point.
Russian Easter Festival Overture
Composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov in 1888. Public domain.
Performed by The Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.
The Zimmerman Telegram. This is not the actual telegram sent from Berlin to Count Bernstorff in Washington, but rather the forwarding telegram Bernstorff sent on to the German Embassy in Mexico City.
The Mexican Revolution is winding down, and the prospects of a war between Mexico and the USA are diminishing, much to the disappointment of the German government. With a resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare planned for February 1, 1917, the German government devises a contingency plan to induce Mexico to declare war on the United States. Unfortunately for the German government, British Intelligence is monitoring their diplomatic communications.
Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor
Composed by Johannes Brahms in 1861. Public domain.
Performed by The Advent Chamber Orchestra, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 license. Source.
Siegfried Idyll
Composed by Richard Wagner in 1869. Public domain.
Performed by Steve’s Bedroom Band, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 license. Source.
