Junker mutiny was a counterrevolutionary
mutinyMutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly-situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an existing authority...
of students of junker schools against the Bolsheviks in Petrograd in October 1917.
On October 29 (November 11 (N.S.)) of 1917, students of junker schools in Petrograd rose up against the Bolsheviks under the leadership of the Committee for Salvation of Motherland and Revolution (Комитет спасения родины и революции), organised by the Right Esers.
Junker mutiny was a counterrevolutionary
mutinyMutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly-situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an existing authority...
of students of junker schools against the Bolsheviks in Petrograd in October 1917.
On October 29 (November 11 (N.S.)) of 1917, students of junker schools in Petrograd rose up against the Bolsheviks under the leadership of the Committee for Salvation of Motherland and Revolution (Комитет спасения родины и революции), organised by the Right Esers. The goal of the mutiny was to support the
Kerensky-Krasnov uprisingKerensky-Krasnov uprising is the term used in Soviet historiography to denote an attempt of Alexander Kerensky to retake power from Bolsheviks....
(October 26 - October 31, 1917). The rebellious students wanted to seize the city
telephone exchangeIn the field of telecommunications, a telephone exchange or telephone switch is a system of electronic components that connects telephone calls...
,
Peter and Paul FortressThe Peter and Paul Fortress is the original citadel of St. Petersburg, Russia, founded by Peter the Great in 1703 and built to Domenico Trezzini's designs from 1706 to 1740.- History :...
,
SmolnyThe Smolny Institute is a Palladian edifice in St Petersburg that has played a major part in the history of Russia....
and arrest the Soviet government together with the Bolshevik leaders.
On October 29, the
Red GuardIn the context of the history of Russia and Soviet Union, Red Guards were armed groups of workers formed in the time frame of the Russian Revolution of 1917. They were the main strike force of the Bolsheviks...
patrol detained one of the leaders of the Junker mutiny, an Eser A.A.Bruderer, who had a plan of the mutiny with him. Former commander-in-chief of the Petrograd military
okrugOkrug is an administrative division of some Eastern European Slavic states. The word "okrug" is a loanword in English, but it is nevertheless often translated as "area", "district", or "region"...
Colonel G.P.Polkovnikov pronounced himself a commander of the so called "salvation army" (войска спасения) and ordered his garrison not to execute orders issued by the
Petrograd Military Revolutionary CommitteeMilitary Revolutionary Committee also known as the Milrevcom was the name for military organs under the soviets during the period of the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War. The most notable ones were those of the Petrograd Soviet, the Moscow Soviet, and at Stavka.These committees were in...
(PMRC), arrest its
commissarCommissar is the English transliteration of an official title used in Russia after the Bolshevik revolution.The title was mostly associated with a number of Cheka and military functions in many Bolshevik and Soviet government military forces during the Russian Civil War; the White Army widely used...
s, and send representatives from all military units to Nikolayevskoye School of Engineers (a.k.a. Engineer's Fortress), the headquarters of the mutiny leaders. The junkers of the Nikolayevskoye School of Engineers seized the Mikhailovsky Manege, stole a number of armored cars, captured the city telephone exchange, cut off power in Smolny, seized
Hotel AstoriaHotel Astoria is a five-star hotel in St. Petersburg, Russia. It is located on St. Isaac's Square, next to St. Isaac's Cathedral and across from the historic Imperial German Embassy. The hotel was opened in 1912 and underwent a complete refurbishment in 2002.According to legend, Adolf Hitler...
, and began to disarm the Red Guards and revolutionary soldiers. The students of Vladimirskoye Military School disarmed the school guards and arrested some of the PMRC commissars. At 8:30 a.m. on October 29, the leaders of the Junker mutiny sent out telegrams all over Petrograd, announcing the success of the rebellion and calling out for the arrest of all the PMRC commissars and the concentration of participating military units at the Nikolayevskoye School of Engineers.
The revolutionary garrison of Petrograd, however, refused to support the mutiny. PMRC issued an appeal to the citizens of Petrograd and announced the
state of siegeState of Siege is a 1972 French film directed by Costa Gavras and starred by Yves Montand and Renato Salvatori.-Summary:...
. By 11 a.m. of October 29, the Red Guards and revolutionary soldiers had regained control over the telephone exchange and surrounded the Engineer’s Fortress. Most of the junkers fled, but those who remained would be disarmed by 5 p.m. and sent to the Peter and Paul Fortress.