The workers of
Helsinki, the soldiers of the Helsinki garrison, and the sailors of the Baltic
Fleet stationed there are not far behind the Kronstadt sailors in militancy. When
they heard of the July Days manifestation, they passed a resolution against the
Provisional Government. Sentiment was so strong that even the Social Revolutionaries
were compelled to support the resolution.
What they should
do about it was more problematic. If the fleet were to move on Petrograd,
Helsinki would be exposed to action by the German fleet. But then the Central
Committee of the Baltic Fleet (Centrobalt) became aware of secret orders
transmitted from the Provisional Government’s Assistant Navy Minister to the
commanding admiral of the fleet. The admiral was to send destroyers to prevent
the landing of the Kronstadt sailors, and deploy submarines to prevent the
sailors of the fleet from sending ships to join the Kronstadters. The crews of
the submarines and destroyers were thought to be less politically advanced than
those of the new, modern battleships.
This made a
decision more difficult, but the Centrobalt lost no time in making one. They
passed a resolution to send a destroyer to Petrograd to find out what was going
on there and to arrest the Assistant Navy Minister.
The destroyer
Orpheus thus arrived at the mouth of the Neva River on July 18 (July 5, old
style), some 24 hours after the Kronstadters had landed. By the time the
Centrobalt delegation arrived at the Tauride Palace, the vehement mood there
had deepened because of the initial success of the suppression. When the
sailors read out their resolution, members of the Central Executive Committee denounced
them as traitors and counter-revolutionaries.
Their mission to
arrest the assistant minister having failed, the sailors themselves were
arrested the following day. Then the president of the Centrobalt was arrested,
and the admiral of the Baltic Fleet summoned to Petrograd to explain his part
in the matter.
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