When Vladimir Lenin reached Petrograd one hundred years ago today on the famous “sealed train” that traveled from Switzerland through Germany, the situation both internally and at the front appeared to have stabilized.

The temporary truce between the new Provisional Government and the rebellious masses, however, largely sidestepped the major issue that ushered in the February Revolution: the war. When the aggressive military aims of the Provisional Government were revealed, the “April Days” demonstrations proved that the Revolution was still very much alive.

After February, Tsar Nicholas II had been placed under arrest and a provisional government was formed. At the head of the government was Prince Georgy Lvov, a ceremonial figure who represented the last link with the old regime, but the cabinet was dominated by Liberals frightened by the very revolution that had placed them in power.