October Coup (Garindina)

The October Coup

Mutinied Solders storming Dimitri's Palace
Date	17 October 1933
Time	10:20 AM - 3:05 PM
Duration	4 hours 45 minutes
Location	Parsa, Kingdom of Garindina
Also known as	Bloody Tuesday
Cause	Rapid Inflation and the dissolution of the Garindinan Senate
Motive	Abdication of Dimitri II and the dissolution of the Garindinan Monarchy
First reporter	Aleksey Nepomniaschiy
Participants	Garindinan Mutineers/The Fortunate Men Palace Guard Free Peoples of Garindina
Outcome	Successful Coup End of the Garindinan Monarchy Collapse of the Gatindinan Empire Establishment of the Federal Republic of Garindina Reinstatement of the Garindinan Senate
Casualties
Dimitri II
Catherine Romanov
Deaths	23

The October Coup, was a succsessful coup against the Kingdom of Garindina that ended the centuries-old Garindinan Monarchy. The coup took place in the heart of Parsa on October 17, 1933. The coup lasted four hours and forty-five minutes. The following riots after Dimtiri II's execution resulted in the deaths of many, giving the event the nickname "Bloody Tuesday."

Background

After the Constitution War, there was the end of the Garindinan Empire and the rise of the Kingdom of Garindina. The Constitution War instated the 1871 Constitution of Garindina, the first Garindinan Constitution. which limited the monarchy's power along with establishing the Garindinan Senate. Most of the monarchy's power is now laid at the feet of the Garindinan Senate. But the monarchy had the power to dissolve the Senate temporarily in times of crisis. After the death of Tsarina Nadia IV on March 15, 1930, her son, Dimitri II, rose to the throne. With poor decision-making by Dimitri II and the Senate, the nation experienced rapid inflation.

Tsar Dimitri II

Dimitri II blamed the Senate and abolished it; he then claimed all government power. His attempts to fix the problem only worsened it and brought the Garindinan economy to the brink of economic collapse. This anti-monarchist sentiment among multiple groups challenged Dimitri II's power, with many groups even threatening rebellion. Raids on armories and sabotage of railways became common and only increased the political turmoil.

On the 17th of October 1933, on this cold October morning, an armed group of soldiers mutinied and, led by Aleksei Brusilob, stormed Dimitri II's Palace at 10:20 AM. Fed-up with his policies and the growing inflation, the people had enough. The soldiers stormed the north side of the palace, while an armed group of civilians rushed the palace and were caught in a gunfight with the Palace Guards. The soldiers quickly captured the palace and forced Dimitri to abdicate the throne. The gunfight ended when the soldiers informed the guards of Dimitri's abdication and held them at gunpoint. The gunfight left 13 dead and seven injured. The armed group was identified as the Free Peoples of Garindina (SNG, "Svobodnyye narody Garindiny"); the group was heavily anti-monarchist and pro-democracy.

Aleksei Brusilob, Leader of the Mutineers

News of this spread through Parsa like wildfire, and the celebrations began. Dimitri II and his wife, Catherine Romanov, were imprisoned in a small cell in the basement of the Palace. An hour after the breach, Dimitri II and Catherine were taken outside to the palace square and publicly executed. This infuriated the monarchists, and clashes between the monarchists and the anti-monarchists began to spring up across the city. The city was in a state of anarchy, with the police and the Army split. Former senators heard of the event and began making their way to the Senate House, where they were attacked repeatedly by monarchists. But when they arrived, former Senate President Vyacheslav Molotov broadcast the news to the whole nation on the National Radio Network and proclaimed the Federal Republic of Garindina at 3:05 PM.

Preparation

The Free Peoples of Garindina were founded on August 9, 1933, and the group was founded Ivan Godunov. They contacted other groups against the monarchy and made alliances. Their numbers were relatively small, as many were joining the more radical groups, like the Nationalists. Despite this, the SNG continued to gain members. The SNG began raiding weapon stockpiles on September 9, 1933. That is when Ivan got the plan to overthrow the monarchy and instate a republic.

The group started drafting plans for a coup d'état on the twelfth of September. Soon, the SNG began sabotaging railroads into the city, as they hoped that it would slow the military. But the plan was delayed due to fears of a spy. The day came again, and it was delayed again as most of the members backed out to form larger groups. It was later delayed a third time due to another group being caught.

It wasn't until the start of October that things finally went into motion. Rumors of a socialist uprising in Novokamensk and a nationalist rebellion in Batagrad pushed Ivan's plans forward. They raided another armory and lifted train rails. Then the day finally came—October 17, 1933.

Aleksei Brusilob got the idea of mutinying at a bar. He was with seven of his closest military friends, who all hated the monarchy. When Aleksei informed them of his plan, they were all in. On October 12, 1933, three different left-wing groups started an armed uprising in Novokamensk. Alesksei's whole battalion didn't want to fight. So they stayed in Parsa despite orders to leave for Novokamensk. This is when Aleksei convinced his battalion of sixty men to storm the palace. They drew up plans and threw out ideas on how to do it. Eventually they decided to walk in on the pretense of being ordered to defend the palace.

Aftermath

After the October coup, a democratic transitional government was put in place. The Transitional Government lasted only 5 years (one term) until the National Democratic Party took control of the Senate on Wednesday, November 8, 1938. Garindina then went from a Democratic Republic to an Authoritarian Democracy. The palace was reused for the second president and renamed the Presidential Palace. The nation soon declared neutrality on January 20, 1939, and later went into a period of isolationism only a week later on Sunday, January 27. Monarchist groups like the extremist early National Royalist Party were banned the next day, and the inflation problem was fixed. Garindina would then go through a period of economic prosperity for fifteen years.

The Garindinan State Duma, 15 January 1934

More information

The SNG had devised a plan to raid the Parsa Armory and then lay low for two weeks, during which they would sabotage railroads leading into the city. Following this period, they intended to launch an assault on Dimitri II's palace. However, due to fears of spies and a shortage of members, the execution of their plan was delayed on three occasions before it finally went into action.

In contrast, the Mutineers did not have a specific plan; they impulsively stormed the palace under the false guise of being ordered to do so. Their success was largely attributable to the fact that the SNG was already in the midst of their attack on the palace. There is little to no evidence suggesting any direct contact between the Mutineers and the SNG. Consequently, the Mutineers earned the moniker "Fortunate Men" because had the SNG not initiated a gunfight, the coup would have likely failed. Many historians regard the coup as a fluke because of this unexpected outcome.

Several leftist groups, such as the Garindinan United Workers Front, the Socialist Party of Garindina, and the People's Liberation Army of Garindina, played minor roles in the coup. They had also been involved in the Novokamensk Uprising just days before the October Coup, further diverting the Garindinan Army's attention during the planning phase of the coup. Additionally, the extremist Garindnian National Society (GNS) contributed to shifting Dimitri II's focus elsewhere by openly rebelling against the government in the Batagrad Oblast. This diversion gave the Mutineers and SNG the necessary opportunity to storm the palace successfully.