Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War Powers to withdraw from North Russia and Siberia in 1920, though Japanese forces occupied parts of Siberia until 1922 and the northern half of Sakhalin until 1925. In 1917, Russia was in a state of political strife, and public support for World War I and the Tsar was dwindling. The country was on the brink of revolution. The February Revolution changed the course of the war; under intense political pressure, the Tsar abdicated and the Russian Provisional Government was formed, led initially by Georgy Lvov and later by Alexander Kerensky. The Provisional Government pledged to continue fighting the Germans on
Saint Petersburg Police title for the commander of the city police service. The department survived intact until 1917 during the February Revolution, when most of the Saint Petersburg Police remained loyal to the Imperial government. A number of policemen were killed after the defection of the bulk of the city's army garrison to the revolution, especially after a rumour spread that they were firing with machine guns from the roofs of buildings. Shortly after the overthrow of the Imperial government the department was formally disbanded. Following the October Revolution, a new Soviet police force was established under the title of "militsiya", which replaced