ministerial responsibility before the Duma. Nicholas II constantly refused to satisfy this demand. In October 1915 Guchkov became more revolutionary and involved in the preparations of a coup. In August 1916 the word revolution was on everybody's lips. On 13 October Guchkov travelled to Kislovodsk because of his health. In December 1916 Guchkov came to the painful conclusion the situation could only improve when the Tsar was replaced. Guchkov reported that members of the Progressive Bloc would consider a coup d'etat to force the government to deal with the Duma. When the February Revolution of 1917 broke out, Guchkov was prepared in to take charge of the Ministry of War and Navy. Shortly after the Petrograd riots in February 1917, Guchkov, along with Vasily Shulgin, came to the army headquarters near Pskov to persuade the Tsar to abdicate. On 2 March 1917 (Old Style) Nicholas II abdicated. In the evening Guchkov was at once arrested and threatened with execution by the workers. After revolution After the February Revolution the Union of 17 October legally ceased to exist. Guchkov held the office of War Minister in the Russian Provisional Government until 29 April. He was forced to resign after public unrest, caused by Milyukov's Note. Along with his fellow Octobrist Mikhail Rodzianko he continued to struggle for establishing of "strong government". He supported Lavr Kornilov and was arrested after the Kornilov Affair, but released the next day. After the October Revolution Guchkov provided financial support for the White Guard. When the eventual defeat of the White Guard became inevitable, he emigrated, first going to Germany. Guchkov died on 14 February, 1936 in Paris. Memoirs Alexander Ivanovich Guchkov rasskazyvaet—Vospominaniya predsedatelya Gosudarstvennoj dumy i voennogo ministra Vremennogo pravitel'stva, Moscow, TOO Red. zhurnala "Voprosy istorii", 1993, , 143p. Modern perception Guchkov has become something of a cult figure in recent years: his reputation in Russia has grown after a documentary on the main state channel, which included an interview with then-President Vladimir Putin. In the documentary, Putin revealed that Guchkov had been one of his childhood heroes for the way in which he tried to bring democracy to the country. Personal life Guchkov was an active member of the irregular freemasonic lodge, the Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples. Earlier he had been a member of a military masonic lodge. See also Boer Foreign Volunteers References Sources Alexander Sergeevich Senin. Alexander Ivanovich Guchkov, Moscow, Skriptoriy,