After the events that put an end to the dual power, the right all more insistently began to look for a strong personality, capable of doing away with "anarchy." The bet was made on General Kornilov. The attempted coup was initially associated with the opening hours of the State Conference, which took place in Moscow from August 12 to 15.

Already in early August, newspapers were full of reports about the upcoming grand meeting. It was announced that it was going to "because of the exclusivity of the events experienced and in order to unite the government with all the organized forces of the country." The Bolsheviks regarded the Moscow State Conference as a conspiracy against the revolution and began a campaign of protest against it. The result of this was their exclusion from the delegation of the Central Executive Committee. The total number of representatives of trade unions, cooperatives, unions of industrialists, etc. gathered at the Bolshoi Theater was about 2.5 thousand people.

The chairman of the meeting, Kerensky, in his one and a half hour speech on the first day of work, did not put forward any constructive program. The prime minister merely threw threats to the right and left to all the enemies of the revolution, insisting that he would crush with iron and blood attempts to resist the government.

In the speeches of Kornilov, Kaledin, Milyukov, Shulgin they spoke of the need to eliminate the Soviets, the abolition of public organizations in the army, the war to a victorious end, the introduction of the death penalty and field courts in the rear.

The Moscow State Conference essentially turned into a nationwide review of the bourgeoisie and petty-bourgeois groups, cut off from the people. It was not for nothing that the member of the executive committee of the Petrograd Soviet, the Menshevik N. N. Sukhanov, having attended the meeting, called him the “Moscow disgrace”.

The name of L. G. Kornilov became widely known in Russia after he fled from Austrian captivity in July 1916, where he fell in April 1915 as a result of the defeat of the division he led. On March 2, 1917, at the request of Nikolai N. Rodzianko, at the same time as he renounced the throne, he appointed Kornilov commander of the Petrograd Military District.

After the failure of the summer offensive of the Russian armies, Kornilov replaced General Brusilov as head commander. Occupying this high post from July 19, Kornilov developed a program to stabilize the situation in the country, which was based on the idea of ​​iron discipline. The version of the program presented to Kerensky was considered to be excessively sharp in form.

Arriving on August 13 in Moscow, Kornilov was given an enthusiastic meeting at the station. The next day he spoke at the Moscow State Conference, describing the legislative measures taken after the overthrow of the monarchy as the main reason for the collapse of the army.

In the immediate environment of Kornilov and with his participation, plans were developed for establishing a new form of government in Russia. After the defeat of the Russian troops in the Riga operation and the fall of Riga (August 21), Kornilov began negotiations with Kerensky. Leading them through intermediaries, Kornilov sought to achieve a peaceful transfer to him of all power. At the same time, the general did not rule out the possibility of establishing a “one-man or collective” dictatorship.

At the head of the country was supposed to put the Council of National Defense. L. G. Kornilov was to be its chairman, A. F. Kerensky, and M. V. Alekseev, Admiral A. V. Kolchak, B. V. Savinkov, M. M. Filonenko were to become members. Under the Council, it was planned to form a government with a wide representation of political forces: from the tsarist minister N. N. Pokrovsky to G. V. Plekhanov.

August 25, Kornilov moved the troops to Petrograd. One part of the population waited for his arrival with hope, the other - with horror. Rumors about the upcoming entry into the capital of some "Wild Division", consisting of "mountain goons", gave rise to panic. Kornilov’s demands were to declare Petrograd in a state of martial law, and to transfer all power, military and civil, to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, who would constitute the cabinet of ministers. The main fighting force of Kornilov was the 3rd cavalry corps of General A. Krymov, which was scheduled to enter the capital.

Kerensky refused to negotiate with Kornilov and sent him a telegram, ordering him to hand over the post of Commander-in-Chief and arrive in Petrograd. Kornilov did not obey the order and was declared a rebel. However, the plan for the capture of Petrograd by the forces of Krymov failed. By the actions of the Councils of Belarus, the headquarters was cut off from the fronts. On August 29, the executive committee of the South-Western Front arrested its commander-in-chief, A.I. Denikin, while the army committees of all the armies of this front arrested their commanders.

Other supporters of Kornilov were isolated at the front, in several cities of the country. Attempts by Kornilov to get support were not crowned with success, and on September 2, 1917, he was arrested. General Krymov, convinced of the failure of the rebellion, shot himself August 31. It was on this day that the liquidation of the movement was officially announced. Kornilov and his supporters were imprisoned in the town of Bykhov.

The government, seeking to give satisfaction to public opinion, declared Russia a republic on September 1.