Tauride Palace
On the eve of the opening of the Duma, the Prime Minister told Rodzianko that "the government is ready to make a concession to the Progressive Bloc, provided that the unit itself is also ready to make compromises." It was a shift to the left; they expected he would launch a more liberal and conciliatory politics. The Duma gathered on 9 February 1916. The deputies were disappointed when Stürmer held his speech, as the politicians tried to bring the government under control of the Duma. For the first time in his life, the Tsar had made a visit to the Tauride Palace, which made it practically impossible to hiss at the new prime minister.