Doppler laser interferometry is used to measure the transient time between theslow quasi-stationary stage of damage accumulation in rock samples to theultrafast catastrophic stage of failure as well as the duration of theautocatalytic stage of macroscopic fracture. Small rock samples are tested forcompression and three-point bending, and the velocity of displacement of theirlateral surfaces is measured up to macroscopic fracture. The surface velocity atthe catastrophic stage proves to be three orders of magnitude higher than theaverage surface velocity at the quasi-stationary stage of damage accumulation.The transient time to catastrophic failure is estimated at 60100 ms, and theduration of the ultrafast catastrophic failure stage is 1520 ms for smallmarble samples. The transient stage is the process of self-organization ofindividual acts of fracture into the state of self-organized criticality. Atthis stage, the distribution of individual acts of fracture evolves intopower-law distributions. A simple fracture model with power laws is proposed,which is in full agreement with the experimental data. The developedmathematical model is used to calculate fracture of small rock samples,reproducing uniaxial compression and three-point bending tests, as well asfracture in rock masses with mine openings. We also model the process offaulting and fracturing in the mountains of Central Altai, including theforeshock process, main event (the Chuya earthquake of September 27, 2003) andaftershock process. The calculated seismic process fully corresponds to theGutenbergRichter recurrence law, and the calculated aftershock process conformsto the Omori law.