Russian Governance Between the February and October Revolutions

Overview

Between the February and October Revolutions of 1917, Russia was governed by two concurrent governments:

• The liberal-led Provisional Government
• The socialist-led Petrograd Soviet

Provisional Government

• Temporary institution to arrange general elections and hold things together until the Constituent Assembly could be summoned.
• Had universal support initially, but support waned quickly.
• Struggled to address major issues: peace, bread, land.

Challenges

• Peace: Continued involvement in World War I.
• Bread: War effort consumed food supplies/resources; internal market paralyzed; peasants uninterested in selling grain; lack of authority over military to demand grain resulted in food shortages.
• Land: Failure to implement land reforms led to peasants forcibly taking land.

Petrograd Soviet

• Formed by workers and soldiers during the February Revolution.
• Soviets (local councils) formed across the country, gaining popular support and real power over army, railways, and factories.
• Petrograd Soviet emerged as the most powerful, issuing its own decrees and acting as an alternative government.

Crisis and Political Instability

• Provisional Government was politically unstable.
• Initial coalition dominated by Kadets, led by Prince Georgy Lvov.
• Shift of power to socialist leaders from April onwards, focus increasingly on Alexander Kerensky.

Key Events

• Kornilov Affair (August 1917):
  • General Lavr Kornilov attempted to overthrow the Provisional Government.
  • Allegedly, Kerensky conspired with Kornilov initially but then armed the Soviets (dominated by Bolsheviks) to defend against Kornilov.
  • The Soviets halted Kornilov, costing Kerensky his political career and dooming the Provisional Government.

Decline of Provisional Government

• Declared Russia a republic on 14 September 1917.
• Overthrown by the Bolsheviks less than two months later (October Revolution).