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79-658: The April Crisis , which occurred in Russia throughout April 1917, broke out in response to a series of political and public controversies. Conflict over Russia's foreign policy goals tested the dual power arrangement between the Petrograd Soviet and the Russian Provisional Government . The Executive Committee and the full Soviet endorsed Nikolai Sukhanov 's "An Appeal to All the Peoples of

158-486: A Contact Commission was created on March 8 to "inform... [the Provisional Government] about the demands of the revolutionary people, to exert pressure on the government to dissatisfy all these demands, and to exercise uninterrupted control over their implementation." On March 19, the control extended into the military front lines with commissars appointed with Ministry of War support. In March 1917,

237-620: A Bolshevik uprising, still disputed whether intentional by Lenin, occurred. In what is seen as a " grassroots " uprising, workers and lower ranks of soldiers violently demonstrated in the streets, calling for the Soviet to take power over the Provisional Government. The uprising was supported by the Bolshevik Military Organization and Petersburg Committee, who sent in more support, but the leaders of

316-523: A dual-power approach as "forging alliances and supporting demands on existing institutions – elected officials, public agencies, universities, workplaces, banks, corporations, museums – while at the same time developing self-organized counter-institutions." In this context, the strategy itself is sometimes also referred to as "counterpower" to differentiate it from the term's Leninist origins. Strategies used by libertarian socialists to build dual power include: Petrograd Soviet The Soviet

395-487: A public ambivalence–but was deeply worried about counterrevolutionary moves from the military, and was determined to have garrison troops firmly on its side. The Petrograd Soviet developed into an alternate source of authority to the Provisional Government under (Prince) Georgy Lvov and later Alexander Kerensky . This created a situation described as dvoevlastie ( dual power ), in which

474-466: A revolutionary organ according to Bolshevik policies. On October 6, with a German advance threatening the city, the government - after advice from the military – made plans to evacuate to Moscow. The Ispolkom attacked the move, and Trotsky had the soldiers' section, who were mostly Mensheviks, vote on a resolution condemning the evacuation. The Provisional Government postponed evacuation indefinitely. Its attempts to dispatch Petrograd garrison units to

553-534: A series of revolutionary wars within the warring nations. The Bolshevik Party's strict stance against Russia's participation in World War 1 led to an increase in the party's popularity. Dual power (Russian Revolution) " Dual power " (Russian: Двоевластие , romanized : Dvoyevlastiye ) refers to the coexistence of two Russian governments as a result of the February Revolution :

632-632: A type of government superior to and better than the Soviets." With the July Days seen as "Lenin's worst blunder", even though it was not necessarily his intention, the Bolsheviks were still not in place to take over the Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet. However, with the Kornilov affair of August 1917 (Julian-style date), the Bolsheviks regained both power in their party, but also with

711-883: Is known as the Dvoyevlastiye (Dual power). Its committees were key components during the Russian Revolution and some of them led the armed revolt of the October Revolution . Before 1914, Petrograd was known as Saint Petersburg , and in 1905 the workers' soviet called the St Petersburg Soviet was created. But the main precursor to the 1917 Petrograd Soviet was the Central Workers' Group (Центральная Рабочая Группа, Tsentral'naya Rabochaya Gruppa ), founded in November 1915 by

790-495: Is not general confusion. The disappearance of old leaders and structures of power is accommodated by the expansion of the alternative system. The French Marxist writer and guerilla partisan Régis Debray identified the concept of dual-power with that of the movement of Trotskyism in his popular 1967 work Révolution dans la Révolution? ( Revolution in the Revolution? ). Within the theory of dual-power, according to Debray,

869-584: The Mensheviks to mediate between workers and the new Central War Industry Committee in Petrograd. The group became increasingly radical as World War I progressed and the economic situation worsened, encouraging street demonstrations and issuing revolutionary proclamations. On January 27, 1917 (all dates Old Style ) the entire leadership of the Central Workers' Group was arrested and taken to

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948-708: The Peter and Paul Fortress on the orders of Alexander Protopopov , the Minister of the Interior in Imperial Russia . They were freed by a crowd of disaffected soldiers on the morning of February 27, the beginning of the February Revolution, and the chairman convened a meeting to organize and elect a Soviet of Workers' Deputies that day. That evening, between 69 and 300 people attended the meeting at

1027-465: The Soviets ( workers' councils ), particularly the Petrograd Soviet , and the Russian Provisional Government . The term was first used by the communist Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) in the 1917 Pravda article titled "The Dual Power". Lenin argued that this essentially unstable situation constituted a unique opportunity for the Soviets and Bolsheviks to seize power by smashing

1106-517: The Tauride Palace . A provisional executive committee ( Ispolkom ) was chosen, named "Provisional Executive Committee of the Soviet of Workers' Deputies" and chaired by Nikolay Chkheidze , and with mostly Menshevik deputies. (Chkheize was replaced by Irakli Tsereteli in late March). Izvestia was chosen as the official newspaper of the group. The following day, February 28, was the plenary session; elected representatives from factories and

1185-565: The military joined the soviet, and again moderates dominated. Non-representative voting and enthusiasm gave the Soviet almost 3,000 deputies in two weeks, of which the majority were soldiers. The meetings were chaotic, confused, and unruly, little more than a stage for speechmakers. The party-based Ispolkom quickly took charge of actual decision-making. The members of the executive committee, called Ispolkom , came only from political groups, with every socialist party given three seats (agreed March 18). This created an intellectual and radical head to

1264-642: The "Appeal to All the Peoples of the World" and the "Declaration of War Aims," instead demanding "all power to the soviets." He rejected any cooperation with the Provisional government or the Mensheviks, and called for withdrawal of Russia's troops from the war. Lenin's views on these issues were published in the Bolshevik newspaper, Pravda , on 7 April in what is known as his April Theses . On 18 April,

1343-485: The Allies in 1915. In response to Milyukov's leaked notes, vast numbers of workers and soldiers took to the streets of Petrograd and Moscow. These demonstrations were sometimes violent: armed soldiers occupied the streets, and many skirmishes occurred between pro and anti-government activists. Brutality among anti-government protestors was aimed at the Provisional Government's inconsistent stance on Russia's participation in

1422-418: The Bolsheviks as the only group that held fast to their anti-war policy, due to the collaboration and compromise needed for the other left-leaning political groups to work with the coalition government. The Bolsheviks were the only political party that remained unwavering in their stance against Russia's involvement in the war. Lenin believed that the "international, imperialist war," would be better turned into

1501-515: The Bolsheviks, were without success. The rise of Kerensky, and the later shock of the Kornilov affair , polarized the political scene. The Petrograd Soviet moved steadily leftwards, just as those of the center and right consolidated around Kerensky. Despite the events in July, the Ispolkom moved to protect the Bolsheviks from serious consequences, adopting resolutions on August 4 and August 18 against

1580-751: The Congress dismissed the Ispolkom and replaced it with a new group of 101 members (62 Bolsheviks) under Lev Borisovich Kamenev . It also approved the Decree on Peace , the Decree on Land and the formation of a new government – the Council of People's Commissars ( Soviet Narodnykh Komissarov , abbreviated to Sovnarkom ) – until the meeting of the Constituent Assembly. The Sovnarkom was meant to be an executive governing body directly accountable to

1659-592: The Congress of Soviets. It was packed with Bolsheviks and Left SR deputies. That evening, the Second Congress of Soviets opened in the Assembly Hall in Smolny. The 600 or so delegates chose a Presidium of 3 Mensheviks and 21 Bolsheviks and Left SRs. The following day, the Ispolkom rejected the workings of the Congress and called on the Soviets and the army to defend the Revolution. But in the evening,

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1738-577: The Petrograd Soviet competed for legitimacy with the Provisional Government until the October Revolution. The Ispolkom (the "executive committee") of the Petrograd Soviet often publicly attacked the Provisional Government as bourgeois and boasted of its de facto power over de jure authority (control over post , telegraphs , the press, railroads , food supply , and other infrastructure ). A "shadow government" with

1817-614: The Petrograd Soviet was opposed to the workers, which protested its deliberations with strikes. On March 8, the Menshevik newspaper Rabochaia Gazeta even claimed that the strikers were discrediting the soviet by disobeying it. The Ispolkom expanded to 19 members on April 8, nine representing the Soldiers' Section, and ten the Workers' Section. All members were socialists, the majority Mensheviks or Socialist-Revolutionaries ; there

1896-471: The Petrograd Soviet, the Provisional Government offered the Soviets a foundation from which they could draw power, and (to a certain extent) vindicated Soviet beliefs. It also gave them a powerful platform to voice their discontent with the Provisional Government's policies. On 1 March the Petrograd Soviet released "An Appeal to All the Peoples of the World," a letter written by N.N. Sukhanov. The letter condemned Russia's participation in World War 1, criticizing

1975-481: The Proletariat, while the Provisional Government members were part of the former State Duma, representing the old government under the tsar. This divide was also evident in the military, between rank-and-file soldiers and military officers. As World War I continued on, soldiers started to mutiny or to disobey orders from their superiors, while supporting the soviets, hoping to bring an end to Russia's involvement in

2054-614: The Provisional Government alike pushed for new policies including the release of political prisoners, a decree of freedom of press, cessation of the Okhrana , abolition of the death penalty, and rights for minorities. The Provisional Government and the Kadets also wanted Russia to continue to be involved in World War I , much to the dismay of the Soviets. Despite certain political ideas, the Kadets became slightly more conservative overall with

2133-451: The Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet came to a close. As the ideological monopoly of dominant institutions is broken and people increasingly rely on Alternative Institutions (AIs), those who benefited from existing arrangements may seek to dismantle their upstart competitors. At the same time, those who seek fundamental changes in society or who find the alternative ways of organizing it valuable may seek to enlarge and strengthen

2212-537: The Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet constantly vying for power, there was much confusion on how both could coexist and govern effectively. In this confusion, the Provisional Government realized the Soviet had the people's trust and enthusiasm. In the hopes of appeasing the Soviet and keeping the support of the population, the Provisional Government launched several very bold liberal acts and promoted civil liberties through means of freedom of speech, press, and assembly. Yet, other than strategic political motives,

2291-435: The Provisional Government because of how it handled Kornilov's coup, and many began supporting the Bolsheviks, with the group winning elections throughout Petrograd, especially in districts made up of the working class. This event, coupled with food shortages, the continuation of Russian involvement in World War I, and mass unemployment, worked in the Bolsheviks favor, turning people away from the government in charge and toward

2370-400: The Provisional Government or the other Soviet leaders who were willing to compromise. Other members of Soviet leadership were skeptical of Lenin's ideas since they were afraid that Lenin and the Bolsheviks were advocating for anarchism . Lenin also criticized the Petrograd Soviet for governing alongside the Provisional Government, and accused them of forgetting and abandoning socialist ideas and

2449-464: The Provisional Government to speak against the aims of the old, tsarist regime in the war. On 14 March, the Provisional Government declared that Russia's goal was not to conquer people or territories, but was to achieve stable peace. On 3 April, the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin arrived in Petrograd on a sealed train from Switzerland. At the Finland Station, he made statements against both

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2528-410: The Provisional Government understood that their power was illegitimate, due to the fact that they were not elected by the people. To solve the problem of illegitimacy, the Provisional Government was in the process of establishing the Constituent Assembly, whose members would be democratically elected by the people. The Constituent Assembly would never come to be under the Provisional Government's rule, as

2607-479: The Provisional Government, and against Russian involvement in World War I . The public responded with mass demonstrations and violence in the streets of Petrograd , forcing Milyukov and War Minister Alexander Guchkov to resign. These events blurred the distinction between Dual Power, resulted in more governmental Soviet positions, and isolated the Bolsheviks as the only major Socialist party not affiliated with

2686-582: The Provisional Government. After the end of Romanov rule in February 1917, Russia's new Provisional Government, composed of State Duma members and the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies , governed Russia as halves of the Dual Power dynamic. Soviet participation in the Provisional Government swayed governmental policies, and cultivated the political issues of the April Crisis. At

2765-476: The Second Congress of Soviets of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies to present the overthrow of the Provisional Government and state authority by the Bolshevik party. The Winter Palace (at the time, the home of the Provisional Government) was seized without a casualty the morning of the 26th, and the Congress had no choice but to approve Lenin's decree. With this, the period of dual power between

2844-459: The Soviet, which led to delaying negotiations and meetings on October 23 and 24. The Bolshevik-popular uprising began on October 24, when "liberal" forces tried to shut down Pravda and take other steps to secure the government. The Milrevcom sent armed groups to seize the main telegraph offices and lower the bridges across the Neva. That night, the Bolsheviks took control quickly and easily, since

2923-402: The Soviets including arming the Soviets and their followers during the Kornilov affair . The Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies in Petrograd served as the voice of the smaller councils of deputies elected by commoners, specifically soldiers and workers. The Petrograd Soviet, therefore, could claim a much better understanding of the people's will, since it was composed of many orators whom

3002-568: The War Minister, Alexandr Guchkov, both resigned. The cabinet was subsequently reorganized to include socialists. Victor Chernov , a leader of the Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) was now Minister of Agriculture, and Irakli Tsereteli , a Menshevik , was in charge of Posts and Telegraphs. The far-left leaning Bolsheviks refused to participate in what they viewed as the "bourgeois" coalition government. This left Lenin and

3081-531: The Winter Palace were among the actions that led to accusations of counterrevolutionary activity (reestablishment of autocratic government) by the Provisional Government. A new kind of duality between the classes (proletariat and bourgeoisie) was a split noticeable not only in government, but also in everyday life for Russians. This led to increased tensions between both theaters, and made it difficult for groups to collaborate. The Petrograd Soviet represented

3160-522: The World", which renounced war and "acquisitionist ambitions." This appeal conflicted with the Provisional Government's position on annexations, and Foreign Minister Pavel Milyukov responded with the Milyukov note on 18 April declaring Russia's right to Constantinople and the Dardanelles . Newspapers printed Milyukov's note on 20 April. Milyukov's note united disparate groups of Russians against

3239-446: The acceptance of the new social forms by much of the populace and the realization by the old rulers that they are no longer capable of using their systems of force against the revolutionary movement. This can occur because noncooperation has crippled the old structures of power, because too few people remain loyal to the old rulers to enforce their will, or because the rulers themselves undergo an ideological conversion. At this point, there

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3318-454: The alternative infrastructure. Counter institutions (XIs) are created both to defend the AIs and to promote their growth. These work to challenge and attack the status quo while creating, defending, and securing space for opposition and alternative institutions. They do this with everything from political protests , to direct appropriation (of plantations, government buildings, factories, etc.) for

3397-533: The arrest and prosecution of Bolsheviks. Still wary of the Ispolkom, the government released many senior Bolsheviks on bail or promise of good behavior. In the August 20 municipal elections, the Bolsheviks took a third of the votes, a 50% increase in three months. During the Kornilov affair, the Ispolkom was forced to use the Bolsheviks' military as its main force against the "counter-revolution". Kerensky ordered

3476-404: The attempted overthrow. The Provisional Government also attempted to undermine Lenin and his party by revealing their investigation of his ties to Germany, Russia's enemy during World War I. These combined actions would quell the Bolshevik uprising and support until August 1917 (Julian). The reinstatement of the death penalty for soldiers, and Kerensky transferring the Provisional Government into

3555-774: The body tapered from daily in the first weeks to roughly weekly by April. The rise of the Bolsheviks throughout 1917 is known as the Bolshevization of soviets . The Bolsheviks rapidly assumed the mantle of the official opposition , and took advantage of the new socialist presence in the Cabinet to attack them for the failures of the Provisional Government. The Bolsheviks began a strong run of propaganda . In June, 100,000 copies of Pravda (including Soldatskaya Pravda , Golos Pravdy , and Okopnaya Pravda ) were printed daily. In July, over 350,000 leaflets were distributed. The July Days riots from July 16–17, inspired but not led by

3634-599: The center of Petrograd. Russian police, known as the Cossacks , and soldiers from the Volhynian regiment, attempted to disseminate the crowd, but had little success. Four days later, on 27 February, key Russian military units allied themselves with the protestors, arresting Tsarist ministers the following day. During this span of time, Tsar Nicholas II had taken personal command of the Russian army. Upon receiving news about

3713-412: The country's enduring expansionist ambitions. It also sought to confine Russia's focus mostly to intra-national issues. The letter was released at a time of public turmoil and disenfranchisement with the Provisional Government. Russia's lower classes had seen no relief from the burdens of inflation and limited resources, and were becoming more inclined to the Soviet ideals. The Petrograd Soviet pressured

3792-399: The distribution of 40,000 rifles to the workers of Petrograd (some Red Guards ), many of which ended in the hands of Bolshevik groups. As other socialist parties abandoned the Soviet organizations, the Bolsheviks increased their presence. On September 25, they gained a majority in the Workers' Section and Leon Trotsky was elected chairman. He directed the transformation of the Soviet into

3871-531: The eight-point program of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma , appointed an oversight committee ( nabliudatel'nyi komitet ), and issued a decidedly conditional statement of support. Moreover, the Soviet undermined the Provisional Government by issuing its own orders, beginning with the seven-article Order No. 1 . The Soviet was not opposed to the war – internal divisions produced

3950-439: The elections were set after the Bolsheviks seized power in the October Revolution . After the February Revolution, Lenin published his April Theses and in it he expressed unhappiness with the February Revolution as he described it as a "Bourgeois Revolution". He pushed for the slogan "All Power to the Soviets". Lenin mentioned that a Proletarian Revolution was necessary, and expressed that he had no interest in cooperating with

4029-484: The foreign minister, Paul Milyukov, sent a note to the Allies that said that Russia was determined to fight until World War I ended in victory. The note explained that the Provisional Government would readily enforce the usual "guarantees and sanctions" that would accompany victory. This statement implied that Russia would retain control of the Dardanelle Straits and Constantinople, as previously agreed upon by

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4108-406: The front were resisted by the troops and by the Ispolkom. On October 9, the Soviets considered the creation of a Committee of Revolutionary Defense. The Bolsheviks and Trotsky amended the resolution to include security of Petrograd against both German and domestic threats. The Plenum of the Soviet voted for a committee to "gather... all the forces participating in the defense of Petrograd... to arm

4187-526: The guerilla movement is subordinated to that of the vanguard party which both inhibits the flexibility of tactics available to revolutionary guerilla armies and places them in a defensive position to protect vanguard party officials and assets. Debray's strategical framework largely identified with that of the Cuban Revolution , in particular that of Fidel Castro and Ernesto "Che" Guevara . Libertarian socialists have more recently appropriated

4266-462: The lower class population elected. The Soviet was established after the February Revolution, composed of numerous socialist revolutionaries. The workers and soldiers of Russia saw hope in the Petrograd soviets, and elected deputies to it en masse , causing it to gain membership at an alarming rate (1,200 seats had been filled in a week). The Petrograd Soviet was seen as a benefactor that would bring them land, bread, and peace. The executive committee

4345-449: The masses. With Kornilov's soldiers moving towards the capital and the Provisional Government, Kerensky had released many Bolshevik leaders arrested during the July Days and also provided arms in order for the Bolsheviks to defend the Provisional Government. By arming and calling on those who he had earlier punished, the Bolsheviks saw that they truly were gaining power in the government and Russian society. The Russian population lost faith in

4424-404: The party had less concrete opinions about the demonstration. Alexander Kerensky , head of the Provisional Government, led a crackdown on those involved with the events of the July Days and overthrow of the Provisional Government. The military was used to gather and arrest violent demonstrators, retake government buildings from Bolshevik forces, and dissolve military units that had participated in

4503-575: The party that promised "Bread, Peace, Land." When the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government during the October Revolution , they were able to do so with little resistance. The Provisional Government realized that their power was limited at the point of takeover, as the Bolsheviks had been gaining supporters and had more revolutionaries. When the actual overthrow occurred between the days of October 25 and 26 (Julian), Bolsheviks first seized means of transportation and communication, such as roads, bridges, railways, and post offices. Lenin then went to

4582-407: The peasant-, worker-, and soldier-dominated body. The executive committee meetings were more intense and almost as disorderly as the public meetings and were often extremely long. On March 1, the executive committee resolved to remain outside any new State Duma . This allowed the group to criticize without responsibility, and kept them away from any potential backlash. On March 2, the Soviet received

4661-404: The polarization and conflict of the April Crisis. Created from former representatives of the State Duma, the Provisional Government took power on 2 March. The Provisional Government questioned their own authority and was hesitant to exercise power. This created a void of decisive governance, and damaged the Provisional Government's standing among Russia's lower classes. But the Provisional Government

4740-519: The proletarian revolution. The Provisional Government 's members primarily consisted of former State Duma members under Nicholas II 's reign. Its members were mainly members of the liberal Constitutional Democratic Party and conservative Octobrist party, but also included one Progressivist and one Trudovik . The ideological and political ideas differed wildly throughout the party's leadership and members, but most were moderates, offering both liberal and conservative views at times. The Kadets and

4819-541: The rise of left-wing parties and left-wing thought within both the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet. The Provisional Government realized that their power was not legitimate since they were former Duma members, and not elected by a general public. They knew that to be seen as a legitimate government body, they would need to be elected by the people, and they established the Constituent Assembly and scheduled popular elections to take place later in

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4898-418: The term to refer to the strategy of achieving a libertarian socialist economy and polity by means of incrementally establishing and then networking institutions of direct participatory democracy to contest the existing power structures of state and capitalism, ultimately leading to a revolutionary rupture. This does not necessarily mean disengagement with existing institutions; for example, Yates McKee describes

4977-460: The throne, the resulting February Revolution led to the establishment of the Provisional Government and its counterpart, the Petrograd Soviet . The Provisional Government was composed of former State Duma representatives with approval from the Petrograd Soviet, whereas the Petrograd Soviet was made up of socialist leaders elected by a proletariat constituency. With the Russian government moving from an autocracy to this system of "dual power" with

5056-447: The time, Russia was embroiled in World War I, but was suffering catastrophic losses to German armies. On 23 February, working class women stormed the streets of Petrograd, indicating the beginning of the February Revolution . This day was the socialist holiday International Women's Day , and women gathered to protest food shortages and high bread prices. In the following days, the protests intensified as both men and women marched towards

5135-502: The unrest in Petrograd, the Tsar made the decision to return to the capital and restore order. However, the Tsar's generals and a delegation of politicians from the State Duma, persuaded him that only by abdicating the throne could he achieve social peace. The Provisional Government and the Soviet of Workers' Deputies had conflicting plans for governance, and this disparity underlies much of

5214-482: The use of alternative institutions, to civil disobedience or armed resistance. The line between AIs and XIs is seldom entirely clear as many alternative institutions are also self-promoting or defending. Together the AIs and XIs form an alternative source of power in society which is "necessarily autonomous from, and competitive with, the dominant system, seeking to encroach upon the latter's domain, and, eventually, to replace it." Successful dual-power rebellions end with

5293-469: The vast majority of both the guard and the workers had sided with them, participating in the plans of the "Milrevcom". The following morning at 10 am, the Milrevcom issued an announcement written by Lenin , declaring the end of the Provisional Government and the transfer of power to the Petrograd Soviet. In the early afternoon, Trotsky convened an Extraordinary Session of the Petrograd Soviet, to preempt

5372-416: The war. Although the Bolshevik party was largely put down after the events of the July Days, Lenin still believed that the group could gain power in government because of unsteadiness due to the dual power situation. In April he wrote that the time was not yet right for revolution, as the Petrograd Soviet was still involved and working with the Provisional Government, as well as stating, "we do not as yet know

5451-528: The war. Facing famine and inflation, protestors raised their voices to decry the Provisional Government's failure to represent their viewpoints and desires. Among protestors demands was the faint call for Soviet power, which displayed the evolving sentiments of Russia's populace, and foreshadowed the lower class-driven rise of the Soviets. Fearing that Russia was not ready for Soviet rule, Soviet leaders worked to pacify protestors and quell demonstrations. Responding to unrest among Russia's lower classes, Milyukov and

5530-573: The weak Provisional Government and establishing themselves as the basis of a new form of state power. This notion has informed the strategies of subsequent communist -led revolutions elsewhere in the world, including the Chinese Communist Revolution led by Mao Zedong (1893–1976) after the Chinese Civil War (1927–1949) and in eastern Europe after World War II (1939–1945). After Tsar Nicholas II abdicated

5609-552: The workers... ensuring the revolutionary defense of Petrograd... against the... military and civilian Kornilovites." The Ispolkom approved the resolution, against Menshevik resistance, on October 12, and the Soviet approved it on October 16 (despite warnings by the Mensheviks and SRs), creating the Military Revolutionary Committee ( Voenno-Revoliutsionnyi Komitet ), also called the Milrevcom or Military Committee. The Military-Revolutionary Committee

5688-603: The year. Alexander Kerensky , a former member of the Fourth Duma and a chairman of the Soviet Executive Committee and eventually the Prime Minister for the Provisional Government, was brought into the Provisional Government as a way to gain support from left-wing parties and the Petrograd Soviet. Kerensky was a moderate socialist, and believed that cooperation with the Provisional Government

5767-422: Was always somewhat distanced from workers, soldiers, and peasants. The Petrograd Soviet, on the other hand, possessed powerful street-level sway of worker and peasant opinions. This asset made cooperation with the Soviets imperative to the Provisional Government's success, as ignoring the Soviets meant relative isolation from large segments of the population, and greater unrest among lower classes. By cooperating with

5846-550: Was chaired by Pavel Lazimir , with Nikolai Podvoisky as his deputy. It was a front for the activities of the Bolshevik's Military Organization. Podvoisky would take official control of the committee on the day of the uprising, with Vladimir Antonov-Ovseenko as secretary. The Ispolkom and the Provisional Government had been cut out of control of the forces in the Petrograd Military District, since very few of them remained loyal to them. The Military Staff

5925-547: Was established in March 1917 after the February Revolution as a representative body of the city's workers and soldiers, while the city already had its well-established city council, the Saint Petersburg City Duma (Central Duma). During the revolutionary days, the council tried to extend its jurisdiction nationwide as a rival power center to the Provisional Government , creating what in Soviet historiography

6004-490: Was initially made up of Nikolai Ckheidze , Matvei Skobelev , and Alexander Kerensky . To keep radical mentality from spreading and provoking a "counter-revolutionary movement", they supported the Provisional Government where necessary. The events of the July Days would solidify the issues of dual power within government between the Provisional Government and Petrograd Soviet. Between 3 and 7 July ( Julian Calendar date),

6083-473: Was necessary. Historian S. A. Smith explains that after the appointment of Kerensky "Thus was born 'dual power', an institutional arrangement under which the Provisional Government enjoyed formal authority, but where the Soviet Executive Committee had real power." The Provisional Government feared the Soviets immense growing power, and through this fear they tried to appease them as much as possible. When Kerensky became Prime Minister, he attempted to work with

6162-617: Was no Bolshevik representation. After the first All-Russian Congress of Soviets (June/July 1917), the Petrograd Soviet began adding representatives from other parts of Russia and the front lines, renaming itself the All-Russian Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies . The executive committee became the All-Russian Central Executive Committee ( CEC or VTsIK ) with over 70 members (but no peasant representatives). The mass meetings of

6241-409: Was sidelined on the night of October 21, when the Milrevcom took exclusive control of the garrison in the name of the Soldiers' Section of the Soviet. The District Commander, Colonel Polkovnikov, refused to allow this control, and he and his staff were condemned in a Milrevcom public statement as "a direct weapon of the counter-revolutionary forces". The military command responded with an ultimatum to

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