Which was more powerful: The Provisional
Government or the Petrograd Soviet?
On 2 March a
Provisional
Government was declared, made
up largely of leading figures of the
various liberal parties. It was
dominated by the Kadets and their
leader, Milyukov, who became
Foreign Minister. There was one
socialist
minister,
Alexander
Kerensky, who became Minister of
Justice; he was soon to become a
major player in the events that
unfolded during 1917. The new
Prime Minister, Prince Lvov, was a
strange choice but a popular one. He had headed the union of zemstva (town and district
councils), and had been widely praised for his efforts in providing support and medical help for
soldiers at the Front. The avowed job of the Provisional Government, and hence its title
‘provisional’ was to run Russia until elections to a Constituent Assembly could take place.
Another important body was taking shape at the same time in the same building – the Tauride
Palace – where the Duma members were meeting. The Petrograd Soviet was formed on Monday
27 February. The idea for this seems to have come from Menshevik intellectuals. It quickly became
the focus of working-class aspirations. Factories were asked to elect delegates to attend a full
meeting of the Soviet. When it met, an Executive Committee was chosen. This was dominated by
Mensheviks and non-party socialist intellectuals. Its first chairman was a leading Menshevik,
Chkheidze)
Soldiers were also anxious to protect their own interests. On Wednesday 1 March they went to the
Soviet and demanded representation. They gained the famous Order Number 1 (see Source A).
ach regiment was to elect committees that would send representatives to the Soviet. It was now
called the ‘Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies’.
SOURCE A: Extracts from Order Number 1
The Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies has decided:
 In all companies, battalions and separate branches of military service of all kinds and on
warships, committees should be chosen immediately.
 The orders of … the State Duma [Provisional Government] shall be carried out only …
[when] they do not contradict the orders and decisions of the Soviet of Workers’ and
Soldiers’ Deputies.
 All kind of arms, such as rifles and machine guns, must be under the control of the
company and battalion committees and must in no case be handed over to officers even
on their demand.
 The addressing of officers with titles such as ‘Your excellency’, ‘Your Honour’, etc., is
abolished and these are replaced by ‘Mr General’, ‘Mr Colonel’ and so on.
Order Number 1 was extremely significant. It not only gave the soldiers representation but also gave their
committees control of all weapons. It stated that soldiers would only obey the Provisional Government if the
Soviet agreed. Thus a situation of ‘dual power’ was created.
SOURCE B: The membership and role of the Petrograd Soviet and the Provisional
Government
The Provisional Government
was the popularly accepted,
although unelected
government but the real
power lay quite clearly with
the Soviet. Through its
soldier and worker
representatives the Soviet
controlled:
 Factories
 Railways
 Telegraph stations
 Power supplies
 Soldiers in the
Petrograd Soviet
SOURCE C: Members of the first Provisional Government
The Provisonal Government could not move around or send a message without the Soviet’s
knowing. The Soviet could determine which factories stayed open and which services, such as
electricity, would be provided.
The policy of the Soviet was to keep its distance from the middle-class Provisional Government, to
act as a sort of watchdog to make sure that it did nothing to damage the interests of the working
class. It decided not to participate directly in the government. There was one exception –
Alexander Kerensky. He was vice-chairman of the Soviet and Minister of Justice in the Provisional
Government. He served a useful role, running, sometimes literally, between the two to make sure
there was no misunderstandings.
SOURCE C: A meeting of the
Petrograd Soviet
The obvious question is: why didn’t
the Soviet simply take over and form
its own government? There are a
number of answers to this:
1. The leaders of the Soviet did not
think the time was right for the
workers to form the government.
The Mensheviks and the Socialist
Revolutionaries believed that
Russia had to go through a
‘bourgeois revolution’ before the
workers could assume power.
They were following the classical
Marxist line and believed there had to be a long period in which capitalism developed more
fully, society became more industrialised and the proletariat became much larger. During this
time Russia would be run by a democratically elected government. They believed the workers
needed a period of education before they could play a role in running a country, though they
did see a powerful role for the soviets in local government.
2. There was a practical reason behind this theoretical position: they wanted to avoid a civil war
and counter-revolution. They needed to keep the middle classes and their commanders on
their side. The Russian High Command had kept their troops outside the city because they
were reassured that the Duma politicians (solid middle-class citizens) were in control of the
situation. If they though that a socialist government hostile to them and to military discipline
was going to assume power, then they might as well send in their troops.
3. The leaders of the Soviet, mainly intellectual socialists, were scared; they were not sure they
could control the masses. They thought all the anger in the streets might be turned against
them if they became the government.
Therefore, the leaders of the Soviet, most of whom had little experience of government , decided
to step back and let others steer the ship in the dangerous waters of February-April 1917, while
they kept a close eye on events.
In fact, for the first two months of the revolution, there was little to bring the Provisional
Government and the Soviet into conflict. The first measures taken by the Provisional Government
met with Soviet and public approval.
 Tsarist ministers and officials were arrested and imprisoned. The police, on the whole, put
themselves under arrest; this was a desperate move to stop the workers and soldiers from
literally pulling them to pieces.
 The secret police were disbanded.
 The first decree of the Provisional Government (worked out with the Soviet) granted an
amnesty for political and religious prisoners and established freedom of the press and
freedom of speech. The death penalty was abolished. Discrimination on social, religious
and national grounds was made illegal.

The Provisional Government promised it would arrange for elections for a Constituent
Assembly that would determine the future government of Russia. These elections were to
be by secret ballot and universal suffrage.
Support for the new government flooded in from outside the capital and harmony was maintained
between the Provisional Government and the Soviet. The soldier representatives on the Soviet
were happy since it had been agreed that soldiers in the Petrograd garrison would not be sent to
the Front. The workers were happy because they had secured the right to strike and to organise
trade unions, and eight-hour working day and the recognition of the factory committees. It was an
optimistic time, when it seemed that the worst aspects of tsarism had been ditched and a bright
future beckoned. Lenin remarked in the summer of 1917 that Russia was the freest country in the
world.
However, the honeymoon period could not last. Beyond Petrograd, workers’ and peasants’
committees were being established and spreading. Hard decisions had to be taken. The main issue
that was causing problems was the war. The war was still being fought and soldiers were dying in
large numbers; there were still shortages of food and fuel, too. And, soon, the capital was to be
shaken by the arrival at the beginning of April of a new personality – Lenin!
Tasks
1. Draw a table like the one below and complete it using the information provided in this
booklet.
Provisional Government
Soviet
Who were its members?
How was this body formed?
What powers did it have?
2. Make notes to explain why:
(a) the Soviet did not take power when it had the opportunity
(b) the Soviet co-operated with the Provisional Government
Dumas and Soviets: Revision
The Duma had been established after the 1905 Revolution in Russia. It was an elected parliament
but had little real power and was not truly representative of the mass of the people – the workers
and peasants. The voting arrangements were weighted heavily in favour of the upper and middle
classes. However, it did represent the first move towards some form of constitutional monarchy
and played a more important role during the First World War.
The word soviet in Russian simply means ‘council’. Factories sent representatives along to the
council (soviet) to look after their interests and to put their point of view to the wider community.
The soviets had appeared as a form of working-class organisation during the 1905 Revolution,
when over 80 had been set up in towns across Russia. They were not controlled by one party and
were often led by non-party men of local repute. The words soviet did not have the political
connotation that it later assumed under the Bolshevik regime. It was not surprising that workers
and soldiers looked towards this form of organisation when the old regime collapsed in 1917,
particularly in Petrograd. The Petrograd (or St. Petersburg as it was then) Soviet played a very
significant role in 1905 under the chairman ship of Leon Trotsky.