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March-October 1917Reputable source · 2 sourcesWell documented

Dual power: the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet

One body has the legal authority. The other has the guns. Russia tries to run on both at once.

On the timeline · around March-October 1917 · The Year of Two RevolutionsWar and Collapse, 1914-1917The Year of Two RevolutionsDual power: the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet1917

Quick facts

Provisional Government led by
Prince Georgy Lvov
Rival body
Petrograd Soviet, 500+ members
Term coined by
Lenin

What happened

After Nicholas II's abdication, a Provisional Government formed from Duma politicians, mostly liberals and moderates, and initially led by Prince Georgy Lvov. At the same time, workers reformed the soviets that had first appeared in 1905, and the Petrograd Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies emerged as a rival body of over 500 elected members. Because the Petrograd Soviet's Executive Committee controlled the city's garrison, World History Encyclopedia notes it was the Soviet, not the government, that really held the reins of power even though the Provisional Government held formal legal authority. Lenin later coined the term "dual power" for this arrangement, in which the government could issue decrees but the Soviet decided whether soldiers and workers would actually carry them out.

Why it matters

Dual power meant Russia had no single authority capable of making a decision stick, on the war, on land reform, or on anything else, through the spring and summer of 1917. That paralysis discredited the Provisional Government with every month that passed and created the opening the Bolsheviks eventually used to seize power outright in October.

How we know

World History Encyclopedia's dedicated account of Russia's Provisional Government describes its formation under Lvov, the Petrograd Soviet's control of the garrison, and why the resulting dual power proved unstable.

Sources

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Dual power: the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet · The Russian Revolution · SourcedStory