what were the changes that you see after the formation of provisional govt. in Russia?
Answers
Answer:
The Provisional Government was the national government of Russia between the February Revolution and the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. During its brief lifespan the Provisional Government faced many challenges, including Russia’s involvement in World War I, ongoing economic shortages and opposition from a recalcitrant Petrograd Soviet and radical Bolshevik revolutionaries.
Contents
1 Background
2 Composition
3 Early principles
4 Obstacles to government
5 The obstructive Soviet
6 ‘Order Number One’
7 War policy
8 Milyukov’s note
9 First cabinet collapses
Background
The Provisional Government inherited political authority after the abdication of Nicholas II. It enjoyed a brief honeymoon period marked by hope, optimism and public support. Many Russian people welcomed the new government.
Before long, however, the Provisional Government was confronted by the same policy issues that undermined and destroyed tsarism. The abdication of Nicholas II might have relaxed the mood of the people but it did not fix Russia’s failing transportation infrastructure or increase supplies of bread and coal in Petrograd.
Even more pressing was the question of Russia’s involvement in World War I. Many believed the Provisional Government should seek peace terms from Germany and withdraw from the war, to ease pressure on Russia’s economy and allow political reconstruction. Others believed that Russia, having made promises to its allies in 1914, should honour them.
The Provisional Government chose the latter path. Its ongoing commitment to the war would eventually prove fatal. By the end of July 1917, the Provisional Government was disregarded, disrespected and almost powerless. The question was not whether it would survive but when it would fall.
Composition
The core of the new government was a provisional committee of Duma deputies, assembled during the unrest that became the February Revolution. On March 2nd, hours after Nicholas II abdicated the throne, the committee discarded three of its Octobrist members and reformed as the Provisional Government of Russia.
In its first formation, the Provisional Government contained 12 ministers, seven of whom were liberal Kadets. Its first prime minister was Prince Georgy Lvov, a minor royal and wealthy landowner who favoured a transition to a liberal-democratic government.
The only socialist in Lvov’s cabinet was Alexander Kerensky, a Socialist-Revolutionary lawyer who led the Trudovik labour faction in the Duma.
Early principles
On March 3rd the Provisional Government issued a manifesto containing eight principles by which it would function. The first four of these were the most significant:
1. An immediate and complete amnesty in all cases of a political and religious nature, including terrorist acts, military revolts and agrarian offences, etc.
2. Freedom of speech, press, and assembly, and the right to form unions and to strike and the extension of political freedom to persons serving in the armed forces limited only by the demands of military and technical circumstances.
3. The abolition of all restrictions based on class, religion, and nationality.
4. The immediate arrangements for the calling on the Constituent Assembly on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage and secret ballot, which will determine the form of government and the constitution of the country.
As its name suggests, the Provisional Government was only intended to be a temporary regime. It was formed to oversee Russia’s transition from tsarism to a democratically elected Constituent Assembly. Most expected elections for this Constituent Assembly would be organised and held within six months, certainly well before the end of 1917.
Obstacles to government
In the meantime, the Provisional Government attempted to rule as one might expect an elected government to rule. This was problematic, for several reasons.
While its members were drawn from the Duma, the Provisional Government itself had no mandate. It had not been elected or endorsed by the people. Russians were aware of its temporary nature, so the Provisional Government’s laws and decrees – and particularly its war policies – were not always respected or taken seriously.