Russian Republic

1917–1918Anthem: Рабочая Марсельеза
Rabochaya Marsel'yeza
"Worker's Marseillaise"Гимн Свободной России
Gimn Svobodnoy Rossii
"Anthem of Free Russia" (Unofficial)Government Seal:
CapitalPetrogradCommon languagesRussianDemonym(s)RussianGovernmentFederal parliamentary directorial republic under a provisional governmentMinister-Chairman Alexander Kerensky^[c]none^[d]  Viktor Chernov LegislatureProvisional Council (1917)
none (1917–1918)
Constituent Assembly^[e] (1918)Historical eraWorld War I / Russian
Revolution10–13 September 191714 September 19177 November 191725 November 191718 January 191819 January 1918 CurrencyRuble

Preceded by	Succeeded by
Russian Empire Russian Provisional Government	RSFSR Russian State Transcaucasian Turkestan Finland Alash Crimea Moldavia Buryat-Mongolia Siberia Ukraine Estonia Yakutia Idel-Ural Altai Belarus Green Ukraine Northern Caucasus Northwest Russia Latvia Lithuania Kuban

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The Russian Republic,^[f] referred to as the Russian Democratic Federal Republic^[g] in the 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state which controlled, de jure, the territory of the former Russian Empire after its proclamation by the Russian Provisional Government on 1 September (14 September, N.S.Tooltip New Style) 1917 in a decree signed by Alexander Kerensky as Minister-Chairman and Alexander Zarudny as Minister of Justice.^[1]

The government of the Russian Republic was dissolved after the Bolsheviks seized power by force on 7 November 1917. Nonetheless, a partially democratic election of the Constituent Assembly still took place later in November. On 18 January 1918, this assembly issued a decree, proclaiming Russia a democratic federal republic, but had also been dissolved by the Bolsheviks on the next day after the proclamation.^[2]

The Bolsheviks also used the name "Russian Republic" until the official name "Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic" was adopted in the Constitution of July 1918. The term is sometimes used erroneously for the period between the abdication of the Emperor Nicholas II on 3 March 1917 (16 March, N.S.) and the declaration of the Republic in September. However, during that period the status of the Russian political system was unresolved, left up to be decided by a future elected Constituent Assembly.^[3]

History

Following the February Revolution, Emperor Nicholas II abdicated his throne and a Provisional Government was formed, under the leadership of Prince Georgy Lvov. The status of the monarchy was left unresolved.

Officially, the Republic's government was the Provisional Government, although de facto control of the country was contested between it, the soviets (chiefly the Petrograd Soviet), and various ethnic-based separatists (such as the Central Council of Ukraine). Soviets were political organizations of the proletariat, strongest in industrial regions, and were dominated by left-wing parties. Soviets, whose influence was supplemented with paramilitary forces, were occasionally able to rival the Provisional Government which had an ineffective state apparatus.

During his first weeks as prime minister, Lvov presided over a series of fleeting reforms which sought to radically liberalize Russia. Universal adult suffrage was introduced, freedoms of press and speech were granted, capital punishment abolished, and all legal restrictions of religion, class and race were removed.^[4] Unable to rally sufficient support, he resigned in July 1917 in favor of his Minister of War, Alexander Kerensky.

The Government's control of the military was tenuous. Seamen of the Baltic Fleet, for example, had far-left views and openly engaged in political activism in the capital. Right-wing proclivities among the army officers were also a problem – Kerensky's attempt to dismiss Gen. Lavr Kornilov led to a failed coup.

Following the failure of Kornilov's coup, Kerensky proclaimed Russia to be a Republic on 1 September, establishing a Provisional Council as temporary parliament, in preparation to the elections of a Constituent Assembly. However, on 7 November 1917, the Bolsheviks seized power and dissolved both the Provisional Government and the Provisional Council.

Nonetheless, a partially democratic election of the Constituent Assembly still took place later in November. On 18 January 1918, this assembly issued a decree, proclaiming Russia a democratic federal republic under the name "Russian Democratic Federative Republic", However, the next day the Assembly was dissolved by the Bolsheviks.^[2]

The Republic de jure continued to exist until the Bolsheviks proclaimed the creation of the Russian Soviet Republic on 25 January 1918.^[5] In response, anti-Bolshevik forces proclaimed the Russian State in September 1918, under the leadership of the Provisional All-Russian Government.

Principal institutions

• Provisional Council of the Russian Republic
• Congress of Soviets
• Russian Provisional Government
• Directorate (Russia)

See also

• Russian Empire
• Russian Civil War
• Soviet Union
• Petrograd Soviets
• World War I
• Bolshevists
• Elections in Russia

Notes

References

External links

• The Russian Republic proclaimed. Presidential Library
• Browder, R. P., Kerensky, A. F. The Russian Provisional Government, 1917: Documents. "Stanford University Press". Stanford, 1961. ISBN 9780804700238