Establishment of the Dual Authority (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Establishment of the Dual Authority
Context: the power vacuum of February 1917
The collapse of tsarism in February 1917 created an immediate political vacuum. Following a spontaneous uprising in Petrograd and widespread mutiny within the capital's garrison, the Tsar's authority disintegrated. When Grand Duke Mikhail refused the throne on 3 March 1917, Russia found itself without a recognised government. Into this vacuum emerged not one but two competing centres of power, setting the stage for an unprecedented and unstable arrangement that would shape the course of 1917.
The simultaneous emergence of two competing centres of power—rather than a single successor to tsarism—created a fundamentally unstable political situation. This dual structure would define and ultimately doom the revolutionary government of 1917.
The formation of the Provisional Government
Origins and composition
Political authority initially transferred to a hastily assembled body known as the Provisional Government, which took shape in early March 1917. Prince Lvov, a wealthy aristocrat with extensive experience in zemstvo (elected local government councils) administration, assumed leadership of this new executive.
The Provisional Government drew its membership from the influential classes who had advocated constitutional reform under tsarism. Its composition represented a cross-section of Russia's traditional elites: liberals favouring constitutional monarchy, moderate socialists, members of the Kadets (Constitutional Democrats party), and other zemstvo leaders. This predominantly middle-class and professional membership reflected the educated, propertied sections of society rather than the mass of workers, soldiers, or peasants.
The Provisional Government's elite composition would prove problematic. Whilst it possessed administrative experience and institutional connections, it lacked direct connection to the revolutionary masses who had actually overthrown the Tsar. This disconnect between the government's social base and the revolution's driving forces created inherent legitimacy problems from the start.
Claims to legitimacy
The Provisional Government established itself within the Duma chamber in the right wing of the Tauride Palace, the same building that had housed Russia's limited parliamentary institution under the Tsar. By occupying this space and drawing personnel from the old Duma, the government presented itself as the legitimate successor to tsarist authority. The old tsarist civil service, army officers, and police force accepted the Provisional Government's authority, providing it with administrative continuity and institutional backing.
Stated intentions
As its name suggested, this government openly declared itself temporary. Its proclaimed purpose was to maintain order and govern Russia only until democratic elections could be held for a Constituent Assembly (an elected body tasked with drafting a new constitution). This Assembly would then determine Russia's permanent constitutional structure and system of government. The Provisional Government thus positioned itself as a caretaker administration, though the timing of elections remained deliberately vague.
The formation of the Petrograd Soviet
Origins and democratic claims
Simultaneously, a separate organisation emerged with an entirely different basis of authority. The Petrograd Soviet established itself in the left wing of the same Tauride Palace building, physically and ideologically separate from the Provisional Government. Workers, soldiers, and peasants regarded the Provisional Government with distrust, viewing it as a self-selected committee of the wealthy, compromised by its members' previous associations with tsarism.
The Soviet claimed authority through democratic election. Its members were chosen by various smaller soviets across St Petersburg's factories, military units, and neighbourhoods. This electoral basis gave the Soviet a claim to represent the actual revolutionary masses who had overthrown the Tsar, rather than inheriting authority from the old regime's institutions.
The physical separation of the two bodies within the Tauride Palace symbolised their ideological divide. The Provisional Government in the right wing represented continuity with traditional institutions; the Soviet in the left wing represented revolutionary rupture. Yet both operated under the same roof, forced into an uneasy coexistence.
Composition and character
The Petrograd Soviet's executive committee consisted primarily of radical socialist intellectuals: Mensheviks (moderate socialists who believed Russia needed to pass through a capitalist phase before socialism), Social Revolutionaries or SRs (socialists focused on the peasantry), and a smaller number of Bolsheviks (Lenin's faction advocating immediate proletarian revolution). Despite claiming to be a workers' organisation, only seven of the executive committee's 42 members were actual workers themselves. The remainder were socialist intellectuals and activists who claimed to speak for the working class.
A striking contradiction existed at the heart of the Soviet: whilst it claimed to represent workers and soldiers through democratic election, its leadership consisted overwhelmingly of middle-class intellectuals rather than workers themselves. Only seven of 42 executive committee members were actual workers, raising questions about how truly representative the Soviet's leadership was.
The Soviet's membership extended far beyond its executive committee. It drew representatives from 350 towns, villages, and military bases across Russia, establishing itself as a network rather than simply a Petrograd institution. In the countryside, peasants formed their own peasant soviets, which attacked landlords' properties and illegally felled trees, demonstrating the breakdown of rural authority.
The creation of dual authority
Kerensky's bridging role
The two bodies might have clashed immediately had it not been for Aleksandr Kerensky, a moderate socialist who held membership in both organisations. Through Kerensky's delicate negotiations, an agreement to cooperate was reached despite the fundamental differences between the two bodies. This arrangement would define Russian politics for the following eight months.
Kerensky's unique position—simultaneously belonging to both the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet—made him the essential bridge between these competing centres of power. Without his mediating role, open conflict between the two bodies might have erupted immediately after the February Revolution.
The concept of dvoevlastie
The agreement between the Provisional Government and the Soviet established what became known as dvoevlastie (dual authority or dual power). Under this arrangement, Russia was governed by an alliance between the traditional elite-dominated Provisional Government and the Soviet representing workers and soldiers. Neither body possessed complete authority; each depended on the other's cooperation to function.
The Provisional Government retained formal executive power and control over the state apparatus, but it lacked legitimacy among the masses and could not enforce its decisions without Soviet approval. The Soviet commanded the loyalty of workers and soldiers but initially chose not to seize direct control of government, accepting instead a supervisory role.
The fundamental paradox of dual authority: The Provisional Government possessed formal power but lacked popular support; the Soviet possessed popular support but initially refused to take formal power. This inherently unstable arrangement meant that effective governance required constant negotiation and compromise between two bodies with fundamentally different constituencies and ideological foundations.
Terms of the arrangement
The Soviet chose not to demand immediate radical changes such as land redistribution or nationalisation of industry. Instead, it extracted a series of promises from the Provisional Government in exchange for its cooperation and recognition. These promises formed the basis of the dual authority agreement and defined the Provisional Government's initial programme.
The Provisional Government's initial programme
Political and civil reforms
To secure Soviet cooperation, the Provisional Government committed to sweeping political reforms. It promised a general amnesty for political prisoners, releasing thousands held under tsarism for revolutionary activity. Civil liberties would be established, guaranteeing freedoms previously denied under autocracy.
The government pledged to abolish all legal disabilities based on class, religion, and nationality. This represented a profound break with tsarist social hierarchy, which had formally divided subjects into legal categories with different rights. Under the new dispensation, all Russian citizens would theoretically stand equal before the law.
Labour and democratic rights
The Provisional Government granted workers freedom to organise trade unions and to strike, rights that had been severely restricted under tsarism. These concessions recognised the labour movement as a legitimate force in Russian politics.
Most significantly, the government committed to holding elections for a Constituent Assembly that would determine Russia's future political system through the drafting of a constitution (the set of fundamental laws governing a country). This Assembly would be elected through universal suffrage, making Russia one of the most democratic states on paper.
The promise of universal suffrage was particularly radical for 1917. It would grant voting rights not only to workers and peasants but also to women—making Russia's proposed electoral system more democratic than those of Britain, France, or the United States at that time. However, the repeated postponement of these elections would become a source of growing frustration and delegitimisation.
Justice and administrative reforms
In April 1917, the Provisional Government issued a statement declaring that "the power of the state should be based, not on violence and coercion, but on the consent of free citizens to the power they themselves created." This liberal principle guided further reforms.
The government granted freedom of religion and press, abolished the death penalty at the front, and replaced the hated tsarist police force with a "people's militia". It dismissed the Provincial Governors who had administered Russia under the Tsar, transferring their responsibilities to the elected zemstva. These changes dismantled much of the repressive apparatus of tsarism.
Limitations and contradictions
However, the Provisional Government's programme contained contradictions that would prove problematic. Whilst proclaiming the need for popular consent, it had emerged from elite institutions rather than mass revolution. Whilst promising elections, it repeatedly postponed them. Whilst granting civil liberties, it committed to continuing the deeply unpopular war with Germany. These tensions were built into the dual authority from its inception.
Critical contradiction: The Provisional Government's most fatal weakness was its commitment to continuing the war with Germany. Whilst it granted unprecedented civil liberties and promised democratic elections, the decision to keep Russia in the First World War contradicted the desires of the revolutionary masses—particularly soldiers and workers—who wanted "peace, bread, and land." This contradiction would ultimately prove fatal to the dual authority arrangement.
Key Points to Remember:
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The February Revolution created two separate centres of power: the elite Provisional Government (based in the Duma) and the mass-based Petrograd Soviet (elected by workers and soldiers)
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Dvoevlastie (dual authority) emerged through an agreement negotiated by Kerensky, whereby the Soviet would recognise the Provisional Government in exchange for political reforms and the promise of a Constituent Assembly
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The Provisional Government claimed legitimacy through continuity with tsarist institutions, whilst the Soviet claimed democratic legitimacy through election by revolutionary workers and soldiers
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The initial arrangement involved the Provisional Government holding formal executive power whilst the Soviet exercised a supervisory role, with neither body possessing complete authority
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The Provisional Government's programme included civil liberties, labour rights, abolition of class privileges, and the promise of democratic elections, but its commitment to continuing the war created immediate tensions within the dual authority structure