On February 27, 1917, amidst bread lines and political chaos in the streets of Petrograd, a group of Duma deputies established the Petrograd Soviet, while simultaneously, members of the liberal Kadet party convened to organize a formal administrative body. This dual power structure marked the immediate context for the question of when the provisional government formed in Russia, a question that points to the specific moment a committee of the Imperial Duma declared itself the rightful executive authority of the nation.
The February Revolution and the Vacuum of Power
The formation of the provisional government was not the result of a long-planned transition but a desperate improvisation during the collapse of the old regime. Tsar Nicholas II had abdicated earlier that afternoon, seeking to pass the throne to his brother Michael, who refused the crown under such chaotic conditions. With the monarchy dissolved and the army disintegrating, the political class urgently required a stabilizing force to prevent total anarchy and to continue the war effort against Germany.
The Initial Formation on February 27th
The actual moment when the provisional government formed in Russia is generally identified as February 27, 1917, in the Julian calendar then used in Russia, which corresponds to March 12 in the Gregorian calendar. On that day, the newly formed Provisional Committee of the State Duma, led by Chairman Mikhail Rodzianko, issued an appeal to the citizens of Petrograd, stating that the old government had ceased to exist and that a new authority was necessary to maintain order.
Organizational Structure and Legitimacy
To understand when the provisional government formed in Russia, one must examine its composition and claims to legitimacy. The Committee invited various political parties to join a coalition, aiming to represent the diverse interests of the revolution. It declared that it was acting not on its own revolutionary impulse, but as a temporary authority “invested with the power inherent in the State Duma,” essentially arguing that it was the legal successor to the parliamentary body that Nicholas II had foolishly suspended just days before.
Key Figures and the First Oath
The public installation of the body occurred on February 28th, when Prince Georgy Lvov, a respected liberal aristocrat, was confirmed as the Chairman of the Cabinet. That same day, the ministers of the newly formed government—comprising prominent politicians, bureaucrats, and military figures—publicly took an oath of allegiance not to the Romanov dynasty, but to the Russian people. This symbolic act cemented the transfer of executive power and marked the official establishment of the cabinet.
The Dual Power Dynamic
One cannot discuss the formation of the provisional government without acknowledging the persistent shadow of the Petrograd Soviet. From the very day the ministers took their oaths, the Soviet issued "Order No. 1," which instructed soldiers and workers to obey the Provisional Government only if its decrees aligned with the interests of the revolutionary people. This created a complex situation where the Soviet held the loyalty of the masses and the military, while the Provisional Government held the administrative machinery and legal recognition from foreign allies.
Short-Lived Authority and Legacy
The provisional government formed in Russia lasted only eight months, a brief period fraught with missteps regarding land redistribution and continued warfare. It failed to resolve the fundamental issues that had sparked the revolution, leading to its gradual loss of popular support. Ultimately, the government was dissolved during the October Revolution, but its formation in late February 1917 remains the critical pivot point between the autocracy of the Tsars and the Soviet experiment that would follow.
