Russian Republic

Origins

The February Revolution of 1917 forced Nicholas II to abdicate, ending the Russian Empire. A Provisional Government formed from the Duma, first under Prince Georgy Lvov, shared power with the Petrograd Soviet. On 1 September 1917 Alexander Kerensky, by then its head, formally proclaimed Russia a republic.

Rule and society

The government granted civil liberties, abolished the death penalty and promised a Constituent Assembly, but it kept fighting the First World War and postponed land reform. A failed offensive in June, the July Days and General Lavr Kornilov's attempted march on Petrograd in August weakened it, while the Bolsheviks gained support in the soviets.

Decline and legacy

The Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional Government in the October Revolution and created the Russian SFSR. The Constituent Assembly, elected in November, met in January 1918 under Viktor Chernov and proclaimed a Russian Democratic Federative Republic, but the Bolsheviks dispersed it the next day.