Historical Organization
Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies
Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies
Details
Organization Timeline
The Petrograd Soviet is formed
📅 12 March 1917Delegates representing workers and soldiers gathered at the Tauride Palace and created a new institution of popular power. The source date is 2/27/1917 Old Style.
Izvestia publishes its first issue
📅 13 March 1917The newspaper of the Petrograd Soviet began publication and provided the new council with a means of communicating with workers and soldiers. The source date is 2/28/1917 Old Style.
The Petrograd Soviet issues Order No. 1
📅 14 March 1917Order No. 1 instructed military units to elect soldiers’ committees and subordinated political obedience to the Soviet and elected representatives. The source date is 3/1/1917 Old Style.
The Soviet recognizes the Duma committee conditionally
📅 14 March 1917The Petrograd Soviet accepted the authority of the emerging Provisional Government while retaining independent power among workers and soldiers. The source date is 3/1/1917 Old Style.
The Provisional Government is established
📅 15 March 1917Liberal Duma politicians formed a government headed by Prince Georgy Lvov while the Petrograd Soviet remained an independent centre of power. The source date is 3/2/1917 Old Style.
The Soviet creates a Contact Commission
📅 21 March 1917The Petrograd Soviet established a commission to communicate with and monitor the Provisional Government during the period of dual power. The source date is 3/8/1917 Old Style.
The Petrograd Soviet appeals for peace
📅 27 March 1917The Soviet addressed workers and peoples internationally, calling for peace without annexations or indemnities. The source date is 3/14/1917 Old Style.
The government presents the war as national defence
📅 9 April 1917The Provisional Government declared that continued participation in the war was defensive, winning qualified acceptance from Soviet leaders. The source date is 3/27/1917 Old Style.
Lenin presents the April Theses
📅 17 April 1917Lenin called for no support to the Provisional Government, an end to the imperialist war, land to the peasants and all power to the soviets. The source date is 4/4/1917 Old Style.
Workers celebrate May Day across Russia
📅 1 May 1917Mass demonstrations marked International Workers’ Day and displayed the political strength of organized workers after the fall of the monarchy. The source date is 4/18/1917 Old Style.
Armed anti-war demonstrations fill Petrograd
📅 3 May 1917Soldiers and workers protested the Milyukov Note for two days, producing the first major crisis of the Provisional Government. The source date is 4/20/1917 Old Style.
Bolsheviks demand power for the soviets
📅 3 May 1917The Bolshevik leadership argued that replacing one minister would not end the crisis and called for a government based on the soviets. The source date is 4/20/1917 Old Style.
The Petrograd Soviet approves coalition government
📅 14 May 1917A Soviet majority supported socialist participation in a coalition with liberal ministers despite Bolshevik opposition. The source date is 5/1/1917 Old Style.
Trotsky arrives in Petrograd
📅 17 May 1917After release from British detention, Trotsky reached the revolutionary capital and soon became a prominent advocate of transferring power to the soviets. The source date is 5/4/1917 Old Style.
The First All-Russian Congress of Soviets opens
📅 16 June 1917Hundreds of delegates assembled in Petrograd to debate war, land, state power and the relationship with the Provisional Government. The source date is 6/3/1917 Old Style.
The Soviet bans a planned Bolshevik demonstration
📅 23 June 1917Soviet leaders prohibited an anti-government demonstration organized around demands for peace and Soviet power. The Bolsheviks accepted the ban. The source date is 6/10/1917 Old Style.
The Soviet authorizes a demonstration for 18 June
📅 24 June 1917Soviet leaders called their own demonstration, expecting support for moderate policies, but the march would reveal mass backing for radical slogans. The source date is 6/11/1917 Old Style.
The demand to disarm Bolshevik workers is withdrawn
📅 24 June 1917After heated debate and resistance from workers and soldiers, Menshevik leaders abandoned proposals aimed at disarming revolutionary workers. The source date is 6/11/1917 Old Style.
Mass demonstrations demand peace and Soviet power
📅 1 July 1917Hundreds of thousands marched in Petrograd and other cities under slogans including peace and all power to the soviets. The source date is 6/18/1917 Old Style.
The Second Machine Gun Regiment demands Soviet power
📅 14 July 1917Soldiers adopted the slogan ‘All power to the soviets,’ reflecting rapid radicalization inside the Petrograd garrison. The source date is 7/1/1917 Old Style.
The July Days begin
📅 16 July 1917Machine-gunners and other soldiers decided to demonstrate against the Provisional Government, demanding transfer of power to the soviets. The source date is 7/3/1917 Old Style.
Bolsheviks support a peaceful presentation of demands
📅 16 July 1917Unable to stop the movement, Bolshevik leaders sought to keep it organized and direct elected delegations toward the Soviet leadership. The source date is 7/3/1917 Old Style.
A huge demonstration reaches the Tauride Palace
📅 17 July 1917Workers, soldiers and sailors gathered in their hundreds of thousands under the slogan ‘All power to the soviets.’ The source date is 7/4/1917 Old Style.
Mass arrests follow the July demonstrations
📅 18 July 1917Union, Soviet and factory activists were detained as the government tried to reverse the growth of revolutionary organization. The source date is 7/5/1917 Old Style.
The Petrograd Soviet votes against the death penalty
📅 31 August 1917An overwhelming Soviet majority demanded abolition of capital punishment in the armed forces. The source date is 18 August 1917 Old Style.
The government doubles the official grain price
📅 8 September 1917The decision favoured major landowners and provoked opposition from Soviet representatives during a worsening food crisis. The source date is 26 August 1917 Old Style.
Workers organize armed resistance to Kornilov
📅 9 September 1917Soviets, trade unions, Red Guards and Bolshevik activists mobilized to defend Petrograd against the military advance. The source date is 27 August 1917 Old Style.
Agitators persuade Kornilov’s soldiers not to fight
📅 10 September 1917Workers and socialist organizers fraternized with advancing troops, undermining the attempted military takeover. The source date is 28 August 1917 Old Style.
The Kornilov movement collapses
📅 13 September 1917The advancing forces disintegrated without a major battle after railway obstruction, agitation and mass mobilization. The source date is 31 August 1917 Old Style.
The Petrograd Soviet votes for Soviet power
📅 14 September 1917For the first time, the Petrograd Soviet approved a Bolshevik resolution calling for transfer of authority to the soviets. The source date is 1 September 1917 Old Style.
The Petrograd Soviet reaffirms its demand for Soviet government
📅 22 September 1917A larger meeting again supported transferring state authority away from the coalition government. The source date is 9 September 1917 Old Style.
Trotsky is elected chairman of the Petrograd Soviet
📅 8 October 1917The election demonstrated the Bolsheviks’ growing influence in the capital’s central workers’ and soldiers’ council. The source date is 25 September 1917 Old Style.
The Petrograd Soviet creates the Military Revolutionary Committee
📅 25 October 1917The committee coordinated armed workers, soldiers and sailors and became the operational centre of the uprising. The source date is 12 October 1917 Old Style.
Factory committees support Soviet power
📅 1 November 1917An all-Russian conference of factory and shop committees adopted the demand for transfer of power to the soviets. The source date is 19 October 1917 Old Style.