Historical Organization
Russian Provisional Government
Russian Provisional Government
Details
Organization Timeline
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 Provisional Government grants a political amnesty
📅 19 March 1917A general amnesty freed political prisoners and allowed exiles and underground activists to return openly to political life. The source date is 3/6/1917 Old Style.
The Provisional Government rejects Finnish independence
📅 21 March 1917Despite overthrowing the monarchy, the new government refused Finland’s demand for full national independence. The source date is 3/8/1917 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 United States recognizes the Provisional Government
📅 22 March 1917The United States became the first foreign government to recognize the new Russian administration after receiving assurances about continued participation in the war. The source date is 3/9/1917 Old...
The Provisional Government abolishes the death penalty
📅 25 March 1917The government repealed capital punishment as part of its first liberal reforms, although it would later restore it at the front. The source date is 3/12/1917 Old Style.
The Provisional Government refuses Polish independence
📅 30 March 1917Polish representatives appealed for independence, but the Provisional Government delayed recognition of national self-determination. The source date is 3/17/1917 Old Style.
The government postpones land reform
📅 1 April 1917The Provisional Government condemned unauthorized land seizures and deferred agrarian redistribution despite mounting peasant demands. The source date is 3/19/1917 Old Style.
Religious and ethnic restrictions are abolished
📅 2 April 1917The Provisional Government removed many legal restrictions inherited from the monarchy and permitted greater use of non-Russian languages. The source date is 3/20/1917 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.
Freedom of association and assembly is legalized
📅 25 April 1917The Provisional Government enacted protections for public meetings and unions, widening the space for mass political organization. The source date is 4/12/1917 Old Style.
Milyukov promises the Allies continued war
📅 1 May 1917Foreign Minister Pavel Milyukov assured the Allied governments that Russia would pursue the war and its strategic objectives. The source date is 4/18/1917 Old Style.
The Milyukov Note becomes public
📅 3 May 1917Publication of the foreign minister’s commitments exposed the contradiction between popular demands for peace and government war policy. The source date is 4/20/1917 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.
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.
Milyukov resigns from the government
📅 15 May 1917The foreign minister left office following mass opposition to his commitment to continued war and territorial ambitions. The source date is 5/2/1917 Old Style.
War Minister Guchkov resigns
📅 13 June 1917Alexander Guchkov left the government after demonstrations and growing resistance to military policy. The source date is 5/31/1917 Old Style.
Kerensky becomes minister of war
📅 13 June 1917Alexander Kerensky assumed responsibility for military policy and promoted a new offensive despite deep war weariness. The source date is 5/31/1917 Old Style.
Finland’s parliament asserts sovereignty
📅 18 June 1917The Finnish parliament claimed broad internal sovereignty while leaving foreign affairs and war under the Russian state. The source date is 6/5/1917 Old Style.
The Provisional Government moves against Finnish autonomy
📅 18 June 1917The Russian government used political and military pressure against Finland’s attempt to expand self-government. The source date is 6/5/1917 Old Style.
Kerensky launches a new military offensive
📅 1 July 1917The Provisional Government began a major offensive despite collapsing discipline, shortages and widespread opposition among soldiers. The source date is 6/18/1917 Old Style.
Anarchists raid Petrograd prisons
📅 1 July 1917Anarchist groups used the day of mass demonstrations to free prisoners, enabling the government to associate radical opponents with disorder. The source date is 6/18/1917 Old Style.
Izvestia reports planned factory closures
📅 7 July 1917Reports that the government intended to close Petrograd factories intensified fears of unemployment and deliberate dispersal of militant workers. The source date is 6/24/1917 Old Style.
The Third Infantry Regiment resists front deployment
📅 14 July 1917Soldiers refused orders to provide replacement companies for the front, demonstrating the government’s weakening authority over the army. The source date is 7/1/1917 Old Style.
Government forces attack demonstrators
📅 17 July 1917Troops loyal to the Provisional Government fired on and dispersed sections of the movement, producing hundreds of casualties. The source date is 7/4/1917 Old Style.
Government forces destroy Pravda’s offices
📅 18 July 1917The authorities smashed the Bolshevik newspaper’s press and intensified repression against workers distributing revolutionary publications. The source date is 7/5/1917 Old Style.
The Bolshevik headquarters is raided
📅 18 July 1917Government forces occupied the Kshesinskaya Palace, which had served as a headquarters for Bolshevik organizations. The source date is 7/5/1917 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.
Stalin mediates the sailors’ disarmament
📅 19 July 1917Joseph Stalin helped arrange safe passage for the Kronstadt sailors in exchange for surrendering their weapons. The source date is 7/6/1917 Old Style.
Kronstadt sailors retreat to the Peter and Paul Fortress
📅 19 July 1917A remaining group of armed sailors and Red Guards sought refuge as government troops tightened control over Petrograd. The source date is 7/6/1917 Old Style.
The government orders Lenin’s arrest
📅 20 July 1917Authorities accused Lenin of acting for Germany and blamed the Bolsheviks for the July Days. The source date is 7/7/1917 Old Style.
Kerensky becomes head of the Provisional Government
📅 21 July 1917Prince Lvov resigned and Alexander Kerensky became minister-president during the political reaction following the July Days. The source date is 7/8/1917 Old Style.
Lenin goes into hiding
📅 24 July 1917Facing arrest, Lenin left Petrograd and continued political work clandestinely while the government pursued Bolshevik leaders. The source date is 7/11/1917 Old Style.
The death penalty is restored at the front
📅 25 July 1917The Provisional Government authorized summary military punishment as it attempted to restore discipline after the July Days. The source date is 12 July 1917 Old Style.
The government intensifies political censorship
📅 25 July 1917Authorities closed radical newspapers and restricted revolutionary publications during the reaction following the July Days. The source date is 12 July 1917 Old Style.
Kornilov becomes supreme commander
📅 31 July 1917General Lavr Kornilov was appointed commander-in-chief and became the focus of demands for stronger military authority. The source date is 18 July 1917 Old Style.
Kerensky forms the second coalition government
📅 6 August 1917The new cabinet combined socialist and liberal ministers, but it remained committed to the war and unable to resolve the land question. The source date is 24 July 1917 Old Style.
The Moscow State Conference opens
📅 25 August 1917Kerensky convened political, military and business representatives in an attempt to display national unity and stabilize the government. The source date is 12 August 1917 Old Style.
Kornilov demands stronger military rule
📅 27 August 1917At the State Conference, Kornilov warned of military collapse and advocated exceptional authority to restore discipline. The source date is 14 August 1917 Old Style.
Kornilov requests permission to move troops toward Petrograd
📅 1 September 1917The commander sought authority to deploy loyal forces near the capital during the struggle over military and political power. The source date is 19 August 1917 Old Style.
Kerensky requests a cavalry corps for Petrograd
📅 4 September 1917Kerensky sought military forces to impose order in the capital, but relations with Kornilov rapidly broke down. The source date is 22 August 1917 Old Style.
Cadet ministers leave the government
📅 8 September 1917Liberal ministers withdrew during the confrontation between Kerensky and Kornilov, waiting to see which force would prevail. The source date is 26 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.
Kerensky dismisses Kornilov
📅 9 September 1917Kerensky ordered Kornilov to relinquish command after concluding that the general threatened the Provisional Government. The source date is 27 August 1917 Old Style.
Kornilov sends troops toward Petrograd
📅 9 September 1917Kornilov rejected dismissal and advanced cavalry units toward the capital in what became known as the Kornilov Affair. The source date is 27 August 1917 Old Style.
Russia is proclaimed a republic
📅 14 September 1917Kerensky’s government formally declared the Russian Republic after the defeat of Kornilov. The source date is 1 September 1917 Old Style.
Baltic Fleet sailors reject government authority
📅 21 September 1917Elected fleet bodies declared that they would no longer obey the Provisional Government. The source date is 8 September 1917 Old Style.
The Democratic Conference opens
📅 27 September 1917More than a thousand delegates met to create political legitimacy for a new government, but deep divisions remained over coalition and war. The source date is 14 September 1917 Old Style.
Kerensky orders the Baltic Fleet committee dissolved
📅 1 October 1917The elected Central Committee of the Baltic Fleet refused the government’s dissolution order. The source date is 18 September 1917 Old Style.
The Tashkent Soviet takes local power
📅 1 October 1917The Soviet displaced the existing local authorities in Tashkent during a wider movement against the Provisional Government. The source date is 18 September 1917 Old Style.
Government troops retake Tashkent
📅 1 October 1917Kerensky’s government used troops and arrests to reverse the local Soviet takeover. The source date is 18 September 1917 Old Style.
The Petrograd Soldiers’ Soviet rejects government command
📅 19 October 1917Soldiers’ representatives declared that the garrison would no longer recognize the Provisional Government’s authority. The source date is 6 October 1917 Old Style.
The war minister demands immediate peace
📅 2 November 1917Alexander Verkhovsky warned the Pre-Parliament that continued war would bring complete catastrophe. The source date is 20 October 1917 Old Style.
The government moves against Bolshevik newspapers
📅 6 November 1917Kerensky’s ministers attempted to close revolutionary newspapers and suppress the Military Revolutionary Committee. The source date is 24 October 1917 Old Style.
The Military Revolutionary Committee announces the government’s overthrow
📅 7 November 1917A proclamation to the citizens of Russia stated that the Provisional Government had been removed. The source date is 25 October 1917 Old Style.
Kerensky leaves Petrograd
📅 7 November 1917The head of the Provisional Government departed in search of troops capable of reversing the uprising. The source date is 25 October 1917 Old Style.
The Winter Palace is captured
📅 8 November 1917Revolutionary forces entered the palace and arrested the remaining ministers of the Provisional Government. The source date is 26 October 1917 Old Style.
Kerensky and Krasnov advance toward Petrograd
📅 9 November 1917Cavalry forces seized Gatchina and Tsarskoye Selo in an attempt to restore the Provisional Government. The source date is 27 October 1917 Old Style.