View source for Russian Republic

{{Short description|Period of Russian history from 1917 to 1918}}
{{for multi|its successor and the constituent republic of the Soviet Union|Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|the modern-day country|Russia|its federal subjects|Republics of Russia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox country
| conventional_long_name = Russian Republic<br/>{{nobold|{{small|(1917–1918)}}}}<br/>{{nobold|{{lang|ru|Российская Республика}}}}{{efn|[[Reforms of Russian orthography|Pre-Reform Russian]]: Россійская Pеспублика}}<hr/>Russian Democratic Federative<br/>Republic<br/>{{nobold|{{small|(1918)}}}}<br/>{{nobold|{{lang|ru|Российская Демократическая Федеративная Республика}}}}{{efn|[[Reforms of Russian orthography|Pre-Reform Russian]]: Россійская Демократическая Федеративная Республика}}
| p1                     = Russian Empire
| flag_p2                = 
| p2                     = 
| s1                     = Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic{{!}}Russian Soviet Republic<br>(Soviet Russia)
| flag_p1                = Flag of Russia.svg
| flag_s1                = Flag_of_Russia_(1918).svg
| flag_s2                = Flag_of_Russia.svg
| s2                     = Russian State (1918–1920){{!}}Russian State
| flag_s3                = Flag_of_Russia.svg
| s3                     = Transcaucasian Commissariat
| flag_s4                = Flag_of_the_Turkestan_(Kokand)_Autonomy.svg
| s4                     = Turkestan Autonomy
| flag_s5                = Flag_of_Alash_Autonomy.svg
| s5                     = Alash Autonomy
| flag_s6                = Flag_of_the_Crimean_Tatar_people.svg
| s6                     = Crimean People's Republic
| flag_s7                = Flag_of_the_Moldavian_Democratic_Republic.svg
| s7                     = Moldavian Democratic Republic
| s8                     = State of Buryat-Mongolia
| flag_s9                = Flag_of_Autonomous_Siberia.png
| s9                     = Provisional Siberian Government (Vladivostok)
| flag_s10               = Flag_of_Ukraine_(1917–1921).svg
| s10                    = Ukrainian People's Republic{{!}}Ukraine
| flag_s11               = Flag_of_Estonia.svg
| s11                    = Estonia
| flag_s12               = Flag_of_Provisional_Siberian_Government.svg
| s12                    = Yakut revolt (1918){{!}}Yakutia
| flag_s13               = Idel-Ural_flag.svg
| s13                    = Idel-Ural State
| flag_s14               = Flag_of_the_Confederated_Republic_of_Altai.svg
| s14                    = Karakorum Government
| flag_s15               = Flag_of_Belarus_(1918,_1991–1995).svg
| s15                    = Belarusian Democratic Republic{{!}}Belarus
| flag_s16               = Flag_of_Green_Ukraine.svg
| s16                    = Green Ukraine
| flag_s17               = Flag_of_the_Mountain_Republic.svg
| s17                    = Mountainous Republic of the Northern Caucasus{{!}}United Republics of Northern Caucasus
| flag_s18               = Flag_of_Russia.svg
| s18                    = Regional Government of Northwest Russia
| flag_s19               = Flag_of_Latvia.svg
| s19                    = Latvia#Declaration of independence and interwar period{{!}}Latvia
| flag_s20               = Flag_of_Lithuania_(1918).svg
| s20                    = Kingdom of Lithuania (1918)
| flag_s21               = Flag_of_Kuban_People's_Republic.svg
| s21                    = Kuban People's Republic{{!}}Kuban
| image_flag             = Flag of Russia.svg
| flag                   = Flag of Russia
| other_symbol           = <div style="padding:0.3em;">
[[File:Seal of Russia (1917–1918).png|100px]]</div>
[[File:Russian coa 1917.svg|100px]]
| other_symbol_type      = Government Seal and Coat of Arms (1917){{nobold|:}}
| image_coat             = Coat of arms of the Russian Republic (1917).svg
| symbol                 = Coat of arms of Russia
| national_anthem        = {{lang|ru|Рабочая Марсельеза}}<br />{{transliteration|ru|Rabochaya Marsel'yeza}}<br />"[[Worker's Marseillaise]]"{{parabr}}{{center|[[File:Гимн Российской Республики и РДФР (Рабочая-Марсельеза).oga]]}}{{parabr}}{{lang|ru|Гимн Свободной России}}<br />{{transliteration|ru|Gimn Svobodnoy Rossii}}<br />"[[Anthem of Free Russia]]" (Unofficial){{parabr}}{{center|[[File:The hymn of free Russia - Гимн свободной России (text and music - 1917).ogg]]}}{{parabr}}
| image_map              = Russian Republic in 1917.svg
| image_map_caption      = Territories under Russian control during the final years of [[WWI]] (including temporary occupations)
| capital                = [[Petrograd]]
| largest_city           = capital
| common_languages       = [[Russian language|Russian]]
| government_type        = [[Russian Provisional Government|Russian provisional government]] (1917)<br />Federal parliamentary [[directorial system|directorial republic]] under a [[provisional government]] (1917–1918)
| title_leader           = [[Minister-Chairmen of the Russian Provisional Government|Minister-Chairman]]
| leader1                = {{nowrap|[[Alexander Kerensky]]{{Efn|Served as the prime minister of the provisional government from July 1917}}}}
| year_leader1           = September–November 1917
| leader2                = ''none''{{Efn|''De facto'' [[October Revolution|power seized]] by the [[Bolsheviks]] led by [[Vladimir Lenin]]}}
| year_leader2           = 1917–1918
| title_deputy           = {{longitem|Chairman of the [[Russian Constituent Assembly|Constituent Assembly]]}}
| deputy1                = [[Viktor Chernov]]
| year_deputy1           = 18–19 January 1918
| legislature            = [[Provisional Council of the Russian Republic|Provisional Council]] (1917)<br />''none'' (1917–1918)<br />{{nowrap|[[Russian Constituent Assembly|Constituent Assembly]]{{Efn|Dissolved after the first meeting}}}} (1918)
| era                    = {{nowrap|[[World War I]] / [[Russian Revolution|Russian<br />Revolution]]}}
| event_pre              = [[Kornilov affair]]
| date_pre               = 10–13 September 1917
| event_start            = Republic proclaimed
| date_start             = 14 September
| year_start             = 1917
| year_end               = 1918
| event1                 = [[October Revolution]]
| date_event1            = 7 November 1917
| event2                 = [[1917 Russian Constituent Assembly election|Assembly elected]]
| date_event2            = 25 November 1917
| event3                 = [[Decree on the system of government of Russia (1918)|Constitution]] adopted
| date_event3            = 18 January 1918
| event_end              = {{nowrap|[[Russian Constituent Assembly|Constituent Assembly]]}}<br />dissolved
| date_end               = 19 January
| currency               = [[Ruble#Provisional Government issues|Ruble]]
| demonym                = [[Russians|Russian]]
}}
{{History of Russia}}
{{Julian calendar}}

The '''Russian Republic''',{{Efn|{{lang-rus|Российская Республика|r=Rossiyskaya Respublika|p=rɐˈsʲijskəjə rʲɪsˈpublʲɪkə}}.}} referred to as the '''Russian Democratic Federative Republic'''{{Efn|{{langx|ru|Российская Демократическая Федеративная Республика|Rossiyskaya Demokraticheskaya Federativnaya Respublika}}.}}  in the [[Decree on the system of government of Russia (1918)|1918 Constitution]], was a short-lived [[state (polity)|state]] which controlled, ''[[de jure]]'', the territory of the former [[Russian Empire]] after its proclamation by the [[Russian Provisional Government]] on 1 September (14 September, {{abbrlink|N.S.|New Style}}) 1917 in a decree signed by [[Alexander Kerensky]] as Minister-Chairman and [[Alexander Zarudny]] as [[Minister of Justice (Russia)|Minister of Justice]].<ref name=prlib>[http://www.prlib.ru/en-us/History/Pages/Item.aspx?itemid=1112 The Russian Republic Proclaimed] at prlib.ru, accessed 12 June 2017</ref>

The [[Directorate (Russia)|government]] of the Russian Republic was dissolved after the [[Bolsheviks]] [[October Revolution|seized power]] by force on 7 November 1917. Nonetheless, a [[Russian Consituent Assembly election|partially democratic election]] of the [[Russian Constituent Assembly|Constituent Assembly]] still took place later in November. On 18 January 1918, this assembly issued a decree, proclaiming Russia a democratic federal republic, but was also dissolved by the [[Bolsheviks]] on the next day after the proclamation.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Ikov |first1=Marat Sal |title=Round Table the Influence of National Relations on the Development of the Federative State Structure and on the Social and Political Realities of the Russian Federation |url=http://www.prof.msu.ru/publ/book/round1.htm |website=Prof.Msu.RU |access-date=9 February 2021 |quote="However, historically, the first proclamation of the federation was made somewhat earlier - by the Constituent Assembly of Russia. In his short resolution of January 6 (18), 1918, the following was enshrined: "In the name of the peoples, the state of the Russian constituent, the All-Russian Constituent Assembly decides: the Russian state is proclaimed by the Russian Democratic Federal Republic, uniting peoples and regions in an indissoluble union, within the limits established by the federal constitution, Of course, the above resolution, which did not thoroughly regulate the entire system of federal relations, was not considered by the authorities as having legal force, especially after the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly."}}</ref>

The Bolsheviks also used the name "Russian Republic" until its renaming to the "Russian Soviet Republic" which was declared in January 1918; but the official name "[[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic]]" was formally adopted in the [[1918 RSFSR Constitution|Constitution]] of July 1918. The term is sometimes used erroneously for the period between the abdication of the [[Emperor of Russia|Emperor]] [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] on 2 March 1917 (15 March, N.S.) and the declaration of the Russian Republic in September. However, during that period the status of the Russian political system was unresolved, left up to be decided by a future elected [[Constituent Assembly]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beevor |first=Antony |authorlink=Antony Beevor |title=Russia: Revolution and Civil War, 1917–1921 |year=2022 |publisher=Penguin |page=46 |isbn= 9780593493885 }}</ref>

== History ==
Following the [[February Revolution]], Emperor [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] [[Abdication of Nicholas II|abdicated his throne]] and a [[Russian Provisional Government|Provisional Government]] was formed, under the leadership of Prince [[Georgy Lvov]]. The status of the monarchy was left unresolved.

Officially, the Republic's government was the Provisional Government, although ''[[de facto]]'' control of the country was contested between it, [[soviet (council)|the soviets]] (chiefly the [[Petrograd Soviet]]), and various ethnic-based [[separatism|separatists]] (such as the [[Central Council of Ukraine]]). Soviets were political organizations of the [[proletariat]], strongest in industrial regions, and were dominated by [[left-wing politics|left-wing parties]]. Soviets, whose influence was supplemented with [[paramilitary]] forces, were occasionally able to rival the Provisional Government which had an ineffective state apparatus.

During his first weeks as prime minister, Lvov presided over a series of fleeting reforms which sought to radically liberalize Russia. Universal adult suffrage was introduced, freedoms of press and speech were granted, capital punishment abolished, and all legal restrictions of religion, class and race were removed.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Figes |first1=Orlando |title=A People's Tragedy: A History of the Russian Revolution |date=2017 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9781448112647 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ety5B4feoDoC |access-date=22 May 2021 |page=358}}</ref> Unable to rally sufficient support, he resigned in July 1917 in favor of his [[Minister of War]], [[Alexander Kerensky]].

The Government's control of the military was tenuous. Seamen of the [[Baltic Fleet]], for example, had far-left views and openly engaged in political activism in [[Petrograd|the capital]]. [[Right-wing]] proclivities among [[Imperial Russian Army|the army]] officers were also a problem – Kerensky's attempt to dismiss Gen. [[Lavr Kornilov]] led to a [[Kornilov affair|failed coup]].

Following the failure of Kornilov's coup, Kerensky proclaimed Russia to be a Republic on 1 September, establishing a [[Provisional Council of the Russian Republic|Provisional Council]] as temporary parliament, in preparation to the elections of a [[Russian Constituent Assembly|Constituent Assembly]]. However, on 7 November 1917, [[October Revolution|the Bolsheviks seized power]] and dissolved both the Provisional Government and the Provisional Council.

Nonetheless, a [[Russian Consituent Assembly election|partially democratic election]] of the [[Russian Constituent Assembly|Constituent Assembly]] still took place later in November. On 18 January 1918, this assembly issued a decree, proclaiming Russia a democratic federal republic under the name "Russian Democratic Federative Republic", However, the next day the Assembly was dissolved by the Bolsheviks.<ref name=":0" />

The Republic ''de jure'' continued to exist until the Bolsheviks proclaimed the creation of the [[Russian Soviet Republic]] on 25 January 1918.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=September 2017 |title=Коровин К.С. Идеологические основания Конституции РСФСР 1918 г. |journal=Genesis: исторические исследования |volume=9 |issue=9 |pages=15–30 |doi=10.25136/2409-868x.2017.9.24090 |issn=2409-868X|doi-access=free }}</ref> In response, anti-Bolshevik forces proclaimed the [[Russian State (1918–1920)|Russian State]] in September 1918, under the leadership of the [[Provisional All-Russian Government]].

==Principal institutions==
*[[All-Russian Congress of Soviets]]
*[[Directorate (Russia)]]
*[[Provisional Council of the Russian Republic]]
*[[Russian Constituent Assembly]]
*[[Russian Provisional Government]]

== See also ==
* [[Russian Empire]]
* [[Russian Revolution]]
* [[Russian Civil War]]
* [[Soviet Union]]
* [[Petrograd Soviet]]s
* [[World War I]]
* [[Bolshevists]]
* [[Elections in Russia]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.prlib.ru/en-us/History/Pages/Item.aspx?itemid=1112 The Russian Republic proclaimed]. Presidential Library
* Browder, R. P., [[Alexander Kerensky|Kerensky, A. F]]. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=LzWsAAAAIAAJ&dq=Russian+Republic+1917&pg=PA467 The Russian Provisional Government, 1917: Documents]''. "[[Stanford University Press]]". [[Stanford, California|Stanford]], 1961. {{ISBN|9780804700238}}

{{Russian Revolution 1917}}
{{Russia topics |collapsed}}

{{coord missing|Russia}}

[[Category:States and territories established in 1917]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1918]]
[[Category:Russian Revolution]]
[[Category:Russian Provisional Government]]
[[Category:Post–Russian Empire states]]
[[Category:Former republics]]
[[Category:1917 establishments in Russia]]
[[Category:1917 disestablishments in Russia]]
[[Category:February Revolution]]