Editing Dual power (section)

== Provisional Government ==
{{Main|Provisional Government of Russia}}
The [[Russian Provisional Government|Provisional Government]]'s members primarily consisted of former [[State Duma (Russian Empire)|State Duma]] members under [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]]'s reign. Its members were mainly members of the liberal [[Constitutional Democratic Party]] and conservative [[Octobrist]] party, but also included one [[Progressive Bloc (Russia)|Progressivist]] and one [[Trudoviks|Trudovik]]. The ideological and political ideas differed wildly throughout the party's leadership and members, but most were moderates, offering both liberal and conservative views at times.  The Kadets and the Provisional Government alike pushed for new policies including the release of political prisoners, a decree of freedom of press, cessation of the [[Okhrana]], abolition of the death penalty, and rights for minorities. The Provisional Government and the Kadets also wanted Russia to continue to be involved in [[World War I]], much to the dismay of the Soviets. Despite certain political ideas, the Kadets became slightly more conservative overall with the rise of left-wing parties and left-wing thought within both the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet.{{sfn|Smith|2017|pp=105–106}} The Provisional Government realized that their power was not legitimate since they were former Duma members, and not elected by a general public. They knew that to be seen as a legitimate government body, they would need to be elected by the people, and they established the [[Russian Constituent Assembly|Constituent Assembly]] and scheduled popular elections to take place later in the year.{{sfn|Steinberg|2017|p=72}}

[[Alexander Kerensky]], a former member of the Fourth Duma and a chairman of the Soviet Executive Committee and eventually the Prime Minister for the Provisional Government, was brought into the Provisional Government as a way to gain support from left-wing parties and the Petrograd Soviet. Kerensky was a moderate socialist, and believed that cooperation with the Provisional Government was necessary. Historian S.&nbsp;A. Smith explains that after the appointment of Kerensky "Thus was born 'dual power', an institutional arrangement under which the Provisional Government enjoyed formal authority, but where the Soviet Executive Committee had real power."{{sfn|Smith|2017|p=106}} The Provisional Government feared the Soviets immense growing power, and through this fear they tried to appease them as much as possible. When Kerensky became Prime Minister, he attempted to work with the Soviets including arming the Soviets and their followers during the [[Kornilov affair]].