The third coalition government

Elected on the Democratic Conference provisional Council of the Russian Republic was instructed to determine the composition of the future government cabinet. The resolution adopted during the meeting allowed representatives of the liberal bourgeoisie and commercial and industrial circles to enter it. On September 25 (October 8), the third in succession coalition government was formed. The cabinet consisted of six cadets, one socialist-revolutionary, three Mensheviks, two members of Labor Party — Trudoviks, one not associated with any groups and two military-grade. A. F. Kerensky remained the Minister-chairman and Supreme Commander-in-chief. A. I. Konovalov became his deputy and simultaneously the Minister of Trade and Industry. The portfolio of the Ministry of the Interior, as well as Postal and Telegraphs went to A. M. Nikitin. M. I. Tereshchenko headed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A. I. Verkhovsky became the Secretary of War, while D. N. Verderevsky — the Navy. M. V. Bernatsky was appointed the Minister of Finance, P. N. Malyantovich — the Justice, A. V. Liverovsky — the Means of Communication, S. S. Salazkin — the Public Education, S. L. Maslov — the Agriculture, K. A. Gvozdev — the Labor, S. N. Prokopovich — the Provisions, N. M. Kishkin — the State Charity; A. V. Kartashev — the Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod, S. A. Smirnov — the State Controller, S. N. Tretyakov — Chairman of the Economic Council.

The newly created coalition cadet-socialist government was formed against the background of sharply risen public discontent. The end of September — the beginning of October was marked by a breadth of the strike movement. Among the major strikes were the strikes of Baku oil workers, the workers of one of the largest Yuzovsky metallurgical plant in the South of Russia, textile workers of the Ivanovo-Kineshma District. Overall during these months about 2.4 million workers took part in the strike movement. Along the way, more than 3,500 peasant uprisings were recorded.

The Russian economy, disrupted by the First World War, continued to plunge into a deep crisis. Inflation has increased. During the 8 months of the revolution, the Provisional Government issued as much money as the tsarist government during the entire period of the war. The quality of life of the population was rapidly falling. In these conditions, the sentiments in the society have become radicalized. The popularity of the Bolsheviks, which offered a decisive political program, has grown. From the end of August, mass Bolshevization of the Soviets began. On September 25 (October 8), L. D. Trotsky was elected chairman of the Petrograd Soviet. The slogan of reposing all power to the Soviets, which this time assumed the overthrow of the Provisional Government, was proclaimed again. The Bolsheviks began preparations for an armed uprising, the decision of which the Central Committee of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party — RSDLP (b) adopted on October 10 (23), 1917. Two days later, on October 12 (25), at a closed meeting of the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies sanctioned Provision on the Petrograd Military-Revolutionary Committee, which main task was to provide military-technical training for the uprising.

The section includes welcoming telegrams to the Provisional Government from local democratic organizations, military units and individuals, which allows outlining the attitude of the nation to the new cabinet; clippings from Russian newspapers, which apart from reflecting the activities of the government, also create an overall representation of the country’s life in reviewed period; logs of the sessions of the third coalition government, etc.