| History of Russia |
|---|
 |
 Russiaportal |
In the wake of the Romanov dynasty's collapse following the February Revolution, the Russian Provisional Government established a short-lived, nascent parliamentary system known as the Russian Republic. The Provisional Government, a caretaker administration that faced immense internal and external pressures, formalized the Republic's inception on September 14, 1917, through a decree signed by its leaders, Minister-Chairman Alexander Kerensky and Minister of Justice Alexander Zarudny. The political entity, later defined in its 1918 Constitution as the Russian Democratic Federative Republic, struggled for legitimacy and stability from its inception. Its existence was predicated on the promise of eventual elections to a Constituent Assembly that would determine the nation's permanent political structure. However, the government's authority was fatally undermined by its unpopular decision to continue Russia’s involvement in World War I , which exacerbated widespread societal discontent and economic hardship. This culminated in the Bolshevik-led October Revolution, which saw the Republic's executive body, the Directorate, unceremoniously dismantled on November 7, 1917, following a seizure of power. Despite the Bolsheviks' pre-emptive usurpation of control, a partially democratic election for the long-awaited Constituent Assembly was still held in November. In its singular session on January 18, 1918, the assembly issued a final decree affirming Russia as a democratic federal republic. However, this declaration was immediately nullified by the Bolsheviks, who forcibly dissolved the assembly the very next day, thereby extinguishing the last vestiges of non-Bolshevik democratic governance and paving the way for the consolidation of Soviet authority.