In 1917, which body contested power with the Provisional Government?

• A. The Duma
• B. The Petrograd Soviet
• C. The Tsar
• D. The Constitutional Assembly

Answer: (B)

In 1917, power in Russia was shaped by dual authority: the Provisional Government sharing control with the soviets, which were elected workers’ and soldiers’ councils. The body that most actively challenged the Provisional Government was the Petrograd Soviet. It represented the mass movement in the capital and could claim legitimacy from below through workers, soldiers, and peasants’ delegates.

This Soviet asserted influence by coordinating strikes, controlling the loyalty of troops, and issuing orders that the army and government had to consider. A famous example is Order No. 1, which demanded that soldiers and sailors follow the Soviet’s commands and only obey the Provisional Government when the Soviet supported those commands. This arrangement undermined the Provisional Government’s authority and created a system of “dual power,” where both bodies claimed legitimacy and real influence.

The Duma and the Constitutional Assembly existed as political institutions, but they did not function as the primary rival to the Provisional Government in the same way the Petrograd Soviet did during that period. The Tsar had abdicated, and the Constitutional Assembly would only later attempt to shape the country’s future, while the Petrograd Soviet was the central, active counterweight in 1917.