In the afternoon of February 27, 1917 (the day when the February revolution won in Petrograd) in the Tauride Palace, the Duma Council of Elders established the Provisional Committee of the State Duma for the restoration of order in the capital and interaction with institutions and individuals. The committee was headed by the Chairman of the 4th State Duma, member of the Octobrist Party (the Union of October 17 Party) Mikhail Rodzyanko. The Provisional Committee included representatives of the Duma factions, the leader of the Labor Group in the Duma, Alexander Kerensky, the Menshevik Nikolay Chkheidze, the Constitutional Democrats (Kadets) Pavel Milyukov and Nikolay Nekrasov, Vasily Shulgin, a member of the Progressive Bloc, and others. Alexander Kerensky became a connecting link between the Provisional Committee and the Petrograd Soviet.

On March 2, the Provisional Committee, in agreement with the Executive Committee of the Petrograd Soviet, formed the Provisional Government, the supreme body of state power designed to govern the country until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. The very term “Provisional” originated from the idea that the issues of the state structure remained “unpredetermined” until the Constituent Assembly is held.

The first composition of the Provisional Government included: Prince Georgy Lvov, the Head of the Cabinet and Minister of Interior, Pavel Milyukov (Kadet), Foreign minister, Aleksander Guchkov (Octobrist, “Union of October 17” party), Military and Naval minister, Nikolay Nekrasov (Kadet), Minister of Railways, Aleksander Konovalov (member of the Progressive Bloc in the State Duma), Minister of Trade and Industry, Mikhail Tereshchenko, Minister of Finance, Aleksander

Manuylov (Kadet), Minister of Public Education, Andrey Shingaryov (Kadet), Minister of Agriculture, Fyodor Rodichev (Kadet), Minister for Finnish Affairs, Vladimir Lvov (Octobrist), Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, and also the only representative of socialists – Alexander Kerensky, Minister of Justice.

The supreme military command, which had contacts with the Provisional Committee, put pressure on Nicholas II, who signed the abdication in favor of his brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Aleksandrovich, on March 2, 1917. On March 3, Grand Duke Mikhail Aleksandrovich abdicated in favor of the Constituent Assembly, which was to determine the form of government in Russia. Thus, the Provisional Government formally became the only generally recognized body of supreme power in the country until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly, while it was not accountable to any other body, including the Provisional Committee, and its powers were unlimited. However, in reality, from the first days of its existence, the Government had to reckon with the influence of the Petrograd Soviet, as well as various powers in provinces and especially ethnic regions.