A Revolutionary Democracy government that existed in 1918 and controlled part of the territory of the Urals.

 

It was formed on August 19, 1918, at the meetings of the inter-party commission held in Yekaterinburg after its capture by the Czechoslovak Legion. The Council became the supreme administrative body. It was headed by a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party (Kadet) Pavel Ivanov. Lev Krol (also a Kadet) became his Deputy. The Council also included Socialist Revolutionaries, Popular Socialists, and Mensheviks.

 

The Government consisted of 8 main departments: Mining, Trade and Industry, Labor, Agriculture and State Domains, Internal Affairs, Finance, Justice, Public Education (later on, the Food Department was established as well). It was assumed that the Government would exercise its powers until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly or the Ural Regional Duma.

 

The Government aimed to gain control over the mining territories of Perm, Ufa, Orenburg, and part of Vyatka governorates to ensure the economic self-sufficiency of the Urals. The Government effectively controlled only Yekaterinburg and Krasnoufimsk districts of Perm governorate. For Shadrinsk, Irbit, Kamyshlov, Verkhneuralsk, Chelyabinsk, and Troitsk districts, it disputed with the Provisional Siberian Government (the case was resolved in favor of the latter).

 

Announced in the declaration of August 19, 1918, the Government's program touched upon democratic freedoms and equality of nations, as well as economic provisions to balance the interests of business owners and workers. The right of private ownership was restored, the factories were returned to their former owners with possible nationalization of certain enterprises if necessary. An 8-hour working day was established, insurance in case of illness was provided, etc. Later, under the pressure of local big business, the Government limited the number of workers' rights, eliminated the possibility of workers' control, and curtailed the social insurance system.

 

The Provisional Regional Government of the Urals maneuvered between the Provisional Siberian Government and the Committee of Members of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly (Komuch). Due to the lack of its military forces, lack of personnel, and financial resources, it gave up the idea of independent foreign and domestic policy, as well as the regulation of transport and communications, transferring them to the Ministries of the Provisional Siberian Government. Its permanent representative in the Urals was based in Yekaterinburg. At the same time, the details of interaction with the Provisional Siberian Government often provoked heated disputes.

 

In September 1918, at the Ufa Conference, the Provisional Regional Government of the Urals achieved official recognition. Its territory had become a buffer zone between the regions controlled by the Provisional Siberian Government and the Komuch. The Government representative signed an act on establishing the Provisional All-Russian Government (Ufa Directorate). On November 10, the Council of the Provisional Regional Government of the Urals, obeying the decree of the latter, officially resigned and handed over the draft laws prepared in the course of its work.