FORCES BEHIND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION FORCES BEHIND THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
BY SAMUEL N. HARPER
One was struck by the remarkable unity that characterized the short first
period of the Russian Revolution of last March. One knew, however, that
there were two distinct sets of forces behind the movement, operating
through two kinds of organizations. There were first the already existing
and parliamentary institutions which had become revolutionary in spirit and
methods of action. On the other hand there were the institutions produced
by the revolution itself, emerging from the chaos in the midst of which the
other, already functioning bodies, were trying to take a new and directing
line. The most prominent of the first type of institution was the Duma,
the legislative parliament of the old regime, and of the second type, the
Petrograd Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies.
The Duma, however, was only one of several legal institutions that had
developed under the old regime, and represented the first stages of
parliamentary, popular government. There were the local provincial and
municipal councils, and also the officially recognized war-industry
committees, which had come to have semi-governmental functions. Finally one
could bring under this category, with a little forcing, the cooperative
societies, which had assumed enormous importance during the two and a half
years of war.
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