The Provisional All-Russian Government, informally known as the Directory, the Ufa Directory, or the Omsk Directory, was a short-lived government of the
Russian State during the
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
, formed on 23 September 1918 at the
State Conference in
Ufa as a result of a forced and extremely unstable compromise of various anti-Communist forces in eastern Russia. It was dissolved two months later after the coup, which had brought Admiral
Alexander Kolchak to power in Communist-free areas of eastern Russia. It was meant to be a continuation of the original
Russian Provisional Government that was overthrown during the
October Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
in 1917.
The Government was formed from the
Committee of Members of the Constituent Assembly, mainly
Socialist Revolutionaries and
Kadets based in
Samara
Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...
, and from the
Provisional Siberian Government of regional politicians and rightist officers and based in
Omsk
Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...
. The two regimes had previously failed to work effectively together, with rivalry leading to a customs war and to numerous border disputes. In November 1918 a military coup by right-wing Kadets, officers, and Cossacks, with some support from the
Allies, overthrew the Provisional All-Russian Government and appointed Admiral Kolchak as the
Supreme Leader of Russia. Kolchak, who had been the Minister of War in the government for two weeks, was supported by the coup faction to create a
new government that would have no SR influence.
Despite its problems, the Provisional All-Russian Government was recognized by all White Russian factions east of the Urals and also established a unified foreign policy. It had the support of Russia's former diplomatic missions abroad. But the government's Directory did not have a large administrative state, and continued to rely on the institutions of the former Provisional Siberian Government in Omsk, which was also where the Allied powers set up their diplomatic and military offices.
Formation
A
State Conference took place at
Ufa between 8 and 23 September 1918, which resulted in the establishment of this alternative to the
Russian Republic
The Russian Republic,. referred to as the Russian Democratic Federative Republic in the 1918 Constitution, was a short-lived state which controlled, ''de jure'', the territory of the former Russian Empire after its proclamation by the Rus ...
and then when that was overthrown by the
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
government. It encompassed 170 delegates, including some from other regions.
According to
William Henry Chamberlin, "Partly under pressure from the
Czechs
The Czechs (, ; singular Czech, masculine: ''Čech'' , singular feminine: ''Češka'' ), or the Czech people (), are a West Slavs, West Slavic ethnic group and a nation native to the Czech Republic in Central Europe, who share a common Bohemia ...
, who were becoming impatient at the inability of the anti-Bolshevik Russians, whom they had been aiding, to help themselves, a state conference, attended by representatives of the
Omsk
Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...
and
Samara
Samara, formerly known as Kuybyshev (1935–1991), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast in Russia. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with a population of over 1.14 ...
Governments and other numerous political organizations and regional authorities, opened in Ufa on September 8 for the purpose of working out some scheme of political and military unity. The radicals at Ufa wished to make the new government, which was to be created, responsible before the original
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
; the conservatives wanted to make it as authoritarian and as free from external control as possible..." A compromise resulted with the formation of a five man Directory, but the Constituent Assembly would resume activity if 250 member gathered by 1 January 1919, or 170 by 1 February.
The five person Directory had their deputies, personal backup members of the Directory, some of whom were located at a considerable distance from Ufa.
The Council of Ministers carried out the day-to-day administration of the government. A majority of the Council of Ministers (10 out of 14) had served formerly as members of the Provisional Siberian Government.
Views
The Act on the Formation of the All-Russian Supreme Power established that the PA-RG ''“is the only bearer of supreme power throughout the entire Russia until the convocation of the
Constituent Assembly
A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...
”''. The Act provided ''"the transfer of all the functions temporarily assigned by the regional governments"'' to the PA-RG. Thus, the sovereignty of regional formations was canceled and replaced by "broad autonomy of regions", which limits completely depended on the ''"wisdom of the Provisional All-Russian Government"''.
The foundations of the national state structure of Russia should have proceeded from federal principles: ''“the organization of liberated Russia on the basis of recognizing of broad autonomy for its individual areas, due to geographic, economic and ethnic characteristics; assuming the final establishment of the federal government by the sovereign Constituent Assembly ..., recognition of right for cultural and national
self-determination
Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage.
Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
for the minorities that do not occupy a separate territory"''.
The following were named as urgent tasks to ''restore the state unity and independence of Russia'':
#Struggle for the liberation of Russia from the
Soviet government
The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest body of state authority, the All-Union Supreme Soviet. It was formed on 30 December 1922 and abolished on 26 December 199 ...
;
#Reunification of the
torn away, fallen away and scattered regions of Russia;
#Non-recognition of the
Brest and all other treaties, concluded both on behalf of Russia and its individual parts after the
February Revolution
The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...
, by any government, except for the
Russian Provisional Government; restoration of the actual force of contractual relations with the Entente powers;
#Continuation of the war against the
German coalition.
Activity
On October 9, the Directory left
Ufa and moved to
Omsk
Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...
due to the threat of the capture of Ufa by the advancing Soviet troops. On October 13, the former commander of the
Black Sea Fleet
The Black Sea Fleet () is the Naval fleet, fleet of the Russian Navy in the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Mediterranean Sea. The Black Sea Fleet, along with other Russian ground and air forces on the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula, are subordin ...
Vice Admiral
Alexander Kolchak arrived in Omsk, who later became a member of the Council of Ministers of the PA-RG. On November 4, the Government appealed to the regions with a demand to immediately dissolve "all Regional Governments and Representative Institutions without exception" and transfer all powers to the All-Russian Government (Council of Ministers).
Such a centralization of state was justified by the need to "recreate the homeland's combat power, which is so necessary in the time of the struggle for the revival of Great and United Russia", and "to create the necessary conditions to supply the army and organize the rear". On the same day, on the basis of the Provisional Siberian Government, the executive body of the Directory was formed — the All-Russian Council of Ministers, headed by
Pyotr Vologodsky
Pyotr Vasilievich Vologodsky (January 18, 1863 – November 19, 1925, ) was a Russian statesman, public figure, and mason. He was the first chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian State (1918—1920), Russian state and the second an ...
. Now it was possible to achieve the abolition of all regional, national and Cossack governments in the East of Russia and thereby formally consolidate the forces of anti-Bolshevik resistance.
Council of Ministers of the Provisional All-Russian Government
The "All-Russian" Council of Ministers, formed on 4 November 1918, included:
Kolchak coup d'etat
The Directory ''coup'' occurred on the night of 17 November 1918, when Krasilnikov's detachment burst onto a meeting of Avksentiev, Zenzinov, Rakov, Gendelman, three delegates from the Archangel Government, and Assistant Minister of the Interior Rogovsky. All of them were members of the
Socialist-Revolutionary Party. Krasilnikov arrested Avksentiev and Zenzinov. On 18 November, Premier Vologodosky called a meeting of the Cabinet, and soon there was general agreement the only solution to the political crisis was a personal dictatorship. Kolchak assumed the title of Supreme Ruler, "Commander-in-chief of all the land and naval forces of Russia." Avksentiev, Zenzinov, and Argunov were deported to Paris. Boldyrev also left the country.
[
The Council of Ministers came to the conclusion about the need for ''"the complete concentration of military and civil power in the hands of one person with an authoritative name in the military and public circles."'' It was decided in principle ''“to transfer temporarily the exercise of supreme power to one person, based on the assistance of the Council of Ministers, assigning to such a person the name of the Supreme Ruler"'', after which ''"the Regulations on the temporary structure of state power in Russia"'' (the so-called Constitution of November 18) was developed and adopted, which established the procedure for the relationship of the Council of Ministers and the Supreme Ruler.
The next morning, The Council of Ministers met after the arrest of the Social Revolutionaries, the ministers decided on the need to assume full supreme power and then transfer it to an elected person who would lead on the principles of unity of command. The election was held on a secret ballot using closed notes and Admiral Alexander Kolchak was chosen.
Kolchak issued the following appeal to the population:]
Included among Kolchak's ministers was former prominent Tsarist minister Sergey Sazonov, who would represent the government at the Paris Peace Conference.[Erik Goldstein ''The First World War Peace Settlements, 1919-1925'' p49 Routledge (2013)]
A new Russian government was formed, in which nearly all of the member of the Directory's Council of Ministers retained their offices. It operated until January 4, 1920.
Notes
Citations
Sources
*
*
* Evan Mawdsley, ''The Russian Civil War'' (2008). Edinburgh, Birlinn, pp. 143–8.
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