Dual power

"Dual power" (Russian: Двоевластие, tr. Dvoyevlastiye) refers to the coexistence of two governments as a result of the February Revolution: the Soviets (workers' councils), particularly the Petrograd Soviet, and the Russian Provisional Government. The term was first used by the communist Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) in the Pravda article titled "The Dual Power".

This article is about the period in the Russian Revolution. For the dual system of government in general, see Diarchy. For the type of locomotive sometimes called "dual-power" or "dual-mode power", see Electro-diesel locomotive.

Lenin argued that this essentially unstable situation constituted a unique opportunity for the Soviets and Bolsheviks to seize power by smashing the weak Provisional Government and establishing themselves as the basis of a new form of state power.

This notion has informed the strategies of subsequent communist-led revolutions elsewhere in the world, including the Chinese Revolution of 1949 led by Mao Zedong (1893–1976) after the Chinese Civil War (1927–1949) and in eastern Europe after World War II (1939–1945).

Since 2014 Libya has been under dual power between Government of National Unity (Libya) and the House of Representatives (Libya).

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.