ABSTRACT
The liberalization of political life in the wake of the February Revolution facilitated the rise of national movements in the former Russian Empire. At the same time, the Provisional Government neglected the issue of nationalism in the peripheries in favor of rallying the population around the war cause and maintaining order. Autonomy was recognized only for Finland and Poland, while the modest demands of other nations were ignored or postponed until the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. The Provisional Government underestimated the growing power of nationalism and failed to maintain a clearly defined position on the national issue, radicalizing national movements, especially in a situation of wartime deprivations and the diminishing authority of the central power in the peripheries. 1 National elites were confronted with a variety of tasks in the attempts to consolidate and strengthen their national movements. Since all repressive restrictions imposed by the tsarist authorities with the start of the First World War were lifted after the February Revolution, territories to the east of the front line experienced an “explosion” of political activities. 2
