Among Russian public figures there is a man whose name is undeservedly forgotten by modern historians. He was at the head of state for only 4 months, but during the period that Georgy Evgenievich Lvov headed the Provisional Government, important events took place in the country that determined the future path of Russia's development.
early years
About such as George Lvov they say: "Aristocrat of the highest standard." His biography began on November 2, 1861 in the German city of Dresden. The family belonged to an old princely family dating back to the Rurikovich. Father led the county nobility in Aleksin of the Tula province. However, in the middle of the 19th century the family became poor and, despite the nobility, did not live well.
The boy’s childhood passed in the family estate Popovka near Tula with his brothers. The elder Alexander subsequently headed the school of painting in Moscow, the younger Vladimir managed the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
George graduated from high school, then continued his education at Moscow University. The landowner began his career as a lawyer in the courts of the Tula province. Very soon, the Zemstvo leader gained fame and authority. The famous fellow countryman Leo Tolstoy approved his activities when Lvov headed the Zemstvo council, participated in the work of Zemstvo congresses. He was known as a business man, diligently and eagerly doing his job.
The childhood and youth of Georgy Lvov coincided with important transformations of all aspects of Russian reality. The part of the provincial society to which he belonged formed a new system. The basis of life for them was the atmosphere of work and respect for others. After returning to Popovka, the young landowner built an oil mill, a mill and planted an apple orchard. For vigorous economic activity he did not forget to take care of the peasants: he opened an elementary school, a shop and a teahouse.
In 1901, there were changes in the personal life of George. The prince married Julia, the youngest daughter of Count Bobrinsky. The wife was in poor health and died a year later, without giving Lviv the joy of fatherhood.
Political career
Since 1903, Lviv has been a member of the illegal liberal movement Union of Liberation. The organization operated in 22 Russian cities and its main task was to introduce political freedoms in the country. The movement published its own journal, by 1905 its number was 1, 600 people.
In 1906, Lvov was elected to the State Duma of the first convocation, he headed the work of the medical and food committee. The organization was charitable in nature, funded by both the state and foreign philanthropists. The funds raised were primarily used to support immigrants in Siberia and the Far East: canteens, bakeries and first-aid posts were opened for the starving and poor. To thoroughly study the resettlement business, in 1909 Lviv visited Canada and the USA.
In 1911, George joined the Progressive Party, before that he was a member of the Cadet Party. Colleagues elected him to the Moscow City Duma, but rejected the candidacy.
During the First World War, Lviv made every effort to promote the army. The All-Russian Zemstvo Union created by him supported the wounded front-line soldiers. For the collected 600 million rubles, ambulance trains were created and new hospitals opened. The Union supplied bandaging material to the troops and formed medical personnel. A year later, he joined the unified All-Russian organization ZEMGOR and helped millions of soldiers.
Opinions were increasingly heard among the progressive public that Georgy Evgenievich was an ideal figure for the post of minister or even prime minister.
Head of the Provisional Government
By 1915, Lviv was absolutely sure that the connection between the government and the public was completely lost. He saw a way out in the new leadership, which was to replace the "government of bureaucrats."
After the February Revolution, simultaneously with the abdication of the throne, Nicholas II assumed that Lviv would become chairman of the Council of Ministers, but this fact was ignored. On March 2, 1917, the interim committee of the State Duma appointed Georgy Evgenievich to head the Provisional Government and the Ministry of the Interior. Already during the first meeting, the ministers were disappointed, because the head of government did not at all look like a leader. He was cautious, acted evasively, in his speeches he limited himself to general phrases. The uncertainty in the actions of the Provisional Government was explained by its dependence on the Soviets. The first decisions of the government were general democratic: amnesty of political prisoners, abolition of the tsar’s gendarmerie, equality of estates and nationalities, freedom of religion, general elections.
The inability of Lvov as a leader was obvious. A month later, the government crisis began. Ministers Guchkov and Milyukov were dismissed. On the initiative of the head, a coalition government of socialists was created, but even it could not organize its work. After the Petrograd unrest of the Bolsheviks with demands for resignation, he suffered a second crisis, after which the government stopped its work on July 7. The new composition of the ministers was headed by Alexander Kerensky.
