perhaps only because it was seen that it could not be prevented except by
repressive measures, to which the first leaders were unwilling to resort.
Perhaps also the latter realized that physical force was not on their side.

The Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies acted on the principle of
a direct mandate from the whole people. It issued orders to revolutionary
democracy, as we saw. It insisted on the exercise of a real control,
even on the right to countersign, as it were, some of the orders of the
Provisional Government. Then it definitely questioned the policy and
measures of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of War. When
these two men were forced to resign, the other members of the government
demanded that revolutionary democracy share in the responsibility of
government, if it insisted on such a measure of control. The Councils
at first refused, but later agreed, and a frankly and officially recognized
coalition government was formed. Socialists entered the government not
only as members of their respective parties, but as representatives of
revolutionary democracy organized in the Councils, which now contained
delegates from the peasantry, hurriedly brought in by a somewhat artificial
system of representation.

The first Coalition Government drew up a program of policy. As this program
was somewhat vaguely worded, coalition in the strict and true sense of
the word was not secured. The socialists had entered the coalition under
pressure, as we saw. Some of them felt called upon to justify the step in
a statement, later discovered and made public, to socialists of other
countries. In the statement they explained that they had entered the
government, in order to "deepen and extend the class struggle." And this is
what some of them did actually start in to do, using their authority and
powers as ministers to turn the organs of revolutionary democracy in this
direction, promoting suspicion of and antagonism toward the bourgeoisie.