The problem of "dual power" in the Urals under the regime of Alexander Kolchak (December 1918 - April 1919)

The article considers the system of local government in Perm province during the establishment of Kolchak's power. The formation of local government took place under martial law conditions. The society was disorganized and fraught with potential danger to the centre. The Omsk government made efforts to maintain public order in the region. The Supreme Ruler was reasonably afraid of social unrest and therefore appealed to the practice of imperial Russia to establish governorships in problematic areas. Those new administrative units were called regions and were to combine several provinces, but the boundaries of the new Ural region fully coincided with the boundaries of Perm province. Probably it was planned to include new territories into the region later but it never happened. As a result, the region got two heads with similar power: the manager of the province under the Omsk government's control and the superior of the region who subordinated directly to the Supreme Ruler. Both officials had the same function of protection of public order. In a sense, the political situation may be described as dual power but it is hardly possible to speak of serious confrontations between the two officials. Rather, there could be minor disputes related to bureau­cratic delays. Therefore it is possible to define the analyzed political system as coalition or diarchy.