"Revolutionary Democracy" could not be organized in a week or a month, so for the first period it was represented by the revolutionary democracy of Petrograd, through the Petrograd Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Deputies, supplemented by delegates from similar councils of other cities, and by representatives from the army at the front. It was more difficult to organize the peasants scattered through the country, and not concentrated in barracks or factories. The workmen and soldiers of Petrograd therefore assumed to represent all revolutionary democracy, and they had the physical force behind them. They were there on the spot, at the administrative and political center inherited from the old regime, ready to act without delay when they decided that the Provisional Government should no longer be supported. And the workmen and soldiers of Petrograd were being won over gradually to the extremists, the Bolsheviki. As the Provisional Government was aiming first of all to preserve social peace, adopting a policy of conciliation, it did not oppose the supervision exercised by the Council. In fact it realized that only recognition of such supervision would ensure any measure of common action. The Duma committee had been asked to efface itself, for as an institution of the old regime it aroused the suspicions of the revolutionary bodies. The efficiency of the local government bodies was sacrificed to the idea of immediate democratization. The establishment of revolutionary committees all over the country, and in the army even, was countenanced and accepted, though 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.