Constituent assembly

• Constituent assembly - an elected legislature with the power to pass or amend laws
• Constituent assembly was supported by a broad spectrum of revolutionary groups including kadets, SRS, Mensheviks and even moderate bolsheviks
• During the turmoil of 1917 the constituent assembly became a BEACON OF HOPE for the future
• Questions arose if the bolsheviks would be willing to share power with an elected legislature containing non bolsheviks voices, these questions were answered swiftly in JANUARY 1918 when Lenin shut down the constituent assembly
• FAILURE - The prov gov tool several months to convene the elections, though this was not entirely it's fault. Russia did not have the electoral framework for conducting national elections based on universal suffrage and secret ballot these processes had to be conducted from scratch at a time when the empire was disrupted by war and unrest