A soviet (Russian: совет, romanized: sovet, IPA: [sɐˈvʲet] , lit. 'council') is a workers' council that follows a socialist ideology, particularly in the context of the Russian Revolution. Soviets acted as the foundation of the form of government of Russian SFSR and the Soviet Union, and influenced the Makhnovshchina.
The first soviets were established during the 1905 Revolution in the late Russian Empire. In 1917, following the February Revolution, a state of dual power emerged between the Russian Provisional Government and the soviets. This ended later that year with the October Revolution, during which the Second Congress of Soviets proclaimed itself as the supreme governing body of the country.