The Pre-Revolutionary Landscape

Russian Political Organizations

J. Marshall, 2011

The Spectrum

Constitutional Democrats -

Cadets

Independents

Social Democratic Party - Mensheviks

Social Democratic Party - Bolsheviks

Social Revolutionaries

Octobrists

Nihilists (anarchists)

LIBERAL BOURGIOSIE

Monarchists ConstitutionalistsSocialists

Nihilists (anarchists)

The Circle of Tchaikovsky: a Russian literary society of the intelligentsia – Named after Nicolas Tchaikovsky 1851-1926.

Narodnaya Volya (People’s Will) thought democratic and socialist reforms could be achieved through peasant revolution – eventually used terrorism.

Land and Liberty considered any agitation, organization (strike) or revolt useful as a means for a peasant vs. worker revolution.

Russian Nihilists (Anarchists)

Primarily introduced by Ivan Turgenev in his book “Fathers and Sons” but was based off the ideals of German theologian Friedrich

Heinrich Jacobi.

• The Russian Nihilists believed Russia was backwards from life in Western Countries, which was cause for much of their outrage.• Known throughout Europe to use violence to bring about political change.• The Nihilist movement began in the 1860’s.• They were known for denying authority figures.• Reached it’s height in the 1870’s when underground groups like the Circle of Tchaikovsky, People's Will and Land and Liberty were formed.• These members believed that the emancipated serfs were not free, but simply making a transition to factory slavery.• They Denied authorities and assassinated many government officials.• The violent push of the Nihilst’s helped push the Tsar, Alexander II, into calling an assembly to consider new reforms.• By 1905, the Nihilist influence was basically null.

*Were a Fraction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party

*Personal conflicts between Lenin and Martov split the party into the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks

*The Bolsheviks ultimately became the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

Lenin leader of the party until his death in January 21 1924

Stalin took controlOf the party after Lenins death

MensheviksJulius Martov

•Emerged on 1904 after Social Democratic Party disputed and spit up (Bolsheviks and Mensheviks)

MENSHEVIKS = MINORITY

•both parties believed that a “bourgeois democratic” revolution was necessary, Mensheviks were more moderate. (closer to the center)

•1917- out of 822 delegates in the Constituent Assembly, Mensheviks had 248.

•Believed in pure Marxism

•wanted Russia to continue fighting the war

•Joined with Kerensky and Provisional Government, which wasn’t popular with peasants. Mensheviks started loosing vote, while Bolsheviks won them.

•Martov, who was away, came back in a hurry to try to stop them joining with Kerensky, but was too late.

Socialist Revolutionary Party• Leader: Alexander Kerensky • The SRs appealed to the peasants

for support. • They gave to the peasantry a

greater and more independent role in the revolutionary process.

• They thought that all land should be the property of the state and the state should parcel out land to all peasants on the basis of their labour ownership.

• They concentrated on assassination and other terrorist methods to achieve their goals.

Leader: Alexander Kerensky.

The social revolutionary party was a major political party in the early 20th century Russia and a key player in the Russia Revolution.After the February revolution of 1917 it shared power with the other liberal and democratic socialist forces within the Russian Provisional Government. Also in 1917, it won the majority of the national vote in Russia’s first-ever democratic elections, but soon split and was defeated and destroyed by the Bolsheviks in the course of the Russian Civil War and subsequent persecution.

Social Revolutionary Party

INDEPENDENTSTHE PEASANTS

•1917, Russian peasants were 86% of the population•The peasants were betrayed by the government with expropriations of the land•The November Revolution (led by Bolsheviks) recognized the right of peasants to be “masters of the land” they worked on•Bolsheviks realized that the energy of the peasants would be a great force in the next revolution•In 1918, peasantry moved in the direction of conservatism because they gained everything they wanted in the revolution and needed to defend their property•Crises’ such as bosses’ lock-outs, the Civil War, the collapses of transportation and mass hunger in cities were the causes of the “War Communism” which the peasants were opposed to•All peasant movements were led by Makhno in Ukraine from 1918-1921•Their military force was a “typical” peasant army

Nestor Makhno

Union of October 17 Founded in late October 1905 Lead by Alexander Ivanovich

Guchkov Firmly committed to constitutional

monarchy Supported by centrist-liberal

gentry, businessmen, and some bureaucrats

The Octobrists' program included private farming and further land reform

Octobrist Party

- The party was led by the industrialist Alexander Guchkov.

- The party was founded in late October of 1905.

- By 1915 the octobrists ceased to exist anywhere in Russian except the capital of St. Petersburg.

- With the fall of the Romanovs in March, the party became one of the ruling parties in the first Provisional Government.

The Party committed to a system of constitutional monarchy

Constitutional Democrats Kadets

Formed in Moscow, Russia – October 12th to 18th, 1905

Main leader: Pavel Miliukov

Originally to the immediate left of the Octobrists on the spectrum. Wanted universal suffrage and a Constituent Assembly. 1906 with the revolution in retreat they abandoned revolutionary aspirations for a constitutional monarchy.

Mainly supported by professionals like lawyers and professors

February Revolution Kadets in the Duma formed the core of the new Russian Provisional Government. Abolished limitations based on religion and nationality and introduced an element of self determination.

Constitutional DemocratsKadets

• 1910, Kadets didn’t support the government’s Russification campaign (1)

•A small group of Kadets headed by Pyotr Struve agreed with a moderate version of Russification which threatened to split the party. (2)

•August 1915-formed the Progressive Bloc along with the Progressive faction, the Octobrists faction, and a part of the Nationalists faction in the Duma. (3)

•Kadets position was further eroded when they resigned from the government in protest against concessions to the Ukrainian independence movement.

•Bolshevik seizure of power on October 25-26, 1917, Party was suppressed by new regime.(4)

•After civil war, most Kadet leaders were forced to emigrate (5)

Monarchists Constitution Party

• Lead by Alexander Dubrovin• Founded in 1905• Mostly made up of bourgeoisie, landowners,

and some peasantry• The Black Hundreds is a group of ultra nationalistic people who supported the house of Romanov