Populism of the 19th century (briefly)

The historical development of Russia must and does proceed in its own way, different from European countries.

For Russia, such a phenomenon as capitalism is not typical and unacceptable.

Autocracy has no social basis in Russian society.

In its development, Russia is moving towards socialism, bypassing the stage of capitalism.

The unit of the future socialist society is not the family, but the community.

The peasant masses must be led by an organization of professional revolutionaries.

The peasantry, for the most part, is already ready to accept and respond to socialist ideas.

Revolution is the only true way to social change.

Origins and causes of occurrence. Social base.

In the middle of the 19th century, solving the peasant question was the main task facing the Russian government. For the further development of the country depended on how this issue was resolved. Among the intelligentsia, many options for the development of the country were proposed, but they all converged on the speedy abolition of serfdom. At the turn of 1840-1850, the publicist, writer and philosopher A. I. Herzen outlined his vision on this matter. Impressed by the defeat of the European revolutions of the late 1840s, he put forward the theory that socialism should establish itself in Russia on the basis of the peasant community. Herzen’s “community socialism” was developed at the end of the 1850s by another prominent publicist and philosopher N. G. Chernyshevsky. But unlike Herzen, he believed that the community was a transitional stage to a collective form of production and consumption. The ideas of “communal socialism” found a warm response among the various intelligentsia. And her dissatisfaction with the progress of the peasant reform of 1861 became a reason for action. In addition, the fee for higher education introduced in 1861 closed the doors of universities to a large number of young people of all ranks who were unable to pay for their education. From them, as A. Herzen put it, “science was locked away.” They became the social base of populism in the 19th century.

Goals of the movement.

The goal of populism as a socio-political movement was the complete reconstruction of society on the basis of socialist principles.

Currents in populism.

Populism, as a socio-political movement, was not homogeneous. United by the main idea of ​​“communal socialism,” the ideologists of populism proposed different ways to achieve the goal.

Propaganda direction. Its ideologists are P. L. Lavrov and N. K. Mikhailovsky. The main postulate is that the social revolution must be prepared by constant propaganda of the intelligentsia among the people. The unacceptability of the violent path of reconstruction.

Rebellious or anarchic movement. Its main ideologist was M.A. Bakunin. This direction is based on the negation of the state as such and its replacement by societies based on the principle of autonomy. The way to achieve the goal is through revolution, revolt and uprising. A series of small riots and uprisings is preparing a big revolutionary explosion.

Social revolutionary or conspiratorial. Leader - P. N. Tkachev. Adherents of this movement believed that it was not enlightenment that should prepare the revolution, but, on the contrary, the revolution should give the people enlightenment, equality and fraternity. Therefore, you should not waste time on enlightenment, but by creating a secret, disciplined organization of professional revolutionaries, seize power. In contrast to the anarchism of Bakunin, Tkachev advocated a strong state capable of turning the country into a large commune.

Activities of the populists.

The first illegal and semi-legal populist circles appeared back in the 1850s. Even then they were divided into propaganda and conspiratorial.

At the beginning of the 1860s, populist circles began to emerge in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities. The most influential of them was the first “Land and Freedom” created in St. Petersburg in 1861. Its participants developed the first populist program for the reconstruction of society. But in 1864 the organization dissolved itself. But in 1863, the comrades-in-arms of the first “Land and Freedom” created the secret society of N. A. Ishutin (“Ishutintsy”) in Moscow. This revolutionary organization set as its goal the preparation of a peasant revolution. Over the course of three years, members of the organization established connections with the underground in other cities, created a free school in Moscow, several workshops on “socialist principles,” and prepared N. Chernyshevsky’s escape from hard labor. But the unsuccessful attempt on the life of Alexander II, committed on April 4, 1866 on his own initiative by a member of the organization D. Karakozov, put an end to its activities. The organization was discovered and destroyed, about two thousand people were put under investigation. But only 36 of them were sentenced to prison.

At the end of the 1860s, populist organizations began to emerge in all major cities. At the beginning of the 1870s there were already several dozen of them. At the same time, in 1873-1874, the first “going to the people” took place - a mass attempt by the populists

A special path of development for Russia. In the first post-reform decade, the ideas of Russian socialism were formalized into a coherent system of views, which was called “populism.” The concept itself was unclear and allowed for different interpretations. A variety of phenomena, united by interest in the people and sympathy for their plight, were called populism, which was both an ideological movement and a style of the era. The core of populism was idealized ideas about the common people, about social relations in the Russian village. Populism grew out of Herzen’s formula: “The man of the future in Russia is a man.”

The greatest influence among the populists was the doctrine that linked together the special character of Russian social development, based on the existence of a peasant land community, with the belief in the possibility, thanks to this, of achieving the establishment of fair social relations in Russia. These relations were understood as socialist. The populists were constantly arguing about what means should be used to achieve the socialist ideal. Many of them believed in the effectiveness of the revolutionary transformation of society.

Along with revolutionary populism, which flourished in the 1870s, there has always been a peaceful, liberal populism, especially noticeable in the era of Alexander III. Common to all the populists was a belief in the unique path of development of Russia, in the enormous social and economic potential of the peasant land community; they were united by their rejection of capitalist relations. All of them were convinced that one way or another Russia would come to socialism.

Following Bakunin and Ogarev, the followers of Russian socialism were irreconcilable opponents of autocracy and Russian statehood. For them, the overthrow of the autocracy was mandatory, although not the main condition for the establishment of the idea of ​​socialism. They tended to underestimate the importance of everyday political struggle and treated the liberal public with contempt. Inextricably linked with the ideas of social revolution, populism gave rise to a nihilistic attitude towards the legal system, constitutional guarantees, led to neglect and direct denial of civil liberties, to the loss of political struggle skills, already weak in Russian society.

Nechaevshchina. This was clearly revealed during the years of the “White Terror”. Unrest among St. Petersburg students in 1869 brought fame to S.G. Nechaev, a poorly educated commoner who combined boundless hatred of autocracy with political adventurism, a penchant for lies and provocation. Having fled abroad, he appeared before Ogarev and Bakunin as the head of a revolutionary committee supposedly existing in Russia. Together with Bakunin, he published a number of leaflets and appeals addressed to student youth on behalf of the mythical organization “People's Retribution”. He compiled the “Catechism of a Revolutionary,” which received the approval of Bakunin, which justified all the dirtiest means of struggle.

Returning to Russia, Nechaev, widely using methods of provocation, tried to create “People’s Retribution” cells in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Seeking blind obedience, he used blackmail to force the Moscow cell to kill student I.I. Ivanov, who expressed doubt about Nechaev’s powers. After the murder, Nechaev fled abroad again. The trial of the Nechaevites took place in 1871 and, according to the authorities, was supposed to discredit the revolutionary movement. The widespread publication of propaganda materials by the Nechaevites had the opposite effect: a new generation of youth turned to the ideas of the revolutionary underground and became imbued with faith in Russian socialism. Nechaev himself, extradited by Switzerland as a criminal, was tried and imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress, where he died.

M.A. Bakunin as an ideologist of populism. Having condemned Nechaevism for immorality, the leaders of the revolutionary underground did not question Nechaev’s desire to create a secret organization. This was the goal of the members headed by G.A. Lopatin of the “Ruble Society”, named after the size of the entrance fee, and the “Dolgushins”, united around the St. Petersburg student A.V. Dolgushina. In the early 1870s. In St. Petersburg, a circle of “Chaikovites” arose, where M.A. played the main role. Nathanson and N.V. Chaikovsky. Members of the circle conducted constant populist propaganda among students, considering their main task to train personnel for the revolutionary movement.

In 1871, the Tchaikovites united with the circle of S.L. Perovskaya, forming the “Big Propaganda Society”. Among the public figures were P.A. Kropotkin, A.I. Zhelyabov, N.A. Morozov, D.A. Clemens, S.M. Kravchinsky, S.S. Sinegub. They read illegal literature and dreamed of conducting propaganda in the village. An atmosphere of moral purity and devotion to the cause of the revolution reigned within society. Almost all members of the “Great Propaganda Society” shared Bakunin’s views, which dominated the populist environment at that time.

In Bakunin’s theory, the main thing was the doctrine of the state, which he understood as a “historically necessary evil.” The coming revolution, in his opinion, was supposed to lead to the destruction of any form of government. He believed in the “great, saving principle of federalism” and contrasted his own communal socialism with Marx’s state socialism. He assigned the decisive role in the struggle for the reorganization of the world to the people, “in the West - to factory and city workers, here in Russia, in Poland and in most Slavic lands - to peasants.” Peoples, Bakunin believed, have an inherent instinct for freedom, which pushes them to fight. According to Bakunin, “each community constitutes a closed whole within itself and does not feel the need to have any independent organic connection with other communities.” From this the conclusion was drawn about the importance of community self-government and the “decidedly hostile” attitude of the community towards the state.

The revolution in Russia was understood by Bakunin as an integral part of the world “Social Revolution”, for “at present, for all countries of the civilized world there is only one world question, one world interest - the complete and final liberation of the proletariat from economic exploitation and from state oppression.” This issue, Bakunin taught, cannot be resolved “without a bloody, terrible struggle.”

Revolutionary ethics P.L. Lavrova. Bakunism was attractive to radical students. Very few of its representatives did not share Bakunin’s revolutionary optimism and preferred Lavrism, a movement named after its ideologist. P.L. Lavrov was a prominent representative of the sixties, the author of “Historical Letters”, popular among young people, where he gave the famous definition: “The development of personality in physical, mental and moral terms, the embodiment of truth and justice in social forms - this is a short formula that, it seems to me, embraces everything that can be considered progress.” The “formula of progress” derived by Lavrov was perceived by radical youth as an indisputable sociological law. Lavrov argued that the most important thing for the development of society is the human need for the best, “the desire to expand knowledge, to set oneself a higher goal, the need to change everything given from the outside in accordance with one’s desire, one’s understanding, one’s moral ideal, the desire to rebuild the conceivable world according to the requirements of truth.” , the real world - according to the requirements of justice."

The gradual propaganda of the Lavrists did not promise quick success, and they constituted a minority in the revolutionary movement, but the idea of ​​sacrifice became an important component of revolutionary ethics.

"Walking among the people." In the spring of 1874, united by the call to “go and rebel the people,” which was first proclaimed by Herzen, the Bakuninists and Lavrists made a massive attempt to “go to the people.” Devoid of organizational unity and spontaneous in nature, it became a manifestation of the sacrificial impulse of youth. The youth of university centers left the cities, went to the Don, to the Volga region, where, according to their calculations, the traditions of Razin and Pugachev were alive. Propaganda covered about 40 provinces.

Young people moved from village to village, called on the peasants to disobey the authorities, and preached the ideas of socialism. Direct calls for rebellion were most often perceived with hostility by the peasants; they perceived social justice as a call for the redistribution of landowners' lands. By autumn, the movement was crushed, more than a thousand people were arrested. The authorities organized the “193s” trial over the participants in the “walk to the people,” which contributed to the popularization of revolutionary socialist ideas.

“Going among the people” revealed the impossibility of implementing Bakunin’s rebellious ideas in practice, which resulted in attempts to conduct long-term sedentary propaganda, when revolutionaries, under the guise of teachers, paramedics, and clerks, settled in the village.

The second "Land and Freedom". By 1876, disparate underground groups united into an organization called Land and Freedom. It was the largest secret society of revolutionary populists. On St. Nicholas Day, December 6, members of the organization, after a prayer service held in the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg for the health of Nikolai Chernyshevsky, staged a demonstration on the square, where they raised a red banner with the inscription “Land and Freedom.”

The programmatic demands of the landowners were to transfer all the land to communities, to divide the Russian Empire into parts, “according to local desires,” and to develop community self-government. They hoped to achieve this “only through a violent coup,” which they prepared by inciting the people to riots and strikes and carrying out “disorganization of power.” Their ultimate ideal was anarchy and collectivism. They paid special attention to the development of statutory requirements, which included centralism, secrecy, mutual comradely control, and subordination of the minority to the majority.

“Land and Freedom” carried out work in the countryside, creating settlements of its followers, but the peasants were deaf to the propaganda of the revolutionaries. Attempt by Ya.V. Stefanovich and L.G. The attempt to raise a revolt among the peasants of the Chigirinsky district in 1877 with the help of a forged royal letter failed and discredited the organization. The acts of disorganization of “Land and Freedom” were initially in the nature of revenge and self-defense. In January 1878, longtime participant in the populist movement V.I. Zasulich shot at St. Petersburg mayor F.F. Trepov, who ordered the corporal punishment of a political prisoner. The jury acquitted Zasulich, which was enthusiastically received by the liberal public.

For some of the populist revolutionaries, the court verdict became an indicator of public sympathy for their activities and pushed them onto the path of political struggle and individual terror. They began to carry out assassination attempts on government officials; in August 1878, Kravchinsky killed the head of Section III, N.V., with a dagger on the street of St. Petersburg. Mezentsova. Landlords began to consider terror as a means of influencing the people. April 2, 1879 landowner A.K. Solovyov shot Alexander II. The attempt was unsuccessful, Soloviev was hanged.

A crisis has ripened in the ranks of Land and Freedom. The supporters of terror, the “politicians,” were opposed by its opponents, the “villagers,” who denied the significance of the political struggle and were preparing a social revolution. In June 1879, a congress took place in Voronezh, which led to a compromise. He left the organization's program unchanged, but recognized terror as a method of waging political struggle. The congress participants spoke out in favor of regicide. A consistent opponent of terror was G.V. Plekhanov, who, left alone, left the congress and left the organization. Soon there was a complete split at the St. Petersburg congress. The “villagers” formed the “Black Redistribution” society, and the “politicians” formed the “People’s Will”.

The Chernoperedel residents did not accept terror and refused to wage political struggle; they continued propaganda activities in the village, which did not give any visible results and doomed their endeavors to failure. A few years later the organization disbanded.

“People's Will” and the theory of the seizure of power by P.N. Tkachev."People's Will" declared a merciless war on the autocracy. The Narodnaya Volya followed the theory of Tkachev, a revolutionary who was convicted in the Nechaevite case and fled abroad, where he published the Nabat magazine. Tkachev was an ideologist of Russian Blanquism and argued that with the help of a conspiracy, a group of revolutionaries could seize power and, relying on it, begin socialist transformations.

Tkachev taught that autocracy “has nothing to do with the existing social system,” it “hangs in the air,” which makes it possible for Russian revolutionaries to deliver several decisive blows to the “abandoned government.” For the coup to succeed, a strong, united and disciplined organization of revolutionaries is needed.

Believing that the Russian peasant is “a communist by instinct, by tradition,” he believed that the implementation of the ideals of socialism is not difficult, although he emphasized that new forms are rapidly developing in the depths of the communal system - “forms of bourgeois life, kulaks and world-eating are developing; the principle of individualism, economic anarchy, heartless, greedy egoism reigns.”

Following Tkachev, the theoreticians of Narodnaya Volya considered it possible to organize a political coup and overthrow the autocracy. They stated: “It is by withdrawing from political activity that we rake in the heat for others; it is by withdrawing from the political struggle that we prepare victory for elements hostile to the people, because with such a system of action we simply give them the power that we would be obliged to defend for the people.”

The will of the people had to be declared by the Constituent Assembly, which, they believed, could not but be socialist in composition. Individual terror was their main means of struggle for power. They were skeptical about the peasantry, which, despite “all efforts on the part of the party to support and organize it, is not able to cope with a centralized and well-armed enemy.”

People's Volunteer Terror. The People's Will created a strong, combat-ready organization, headed by the Executive Committee. Around him there was a system of local revolutionary groups, workers' circles and officer organizations. The revolutionary terrorism of “Narodnaya Volya” was sympathetically perceived by the Western European public, which was carried away by the pathos of the heroic struggle against autocratic despotism. The Russian liberal public was inclined to justify the terrorist activities of the People's Will by the fact that in Russia there are no conditions for legal political struggle.

The members of the Executive Committee were professional revolutionaries, the leading role among them was played by A.D. Mikhailov, A.I. Zhelyabov, N.A. Morozov, S.L. Perovskaya, N.E. Sukhanov, L.A. Tikhomirov, V.N. Figner, M.F. Frolenko. They concentrated their forces on preparing the regicide, with the implementation of which they pinned hopes of seizing power. In August 1879, the Executive Committee sentenced Alexander II to death. In November, a royal train was blown up near Moscow, and in February of the following year, an explosion was carried out in the Winter Palace. The assassination attempts were unsuccessful, but created an exaggerated impression of the organization's capabilities and caused a crisis of power.

On March 1, 1881, a group of terrorists led by Perovskaya killed Alexander II. Despite the warnings, the emperor, after a long break, left the Winter Palace to take part in the removal of the guards. A bomb was thrown into his carriage on the Catherine Canal; the explosion did not hit the tsar, but poor security arrangements led to the fact that a second bomb was thrown at Alexander II, who had left the carriage, and the explosion of which mortally wounded him.

The Executive Committee addressed the new Tsar with a letter, demanding the convening of “representatives from the entire Russian people to review the existing forms of state and public life.” The Narodnaya Volya listed the conditions under which they agreed to end the terror: a general amnesty for “political crimes,” universal suffrage, freedom of speech, press, and gatherings. The letter was left unanswered, the main forces of Narodnaya Volya were defeated, and the participants in the assassination attempt were executed.

Attempts by Figner and Lopatin to preserve Narodnaya Volya were unsuccessful. In 1882, provocateur S.P. Degaev betrayed the military organization of the party. After Lopatin's arrest in October 1884, Narodnaya Volya practically ceased to exist. With it, the history of revolutionary populism ended, which over time turned into a social revolutionary direction of the liberation movement.

Liberal populism for many years was on the periphery of public attention. His supporters were guided by the works of V.P. Vorontsova, N.F. Danielson, N.K. Mikhailovsky, who defended the peaceful path of social transformation. Mikhailovsky developed the theory of “heroes and the crowd,” the origins of which were in the writings of Pisarev, and preached the liberation of the individual.

Populist economists made a great contribution to the study of post-reform Russia. They pointed to the worsening situation of the peasantry, wrote about the “extinction of the village” and called for “saving the community.” Vorontsov proved the “stillborn nature of Russian capitalism,” implanted by the government, and idealized “people’s production.” He put forward a program of state regulation of the economy, thanks to which the peasantry was supposed to improve their well-being, relying on handicraft production. Danielson argued in 1892 that capitalism had led the country “to a crisis which undermines our entire social and economic existence. Capitalism is not able to find a way out of it; this way out can only be found in the development of those foundations that we inherited from our previous history.”

Impressed by the defeat of Narodnaya Volya, liberal populism put forward the theory of “small deeds”, which was defended by Ya.V. Abramov. He considered the main task of the common intelligentsia to be daily work in zemstvo institutions, where one could be close to the people, educate them and help them overcome economic difficulties. The theory of "small things" gained great popularity in the mid-1880s. and involved significant sections of youth in cultural work in the village. This side of the views of the liberal populists was close to the influential magazine “Russian Thought” and the editors of the leading newspaper “Russian Vedomosti”: at the end of the 19th century. liberal populists, among whom Mikhailovsky by that time played the main role, used their authority to refute Russian Marxism in the censored press.

In the middle of the 19th century, an ideological movement began to emerge among the various intelligentsia - populism - in the Russian Empire. It got its name from its main idea - bringing the intelligentsia closer to the people.

The origins of populism

The main task facing the authorities and society in the middle of the 19th century was the solution of the peasant question. Among the intelligentsia, a lot of projects for the further development of the country were proposed, and all of them had the abolition of serfdom as their primary goal.

A. Herzen was the first to speak about his vision of solving the problem, who proposed the theory of communal socialism. He believed that socialism in Russia would emerge on the basis of the peasant community. Its main supporter, N. Chernyshevsky, refined this concept and believed that the community is only a transitional stage to a collective form of production and consumption.

The ideas of communal socialism formed the basis of the ideology of populism:

Russia must follow its own path.

Capitalism is alien to the development of Russia.

Russian society does not contain a social basis for autocracy.

Russia will come to socialism without going through the period of capitalism.

The new socialist society will be based not on the family, but on the community.

The peasantry must be led by professional revolutionaries.

The peasants have already matured to socialist ideas.

Only revolution is capable of implementing social ideas.

The ideas of communal socialism coincided with the thoughts of the various intelligentsia. The peasant reform of 1861 did not resolve many issues, which increasingly pushed for active action. Another reason for dissatisfaction was the introduction of fees for higher education, which is why the majority of young people of all ranks could not study at universities. So they became the main social support of populism in the 19th century.

Goals of populism

The populists considered their main task to be a complete change of society on the basis of socialist principles.

The main directions of the populism movement

Populism was not homogeneous. And if the main idea was “communal socialism,” then the paths to this goal were very different.

One of the directions was propaganda. At the head of this movement were P. L. Lavrov and N. K. Mikhailovsky. They believed that forced reorganization was unacceptable, and the social revolution should be prepared by the constant propaganda work of the intelligentsia.

Another direction was called rebellious or anarchic. This movement rejected the state and wanted to replace it with societies based on the principle of autonomy. Here the main leader and ideologist was M.A. Bakunin. Representatives of this trend believed that a large revolutionary explosion could be prepared by a series of constant riots and uprisings.

Another direction was social revolutionary, or conspiratorial. Its ideologists believed that only a revolution could give the people enlightenment, equality and fraternity. There is no need to waste time on education, it is necessary to create an organization of revolutionaries and seize power. The leader of the movement, P. N. Tkachev, was a supporter of a strong state capable of turning the country into a large commune.

Activities of the Populists

In 1860, legal and illegal associations of populists appeared in Moscow and St. Petersburg. One of the largest organizations was “Land and Freedom”, which appeared in St. Petersburg in 1861. This organization developed the first populist program for the reconstruction of society, but in 1864 the organization dissolved itself.

Companions of “Land and Freedom” created the secret society of N. A. Ishutin (Ishutintsy), whose members were going to prepare a peasant revolution. Over the course of several years, they established contacts with underground organizations in other cities, opened a free school and several workshops in Moscow, and even prepared N. Chernyshevsky’s escape from hard labor.

On April 4, 1866, D. Karakozov, a member of this organization, on his own initiative organized an assassination attempt on Alexander II. The attempt was unsuccessful, the organization was destroyed, many of its members were arrested.

By the end of the 60s of the 19th century, populist organizations appeared in many cities of Russia. It was at this time that the first “walkings among the people” took place. The populists made an attempt to communicate personally with the people. Young people went to villages, worked as teachers, paramedics, clerks, and part-time campaigned among the peasants. The propaganda work ended in failure. The peasants were not very eager to talk with strangers. As a result, about 1,500 people were arrested and sentenced for anti-government agitation.

In 1876, the second organization “Land and Freedom” was created. It had its branches in many cities, mainly in the south of Russia. Members of the organization committed a number of attempts on the lives of gendarmerie and police officials. But not all participants shared terror as a means of struggle. V. Zasulich, G. Plekhanov, L. Deitch were against. In 1879, a final split occurred in the organization.

Opponents of terror united in the organization "Black Redistribution", and supporters of terror - in "People's Will", headed by A. Zhelyabov, V. Figner, S. Perovskaya and others. They considered the main task to be the assassination of Emperor Alexander II.

Members of Narodnaya Volya made five unsuccessful attempts on the emperor's life between 1879 and March 1, 1881, but in the end they succeeded in achieving their goal. The leaders were arrested and executed. More than 10,000 people were involved in the Narodnaya Volya case. The repressions undermined the strength of the populists, and they no longer posed a serious threat.

The meaning of populism

Populism has firmly taken its place in the history of class struggle. Various methods of political clashes were tested. Practice has shown what a revolutionary organization should be, and later this experience was adopted by the next generation of revolutionaries - Social Democrats. Here it is appropriate to recall Lenin’s phrase: “We will take a different path.”

Populism seriously influenced the social life of the country and managed to involve a large number of young people in it. In essence, populism became an initiative that forced the government to take into account the opinion of society, albeit only a small part of it.

Populism is a socio-political movement that arose in Russia in the second half of the 19th century. Its appearance was associated with the liberal reforms of Alexander II, which allowed freedom of speech and expanded the powers of universities, which, in turn, led to the activation of the democratic intelligentsia.

Prerequisites

The emergence of populism is closely connected with the general political situation in Russia at the time indicated above. The emperor's transformations led to a change not only in the social structure of Russian society, but also to the formation of new ideological directions. Many representatives of the democratic intelligentsia were dissatisfied with the reforms carried out, considering them incomplete.

Some of them believed that the peasants, although they received personal freedom, were economically deprived, since, according to the new laws, they were forced to work out the right to own land. Populism is a movement that expressed the interests of the peasant class. Its main postulate was the return of land property to them and the protection of their people's will (hence the name of the movement itself).

Emergence

A new ideology took shape among the urban intelligentsia in the early 1860s. This was a period of active development of socio-political thought, associated with the preparation of the abolition of serfdom, as well as projects of other reforms. The main representatives of the movement were students. It was universities that became centers for the formation of circles, whose members considered various projects to improve the situation of the peasantry. The first organization representing the new movement was “Land and Freedom”. It arose in 1861 and, after existing for only three years, became the basis for the emergence of other underground revolutionary associations.

Ideas

The populists considered political issues of secondary importance and paid all their attention to the everyday life, life and economy of the peasantry. Theorists of this direction considered it necessary to convene a national Zemsky Sobor, which would become the basis of the state system. They placed great hopes on the peasant community, which they considered the key to future progress.

These people hoped that Russia would bypass the stage of capitalism and immediately enter the phase of socialism. The populists, relying on the theory of A. Herzen, believed that in Russia there were all the prerequisites for this: mutual responsibility, common land use, a special national mentality based on collectivity.

Ideology

Populism is a set of ideas and organizations that expressed the interests of the peasant class. It is significant that its representatives paid little attention to the interests of the working class, although they took into account the possibility of its participation in socio-economic transformations. The first organization was strongly influenced by A. Herzen and N. Chernyshevsky. Its members founded several circles in different cities of Russia.

They considered the main engine of progress to be the peasant revolution, on which they had high hopes. Populism is a movement whose representatives initially believed that peasants, dissatisfied with the result of the land reform, would rebel. They also pinned their hopes on the Polish uprising. However, no popular revolution took place, and the organization collapsed in 1864.

"Walking among the People"

This was the name of the actions of student and urban youth who went to the villages to educate the peasants. The populism of the 19th century arose largely due to the firm conviction of part of the intelligentsia in the need to repay the debt to the people. Participants in this movement settled in villages, tried to attract peasants to their problems, and educated them. However, all their attempts met with misunderstanding from the village residents; many villagers even treated them with hostility.

The government has taken serious measures to suppress these actions. Many participants in the movement were arrested, so very soon the populists were forced to change tactics.

Second "Land and Freedom"

This new association arose in 1876 and lasted only three years. Nevertheless, its representatives significantly developed the ideas of their predecessors. Now they decided not to wait for peasant uprisings, but to accelerate the rebellion themselves. During this period, the so-called revolutionary populism was popular. Its ideologists believed that it was necessary to push the people to mass protests. Among the organizers of the new association were V. Figner, N. Morozov, A. Mikhailov and many others. They had their own program, which involved convening a national Zemsky Sobor, protecting the people's will, and transferring land to the peasants. Participants in the association settled in villages, where they formed unique rural colonies and settlements, the goal was to intensify the discontent of the people. In addition, they published newspapers and distributed leaflets. However, all these measures did not lead to the desired result. Moreover, differences of opinion have emerged within the organization itself.

Split

The ideology of populism underwent changes by the end of the 1870s. Serious contradictions arose among its representatives. Some of the Narodnaya Volya decided to change tactics and switch to terror (A. Zhelyabov, S. Perovskaya, N. Morozov and others), while the second chose to continue working in the village (G. Plekhanov, M. Popov). More radically minded members of the collapsed organization created their own association, which they called “People's Will”. They made several attempts on the life of Emperor Alexander II. In 1881, they managed to kill him, but instead of the expected revolution, there was a political reaction from both society and the government. Populism in Russia, representing the rural trend, continued its previous activities in the countryside. Subsequently, many of them joined the Marxists.

Directions

The socio-political current under consideration was not homogeneous. While initially revolutionary, it later became liberal. The goals of the leaders changed: at first the leaders longed for a coup d'etat and a change in the system, but then they switched to narrower goals.

These people decided that it was necessary to carry out work in the countryside, creating rural colonies, engaging in education and enlightenment. This is how three currents of populism took shape. The first of them was associated with the name of M. Bakunin. This famous thinker and philosopher believed that the Russian peasantry was prone to armed rebellion.

Therefore, he called for agitating the people to commit a revolution, and this direction was called “rebellious.” Another movement took shape thanks to the works of P. Lavrov. This figure considered the main goal to be carrying out ideological work in the village, which is why this movement is called “propaganda.”

The third trend arose thanks to P. Tkachev, who believed that it was necessary to change the state system with the help of a conspiracy of individuals, so this trend was called “conspiratorial.” These trends in populism became widespread among the democratically minded intelligentsia.

Economic and social theories

The populists paid great attention to the economy. Some of them did a lot for the development of economic science in our country. In particular, they made a great contribution to understanding the essence of the characteristics of capitalism in Russia. These problems were dealt with by Danielson and Vorontsov. The focus of their attention was also on peasant farms and the agricultural sector, which even at the turn of the century continued to play a decisive role in the economy.

The populists developed the theory of the “hero and the crowd.” They believed that history is made by outstanding individuals. Therefore, the authors attached great importance to raising a new person - a person of the future who is capable of changing the course of social development. Particular importance was attached to instilling in him such qualities as love of physical labor, nihilism, disdain for the humanities and interest in the natural sciences.

Evolution of ideology

Towards the end of the 19th century, populism underwent major changes. In connection with the development of the zemstvo reform, many social and political figures left revolutionary activities and went to work in the countryside. This is how the theory of “small deeds” arose, according to which small progress in the village can improve the situation in the country. Therefore, many former populists became zemstvo officials: teachers, doctors, agronomists, etc.

Others became disillusioned with ideology and went over to the side of the official government. A striking example is the fate of the populist L. Tikhomirov, who at first shared this revolutionary idea, but later betrayed his convictions and became a monarchist. And finally, those who remained faithful to revolutionary ideas switched to the tactics of individual terror. They carried out many terrorist attacks, including an attempt on the life of the emperor. This split testified to the deep crisis of populism, which by the end of the century had already outlived its usefulness. At the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, Marxism took the place of populism. This new ideology turned out to be much more resistant to socio-political changes, since it combined the idea of ​​revolution and economic progress.

Chronology

• 1861 - 1864 Activities of the first organization “Land and Freedom”.
• 1874 The first mass “going to the people.”
• 1875 Creation of the South Russian Workers' Union.
• 1876 ​​- 1879 Activities of the populist organization “Land and Freedom”.
• 1878 Creation of the “Northern Union of Russian Workers”.
• 1879 Formation of the organizations “People's Will” and “Black Redistribution”
• 1883 Creation of the “Emancipation of Labor” group.
• 1885 Morozov strike.
• 1895 Creation of the “Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class”
• 1898 I Congress of the RSDLP.
• 1903 II Congress of the RSDLP.

Populism. Its main currents

IN 1861. a secret revolutionary society of commoners was created “ Land and freedom” (existed until 1864), uniting various circles. “Land and Freedom” considered propaganda to be the main means of influencing peasants.

The fall of serfdom and the intensification of the class struggle in the post-reform period contributed to the rise of the revolutionary movement, which brought to the fore revolutionary populists. The populists were followers of the ideas of Herzen and Chernyshevsky, ideologists of the peasantry. The populists resolved the main socio-political question about the nature of the post-reform development of Russia from the standpoint of utopian socialism, seeing in the Russian peasant a socialist by nature, and in the rural community the “embryo” of socialism. The populists denied the progressiveness of the capitalist development of the country, considering it a decline, regression, an accidental, superficial phenomenon imposed from above by the government, and contrasted it with “originality,” a feature of the Russian economy - popular production. The populists did not understand the role of the proletariat; they considered it part of the peasantry. Unlike Chernyshevsky, who considered the masses to be the main driving force of progress, the populists of the 70s. the decisive role was assigned to “ heroes”, “critical thinkers”, individuals who direct the masses, the “crowd”, the course of history at their own discretion. They considered the common intelligentsia to be such “critically thinking” individuals, who would lead Russia and the Russian people to freedom and socialism. The populists had a negative attitude towards the political struggle and did not connect the struggle for the constitution and democratic freedoms with the interests of the people. They underestimated the power of autocracy, did not see the connections of the state with the interests of classes, and concluded that social revolution in Russia was an extremely easy matter.

The ideological leaders of revolutionary populism in the 70s. were M.A. Bakunin, P.L. Lavrov, P.N. Tkachev. Their names personified three main directions in the populist movement: rebellious (anarchic), propaganda, conspiratorial. The differences lay in the definition of the main driving force of the revolution, its readiness for revolutionary struggle, and methods of struggle against autocracy.

Anarchic (rebellious) direction

The ideological positions of populism were significantly influenced by anarchic views of M.A. Bakunin, who believed that any state hinders the development of the individual, oppresses her. Therefore, Bakunin opposed all power, viewing the state as a historically inevitable evil. M.A. Bakunin argued that the peasantry is ready for revolution, therefore the task of heroes from the intelligentsia, critically thinking individuals, is to go to the people and call them to rebellion, rebellion. All individual outbreaks of peasant uprisings, Bakunin believed, “need to be merged into the general all-consuming flame of the peasant revolution, in the fire of which the state must perish,” and a federation of free self-governing peasant communities and workers’ artels was created.

Propaganda direction

The ideologist of the second direction in populism - propaganda, - was P.L. Lavrov. He outlined his theory in “Historical Letters”, published in 1868 - 1869. He considered the intelligentsia capable of critical thinking to be the leading force of historical progress. Lavrov argued that the peasantry is not ready for revolution, therefore it is necessary to prepare propagandists from educated “critically thinking individuals,” whose task is to go to the people not with the goal of organizing an immediate rebellion, but in order to prepare the peasants for the revolution through long-term propaganda of socialism.

Conspiratorial direction

P.N. Tkachev is an ideologist conspiratorial direction did not believe in the possibility of carrying out a revolution by the forces of the people; he pinned his hopes on the revolutionary minority. Tkachev believed that autocracy has no class support in society, therefore it is possible for a group of revolutionaries to seize power and transition to socialist transformations.

in spring 1874. began " going to the people”, the goal of which is to cover as many villages as possible and raise the peasants to revolt, as Bakunin proposed. However, going to the people ended in failure. Mass arrests followed and the movement was crushed.

IN 1876 The populist underground organization was re-established Land and freedom”, the prominent participants of which were S.M. Kravchinsky, A.D. Mikhailov, G.V. Plekhanov, S.L. Perovskaya, A.I. Zhelyabov, V.I. Zasulich, V.N. Figner and others. Its program boiled down to the demand for the transfer and equal distribution of all land among the peasants. During this period, the populists, according to Lavrov’s idea, moved to organizing “settlements in the city”, as teachers, clerks, paramedics, and artisans. The populists thus sought to establish strong ties with the peasants in order to prepare a popular revolution. However, this attempt by the populists ended in failure and led to mass repressions. “Land and Freedom” was built on the principles of strict discipline, centralism and conspiracy. Gradually, a faction formed in the organization that supported the transition to political struggle through the use of the method of individual terror. In August 1879, “Land and Freedom” split into two organizations: “ People's will” (1879 - 1882) and “ Black redistribution” (1879 - 1884). Chernoperedel'tsy(among the most active members are G.V. Plekhanov, P.B. Akselrod, L.G. Deych, V.I. Zasulich, etc.) opposed terror tactics and advocated a broad propaganda work among the masses of peasants. Subsequently, part of the Black Peredelites led by G.V. Plekhanov moved away from populism and took the position of Marxism.

Narodnaya Volya(the Executive Committee of “Narodnaya Volya” included A.D. Mikhailov, N.A. Morozov, A.I. Zhelyabov, S.M. Perovskaya and others) adopted terrorist struggle. They believed that the murder of the Tsar and the most influential members of the government should lead to the seizure of power by the revolutionaries and the implementation of democratic changes. “Narodnaya Volya” prepared 7 attempts on the life of Tsar Alexander II. March 1 1881 Alexander II was killed. However, the expected overthrow of tsarism did not happen. The main organizers and perpetrators of the murder were hanged by court verdict. The reaction intensified in the country, reforms were curtailed. The revolutionary trend of populism itself entered a period of prolonged crisis.

In the 80s - 90s. XIX century The reformist wing of populism is strengthening, and liberal populism is gaining significant influence. This direction was focused on the reconstruction of society through peaceful, non-violent means.

At the end of the 19th century. The polemic between populists and Marxists became very acute. The populists considered Marxist teaching unacceptable for Russia. The heir to the populist ideology was the illegal party created from disparate populist groups in 1901 socialist revolutionaries(Socialist Revolutionaries).

The party had a left-radical bourgeois-democratic character. Its main goals: the destruction of autocracy, the creation of a democratic republic, political freedoms, the socialization of land, the destruction of private ownership of land, its transformation into public property, the transfer of land to peasants according to equalizing standards. The Social Revolutionaries carried out work among peasants and workers and widely used tactics individual terror against government officials.

The labor movement in Russia at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries.

In the second half of the 19th century. enters the arena of Russian political life proletariat. The labor movement is exerting an increasing influence on the socio-political life of the country. This was a completely new phenomenon in the socio-political and social life of post-reform Russia. In the 60s XIX century The struggle of the proletariat was just beginning and its actions were not much different from the peasant unrest. But in the 70s. workers' riots began to develop into strikes, the number of which was constantly growing. The largest strikes were at the Nevskaya paper spinning mill (1870) and the Krenholm manufactory (1872). During these years, the populists had a great influence on the labor movement. They carried out cultural and explanatory work among the workers.

An important role in the development of the popular movement was played by the first two workers' unions, in whose ideological positions populist views were still strong, but the influence of the ideas of the First International was already felt.

The first workers' organization was the one that arose in 1875“South Russian Workers' Union" It was founded in Odessa by the revolutionary intellectual E.O. Zaslavsky. The union consisted of about 250 people in a number of cities in the South of Russia (Odessa, Kherson, Rostov-on-Don).

IN 1878. in St. Petersburg, on the basis of scattered workers’ circles, “ Northern Union of Russian Workers" The “Union” consisted of over 250 people. It had its branches behind the Nevskaya and Narvskaya outposts, on Vasilyevskaya Island, the Vyborg and Petersburg sides, and the Obvodny Canal. The backbone of the “Union” was made up of metalworkers. Its leaders were revolutionary workers - mechanic V.P. Obnorsky and carpenter S.N. Khalturin.

Obnorsky, while still abroad, managed to get acquainted with the labor movement of Western Europe, with the activities of the First International. He prepared the program documents of the Union. Khalturin knew illegal literature well and was associated with populist organizations.

In the 80s - 90s. the strike movement becomes more organized and widespread. The main centers of the strike movement are the St. Petersburg and Central industrial regions. The biggest event of those years was Morozov strike (1885) at the Morozov textile factory near Orekhovo-Zuev, Vladimir province. The strike was distinguished by its unprecedented scope, organization, and tenacity of the strikers. Troops were called in to suppress the strike, and 33 workers were put on trial. The trial revealed facts of serious oppression of workers, cruelty and arbitrariness at the factory. As a result, the jury was forced to return a not guilty verdict. In total, during the 80s. There were about 450 strikes and labor unrest.

The growth of the strike movement necessitated “ labor legislation” - publication of a series of laws regulating relations between workers and factory owners. Among them: laws prohibiting children under 12 from working, laws prohibiting night work for women and teenagers, and a law on fines. Workers received the right to complain about the owner. Factory inspection was introduced. Although labor legislation in Russia was very imperfect, its adoption was evidence of the strength of the growing labor movement.

Since the mid-90s. In Russia there is an intensification of the strike movement. The labor movement is beginning to play an increasingly important role in the socio-political struggle, which makes it possible to talk about the beginning proletarian stage in the liberation movement of Russia. In 1895 - 1900 850 workers' strikes were registered. Some of the strikes were not only economic, but also political in nature. Characteristic features of the liberation movement in Russia in the years under review were the spread of Marxism and the formation of revolutionary parties.

The wide spread of Marxism in Russia is associated with the name of G.V. Plekhanov and with the group “ Liberation of labor”.

The group originated in 1883 in Geneva as part of P.B. Axelrod, L.G. Deycha, V.I. Zasulich, V.I. Ignatova. The group was headed by G.V. Plekhanov. All of them were “Black Peredelites”. Their transition to Marxism was associated with a serious crisis in the populist doctrine. The goal of the “Emancipation of Labor” group is to spread the ideas of scientific socialism by translating the works of K. Marx and F. Engels into Russian.

G.V. Plekhanov was the first Russian Marxist to criticize the erroneous views of the Narodniks. In his works “Socialism and Political Struggle” (1883) and “Our Disagreements” (1885), he revealed the inconsistency of the populist idea of ​​a direct transition to socialism through the peasant community.

G.V. Plekhanov showed that in Russia capitalism is already being established, and the peasant community is disintegrating, and that the transition to socialism will occur not through the peasant community, but through the conquest of political power by the proletariat. He substantiated the leading role of the proletariat and put forward the task of creating an independent party of the working class, which was supposed to lead the revolutionary struggle against the autocracy. During the years of the rise of the labor movement, the Social Democrats sought to lead the labor movement and create a party of the working class.

V.I. played a huge role in solving this problem. Lenin.

He and his associates created from disparate social democratic circles in St. Petersburg “ Union of Struggle for the Liberation of the Working Class" The “Union” consisted of a central group and working groups. Among the leaders were Yu.Yu. Tsederbaum (Martov), ​​V.V. Starkov, G.M. Krzhizhanovsky and others. The leader was Ulyanov (Lenin).

The main merit of the “Union” was that for the first time in the revolutionary movement of Russia it united theory of the Marxist movement with the practice of the labor movement. The “Union” carried out propaganda in factories and factories and led the strike movement. The active work of the “Union” and the growth of the mass labor movement faced serious government repression. In December 1895 V.I. Lenin and others were arrested. However, the revolutionary struggle did not stop. “Unions” arose in Moscow, Kyiv, Vladimir, Samara and other cities. Their activities contributed to the emergence of the Russian Social Democratic Party in the multinational Russian Empire.

The Russian Social Democratic Party was founded in Minsk in March 1898. The 1st Congress was attended by 9 delegates from the St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kiev, Ekaterinoslav “Unions”, the “Workers’ Newspaper” group and the “Public Labor Union in Russia and Poland” (Bund) .

The congress elected a Central Committee and proclaimed the creation of the RSDLP. After the congress, the Manifesto of the Russian Social Democratic Party was published. The Manifesto noted that the Russian working class is “completely deprived of what its foreign comrades freely and calmly enjoy: participation in government, freedom of oral and printed speech, freedom of unions and meetings,” emphasizing that these freedoms are a necessary condition in the workers’ struggle class “for its ultimate liberation, against private property and capitalism - for socialism.” The manifesto was not a party program; it did not formulate specific tasks. The congress did not adopt the party charter either.

A major role in the preparation of the Second Congress of the RSDLP, at which the party of the working class was to be constituted, was played by newspaper “Iskra”. Its first issue was published in 1900 g.

The editorial staff of Iskra included G.V. Plekhanov, V.I. Zasulich, L.B. Axelrod, V.I. Lenin, Yu.O. Martov and others. The newspaper's editors carried out organizational work to convene the Second Congress of the RSDLP.

In 1903 on II Congress in London were accepted Program and the Charter, which formalized the formation of the RSDLP. The program provided for two stages of the revolution. Minimum program included bourgeois-democratic demands: the elimination of autocracy, the introduction of an eight-hour working day, universal, direct, equal and secret voting, and the abolition of redemption payments. The maximum program is the implementation of the socialist revolution and the establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat. Ideological and organizational differences split the party into Bolsheviks (Lenin's supporters) and Mensheviks (Martov's supporters).

The Bolsheviks sought to transform the party into an organization of professional revolutionaries. Mensheviks did not consider Russia ready for a socialist revolution, opposed the dictatorship of the proletariat and considered cooperation with all opposition forces possible.

The contradictions that emerged at the Second Congress of the RSDLP subsequently manifested themselves in practice during the years of the Russian revolutions of 1905 - 1907, 1917 (February, October).