social movements. Social movement during the reign of Alexander II Radical movement under Alexander II

As soon as the ruling bureaucracy felt the slightest threat to its power, it stepped up pressure on the tsar to roll back reforms and reanimate repressive methods of government. Any manifestations of the revolutionary and national liberation movement were used as pretexts.

On April 4, 1866, at the gates of the Winter Garden in St. Petersburg, D. V. Karakozov opened an account of the revolutionaries' attempts on Alexander P. The unsteady balance between the reformist and conservative forces in the royal environment was violated. In fact, the chief of the gendarmes P. A. Shuvalov became the head of the government. The strengthening of protective tendencies was also manifested in the closure of the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski.

On the crest of the student unrest of 1868-1869. an extremely extremist direction of total destruction arose in the revolutionary environment. S. G. Nechaev, a volunteer at St. Petersburg University, in his ultra-revolutionary activities deliberately applied the methods of mystification and provocation. The "Catechism of the Revolutionary" he wrote was based on the principle "the end justifies the means." Having conceived the creation of the All-Russian organization "People's Reprisal" on the basis of his own personal dictatorship, Nechaev set about creating its cells in both capitals and even went on to kill student I.I. Ivanov, who refused to obey him.

Ideology and practice of revolutionary populism. From the beginning of the 70s. among the raznochintsy intelligentsia, the ideology of revolutionary populism is spreading. Its beginnings can be found in the works of A. I. Herzen and N. G. Chernyshevsky, and it acquired its complete expression in the works of P. L. Lavrov, M. A. Bakunin, P. N. Tkachev. Their programs pursued the same goal - the establishment of a socially just social order (socialism), bypassing capitalism. Lavrov, the founder of the tactical propaganda trend in populism, believed that it was possible to awaken the people to struggle only as a result of lengthy educational work. Bakunin, the ideologist of the rebellious trend, argued that the peasants were ready for an all-Russian revolt and were only waiting for the impetus that the revolutionary intelligentsia should give them. The ideologist of conspiratorial tactics, Tkachev, believed that the people were crushed, unable to fight. Following the French revolutionary Auguste Blanqui, he argued that a rigidly organized party of conspirators should seize power and ensure the implementation of socialist transformations in the country.

In 1874, the revolutionary youth undertook a massive "going to the people" under the Bakuninist slogan. However, the "rebels" failed to raise the peasants to the revolution; all their appeals were met with the most distrustful, and often hostile, attitude among the peasantry. This forced the populists to reconsider their tactics and move on to systematic propaganda in the countryside by organizing long-term settlements there.
In 1876, the Narodniks created a centralized, strictly conspiratorial organization, Land and Freedom. The program of the landowners declared the ultimate political and economic ideal (“anarchy and collectivism”), put forward specific demands: the transfer of all land into the hands of the peasants, complete communal self-government, etc. The means to achieve the goals were divided into two parts: organizational (propaganda) and disorganization ( terrorist work.

The failure of long-term settlements in the countryside strengthened the position of the "disorganizers". The revolutionary terror unfolded by them initially had the character of revenge and self-defence. In 1878, the teacher Vera Zasulich shot the St. Petersburg mayor F. F. Trepov, who ordered a political prisoner to be subjected to corporal punishment.

In 1879 there was a split in the Land and Freedom. "Villagers" (adherents of the continuation of propaganda work), headed by G. V. Plekhanov, formed the organization "Black Redistribution". Most of the landowners (A. I. Zhelyabov, S. L. Perovskaya and others) united in the "Narodnaya Volya", which brought to the fore the political struggle - the struggle for the transformation of the state. The Narodnaya Volya concentrated all their forces on the main, from their point of view, task - the assassination of the tsar.
"Dictatorship" Loris-Melikov. Regicide. In February 1880, the tsar established the Supreme Administrative Commission. The head of the new body, Count M. T. Loris-Melikov, endowed with almost unlimited powers, thanks to the reform of political investigation, achieved some success in the fight against the revolutionary underground. At the same time, the "dictator" considered it necessary to make some concessions to the "well-meaning" part of society. He prepared a draft, which provided for the creation in the person of "preparatory commissions" of officials and elected from zemstvos of a legislative body under the State Council. On March 1, 1881, Alexander II appointed a day for discussing the forthcoming reform. However, a few hours later the tsar-liberator was killed. I. Grinevitsky's bomb put an end to the history of the era of the Great Reforms, but did not cause a peasant revolution, which the Narodnaya Volya people were counting on.

The era of Alexander 1 is characterized by upheavals, both external and internal. At this time, the development of movements and secret communities began, which led Russia to the Decembrist uprising of 1825. The secret social movement under Alexander 1 is a small organization operating in secret from the authorities, adhering to liberal views. For them it was important not so much to reform Russia as to bring about the overthrow of the autocracy.

Reasons for the emergence of secret societies

The starting point in the activities of the secret organizations of the Russian Empire under Emperor Alexander 1 was the war with Napoleonic France in 1812. It was after her that the formation of public organizations began. The reasons for their appearance:

Campaign of the army to the West, to Paris. The Russian army drove Napoleon to France. during this time, many officers managed to see the world without serfdom. The same officers did not see the main thing - the Western world without serfdom was built on colonies. The prosperity of countries grew only because of the colonies.
The elite of the Russian Empire opposed Alexander 1, directly and indirectly supporting secret societies. The reasons for the negative attitude towards the emperor: the Peace of Tilsit and rapprochement with Napoleon, as well as the rejection of liberal reforms.
The development of a social ideology of progress. In Russia, the ideas of the democratic development of the country were actively promoted, with partial or complete rejection of the monarchy.
Government indecision in reforms. Alexander 1 after 1812 finally left the ideas of liberalism, carrying out reforms conservatively and very carefully. Therefore, there were dissatisfied who believed that the changes should be faster and more massive. It is noteworthy that, in general, the goals of secret organizations (at the initial stage) and the government coincided.

These are the 4 main reasons for the emergence of secret societies in the Russian Empire. The key point here is the following (as a rule, this is not written in textbooks) - the active rise of these movements began with a new wave of liberalism that hit Russia after the events of 1812. This was the second wave, and the first came during the reign of Catherine II.

Secret societies of the era of Alexander 1

The secret societies operating in Russia in the 19th century (1816-1825) are interesting in that they, as a rule, did not exist for long, but constantly transformed into new forms with new ideas and tasks. At the same time, the leaders of the societies did not change. Pay attention to the table below, where you can see that the names of the leaders remain unchanged. Only the names change.

Secret societies and social movements under Alexander 1

Society name	Dates of existence	Leaders	Main document
Union of Salvation	1816-1818	Muravyov A.N. Number - 30 people.	-
1818-1821	Muraviev A.N., Pestel P.I., Pushchin I.I., Trubetskoy S.P. Only 200 people.	"Green Book"
Southern Secret Society (SUT)	1821-1825	Davydov V.L., Muraviev-Apostol S.I., Volkonsky S.G., Bestuzhev-Ryumin M.P., Pestel P.I.	"Russian Truth"
Northern Secret Society (STO)	1822-1825	Muravyov N.M., Pushchin I.I., Trubetskoy S.P., Lunin M.S., Obolensky E.P., Turgenev N.I.	"Constitution"

Union of Salvation

The Union of Salvation is the first large secret society in Russia of the era of Alexander 1. It was small in number and consisted of 30 people, and Andrey Nikolaevich Muravyov (1806-1874) was the leader. Another name for this organization is Society of True and Faithful Sons of the Fatherland. The secret organization existed for 2 years, after which it broke up. This society had 2 main tasks:

The abolition of serfdom and the allocation of land to the peasants. There were no disagreements.
Restriction of autocracy. There were disagreements on the principles of limitation: the Constitution or complete overthrow.

Achieving the set goals required mass participation. The Salvation Union consisted of only 30 people, so in 1818 it ceased to exist, having been modernized into a more massive form.

The secret organization "Union of Welfare" was a response to the change in the position of the authorities. The Union began work in 1818 on the basis of the Salvation Union. In the new formation, the society consisted of 200 representatives, the backbone of which was all the same Muravyov, Pestel, Pushchin and others. The Charter of the Union was created, which was called the "Green Book". It is important to note the mass character - if until 1818 the societies worked only in the capital, then the Welfare Union worked in 4 cities of the empire: St. Petersburg, Moscow, Tulchin and Chisinau.

This organization rejected the ideas of a coup d'etat and any restriction of the monarchy. The main task was to spread their ideas to the masses. This was achieved through the publication of magazines and newspapers, the creation of "educational" societies, the opening of private schools, and so on. Due to this, the leaders of the movement wanted to send Russia on the path of reforms.

The union was liquidated due to disagreements between the leaders about further development, since the emperor finally refused to carry out reforms. Therefore, the current activity was no longer possible. The second reason for the collapse of the Union is much more serious - in Spain, Portugal and Italy, revolutions began in 1820, which led to coup d'état, as a result of which these countries adopted a rather liberal Constitution. This forced Russian public organizations to think again about overthrowing or limiting the monarchy.

Northern and Southern societies of the Decembrists

In 1821, a turning point occurred in public organizations, as a result of which 2 new organizations were formed, with different goals and objectives:

Southern secret society (1821-1825). Started to function in the town of Tulchin. The Ukrainian army was quartered in this city. UTO worked mainly on the territory of Ukraine. They created a charter - "Russian Truth". Its author was Pestel. The main goal of society is the overthrow of the autocracy and the creation of a Republic or Federation.
Northern secret society (1822-1825). It was founded in St. Petersburg. The main ideas were outlined in the "Constitution", the author of which was Muravyov. SRT adhered to softer views, wanting not to overthrow the power of the monarch, but to limit it by introducing a constitutional monarchy.

Emperor's reaction

The secret social movements of Russia of the era of Alexander 1 existed for a long time without resistance from the authorities. At the same time, the Emperor actively developed the secret police, so Alexander 1 had information about the activities of the Societies. However, until 1822 the authorities did not react to these organizations in any way. Why? The fact is that the “Union of Salvation” was insignificant in number, and the “Union of Welfare” did not set a task that threatened the authorities. Everything changed when 2 independent societies were formed with a single goal - activity against the emperor. That is why in 1822 Alexander 1 issued a Decree prohibiting the activities of any secret organizations, including Masonic lodges. Since 1823, the persecution of members of the societies begins, but the police acted reluctantly.

Already in 1825, when the emperor learned about the impending conspiracy and that the army was involved in it, mass arrests began. This did not prevent secret societies from holding an uprising in the center of St. Petersburg, on Senate Square. The main reason for the possibility of the performance of the Decembrists was that Alexander 1 did not arrest their leader Pestel. This was done 3 days after the death of the ruler.

What led to the activities of societies

Public organizations under Alexander 1 were united. Of course, the secret societies of the South and the North had different views on the development of Russia, they were united by a single mission - preparing the population for the Decembrist uprising. The uprising on the Senate Square was the first serious and organized protest against the government. the Decembrists were not successful, but they showed that secret societies in Russia work effectively. Therefore, the following emperors did a lot to fight them, but in one form or another they continued to exist, which in particular led to 1917.

Social movement.

The Peasant Reform of 1861 became a "finest hour" for figures from the liberal camp, both Westerners and Slavophiles, who were given the opportunity to put their ideas into practice. The liberal movement in the 1860s and 1870s, headed by university professors K. D. Kavelin and B. N. Chicherin, put forward a rather moderate program on the whole, did not demand the convocation of parliament, considered it untimely, and pinned all hopes on the continuation and development of liberal reforms "from above", at the will of the emperor. The liberals actively participated in the implementation of the zemstvo, city and judicial reform, in the activities of the new court and new local governments. By the end of the 1870s. a certain radicalization is observed among them, the slogan “crowning the building” is put forward (the creation, in addition to local zemstvos, of an all-Russian zemstvo, that is, a parliament), individual representatives of the liberals (I. I. Petrunkevich) are looking for contacts with the revolutionary movement.

The reforms of the 1860s and 1870s, although they introduced significant changes in the life of Russia, nevertheless had an incomplete and largely inconsistent character, retaining many of the vestiges of the past. The most important of the reforms - the peasant one, giving the peasants personal freedom, further strengthened their economic dependence on both the landowner and the state. The feeling of disappointment, deceived hopes led to the growth of radical sentiments among the intelligentsia and young students, among which the proportion of raznochintsy - people from the middle and lower classes who received an education - increased. The ranks of the raznochintsy were also replenished at the expense of the ruined, impoverished nobles. It was this layer of people, deprived of a certain place in the class structure of society, that became the breeding ground for the revolutionary movement, which gained considerable strength during the reign of Alexander II.

1861 - the first revolutionary organization "Land and Freedom" appears, headed by the editor of the journal "Sovremennik" N. G. Chernyshevsky. The name of the organization contained its main ideas - the transfer to the peasants without redemption of all landowners' land and the liquidation of the autocracy, replacing it with a democratic republic. The leaders of the "Land and Freedom" were quickly arrested (Chernyshevsky - in 1862), not having time to deploy vigorous activity, and by 1864 the organization ceased to exist. From the beginning of the 1860s. in many cities of Russia, primarily university ones, youth anti-government circles are springing up. Members of the youth movement, who protested against the noble customs and customs, began to be called nihilists.
1866 - a member of the circle of Ishutins D.V. Karakozov makes an unsuccessful attempt on the tsar in protest against the "fraudulent" peasant reform. Karakozov was hanged, his assassination attempt led to a tightening of the political regime and increased police persecution of nihilists.
1874 - the beginning of "going to the people" and the formation of the populist trend among the revolutionaries. Based on the ideas of A. I. Herzen and N. G. Chernyshevsky, the Narodniks were convinced that the basis of socialism in Russia was the peasant community.

Many of them went to live and work in the countryside, finding jobs as zemstvo teachers and doctors. Among the populists, three directions stood out:

propaganda (P. L. Lavrov) - they believed that it was necessary to go to the people to propagate socialist ideas, that the revolution required a long preparation;
rebellious, or anarchist (M. A. Bakunin), - they believed that the peasants were ready for a rebellion at any moment, and the task of the revolutionary intelligentsia was to help them organize an all-Russian uprising;
conspiratorial (P.N. Tkachev) - in their opinion, the most effective way of revolution was the seizure of power by an organized revolutionary party, which, having come to power, would carry out all the transformations necessary for the people.

At first, representatives of the propagandistic, to a lesser extent rebellious trends prevailed. However, "going to the people" ended in failure - most of the populists were arrested by the police, including on the initiative of the peasants themselves, who were suspicious of urban residents with "lordly" habits. At trials, they were sentenced to long prison terms. Among the populists, the idea was born of the need to create a centralized, unified, all-Russian organization.

1876 - the Land and Freedom party appears, taking the name of the first revolutionary organization of the 1860s. Its leaders are V. N. Figner, N. A. Morozov, A. D. Mikhailov. The landowners tried to move on to establishing systematic propaganda in the countryside, and also began to establish contacts with urban workers. They began to respond to police persecution with terrorist acts. In 1878

V. I. Zasulich, who was a member of the "Land and Freedom", seriously wounded the St. Petersburg Governor-General F. F. Trepov in protest against corporal punishment for political prisoners, applied on his orders. The jury acquitted Zasulich.

1879 - the split of "Land and Freedom" into "Narodnaya Volya" and "Black Repartition". The Chernoperedeltsy (G.V. Plekhanov) advocated the continuation of the old tactics of working in the countryside and agitation for a "black redistribution", that is, the division of the landlords' land among the peasants. The Narodnaya Volya (A. I. Zhelyabov, S. L. Perovskaya) were supporters of terror and the promotion of political tasks - the destruction of the autocracy and the establishment of political freedoms. "Narodnaya Volya" turned into a strong, conspiratorial, ramified organization that had connections among the intelligentsia, workers, officers, and its agents in the ranks of the police. The Narodnaya Volya made a number of assassination attempts on top officials and the emperor himself. In 1880, Alexander II granted the Minister of Internal Affairs M.T. Loris-Melikov emergency powers to fight terrorists and at the same time entrusted him with the development of a project for further reforms. Loris-Melikov proposed to the tsar to create a legislative body of power from among the representatives of the zemstvos appointed by the emperor. On March 1, 1881, Alexander II approved this project, but on the same day he was killed by the Narodnaya Volya.

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In the 60s of the XIX century, a new trend of the revolutionary movement called populists was formed. It includes progressive youth and representatives of the Raznochinsk intelligentsia. They were inherent in the belief in the original development of Russia, since it is the closest, in their opinion, to a socialist society. They saw the basis of the new society in the rural community.

Three stages of the populist movement are known:
1. (1859-1861) - Held under the slogan "going to the people";
2. (1870s) - propaganda work among the population, mass "going to the people" (since 1874)
3. (1880s) - political struggle against elements of terror.

Within the framework of the populist movement, there were two main currents - moderate (liberal ) and radical (revolutionary ). Representatives of the moderate movement sought non-violent social, political and economic transformation. Representatives of the radical movement, who considered themselves followers of Chernyshevsky, strove for the rapid violent overthrow of the existing regime and the immediate implementation of the ideals of socialism.

General principles:

1) Faith in the people. It was characteristic of the consciousness of the educated strata of Russian society. The people were seen as the bearer of a certain ideal. But the ideal was perceived in different ways.

Conservative monarchists saw in the people the bearer of the religious idea.

The left-wing intelligentsia saw in the people the bearer of the idea of social justice.

This conviction was the result of a separation from the people, a vague consciousness of what the peasantry really was.

2) It was characteristic of the Narodniks to be extremely negative attitude towards the development of capitalism in Russia. They considered capitalism to be a bad system, and in Russia also artificial. They believed that capitalism in Russia was implanted exclusively from above by the state and had no roots.

3) It was typical for populists priority attention to social problems. They seemed to be more significant than the problems of a political nature. Political problems seemed derivative, secondary to social ones.

4) For populists was characteristic historical individualism. They believed that with the right energy it was possible to turn the tide of social development.

The largest revolutionary organization of this period was "Land and freedom" (1861 - 1864). In 1879 in connection with the strengthening of the radical wing of the organization, which demanded violent methods of combating the tsarist regime, "Land and Freedom" broke up into two organizations - "People's Will", embarked on the path of terror and direct seizure of power, and "Black Repartition" retained the old methods of revolutionary propaganda.

After the assassination of Alexander II in 1881. members of the organization "Narodnaya Volya" (V. Figner, S. Perovskaya, A. Ulyanov, I. I. Grinevitsky).

After the assassination of Alexander II by Narodnaya Volya (1881), the organization was crushed by the police, and by the end of the 1880s. ceased its activities. In the early 1880s. the "Black Repartition" broke up.

In the social movement of Russia during the period of reforms, the same trends that took shape in the 30-50s argued, fought for influence. 19th century before the reforms. The abolition of serfdom, the establishment of zemstvo self-government, the introduction of open, classless legal proceedings - these and other changes implemented by the authorities created a new social reality. The ideology and activities of the conservatives, liberals, and revolutionaries of the 1960s and 1990s were formed from the responses to the challenges of the time.
conservative trend. The conservatives, who were at a loss in the first years of the reign of Alexander II (1855-1881), quickly regained their influence at court. This was facilitated by the Polish uprising of 1863, "Nechaevshchina", the terror of "Narodnaya Volya". The assassination of Alexander II on March 1, 1881 turned the conservative mindset into the official ideology of the reign of Alexander III (1881-1894). The most prominent representatives of Russian conservatism were the journalist M. N. Katkov and the Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod K. P. Pobedonostsev. The favorite idea of the conservatives was the recognition of autocracy as the original form of Russian statehood. They rejected reforms, sharply criticized parliamentary institutions, condemned the liberals for their willingness to "learn from Europe." It was necessary, as stated in the manifesto written by Pobedonostsev in connection with the coronation of Alexander III, "to approve and protect autocratic power for the good of the people from any encroachments on it."
Liberal movement. The liberal movement in post-reform Russia did not become a serious force. There were reasons for this. The "great reforms" were initiated and carried out under the influence of the ideas that the liberals had been defending since the 1940s. (liberation of the peasants, public and classless court, freedom of printing, etc.). They did not want to and could not criticize the government or demand from it the immediate adoption of a constitution and representative government. The situation changed only in the 1970s, when the Zemstvo movement became more active. The zemstvo leaders suggested that the tsar expand the rights of local self-government, give basic civil rights, and make the "power of opinion" a real support for the "power of power." The largest representatives of Russian liberalism were K. D. Kavelin, B. N. Chicherin, S. A. Muromtsev, and others. The events of March 1, 1881 were perceived by the liberals as a tragedy. Their influence on Alexander III and power was small. Liberalism did not participate in politics for many years.
Radical current. In the 60s - early 80s. it was represented by the populist movement. The basis of the ideology of populism was the theory of "communal socialism", based on the works of A. I. Herzen: the Russian peasant community with its collective land use and self-government is the germ of socialism; Russia has a unique chance to move to socialism, bypassing capitalism, and thereby show humanity the way to a new - just and civilized - world.
In the 60s. 19th century differences in the solution of the question of how to proceed towards socialism were determined. Herzen himself, without denying the revolution as "the last argument of the oppressed", preferred reforms carried out by the authorities under the pressure of progressive public opinion. N. G. Chernyshevsky considered the only possible revolutionary path to socialism, but he argued that certain political and economic conditions must develop for a revolution. N. A. Ishutin, S. G. Nechaev called for an immediate revolutionary revolt, assuring that for a revolutionary everything “that contributes to the revolution” is moral.
In the early 70s. The populist movement entered a new stage. Three main ideological currents were formed - propagandistic, rebellious and conspiratorial.
P. L. Lavrov was the ideologist of the propaganda direction. M. A. Bakunin, the leader of the rebellious trend, sharing Lavrov's ideas about the role of the revolutionary intelligentsia in unleashing the revolution, defined its purpose differently. The revolution does not need to be prepared, the rebellious instinct is organically inherent in the people: the youth must go to the countryside in order to "call for the ax."
The ideologist of the conspiratorial trend, P. N. Tkachev, did not share the hobbies of his associates: one should not wait until the people were ripe for revolution, and one should not “rebel” the village. The Russian monarchy, in his opinion, hangs in the air, has no strong social roots, society hates and condemns it. The task of the revolutionaries is to create a conspiratorial organization, ready for a coup and the seizure of power.
In 1874, a mass movement began, in which thousands of young people took part - "going to the people." They tried to raise the village to rebellion, but their attempt failed. In 1876, the organization "Land and Freedom" was created. Its members carried out terrorist acts against the government. In the summer of 1879. "Land and Freedom" split into two organizations - "Black Redistribution" (G. V. Plekhanov and others, and "Narodnaya Volya" (A. I. Zhelyabov, A. D. Mikhailov, S. L. Perovskaya and others)
. March 1, 1881 Alexander was killed by members of the people's will Alexander III entered the throne. Terror, could not help the Narodnaya Volya achieve their goal
AT "). Marxism became a form of overcoming populism. Its first ideologist in Russia was G. V. Plekhanov, who founded the Marxist group Emancipation of Labor in Geneva (1883).

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