The question of the program began to be discussed among the Socialist Revolutionaries in the summer of 1902, and its draft (the fourth version) was published only in May 1904 in No. 46 of “Revolutionary Russia”. The draft, with minor changes, was approved as the party program at its first congress in early January 1906. This program remained the main document of the party throughout its existence. The main author of the program was the main theorist of the party, V. M. Chernov.

The Social Revolutionaries were the direct heirs of the old populism, the essence of which was the idea of ​​the possibility of Russia's transition to socialism through a non-capitalist route. However, the Socialist Revolutionaries made significant adjustments to the populist doctrine about Russia’s special path to socialism, due to the changes that occurred both in Russia and in the world socialist movement by the beginning of the 20th century. Having rejected the Marxist principle of materialist monism, which considered the level of development of productive forces to be the “primary cause”, the “ultimate account” of all other social phenomena, the authors of the program adhered to the method of empirio-criticism in its preparation, which boiled down to identifying the interdependence and functional connections between the entire set of facts and phenomena. The Socialist Revolutionary program can be divided into four main blocks. The first of them is devoted to the analysis of the capitalism of that time; the second - to the international socialist movement opposing it; in the third, a description of the unique conditions for the development of the socialist movement in Russia was given; in the fourth, the specific program of this movement was substantiated with a consistent presentation of points that affected every sphere of public life: state-legal, economic and cultural.

When analyzing capitalism, special attention was paid to the relationship between its negative (destructive) and positive (creative) sides. This point was one of the central ones in the Socialist Revolutionary economic doctrine. The negative aspects were associated with the function of “the capitalist form of exploitation of the productive forces itself,” and the positive ones with the function of “content itself,” i.e., with the growth of the productive forces themselves. The ratio of these sides was considered more favorable in the field of industry and in industrialized countries and less favorable in agriculture and in agricultural countries. According to this theory, the more favorable the named ratio was, the more creative, constructive role capitalism plays, the more actively it socializes production, prepares the material prerequisites for the future socialist system, and promotes the development and unification of the industrial proletariat. Russian capitalism, according to the Social Revolutionaries, was characterized by the least favorable relationship “between creative, historically progressive and dark, predatory and destructive tendencies.” In the Russian countryside, the destructive role of capitalism was considered predominant. As is easy to see, the old Narodnik dogma about the regressiveness of capitalism in Russia was not ultimately denied, but was only corrected, its applicability was narrowed to the area of ​​agriculture.

And the grouping of social forces in the country was determined, as the Social Revolutionaries believed, by the unfavorable ratio of the positive and negative aspects of capitalism, the existence of an autocratic police regime, and the preservation of patriarchy. Unlike the Social Democrats, the Socialist Revolutionaries saw in this group not three, but two camps. One of them, under the auspices of the autocracy, united the nobility, bourgeoisie and high bureaucracy, the other - the industrial proletariat, the working peasantry and the intelligentsia.

The noble-landowning class was defined as the first and main support of the Russian autocracy. He retained all the former privileges of the first class, with the exception of the right to own living souls. Nevertheless, during the post-reform period, the ground constantly slipped from under his feet. It was losing its main wealth - land, its numbers were decreasing, its role in the economy, culture, and ideological life of society was falling. Its best, more or less progressive-minded representatives left this class.” In its midst, extremely reactionary elements, the so-called “bisons,” gained more and more political weight. The noble-land-owning class increasingly turned into “honorable state parasites and hangers-on” and became the object of contempt and hatred of social forces striving for change. Feeling his historical doom, he clung ever closer to the despotic government, supported and inspired its reactionary policies.

The Social Revolutionaries explained their belonging to the above-mentioned, first, camp of the bourgeoisie, its conservatism, first of all, by its comparative historical youth, political immaturity and peculiarities of origin. In Europe, absolutism owed much of its victory over feudalism to the bourgeoisie; in Russia, on the contrary, the bourgeoisie owed everything to absolutism: in no other country except Russia did the government policy of “fabrication of factory owners” reach such a large scale. The bourgeoisie was truly the darling of power. It was granted various privileges: subsidies, benefits, export bonuses, guarantees of profitability, government orders, protective duties, etc. From its very inception, the Russian bourgeoisie was distinguished by excessive concentration, which served as the basis for the emergence of oligarchic tendencies in it, leading to its isolation in a special, closed social layer, cut off even from the petty bourgeoisie.

The syndication of industry that came with foreign capital strengthened the ties between bourgeois organizations and the government. Government legislative proposals were often submitted to the examination and conclusions of these organizations. Thus, the commercial and industrial elite had some semblance of their own “unwritten constitution,” which in economic terms was even more profitable than the constitution for everyone. These circumstances largely explained the apoliticism of this layer and the desire not to conflict with the ruling regime. It was also due to the fact that the domestic market was relatively narrow. On foreign market Russian capital could not freely compete with the capital of developed countries. In new territories he could feel calm only when they were part of Russian state, under the protection of its high customs duties. The imperialist appetites of the Russian bourgeoisie could only be realized by the military might of the autocracy. The conservatism of the Russian bourgeoisie was also determined by the fact that the proletariat behaved very actively, which, moreover, acted from the very beginning under the socialist banner. The support of the autocracy, its direct embodiment, was the highest bureaucracy. It was not alien to either the nobility or the bourgeoisie. Its elite layer merged with the landed aristocracy. The bourgeoisie, well understanding the meaning of a “personal union,” widely attracted to the board of their enterprises, especially large, joint-stock, titled persons who held high positions in the bureaucratic elite. In this balance of power, given the inertia and infantilism that prevailed among the nobility and bourgeoisie, the role of guardian-dictator was played by the autocracy.

For the Social Revolutionaries, the main principle of dividing society into classes was not the attitude to property, but the source of income. As a result, in one camp there were those classes for which the exploitation of other people's labor served as such a source, and in the other - classes that lived by their own labor. The latter included the proletariat, the working peasantry and the working intelligentsia.

The peasantry was the subject of special attention of the Socialist-Revolutionary theory and practice, since in terms of its numbers and economic significance it was, in the opinion of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, “a little less than everything,” while in its legal and political status it was “pure nothing.” “All his relations with the outside world,” Chernov believed, “were painted in one color - tributary.” However, the situation of the peasantry was really so difficult that it was recognized by everyone. Socialist Revolutionary originality did not lie in the assessment of the situation of the peasantry, but first of all in the fact that the Socialist Revolutionaries, unlike the Marxists, did not recognize peasant labor farms as petty-bourgeois; The Socialist Revolutionaries did not share the dogma that the peasantry could reach socialism only through the purgatory of capitalism, through differentiation into the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. The Social Revolutionaries inherited in their theory the positions of the classics of the populist movement. economic theory about the sustainability of peasant farms, about their ability to withstand competition from large farms. These postulates were the starting points in the Socialist Revolutionary theory of the non-capitalist evolution of the working peasantry to socialism.

A simplified view is the widespread opinion in Marxist literature that the Socialist Revolutionaries, like the old Narodniks, considered the peasants to be socialists by nature. In reality, the Socialist-Revolutionaries only admitted that “the communal-cooperative world of the village developed in it a unique labor legal consciousness that easily merged with the preaching of agrarian socialism coming from the advanced intelligentsia.” This idea was the basis for the point of the Socialist Revolutionary program about the need to propagate socialism not only among the proletariat, but also among the peasantry.

How did the Socialist Revolutionaries see the Russian proletariat? They first of all noted that, compared with the bareness and poverty of the countryside, urban workers lived better, but their standard of living was much lower than that of the Western European proletariat. Russian workers had no civil and political rights; There were also no laws providing for the improvement of their situation. In this regard, any protests of an economic nature led, as a rule, to a clash with the authorities and developed into political ones. Since the workers did not have legal professional organizations, the leadership of the workers' actions was carried out, as a rule, by illegal party organizations.

The Socialist Revolutionary Party occupied one of the leading places in the system of Russian political parties. It was the largest and most influential non-Marxist socialist party.

The first organizations of socialist revolutionaries began to appear in the mid-90s of the 19th century. In August 1897, a congress of southern groups of Socialist Revolutionaries took place in Voronezh, at which the creation of the “Party of Socialist Revolutionaries” was proclaimed. In the same year, the previously created “Union of Socialist Revolutionaries” began to actively operate in Moscow, coordinating the activities of northern groups. In addition to these main associations, numerous circles and groups functioned, the successful work of which required the creation of a single center. There were also various associations in emigration, from which the Agrarian Socialist League, created in 1900, emerged.

There was constant talk between the northern and southern groups about a merger. Around December 1901, in Berlin, E.F. Azef and M.F. Selyuk, having all the necessary powers from the northern groups, and G.A. Gershuni, who had the same powers from the southern groups, completed the formal unification of the AKP.

At the same time, Gershuni and Azef negotiated with the Agrarian-Socialist League about merging it with the party, and soon a temporary union of the AKP and the League was formed on a federal basis. Subsequently, the League merged with the party.

In 1905-1906, the founding congress of the AKP took place, which approved the program and charter of the party.

Approximately simultaneously with the unification of groups of socialist-revolutionaries, the BO began to take shape. Due to some disagreements within the party and in views on military activities, this organization initially did not arise as a party institution and not under the Central Committee. This was a private initiative of some socialist revolutionaries. The first BO formed around Gershuni. As a result of negotiations with the Central Committee, it was clear that the AKP BO should get its name from special conditions- from the moment it commits the first major terrorist attack. The possibility of the emergence of other initiative groups was assumed, and it was from the commission of one of them of a terrorist act that this group would be recognized as supremacy, and it would have to act as a militant organization of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, monopolizing within its ranks the conduct of centralized political terror. The official history of the BO begins with the murder of D.S. Sipyagin.

V.M. took up the development of the theory of the Social Revolutionaries. Chernov. He wrote an article published in the main periodical organ of the party (the newspaper “Revolutionary Russia”) and reflected the views of the overwhelming majority of Socialist Revolutionaries on terror - “The terrorist element in our program.”

According to this article, the terrorist activities of the AKP BO have a propaganda value. Terrorist acts “attract everyone’s attention, excite everyone, awaken the sleepiest, most indifferent ordinary people, stir up general talk and talk, force people to think about many things that had never occurred to them before - in a word, force them to think politically.” " The result theoretical activity a disorganizing significance was declared, which could manifest itself in conditions of general resistance to the authorities, and which would lead to confusion in the ruling circles, “shake the throne” and “raise the question of the constitution.” Chernov emphasized that terrorist means are not a self-sufficient system of struggle, but only part of a multifaceted struggle against the enemy. Terror must be intertwined with all other methods of both partisan and mass pressure on the government. Terror - only technical means fight, which in interaction with other techniques can give desired result. The Socialist Revolutionary Party, according to the article, does not see any all-permissive means in the terrorist struggle, but, nevertheless, it is “one of the most extreme and energetic means of fighting the autocratic bureaucracy, restraining government arbitrariness, disorganizing the government mechanism, agitating and exciting society, awakening enthusiasm and fighting spirit in the most revolutionary environment." But, if in a “tactical sense it is necessary to coordinate the struggle by terrorist means with all other forms of revolutionary activity and struggle, then in a technical sense it is no less necessary to separate it from other functions of the party.”

As for the Socialist Revolutionary program, it can be divided into four parts. The first is devoted to the analysis of capitalism of that time; the second - to the international socialist movement opposing it; the third part contains a description of the features of the socialist movement in Russia; the fourth part was the rationale for a specific RPS program.

The program boiled down to the following goals:

• 1) in the political and legal field: establishing democratic republic, with broad autonomy of regions and communities, civil liberties, inviolability of person and home, complete separation of church and state and the declaration of religion as a private matter for everyone, the establishment of compulsory, equal general secular education for all at the expense of the state, equality of languages, the destruction of the standing army and its replacement with the people's militia; convening of the Zemsky Sobor (Constituent Assembly).
• 2) in the national economic field: satisfaction of the basic demands of workers (to put it very briefly), socialization of all privately owned lands, strengthening of the peasant community, some changes in tax policy (for example, the abolition of indirect taxes), development of public services (free medical care, communal water supply , lighting, ways and means of communication, etc.).

The Social Revolutionaries were supporters of democratic socialism, i.e. economic and political democracy, which should be expressed through the representation of organized representatives (trade unions), organized consumers (cooperative unions) and organized citizens (a democratic state represented by parliament and self-government). The originality of Socialist Revolutionary socialism lay in the theory of socialization of agriculture. The original idea of ​​this theory was that socialism in Russia should begin to grow first of all in the countryside. The basis for it was to be the socialization of the village (the abolition of private ownership of land, but at the same time not turning it into state property, not its nationalization, but turning it into public property without purchase and sale; transfer of all land to the management of central and local bodies of people's self-government, “equal-labor” use of land). The Socialist Revolutionaries considered political freedom and democracy to be the most important prerequisite for socialism and its organic form. Political democracy and socialization of the land were the main demands of the Socialist Revolutionary minimum program. They were supposed to ensure a measured, evolutionary transition of Russia to socialism.

In the field of tactics, the party program of the Socialist Revolutionaries was limited to the provision that the struggle would be waged “in forms corresponding to the specific conditions of Russian reality.” The arsenal of methods and means of struggle of the AKP included propaganda and agitation, peaceful parliamentary work and all forms of extra-parliamentary, violent struggle (strikes, boycotts, armed uprisings and demonstrations, etc.), individual terror as a means of political struggle.

The victims of the Socialist Revolutionary terror in the period preceding the revolution of 1905-1907 were: Ministers of Internal Affairs D.S. Sipyagin (April 2, 1902 - from this moment the official registration of the BO AKP took place) and V.K. Plehve (July 15, 1904), Kharkov governor Prince I.M. Obolensky, who brutally dealt with peasant uprisings in the Poltava and Kharkov provinces in the spring of 1902 (wounded on July 29, 1902), Ufa governor N.M. Bogdanovich, who organized the “massacre” of Zlatoust workers (killed on May 6, 1903), Moscow Governor-General, uncle of the Tsar, Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich (February 4, 1905).

These are general information about the emergence and formation of the Socialist Revolutionary Party and its combat organization. Now let's move on to the main part of this work, dedicated to the activities of the BO in 1903-1906.

The party turned into the largest political force, reached the millionth mark in its numbers, acquired a dominant position in local governments and most public organizations, and won the elections to the Constituent Assembly. Its representatives held a number of key positions in the government. Her ideas of democratic socialism and a peaceful transition to it were attractive. However, despite all this, the Social Revolutionaries were unable to resist the seizure of power by the Bolsheviks and organize a successful fight against their dictatorial regime.

Party program

The historical and philosophical worldview of the party was substantiated by the works of N. G. Chernyshevsky, P. L. Lavrov, N. K. Mikhailovsky.

The draft party program was published in May in issue No. 46 of Revolutionary Russia. The project, with minor changes, was approved as the party program at its first congress in early January. This program remained the main document of the party throughout its existence. The main author of the program was the main theoretician of the party V. M. Chernov.

The Social Revolutionaries were the direct heirs of the old populism, the essence of which was the idea of ​​​​the possibility of Russia's transition to socialism through a non-capitalist route. But the Socialist Revolutionaries were supporters of democratic socialism, that is, economic and political democracy, which was to be expressed through the representation of organized producers (trade unions), organized consumers (cooperative unions) and organized citizens (democratic state represented by parliament and self-government bodies).

The originality of Socialist Revolutionary socialism lay in the theory of socialization of agriculture. This theory was a national feature of Socialist Revolutionary democratic socialism and was a contribution to the treasury of world socialist thought. The original idea of ​​this theory was that socialism in Russia should begin to grow first of all in the countryside. The ground for it, its preliminary stage, was to be the socialization of the earth.

Socialization of land meant, firstly, the abolition of private ownership of land, but at the same time not turning it into state property, not its nationalization, but turning it into public property without the right to buy and sell. Secondly, the transfer of all land to the management of central and local bodies of people's self-government, starting from democratically organized rural and urban communities and ending with regional and central institutions. Thirdly, the use of land had to be equalizing labor, that is, to ensure the consumption norm based on the application of one’s own labor, individually or in partnership.

The Socialist Revolutionaries considered political freedom and democracy to be the most important prerequisite for socialism and its organic form. Political democracy and socialization of the land were the main demands of the Socialist Revolutionary minimum program. They were supposed to ensure a peaceful, evolutionary transition of Russia to socialism without any special socialist revolution. The program, in particular, talked about the establishment of a democratic republic with inalienable rights of man and citizen: freedom of conscience, speech, press, assembly, unions, strikes, inviolability of person and home, universal and equal suffrage for every citizen from 20 years of age, without distinction gender, religion and nationality, subject to a direct election system and closed voting. Broad autonomy was also required for regions and communities, both urban and rural, and possibly more wide application federal relations between individual national regions with recognition of their unconditional right to self-determination. The Socialist Revolutionaries, earlier than the Social Democrats, put forward a demand for a federal structure of the Russian state. They were bolder and more democratic in setting such demands as proportional representation in elected bodies and direct popular legislation (referendum and initiative).

Publications (as of 1913): “Revolutionary Russia” (illegally in 1902-1905), “People's Messenger”, “Thought”, “Conscious Russia”.

Party history

Pre-revolutionary period

In the second half of the 1890s, small populist-socialist groups and circles existed in St. Petersburg, Penza, Poltava, Voronezh, Kharkov, and Odessa. Some of them united in 1900 into the Southern Party of Socialist Revolutionaries, others in 1901 - into the “Union of Socialist Revolutionaries”. At the end of 1901, the “Southern Socialist Revolutionary Party” and the “Union of Socialist Revolutionaries” merged, and in January 1902 the newspaper “Revolutionary Russia” announced the creation of the party. The Geneva Agrarian-Socialist League joined it.

In April 1902, with a terrorist act against the Minister of Internal Affairs D.S. Sipyagin, she declared herself Combat organization(BO) Socialist Revolutionaries. The BO was the most secretive part of the party. Over the entire history of the BO (1901-1908), over 80 people worked there. The organization was in an autonomous position within the party; the Central Committee only gave it the task of committing the next terrorist act and indicated the desired date for its execution. The BO had its own cash register, appearances, addresses, apartments; the Central Committee had no right to interfere in its internal affairs. The leaders of the BO Gershuni (1901-1903) and Azef (1903-1908) were the organizers of the Socialist Revolutionary Party and the most influential members of its Central Committee.

In 1905-1906, its right wing left the party, forming the Party of People's Socialists, and the left wing, the Union of Socialists-Revolutionaries-Maximalists, dissociated itself.

During the revolution of 1905-1907 there was a peak in the terrorist activities of the Socialist Revolutionaries. During this period, 233 terrorist attacks were carried out, from 1902 to 1911 - 216 assassination attempts.

The party officially boycotted the elections to the State Duma of the 1st convocation, participated in the elections to the Duma of the 2nd convocation, to which 37 Socialist Revolutionary deputies were elected, and after its dissolution again boycotted the Duma of the 3rd and 4th convocations.

During the World War, centrist and internationalist currents coexisted in the party; the latter resulted in the radical faction of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries (leader - M.A. Spiridonova), who later joined the Bolsheviks.

Party in 1917

The Socialist Revolutionary Party actively participated in political life of the Russian Republic in 1917, blocked with the Menshevik defencists and was the largest party of this period. By the summer of 1917, the party had about 1 million people, united in 436 organizations in 62 provinces, in the fleets and on the fronts of the active army.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the Socialist Revolutionary Party managed to hold only one congress in Russia (IV, November - December 1917), three Party Councils (VIII - May 1918, IX - June 1919, X - August 1921 g.) and two conferences (in February 1919 and September 1920).

At the IV Congress of the AKP, 20 members and 5 candidates were elected to the Central Committee: N. I. Rakitnikov, D. F. Rakov, V. M. Chernov, V. M. Zenzinov, N. S. Rusanov, V. V. Lunkevich, M. A. Likhach, M. A. Vedenyapin, I. A. Prilezhaev, M. I. Sumgin, A. R. Gots, M. Ya. Gendelman, F. F. Fedorovich, V. N. Richter, K. S. Burevoy, E. M. Timofeev, L. Ya. Gershtein, D. D. Donskoy, V. A. Chaikin, E. M. Ratner, candidates - A. B. Elyashevich, I. I. Teterkin, N. N. Ivanov, V. V. Sukhomlin, M. L. Kogan-Bernstein.

Party in the Council of Deputies

The “Right Social Revolutionaries” were expelled from the Soviets at all levels on June 14, 1918 by a decision of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. The “Left Socialist-Revolutionaries” remained legal until the events of July 6-7, 1918. On many political issues, the “Left Socialist-Revolutionaries” disagreed with the Bolshevik-Leninists. These issues were: the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty and agrarian policy, primarily surplus appropriation and the Brest Committees. On July 6, 1918, the leaders of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, who were present at the V Congress of Soviets in Moscow, were arrested, and the party was banned (See Left Socialist Revolutionary uprisings (1918)).

By the beginning of 1921, the Central Committee of the AKP had virtually ceased its activities. Back in June 1920, the Social Revolutionaries formed the Central Organizational Bureau, which, along with members of the Central Committee, included some prominent party members. In August 1921, due to numerous arrests, the leadership of the party finally passed to the Central Bureau. By that time, some of the members of the Central Committee, elected at the IV Congress, had died (I. I. Teterkin, M. L. Kogan-Bernstein), voluntarily resigned from the Central Committee (K. S. Burevoy, N. I. Rakitnikov, M. I. . Sumgin), went abroad (V. M. Chernov, V. M. Zenzinov, N. S. Rusanov, V. V. Sukhomlin). The members of the AKP Central Committee who remained in Russia were almost entirely in prison. In 1922, the “counter-revolutionary activities” of the Social Revolutionaries were “finally publicly exposed” at the Moscow trial of members of the Central Committee of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. parties (Gots, Timofeev, etc.), despite their protection by the leaders of the Second International. As a result of this process, the party leaders (12 people) were conditionally sentenced to death.
Of all the leaders of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, only the People's Commissar of Justice in the first post-October government, Steinberg, managed to escape. The rest were arrested many times, long years were in exile, and during the years of the “Great Terror” they were shot.

Emigration

The beginning of the Socialist Revolutionary emigration was marked by the departure of N. S. Rusanov and V. V. Sukhomlin in March-April 1918 to Stockholm, where they and D. O. Gavronsky formed the Foreign Delegation of the AKP. Despite the fact that the leadership of the AKP had an extremely negative attitude towards the presence of significant Socialist Revolutionary emigration, quite a lot of prominent figures of the AKP ended up abroad, including V. M. Chernov, N. D. Avksentyev, E. K. Breshko-Breshkovskaya , M. V. Vishnyak, V. M. Zenzinov, E. E. Lazarev, O. S. Minor and others.

The centers of Socialist Revolutionary emigration were Paris, Berlin and Prague. in 1923 the first congress of foreign organizations of the AKP took place, in 1928 the second. In 1920 the exit began periodicals parties abroad. A huge role in establishing this business was played by V. M. Chernov, who left Russia in September 1920. First in Reval (now Tallinn, Estonia), and then in Berlin, Chernov organized the publication of the magazine “Revolutionary Russia” (the name repeated the title central authority parties in 1901-1905). The first issue of “Revolutionary Russia” was published in December 1920. The magazine was published in Yuryev (now Tartu), Berlin, and Prague. In addition to “Revolutionary Russia,” the Socialist Revolutionaries published several other publications in exile. In 1921, three issues of the magazine “For the People!” were published in Revel. (officially it was not considered a party one and was called the “worker-peasant-Red Army magazine”), political and cultural magazines “The Will of Russia” (Prague, 1922-1932), “Modern Notes” (Paris, 1920-1940) and others, including number on foreign languages. In the first half of the 1920s, most of these publications were focused on Russia, where most of the circulation was illegally delivered. From the mid-1920s, the ties of the Foreign Delegation of the AKP with Russia weakened, and the Socialist Revolutionary press began to spread mainly among the emigrants.

Literature

• Pavlenkov F. Encyclopedic Dictionary. St. Petersburg, 1913 (5th ed.).
• Eltsin B. M.(ed.) Political Dictionary. M.; L.: Krasnaya Nov, 1924 (2nd ed.).
• Supplement to the Encyclopedic Dictionary // In a reprint of the 5th edition of the “Encyclopedic Dictionary” by F. Pavlenkov, New York, 1956.
• Radkey O.H. The Sickle under the Hammer: The Russian Socialist Revolu-tionaries in the Early Months of Soviet Rule. N.Y.; L.: Columbia University Press, 1963. 525 p.
• Gusev K.V. Socialist Revolutionary Party: from petty-bourgeois revolutionism to counter-revolution: Historical sketch/ K.V. Gusev. M.: Mysl, 1975. - 383 p.
• Gusev K.V. Knights of Terror. M.: Luch, 1992.
• Party of Socialist Revolutionaries after the October Revolution of 1917: Documents from the archives of P.S.-R. / Collected and provided with notes and an outline of the history of the party in the post-revolutionary period by Marc Jansen. Amsterdam: Stichting beheer IISG, 1989. 772 pp.
• Leonov M. I. Socialist Revolutionary Party in 1905-1907. / M. I. Leonov. M.: ROSSPEN, 1997. - 512 p.
• Morozov K. N. Socialist Revolutionary Party in 1907-1914. / K. N. Morozov. M.: ROSSPEN, 1998. - 624 p.
• Morozov K. N. The trial of the socialist revolutionaries and the prison confrontation (1922-1926): ethics and tactics of confrontation / K. N. Morozov. M.: ROSSPEN, 2005. 736 p.
• Suslov A. Yu. Socialist revolutionaries in Soviet Russia: sources and historiography / A. Yu. Suslov. Kazan: Kazan Publishing House. state technol. University, 2007.

see also

External links

• Priceman L. G. Terrorists and revolutionaries, security guards and provocateurs - M.: ROSSPEN, 2001. - 432 p.
• Morozov K. N. Socialist Revolutionary Party in 1907-1914. - M.: ROSSPEN, 1998. - 624 p.
• Insarov Socialist-Revolutionary Maximalists in the struggle for a new world

Links and notes

Development of opposition ideas in Tsarist Russia XIX - early XX centuries
1810s-1826	“Constitution” by N. M. Muravyov | “Russian Truth” by P. I. Pestel
1826-1850s	"Contemporary" | "What to do?"
1880s-1905	Socialist Revolutionary Party | Russian Social Democratic Labor Party
1905-1917	Bolsheviks | Mensheviks | Constitutional Democratic Party
Polish uprising of 1830-1831 | Polish uprising of 1863 Revolution of 1905 | February Revolution | October Revolution

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Leader: Viktor Chernov Date of foundation: 1902 Date of dissolution: 1921 Ideology: Populism International ... Wikipedia

At the beginning of the 20th century, in the colorful kaleidoscope of internal political events in Russia, a special place was occupied by the Socialist Revolutionary Party, or, as they are commonly called, the Socialist Revolutionaries. Despite the fact that by 1917 they numbered more than a million people, they failed to implement their ideas. Subsequently, many Social Revolutionary leaders ended their days in exile, and those who did not want to leave Russia fell under the merciless wheel

Development of a theoretical basis

Viktor Chernov, leader of the Socialist Revolutionary Party, was the author of the program, first published in 1907 in the newspaper Revolutionary Russia. It is based on the theories of a number of classics of Russian and foreign socialist thought. As a working document, unchanged throughout the entire period of the party's existence, this program was adopted at the first party congress, held in 1906.

Historically, the Socialist Revolutionaries were followers of the populists and, like them, preached the country’s transition to socialism through peaceful means, bypassing the capitalist period of development. In their program, they put forward the prospect of building a society of democratic socialism, in which the leading role was given to workers' trade unions and cooperative organizations. Its leadership was carried out by parliament and local governments.

Basic principles of building a new society

Socialist Revolutionary leaders at the beginning of the 20th century believed that the future society should be based on the basis of the socialization of agriculture. In their opinion, its construction will begin precisely in the village and will include, first of all, the prohibition of private ownership of land, but not its nationalization, but only its transfer to public ownership, excluding the right to buy and sell. It should be managed by local councils built on a democratic basis, and remuneration will be made strictly in accordance with the real contribution of each employee or the entire team.

The leaders of the Socialist Revolutionaries considered democracy and political freedom in all its forms to be the main condition for building the future. As for the state structure of Russia, members of the AKP were supporters of the federal form. Also, one of the most important requirements was the proportional representation of all segments of the population in elected bodies of power and direct popular legislation.

Party creation

The first party cell of the Socialist Revolutionaries was formed in 1894 in Saratov and was in close connection with the local group of Narodnaya Volya. When they were liquidated, the socialist revolutionaries began independent activity. It consisted mainly in developing its own program and producing printed leaflets and brochures. The work of this circle was led by the leader of the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRs) of those years, A. Argunov.

Over the years, their movement acquired significant scope, and by the end of the nineties, its cells appeared in many large cities of the country. The beginning of a new century was marked by many structural changes as part of the party. Its independent branches were formed, such as the “Southern Socialist Revolutionary Party” and the “Union of Socialist Revolutionaries” created in the northern regions of Russia. Over time, they merged with the central organization, creating a powerful structure capable of solving national problems. During these years, the leader (of the Social Revolutionaries) was V. Chernov.

Terror as a path to a “bright future”

One of the most important components of the party was their “Combat Organization”, which first announced itself in 1902. The first victim was the Minister of Internal Affairs. From then on, the revolutionary path to a “bright future” was generously stained with the blood of political opponents. The terrorists, although they were members of the AKP, were in a completely autonomous and independent position.

The Central Committee, pointing to the next victim, only named the expected terms of execution of the sentence, leaving the militants complete organizational freedom of action. The leaders of this deeply secret part of the party were Gershuni and the subsequently exposed provocateur, secret secret agent of the secret police Azef.

The attitude of the Social Revolutionaries to the events of 1905

When the outbreak broke out in the country, the leaders of the Socialist Revolutionaries were very skeptical about it. In their opinion, it was neither bourgeois nor socialist, but was a kind of intermediate link between them. The transition to socialism, they argued, must be carried out gradually in a peaceful way, and its driving force can only be the union of the peasantry, which was given a leading position, as well as the proletariat and the working intelligentsia. The supreme legislative body, according to the Social Revolutionaries, was to become the Constituent Assembly. They chose the phrase “Land and Freedom” as their political slogan.

From 1904 to 1907, the party carried out extensive propaganda and agitation work. A number of legal printed publications are published, which helps attract even more members to their ranks. The dissolution of the terrorist group “Combat Organization” dates back to the same period. Since that time, the activities of militants have become decentralized, their number has increased significantly, and at the same time political killings have become more frequent. The loudest of them in those years was the explosion of the carriage of the Moscow mayor, committed by I. Kalyaev. In total, during this period there were 233 terrorist attacks.

Disagreements within the party

During these same years, the process of separation of independent structures from the party began, forming independent political organizations. This subsequently led to the fragmentation of forces and ultimately caused the collapse. Even within the ranks of the Central Committee, serious disagreements arose. So, for example, the famous leader of the Social Revolutionaries of 1905, Savinkov, proposed, despite the tsar’s manifesto, which gave citizens certain freedoms, to strengthen terror, and another prominent party figure, Azef, insisted on ending it.

When the First World War began, a so-called international movement emerged in the party leadership, supported primarily by representatives of the left wing.

It is characteristic that the leader of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, Maria Spiridonova, later joined the Bolsheviks. During February Revolution The Socialist Revolutionaries, having entered into a single bloc with the Menshevik defencists, became the largest party of that time. They had numerous representation in the Provisional Government. Many Socialist Revolutionary leaders received leadership positions in it. It is enough to name such names as A. Kerensky, V. Chernov, N. Avksentyev and others.

Fight against the Bolsheviks

Already in October 1917, the Socialist Revolutionaries entered into a tough confrontation with the Bolsheviks. In their appeal to the people of Russia, they called the armed seizure of power carried out by the latter as madness and a crime. The delegation of Socialist Revolutionaries left the meeting in protest people's deputies. They even organized the Committee for the Salvation of the Motherland and the Revolution, which was headed by the famous leader of the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR) of that period, Abram Gots.

In the All-Russian elections, the Socialist Revolutionaries received a majority of votes, and the permanent leader of the Socialist Revolutionary Party at the beginning of the 20th century, Viktor Chernov, was elected chairman. The Party Council identified the fight against Bolshevism as a priority and urgent, which was implemented during the Civil War.

However, a certain indecision in their actions was the reason for their defeat and arrests. Especially many members of the AKP ended up behind bars in 1919. As a result of internal party disagreements, the disunity of its ranks continued. An example is the creation in Ukraine of its own independent party of Socialist Revolutionaries.

End of AKP activities

At the beginning of 1920, the Central Committee of the Party ceased its activities, and a year later a trial took place in which many of its members were convicted of “anti-people activities.” A prominent leader of the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRs) in those years was Vladimir Richter. He was arrested a little later than his comrades.

According to the court verdict, he was shot as a particularly dangerous enemy of the people. In 1923, the Socialist Revolutionary Party practically ceased to exist in our country. For some time, only its members who were in exile continued their activities.

The historical game as a method of active learning has become firmly established in the practice of history teachers. The child perceives play moments in lessons with pleasure and is actively involved in play activities due to his age-related psychophysiological characteristics. During the game, the child transforms into another person, mobilizing all his abilities, knowledge and skills, expanding and improving them. At the same time, the knowledge and skills acquired in the game become personally significant and emotionally charged for the student, which helps him to better understand and “feel” the era being studied. During the game, the student’s abilities for perception and empathy develop, and interest in the past and its study is firmly established.

Modern methodology has already accumulated extensive experience in conducting various educational and developmental games, among which role-playing games occupy a special place. The role-playing game simulates a historical situation, placing students in the position of eyewitnesses and participants in events.

The objectives of the lesson are to form ideas about the main political parties in Russia that operated in the conditions of the revolution of 1905–1907, to determine the features of their political programs, the differences in political tasks and positions, to identify social groups, on which they relied and whose interests they expressed, allows you to develop the skill of public speaking, the ability to listen, and select what is significant from the information received. The lesson also contributes to the formation of personal opinion and determines the student’s position in relation to the events of the revolution.

The lesson equipment could be the map “Revolution of 1905–1907,” photographs of revolutionary events, portraits of leaders of political parties and political figures in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century, symbols of the Russian Empire and the revolution, a table “Political parties of Russia in the revolution of 1905–1907.”

Conducting a lesson-meeting requires preliminary preparation. The speeches of the protesters were prepared in advance. Several students are given a creative assignment - to write a speech at a rally as a representative of a political party. It is necessary to choose the most significant political parties (Cadets, Octobrists, Socialist Revolutionaries, Social Democrats, Union of the Russian People). The speech should contain: program demands, slogans, criticism of opponents, the party’s position in revolutionary events. The rest of the students should also become familiar with political parties and prepare questions for representatives of different parties. Students are provided with a list of recommended literature (A. V. Ushakov. Democratic intelligentsia period three revolutions in Russia, M.: Education, 1985; A.A. Danilov. Russian history. XX century: Reference materials. M., 1996; Political parties in Russian revolutions at the beginning of the twentieth century. Ed. G.N. Sevostyanova. M.: Nauka, 2005; School encyclopedia “Russika”. Russian history. XX century M.: OLMA-PRESS Education, 2003, etc.)

First stage of the lesson. Introductory

Studying the events of the first Russian revolution, we began to study the political parties of Russia, the process of their formation and formation during the revolution. The number of parties grew quickly and numbered more than 30. Each party differed in its program, social support, methods of struggle, and leaders. Let us recall the most significant of the political parties in Russia.

During the frontal conversation, the table “Political parties of Russia in the revolution of 1905 - 1907” begins to be filled out. The table includes the names of parties, the time of their registration, which political camp they belonged to, students receive information about the approximate number of parties, and while working with portraits, party leaders are determined

Political parties of Russia in the revolution of 1905–1907.
(Start)

Party name	Constitutional		Socialist Party- revolutionaries (socialist revolutionaries)	RSDLP(b) (social democrats)
1. When founded	1905	1905	1900-1902	1898-1903	1905
2. Political camp	Liberal	Liberal	Revolutionary	Revolutionary	Monarchical
3. Leaders	P. N. Milyukov	A.I. Guchkov	V.M. Chernov	V. I. Lenin	A.I. Dubrovin
4. Number (in thousands)	50–100	50–60	50–65	30–35	About 400
5. Whose interests were expressed?
6. Fighting methods
7. Goals and objectives

Second stage of the lesson. Rally

Students are invited to take part in a rally during the revolution of 1905 - 1907. and during the meeting, finish filling out the table, goals and objectives, methods of struggle and social support of each party.

Each party in the revolution tried to solve its problems of transforming society and sought to attract as many supporters as possible to its side. Let's imagine that we are in 1905. On the streets of St. Petersburg, workers are marching, ladies are strolling, Cossack patrols are cruising, and shots are heard somewhere. And not far from the square a large number of people are crowding, shouts can be heard. This is a rally.

I offer speeches compiled by students. During the speeches, rally participants ask questions that arose during the lesson or were prepared in advance by party representatives.

1. Representative of the Socialist Revolutionary Party.

Comrades! First of all, I am appealing to you with the goal that you understand us, socialist-revolutionaries, and support us!

We defend the interests of the working people - the peasantry, the proletariat, students. Our program, comrades, provides for the expropriation of capitalist property and the organization of society on communal socialist principles. Peasants endured exploitation for hundreds of years, working for the master. Therefore, we believe that it is necessary to carry out the socialization of the land, which provides for the liquidation of landownership by revolutionary means and the transfer of land to the peasants. Just imagine how great it will be if no one is infringed upon. Everyone will live from the fruits of their labor.

I would like, comrades, to introduce some of the proposals of the leader of our party, V.M. Chernov, and some of our demands. Firstly, this is the establishment of a democratic republic, regional autonomy, political freedoms, and universal suffrage. Secondly, the introduction of labor legislation, the establishment of an 8-hour working day. Thirdly, recognition of the inalienable rights of man and citizen - freedom of conscience, speech, press, assembly and unions, freedom of movement, choice of occupation and collective refusal (freedom to strike), inviolability of person and home.

In matters of restructuring land relations, comrades, we strive to rely on the communal and labor views, traditions and forms of life of the Russian peasantry, in particular, on the widespread belief among you, peasants, that the land is no one’s, and the right to use it is given only by labor.

The means to achieve our goals are individual terror and social revolution. Stop hoping for reforms! To build a new one, it is necessary to destroy the old. A new leaf does not grow on an old tree, a new house is not built on an old one. A person does not live forever, he dies and passes on his knowledge to the young. This is such a pattern. To live a new life, you must destroy the old one. Revolution is destruction, but it is good.

Long live the social revolution!

2. Representative of the Cadet Party.

Gentlemen! Citizens!

National self-awareness is born in endless torment. On his way there are two enemies and two twins, feeding each other and trying to devour each other: bureaucracy and sectarian partisanship. They both strive for dictatorship and strive to make impossible those necessary agreements in which a nation is created, and anarchy and reaction will be elevated to law by revolution! We are representatives of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Russia against the revolution! We focus on reforms and compromise, denying extremes. We see our post-revolutionary Motherland as a constitutional monarchy, with a separation of powers into legislative, executive and judicial. We consider it necessary to increase the land area of ​​peasant plots at the expense of state lands, the abolition of class privileges, the equality of all before the law, the establishment of freedom of personality, speech, assembly and other democratic freedoms. We recognize the rights of workers to strike and an 8-hour working day. The right of everyone to participate in local self-government. We are champions of the Russian national state, but not at the expense of humiliating and belittling the role of other peoples. These are our basic demands, gentlemen! Vote for us! Join the cadet party! And then you will see all the strength and power of the Russian state, you will learn what it means to be its full citizen!!

3. Representative of the monarchist party.

People! Don't listen to these white collar talkers. They will never understand us, because they live in another world and do not know our needs. They're just fooling you! Russia has never lived without a tsar, who has always been the people's protector, an Orthodox Christian!

Jews and other foreigners seek to sow confusion and destroy the empire, the unity of the king and the people! Therefore, it is necessary to divide the population of the empire into Russians, who are considered Orthodox, and everyone else who pose a threat to our Fatherland. Russia is only for Russians!

For Russia to prosper, it is necessary to preserve the foundations of Russian Orthodox life, the orders bequeathed to us by our fathers and grandfathers. Let each peasant own his own land without a community and the interference of various intellectuals in his life.

The future of Russia is only with the Tsar-Father - the autocrat! For the faith, the Tsar and the Fatherland!

4. Representative of the Octobrist party.

Citizens!

We stand on the positions of the famous Manifesto. It formed the basis of the program requirements of our party. We do not make any significant contacts with the left and take consistently anti-socialist positions. We also oppose the idea of ​​convening a Constituent Assembly, because we believe that the creation of the Duma put Russia on the path of constitutional reforms. We stand for evolutionary, gradual improvement of the “Basic Laws” of the Russian Empire. Our party believes that through the Duma it is possible to legally carry out the reforms necessary for the country, which will turn Russia into a hereditary constitutional monarchy and allow Russia to become a rule of law state. The power of the monarch must be clearly limited by law.

We seek freedom of enterprise, trade, acquisition of property and freedom to dispose of it. Our party is against the alienation of landowners' lands, but for every possible encouragement of prosperous peasant farms, for liberation from the shackles of the community. On the labor issue, we advocate a guardianship policy - a reduction in the working day, insurance legislation, partial resolution of strikes. On the national question we support the idea of ​​an all-Russian principle. Self-determination and national-cultural autonomy can destroy an empire. Russia is one and indivisible for us! We intend to combine active economic modernization with moderate political reforms. Citizens! Let's fight for economic freedom and political reforms using constitutional methods!

5. Representative of the Social Democratic Party.

Comrades! Workers and peasants!

I represent the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. In the conditions of the revolution, we call on you to fight the autocracy. Only by destroying the power of the landowners and the bourgeoisie can a fair society be created.

Our program consists of the primary tasks in this revolution and tasks for the future. Now our primary goal is the overthrow of the autocracy and the establishment of a democratic republic. Legislative power must pass into the hands of the Legislative Assembly, composed of representatives of the people with universal equal suffrage. In the future, a democratic republic can develop into a socialist one under the leadership of a well-organized workers' party with iron discipline, capable of establishing the dictatorship of the proletariat. Broad local self-government will help make the future state of workers and peasants fair.

In this revolution, we are for the abolition of estates and complete equality of all citizens! For the inviolability of person and home, for unlimited freedom of movement. Every person has the right to a fair trial with representatives from the people!

We are for replacing the standing army with the weapons of the people! Separation of Church and State! We are for compulsory education, supplying poor children and street children with food and clothing at the expense of the state! We are for equal opportunities for everyone!

All this will be possible in the future social state, which can only be ensured by the dictatorship of the proletariat with the support of workers of other countries!

Long live the revolution!

Third stage of the lesson. Final

Each party in the revolution tried to solve its problems of transforming society and sought to attract as many supporters as possible to its side.

• Which political party was the most convincing?
• What attracted you to her?
• Which political party would you support during the revolution and why?
• Which political party did the people of Russia support in the revolution?
• Let's find out which party gained the most supporters through open voting.

Political parties of Russia in the revolution of 190–1907.

Party name	Constitutional democratic party (cadets)	“Union of October 17” (Octobrists)	Socialist Party- revolutionaries (socialist revolutionaries)	RSDLP(b) (social democrats)	Union of the Russian People (Black Hundreds)
1. When founded	1905	1905	1900 - 1902	1898 - 1903	1905
2. Political camp	Liberal	Liberal	Revolutionary	Revolutionary	Monarchical
3. Leaders	P. N. Milyukov	A.I. Guchkov	V.M. Chernov	V. I. Lenin	A.I. Dubrovin
4. Number (in thousands)	50 – 100	50 – 60	50 – 65	30 – 35	About 400
5. Whose interests were expressed?	Bourgeoisie, part of the intelligentsia	Big bourgeoisie, landowners, military	Peasants, parts of the intelligentsia	Workers, parts of the intelligentsia	Bourgeois, petty officials, landowners
6. Fighting methods		Legal methods, parliamentary struggle	Terror, coup d'etat, revolution	Strike, uprising, revolution	Terror
7. Goals and objectives	Constituent Assembly, development of the system of local self-government, unity of Russia. Equality of all before the law, abolition of estates, political and democratic freedoms. Abolition of the death penalty. Freedom of unions, the right to strike, an 8-hour working day, labor protection for women and children, workers' insurance. Providing land-poor and landless peasants with part of the landowners' and state lands	Preservation of the unity and indivisibility of Russia in the form of a constitutional monarchy. Universal suffrage. Civil rights, inviolability of person and property. Sale of state and specific lands to landless and land-poor peasants. More development of local self-government, freedom of workers' unions and strikes. Unconditional independent court. Development of the credit system, railways, scientific knowledge	Destruction of autocracy, convening of the Constituent Assembly, establishment of democracy, federal structure, the right of nations to self-determination. “Socialization of the land” - transfer of all land to communities and distribution according to labor standards to everyone who works it, 8-hour working day, state insurance, establishment of a minimum wage	Democracy, convocation of a legislative assembly on the basis of universal suffrage, political freedoms (minimum), establishment of the dictatorship of the proletariat (ultimate goal - maximum). Personal integrity, freedom of movement, abolition of classes, education in native language, separation of church and state, 8-hour workday, free compulsory education	Preservation and strengthening of autocracy. Preservation traditional foundations economic and political life, a return to pre-reform times. Fight liberals and revolutionaries with all available methods