Secret organizations under Alexander 2. Social movement under Alexander II. Prerequisites for the formation of a progressive capitalist system

liberalism in Russian Empire originated in the 18th century. But it acquired special significance and poignancy during the reign of Emperor Alexander II in 1860-1880. after the so-called liberal reforms. Many progressive nobles and liberals were dissatisfied with the half-heartedness of the peasant reform and demanded that the authorities continue it. In addition, a movement of “zemstvo constitutionalism” also arose in Russia, the main requirement of which was the provision civil rights. You will learn more about all this in this lesson.

The word "liberalism" appeared in Europe in the 18th century. It is derived from the word liberalis, which means free. In general, liberals are people whose main goal of political struggle is to ensure human rights and freedoms.

First in Russia half of XIX in. the word "liberal" was almost a dirty word. The fact is that Nicholas I at the beginning of his reign was seriously frightened by the Decembrists, and all revolutions in Europe in the middle of the 19th century. held under the banner of liberalism. Therefore, the authorities were hostile to the liberals.

The peasant reform of 1861, with its half-heartedness, caused discontent not only among the peasants, but also among a significant part of the progressively minded nobles. Many nobles began to turn to the king or speak at local provincial meetings with a request to change the order of the reform. The most famous action of this kind was the performance in December 1864 of the Tver nobles, headed by the former marshal of the nobility A.M. Unkovsky (Fig. 2). For this, he was forbidden to deal with peasant issues, and was also removed from office. 112 nobles of Tver presented to Emperor Alexander II a document called "Loyal Address". However, the provisions of this document were almost revolutionary. The nobles themselves insisted on creating a system absolutely equal for all estates, abolishing the estate privileges of the nobility, creating an independent court, and even allocating land to the peasants.

Rice. 2. A.M. Unkovsky - leader of the Russian nobility, public figure ()

Alexander II, who seemed to be a liberal emperor and a supporter of progress, ordered the repression of these nobles. 13 people were placed for two years in the Peter and Paul Fortress, and Unkovsky was even exiled to Vyatka for his radical ideas. Other liberals, having seen such a reaction from the authorities, were afraid to openly oppose the government, even with the best of intentions. They began to group around a few magazines that began to appear in the 1860s.

The Vestnik Evropy magazine has become a kind of center of political struggle and a mouthpiece for the liberals (Fig. 3). A publication with this name was already published in Russia from 1802 to 1830, but was closed at the request of Nicholas I, who was afraid of any manifestations of opposition. "Bulletin of Europe" from 1866 was published under the editorship of the famous public figure and historian M.M. Stasyulevich (Fig. 4). The magazine published sharp political materials. Such famous scientists as I.M. Sechenov, K.A. Timiryazev; the works of L.N. Tolstoy, A.N. Ostrovsky, I.A. Goncharov, and in the 1880s. even the works of M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin - one of the sharpest and most caustic satirists.

Rice. 3. Journal "Bulletin of Europe" ()

Rice. 4. M.M. Stasyulevich - editor of the journal "Bulletin of Europe" ()

The most influential publication can be considered the newspaper "Voice" (Fig. 5), which was published in Russia for twenty years and also united supporters of the liberal idea. It briefly united even Slavophiles and Westernizers - representatives of two opposite currents that had been at enmity with each other since the 1830s.

One of the conductors of the liberal idea was the famous Slavophil Yu.F. Samarin (Fig. 6). In the 1870s the Moscow Zemstvo invited him to participate in the development of a tax reform project, in which he actively took part. According to his project, all estates of the Russian Empire were to become taxable, or taxable, that is, the tax burden fell not only on the peasants and philistines, but also on the nobles and the clergy. For Alexander II, all this was too radical. Samarin was not touched only because he went abroad and soon died there.

Rice. 6. Yu.F. Samarin is a Slavophil, a conductor of the ideas of liberalism in Russia ()

The Slavophiles continued to consider Russia an original civilization, but they saw that the changes that were taking place in the country clearly led to a better position for it. From their point of view, perhaps Russia should use the experience Western countries provided that it leads to good results.

At the end of the 1870s. Liberal sentiments also intensified among the Zemstvos. In liberalism, a current of "zemstvo constitutionalism" arose. Representatives of this direction demanded that Alexander II continue the reforms. They believed that the rights of zemstvos, that is, local governments, should be expanded. Their main demand was "the crowning of the building of the zemstvo reform", which meant the creation of some kind of nationwide elected body (as if crowning the building of regional elected bodies - zemstvo assemblies). At first it was supposed to be deliberative, but in the long run (this was understood by everyone, although not always pronounced) - a legislative body, that is, a parliamentary type body that limits the power of the monarch. And this is constitutionalism - hence the name of the movement. Zemstvo constitutionalists demanded equal status for all estates, and some of their representatives even demanded the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Empire. The key point in the political program of the zemstvo constitutionalists was the demand for the granting of civil liberties: speech, press, and assembly. However, Alexander II, despite the liberal fervor at the beginning of his reign, was not ready to make such serious concessions. This was greatly hindered and revolutionary activity, which at that time was conducted in Russia.

A feature of the zemstvo constitutionalists was the hope for cooperation with Emperor Alexander II. At the very end of the emperor's reign, they had some hope. The fact is that right hand Alexandra became M.T. Loris-Melikov (Fig. 7), who was considered an adherent of the ideas of liberalism. But the hopes of the liberals did not come true and the Constitution of Loris-Melikov was never adopted in the Russian Empire.

Rice. 7. M.T. Loris-Melikov - Russian statesman, the closest associate of Alexander II ()

The liberals tried to convince the emperor and his entourage that it was easier to make gradual changes in the country than to wait for a surge of revolutionary sentiment. Some representatives of liberal circles even made contact with the populists, urging them to stop terrorist acts, thereby forcing the government to cooperate. But all the efforts of the liberals were useless.

Some liberals wanted to revive at least the Zemsky Sobor, through which one could try to influence the emperor. But such an idea seemed too radical even to Alexander II.

Thus, we can say that the liberal movement of the 1860s - 1870s. in Russia did not fulfill the tasks that it set for itself. To a large extent, the failures of Russian liberalism were associated with pressure on the authorities of another political trend- conservatism.

Homework

1. What is liberalism? How was the liberal movement born in Russia and what contributed to it?
2. Describe the liberal nobles from a socio-political point of view. Why did the progressive nobles take the liberal movement as a basis?
3. What reasons contributed to the birth of zemstvo constitutionalism and what was it like? Describe the political program of the zemstvo constitutionalists.

1. Website Sochineniye.ru ()
2. Website Examen.ru ()
3. Website School.xvatit.com ()
4. Scepsis.net website ()

Bibliography

1. Lazukova N.N., Zhuravleva O.N. Russian history. 8th grade. M.: "Ventana-Graf", 2013.
2. Lyashenko L.M. Russian history. 8th grade. M.: "Drofa", 2012.
3. Leontovich V.V. History of liberalism in Russia (1762-1914). Moscow: Russian way, 1995.
4. Liberalism in Russia / RAS. Institute of Philosophy. Rep. Ed.: V.F. Pustarnakov, I.F. Khudushin. M., 1996.
5. Tatishchev S.S. Emperor Alexander II. His life and reign. In 2 volumes. M.: Charlie, 1996.

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 characterized by faith 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. disintegrated "Black Repartition".

Social movement under AlexanderII (paragraph 24 - 26)

1.Conservative:

The main aspirations of the conservatives were attempts to protect the imperial power from the influence of liberal officials and, if possible, prevent the reforms from infringing on the interests of the nobility. Representatives: Count P. A. Shuvalov and M. N. Katkov.

Conservatism as a political force is designed to give stability to society. It doesn't mean going back at all. But Russian conservatives did not seek to consolidate the changes that had taken place and were necessary for the country, but to revise many of them.

2.Liberal:

Representatives of the liberal current in the mid-50s. - K. D. Kavelin, B. N. Chicherin (Westerners). They published the first printed policy document of Russian liberalism "Letter to the reader", its main provisions:

The Slavophiles made their contribution to the development of the liberal program: A. I. Koshelev in the “Russian conversation”, K. S. Aksakov (his formula: the power of power should belong to the tsar, but the power of opinion should belong to the people), A. A. Kraevsky in “Patriotic notes ", A. V. Druzhinin in the "Library for Reading".

In Russia, the support of liberalism in society was rather weak. The development of liberalism in Russia was hampered by illiteracy and communal forms of life for the bulk of the population. Their major miscalculation was that at the time of the abolition of serfdom, they did not achieve the destruction of the community and the creation of a wide layer of small landowners who could become their support. They were unable to overcome the disunity of their ranks, to work out general program and achieve unity of action.

3. Revolutionary:

A) The ideological leader of the revolutionary movement in Russia in the late 50s - early 60s. became Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky. He advocated a peasant revolution, developed Herzen's ideas about "communal" socialism, and advocated the creation of a revolutionary organization.

B) The ideas of Chernyshevsky were developed by representatives of the radical intelligentsia - populists. They considered the people, above all the peasantry, as a real political force and saw their main task in making this force conscious and organized. They wanted to raise the peasants to the revolution, so that Russia would have the opportunity, bypassing the stage of capitalism, to immediately move to a new system based on the principles of equality and justice.

Three currents in populism:

The people's revolution required lengthy preparations.

Theory of reflection. The ideologist of anarchism, denying the state. He considered the state to be the highest evil, and instead proposed to create a free organization, that is, an association of groups, communities, volosts, regions and peoples. A free society is a society in which the principle of self-government of the people would be implemented. Power should be swept away in a revolutionary way. It is necessary to destroy the isolation of the organization, to identify the leaders in them and to link them together, to establish ties between the peasant and urban workers. The revolution can use the energy of criminals and vagabonds. The transfer of land - the land of factories, plants to the capitalist workers' unions, the equalization of the rights of men and women, the abolition of the family, marriage, the upbringing of children in the spirit of atheism, that is, unbelief.

The Russian monarchy is deprived of a solid socialist foundation. It is not supported by all segments of the population (supported by the army and the bureaucracy). The peasantry is not capable of independently carrying out a revolution; for a coup, it is necessary to create a secret conspiratorial organization, whose members have passed a strict selection and are subject to iron discipline. Seizure of power. The conspiracy is the beginning of the revolution. But Tkachev considered it impossible to destroy the state, in his opinion, in the course of the revolution, the old ones should be replaced. state institutions to new, revolutionary ones.

Tactics

Conduct propaganda and education among the people

The revolutionary youth must go among the people in order to rouse them to revolt.

Conspiracy and terror.

Revolutionary organizations:

On 1.1861, the organization "Land and Freedom" was founded in St. Petersburg. Among the organizers were P.A., , , .

Their program included:

1) convocation of parliament and the establishment of a democratic republic

2) broad local self-government

3) equality of women

4) the transfer of all land to the peasants and the unification of the rural and urban population into self-governing communities

Practical activities - the publication and distribution of revolutionary literature, assistance in the escape of revolutionaries from prisons, material aid exiled.

1864 - a decision was made to dissolve itself.

2. 1863 - 1866 - the organization of N. A. Ishutin (Moscow) - I. A. Khudyakov (Petersburg) arose.

The main task is to prepare a revolutionary upheaval, the result of which would be the reorganization of society on the basis of collective security and collective labor.

In 1865, the Ad group appeared, which led the preparation of regicide as an impetus for the revolution.

In 1866, Karakozov made an attempt on Alexander II, after which the revolutionary was executed, the organization was crushed.

3. 1869 in Moscow, S. G. Nechaev founded the society "People's Reprisal". The main document is the Catechism of the Revolutionary.

He planned to cover Russia with a network of revolutionary organizations bound by iron discipline. Members of society are allowed everything that serves the cause of the destruction of the old society and the implementation of the revolution.

4. 1869 in St. Petersburg, N.V. Tchaikovsky founded a circle of "Tchaikovsky". A group of young people engaged in self-education and distribution of books by N. G. Chernyshevsky, P. L. Lavrov, K. Marx

5. 1873 in Moscow, A. V. Dolgushin founded a circle of Bakunin’s supporters “dolgushentsy”. Conducted propaganda among the people.

6. 1874 - "going to the people." Explanation to the peasants of the meaning of revolution and socialism.

7. 1876 in St. Petersburg, the organization "Land and Freedom" was founded. Its creators were M. A. Natanson, A. D. Mikhailov, G. V. Plekhanov, V. N. Figner, S. L. Perovskaya, N. A. Morozov, S. M. Kravchinsky.

The goal is the transfer of all land into the hands of the working peasantry, the organization of society on the principles of communal self-government, the solution national question.

The goal can be realized "only through a violent revolution."

To prepare a popular uprising, it was supposed to use organizational (propaganda among the peasantry and workers) and disorganization (individual terror) methods of work.

In 1879, Land and Freedom split into two organizations:

- "Black Redistribution", supporters of the continuation of propaganda work, led by G. V. Plekhanov

- "People's Will", supporters of individual terror, headed by A. D. Mikhailov, A. I. Zhelyabov, N. A. Morozov, S. L. Perovskaya, V. N. Figner, M. F. Korolenko.

8. 1878 the "Northern Union of Russian Workers" was founded in St. Petersburg. The organizers of the "Union" were - D. N. Smirnov, A. E. Gorodnichiy, V. I. Savelyev, S. I. Volkov. The program of which contained demands for broad political freedoms - freedom of speech, press, assembly.

Conclusion: all organizations of revolutionaries were crushed, and their members were either hanged or sent to hard labor.

REASONS FOR THE RISE OF THE SOCIAL MOVEMENT 1) Preservation of the old social - political system. 2) Unresolved agrarian question. 3) The half-heartedness of the reforms of the 1990s. 4) Fluctuations in the government's course. 5) Social contradictions.

CONSERVATIVES The main goal: to protect the government from the influence of the liberals, to preserve the privileges of the nobility, to preserve the autocracy. Main ideas: We continued to develop the ideas of the theory of official nationality. They considered the reforms to be harmful for the country. they led to a rupture between the intelligentsia and the people, to the growth of the revolutionary movement. It was argued that the autocratic form of government is the most suitable for Russia. They defended the idea that only an autocratic monarch, standing above all classes, is a true spokesman for the interests of the people.

CONSERVATORS Main figures: 1. Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov - journalist, publisher of the newspaper "Moskovskie Vedomosti" 2. Konstantin Petrovich Pobedonostsev - professor of law at Moscow University, educator of the royal children, chief prosecutor of the Synod (since 1880). 3. Petr Andreevich Shuvalov - chief of the gendarme corps and head of the III department

LIBERALS Origins: views of Westerners and Slavophiles. The main goal: to support the implementation of liberal reforms by the government, to persuade them to carry out constitutional reform. Main ideas: The number of liberals is insignificant, the social base is weak (part of the intelligentsia and the nobility). Some rise of the liberal movement in the 1970s was associated with the activities of the zemstvos. They failed to work out a common program of action and act jointly. Some believed that Russia had not yet matured to the people's representation (constitution) The reputation of the liberals was hindered by "flirting" with the socialists (an attempt to negotiate with Herzen, proposals to the populist revolutionaries)

POPULISTS (REVOLUTIONARY) Origins: views of Russian revolutionary democrats, primarily A.I. Herzen. Main ideas: based on the theory of communal socialism by A.I. Herzen; big influence provided ideas to N.G. Chernyshevsky Key figures: Alexander Ivanovich Herzen, Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky

NARODNIKI (REVOLUTIONARY) Theory of communal socialism: The peasant community contains the "germ of socialism": collective ownership of land, egalitarian land use, periodic redistribution of land, mutual responsibility (collective responsibility) for the payment of taxes and duties. Russia will be able to pass to socialism, bypassing the capitalist stage of development Socialist sentiments among the Russian peasants are of an unconscious nature, therefore the revolutionaries must create their own organization and prepare the peasants for the revolution. The reasons for the new upsurge of the revolutionary movement: 1) The radical intelligentsia was dissatisfied with the moderate nature of the reforms The preservation of landownership The introduction of a temporarily liable state The conditions of the redemption operation were difficult for most peasants 2) The slowness and inconsistency of the government in implementing reforms

REBELLION Ideologist: Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin Tasks: the Russian peasantry is ready for revolution, the intelligentsia should only push the people to protest Tactics: raise a rebellion, spontaneous peasant uprising which will destroy the state - the main instrument of oppression

CONSPIRACIOUS Ideologist: Pyotr Nikitich Tkachev Tasks: it is generally impossible to raise the peasantry to the revolution. Power should be seized by a well-organized group of revolutionaries Tactics: create a revolutionary party, undermine the state with the help of terrorist acts and seize power; maintain a strong state (revolutionary dictatorship) to carry out socialist transformations

POPULAR ORGANIZATIONS 60 - EARLY 70's. N. Ishutin's circle - set the task of preparing a revolutionary coup. The Hell group was formed in 1865 and began to prepare regicide. On April 4, 1866, a member of the group D. Karakozov tried to kill Alexander II in the center of St. Petersburg, at the exit from summer garden. Consequences of the Karakozov case: Karakozov hanged by a court verdict; Members of the Ishutinsk circle were punished with imprisonment and exile to hard labor; The magazines Sovremennik and Russian word»; The power of governors has been significantly strengthened; The rights of the zemstvo were curtailed.

POPULAR ORGANIZATIONS 60 - EARLY 70's - S. Nechaev formed the society "People's Reprisal". S. Nechaev organized the murder of one of the leaders of the People's Punishment, student I. Ivanov, who criticized some of his statements. After that, the police uncovered the organization. Nechaev fled abroad, was extradited to Russia as a criminal and ended his days in Peter and Paul Fortress. The majority of the Narodniks condemned the city's "nechaevshchina" - the beginning of the activities of the "Chaikovites" circle (named after one of the leaders, N. Tchaikovsky). The "Chaikovites" were able to create a network of their groups in different cities of the city - A. Dolgushin's circle was created, which included supporters of Bakunin's ideas.

"GOING TO THE PEOPLE" The peasants did not understand and did not accept revolutionary propaganda and often denounced the police agitators themselves. The peasants were waiting for an improvement in their lives not from the revolutionaries, but "from above" - ​​from the tsar. This and the next attempt to "go to the people" ended in failure, led only to mass arrests among the revolutionaries and the tightening of government policy. However, these failures did not stop the growth of the revolutionary movement.

"Land and Freedom" 1876 - the populist organization "Land and Freedom" was created in St. Petersburg Creators: M. Natanson, A. Mikhailov, G. Plekhanov and others Goals: Transfer all the land to the peasants Reorganize the life of society on the principles of communal self-government Decision of the national question Methods: They believed that the achievement of the goal is possible only by force. It is necessary to conduct propaganda among the peasants and workers (organizational actions) - "sedentary" propaganda. To weaken the current government, use terror (disorganizing actions) Actions: New wave of "going to the people" December 6, 1876 - anti-government demonstration near the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg March 1878 - organization of strikes at the New Paper Spinning Mill in St. Petersburg and a number of other enterprises

THE SPLIT OF "LAND AND FREEDOM" The failure of propaganda among the people caused the disappointment of many populists. At the same time, a number of high-profile acts of terror were carried out: January 1878 - In Zasulich, she wounded the St. Petersburg mayor Trepov. August 1878 - Chief of the gendarmes Mezentsev was killed February 1879 - Governor-General of Kharkov Kropotkin was killed April 2, 1879 - Populist A. Solovyov tried to kill the tsar on Palace Square. in St. Petersburg, the authorities responded by intensifying repression. Contradictions grew among the populists between supporters of propaganda ("village people") and followers of conspiratorial tactics ("politicians")

SPLIT OF "EARTH AND VOLIA" "Land and Liberty" split into two organizations: 1. Black Repartition (Year of Year) Ideologist: G.V. Plekhanov 2. Narodnaya Volya (year) Ideologist: Executive Committee 1880 - "Black Repartition" ceased to exist. Its members emigrated abroad. "Narodnaya Volya" operated until 1884.

SPLIT "EARTH AND FREEDOM" Plans of the Narodnaya Volya: Convocation constituent assembly on the basis of universal suffrage; Transfer of land to peasants; Replacing autocracy with a people's republic. The executive committee of Narodnaya Volya sentenced Alexander II to death. The "hunt for the king" began.

"HUNTING FOR THE Tsar" November 1879 - the third attempt to blow up the royal train February 1880 - explosion in the Winter Palace After another assassination attempt, Alexander II created the Supreme Administrative Commission for the protection of state order and public peace, headed by M.T. Loris-Melikov, who was given virtually dictatorial powers.

"DICTATURE OF THE HEART" M.T. LORIS-MELIKOVA Struggle against the revolutionaries: Eliminated the III branch; Subordinated the political police to the Minister of the Interior; Reoriented the political police from mass arrests to well-prepared targeted strikes (Zhelyabov, Mikhailov, Kletochnikov)

MARCH 1, 1881 The members of Narodnaya Volya, who remained at liberty, headed by S. Perovskaya, developed several new options for the assassination attempt on the tsar. On March 1, 1881, Emperor Alexander II was mortally wounded by a bomb on the Catherine Canal in St. Petersburg and died in the Winter Palace. The Loris-Melikov project, approved on the eve of the tragedy, was rejected by the new emperor Alexander III. The people were shocked by the death of the king-liberator. The peasant revolution did not start, and the "Narodnaya Volya" was crushed.

In the second half of the XIX century. in Russia, the socio-political movement, oppositional and even radical moods in society became more active. This was largely facilitated by the inconsistency of the internal political course of the government of Alexander II, the departure from the policy of liberal reforms, the high price of the accelerated modernization of the country, the main burden of which fell on the people's shoulders.

Other factors:

transitional nature of the economy and social structure of the 60-80s.

preservation of the rural community, autocracy, large landed estates

the forced development of capitalism, which was stimulated by the state, strengthened its negative aspects

The impoverishment of a part of the peasantry in the conditions of market relations was experienced by the radical intelligentsia as a national disaster, aroused the desire to save the peasantry from the horrors of capitalism, and created the conditions for the spread of socialist ideas.

the influence of theories penetrating the country from the West (ideas socialism and etc.)

AlexanderIII (1845 - 1894) ascended the throne in 1881, thirty-six years old, after the death of his father Alexander II from a terrorist bomb. The reactionary transformations of Alexander III were called counter-reforms.

The tsar's closest adviser was Alexander's former mentor K.P. During the reign of Alexander III, the famous reactionary journalist MN Katkov also enjoyed great influence. In the 1860s Katkov and Pobedonostsev participated in the preparation of the Great Reforms; by the 1880s they became their fierce enemies. Katkov proposed to completely eradicate the principles introduced by the reforms into Russian life, called for administrative and political restructuring. Pobedonostsev pinned more hopes on changes in the minds and souls of people, on strengthening the influence of the church.

In the early 1880s. the autocracy significantly improved its punitive policy, which allowed it to crush the internally weakened "Narodnaya Volya".

In August 1881, it was approved "Regulations on Measures to Preserve State Security and Public Peace". According to him, any locality could be declared in a state of emergency, the head of the province had the right to prohibit meetings, close press organs and educational institutions, arrest and exile objectionable persons without trial. Since 1883, they began to operate security departments(okhrana) - gendarmerie bodies that specialized in undercover activities.

In August 1882 were adopted Temporary rules on the press. From now on, the meeting of four ministers (internal affairs, justice, public education and the chief prosecutor of the synod) received the right to close any publications and prohibit objectionable persons from engaging in journalistic activities. In 1884, a new university charter appeared, which eliminated the election of professors, deans, and the rector, and sharply limited the rights of university self-government.

The government sought to give education a class character: tuition fees at universities were raised, and the Minister of Public Education issued in 1887 the so-called "circular about cook's children", ordering that children from the lower classes should not be admitted to the gymnasium.

In the field of primary education, church schools were intensively introduced, to which Pobedonostsev sought to give a strictly protective character.

In 1889 was adopted law on zemstvo chiefs, concerning the local peasant administration. The class isolation of the peasant administration was preserved and consolidated, it was placed under the authority of zemstvo chiefs - special officials from among the local landlords, who combined judicial and administrative power in their hands.

In 1890 a new land position, significantly increased the power of the administration over local self-government. Elections to the zemstvo began to be held strictly on the basis of class, the representation of the nobility increased significantly. In 1892, a new city ​​position, significantly curtailed the independence of city self-government, reducing the number of city voters by three to four times.

Several times the government launched an attack on the judicial institutions, but it was not possible to carry out decisive changes here, it was necessary to confine ourselves to rather minor amendments. In the socio-economic sphere, the government sought to protect the interests of the nobility. For this, the Noble Bank was established, and the Provision on hiring for agricultural work, favorable for landowners, was adopted. The government tried to prevent the social stratification of the peasantry: the family sections of the peasants were limited, measures were taken against the alienation of peasant allotments.

The reactionary policy of the government of Alexander III proclaimed the establishment of national-original principles in the life of Russia. This was reflected in the deterioration of the position of non-Russian peoples, religious and national minorities. A number of restrictive measures were taken against the Jews, and Russification of the Baltic states was carried out. Measures of state coercion often reinforced the activities of Orthodox missionaries in different parts of the Empire - among the Lutherans of the Baltic states and the Uniates of Western Ukraine, Muslims of the Volga region and Buddhists of Transbaikalia, Old Believers and sectarians.

The first underground populist organizations arose in the late 1850s and early 1860s. "Land and freedom" (1861-1864) was the first major organization of Narodniks, numbering several hundred members. Its leaders were A.A. Sleptsov, N.A. Serno-Solov'evich, N.N. Obruchev, V.S. Kurochkin, N.I. Utin. The main goal of the organization was considered to be the creation of conditions for the revolution, which was expected in 1863, when the signing of the statutory letters was to be completed. For this, legal and illegal propaganda was used, leaflets were published.

In 1864, during the period of repression associated with the suppression of the Polish uprising, and as a result of the absence of the expected peasant uprisings, the organization dissolved itself.

Ishutins. In 1863-1866, a revolutionary organization headed by N.A. Ishutin ("Ishutins"). In 1866 a member of the organization D.V. Karakozov made an unsuccessful attempt on the life of Alexander II.

"People's massacre" was created in the late 60s. revolutionary fanatic S.G. Nechaev. Nechaev denied any ethics, believing that the end justifies the means. For the sake of the interests of the revolutionary cause, he even went to the organization of a criminal offense.

"Big Society of Propaganda" ("Chaikovites") existed in 1869-1874. It was headed by M.A. Natanson, N.V. Tchaikovsky, S.L. Perovskaya, S.M. Kravchinsky, P.A. Kropotkin. The Society was engaged in the study of socialist literature.

In 1874, the Chaikovites participated in the preparation of a mass action - the so-called. " going to the people"when hundreds of students, high school students, young intellectuals went to the village, some for agitation, and some for propaganda of the peasants. But, in the end, they could not be raised either to revolt or propagate in a socialist spirit.

"Land and Freedom" (1876-1879). The organization was led by M.A. Natanson, A.D. Mikhailov, G.V. Plekhanov, L.A. Tikhomirov. In an effort to rouse the people to the revolution, they considered it necessary:

Agitation in word and deed;

Actions to disorganize the state (i.e., recruiting officers, officials into their ranks, killing the most harmful representatives of power);

The landowners switched from flying agitation to settled propaganda, began to create populist settlements in the countryside. But the new circulation among the people also did not produce results, and in 1879 the party split into supporters of propaganda and the continuation of the struggle for socialist ideals ("villagers"), who united under the leadership of G.V. Plekhanov to the party Black redistribution, and supporters of the political struggle and the achievement of political freedom, as a necessary condition for socialist propaganda, as well as the tactics of individual terror ("politicians"), who formed People's Will.

party "People's Will"(1879-1882) headed the Executive Committee, which included A.I. Zhelyabov, A.D. Mikhailov, S.L. Perovskaya, V.N. Figner, N.A. Morozov and others.

Narodnaya Volya set as their goal:

Revolutionary seizure of power;

Convocation of the Constituent Assembly;

Assertion of political freedoms;

Building, in the future, communal socialism.

The main means was recognized as a political coup with the help of the army and with the support of the people.

To disorganize power, individual terror was also used, which gradually involved all the forces of the party and became the main means of political struggle. Several attempts at regicide were made, in particular, prepared S.N. Khalturin an explosion in the Winter Palace in February 1880. On March 1, 1881, Alexander II was killed, but the revolution or the mass demonstrations of the people expected by the Narodnaya Volya did not happen, and the organization was eventually crushed by the police.

"Black redistribution"(1879-1882). Its leaders are G.V. Plekhanov, P.B. Axelrod, L.G. Deutsch, V.I. Zasulich the purpose of their activities was the preparation of a peasant revolution - a revolt with the help of propaganda in the countryside.

In 1883, disillusioned with populism and finding themselves in exile, the Chernoperedelites, led by Plekhanov, switched to Marxist positions and created a group in Geneva " Emancipation of labor"- the first Russian social-democratic organization.

The assassination of Alexander II on March 1, 1881 - the highest peak of the activities of the populist revolutionaries - was the beginning of their decline: the death of the emperor did not cause, as the populists hoped, neither the destruction of the political system of the autocracy, nor the people's revolution. The police, with the help of persecution and provocation, destroyed the internally weakened "Narodnaya Volya"; by 1884 the main backbone of this organization ceased to exist. An unsuccessful attempt to revive the methods of the People's Will was the attempt by a group of St. Petersburg students under the leadership of A.I. Ulyanov (Lenin's elder brother) on Alexander III on March 1, 1887.

to the fore in the 1880s. liberal populism comes out, the ideologists of which were V.V. Vorontsov. I. I. Kablits and others. Having retained faith in the peasant community as the germ of socialism, the liberal Narodniks focused primarily on cultural, educational measures. Views close to populist were expressed by the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski, led by M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin and N.K. Mikhailovsky, and later by the journal Russkaya Mysl.

Russia's entry onto the path of capitalism was accompanied by an intensification of the working-class movement and the emergence of the labor question. In 1885, at the Nikolskaya manufactory in Orekhovo-Zuev, owned by T.S. Morozov, "Morozov strike". The strikers demanded the establishment of effective state control over the situation of the workers, and the adoption of legislation on the conditions of employment. The government was forced to ban the night work of women and children and to define more clearly the obligations of the manufacturers towards the workers.

An attempt to explain the new socio-economic realities was the activity of Russian Marxists. In 1883, populist emigrants who switched to the positions of Marxism - G.V. Plekhanov, V.I. Zasulich, P.B. Akselrod and others - founded a group "Emancipation of Labor". She launched an active translation and publishing activity. Plekhanov in "Our Differences". "Socialism and the Political Struggle" proved that Russia had already embarked on the path of capitalism and that the Narodniks' hopes of coming to socialism through the peasant community were groundless. The revolutionaries, Plekhanov declared, should orient themselves not towards the peasantry, but towards the proletariat - the only consistently revolutionary class.

Marxist circles also arise in Russia: the St. Petersburg groups of D.I. Blagoev (1884-1885) and M.I. Brusnev (1889-1892), the group of N.I. I. Lenin.