Semantic school of Yu d Apresyan. Basic ideas of modern semantics

The cause of the revolution was the growing contradictions in Russian society, expressed in the influence of internal (unresolved agrarian question, deterioration of the position of the proletariat, crisis in relations between the center and the province, crisis of the form of government (“crisis of the top”) and external factors.

Internal factors
Unresolved agrarian question
The agrarian question is a complex of socio-economic and political problems related to the prospects for the development of the agricultural sector of the country’s economy, one of the most pressing issues public life Russia. Its unresolved nature, combined with other internal and external problems, ultimately led to the revolution of 1905-1907. The origins of the agrarian question lay in the nature of the Agrarian Reform of 1861, which was clearly incomplete. Having given personal freedom to the peasants, she did not solve the problem of peasant land shortage, did not eliminate the negative features communal land tenure and mutual responsibility. Redemption payments placed a heavy burden on the peasant class. Tax arrears grew catastrophically, since under S.Yu. Witte taxation rural population became one of the sources of support for the ongoing industrialization. Peasant land shortages became more and more evident, aggravated by the demographic explosion in the country: during the 1870-1890s. The peasant population of the Volga and some black earth provinces doubled, which entailed the fragmentation of allotments. In the southern provinces (Poltava and Kharkov), the problem of land shortage led to mass peasant uprisings in 1902.

The local nobility also slowly adapted to the new conditions. Most small and medium-sized owners quickly lost their land, remortgaging their holdings. The economy was conducted in the old fashioned way, the lands were simply rented out to peasants for work, which could not bring high profits. The income received by landowners from the state when peasants left serfdom was “eaten up” and did not contribute to the development of landowner farms on a capitalist basis. The nobility bombarded Emperor Nicholas II with requests for state support due to the loss-making nature of their estates and the high cost of loans.

At the same time, new phenomena were observed in the agricultural sector. Agriculture increasingly took on a commercial, entrepreneurial character. The production of products for sale developed, the number of hired workers increased, and farming techniques improved. Among the landowners' farms, large capitalist economies with an area of ​​hundreds and thousands of dessiatines, involving hired labor and a large number of agricultural machines, are increasingly beginning to dominate. Such landowners' estates were the main suppliers of grain and industrial crops.

Peasant farms had much less marketability (production of products for sale). They supplied only half of the market volume of bread. The main producers of commercial grain among the peasantry were wealthy families, who, according to various sources, made up from 3 to 15% of the peasant population. In fact, only they managed to adapt to the conditions of capitalist production, rent or buy land from landowners and keep several hired workers. Only wealthy owners specifically produced products for the market; for the overwhelming majority of peasants, the sale of bread was forced - to pay taxes and redemption payments. However, the development of strong peasant farms was also limited by a shortage of plots.

The underdevelopment of the agricultural sector and the low purchasing power of the vast majority of the country's population hampered the development of the entire economy (the narrowness of the domestic market already made itself felt by sales crises by the end of the 19th century).

The government was well aware of the causes of the agrarian crisis and sought to find ways out of it. Even under Emperor Alexander III, a commission was formed at the Ministry of Internal Affairs to consider “the streamlining of peasant social life and management.” Among the pressing issues, the commission recognized resettlement and passport legislation. As for the fate of the community and mutual responsibility, disagreements arose in the government on this issue. Three fundamental positions have emerged:

1) The official point of view was expressed by V.K. Pleve and K.P. Pobedonostsev, who considered them “the main and most important means of collecting all arrears.” Supporters of preserving the community also saw this as a means to save the Russian peasantry from proletarianization, and Russia from revolution.

2) The exponent of the opposite point of view on the community was the Minister of Finance N.Kh. Bunge and the Minister of the Imperial Court and Appanages, Count I. I. Vorontsov-Dashkov. They stood for the introduction of household land ownership in Russia with the establishment of a land minimum and the organization of the resettlement of peasants to new lands.

3) S.Yu., who assumed the post of Minister of Finance in 1892. Witte advocated passport reform and the abolition of mutual responsibility, but for the preservation of the community. Subsequently, on the threshold of the revolution, he changed his point of view, actually agreeing with Bunge.

Peasant uprisings of 1902 in the Poltava and Kharkov provinces, the rise of peasant uprisings of 1903-04. accelerated work in this direction: in April 1902 mutual responsibility was abolished, and with the appointment of V.K. Plehve, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Nicholas II, transferred to his department the right to develop peasant legislation. Reform V.K. Plehve, pursuing other goals, touched upon the same areas as the later Agrarian Reform of P. A. Stolypin:

It was planned to expand the activities of the Peasant Bank for the purchase and resale of landowners' lands.

Establish resettlement policy.

The fundamental difference from the Stolypin reforms is that the reform was based on the principles of class isolation of the peasantry, the inalienability of allotment lands and the preservation of existing forms of peasant land ownership. They represented an attempt to bring the legislation developed after the reform of 1861 into line with the social evolution of the village. Attempts to preserve the basic principles of the agricultural policy of the 1880-1890s. gave Plehve's project a deep controversial nature. This was also evident in the assessment of communal land ownership. It was the community that was viewed as an institution capable of protecting the interests of the poorest peasantry. At that time, no emphasis was placed on the wealthiest members of the community (kulaks). But the farm was recognized as a more advanced form of farming, which had a great future. In accordance with this, the project provided for the removal of some restrictions that prevented people from leaving the community. However, in reality this was extremely difficult to implement.

The work of the Plehve commission became an expression of the official point of view on the peasant question. It can be stated that the proposed transformations did not depart from traditional policies, based on three principles: the class system, the inalienability of allotments, and the inviolability of the community. These measures were enshrined in the Tsar’s Manifesto “On the Immutability of Communal Land Ownership” in 1903. This policy did not suit the peasants, since it did not solve any of the pressing problems. Changes in agricultural legislation throughout the 1890s. little changed in the situation of the peasants. Only a few stood out from the community. The resettlement administration, created in 1896, practically did not work. Crop failures at the beginning of the 20th century only increased the tension that reigned in the village. The result was an increase in peasant uprisings in 1903-1904. The main problems to be immediate decision, the question of the existence of a peasant land community, the elimination of stripes and peasant land shortages, as well as the question of social status peasants

Worsening position of the proletariat
The “labor question” - in the classical sense - is a conflict between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, caused by various economic demands on the part of the working class in the sphere of improving its socio-economic situation.

In Russia, the labor issue was particularly acute, since it was complicated by a special government policy aimed at state regulation of relations between workers and entrepreneurs. Bourgeois reforms of the 1860-70s. little impact on the working class. This was a consequence of the fact that the formation of capitalist relations was still taking place in the country, and the formation of the main capitalist classes had not been completed. The government also, until the beginning of the 20th century, refused to recognize the existence in Russia of a “special class of workers” and even more so of the “labor question” in the Western European sense. This point of view found its justification back in the 80s. XIX century in the articles of M. N. Katkov on the pages of the Moscow Gazette, and from that time on it became an integral part of the general political doctrine.

However, the large-scale strikes of the 1880s, especially the Morozov Strike, showed that simply ignoring the labor movement could not improve the situation. The situation was aggravated by the different points of view of the leaders of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Internal Affairs on the government line in resolving the “work issue.”

By the end of the 1890s. Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte moves away from the idea of ​​the government's guardianship policy as part of the government doctrine, built on the principle of a special, original evolution of Russia. With the direct participation of Witte, laws were developed and adopted: on the regulation of the working day (June 1897, according to which the maximum working day was 11.5 hours), on the payment of remuneration to workers in accidents (June 1903, but the law did not address issues pensions and compensation for dismissals). The institution of factory elders was also introduced, whose competence included participation in the resolution of labor conflicts). At the same time, policies aimed at strengthening religious-monarchical sentiments among the working environment intensified. The Ministry of Finance did not even want to think about creating trade unions or other workers' associations.

On the contrary, the Ministry of Internal Affairs is embarking on a risky experiment in creating workers' organizations controlled by the government. The spontaneous desire of workers to unite, the ever-widening response to the activities of the revolutionaries, and, finally, the increasing frequency of open political protests forced the authorities to switch to a new tactic: “police socialism.” The essence of this policy, carried out in a number of Western European countries in the 1890s, boiled down to attempts to create, with the knowledge and control of the government, legal pro-government workers' organizations. The initiator of Russian “police socialism” was the head of the Moscow security department, S.V. Zubatov.

Zubatov's idea was to force the government to pay attention to the "labor question" and the situation of the working class. He did not support the proposal of the Minister of Internal Affairs D.S. Sipyagin “to turn factories into barracks” and thereby restore order. It was necessary to become the head of the labor movement and thus determine its forms, character and direction. However, in reality, the implementation of Zubatov’s plan encountered active resistance from entrepreneurs who did not want to submit to the demands of any workers’ associations, even those controlled by the government. The new Minister of Internal Affairs V.K. Plehve, who held this post in 1902-1904, stopped the Zubatov experiment.

As an exception, the activities of the “Society of Factory Workers” of the priest G. Gapon, which had minimal dependence on the authorities and was an example of “Christian” rather than “police” socialism, were allowed. As a result, traditional repressive measures turned out to be more common for the authorities in their fight against the labor movement. All factory laws adopted at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries provided for criminal liability for participation in strikes, threats against factory administration, and even for unauthorized refusal to work. In 1899, a special factory police was established. Increasingly, combat units and Cossacks were called in to suppress workers' protests. In May 1899, even artillery was used to suppress a 10,000-strong strike by workers at the largest enterprises in Riga.

The regime's attempts to slow down the natural course of development of new beginnings in the economy and society in this way did not lead to significant results. The authorities did not see an impending explosion in the growing workers' protests. Even on the eve of the revolution, paying attention to the changes taking place in work environment, the ruling circles did not count on that “collapse” that could undermine the established foundations. In 1901, the chief of gendarmes, future Minister of Internal Affairs P.D. Svyatopolk-Mirsky wrote about St. Petersburg workers that “in the last three or four years, a good-natured Russian guy has developed into a type of semi-literate intellectual who considers it his duty to deny religion... to neglect the law, disobey the authorities and mock them.” At the same time, he noted that “there are few rebels in factories,” and it would not be difficult to deal with them.

As a result, by the beginning of the 20th century, the “labor issue” in Russia had not lost any of its urgency: no law on workers’ insurance was adopted, the working day was also reduced to only 11.5 hours, and the activities of trade unions were prohibited. Most importantly, after the failure of the Zubatov initiative, the government did not develop any acceptable program for organizing labor legislation, and the armed suppression of workers’ protests threatened to turn into mass disobedience. The economic crisis of 1900-1903 had a noticeable impact on the aggravation of the situation, when the situation of workers sharply worsened (decrease in earnings, closure of enterprises). The decisive blow, that “last straw,” was the shooting of a workers’ demonstration organized by the “Society of Factory Workers” on January 9, 1905, which became known as “Bloody Sunday.”

Crisis in relations between center and province
The national question is one of the main socio-political contradictions in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century.

The dominance of the Russian people and the Orthodox faith in the Russian Empire was enshrined in law, which greatly infringed on the rights of other peoples inhabiting the country. Small concessions in this matter were made only for the population of Finland and Poland, but were significantly curtailed during the reactionary Russification policy of the emperor Alexandra III. At the turn of the 19th - 20th centuries in Russia, the general demands of the nationalities inhabiting it became the equalization of rights of all nationalities, training in native language, freedom of religion. For some peoples, the land issue turned out to be extremely relevant, and it was either about protecting their lands from “Russian” colonization (Volga and Siberian, Central Asian, Caucasian provinces), or about the struggle against landowners, which acquired an interethnic character (Baltic and Western provinces). In Finland and Poland, the slogan of territorial autonomy, which was often backed by the idea of ​​complete state independence, enjoyed widespread support. The growth of discontent on the outskirts was fueled by both tough national policy government, in particular, restrictions regarding the Poles, Finns, Armenians and some other peoples, and the economic turmoil that Russia experienced in the first years of the 20th century.

All this contributed to the awakening and strengthening of national self-awareness. By the beginning of the 20th century, Russian ethnic groups were an extremely heterogeneous mass. Ethnic communities coexisted in it with a tribal organization (peoples Central Asia and Far East) and peoples from modern experience state-political consolidation. The level of ethnic self-awareness of the majority of the peoples of the empire was very low even at the beginning of the 20th century; almost all of them defined themselves along religious, clan or local lines. All this together led to the emergence of movements for national autonomy and even state independence. S.Yu. Witte, analyzing the “revolutionary flood” in Russia of 1905-07, wrote: “In the Russian Empire, such a flood is most possible, since more than 35% of the population is not Russian, but conquered by the Russians. Everyone knowledgeable about history knows how difficult it is to weld heterogeneous populations into one whole, especially with the strong development of national principles and feelings in the 20th century.”

In the pre-revolutionary years, ethnonational conflicts increasingly made themselves felt. Thus, in the Arkhangelsk and Pskov provinces, clashes between peasants over land became more frequent. In the Baltic states, tense relations developed between local peasants and the barony. In Lithuania, confrontation between Lithuanians, Poles and Russians grew. In multinational Baku, conflicts constantly flared up between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. These trends, which the authorities increasingly could not cope with through administrative, police and political methods, became a threat to the integrity of the country. Individual concessions by the authorities (such as the decree of December 12, 1904, which lifted some restrictions that existed for peoples in the field of language, school, and religion) did not achieve their goal. With the deepening of the political crisis and the weakening of power, all processes of the formation and development of ethnic self-awareness received a powerful impetus and entered into chaotic movement.

National parties that emerged in the last third of the 19th and early 20th centuries became the political spokesmen for ethnic and national movements on the outskirts of the empire. These political organizations relied on the ideas of national and cultural revival and development of their own peoples as a necessary condition for the future state reorganization of Russia. Under the influence of the ideas of Marxism and liberalism, two ideologically different streams began to gain strength here: socialist and national liberal. Almost all liberal parties were formed from cultural and educational societies, the majority of socialist-oriented parties were formed from previously carefully clandestine illegal circles and groups. If the socialist movement most often developed under the slogans of internationalism, class struggle, uniting representatives of all peoples of the empire, then for each of the national liberal movements issues of national self-affirmation became a priority own people. The largest national parties were formed at the end of the 19th century in Poland, Finland, Ukraine, the Baltic states and Transcaucasia.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the most influential social democratic organizations were the Social Democracy of the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania, the Social Democratic Party of Finland, and the General Jewish Workers' Union in Lithuania, Poland and Russia (Bund), established in Vilna. Of the nationalist parties, we should highlight, first of all, the Polish National Democratic Party, the Active Resistance Party of Finland, the Ukrainian People's Party and the Armenian Dashnaktsutyun - the most significant national party that has emerged in Transcaucasia. All these parties, to varying degrees, took part in the revolution of 1905-1907, and then in the activities of the State Duma. Thus, members of the Polish National Democratic Party actually formed their own faction in the Duma - the Polish Kolo. There were also national groups of Muslim deputies in the Duma, from Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, etc. Deputies from these groups were called “autonomists,” and their number in the Duma of the first convocation was 63 people, and even 76 in the second.

Crisis of the form of government (“crisis of the top”)
The “crisis of the elite” at the beginning of the 20th century was the crisis of the autocratic form of government in Russia.

In the middle of the 19th century, the process of establishing a constitutional-monarchical form of government was actually completed in Western European countries. The Russian autocracy categorically rejected any attempts to introduce public representation in the highest government agencies. All projects, including those drawn up in government circles, that envisaged the introduction of such representation, were ultimately rejected. During the reign of Emperor Alexander III, any attempts to somehow Europeanize the autocratic regime were decisively suppressed; the activities of populist terrorists played a significant role in this. Mid 1890s was marked by the revival and consolidation of both the liberal zemstvo and left-radical movements. However, the new emperor immediately made it clear that he was not going to change anything. Therefore, when he ascended the throne, speaking before a deputation from the nobility, zemstvos and cities on January 17, 1895, Nicholas II called the hopes of zemstvo leaders to participate in affairs “meaningless dreams” internal management, making a grave impression on those gathered. The authorities also showed firmness towards oppositionists from the upper classes: resignations and administrative expulsions began. And yet the position of the liberals could not be ignored by the ruling structures. Some researchers believe that Nicholas II himself, already at the beginning of his reign, understood the need for some political reform of the country, but not by introducing parliamentarism, but by expanding the competence of zemstvos.

In the ruling circles themselves, different points of view on the situation of the country and tasks emerged public policy: Minister of Finance S.Yu. Witte believed that the social movement in Russia had reached a level at which it could no longer be stopped by repressive methods. He saw the roots of this in the incompleteness of the liberal democratic reforms of the 1860-70s. It was possible to avoid revolution by introducing a number of democratic freedoms, allowing participation in governance " legally" At the same time, the government needed to rely on the “educated” classes. Minister of Internal Affairs V.K. Plehve, who took his post at the beginning of the terrorist activities of the socialist-revolutionary pariah, saw the source of the revolution precisely in the “educated” classes - in the intelligentsia, and believed that “any game with the constitution must be stopped, and reforms designed to renew Russia can only be achieved historically.” the autocracy that has emerged in our country."

This official position of Plehve greatly impressed Nicholas II, as a result of which in August 1903 the all-powerful Minister of Finance Witte was removed from his post and received the less significant position of Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers (in fact, an honorable resignation). The emperor made a choice in favor of conservative tendencies, and tried to overcome the socio-political crisis with the help of a successful foreign policy - by unleashing a “small victorious war.” Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 finally pointed out the need for change. According to P.B. Struve, “it was the military helplessness of the autocracy that most clearly confirmed its uselessness and harmfulness.”

External factors
The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 is a war between Russia and Japan for dominance in Northeast China and Korea (see diagram “Russian-Japanese War of 1904-1905” and historical map"Russian-Japanese War"). At the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. Contradictions between the leading powers, which by this time had largely completed the territorial division of the world, intensified. The presence on international arena"new", stormy developing countries- Germany, Japan, the USA, who purposefully sought the redistribution of colonies and spheres of influence. The autocracy took an active part in the struggle of the great powers for colonies and spheres of influence. In the Middle East, in Turkey, he increasingly had to deal with Germany, which chose this region as a zone of its economic expansion. In Persia, the interests of Russia collided with the interests of England.

The most important object of the struggle for the final division of the world at the end of the 19th century. China was economically backward and militarily weak. Since the mid-90s, the center of gravity of the autocracy's foreign policy activity has shifted to the Far East. The close interest of the tsarist government in the affairs of this region was largely due to the “appearance” here by the end of the 19th century. a strong and very aggressive neighbor in the person of Japan, which has embarked on the path of expansion. After the victory in the war with China in 1894-1895. Japan acquired the Liaodong Peninsula under a peace treaty; Russia, acting as a united front with France and Germany, forced Japan to abandon this part of Chinese territory.

In 1896, a Russian-Chinese treaty was concluded on a defensive alliance against Japan. China granted Russia a concession to build a railway from Chita to Vladivostok through Manchuria (Northeast China). The Russian-Chinese Bank received the right to build and operate the road. The course towards the “peaceful” economic conquest of Manchuria was carried out in accordance with the line of S.Yu. Witte (it was he who largely determined the policy of the autocracy in the Far East) to seize foreign markets for the developing domestic industry. Russian diplomacy also achieved great success in Korea. Japan, which established its influence in this country after the war with China, was forced in 1896 to agree to the establishment of a joint Russian-Japanese protectorate over Korea with the actual predominance of Russia. The victories of Russian diplomacy in the Far East caused growing irritation in Japan, England and the United States.

Soon, however, the situation in this region began to change. Pushed by Germany and following its example, Russia captured Port Arthur and in 1898 received it on lease from China, along with some parts of the Liaodong Peninsula, to establish a naval base. Attempts by S.Yu. Witte to prevent this action, which he considered as contrary to the spirit of the Russian-Chinese treaty of 1896, were unsuccessful. The capture of Port Arthur undermined the influence of Russian diplomacy in Beijing and weakened Russia's position in the Far East, forcing, in particular, the tsarist government to make concessions to Japan on the Korean issue. The Russo-Japanese Agreement of 1898 actually sanctioned the seizure of Korea by Japanese capital.

In 1899, a powerful popular uprising(“Boxer Rebellion”), directed against foreigners who shamelessly ruled the state, Russia, together with other powers, took part in suppressing this movement and occupied Manchuria during military operations. Russo-Japanese contradictions escalated again. Supported by England and the USA, Japan sought to oust Russia from Manchuria. In 1902, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance was concluded. Under these conditions, Russia reached an agreement with China and pledged to withdraw troops from Manchuria within a year and a half. Meanwhile, Japan, which was very belligerent, led to an escalation of the conflict with Russia. There was no unity in the ruling circles of Russia on issues of Far Eastern policy. S.Yu. Witte with his program of economic expansion (which, however, still pitted Russia against Japan) was opposed by the “Bezobrazov gang” led by A.M. Bezobrazov, who advocated direct military takeovers. The views of this group were also shared by Nicholas II, who dismissed S.Yu. Witte from the post of Minister of Finance. "Bezobrazovtsy" underestimated the strength of Japan. Some ruling circles viewed success in the war with their Far Eastern neighbor as the most important means of overcoming the internal political crisis. Japan, for its part, was actively preparing for an armed conflict with Russia. True, in the summer of 1903 Russian-Japanese negotiations began on Manchuria and Korea, however war machine Japan, with direct support from the United States and England, was already launched. The situation was complicated by the fact that in Russia the ruling circles hoped that a successful military campaign would eliminate the growing internal political crisis. Minister of Internal Affairs Plehve, in response to the statement of Commander-in-Chief General Kuropatkin that “we are not ready for war,” replied: “You internal situation in Russia you don’t know. To prevent revolution, we need a small, victorious war.” On January 24, 1904, the Japanese ambassador handed the Russian Foreign Minister V.N. Lamzdorf a note about the severance of diplomatic relations, and on the evening of January 26, the Japanese fleet attacked the Port Arthur squadron without declaring war. Thus began the Russo-Japanese War.

Table. Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905

A heavy blow for Russia was the death of the commander of the Pacific squadron, the outstanding naval commander S.O. Makarova. The Japanese managed to gain supremacy at sea and, having landed large forces on the continent, launched an offensive against Russian troops in Manchuria and Port Arthur. Commander Manchurian army General A.N. Kuropatkin acted extremely indecisively. Bloody battle near Liaoyang, during which the Japanese suffered huge losses, was not used by him to go on the offensive (which the enemy was extremely afraid of) and ended with the withdrawal of Russian troops. In July 1904, the Japanese laid siege to Port Arthur (see historical map "Storm of Port Arthur 1904"). The defense of the fortress, which lasted five months, became one of the brightest pages of Russian military history.

Defense of Port Arthur

The hero of the Port Arthur epic was General R.I. Kondratenko, who died at the end of the siege. The capture of Port Arthur was costly for the Japanese, who lost more than 100 thousand people under its walls. At the same time, having taken the fortress, the enemy was able to strengthen his troops operating in Manchuria. The squadron stationed in Port Arthur was actually destroyed in the summer of 1904 during unsuccessful attempts to break through to Vladivostok.

In February 1905, the Battle of Mukden took place, which took place on a more than 100-kilometer front and lasted three weeks. More than 550 thousand people with 2,500 guns took part in it on both sides. In the battles near Mukden, the Russian army suffered a heavy defeat. After this, the war on land began to subside. The number of Russian troops in Manchuria was constantly increasing, but the morale of the army was undermined, which was greatly facilitated by the revolution that had begun in the country. The Japanese, who had suffered huge losses, were also inactive.

On May 14-15, 1905, in the Battle of Tsushima, the Japanese fleet destroyed the Russian squadron transferred to the Far East from the Baltic. The Battle of Tsushima decided the outcome of the war. The autocracy, busy suppressing the revolutionary movement, could no longer continue the struggle. Japan was also extremely exhausted by the war. On July 27, 1905, peace negotiations began in Portsmouth (USA) with the mediation of the Americans. The Russian delegation, headed by S.Yu. Witte managed to achieve relatively “decent” peace conditions. Under the terms of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty, Russia ceded to Japan southern part Sakhalin, its lease rights to the Liaodong Peninsula and the South Manchurian Railway, which connected Port Arthur with the Chinese Eastern Railway.

The Russo-Japanese War ended with the defeat of the autocracy. At the beginning of the war, patriotic sentiments swept through all categories of the population, but soon the situation in the country began to change as reports of Russia’s military failures came in. Each defeat turned into a new and new round of political crisis. Trust in the government was rapidly declining. After each lost battle, rumors about unprofessionalism and even betrayal of the senior command, about unpreparedness for war, grew more and more in society. By the summer of 1904, the fervor of patriotic fever had given way to deep disappointment and a growing conviction of the incompetence of the authorities. According to P.B. Struve, “it was the military helplessness of the autocracy that most clearly confirmed its uselessness and harmfulness.” If at the beginning of the war there was a noticeable reduction in peasant uprisings and labor strikes, then by the autumn of 1904 they were again gaining momentum. The “Little Victorious War” turned into a shameful Peace of Portsmouth, a significant deterioration economic situation in the country, as well as a catalyst for the revolution of 1905-1907. During 1905-1907 There were several major anti-government protests in the army and navy, largely predetermined by the unsuccessful military campaign.

By its nature, the revolution of 1905-1907 in Russia was bourgeois-democratic, because it set the tasks of the bourgeois-democratic transformation of the country: the overthrow of the autocracy and the establishment of a democratic republic, the elimination of the class system and landownership, the introduction of basic democratic freedoms - first of all, freedom of conscience, speech, press, assembly, equality of all before by law, the establishment of an 8-hour working day for wage earners, the removal of national restrictions (see the diagram “Revolution of 1905-1907. Character and goals”).

The main issue of the revolution was the agrarian-peasant issue. The peasantry made up over 4/5 of the population of Russia, and agrarian question in connection with the deepening peasant land shortage, he acquired by the beginning of the 20th century. special sharpness. The national question also occupied an important place in the revolution. 57% of the country's population were non-Russian peoples. However, in essence, the national question was part of the agrarian-peasant question, for the peasantry made up the overwhelming majority of the non-Russian population in the country. The agrarian-peasant issue was the focus of attention of all political parties and groups.

The driving forces of the revolution were the petty-bourgeois strata of the city and countryside, as well as the political parties that represented them. It was a people's revolution. Peasants, workers, and the petty bourgeoisie of the city and countryside formed a single revolutionary camp. The camp opposing him was represented by landowners and the big bourgeoisie associated with the autocratic monarchy, the highest bureaucracy, the military and clerics from among the upper clergy. The liberal opposition camp was represented mainly by the middle bourgeoisie and bourgeois intelligentsia, who advocated the bourgeois transformation of the country through peaceful means, mainly through parliamentary struggle.

In the revolution of 1905-1907. There are several stages.

Table. Chronology of events of the Russian revolution 1905 – 1907.

The first is the mass movement in the spring-summer of 1905.(see diagram “Revolution of 1905-1907. 1st stage”). The revolutionary movement during this period was manifested in an unprecedented increase in the strike movement of workers with a predominance of political demands and took on an increasingly organized character (see the article “Revolution of 1905 in Russia” in the anthology). By the summer of 1905, the social base of the revolution had also expanded: it included the broad masses of the peasantry, as well as the army and navy. During January-April 1905, the strike movement covered 810 thousand workers. Up to 75% of strikes were political in nature. Under the pressure of this movement, the government was forced to make some political concessions. On February 18, by a rescript from the tsar addressed to the Minister of Internal Affairs A.G. Bulygin was ordered to begin developing a law on the creation of an elected representative institution. A draft for the creation of the State Duma was prepared. This “Bulygin Duma,” as it was called, caused an active boycott by workers, peasants, intelligentsia, and all left-wing parties and associations. The boycott thwarted the government's attempt to convene it.

Revolutionary protests grew. In connection with the celebration of May 1, a new wave of strike movement swept through, in which up to 200 thousand workers took part. In the large textile center of Poland, Lodz, a workers' uprising broke out, and the city was covered with barricades. On May 1, a demonstration took place in Warsaw: dozens of demonstrators were killed and wounded. Clashes between workers and troops during the May 1 demonstrations occurred in Riga and Revel.

An important event was the general strike of workers that began on May 12 in the large textile center of the country - Ivanovo-Voznesensk, which lasted 72 days. Under her influence, workers in nearby textile cities and towns rose up. During the Ivanovo-Voznesensk strike, a Council of Workers' Representatives was elected. Under the influence of the growing strike struggle of the workers, the village also began to move. Already in February-March peasant riots covered 1/6 of the country's counties - in the provinces of the Black Earth Center, Poland, the Baltic States and Georgia. In the summer they spread to the Middle Volga region, Ukraine and Belarus. In May 1905, the All-Russian Peasant Union was formed, the leading role in which was played by the right Socialist Revolutionaries, led by V. M. Chernov.

On June 14, an uprising broke out on the battleship Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky. The sailors took possession of the ship, elected new command staff and the ship's commission - the body political leadership uprising. On the same day, the mutinous battleship and the destroyer accompanying it approached Odessa, where at that time a general strike of workers began. But the ship’s commission did not dare to land troops in the city, expecting the remaining ships of the Black Sea squadron to join the uprising. However, only one battleship, St. George the Victorious, joined. After 11 days of the raid, having exhausted its fuel and food reserves, the Potemkin arrived at the Romanian port of Constanta and surrendered to local authorities. Subsequently, the Potemkin and its crew were handed over to the Russian authorities.

Second stage - October-December 1905(see diagram “Revolution of 1905-1907 in Russia. 2nd stage”). In the fall of 1905, the center of the revolution moved to Moscow. All-Russian October Revolution that began in Moscow political strike, and then the armed uprising in December 1905 were the highest upsurge of the revolution. On October 7, Moscow railway workers went on strike (with the exception of the Nikolaev Railway), followed by the workers of the majority railways countries. On October 10, a citywide strike of workers began in Moscow.

Under the influence of the October strike, the autocracy was forced to make new concessions. On October 17, Nicholas II signed a Manifesto “on improving the state order” on the basis of actual personal integrity, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly, unions, granting the new State Duma legislative rights, and it was stated that no law could gain force without its approval by the Duma.

The publication of the Manifesto on October 17, 1905 caused rejoicing in liberal-bourgeois circles, who believed that all conditions had been created for legal political activity. The October 17 Manifesto served as an impetus for the formation of two influential bourgeois parties - the Cadets and the Octobrists.

The autumn of 1905 was marked by an increase in peasant revolts and revolutionary uprisings in the army and navy. In November - December, the peasant movement reached its climax. During this time, 1,590 peasant uprisings were registered - approximately half of them total number(3230) for the whole of 1905. They covered half (240) of the districts of the European part of Russia, and were accompanied by the destruction of landowners' estates and the seizure of landowners' lands. Up to 2 thousand landowner estates were destroyed (and in total over 6 thousand landowner estates were destroyed in 1905-1907). Peasant revolts took on a particularly wide scale in Simbirsk, Saratov, Kursk and Chernigov provinces. To suppress peasant uprisings punitive troops were sent, in a number of places it was introduced state of emergency. On November 3, 1905, under the influence of a broad peasant movement that developed with particular force in the fall of that year, a tsar’s manifesto was issued, announcing the reduction of redemption payments from peasants for allotment land by half and the complete cessation of their collection from January 1, 1907.

In October-December 1905, there were 89 performances in the army and navy. The largest of them was the uprising of sailors and soldiers Black Sea Fleet under the leadership of Lieutenant L.L. Schmidt November 11-16. On December 2, 1905, the 2nd Rostov Grenadier Regiment rebelled in Moscow and appealed to all the troops of the Moscow garrison to support its demands. It found a response in other regiments. The Council was created soldiers' deputies from representatives of the Rostov, Ekaterinoslav and some other regiments of the Moscow garrison. But the garrison command managed to suppress the soldier movement at its very beginning and isolate unreliable military units in the barracks. The December events ended with an armed uprising and barricade battles in Moscow (December 10-19).

On December 11, 1905, S.Yu., developed by the government, was published. Witte new election law for the State Duma. It retained the main provisions of the electoral law of August 6, 1905, with the only difference that now workers were also allowed to participate in the elections, for which a fourth, workers', curia was introduced and the number of seats for the peasant curia was increased. The plurality of elections was maintained: first, electors were elected, and from them, deputies to the Duma were elected, with one elector per 90 thousand workers, 30 thousand peasants, 7 thousand representatives of the urban bourgeoisie and 2 thousand landowners. Thus, one vote of the landowner was equal to 3 votes of the bourgeoisie, 15 peasants and 45 workers. This created a significant advantage for the landowners and bourgeoisie in terms of representation in the Duma.

In connection with the creation of the legislative State Duma, the State Council was transformed. On February 20, 1906, a decree “On the reorganization of the establishment of the State Council” was issued. From a legislative advisory body, all of whose members had previously been appointed by the tsar, it became the upper legislative chamber, which received the right to approve or reject laws adopted by the State Duma. All these changes were included in the main “Basic state laws", published April 23, 1906.

On November 24, 1905, a decree was issued on new " Temporary rules on timely publications", which abolished preliminary censorship for periodicals. The decree of April 26, 1906 on the "Temporary Rules for Timeless Press" abolished preliminary censorship for non-periodical publications (books and brochures). However, this did not mean the final abolition of censorship. Various types of penalties (fines, suspension of publication, warnings, etc.) to publishers who published articles in periodicals or books that were “objectionable” from the point of view of the authorities.

Retreat of the revolution: 1906 - spring-summer 1907(see diagram “Revolution of 1905-1907 in Russia. 3rd stage”). After the December events of 1905, the retreat of the revolution began. First of all, it was expressed in a gradual decline in the strike movement of workers. If during 1905 2.8 million strike participants were registered, then in 1906 - 1.1 million, and in 1907 - 740 thousand. However, the intensity of the struggle was still high. In the spring and summer of 1906, a new wave of the agrarian peasant movement arose, which acquired an even wider scope than in 1905. It covered more than half of the country's counties. But despite its scope and mass character, the peasant movement of 1906, as in 1905, was a series of disparate, local riots that had practically no connection with each other. The All-Russian Peasant Union failed to become the organizing center of the movement. The dissolution of the State Duma of the first convocation in July 1906 and the “Vyborg Appeal” (see the article “Vyborg Appeal” in the reader) did not lead to a sharp aggravation of the revolutionary situation.

There were uprisings in the army and navy, which, like the peasant uprisings, took on a more threatening character than in 1905. The most significant of them were the uprisings in July-August 1906 of sailors in Sveaborg, Kronstadt and Reval. They were prepared and led by the Socialist Revolutionaries: they developed a plan to surround the capital with a ring of military uprisings and force the government to capitulate. The uprisings were quickly suppressed by troops loyal to the government, and their participants were court-martialed, 43 of them were executed. After the failure of the uprisings, the Social Revolutionaries switched to the proven tactics of individual terror. In 1906, the national liberation movement in Finland, the Baltic states, Poland, Ukraine, and Transcaucasia under the leadership of local nationalist parties assumed impressive proportions.

On August 19, 1906, Nicholas II signed the plan developed by Prime Minister P.A. Stolypin decree on the introduction of military courts on Russian territory (abolished in April 1907). This measure made it possible to reduce the number of terrorist acts and “expropriations” in a short time. The year 1907 was not marked by any serious unrest in the countryside or in the army - the activities of military courts and the beginning of agrarian reform had an impact. The coup d'état of June 3, 1907 marked the defeat of the revolution of 1905-1907.

Historical significance of the revolution of 1905-1907. it was huge. It seriously shook the foundations of the Russian autocracy, which was forced to make a number of significant self-restraints. The convening of the legislative State Duma, the creation of a bicameral parliament, the proclamation of civil liberties, the abolition of censorship, the legalization of trade unions, the beginning of agrarian reform - all this indicated that the foundations of a constitutional monarchy were being formed in Russia. The revolution also received great international resonance. It contributed to the rise of the strike struggle of workers in Germany, France, England, and Italy. (see diagram “Revolution of 1905-1907 in Russia. Results”)

“History of Russia from ancient times to 1917.”
The staff of the Department of National History and Culture of Ivanovo State Energy University consisting of: Doctor of Philology. Bobrova S.P. (topics 6,7); Associate Professor of the Department of OIC Bogorodskaya O.E. (topic. 5); Doctor of History Budnik G.A. (topics 2,4,8); Doctor of History Kotlova T.B., Ph.D. Koroleva T.V. (topic 1); Candidate of Historical Sciences Koroleva T.V. (topic 3), Ph.D. Sirotkin A.S. (topics 9,10).

Reasons: 1) main reason the revolution was the preservation of feudal-serfdom remnants that hampered the further development of the country; 2) an unresolved work issue; 3) national question; 4) difficult service conditions for soldiers and sailors; 5) anti-government sentiment of the intelligentsia; 6) defeat in the Russo-Japanese War.

By character revolution 1905–1907 was bourgeois-democratic.

The main tasks of the revolution: 1) overthrow of the autocracy and establishment of a constitutional monarchy;

2) solution of agrarian and national issues;

3) elimination of feudal-serfdom remnants. Basic driving forces revolution: workers, peasants, petty bourgeoisie. An active position during the revolution was occupied by the working class, which used various means in its struggle - demonstrations, strikes, armed uprising.

The course of revolutionary events. Rising stage, January–October 1905 The beginning of the revolution was the events in St. Petersburg: the general strike and Bloody Sunday. On January 9, 1905, workers who went to the Tsar asking for an improvement in their lives were shot. The petition was drawn up by members of the “Meeting of Russian Factory Workers of St. Petersburg” under the leadership of G.A. Ga-pona. Bloody Sunday shook the whole country. Mass riots began in different regions of the country. Gradually, strikes and demonstrations acquired a political character. The main slogan was: “Down with autocracy!” The revolutionary movement also captured the army and navy. In June 1905, there was an uprising of sailors on the battleship Prince Potemkin-Tavrichesky. The peasantry took part in the revolutionary unrest. The rebellious peasants destroyed the landowners' estates, seized warehouses and grain barns.

Climax, highest rise of the revolution, October - December 1905 In the autumn and winter of 1905 the revolutionary movement reached highest point. Moscow became the center of revolutionary actions at this time. A political strike began here, which grew into an all-Russian political strike.

Nicholas II was forced October 17, 1905 sign the Manifesto“On the improvement of public order”, according to which: 1) the State Duma was to be convened; 2) the population of the country was granted democratic freedoms - speech, assembly, press, conscience; 3) universal suffrage was introduced.

In December 1905 A strike began in Moscow, which developed into an armed uprising. Presnya became the center of the uprising. To suppress it, the Semenovsky Guards Regiment was sent to Moscow. This prompted the Moscow Council of the RSDLP to decide to end the uprising, after which the uprising gradually began to decline.

Descending stage, January 1906 – June 1907 The labor movement has begun to decline, and the intelligentsia is also tired of revolutionary instability. Although it was precisely at this time that the peak of the peasant movement, the seizure of landowners' land, and the burning of landowners' estates was observed.

On April 23, 1906, new “Basic Laws” were adopted: 1) the tsar received the right of “emergency legislation” without the approval of the State Duma; 2) the State Council became the upper chamber, approving all decisions of the Duma; 3) the decisions of the Duma did not receive legal force without the consent of the tsar.

Revolution 1905–1907 was unfinished. However: 1) it limited the autocracy to some extent; 2) led to the establishment of legislative representation; 3) proclamation of political freedoms, creation of political parties; 4) during the revolution, peasants achieved the abolition of redemption payments (1906).

28. The beginning of Russian parliamentarism: the first State Dumas

The Manifesto of October 17, 1905 was a major step along the path political reforms. The Council of Ministers was formed as a permanent body. The ministers were responsible for their actions before the king. The State Council remained, but now it is

gained the rights of the upper house of the Duma. Half of its members were appointed by the emperor, half were elected from the nobles. The State Council had the right not to approve bills proposed by the Duma. Documents received the force of laws only after they were approved by the king. Between sessions of the Duma, the tsar could single-handedly issue decrees, which were then submitted for approval by the Duma. Its legislative powers were few. Nevertheless, the empire ceased to be a classic autocratic monarchy. Opportunities for the convocation and work of the Duma were created. Despite all its limitations, this was the first experience of Russian parliamentarism in history.

The First State Duma was elected on the basis of the electoral law on December 11, 1905. 25 million people received the right to vote. Farmers, women, soldiers, sailors, students, and workers employed in small enterprises did not participate in the elections. Age (25 years) and property qualifications were introduced. The elections were multi-stage, and the rights of voters were unequal. The landowner's vote was equal to 3 votes of the bourgeoisie, 15 votes of the peasants and 45 votes of the workers.

On April 27, Nicholas II solemnly opened the State Duma. The main victory The Cadet party won the elections, receiving more than a third of all seats. The Trudoviks, who expressed the interests of the peasantry, won a fourth of the mandates. 15 Social Democrats entered the Duma. Moderate liberal S.M. Muromtsev was elected Chairman of the Duma. General mood Duma members were opposed to the government.

A week after the start of work, the Duma adopted an appeal to Nicholas II. The deputies demanded the introduction of general elections, the creation of a ministry responsible to the Duma, and the abolition of Goremykin; these demands were rejected. The Duma demanded the resignation of the government. The situation has escalated.

The agrarian question caused great controversy in the Duma. Trudoviks proposed to transfer all lands to "national land fund". The fund was to be managed by local governments. This meant the nationalization of land and the abolition of landownership. The Duma adopted a more moderate draft law proposed by the Cadets, according to which peasants could

kup receive landowners' lands. The Duma members were confident that the tsar would make concessions. This did not happen.

On July 9, 1906, the new Minister of Internal Affairs P.A. Stolypin dissolved the State Duma. Some of the deputies went to Vyborg. They adopted the “Vyborg Appeal”, in which they called on the people not to pay taxes and not to send soldiers to the army. Goremykin was forced to resign. Stolypin became the new chairman of the Council of Ministers. The drafters of the appeal were persecuted and lost the opportunity to get into the next Duma.

In November 1906, the election campaign to the Second State Duma began. The Cadets received only about 20% of the seats, the Black Hundreds and Octobrists 10%. The left forces won a big victory:

The Social Democrats won 12.5% ​​of the seats, and the Trudoviks and Socialist Revolutionaries won about 30%. As a result, candidates from government parties formed an insignificant faction in the Duma.

The Second Duma opened on February 20, 1907. The agrarian question again became central. The government's proposals were not supported. Created real opportunity adoption of the Trudovik project. They demanded the abolition of landownership. In the face of a decline in revolutionary events, the government decided to go on the offensive.

On June 1, 1907, Stolypin demanded that deputies from the Social Democratic faction be expelled from the Duma, accusing them of preparing a military conspiracy. The Duma demanded evidence. Without waiting for the results of the investigation, on June 3, 1907, Nicholas II announced the dissolution of the Duma and the introduction of a new electoral law. The change in law was carried out in violation of the October 17 Manifesto and was perceived as a coup d'etat.

The Social Democratic faction was arrested. New elections were scheduled for November 1. There were no unrest or demonstrations on this matter. According to the new electoral law, a majority in the Duma was guaranteed to nobles and entrepreneurs. The representation of peasants and national minorities was declining. Even Stolypin agreed that the new electoral law was shameless.

The first Duma experiments were unsuccessful. Neither the government nor the two Dumas were able to find a reasonable compromise. The coup d'etat of June 3, 1907 meant the end of the first Russian revolution

Reforms of P. A. Stolypin

After the revolutionary events of 1905–1907. the most far-sighted politicians understood that in order to prevent a social explosion it was necessary to reform many aspects of social life, first of all, to resolve the peasant issue. The initiator of the reform was the Chairman of the Council of Ministers (1906-1911) P.A. Stolypin. P.A. Stolypin, the former governor of Saratov and later minister of internal affairs, was appointed prime minister at age 44. He was an authoritarian reformer. Stolypin was convinced that without stabilizing the situation in the country, without “calming” the people, even through cruel measures, the planned transformations were doomed to failure. For his tough policies in liberal and radical circles, he gained fame as a “hangman.”

November 9, 1906 a decree was issued that: 1) granted peasants the right to freely leave communities, securing the ownership of the due part of the communal land; 2) the peasant could receive land in the form of a separate plot (cut), to which he could transfer his estate (farm).

Thus, the decree did not specifically destroy peasant communities, but gave a free hand to peasants who wanted to farm independently. Thus, it was planned to create in the village a layer of strong, homely owners, alien to the revolutionary spirit, and generally increase productivity agriculture. The decree, adopted during the inter-army period, immediately came into force as an “emergency”.

A major role was assigned to the Main Directorate of Land Management and Agriculture(since 1908 - Ministry of Agriculture), which organized the correct demarcation of land on the ground.

It was planned to develop medicine and veterinary medicine, provide social assistance peasants.

To resolve the issue of land shortage, resettlement of peasants from zones with acute land shortages to Siberia, Kazakhstan, and other areas was organized. In addition, the migrants were released for long time from taxes, they gave out a cash allowance of 200 rubles. for one family.

The main results of the revolution were: a change in the form of government in Russia, it became a constitutional (limited) monarchy; weakening the landowners and improving the lives of the peasants; improving workers' living standards; the national outskirts received representation in the Duma; permission for the legal activities of political parties, trade unions, and the press.

One of the main results of the revolution of 1905-1907. Changes have appeared in the mentality of the people. Patriarchal Russia was replaced by revolutionary Russia. The people gained experience in the struggle for freedom and democracy.

Some workers received voting rights. The proletariat was given the opportunity to form trade unions, and workers no longer bore criminal liability for participating in strikes.

The working day in many cases was reduced to 9-10 hours, and in some even to 8 hours. During the revolution, workers achieved a 12-14% increase in wages. A system of collective agreements between workers and entrepreneurs was introduced, and the procedure for organizing work and rest was regulated.

The created State Duma, despite its limited rights, still provided some opportunity for legal democratic propaganda. Tsarism had to come to terms with the existence in the country of such elements of bourgeois democracy as a multi-party system. Russian society achieved recognition of fundamental individual rights (however, not in full and without guarantees of their observance).

Changes also took place in the countryside: the government was forced to begin agrarian reform, redemption payments were abolished, landlord arbitrariness was reduced, and the rental and sale price of land was reduced; peasants were equal to other classes in the right to movement and residence, admission to universities and the civil service. Officials and police did not interfere in the work of peasant gatherings.

However, the main agrarian question was never resolved: the peasants did not receive land.

The revolution of 1905 affected not only Russia, but also stirred up the peoples of the East. Revolutionary events, clashes between the masses and the authorities occurred in Asian countries.

Revolution 1905-1907 did not solve the main problems of political and socio-economic development, but pushed Russia into a period of development in all spheres of society.

The Role of the Revolution

The first Russian revolution, having raised the broadest masses of the people (8) to fight, became a school of political education for workers and peasants. The revolution showed all classes of Russian society in action and allowed the working people to identify their friends and enemies.

Russia got a chance to move from an autocratic form of government to a constitutional monarchy and liberalization of the political regime.

One of the most important results of the revolution was the opportunity to create legal parties based on the manifesto “On Improving Public Order.” The liberal parties Constitutional Democratic (leader P.N. Milyukov) and “Union of October 17” (leader A.I. Guchkov) are created; monarchical (Black Hundred) organizations are formed - “Union of the Russian People” (leader A.I. Dubrovin), Russian Monarchist Party, etc.

Also, one of the most important results of the revolution was the main direction of Stolypin’s activity, the introduction of agrarian reform. And on November 9, 1906, the tsar approved the decree proposed by Stolypin, which began agrarian reform. Its main content was destruction peasant community and giving peasants the right to decide their own future fate. To eliminate the land shortage of peasants, Stolypin proposed to begin a large-scale resettlement of everyone who needed land to the eastern regions of the country, where there were vast uninhabited spaces. To support the settlers, it was planned to provide them with loans through the Peasant Bank and provide assistance in land development. In addition to agrarian reform, Stolypin developed projects for social reform (it was supposed to somewhat soften the situation of the workers), restructuring the education system (it was supposed to provide universal primary education within 15-20 years), adjusting national policy (introducing zemstvo self-government in the western provinces), etc. However, Stolypin was not destined to fulfill his plans. In September 1911, he died in Kyiv at the hands of a terrorist. Many of his undertakings disappeared along with him.

During the revolution of 1905-1907, the foundations were laid for the creation, under the leadership of the proletariat, of a united revolutionary front of the oppressed peoples of Russia. The revolution weakened the liberal bourgeoisie as a political force, depriving it of a significant portion of its reserves and, above all, the peasantry. The revolution confirmed the correctness of the Bolshevik strategic plan developed by V.I. Lenin. It proved that the role of leader of the working class and all working people can only be fulfilled by a revolutionary Marxist party - a party of a new type.

The revolution of 1905-1907 had a huge impact on the development of the international revolutionary movement; the revolution raised the proletarian movement throughout the world to a new, higher level. Under its powerful influence, a powerful wave of strikes and strikes swept through all the countries of Western Europe.

At the beginning of the 20th century. A total of more than 150 political parties were created - all-Russian, regional and national. The basis for their legalization arose with the publication of the Manifesto on October 17, 1905, which proclaimed the freedom to form unions and hold meetings. The growth of liberal parties was facilitated by election campaigns to the State Duma, and radical ones - mass popular uprisings.

The process of formation of the Russian multi-party system had specific features.

Firstly, political parties arose in Russia much later than in the advanced countries of Western Europe and America, where the process of the genesis of party movements and organizations was associated with the struggle of the nascent bourgeoisie against the feudal-absolutist system, which began in the 17th century.

Secondly, the sequence of the emergence of parties was different. In Western Europe, conservative parties emerged first, then liberal ones, and only then socialist ones. The order of their emergence was determined by the evolution of European capitalism: conservative parties expressed the interests of large farmers and traders of the pre-industrial era, liberal parties expressed the interests of the industrial, financial and commercial bourgeoisie associated with the development of industry, proletarian parties appeared in conditions of aggravated contradictions in bourgeois society. In Russia, where large capitalist industry coexisted with the remnants of feudalism, parties with a socialist orientation were the first to emerge, then liberal parties and others appeared. finally, conservative.

Thirdly, the organizers and leaders of the parties were a specifically Russian social stratum - the intelligentsia, which consisted of representatives of different classes. Most parties sought to present themselves as supra-class, national, expressing the general needs of the country's development, which was reflected in their names. Thus, the Cadet Party called itself the “people's freedom party.” Meanwhile, a typical feature of the Russian multi-party system was confrontation, which manifested itself in the relationships of parties among themselves and with the authorities.

The events that took place in Russia in 1905-1907 are usually called the Russian bourgeois-democratic revolution. Relatively speaking, this revolution is the initial stage of preparation for a larger event in the history of the Russian people - the revolution of 1917. The events of these years opened the wounds that had been ripening under the auspices absolute monarchy, outlined the paths for the development of events in history, and outlined the socio-historical conflict that was brewing among the people.

The events of this era are preceded by several unresolved conflicts social structure empires. Let's figure out what was the task of the first Russian revolution. The most important reasons can be identified which were the catalyst for unrest in society:

• Most the country's population did not have political freedoms.
• The abolition of serfdom in 1861 essentially remained on paper. The peasant class never experienced any special privileges.
• Difficult work of workers in factories and factories.
• The war with the Japanese, which weakened the Russian Empire. The war will be discussed separately, since many historians believe that it was it that contributed to the reactionary unrest.
• Oppression of national minorities in a multinational country. Any multinational country sooner or later comes to a civil war to defend its rights and freedoms.

On initial stages the revolution did not pursue the goals of armed confrontation. Its main goal is to limit the power of the king. There was no talk of even overthrowing the monarchy. The people politically and mentally could not exist without a king. Historians unanimously call all the events of this period preparation for larger historical events - the February and October revolutions.

Any war, any unrest necessarily has a clear financial trace at its core. It cannot be said that priest Gapon raised the masses to fight the autocracy without having huge amounts of money, which were poured like oil into the fire to ignite modernization sentiments. And here it is appropriate to say that the Russo-Japanese War was going on. It would seem, what is the connection between these events? However, this is where we should look for that financial catalyst. The enemy is interested in weakening the enemy from within. And what, if not a revolution, can quickly ignite enemy forces, and then just as quickly extinguish them. Need I add that with the end of this war, the revolutionary unrest subsided.

IN national history It is customary to divide the movements of this period into three stages:

• Beginning (01.1905 – 09.1905);
• Takeoff (10.1905 – 12.1905);
• The fading of unrest (10.1906 – 06.1907).

Let us consider the events of these periods in more detail. This is important for understanding the course of the revolutionary movement.

Start

In January 1905, several people were fired at the Putilov plant in St. Petersburg. This caused indignation among the workers. On January 3, under the leadership of the previously mentioned priest Gapon, a strike begins. It is she who will represent the prototype of the country's first revolution. The strike lasted only a week. The result of the confrontation was a petition to the monarch, which included several main points:

In essence, these are absolutely normal requirements for adequate democratic society. But there is no need to talk about this in a country with an autocratic monarchy. There is no call for the overthrow of the tsar, there is still no that same slogan “down with the tsar”, there are no instructions to take up arms. All requirements are as loyal as possible. However, the tsarist authorities accepted this petition as an encroachment on their person and the foundations of autocratic power.

January 9, 1905 is called Bloody Sunday. On this day, people gather a crowd of 140 thousand and begin to move towards Winter Palace. By order of the tsar, the crowd was shot, and this was the first wrong step of the monarch, for which years later he would pay with his life and the life of all royal family. Bloody Sunday 1905 can briefly be called the detonator of all subsequent revolutionary movements in Russia.

On January 19, 1905, Nicholas II speaks to the rebels, where he says in plain text that he forgives those who went against the tsar. However, if the situation with discontent repeats, the tsarist army, as on January 9, will use force and weapons to suppress the uprising.

Between February and March 1905, worker and peasant riots and strikes began in many counties. Until the end of September, various uprisings break out throughout the empire and beyond. So, on May 12, in Ivanovo-Voznesensk, a strike and strikes began at a textile factory under the management of the Bolshevik M. Frunze. The workers demand a reduction in the working day from 14 hours to 8, a decent level of wages (they pay no more than 14 rubles), and the abolition of fines. The strike lasted 72 days. As a result, on June 3, demonstration executions took place. Famine and rampant disease (especially tuberculosis) forced workers back to the machines.

It should be mentioned that all these strikes gave the first result - in July, by order of the authorities, all workers' wages were increased. On August 31 – July 1, a congress of the peasant union took place.

Then the tsarist government commits a second offense: at the end of July - beginning of August, mass repression, arrests and exile to Siberia. At this point, the first stage of the 1905 revolution can be considered completed. A beginning had been made, and then the revolution began to gain strength and power.

Takeoff

The events of this period are often called the all-Russian strike. Historians associate this name with the fact that on September 19, in the central newspapers of Moscow, editors published information about the need for a number of changes in the political and economic structure of the country. These articles received active support from Moscow workers and railway workers. Major riots begin throughout the empire.

Strikes take place almost simultaneously all over the country. 55-60 involved major cities. The first political parties - councils of people's workers' deputies - begin to form. Calls for the overthrow of the king are heard everywhere. The tsarist government begins to gradually lose control over the ongoing mass unrest. On October 17, 1905, Nicholas II was forced to sign the manifesto “On the Improvement of State Order.” There are several in this document important points:

• Democratic freedoms are proclaimed. All people have personal integrity and receive data by law civil rights.
• All classes of society are admitted to the State Duma.
• All laws of the country can be adopted only through their approval in the State Duma.

From these provisions of the manifesto it becomes clear that autocracy as a form of power no longer has an absolute. From this moment until 1917, the form of government in Russia can be called a constitutional monarchy.

According to the convictions of the tsarist authorities, the manifesto was supposed to give the revolutionaries what they demanded, and the revolution was supposed to eradicate itself, because for this the demands of the will of the people were fulfilled. But the miracle did not happen.

The fact is that the manifesto was perceived by the existing political parties as an attempt by the tsar to suppress the uprisings. The people's leaders do not believe in the power of the manifesto and in the guarantor of its implementation. Instead of dying down, the revolution begins to gain new strength.

The October 17 Manifesto is a very important document in the history of Russia. It was with him that the formation of parliamentarism began in Russia and the first political parties were created. Anti-government camp from the general gray mass begins to split into three powerful currents, which in the foreseeable future will enter the fray of the Civil War, where brother will go with a gun against brother.

There is a liberal bourgeoisie, which consists of bourgeois intelligentsia and zemstvo liberals. The Mensheviks stand out - a social democratic layer that claims that revolution is useless.

In their opinion, the revolution must be stopped, since the country is not yet ready to accept socialism. And, finally, the Bolshevik Social Democrats, who advocate the socialization of society and the overthrow of the tsarist government.

These are the main three currents of antagonists of the tsarist regime. And if the first two camps are passive in relation to the tsar and even come to his defense, then the camp of the Bolshevik socialists advocates radical reforms, where there is no place for monarchy and especially autocracy.

On December 7, 1905, at the call of the Moscow Council of Workers' Deputies, a strike of workers in Moscow and St. Petersburg began. On December 10, the authorities try to suppress the uprising with weapons. The fighting goes on for a week. Barricades are formed, workers seize entire city blocks. On December 15, the Semenovsky regiment arrives in Moscow and begins mass shelling of the protesters. As a result, on December 19, the unrest was crushed tsarist army.

During the same period, strikes took place in major cities and regions throughout the country. As a result, many cities now have squares and streets with the names of the events of 1905-1907.

Fading unrest

The amount of unrest is decreasing and gradually disappearing. On February 2, 1906, the Tsar signed a decree on the formation of the State Duma. The Duma is created for a period of 5 years, but Nikolai still has the right to dissolve it ahead of schedule and form a new one, which, in fact, is what he did.

On April 23, 1906, based on the results of revolutionary changes and the signed manifesto, a new set of laws was published. In November of the same year, the tsar issued a decree allocating land plots to peasants.

What did the first Russian revolution lead to?

Despite mass unrest, many executions, exiles, the country’s way of life has not changed radically. For this reason, the events of 1905-1907 are called preparation or rehearsal for the 1917 revolution.

Autocracy, previously unrestrained by anything, has now turned into a semblance of a constitutional monarchy - the State Council and the State Duma appear. The poorest segments of the population receive certain rights and freedoms guaranteed by law. Thanks to the strikes, the working day was reduced to 8-9 hours, and the salary level was slightly increased. And finally, since 1861, the peasants received the land into their own hands. In fact, it was the first Russian revolution reforms political system countries.

Despite the positive changes, there is a point that the level of social security after these events decreased, corruption flourished, and the monarch continued to sit on the throne. It is a little illogical that after massive bloodshed and casualties, the way of life remained the same. It seems that what they fought for was what they ran into. Be that as it may, this stage in Russian history was the start of the 1917 revolution. Changed collective consciousness, the strength of the people was felt. This revolution was simply necessary so that 10 years later history would develop.