Revolutionary+Groups+in+Tsarist+Russia

The intellectual debate between the Slavophiles and the Westernisers continued but was now influenced by the ideas of socialism. These groups questioned whether Russia should follow the path to Western industrialisation or build a uniquely Russian form of socialism based upon the village communes or mirs. There was general agreement among the intellectual leaders of Russian society on the need to end the system of autocratic government and to limit the powers of the Tsar. There was, however, no agreement on how this should be done. The philosophies which dominated the revolutionary groups from the 1860s onwards were:
 * Populism
 * Nihilism and Anarchism
 * Marxism

**THE POPULISTS**

The Populists or Nardoniks (men of the people) were mainly young, noble or wealthy middle-class intellectuals. They were moved by the poverty of the ordinary people, especially the peasants. They were influenced by the ideas of Alexander Herxen who was disgusted by the living and working conditions of the urban working class created by industrialisation in Europe. For him the only answer was socialism. Herzen believed that a uniquely Russian form of socialism could emerge based upon the village commune or Mir. Landowners would lose their land which would be re-distributed among the peasantry. The tsarist government would be overthrown and replaced with a democratic republic. The Populists believed that the peasants only needed leadership to rise up against the landowners and the government. In 1874 over two thousand university students made a massive effort to cause this uprising. In a movement called "To the People" they left the cities and went to live in the countryside with the peasants. Their slogan was 'Land and Liberty'. They made little impact on the peasants who did not understand the Populists or sympathise with their aims. The peasants had always been loyal to the Tsar. They blamed the landowners and the bureaucrats for their miserable conditions. The Tsar was known as the 'little father' and the peasants believed that he was deeply concerned for their welfare. Thus, the peasants were suspicious of the educated youths who talked about revolution. In some cases they turned the Populists over to the police. The secret police viewed the movement as a revolution and arrested many of the leaders. In 1877 there were two mass trials of these young revolutionaries many of who were exiled to Siberia.

**The Demise of the Populists **  The failure of the "To the People" movement to achieve a peasant revolution split the populists into two groups: > Both groups were active at the same time as the Populists but were more radical in their ideas. The Nihilists rejected all forms of authority in the name of freedom. Nihilism was a movement of ideas rather than a political organisation and it helped to undermine tsarist authority. Its attitude of defiance appealed to the young who suffered under the restrictions of tsarist repression. The Nihilists published many papers critical of the tsarist regime and contributed to Alexander's return to censorship as a way to end their attacks.
 * 1) The People's Will - a terrorist organisation which resorted to acts of violence to get rid of the government. They assassinated many government officials, some government ministers and eventually Alexander II himself but they failed to bring about a revolution. This group went on to be the basis of the powerful Socialist Revolutionary Party which was formed in 1900.
 * 2) The Black Reparation - those populists who did not believe in violence. This group led by George Plekhanov aimed at land distribution but later turned to Marxism and Plekhanov went on to be a founding member of the Socialist Democratic Party in 1898. The Nihilists and the Anarchists

Some **Nihilists** progressed from ideas to violent action. Nihilists planned many assassination attempts and thousands were exiled to Siberia.

**Anarchists** took Nihilists ideas a step further. They believed in the destruction of centralised government and that society be organised only at local level. To this end they favoured terrorism and displayed a passion for destruction. A small group of anarchists was active in Russia in the 1870s led by Michael Bakunin and Prince Peter Kropotkin. They were associated with the destruction of property and the assassination of many government officials. Anarchism never had wide appeal among the intelligentsia and by the late nineteenth century had dissolved into other socialist groups.

**The Government's Response **  In the 1870s the revolutionary groups, despite their activities, had achieved remarkably little success. There is little to suggest that they would have gained significant support but this is just what did happen. Not because of their activities but because of the actions of the tsarist regime. As mentioned earlier the young revolutionaries involved in the 'To the People' movement were put on public trial in 1877. This proved to be a disaster for the government. The trials gave the revolutionaries exactly what they had lacked to this point - nation wide publicity. The trials lasted for months and the accused revolutionaries took the opportunity to make long impassioned speeches bitterly critical of the government which were well reported in the press. The idealism, integrity of the young students made a great impression on the public, the judges and the juries. Of 193 put on trial 153 were set free and the others were given light sentences. Worse was to follow. The sentences were announced on January 24th 1878 and the following day a young revolutionary, Vera Zasulich shot and wounded the Governor of St Petersburg, General Trepov. Trepov had ordered the flogging of an imprisoned student who had refused to salute him. Zasulich was the daughter of an army officer and a member of the Populists. At her trial she said that she had acted out of a deep sense of moral outrage. She made a great impression of the public and the jury and despite the evidence was acquitted. <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;"> The verdict was a great shock to the government but the reaction of the people to the verdict came as a bigger shock. The verdict was greeted by tumultuous applause from the spectators. Large crowds waiting outside the court prevented the police from re arresting her and she was able to slip away to exile in Switzerland. The government realised that people who did not actively support the revolutionaries were at least more sympathetic to them than they were to the government. After 1878 the authorities announced that all cases of 'resistance to the authorities' would be held in special courts. There would be no more open trials for revolutionaries.

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">The Assassination of Alexander II and its effect on the Revolutionary Movement ** <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;"> There were eighteen attempts on Alexander II's life before his actual assassination in 1881. Despite opposition from non-violent Populists the "Peoples' Wlll continued their terrorist activities throughout the 1870s. In March 1881 they bombed the Tsar's carriage as he was returning home from a military parade. He was critically injured in the attack and died from his injuries some hours later. The assassination failed to topple the tsarist regime. Instead it had exactly the opposite effect. Most Russians were deeply shocked and outraged by the killing of their Tsar and the revolutionary movement was totally discredited as a result.

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">The Revolutionary movement after the assassination of Alexander II ** <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">There were three major reasons for discontent in Russian at the end of the 19thC:
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">The poverty of the peasants and workers
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">Autocracy and the lack of opportunity to participate in government
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">The policy of Russification which was fiercely resented by minority groups in Russia.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">By the end of the nineteenth century the revolutionary movement in Russia entered a new phase. The movements of the nineteenth dissolved into three main groups:
 * 1) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">The Liberals who wanted to share power with the Tsar in a constitutional monarchy
 * 2) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">The Social Revolutionaries who wanted a form of peasant socialism
 * 3) <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">The Marxist who believed in a revolution based upon the ideas of Karl Marx.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">**MARXISM IN RUSSIA**

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">George Plekhanov, a former Populist, was the first exponent of Marxism in Russia. In 1883 he formed the Russian Marxist party and its first members were a small group of exiles living in Switzerland, including Vera Zasulich. These revolutionaries abandoned the Slavophil philosophies to follow the ideas of the Westerners.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;"> Plekhanov criticised the notion that capitalism would not develop in Russia. He pointed out that capitalism already existed and that the numbers of urban workers were growing rapidly. He had no faith in the peasantry as a revolutionary force after the failures of the 1870s and argued that the urban proletariat was the only force that could transform Russia.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;"> He rejected individual acts of terror as a means to achieve change. He believed that the workers, led by Marxist intellectuals, would eventually overthrow the Tsar and put and end to capitalism. A society based on the equal distribution of wealth and goods.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;"> Marxist ideas spread slowly in Russia and existed only in small scattered groups. In 1898 these groups formed themselves into the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (or Social Democrats). This achieved a brief unity of Socialist opinion, though the party was to split, into two factions, in 1903.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 150%; text-align: center;">**REVOLUTIONARY IDEAS**

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;"> The ideas of political and social change in Europe in the nineteenth century were very closely linked with the concepts of liberalism, socialism and Marxism. These ideas influenced the Russian revolutionaries.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;"> What is **Liberalism**? <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;"> Liberalism emphasised basic rights of the individual citizen that the state could not take away. These included the following: <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">Liberals also believed in private ownership and a free economy with no government regulations. These ideas were held by the middle-classes. The economic theory of Liberalism is the basis of Capitalism.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">Guaranteed rights to freedom of speech, the freedom to own property and freedom of religion
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">The right to participate in government through an elected parliament. (However, the right to vote and stand for parliament would be limited to men who owned property and had enough money).
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">Legal rights to defend themselves against government oppression
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">A constitution (set of rules) to guarantee these rights.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;"> What is **Socialism**? <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;"> Socialism - is an economic system where there would exist no privately owned property and the State should own and control: <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">As you can see this is the opposite of Liberalism. Many socialists believed that changed would be achieved through elected parliaments.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">All forms of wealth production that is, all land, mines, factories, and businesses
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">All transport, communications, power and welfare.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;"> What is **Marxism**? <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;"> Marxism is based upon the ideas of a German, socialist, philosopher, Karl Marx. He believed that:
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">Socialism could only be achieved by class conflict, or revolution, between the industrial working class and their employers.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 140%;">The employers would exploit workers and when conditions became intolerable angry workers would overthrow their employers and create a socialist society where the means of production would be owned by the state and wealth would be shared equally among all members of society.

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