Opposition to Tsardom: Revolutionaries and Reformers in Russia (1894-1924)

The Opponents of Tsardom: Russia 1894-1924

Key Terms

• Revolutionaries: Individuals who believed that Russia's progress was contingent upon the destruction of the tsarist system.

• Reformers: Strong critics of the tsarist system, but who held the conviction that it could be improved through external pressure and internal reform.

• Populists (Narodniks): Derived from the Russian word for 'the people'.

• Social Democrats: The All-Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party.

• The People: A concept fostered by the Social Revolutionaries, referring to the segment of the population believed to truly embody the character and will of the Russian nation.

• Revolutionary Socialism: The doctrine holding that fundamental change could only be brought about through the violent overthrow of the tsarist system.

• Class Struggle: An enduring conflict observed at every historical stage between those possessing economic and political power and those who do not (the 'haves' versus the 'have-nots').

• Dialectic: The intense struggle between opposing forces that occurs in both nature and human society, a core concept in Marx's analysis.

• Proletariat: The exploited industrial working class, predicted to achieve victory in the ultimate class struggle.

• Bourgeoisie: The capitalist class, owners of capital and the employing class, believed to exploit workers but destined for overthrow by them in a revolution.

• Economism: A policy that prioritizes the improvement of workers' conditions over the imperative for revolution.

• Bolsheviks: Derived from bolshinstvo, the Russian word for majority.

• Mensheviks: Derived from menshinstvo, the Russian word for minority.

Forms of Opposition to Tsardom

During Nicholas II's reign, two primary groups emerged in opposition to the tsarist system:

• Revolutionaries: Advocated for the complete destruction of the tsarist system.

• Reformers (Liberals): Sought to improve the system through external pressure and internal changes.

Revolutionary Groups

The revolutionaries comprised three major factions:

1. Populists (Narodniks)

2. Social Revolutionaries (SRs)

3. Social Democrats (SDs)

The Populists (Narodniks)

• Core Belief: The future of Russia rested with the peasants, who constituted the overwhelming majority of the population. They believed peasants must spearhead the transformation of Russia, commencing with the overthrow of the tsarist system.

• Origins: Populism emerged in the 1870s.

• Leadership: Paradoxically, Populist leaders were drawn from the middle and upper classes, not the peasantry. They considered it their duty to enlighten the uninformed peasantry about their revolutionary role.

• 'Going to the People' Policy: Educated Populists from universities would live with peasants in rural areas to attempt to radicalize them.

• Effectiveness: This policy was largely unsuccessful, as peasants often regarded the students as impractical thinkers detached from real life.

• Shift to Terrorism: In desperation, some Populists resorted to terrorism.

  • 'The People's Will': Formed in 1879 with the explicit aim of assassinating members of the ruling class. This group, numbering no more than 400 members, achieved notoriety in 1881.

  • Assassination of Alexander II: Alexander II was killed by a bomb orchestrated by 'The People's Will'.

  • Consequences of the Assassination: This act inadvertently weakened the Populist movement, discrediting the idea of reform and justifying increased state repression.

• Significance: The importance of Populism lay more in its methods than its ideas.

  • Unrealistic Concept: Its vision of a peasant-based revolution was unrealistic, as the Russian peasantry largely lacked interest in political revolution.

  • Lasting Impact: Populism's enduring legacy was its role in establishing a violent anti-tsarist tradition, influencing or inspiring subsequent Russian revolutionaries after 1870.

The Social Revolutionaries (SRs)

• Evolution: The Social Revolutionary Party emerged directly from the Populist movement.

• 1890s Economic Spurt: The economic growth of the 1890s heightened interest in political and social issues, providing an opportunity for the SRs to recruit from the rapidly expanding urban workforce.

• Widening 'The People': The SRs aimed to expand the concept of 'The People' to include not just peasants but all societal members with reasons to desire the end of tsardom.

• Key Figure: Victor Chernov played a crucial role in forming the Social Revolutionary Party in 1901 and became its leader.

  • A member of the intelligentsia, Chernov sought to provide a more robust theoretical foundation for Populism, as its previous ideas were passionate but vague.

• Internal Divisions: Like other revolutionary groups, the SRs were weakened by internal disagreements.

  • Leon Trotsky's Description: Trotsky characterized the SRs as comprising two competing factions: 'Left Social Revolutionaries' and 'Right Social Revolutionaries', reflecting a division between anarchists and revolutionaries.

  • Left SRs: Favored continuing the policy of terrorism inherited from 'The People's Will'.

  • Right SRs: Represented a more moderate element, who, although committed to revolution as a long-term goal, were open to cooperating with other parties to achieve immediate improvements for workers and peasants.

• Dominance of Terrorism (1901-1905): During this period, the terrorist faction prevailed, responsible for over 2000 political assassinations, including the Interior Minister Plehve and the tsar's uncle, Grand Duke Sergei.

  • These actions, while spectacular, did not significantly foster a connection with urban workers.

• Impact of the 1905 Revolution: This revolution, the first serious open challenge to tsardom under Nicholas II, primarily benefited liberals. Consequently, the more moderate Right SRs gained greater influence within the party.

• Growing Support (1906 onwards): The SRs saw increased backing from professional classes, trade unions, and the All-Russian Union of Peasants (established in 1905).

• First Congress (1906): The SR Party formally committed to revolutionary socialism and specifically pledged to the peasants that it would abolish the 'bourgeois principle of private ownership by returning the land to those who worked it'.

• Land Policy: This commitment largely accounted for the SRs' enduring popularity among the peasants.

• Post-Congress Disruption: The congress decisions led to disunity.

  • The left wing argued the program neglected industrial workers.

  • The right wing contended that the policy was unworkable in contemporary Russia.

• Chernov's Efforts: Chernov attempted to maintain party unity, but from 1906 onwards, the SRs functioned more as a collection of radical groups than a cohesive party.

• Lasting Influence: Despite internal fragmentation, the SRs remained the party with the largest popular following in Russia until they were outlawed by the Bolsheviks after the 1917 Revolution.

The Social Democrats (SDs)

• Formation: The Social Democrats were established in 1898.

• Guiding Ideology: Their aim was to achieve revolution in Russia by adhering to the ideas of Karl Marx (1818-83), the German revolutionary.

• Marxist Theory:

  • Scientific Principles of Society: Marx posited that human society operates under scientific principles, similar to those governing the physical universe (chemistry and physics).

  • Social Laws: Human behavior is determined by scientifically studiable social laws.

  • Class Struggle (The Dialectic): Marx asserted that the crucial determinant of human behavior throughout history was class struggle, a process he termed the dialectic.

  • Final Stage of History: He believed the contemporary industrial era represented the ultimate stage of this dialectical class struggle.

  • Revolutionary Culmination: History was anticipated to culminate in the revolutionary triumph of the proletariat over the bourgeoisie.

  • 'Dictatorship of the Proletariat': This victory would usher in the 'dictatorship of the proletariat,' considered the penultimate historical stage.

    • Purpose: The workers, having overthrown the bourgeoisie, would seize power and systematically eliminate all remaining reactionaries.

    • Nature: This phase would be violent and bloody.

    • Outcome: Once these final class enemies were eradicated, all conflict would cease, leading to the emergence of a perfect, harmonious society.

• Attraction for Russian Revolutionaries:

  • Marx's ideas had been known in Russia, but the 'great spurt' of the 1890s gave them particular relevance.

  • This industrial growth promised to create the necessary conditions for a successful revolution in Russia.

  • Revolutionary hopes, previously unfocused, could now be directed towards the industrial working class.

• George Plekhanov (1856-1918):

  • Often hailed as 'the father of Russian Marxism'.

  • Translated Marx's writings into Russian and championed the idea of proletarian revolution.

  • Founded the SD Party in 1898.

  • Criticism: Many party members grew impatient with Plekhanov's leadership, finding his approach too theoretical. They desired a more active revolutionary program.

Lenin's Impact on the SDs

• Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin): Emerged as the leading advocate for a more active revolutionary approach.

• Return from Exile (1900): Upon returning from exile to western Russia, Lenin immediately set about transforming the SDs into his vision of a truly revolutionary party.

• Iskra ('The Spark'): Co-founded with Julius Martov, this newspaper served as Lenin's primary platform for articulating his views to party members.

• Critique of Plekhanov: Lenin criticized Plekhanov for prioritizing reform over actual revolution.

• Lenin's Perspective on Revolution:

  • Committed Marxist: By age 20, Lenin was a committed Marxist, dedicating his life to revolution.

  • Imprisonment and Exile: His dedication led to arrest, imprisonment, and internal exile in Siberia when the SD Party was formed in 1898.

  • Reshaping Marxist Theory: Lenin's most significant revolutionary achievement was adapting Marxist theory to suit Russian specific conditions.

  • The Bolshevik Party as Instrument: He identified the Bolshevik Party as the vehicle for historical change.

  • Party's Role: The party's function was to direct the revolution from above, not necessarily to gain widespread popular support. Lenin famously stated, "No revolution ever waits for formal majorities."

  • Rejection of 'Economism': Lenin argued that under Plekhanov, the SDs were pursuing 'economism'—a policy of improving workers' conditions rather than transforming them into a revolutionary force to overthrow capitalism. Lenin, conversely, desired the worsening of living and working conditions to intensify workers' bitterness and propel the Russian proletariat towards revolution.

• What Is To Be Done? (1902): In this pamphlet, Lenin launched his most forceful critique of Plekhanov.

  • He lambasted Plekhanov for seeking alliances with a broad spectrum of anti-tsarist elements, which Lenin believed would be unproductive.

  • Lenin insisted that revolution in Russia could only be achieved if it was meticulously organized and led by a party of dedicated, professional revolutionaries.

  • Revolution as Applied Science: For Lenin, revolution was not a random event but a matter of applied science. He viewed Karl Marx's teachings as providing the definitive understanding of revolutionary processes.

  • Role of SD Party Members: He believed it was the duty of select, informed members of the SD Party, who understood 'scientific Marxism,' to provide leadership.

  • Workers' Direction: Workers, lacking sufficient knowledge, could not be left to themselves; they required direction. The historic role of informed SD Party members was to provide this guidance, rescuing the Russian working class and converting it to 'true socialism'.

The Bolshevik-Menshevik Split

• Second Congress of the SD Party (1903): The fundamental dispute between Lenin and Plekhanov reached its peak.

• Lenin's Provocation: Though Plekhanov tried to avoid confrontation, Lenin deliberately engineered a debate over party membership criteria.

  • Lenin's Objective: To compel members to choose between Plekhanov's vision of a broad, inclusive party open to all revolutionaries and Lenin's concept of a small, tightly-knit, and exclusive party.

• The Congress: Sessions were held in various locations, including Brussels and London, and were marked by intense, often procedural, arguments that devolved into 'slanging matches'. London police reportedly found the SDs amusing, describing them as 'funny foreign gentlemen' all speaking and shouting simultaneously.

• Deep Divide: A significant rift emerged between Lenin and Julius Martov, an Iskra co-editor who shared Plekhanov's views on membership. Their conflict had both political and personal dimensions.

  • Martov's Concern: Martov believed Lenin's tactics were driven by a fierce ambition to become the party's dictator.

  • Alexander Potresov's Support: Alexander Potresov, another Iskra co-editor, supported Martov's assessment. He described Lenin as exceptionally cunning and willing to do anything to ensure his views prevailed. Potresov noted Lenin's sharp polarization of the world into those 'with him' and those 'against him', and his inability to foster personal or social relationships outside these categories. Even when a common front against the tsarist government was deemed desirable, Lenin accepted it reluctantly and only theoretically, finding cooperation with others antithetical to his nature.

• Naming the Factions: During a series of votes, the SD congress was evenly divided. However, after one specific set of divisions went his way, Lenin claimed his supporters constituted the majority.

  • Bolsheviks: Lenin's group and his supporters were named Bolsheviks, derived from bolshinstvo (Russian for majority).

  • Mensheviks: Martov's group became known as Mensheviks, from menshinstvo (Russian for minority).

• Evolving Differences: Initially, the split largely concerned a point of procedure. However, post-1903, the differences solidified into distinct and opposing ideological stances.

• Formation of Distinct Parties (1912): By 1912, the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks had become two separate, conflicting Marxist parties.

• Lenin's Further Actions: Lenin deepened the divide by resigning from the Iskra editorial board and launching his own journal, Vyperod (Forward), specifically for Bolshevik critiques of the Mensheviks.

• Bolshevik Daily Paper: Pravda (The Truth), a Bolshevik daily newspaper, began publication in 1912.

Lenin and the Bolsheviks Before 1917

• Historical Caution: The subsequent success of Bolshevism in the October Revolution can lead to an overestimation of Lenin's importance in the period before 1917.

• Trotsky's Later View: While Leon Trotsky, who joined Lenin in 1917 after initially being a Menshevik, later argued that the Bolsheviks had systematically prepared for revolution since 1903, this perspective is subject to historical context.

• Lenin's Absence: In reality, Lenin was largely absent from Russia between 1904 and 1917, living in various countries including Finland, France, Switzerland, and Austria.

The key difference in operations between the Social Revolutionaries (SRs) and Social Democrats (SDs) before 1905 was their target audience and methods. The SRs focused on the peasants and used political terrorism, while the SDs focused on the urban proletariat (industrial workers) and favored propaganda and organization. 

Social Revolutionaries (SRs)

The SRs, ideologically rooted in the 19th-century Narodnik movement, believed that Russia could bypass capitalism and move directly to socialism based on the peasant commune (mir). They saw the vast peasantry, who made up over 80% of the population, as the primary force for revolution. Their operations were twofold: 

• Political Terrorism: The SRs' "Combat Organisation" carried out assassinations of government officials and ministers, including the assassination of Interior Minister Plehve in 1904. This was a key tactic to destabilize the Tsarist regime and inspire revolutionary spirit. 

• Agitation: They also worked to spread revolutionary ideas among the peasantry, advocating for the socialization of land (transferring it to peasant communes rather than the state), which was a popular demand among rural populations. 

Social Democrats (SDs)

The SDs, adhering strictly to Marxist theory, believed that a socialist revolution could only occur after Russia had undergone a period of industrial capitalism and developed a large, class-conscious proletariat. They viewed the peasants as a conservative and backward force. Their operations pre-1905 were therefore focused on: 

Clandestine Organization: The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP), founded in 1898, operated primarily underground due to Tsarist repression. They focused on building a tightly organized, disciplined party. 

Propaganda and Agitation: Their main operational method was to spread Marxist ideas through illegal newspapers (like Iskra), pamphlets, and leaflets aimed at educating and mobilizing the industrial workers in cities. They also played a key role in organizing strikes and protests. 

Rejection of Terrorism: The SDs generally condemned political terrorism, believing it to be counterproductive and a distraction from the fundamental task of building a mass working-class movement.

In 1903, the SDs famously split into two factions at their Second Congress: the Bolsheviks, who advocated for a small, vanguard party of professional revolutionaries, and the Mensheviks, who favoured a broader, more democratic party. This split highlighted their internal debate on the how of revolution but did not alter their fundamental commitment to the urban proletariat and a Marxist, stage-based approach to history. 

People in political vs oppressing a large majority of population

It was inevitable until the tsarist regime would be overthrown but the opposition was here as way to ‘accelerate’ it like a catalyst.

Those who have Economic and political power and those who didn’t