ALMANACH VIA EVRASIA, 2014, 3

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1 1 ALMANACH VIA EVRASIA, 2014, 3 Biser Nushev PhD Student in Russian History, Faculty of History, Sofia University VARIANTS OF THE RUSSIAN NATIONALISM UNION OF RUSSIAN PEOPLE AND ALL-RUSSIA NATIONAL UNION Russian nationalism of the early XX century was a socio-political movement which main objective was defending the interests of the Russian people in the Russian Empire. Its nascence was determined by a complex of factors, among which could be outlined the unsuccessful Russo-Japanese War of 1905 and the First Russian Revolution of the same year as a result of which major reforms in the state structure were carried out in the country. Their expression was the establishment of the institution of the State Duma as the legislative popular representation, the reorganization of the State Council and its transformation into a peculiar Upper Chamber of the Parliament, and the authorization of organized political life to reflect the diversity of the social reality of the country in this period. With the publication of the Manifesto of October 17th 1905 and the editing of the Basic Law of 1906, the mentioned above changes finally became a fact which caused a strong reaction in the conservative circles of the Russian society, expressed in the establishment of nationalist organizations, which laid the foundations of the Russian nationalist sector in the empire.

2 2 The chronological framework of the history of the Russian nationalism was clearly defined and covered the period from 1905, when the first political organizations had been formed - such as the Russian Monarchist Party, the Union of Russian Nation and the Union of Russian People, to the February-March 1917, when as a result of the Revolution, the Russian nationalist parties were banned, most of their leaders were arrested, and thus the movement as a whole was destroyed. For the duration of its existence the movement was expressed in a range of formations, all of which, except for the All-Russia National Union (ARNU), covered the extreme part of the political space, the largest of which was the Union of Russian People (URP). This expose presents the Union of Russian People as the most emblematic representative of the Russian nationalists in their extreme variant and All-Russia National Union, which was consolidated later and by the end of its existence held moderate nationalist politics. The Union of Russian People emerged in October 1905 immediately after the publication of the Manifesto of October 17, which confirmed the intention of the state government for the creation of popular representation as a legislative body 1. The organization was established in St. Petersburg and was the next formation, whose members did not accept the revolutionary reality and the changes it caused. At an earlier stage, in Moscow the Russian monarchist party of Vladimir Gringmut and the Union of Russian People, led by Prince A.G.Shterbatov were registered that chronologically put the beginning of the political representation of Russian right-wing parties. To the ancestors of the URP referred also the Russian Assembly, which originated in 1900 as an elitist, not belonging to an estate organization, bringing together representatives of the metropolitan aristocracy with interests in the Russian cultural heritage, history and ethnography. In connection with the Revolution, after 1905 the Assembly was transformed,,,being kind of political 1 Полное собрание подробных программ существующих русских политических партии. Вильна, 1906, с. 135

3 3 club that,,promotes in a considerable extent conceptual and in a certain respect organizational consolidation of monarchists, especially in the years of the Revolution and immediately after it 2. In practice, the right wing at the end of 1905 was a group of independent units, one of which was the Union of Russian People. For the period 1905 to 1907 it managed to expand and became the only central, All-Russian organization 3, which gives reason to consider that the programming principles and political practices were representative of the extreme right part of the Russian nationalist movement. The ideology of the URP was a symbiosis in which different principles of the conservative monarchic heritage, nationalist rhetoric, distinct anti-semitism and purely liberal such as the postulate for the preservation of the sanctity of private property, found place. The official theory of the authority expressed in the triad "Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationality" became the basis on which the majority of the programme of the organization was built, but of which, for the purposes of the unification, a revision was done corresponding to the current for 1905 conditions. The Statute of URP from 1906 was the document that completely presented what Union and its fundamental ideological views were. The purpose of the URP was to put "the development of Russian national identity and permanent union of the Russian people from all backgrounds and status of common work for the benefit of our fatherland united and indivisible Russia 4. Articles 2, 3 and 4 concerned Orthodoxy and Autocracy, where it was said that "the good of the motherland is the categorical storage of Orthodoxy, Russian unlimited autocracy and nationality" 5 and Orthodox Church "must be provided with supreme and dominant position in 2 Правые партии. Документы и материалы. Том гг. Ред. Ю.И.Кирьянов. М.,1998, с Правые партии. Документы и материалы. Том гг. с. 9 4 Союз русского народа по материалам Чрезвычайной следственной комисси Временного правительства 1917г. А. Черновский (сост.). Москва-Ленинград, 1929, с Союз русского народа с.411

4 4 the country." 6 Autocracy was concerned as "the unity of the tsar with the nation" and "the Union firmly establishes that the change of the current regime should be made not through implementing in life of restrictive principles in the form of any constitutional or constituent assemblies at all." 7 Article 5 of the document was devoted to the Russian nationality, to which the domination in the public life and nation building belongs." 8 In addition, to the notes of the Article it was explained that distinction was not made between the velikorossyi, belorussyi, malorossyi * and that "the Russian language is the dominant language in the Russian Empire for all peoples living in it." 9 Concerning the anti-semitism, in the note to the Article 15 it was said that "Jews can never be accepted as members of the Union, even in case of their conversion to Christianity." 10 Strong influence on the ideology of the URP had "The Guide of the Black- Hundredist-Monarchist" ** issued in 1905 by Vladimir Gringmut the head of the Russian Monarchist Party and the editor of the newspaper "Moskovskiye Vedomosti" 11. In it, as an answer of the question who was obliged to fight internal enemies of Russia along with Emperor's army and government, a third force was referred composed of "all black-hundredists-monarchists, i.e. the whole Orthodox 6 Союз русского народа с Союз русского народа с Союз русского народа с. 412 * Velikorossyi, belorussyi, malorossyi (In Russian: великороссы, белоруссы и малороссы; In English: Great Russians, Little Russians and White Russians) The three historical, regional branches of the Russian nation based on an imperial nation-building dogma, considered as an official conception in the period of the Russian empire. 9 Союз русского народа с Союз русского народа с.414 ** The Black Hundreds (sometimes The Black Hundred), also known as the black-hundredists (Чёрная сотня, черносотенцы in Russian, or Chornaya sotnya, chernosotentsy) was an ultra-nationalist movement in Russia in the early 20th century. 11 Грингмут В. Обьединяйтесь люди русские! М., 2008, с. 344

5 5 Russian people who remained loyal to the oath to unlimited autocratic Tsar 12. Among the internal enemies, along with democrats, constitutionalists, socialists and revolutionaries, Jews were also referred 13. The text of the Moscowian monarchist was the first form of a summary of the main points of the extreme nationalist doctrine, such as the unlimited autocratic power of the emperor, the fight against the Revolution and the designation of the Jewish population as a serious enemy that were perceived by the URP and until the end of its existence remained practically unchanged. "The Programme of the Russian Assembly toward the electors for the Russian State Duma" 14 is the third source, which was fundamental for the ideology of the extreme nationalists in general, especially for the URP. It stated that "royal autocracy was not repealed by the Manifesto of October 17, 1905 and it continues to exist in Russia under new conditions, and the State Duma is not called upon and in any case cannot change any fundamental laws" 15. Orthodox Church must "preserve dominance in Russia" 16 and the Jewish question should be solved specially because the "Jewish violent hostility to Christianity and non-jewish nations continues as well as the desire of Jews to world domination." 17 The document ended with the wish in the future parliament Russian people to "form a huge national majority" and the slogan "Russia for the Russians" 18 which in practice described in the shortest possible way the ideology of the URP and all akin to it political organizations. 12 Грингмут В. Обьединяйтесь люди русские!...с Грингмут В. Обьединяйтесь люди русские!...с Полный сборник платформ всех русских политических партий. Санкт Петербург, 1906, с Полный сборник платформ с Полный сборник платформ Полный сборник платформ Полный сборник платформ 130

6 6 A detailed presentation of the cited document aims to show the essence of the doctrine not only of the URP, but the whole extreme-right nationalist spectrum and at the same time addressing the question what is actually the URP. Ideologically and politically, the Union was an extreme nationalist organization that had as a principal objective the patronage to the interests of the Russian nation in the multinational empire, as it was obvious from the statute of the party, which certainly gave it a place in the group of Russian nationalists of the period. Protection of unlimited autocratic power of the Russian emperor and fierce opposition to the legislative functions of the State Duma were other key features of the formation, which were formed as a result of the changes after the First Russian Revolution. The members of the party came together to promote their monarchical principle of government in the form that existed in 1905, which directly opposed them to the liberal and socialist parties, working for radical change of the state system. Strengthening of national movements among the non-russian peoples of the empire and their involvement in the riots was the third strong motive, which had a noticeable influence on the formation of political doctrine and practice of the URP. In summary, the answer of the posed question is that the Union was an extreme right conservative organization because they did not accept any liberal changes in the structure of Russia, refused to allow transformation of the powers of the monarch, relied on the traditional approach to solving the crisis in which the state was at that time, which was expressed in overcoming them through the power and administrative measures and definitely did not consider anything to satisfy the demands of the opponents from the liberal and socialist side of the political spectrum. At the same time, the organization professed extreme Russian nationalism, as it "becomes the only party that directly and unambiguously states the protection of Russia's national interests, thus occupying empty political

7 7 niche." 19 The extreme element derived both from the programme principles of the URP and of his close formations, according to which "an opportunity is not allowed for the provision of national self-determination of the national outlying districts in any form." 20 The ideology of the URP fully determined the political behavior that it practiced after the changed realities of the imperial social system following Even though not approving the new State Duma, the formation participated in all elections, receiving representation in the Second, Third and Fourth Duma, but in none of the cases reaching a majority. The work of the extreme right-wing in the parliament was directly related to the overall development of the system of popular representation, which changed after June 3, 1907, when, through amendments to the electoral law, the government of Pyotr Stolypin required mechanisms to ensure the formation of conservative composition of the assembly, which, on one hand, severely limited the election of revolutionary deputies, and on the other, gave possibility for the submission, consideration and adoption of the bills. Thus, the system actually began to work the way it had been planned. From this point of view, the period of the so-called "Duma monarchy" 21, an indicative of the behavior of the extreme nationalists was their activity in the third and fourth composition of the assembly. The guiding principle in the political practice of the URP was its attitude to the Council of Ministers. According to this principle, the government was appointed by the Emperor, which was an expression of his will, which in turn imposed consent with it. For the extreme right to criticize the executive power was a criticism against the monarch, which in doctrinal terms was unacceptable and would mean associating with enemies of the ruler, such as the liberals and 19 Степанов С.А. Черная сотня. Что они сделали для величия России? М., 2013, с Степанов С.А. Черная сотня.с Омельянчук И.В. Правые и П.А. Стоыпин. В: Российская история. 2. М., 2012, с. 69

8 8 socialists. The result was the emergence of support for the Council of Ministers in the State Duma and extremely rare opposition to the policy of the cabinet. However, not always there were strict adherences to this line. Exception was the relations between the URN and Stolypin, which during the period of governing of the latter transformed from approval to conflict. The period was characterized for the extreme right by the division experienced by the URP in which the government played a big role, and in particular the Prime Minister. According to I.V. Omelyanchuk "at that time (1907 B.N.) the authority completely stopped needing the help of the monarchical parties for "regaining order in the country. In the new conditions, the government no longer needed the departments of the URP with their crusades and fighting bands, but political parties, able to fight with the opposition in the Duma 22. This was the reason why the executive power actively encouraged the separation of the biggest extremeright party through the detachment initially of Vladimir Purishkevich and his followers to the Russian People's Union "Archangel Michael" (RPU), and subsequently Alexander Dubrovin`s overthrowing as Chairman of the URP, who in 1911 established his own party under the name "All-Russia Dubrovinski Union of the Russian people." The idea of the Police Department was "this union, in contrast to the URP, was planned as a party not of "street", but above all of parliamentary action." 23 In practice, after 1911 The Union of Russian People continued to exist as such, but strongly altered at organizational level. Until March 1917, the URP did not alter its fundamental political line never to be in opposition to the government, which did not preclude criticizing the latter about some issues. Such behavior was typical for the entire period and was generally followed by all extreme nationalist 22 Омельянчук И.В. Правые и П.А. Стоыпин с Правые партии. Документы и материалы. Том гг. с. 9

9 9 organizations, even after the large-scale transformation of the space, for which, as we have seen, namely the important role belonged namely to the executive power. All-Russia National Union (ARNU) was a representative of the Russian nationalists of the early XX century and appeared, in contrast to the Union of the Russian People, to be the only moderate nationalist party of that time. Decisive role in shaping the ideological framework of the ARNU had the historical moment of its formation, namely the period when the First Russian Revolution was finally overcome and the state structure of the empire, in its transformed variant as a whole began to function comparatively well. From this, the big difference between the All-Russian Union and other Russian nationalist formations was resultant. At programme level, this party also accepted the triad "Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationality," but the big change was its rearrange in "Russian nationality, autocratic power and Orthodoxy," i.e. the nationalist principle was underlined which, along with its presence in the name of the organization, gave a reason to a number of researchers to called ARNU "the party of the nationalists." 24 Confirmation of this observation can be found in the Statute of All-Russian National Union from 1911, where the main objective was "the unity and inseparability of the Russian Empire and the preservation in all its parts the dominance of the Russian people " 25. Concerning the autocratic power of the Russian monarch, it was considered "being in union with the legislative popular representation" 26, which is the principal difference between this party and all the 24 Правые партии, с. 11; Санькова С.М. Русская партия в России: образование и деятельность Всероссийского национального союза ( ). Орел, 2006, с. 9; Коцюбинский Д.А. Русский национализм в начале ХХ столетия: Рождение и гибель идеологии Всероссийского национального союза. М., 2001, с Устав Всероссийского национального союза. СПб., 1906, с.1 26 Устав Всероссийского национального союза с.1

10 10 rest of the Russian nationalist spectrum and which is the reason why it can be determined as a moderate nationalistic and moderate right. Key role in the development of the ideology of the ARNU was occupied by the publicist Michael Osipovich Menshikov from whose works the nature of the organization should be judged. In the article "All-Russia National Union" from February 21, 1908, the author qualified the URP and the akin to it as "domestic national unions", and the future party was seen as a "Russian National Party" to profess his moderate views 27. In another article from June 5 the same year, named "National Union", it was said that "the recognition of the established by the Basic Law title of Supreme power and its attitude to the popular representation, distinguishes our union equally by the revolutionary and reactionary parties." 28 The text makes it clear that "reactionary" were the other nationalist parties and that the place of the National Union was in the middle between the two extremes of left and right. This view of his was shared by the researcher D.A. Kotsyubinskiy who thought that nationalists had to be placed between the reactionaries and the radical reformers thus putting into practice the idea of progressive socio-political reformation, which to be done by the joint effort of the autocratic government and society in the face of the representative institutions 29. According to another researcher of All-Russia National Union P.B.Stukalov, the emergence of the organization was determined by the Pyotr Stolypin`s moderate reformist doctrine, a separate component of which was nationalism. For the practical realization of this programme a support by new socio-political organization was necessary. "It is in 27 Меньшиков М.О. Письма к русской нации. М., 2005, с Меньшиков М.О. Письма к русской нации с Коцюбинский Д.А. Русский национализм в начале ХХ столетия с.492

11 11 capacity of this the political party of the Russian nationalists - All-Russia National Union, is obliged to operate." 30 From what has been said above concerning the nature of All-Russian National Union it ought to be said that it should be seen as a moderate representative of the Russian nationalist movement that occupied the space between its akin on the base of extreme nationalist line categorized as "reactionary" and such as reformatory ones in the face of liberals and socialists. In practice there was a merger of a strongly underlined Russian nationalism, which took a central place in the ideological plan, but at the same time no less eager wish for distance from the other nationalists who qualified themselves more as extreme conservatives and monarchists and transformed the vision of autocratic power of the emperor, united with the popular representation, which was another way to emphasize the reforming principle of the party, and which generally reflected the Pyotr Stolypin`s vision of the state system of Russia after the changes of Extreme nationalists "carefully (and with zeal) referred to the emergence of this new party, seeing how the interest of the government is concentrating on the nationalists." 31 During the All-Russian Congress of the Right in October- November 1909 the attitude to the new formation was taken under consideration, as it was noted that on one hand it took "position principal and costly to the right parties" what was "the domination of the Russian people in the Russian Empire", but the readiness of the National Union for the protection of "the inviolability dominance of the Orthodox Church and the unlimitedness of the autocracy" 32 was not clearly attested. It appears from this statement that for the extreme right, right 30 Стукалов П.Б. Политические и правовые учения в России во второй половине ХIХ-начале ХХ века: Всероссийский национальный союз и его идеологи. Воронеж, 2011, с Правые партии с Правые партии с.12

12 12 could be an organization that fully shared their basic values such as the unlimited autocratic power of the monarch, which in turn for the ideologues of the ARNU, such as M.O.Menshikov, was the main and the most significant difference that gave the right for independent existence of the new formation, and that was actually his innovation in the political thought of the period. A special place of ARNU was devoted by Lev Tikhomirov, editor of the newspaper Moskovskiye Vedomosti, who being although not an active member of the extreme nationalists, was known for his conservative views, many of which coincided with their ideology. In his article "What is the lack of the National Union" from 1910, as weaknesses of the programme of the party were admitted such as the lack of attitude to the religious element, the dominance of Russian nation to be not only as population but as representation in the state institutions, and the merging of the legislative national representation with the autocratic power, which "will always remain unlimited." In conclusion, Lev Tikhomirov said, "All-Russian National Union, if wants to live, it should carefully review these susceptibilities of its programme and deny them. Its whole future depends on this. It is obliged to acquire either real national content or it should expect accusations that its "nationalism" is just a ruse to disguise "October" (name of party Union "17 th October" - B.N.) intentions" 33. A special place in the presentation of ARNU should be given to the Prime Minister Pyotr Stolypin and his role in it. The period of institutionalization of the party coincided with the development of an advanced variant of the "Duma monarchy", which originated from the Third Duma, formed under the new electoral law of June 3, The essence of the internal policy of the Government was to establish a set of laws that in an evolutionary way to reform the empire, 33 Тихомиров Л.А. Чего недостигает Национальному Союзу? В: К реформе обновленной России (Статьи за 1909, 1910, 1911 гг.). М., 1912, с

13 13 central place among which occupied the Law on Agrarian Reform. The executive power relied this to be done through their examination and adoption by the parliament, thus the latter would justify its existence, and the system, based on the change from 1905 would work, which did not happen with the first two variants of the government. In order to implement the presented in a very summarized form concept of the government, it would need a majority of nationalistic and conservative elected representatives to vote the regulations. From the search of this majority two independent but interrelated processes derived, namely: 1) the division of the extreme right URP and the emergence of Vladimir Purishkevich`s RPU, and replacing Alexander Dubrovin who did not support the transformations of the rural areas, with Nikolay Markov who together with V.Purishkevich stood behind the reforms of the Cabinet; 2) the removal of the moderate right MPs, who together with the Party of the Legal Order laid the foundations of the Faction of the Nationalists and Moderate Right (FFNMR). ARNU, which originated from this fraction, formed pro-government majority in the parliament in coalition with the Union "17 th October" to enact the laws that regulated the reforms. The personal involvement of Stolypin in the marked processes was mentioned in the Alexander Ivanovich Guchkov`s memories the chairman of the "Octobrists", where he shared that "Then in Stolypin and me a thought to find this majority in the split of the right sector appeared 34. According to A.N.Shvarts, who was Minister of Education in the government, Stolypin had been always thinking about ARNU as his own creation 35. The researcher P.B.Stukalov shared the opinion that "the Union by nature is the first attempt in the history of the Russian state a pro-governmental ruling party to be created" 36 and the personal involvement of the Prime Minister, 34 Александр Иванович Гучков рассказывает Воспоминания Председателя Государственной Думы и военного министра Временного правительства. М., 1993, с Шварц А.Н. Моя переписка со Столыпиным. Мои воспоминания о Государе. М., 1994, с Стукалов П.Б. Политические и правовые учения в России с.167

14 14 according to S.Sankova was "important, but not decisive 37. At present moment, there is no unanimous position on up to what extent Pyotr Stolypin was personally responsible for the establishment of the nationalists` party, but it is proven that it was deeply connected with the changes of June 3, 1907 and the whole concept of the government's internal policy. The definition that describes both the nationalists` party and the government s policy in that period is moderation. Moderation in Russian national rhetoric, moderation in conservative politics, moderation in liberal reforms. This was probably the meaning of the Prime Minister`s words, describing what should be his internal policy, i.e. "a light brake, constantly going forward," 38 and this in short is the essence of All-Russian National Union, whose ideology, according to D.A.Kotsyubinskiy, was most precisely characterized "as a variant of the conservative-liberal nationalism." 39 The consequent presentation of the Union of Russian People and All- Russian National Union catches their specificity in their capacity of variants of Russian nationalism. When brought in comparison, among them there are many similarities as well as significant differences. Both political parties strongly resemble at the level of programme and ideology, while there are also their most serious differences there. The defending of the triad "Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationality" unites them, especially as regards to the nationality, which unambiguously means Russian. The protection of the Russian Emperor`s autocracy is also a common goal, but ARNU not only was not keen on its unlimitedness, but just the opposite - presented it in unity with the legislative popular representation, which was the essential difference with the URP and other extreme right forces. From this discrepancy derived the definition in the historiography of the National 37 Санькова С.М. Русская партия в России с Коцюбинский Д.А. Русский национализм в начале ХХ столетия с.495

15 15 Union as a moderate and its self-determination as such, attested in the work of its ideologist M.O.Menshikov. Both parties unambiguously underlined the anti- Semitism and the indication of the Jewish population in Russia as the main culprit for the events after January 9, 1905, when the First Russian Revolution began. At this point, there was absolutely no shades, and any attempt to change the restrictive law in this area, including by Pyotr Stolypin, caused their temporary unification. Another aspect of the national question as the so called "Ukrainian question", was also equally interpreted in the direction of denying the existence of other independent, different form the Russian, Ukrainian nation. The contrasts, if not more, certainly were as much as the similarities. They are determined mainly by the time and circumstances in which the parties were institutionalized. The Union of Russian People was consolidated in October 1905 in the height of the Revolution and for the period until 1907 succeeded to unite around itself most of the opponents of the radical way for change of the country, which was done with great demonstrations, often developing into bloody clashes. In this peculiar "troubled times" the party, thanks to the direct support of the authority, succeeded to be a serious opponent of the revolutionary forces in the face of the socialists and the anarchists of the street arena, which allowed it directly to trace the strength of the mass movement. However, the non-recognition of parliamentary variant of political struggle and the denial of using it, which made the executive power to search support from nationalists, but those with moderate views that could win in the parliament in the changed conditions after June 3, All-Russia National Union was the product of that search. It was established in conjunction with the Stolypin`s policies and thus filled up the content that the government had assigned to it. The analysis of the sources and historiographical literature about ARNU, gives reason to consider that on doctrinal level the organization did not offer anything new in theoretical terms, but actually

16 16 alternating the contradiction "unlimited autocracy - State Duma" as reconciling and combining both parts, became a practical realization of the extreme nationalists that kept the nationalism, but accepted the new state system of "Duma monarchy," which in turn was a fundamental difference between the two wings of the Russian nationalist movement. "What is nationalism?" 40 - asked Lev Tikhomirov from the pages of Moskovskiye Vedomosti in 1910 and gave his reply that "in reality the concept and principle in the highest degree are clear and come down to that we are ourselves. The nation, the people and the individual have their own special character, their metaphorically expressed, personality 41. The Union of the Russian People and All-Russia National Union until 1917 were the two most essential expressions of the Russian nationalism in that period. They developed their own, unique in some respects, models for solving the problems the empire was facing from the position of the Russian nationality, which ultimately proved to be unable to work. The evolutionary model of reforms implemented after 1905 gave a way to a new revolutionary reality among the first victims of which was the Russian nationalist movement, in all its forms. ALMANACH VIA EVRASIA, 2014, 3 THE EURASIAN GEOPOLITICAL VECTOR IN THE POST-COLD WAR GLOBALIZATION 40 Тихомиров Л.А. Что такое национализм? В: К реформе обновленной России (Статьи за 1909, 1910, 1911 гг.). Москва, 1912, с Тихомиров Л.А. Что такое национализм?...с. 48

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