Black-Hundred parties of the beginning of the XX century: program, leaders, representatives

The members of the Russian patriotic organizations of 1905-17 were called the Black Hundreds, who adhered to the positions of monarchism, anti-Semitism and great-power chauvinism. These organizations used terror to rebels. The Black Hundred parties in Russia in the early 20th century participated in the dispersal of rallies, demonstrations, and assemblies. The organizations supported the government, carried out Jewish pogroms.

At first glance it is rather difficult to understand this movement. The Black-Hundred parties included representatives of organizations that did not always act together. However, if you stop at the most important, you can see that the Black Hundreds had common ideas and directions of development. Let's briefly present the main Black-Hundred parties of Russia and their leaders.

Main organizations and leaders

The "Russian Assembly", created in 1900, can be considered the first monarchist organization in our country. We will not take into account its predecessor, the "Russian squad" (this underground organization did not last long). However, the main force of the Black Hundred movement was the "Union of the Russian People", which arose in 1905.

He was headed by Dubrovin. Purishkevich in 1908 diverged in his views with him and left the NRC. He created his own organization, the "Union of Michael Archangel". In the NRC in 1912 there was a second split. Confrontation this time arose between Markov and Dubrovin. Dubrovin left the Union now. He formed the ultra-right Dubrovinsky "Union of the Russian people." To the fore, in this way, three leaders of monarchists emerged: Markov (SRN), Purishkevich (SMA) and Dubrovin (VRADN).

The main Black-Hundred parties are listed above. You can also note the "Russian monarchical union." However, representatives of this party were orthodox clergy and noblemen, therefore this association was small and did not represent significant interest. In addition, after a while the party split. Part of the organization went to Purishkevich.

The origin of the word "Black Hundreds"

The word "Black Hundreds" comes from the Old Russian word "black hundred", meaning the landed population of the population, divided into military-administrative units (hundreds). Representatives of the movement of interest to us were members of Russian monarchical, Christian and anti-Semitic organizations. "Black Hundred" - a term that has become widely used to denote ultra-right anti-Semites and politicians. Representatives of this movement put forward, in opposition to democratic principles, the principle of one-man, absolute power. They believed that Russia has 3 enemies to be combated. It is a dissident, an intellectual and a foreigner.

Black Hundreds and Sobriety

Partially the Black-Hundred parties were formed from the popular movement to combat drunkenness. These organizations have never denied teetotalism. It was believed that consumption of beer in moderate quantities is an alternative to poisoning with vodka. Some of the cells of the Black Hundreds were even formed in the form of sobriety, reading for the people, tea and even beer.

The Black Hundreds and the Peasantry

The Black Hundreds are a party whose program of action has not been properly developed, except for calling on Jews, intellectuals, liberals and revolutionaries. Therefore, the peasantry, which practically did not come into contact with these categories, remained almost unaffected by these organizations.

Pogroms of the intelligentsia and Jews

The Black-Hundred parties made the main bet on fomenting ethnic and national enmity. This resulted in pogroms that swept across Russia. It must be said that the pogroms began even before the Black Hundred movement was deployed. The intelligentsia did not always avoid the blow, which was aimed at "the enemies of Russia." Its representatives could easily be beaten and even killed on the streets, often on a par with Jews. Even the fact that a significant part of the Black Hundred movement's organizers consisted of conservative intellectuals did not save us.

Not all pogroms, contrary to popular opinion, were prepared precisely by the Black-Hundred parties. In 1905-07 these organizations were still quite small. However, the Black Hundreds were very active in areas where the population was mixed (in Byelorussia, Ukraine, and in 15 provinces, the so-called "features of Jewish settlement"). In these regions there were more than half of all representatives of the Union of the Russian People, as well as other similar organizations. The wave of pogroms began to decline as the activities of the Black Hundreds developed. Many prominent figures of these parties pointed to this.

Financing organizations, publishing newspapers

An important source of funding for the Black Hundreds alliances was government subsidies. The funds were allocated from the funds of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to control the policy of these associations. The Black-Hundred parties, however, also collected donations from private individuals.

At various times these organizations published the newspapers "Pochaevsky leaf", "Russian banner", "Groza", "Bell", "Veche". The Black-Hundred parties of the early twentieth century promoted their ideas in such large newspapers as "Kievlyanin", "Moscow Gazette", "Svet", "Citizen".

Congress in Moscow

The organizations held a congress in Moscow in October 1906. It elected the Main Administration and united all the Black Hundreds, creating the "United Russian People". However, their merger did not actually happen. A year later the organization ceased to exist.

It must be said that the constructive ideas of the Black Hundreds (both the topics discussed by the press and the programs of the organizations) assumed the creation of a conservative society. On the issue of the need for parliamentarism and representative institutions in general there were considerable disputes. The Black Hundreds are a party whose program was outlined only in general terms. Therefore, as well as for a number of other reasons, these organizations were not viable.

Black-Hundred Parties: program

The theory of "official nationality" was the basis of the program of these organizations. She was nominated by SS. Uvarov, Minister of Education, as early as the first half of the 19th century. This theory was based on the formula "Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality." Autocracy and Orthodoxy were represented by primordially Russian beginnings. The last element of the formula, "nationality", was understood as the commitment of the people to the first two. Black-Hundred parties and organizations adhered to unlimited autocracy in matters of the internal organization of the country. Even the State Duma, which appeared during the revolution of 1905-07, they considered an advisory body under the tsar. Conducting reforms in the country, they perceived as a hopeless and impossible undertaking. At the same time, the programs of these organizations (for example, the NRC) proclaimed freedom of the press, of speech, of religion, of unions, of meetings, of the inviolability of the person, and so on.

As for the agrarian program, it was uncompromising. The Black Hundreds did not want to make concessions. They were not satisfied with the option of partial confiscation of the land of the landlords. They offered to sell to the peasants state-owned vacant land, as well as to develop credit and rent systems.

Killing the Cadets

The Black-Hundred parties of the early twentieth century during the revolution (1905-07) supported in the majority the policy pursued by the government. They killed two members of the Central Committee of the Cadet Party - G.B. Iollos and M.Ya. Herzenstein. Both of them were their political opponents: they were liberals, Jews and former deputies of the State Duma. The special anger of the Black Hundreds was aroused by Professor Herzenstein, who spoke on the agrarian question. He was killed on July 18, 1906 in Terioki. Participants in the "Union of the Russian People" were convicted in this case. These are A. Polovnev, N. Yuskevich-Kraskovsky, E. Larichkin and S. Aleksandrov. The first three were sentenced for complicity and given for 6 years, and Alexandrov received six months for not reporting the impending crime. Alexander Kazantsev, the executor of this murder, was himself killed by that time, so he did not appear in court.

The Black Hundreds are losing influence

The Black Hundreds are a party which, after the revolution, failed to become a single political force, despite some successes. Its representatives could not find a sufficient number of allies in a multi-layered, multi-ethnic Russian society. But members of this movement were opposed by radical left parties and liberal centrist circles, which were influential at that time. Even some of the potential allies in the face of supporters of imperial nationalism also rebelled against them.

Frightened by the episodic violence and radical rhetoric of the Black Hundreds, the powers that were in power, in ethnic nationalism, saw almost the main threat to the state. They were able to convince Nicholas II, who sympathized with the "allies", as well as the court circles in the need to turn away from this movement. This further weakened the Black Hundreds in the political arena on the eve of the events of 1917. The First World War also contributed to the weakening of this movement. Many activists and rank-and-file members of the Black-Hundred organizations have volunteered for it. The movement of interest to us in the 1917 revolution did not play a significant role. The Black Hundreds are a party whose remnants were ruthlessly destroyed after the victory of the Bolsheviks, who saw nationalism as a threat to the Soviet system.

The prohibition of organizations and the fate of their members

Black-Hundred organizations after the February revolution were banned. They were only partially preserved in the clandestine position. Many prominent leaders joined the White movement during the Civil War. Once in exile, they criticized the activities of Russian emigrants. Some prominent representatives of this movement joined the time to nationalist organizations.