In tsarist Russia, the party of constitutional democrats, or, in short, the Cadets, was liberal. Other political organizations with a similar program were also represented in the State Duma of the early 20th century. For example, such was the "Union of October 17".
The emergence of liberal parties
In 1905, after the defeat of Russia in the war against Japan, the first domestic revolution took place. Nicholas II was unable to suppress it by force, he had to yield to his opponents. On October 17, 1905, he presented a manifesto, according to which the State Duma was established in the Russian Empire.
The political forces opposed to the then monarchical system finally got the opportunity to operate in the legal field. It was in 1905 that real democratic organizations appeared.
Cadets
Among the emerging liberal parties was the party of constitutional democrats (also called the People's Freedom Party). The decision to establish this organization was made in July 1905 at the next congress of zemstvo leaders. Thus, the party includedpeople who previously worked in provincial municipalities. They, like no other, were close to the lives of ordinary people living in the cities of the Russian Empire.
The Constituent Congress was held in Moscow in October 1905. In the Mother See at that time there were mass strikes, strikes of transport workers and even military clashes. It was under these difficult conditions that the Cadets began their activities. Pavel Milyukov, a well-known publicist and historian, was chosen as the leader of the party.
Constitutional Democrat Electorate
Since the party of the Cadets was liberal, its electorate consisted of the intelligentsia and the zemstvo nobility, distinguished by pro-Western progressive views. The organization itself included representatives of the urban bourgeoisie, teachers, doctors and some landowners. If the Socialist-Revolutionary political party were liberal, it would become an ally of the constitutional democrats. But the social revolutionaries differed in their leftist views. It was to them that the workers joined. This was connected with the low popularity of the Cadets in the proletarian environment.
In addition, Milyukov's party, from the very beginning of its existence, has taken a course towards achieving its goals with the help of parliamentary methods and compromises with the authorities. If part of the workers in 1905 supported this organization, then over time it went to the socialists or the Bolsheviks.
The Cadets Party was liberal, so it supported the February Revolution. It was in 1917 that she experienced her heyday. The number of people who joinedorganization has multiplied. Milyukov was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government of Russia.
Cadet Program
The program of the Constitutional Democrats included the classic points for the liberal parties. They advocated the equality of all citizens of Russia, regardless of religion, nationality and gender. Milyukov and his supporters considered it necessary to have freedom of speech, conscience, the press, unions and assembly in the country. Most of these requirements were met after the 1905 revolution. At the same time, precisely because of their position, Milyukov's supporters protested against the state reaction that came during the premiership of Pyotr Stolypin.
In fact, the Cadet Party is a liberal democratic party. The ideology of this organization, in particular, included the concept of universal suffrage. In addition, constitutional democrats advocated the freedom of national definition of different ethnic groups of the empire. This was a very critical point in the program, because the Polish question was still not resolved. Any liberal-democratic party is almost primarily a demand for an independent court. There were many professional lawyers and lawyers among the Cadets. Thanks to this, all the proposed bills of the party were detailed and thoughtful.
The socialist features of the program of the constitutional democrats were manifested in the paragraph on the introduction of an 8-hour working day. Almost all organizations represented in the State Duma were in solidarity with thisrequirement. Therefore, the new labor legislation was indeed adopted during the tsarist government.
End Party
On the night of the October Revolution, the Cadets, who were ministers in the Provisional Government, were arrested. Subsequently, all other prominent figures of the party were also imprisoned, except for those who managed to escape from the country. Some of those arrested were in the forefront of those executed during the Civil War.
But back in November 1917, the Cadets managed to take part in the elections to the Constituent Assembly. They received many votes, as they were the only serious anti-Bolshevik force. The Constitutional Democrats were supported even by former opponents (except for left-wing radicals). However, on December 12, 1917, the Council of People's Commissars recognized the Cadets as a "party of enemies of the peoples." The organization was banned. The leader of the Kadets, Milyukov, managed to escape from Russia. He died in France in 1943.
October Party
Another important organization among the other moderate parties on the right is the Liberal Democratic Party of the Octobrists. It was supported by we althy entrepreneurs and large landowners. The name of the party was a reference to October 17, 1905, the date of the signing of the Manifesto, which granted many freedoms after the first national revolution.
The head of the organization was Alexander Guchkov. In 1910-1911. he was even chairman of the III State Duma. Leader in the Provisional GovernmentOctobrists received the portfolio of military and naval ministers. During the revolution of 1905-1906. The party consisted of 75 thousand people. On October 17, the Union had its own newspaper, Voice of Moscow.
Government Allies
In the first two convocations of the State Duma there were few Octobrists (16 and 43 respectively). The breakthrough for the party came after changes were made to the electoral law on June 3, 1907. The reform reduced the number of socialists in parliament. They were replaced by many Octobrists, whose number reached 154. The great popularity of the party is due to the fact that it occupied moderate positions and became an object of public compromise.
The Octobrists were even closer to the old system than the Cadets. Pyotr Stolypin relied on Guchkov's deputies when the government tried to push through the State Duma drafts of unpopular but necessary reforms. The first two convocations of the State Duma were forcibly dissolved precisely because those parliamentarians were mostly socialists and interfered with the adoption of laws.
If the RSDLP political party was liberal, it would also be widely represented. But the Bolsheviks from the very beginning were not only socialists, but also used revolutionary methods of fighting the authorities. The Octobrists, on the other hand, wanted to achieve change in a peaceful way, by seeking agreements with the state.
The split of the Octobrists
In 1913, among the supporters of Guchkova split occurred. Since the political party of the Octobrists was liberal, it was extremely important for its members to respect civil liberties in Russia. But after the first national revolution, the state took reactionary measures against its notorious opponents. A group emerged among the Octobrists and issued an opposition resolution. In the document, the signatories accused the government of violating the rights of Russian citizens.
As a result, the party split into three factions in the State Duma. A left wing appeared, led by Guchkov, and right-wing Zemstvo-Octobrists, led by Mikhail Rodzianko. A small group of independent deputies also broke away. The party crisis began. In 1915, the newspaper "Voice of Moscow" was closed. The Central Committee ceased to convene. Thus, the Octobrists disappeared from the political field of the country even before the revolutions and the Bolshevik coup. The left wing of the party joined the Progressive Bloc. Some former Octobrist leaders were prominent political figures in Russia until the summer of 1917.
