NUOSAIKIOSIOS DEŠINIOSIOS RUSŲ VISUOMENINĖS IR POLITINĖS ORGANIZACIJOS VILNIUJE (1905–1915) / MODERATE RIGHT-WING RUSSIAN PUBLIC AND POLITICAL ORGANISATIONS IN VILNIUS (1905–1915)

Abstract

ANNOTATION. The Manifesto issued by Emperor Nicholas II on 17 October 1905 fundamentally changed the system of government in the Russian Empire. The principal outcome of the Manifesto was the introduction of the elected parliament – the State Duma – as well as legalization of political parties and public political activities in general. Alongside this, the emancipation of the hitherto outlawed national and religious movements was observed. Therefore the imperial authoritiesdiscontinued the protection of Russians, Russianness, and the Orthodox faith pursued until 1905. The said changes were best felt in the territories of the Empire where Russians were an ethnic minority. The north-western governorates found themselves in the vortex of national and religious struggle, therefore the Russian community of Vilnius was forced to rally its members, establish its own political and public organizations, protect and make efforts to regain former privileges as well as take part in the newly formed political life of the Empire. Among the strongest Russian political powers in the period from 1905 to 1915 were moderate rightists, primarily associated with Vilnius divisions of such parties as the “Union of October 17” and “All Russia National Union”. However, due to profound ideological and personal conflicts both within this group and within the Vilnius Russian Community itself, the moderate right-wing failed to keep its momentum as a stable political and social force and withered away before the start of WWI. KEYWORDS: right-wing parties, Vilnius Russian Community, nationalism, Duma elections, Vilnius Belarussian Community, the Orthodox, political organizations