The 1870s populists’ idea of Russian origins of why they were in opposition

Abstract

The analysis of the 1870s populists' idea of historical circumstances that influenced the development of the revolutionary movement, the formation of the worldview of that time's radicals is suggested in the paper. The novelty of the study lies in the reconstruction and interpretation of the populists' views on the politics of the government, on social relations under Alexander II of Russia. The socio-political circumstances of the "Great Reforms" era served as the historical context of the revolutionary movement. It is important to analyse the populists' ideas about the reasons for radicalising the mood of some young people in the Reform era of Alexander II of Russia. The problem of origins of why the populists were in opposition is under-studied. The study is carried out in the context of axiological and humanitarian approaches, which oblige to study the personality culture of the past, those people's system of values and ideas. The populists' texts – their memories and writings – formed the source base of the study. Written for the purpose of wide popularisation of revolutionary ideas, they contain reliable information about the 1870s revolutionaries' worldview, they reveal the features of their subculture, historical memory. Populist ideas about the reforms of Alexander II of Russia, about the repression of the authorities after the tsar assassination attempt committed by Dmitry Karakozov, about the social contradictions of that time, about the circle of reading of the revolutionaries as factors that influenced the formation of their beliefs, are revealed in the article. The analysis of those perceptions allows reproducing the features of the populist version of the Russian origins of why they were in opposition.