The Monarchist (Black Hundred) Movement in Russia in 1905–1917

Abstract

The emergence of right-wing parties in Russia came as a reaction of conservative-minded segments of the population to the development of the revolutionary movement. These parties stood up for the autocracy and had played a significant role in the events of 1905–1907. The monarchist movement united the representatives of all social classes and became the most mass political movement in Russia during the inter-revolutionary period. The blackhundredist ideology was very critical about the projects of both socialist and liberalbourgeois reconstruction of Russia. Relying on traditional political and moral (primarily Christian) values, it came up with its own version of the non-capitalist development of the country. At the same time, a prominent place in ideological constructions of the right-wing movement was given to the antisemitism, which seriously affected the political image of monarchists. After the victory over the revolution in 1905–1907, the political activity of the right-wing movement had significantly decreased, which was greatly facilitated by the government, whose interest did not include the existence of an unconventional political force seeking to restore the “pre-manifest” (absolutist) regime. The discord and squabbles in the monarchist camp, caused by the clash of personal ambitions of right-wing figures, the passive behaviour of the party masses, who saw no point in continuing the political activity after the revolutionary ‘turmoil’ had come to its end, as well as financial difficulties, had also played their role. The surge in the right-wing activity caused by the outbreak of the First World War did not change this trend in general. In February 1917, the small-numbered and scattered right-wing organizations, that had already been experiencing decline, failed to oppose the revolutionary storm and disappeared from the stage of history without a fight.