Introduction. This paper analyzes the views of prominent Cadet figures regarding various forms of state structure in relation to the imperial political reality of the early 20th century. The main focus of the article is on comparing their views regarding the principle of unity and indivisibility of the Russian Empire, the process of decentralization, the essence of autonomy and federation. Theoretical Basis. Methods. The theoretical basis of the article is the program documents of the constitutional democratic party and the works of domestic pre-revolutionary lawyers devoted to the study of the territorial structure of imperial Russia. In preparing the work, both general scientific research methods (analysis, synthesis, deduction) and specific scientific methods (comparative-historical, hermeneutic, historical-systemic) were used. Results. Despite the common ideological foundation and unity of opinion on the need to decentralize Russia by forming local self-government and autonomies, as well as the harmfulness of introducing a federal structure, nevertheless, a difference was revealed in the views of the Cadet ideologists regarding the concept and types of autonomy, its differences from a federal subject. Discussion and Conclusion. The Cadets believed that decentralization of the state, manifested in the formation of a system of local self-government based on national laws and under the supervision of the central government, does not violate its unity. In their understanding, autonomy is the highest form of self-government, which, due to legislative decentralization, is characterized by the presence of local laws. By self-government itself, most Cadet ideologists understood directly administrative decentralization. In addition, they recognized the need to resolve the national question that had become urgent at the beginning of the 20th century by granting a certain ethnic group cultural, but not national, autonomy.
Read full abstract