Socialist Revolutionary Party Research Articles

Viktor Chernov in 1917-1920: touches to a political biography

The article examines the hard path of Viktor Mikhailovich Chernov one of the founders of the Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (SRS) in the revolutionary period of 1917-1918. The article focuses on the connection of V. M. Chernov's practical policy with the political principles and plans for the transformation of Russia formulated by him during his emigration. The inconsistency in the policy of V. M. Chernov in the post-revolutionary period is proved, as this became one of the important factors of the crisis of the Socialist-Revolutionary party. The author believes that V. M. Chernov in his ideas about the political process in Russia remained in thrall to the traditions of the narodniks, which largely distinguished V. M. Chernov from the leader of the Bolsheviks V. I. Lenin. The author shows that the split in the Socialist-Revolutionary party was largely due to the issue of the Russia's continuation of participation in the First World War. V. M. Chernov was until May 1917 in the position of the decisions of the conference in Zimmerwald, but under pressure from the right wing of the Socialist-Revolutionary party he abandoned the principles of Zimmerwald, consolidating on the military issue with A. Kerensky. Chernov fundamentally disagreed with the Bolsheviks on the issue of nationalization of enterprises, which he actively opposed.

From National Revolutionism to Marxism: A Politico-historical Narrative of Origins of Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI)

The national revolutionaries of India while in detention in the first half of the 1930s came in contact with Marxist literature. Imbibed by the Marxist view of social change, they gave up ‘terrorism’ after coming out of jails/camps. However, a sharp debate developed among them on the perception of the Comintern, its colonial policy in general and the policy with respect to the Indian freedom struggle in particular. Instead of joining any of the existing Marxist political parties, these revolutionaries formed their own parties. The Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) are two such parties. The RSP was formed in 1940. However, a group of young revolutionaries who were with the RSP dissociated themselves and formed a ‘Platform of Action’ as Socialist Unity Centre (SUC) in 1946 and then gave birth to yet another political party, SUCI, on the Marxist–Leninist lines in 1948. The process of formation of SUCI has been analysed in this article.

To Break Russia’s Chains: Boris Savinkov and his Wars against the Tsar and the Bolsheviks by Vladimir Alexandrov

Reviewed by: To Break Russia’s Chains: Boris Savinkov and his Wars against the Tsar and the Bolsheviks by Vladimir Alexandrov Ben Phillips To Break Russia’s Chains: Boris Savinkov and his Wars against the Tsar and the Bolsheviks. By Vladimir Alexandrov. New York: Pegasus Books. 2021. xiv+562 pp. $29.95. ISBN 978–1–64313–718–6. Boris Savinkov (1879–1925) is one of the most enigmatic characters in the history of revolutionary Russia. In a remarkable career spanning some three decades, he achieved fame and notoriety first as a leading member of the Socialist-Revolutionary (SR) Party’s terrorist underground, then as a novelist and memoirist, as a minister in the Provisional Government of 1917, and lastly as a staunch opponent of the Bolsheviks during the Civil War and in emigration. He was lionized in his lifetime, vilified after his death (at least in the Soviet Union), and, since 1991, has been the subject of renewed scholarly and popular interest. As the new biography under review here suggests, interest in Savinkov shows no sign of subsiding. Based on extensive and original archival research, Vladimir Alexandrov’s To Break Russia’s Chains is an impressive work of scholarship, not to say a hefty tome. [End Page 732] It is also accessibly and engagingly written, with a novelistic flourish befitting its dashing terrorist-littérateur protagonist. It comprises eleven chapters: the first five discuss Savinkov’s revolutionary beginnings, his terrorist exploits, his role in the Azef affair of 1908–09 and subsequent life as an indigent émigré writer up to the outbreak of the First World War. Chapters 6 and 7 deal with Savinkov’s activities in 1917; the final four chapters detail his opposition to the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution, during the Civil War, and prior to his eventual downfall at the hands of the OGPU (the Joint State Political Directorate) in 1924–25. The book is clearly intended primarily for a popular audience, but academic readers will find much to enjoy here as well, even where Alexandrov (inevitably) retreads relatively familiar ground. The book explores not just Savinkov’s revolutionary (and counter-revolutionary) escapades, but also his literary activities, relations with Russia’s Silver Age artistic avant-garde, and family life. Alexandrov provides vivid character sketches of Savinkov’s accomplices and enemies alike, from Evno Azef and Aleksandr Kerenskii to the British agent Sidney Reilly. Alexandrov’s biography provides a far more balanced account of Savinkov the man than has hitherto been available: in particular, To Break Russia’s Chains is refreshingly free of the bodice-ripping speculation about Savinkov’s sex life, gambling, and substance abuse that disfigures Richard Spence’s Boris Savinkov: Renegade on the Left (Ithaca, NY: Columbia University Press, 1991), previously the major (and otherwise excellent) study of his life in English. Spence’s overwhelmingly negative portrait resembles those by Soviet historians and disillusioned émigrés, who perceived Savinkov as a libertine, egotist, and adventurist in his politics as in his personal life. Alexandrov seeks to rehabilitate Savinkov, but his efforts to portray his subject as an honourable man undone by his own idealism do not always align with the evidence he adduces. On Savinkov’s political views, for instance, Alexandrov concludes that he ‘dedicated his entire life to fighting to make Russia a free, democratic republic’ (p. 502), but it is not clear how this claim can be reconciled with Savinkov’s all too evident shift towards right-wing militarism later in life, a trajectory that preceded the Bolshevik takeover by months, if not years, and which caused him to support fascism openly by the early 1920s (pp. 415–19 and passim). Similarly, not all readers will be convinced by Alexandrov’s repeated insistence that Savinkov ought not to be identified with Zhorzh, the Smerdiakovian terrorist and moral degenerate who features in his debut novel The Pale Horse (Konʹ blednyi, 1909), a resemblance noted by many readers at the time and by various scholars since. Nor is this the only aspect of the book liable to raise eyebrows. Approximately the first third of To Break Russia’s Chains recounts in detail Savinkov’s tenure as second-in-command (and later...

A Story with Characters and Action

A Story with Characters and Action

Socialist Revolutionary party and the Second International

The path of the Socialist Revolutionary party to the Second International was a thorny one. Russian social democrats were zealous in creating obstacles, primarily their representative in the International Socialist Bureau (IBS) G.V. Plekhanov. His efforts to the Socialist Revolutionary groups in the 90-ies of the XIX century denied the right of representation in the international socialist community. European political parties were mentally closer to the RSDLP, and their socialist competitors were wary. The Socialist Revolutionary had to work hard to convince the parties of the International of their adherence to the ideas of socialism and of the presence of connections with the masses. The Socialist Revolutionary Party established close contacts with the SME in 1901, and at the Amsterdam Congress (1904, August) achieved what it wanted, it was accepted into the Second International. The reports of the party to the Amsterdam and Stuttgart congresses of the International served as evidence of the mass character, adherence to the ideas of socialism. The leaders of the Socialist Revolutionaries, their emotional and verbose representative in the SME I.A. Rubanovich, took an active part in all the events of the International; the party became an equal member of the international socialist community. During the Basel Congress of 1912, her representative on the «commission of five» most influential parties was one of the compilers of the anti-war «Manifesto» of the International, supported by the socialists of the world. During the First World War, only a part of the party defended the ideas of internationalism. The III Congress of the Social Revolutionaries in the spring of 1917 called for the continuation of the war to a victorious end and the restoration of the II International.

ВОПРОСЫ АДМИНИСТРАТИВНО-ТЕРРИТОРИАЛЬНОГО УПРАВЛЕНИЯ СИБИРЬЮ В ПРОГРАММАХ ПОЛИТИЧЕСКИХ ПАРТИЙ КАДЕТОВ И ЭСЕРОВ НАЧАЛА ХХ ВЕКА И ПОПЫТКА ИХ РЕАЛИЗАЦИИ В РЕВОЛЮЦИИ 1917 Г.

The purpose of the study is to study the process of development of the problem of the administrative-territorial structure of Siberia in the program documents of the parties of the Cadets and the Social Revolutionaries and the results of their implementation in the revolutionary year of 1917. Research objectives: 1. To analyze the program settings of the party of the Cadets and the Socialist-Revolutionaries on the issues of the administrative-territorial structure of the regions of Russia. 2. Conduct a comparative analysis of the vision of the future administrative-territorial structure of Siberia by the Siberian branches of the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Party of Socialist Revolutionaries. 3. To investigate the political activities of the Siberian branches of the parties of the Cadets and the Social Revolutionaries in the implementation of program guidelines on the issue of the administrative-territorial administration of Siberia in 1917. The object of the study is the Constitutional Democratic Party and the Party of Socialist Revolutionaries. The subject of the research is the activities of the parties of the Cadets and Socialist-Revolutionaries in developing the problem of administrative-territorial administration of Siberia and attempts to implement them in the conditions of the revolution of 1917. The article reveals the content of the program provisions of the parties of the Cadets and Socialist-Revolutionaries on the problem of administrative-territorial administration of the regions of Russia, including Siberia. The dynamics of the development of the views of the Siberian cadets is analyzed from the creation of a single all-Siberian regional Duma with legislative powers to the idea of autonomy for Siberia and, finally, for secession from Bolshevik Russia. The features of the program settings of the Siberian Social Revolutionaries on the issue of the autonomy of Siberia are revealed. Shows the activities of the party of socialist revolutionaries in the creation of anti-Soviet authorities in Siberia in the face of the Provisional Siberian Regional Council and the Siberian Regional Duma. Thus, the Siberian Cadets advocated the creation of a territorial autonomy for Siberia under the slogan "United and indivisible Russia". In contrast to them, the Socialist-Revolutionary Party did not have clear positions on the issue of the future administrative-territorial structure of Siberia, but proceeded from the specific situation that was developing in Russia during a particular period of revolution and civil war.

Политические взгляды и позиции российских военных в Финляндии на заключительном этапе Первой мировой войны (весна – лето 1917 г.)

Introduction. In the spring and summer of 1917 changes in the former autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland determined the history of relations between Russia and Finland for decades to come. The purpose of the article is to show changes in the political views and positions of the Baltic sailors and the army servicemen, who were elected to democratic organizations of the Russian military at the final stage of the First World War. Methods and materials. The article is based on the results of long standing study of issues, dealing with the stay of the Russian armed forces in the Grand Duchy of Finland, and follows the theoretical developments of V.D. Zimina, B.I. Kolonitsky, E. Mawdsley, A. Wildman on the problems of the Russian revolution of 1917. It uses a historical and anthropological approach to the research of the role of the military factor in the history of Russia and Finland in the 20th Century. Analysis. Reviewed archival documents and published sources indicate that immediately after the February Revolution active party organizations in the units were either a rare exception or experienced a stage of formation, which affected the actions of the primary personnel of the Soviets, as well as soldier’s and sailor’s committees. During the spring months voters’ political sympathies were closely associated with the Socialist Revolutionaries as the most popular party in Russia. However, by the summer of 1917 the readiness of the socialist leaders of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party and the Mensheviks to continue the war increasingly contradicted the interests of ordinary servicemen. The question of how the activities of the Soviets and committees of this period fit into the rope of events that became the “prologue” of the Civil War in Russia has been investigated. It is pointed out, that such measures include the abolition of the old apparatus of power, the refusal to comply with the orders of the military authorities, not agreed with soldier and sailor organizations, assistance in the deployment and strengthening of the political union of the Bolsheviks and left-wing groups of socialist parties, support provided to the radical wing of the Finnish social-democracy. Results. The study of socio-political transformations that took place in the Russian military community during the period under review and predetermined changes in the views and positions of the Russian servicemen in Finland allows us to conclude the following. In the spring and summer of 1917 leaders of the Soviets and committees still managed to accumulate a certain experience of “inter-party” interaction. It was first noted that that in the course of the revolution development representative organizations of sailors and the army men just during these months were prepared for an independent line of behavior and sometimes outpaced the protest actions of military personnel in the Russian capital. Key words: Russian revolution of 1917, Finland, servicemen, Soviets, committees, political views and positions, socio-political transformations.

К вопросу о размежевании неонароднической среды и образовании народно-социалистической партии

The article is devoted to the origins of the Popular Socialist Party, which is a question that has not been given a clear answer by modern historiography yet. It considers events and discussions during the founding congress of the Socialist Revolutionary Party (December 25, 1905 – January 2, 1906), where the final separation between Neo-Populists took place. The author identifies and analyses the main contradictions between the left-wing and right-wing Neo-Populists related to the party program and its tactics, which became especially acute during the congress. Main differences in the attitudes towards the illegal methods of political struggle that were accepted by the Socialist-Revolutionaries and rejected by the future Popular Socialists are pointed out. The author also analyses their program differences regarding the solution of the agrarian question in Russia: socialization among the Socialist-Revolutionaries and nationalization among the moderate Populists. The socio-psychological factors that hindered any constructive dialogue between the Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Russkoe bogatstvo group are revealed. The grounds for classifying the moderate Populists in the early 20th century as part of the Socialist Revolutionary community and the arguments in favor of the independent formation of the Popular Socialist Party are presented.

PARTICIPATION OF PEASANTS OF THE SIMBIRSK VOLGA REGION IN REVOLUTIONARY AND TERRORIST ACTIVITIES CARRIED OUT BY THE SOCIALIST REVOLUTIONARY PARTY (1905–1907)

In the second half of the XIX century, revolutionary terrorism emerged in the territory of the Russian Empire. This particular kind of socio-political violence was promoted in those years by some populist groups that worked primarily in Moscow and St. Petersburg, for example, the Ishutin circle, which consisted mainly of students. One of its participants, a former student D. Karakozov, shot at the Russian Emperor Alexander II 155 years ago in April 1866 in St. Petersburg. The most famous “revolutionary terrorists” of Russia were members of the largest Russian opposition political organization of the XIX century, “Narodnaya Volya”, most of whom were, as one used to say then, raznochinets. Revolutionary terrorism in the empire reached its peak in the first years of the XX century (1902–1907), when it became part of the strategy and tactics of a number of opposition political parties and organizations of neo-populist orientation. They acted both in the national regions of the country (Little Russia, Transcaucasia) and in Russian capitals and regions. First of all, this has to do with the All-Russian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs). At the same time, in the territory of the Russian provinces in the era of brutal revolutionary terrorism in the country, not only the Socialist revolutionaries had their revolutionary-terrorist (combat) formations. So, during this period, terrorist units were created by the SR Maximalists who left the party during the First Russian Revolution and contributed to the ideological and organizational split of the Social Revolutionaries. In the same years, various anarchist structures had combat organizations. Having become a significant phenomenon of the socio-political life of a huge country, terrorism drew representatives of different social groups of the population into its practice. What was the role of the peasantry in the Socialist-Revolutionary terror? The author gives examples where the peasants of the Simbirsk Volga region took part in carrying out terrorist attacks. The researcher concludes that Russian peasants were among the active participants in combat units, which is clearly seen in the examples of combat structures of Simbirsk provincial organization of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, in the ranks of which, for example, in rural areas, there were combat squads consisting mainly of peasants.

ABOUT THE MIDDLE VOLGA PERIOD IN THE LIFE OF AN OUTSTANDING BIBLIOGRAPHER AND WRITER A.S. POLYAKOV

In August 2021, the cultural community of St. Petersburg celebrated the 265th anniversary of St. Petersburg State Theater Library, which is known worldwide as the richest repository of materials about the theater and for the theater. It has been collecting its unique fund, including a number of rare and valuable collections, since the XVIII century. The author’s research attention is focused on the facts of the Middle Volga period in A.S. Polyakov’s biography – the legend of one of the country’s oldest libraries. After the Bolsheviks came to power in Russia in 1918–1923, Alexander Sergeevich Polyakov, working as the head of this book depository, largely determined its modern multifunctional appearance. During this difficult period in the life of the state and the society, with great enthusiasm the talented writer edited several different print media, the most famous of which was one of the first theatrical magazines of the Soviet Russia, “The Biryuch of Petrograd State Theaters”. Alexander Polyakov was not a native of St. Petersburg. His small homeland is the Middle Volga region. The author explores the childhood and youth years of the future bibliophile and writer, which he spent in Simbirsk and Kazan governorates. The researcher tells that Alexander was not only born and brought up in the Volga region, but also studied at Simbirsk Classical Gymnasium and the Imperial Kazan University. The article gives some facts about an active participation of this native of Simbirsk in the socio-political life of the Middle Volga region which deserve special attention. For example, in 1901–1904 A.S. Polyakov played a major role in the creation of Kazan and Simbirsk organizations of the Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs). In 1905, he was one of the most famous participants of the First Russian Revolution in the region. So, being under the tacit supervision of the police, Polyakov at that time constantly spoke at meetings and rallies in the town of Simbirsk and some uyezds of Simbirsk province, actively participated in agitation events of social revolutionaries of various kinds. In 1906, a young native of the Volga region moved to an illegal position, and then secretly left the Volga region. In 1907, the future outstanding bibliographer was detained by the police in St. Petersburg and sent into administrative exile. The article also provides previously little-known facts of his personal life. At this, the author tells about Polyakov’s parents and other family members. The specialist paid special attention to his wife, Elizaveta Polyakova (Dubova), a native of the Middle Volga region, who was a St. Petersburg student and a member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. The young revolutionary was repeatedly brought to administrative responsibility and after the defeat of the revolution of 1905–1907 was exiled to the Eastern Siberia.

Foreign organization and the Foreign Committee of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party at the beginning of the 20th century. (On the path of party institutionalization)

The article examines the organization and activities of the Foreign Organization and the Foreign Committee of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party at the beginning of the XX century. It is the institutional history of political parties, in the authors opinion, that is of interest, since the structural analysis and the comparative historical method provide no less for an idea of ​​their nature than the analysis of party programs. In the first period of its existence, the structure of the conspiratorial party of the Social Revolutionaries was surprisingly simple: a few Central Committee members traveled around Russian organizations and corresponded with them. After the arrests of the late 1902 - early 1903. the first, the Gershunev Central Committee, ceased to exist. In August 1903, through the efforts of E.K. Breshko-Breshkovskaya, the Foreign Organization and the Foreign Party Committee were created. Until late autumn 1905, they played the role of central party institutions: the Foreign Organisation was the main reservoir of cadres of party functionaries, its congresses, in essence, played the role of general party forums. The Foreign Organization concentrated many functions of the Central Committee: publishing and distribution of literature, communication with Russian organizations, business trips to Russia of party functionaries, etc. Thanks to the Foreign Organization and especially the Foreign Party Committee, a relatively ramified network of party leadership was formed. The Foreign Organisation was an amorphous union, squabbles and squabbles tore it apart. The Foreign Party Committee, along with the orthodox Socialist-Revolutionaries, included dissidents. In November 1905, the Foreign Party Committee ceased its activities, and the Foreign Organisation was disbanded. At the end of 1906, the Foreign Organisation and Foreign Party Committee were reanimated. The new Foreign Organisation did not want to be considered party, and the Socialist-Revolutionary leadership dissociated itself from it. The sphere of activity of the Foreign Party Committee was limited to the limits of emigration. Beginning in 1909, the process of demoralization embraced both the Socialist-Revolutionary Party as a whole and the emigration. In the spring of 1909, the delegates of the most numerous Parisian group for the promotion of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party left the III Conference of the Foreign Federation. After the Fifth Party Council (May 1909), the Paris assistance group withdrew from the ranks of the party. In 19101914. the decline of the Overseas Organization progressed. Disputes intensified, the Regional Foreign Committee was in conflict with the Central Committee. Thus, by the beginning of the First World War, the Socialist-Revolutionary emigration was a collection of scattered and warring factions. During the war years, the Central Committee finally broke up into opposing groups and as a whole ceased to exist.

The First Case Against a Ukrainian Party (From the History of the National Movement in the Imperial Era)

The article analyzes the materials of the case “On the Ukrainian Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries,” opened in 1901 by the Poltava Provincial Gendarmerie. The incorrect name of the organization aside, it was indeed the first case of its kind, in that its participants and key episodes were associated with a Ukrainian political party (the Revolutionary Ukrainian Party, RUP). The case of 1901 has never been a subject of special academic attention. Only some of its aspects found reflection in a broader 1928 work by A. Duchynsky. It is not represented in modern studies on the operations of tsarist law enforcement agencies against Ukrainian parties. This article is based mainly on archival documents from the Poltava Provincial Gendarmerie collection (Central State Historical Archive of Ukraine, Kyiv, f. 320), additionally drawing on published imperial laws and regulations. The materials obtained are verified through the latest scholarship on the history of the Ukrainian national movement in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The 1901 case conforms to the patterns in the work of imperial law enforcement that can be seen as characteristic for that period: better results in the initial, simplest stages (the tracing of connections, searches, arrests) and rather helpless, ineffective performance in investigation and interrogation. Furthermore, the case demonstrates the unpreparedness of the political police in the face of the intensification and radicalization of the national movement and its complete incompetence in the matter of Ukrainian organizations, their structure, personnel, ideology, etc. On the other hand, the case materials show that Ukrainian activists, despite the young age and inexperience of most of them, showed confidence and courage in confronting the tsarist gendarmes. Due to this, the investigation failed not only to obtain any significant information about the RUP, but even to establish the fact of its existence, which gave the party the opportunity to develop further and soon play a prominent role in the peasant uprising of 1902 in the Poltava and Kharkiv regions.

The Consequences of the Political Crisis of July 1918 for the Upper Volga Organizations of the Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries

The article considers the peculiarities of the position of the Upper Volga organizations of the Party of Left Socialist-Revolutionaries caused by the crisis of July 1918 which marked the beginning of the total loss of the Party’s political influence in the country in whole. The author shows the difficulties and methods of ideological and political struggle between the local Left Socialist-Revolutionaries and the Bolsheviks during the period from July to December 1918, traces the process of ousting the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries from the local Soviets, considers the features of the local Left Socialist-Revolutionaries’ organizational work in the new political reality.

«KHYPAR» NEWSPAPER (1906–1907): IDEOLOGICAL ORIENTATION

The article examines the ideological orientation of the newspaper «Khypar» in 1906-1907. In the Soviet times, the issue of political orientation of the first Chuvash newspaper was the object of analysis by many researchers. The materials of the Soviet period are characterized mainly by opposite assessments of the ideology of the first Chuvash newspaper in 1906–1907. Most of them classified «Khypar» as a socialist periodical. Moreover, the ideologeme «socialist» was presented without a definite, particular meaning. In this connection, it was difficult for the reader to understand: what current (party) of the socialist orientation did the Chuvash newspaper belong to? In this article, the authors consider the question raised, relying on previously unused documents and new sources that appeared in the post-Soviet period, as well as newspaper materials. Summarizing, the authors conclude that in the first period the newspaper was mainly cultural and educational, and then until to its closure it was published by the Chuvash organization of the Party of Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs). Thus, in 1906–1907 in the first period the newspaper «Khypar» (editor and publisher N.V. Nikolsky, acting editor-publisher S.K. Kirillov) mainly performed cultural and educational functions, beginning with the newspaper issue № 34, it was headed by representatives of the Chuvash organization of the Party of Social Revolutionaries (S.I. Ignatiev, P.A. Alekseyev, V.I. Ivanov), and the periodical adhered to the socialist orientation.

Расстановка политических сил накануне выборов в Рязанскую городскую думу 1917 года

The paper aims to identify the role of the major political parties in social life of Ryazan city in the first half of 1917. The study focuses on analysing the parties’ activities ahead of 1917 elections to Ryazan City Duma. Scientific originality of the research involves a comprehensive analysis of the regional political landscape ahead of 1917 elections to Ryazan City Duma. The research findings are as follows: the author proves that elections to Ryazan City Duma were accompanied by violent struggle of the major political parties - the Constitutional Democratic Party, the Socialist Revolutionary Party, the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Mensheviks) and the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Bolsheviks).

Революционная, научная и публицистическая деятельность В. М. Зензинова

The article describes the basic stages of V. M. Zenzinov’s life in the context of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party’s history. The researcher’s attention is focused on the following issues: V. M. Zenzinov’s early years, the period of studying in Germany, participation in the First Russian Revolution (1905-1907), involvement in the Socialist-Revolutionary Combat Organization, in revolutionary events of 1917, exiles to Vologda province and to Eastern Siberia, escapes from exiles, emigration, his literary and publicistic heritage. Scientific originality of the study lies in the fact that the author provides V. M. Zenzinov’s comprehensive historical biography, reveals specificity of his worldview, psychology, describes personal qualities. The research findings are as follows: the paper clarifies V. M. Zenzinov’s role in the Socialist-Revolutionary Party, discovers his social-political views, personal relations.

Министр исповеданий А.В. Карташев и конфессиональная политика Временного правительства

The article considers the views of A. Kartashev, an outstanding theologian, Minister of Confessions of the Provisional Government, on relationship between church and state in Russia and the measures he proposed in order to reform them. What Kartashev advocated was not the complete separation of church and state, but rather such a “growing distance” between them which would give the Russian Orthodox Church independence and would allow the state to be secular rather than unilaterally confessional. During the short period when the Ministry of Religious Confessions was working, Anton Kartashev tried to be less involved into church administration, defended the interests of the religious department in the government, and supported a number of proposals from the Local Council. Kartashev began to implement the legal registration of the multi-confessional state system and consistently defended the interests of the Orthodox Church in other ministries and government departments. He gradually moved away from the doctrinal guidelines of the Provisional Government on the separation of church and state and became inclined to strengthen the influence of the church in the life of society, seeing its activities as a guarantee of the spiritual salvation of Russia. This approach did not coincide with the ideas about the role of the church in the life of society which had developed in liberal and socialist circles of that time and led to a discrepancy between the declarations of the Provisional Government and the activities it carried out in the church sphere. The article considers the reasons why Kartashev was able to pursue his line of confessional policy. The most important of these reasons was that neither the Provisional Government nor the Constitutional Democratic Party or the Socialist Revolutionary Party considered the problems of church-state relations a priority. They treated such problems in the context of general problems of the democratic transformation of Russia and attributed the right to solve them to the Constituent Assembly. It is emphasized that in the tense atmosphere of 1917 neither the Provisional Government nor the Russian Orthodox Church wanted to conflict with each other. In this situation, the compromise policy of Anton Kartashev suited both sides and softened the negative attitude of the church circles towards the activities of the Provisional Government.

ПРОТИВОСТОЯНИЕ И КОМПРОМИСС: ДЕЯТЕЛЬНОСТЬ ДАЛЬНЕВОСТОЧНЫХ ЭСЕРОВСКИХ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЙ В ОКТЯБРЕ 1917 – АПРЕЛЕ 1918 ГОДА

This article examines the activities of the Far Eastern Socialist-Revolutionary organizations in the period from October 1917 to April 1918. The authors highlight the split in the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries, aggravated after the events of October 1917, the attitude of the Right Social Revolutionaries to the October events and the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly and their tactics in new conditions. The tactics of the Far Eastern Socialist-Revolutionaries, their alliance with the Mensheviks and their readiness to cooperate with eligible elements to oppose the Bolsheviks in the region, as well as their first actions against Soviet power, are studied in more detail.

РОЗКОЛ В УКРАЇНСЬКОМУ КОМУНІСТИЧНОМУ РУСІ КАНАДИ В 1930-Х РР.

The article substantiates the reasons of the split in the Ukrainian communist movement in Canada in the mid-1930s at the peak of its popularity. They consisted of acquainting of its supporters with information about dekulakization, the Holodomor of 1932–1933, the Bolshevik repressions on the territory of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, and so on. It clearly describes how this conflict took place in the Ukrainian labour-farmer temple association, which united Ukrainian communists, how it was perceived by its members, what consequences it led to and how it affected on spreading of communist views among Ukrainians in Canada. The society was divided into those who unquestioningly believed or knew the truth and equally supported Stalin's policy in Ukraine and those who condemned it and saw a different way of further life in the workers 'and peasants' state. It shows how the communist movement developed in the 1930s, how the so-called socialist segment stood out from it, who its supporters were and what ideas they professed. It is worth noting that for some time the "opportunists", that formed Federation of Ukrainian Labour-Farmer Organizations, could not decide on their socio-political position and hesitated on whose side to stand and whether to join the Ukrainian national-patriotic bloc of organizations or to function separately, despite the small number. The leading members of the newly created organization were D. Lobay, T. Kobzey, S. Khvaliboga, Y. Elendyuk, and M. Zmiyovsky. In August 1928, M. Mandryka arrived to Canada, delegated by the Ukrainian Party of Socialist Revolutionaries in Prague to seek financial support for Ukrainian socialist institutions in Czechoslovakia. It was to be a short-term mission, that transformed into a permanent staying overseas. M. Mandryka managed to unite Ukrainian socialists who had nothing to do with the ULFTA. The research also describes the directions of activity of Ukrainian socialists in Canada, their ties with other public organizations, political parties and future relations with former like-minded people. An attempt is made to evaluate the socialist movement and establish its significance for the social and political life of the diaspora.

Политические взгляды Исаака Гольдберга на идею Учредительного собрания

The paper has presented social and political scene in Siberia in the early XX century in the context of social and political movements’ activities. Democratic principles of building a sustainable administration through establishing a Constituent Assembly were the key idea of the activities. I. G. Goldberg was a key player representing Siberian democracy in the paper. Goldberg’s activity has been viewed both as a Siberian Socialist Revolutionary Party’s member, and a social activist. The author highlighted some key issues related to advancing the idea of establishing a Constituent Assembly and internal political struggle resulting from fruitful activity of Goldberg and socialist revolutionaries in Siberia. Peaceful and constructive opposition to the Civil War, Bolshevism’s and Kolchak’s dictatorship, and statelessness were at center stage.