In tsarist Russia, the party of constitutional democrats, or, in short, the Cadets, was liberal. Other political organizations with a similar program were represented in the State Duma of the beginning of the 20th century. For example, such was the "Union October 17th."
The emergence of liberal parties
In 1905, after Russia's defeat in the war against Japan, the first Russian revolution took place. Nicholas II could not crush her by force, he had to yield to his opponents. On October 17, 1905, he granted a manifesto according to which the State Duma was established in the Russian Empire.
Political forces opposed to the then monarchist system finally got the opportunity to act in a legal field. It was in 1905 that real democratic organizations appeared.
Cadets
Among the liberal parties that emerged was the party of constitutional democrats (it was also called the Party of People’s Freedom). The decision on the appearance of this organization was made in July 1905 at the next congress of zemstvo leaders. Thus, the party included people who had previously worked in provincial municipalities. They, like no one, were close to the lives of ordinary people who lived in the cities of the Russian Empire.
The constituent congress was held in Moscow in October 1905. At that time, mass strikes, strikes by workers of transport services, and even military clashes took place in the Mother See. In these difficult conditions, the cadets began their activities. Pavel Milyukov, a well-known publicist and historian, was chosen as the party leader.
The electorate of constitutional democrats
Since the Cadet party was liberal, its electorate consisted of the intelligentsia and the Zemstvo nobility, distinguished by pro-Western advanced views. The organization itself included representatives of the urban bourgeoisie, teachers, doctors and some landowners. If the Socialist Revolutionary Party was liberal, it would become an ally of constitutional democrats. But the social revolutionaries differed in leftist views. It was to them that the workers joined. The low popularity of the cadets in the proletarian milieu was associated with this.
In addition, from the very beginning of its existence, the Milyukov party took a course to achieve its goals through parliamentary methods and compromises with the authorities. If part of the workers in 1905 supported this organization, then over time it went to the socialists or Bolsheviks.
The cadet party was liberal, therefore, it supported the February revolution. It was in 1917 that it experienced its heyday. The number of people joining the organization has increased several times. Milyukov was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Provisional Government of Russia.
Cadet Program
The program of constitutional democrats included items that were classic for liberal parties. They advocated the equality of all citizens of Russia, regardless of religion, nationality and gender. Milyukov and his supporters considered it necessary to have freedom of speech, conscience, press, unions and assemblies in the country. Most of these requirements were met after the 1905 revolution. At the same time, precisely because of their position, Miliukov’s supporters protested against the state reaction that occurred during the premiership of Peter Stolypin.
In fact, the cadet party is a liberal democratic party. The ideology of this organization, in particular, included the concept of universal suffrage. In addition, constitutional democrats advocated freedom of national definition of different ethnic groups of the empire. This was a very acute point of the program, because the Polish question was still not resolved. Any liberal-democratic party is , first and foremost, the demand of an independent court. Among the cadets there were many professional lawyers and lawyers. Thanks to this, all the proposed bills of the party were distinguished by detail and thoughtfulness.
The socialist features of the program of constitutional democrats were manifested in the paragraph on the introduction of an 8-hour working day. Almost all the organizations represented in the State Duma were in agreement with this demand. Therefore, the new labor legislation was really adopted under the tsarist government.
End party
On the night of the October Revolution, the cadets, who were ministers in the Provisional Government, were arrested. Subsequently, all other prominent party leaders, except those who managed to escape from the country, went to prison. Some of those arrested were in the front ranks of those shot during the Civil War.
But back in November 1917, the cadets managed to take part in the elections to the Constituent Assembly. They got a lot of votes, as they were the only serious anti-Bolshevik force. Even former opponents (except for left radicals) supported constitutional democrats. However, on December 12, 1917, the Council of People's Commissars recognized the Cadets as "a party of enemies of the peoples." The organization was banned. Cadet leader Milyukov managed to escape from Russia. He died in France in 1943.
Octobrist Party
Another important organization from the rest of the moderate right-wing parties is the liberal democratic party of the Octobrists. Its support was wealthy entrepreneurs and large landowners. The name of the party was a reference to October 17, 1905 - the date of the signing of the Manifesto, which granted many freedoms after the first Russian revolution.
The head of the organization was Alexander Guchkov. In the years 1910-1911. he was even the chairman of the III State Duma. In the Provisional Government , the Octobrist leader received a portfolio of the Minister of War and Naval Affairs. During the revolution of 1905-1906 the party consisted of 75 thousand people. On October 17, the Union had its own newspaper, Moscow Voice.
Government allies
In the first two convocations of the State Duma, there were few Octobrists (16 and 43, respectively). A breakthrough for the party occurred after June 3, 1907 amendments to the electoral law were introduced. Reform has reduced the number of socialists in parliament. Many Octobrists took their place, the number of which reached 154. The great popularity of the party is explained by the fact that it occupied moderate positions and became the object of public compromise.
The Octobrists were even closer to the old system than the Cadets. Pyotr Stolypin relied on Guchkov's deputies when the government tried to implement unpopular but necessary reforms through the State Duma. The first two convocations of the State Duma were forcibly dissolved precisely because those parliamentarians were mostly socialists and prevented laws from being passed.
If the political party of the RSDLP was liberal , it would also be represented widely. But the Bolsheviks from the very beginning were not only socialists, but also used revolutionary methods of struggle against power. The Octobrists, on the other hand, wanted to achieve change in a peaceful way, by seeking agreements with the state.
Octobrist split
In 1913, a split occurred among Guchkov's supporters. Since the political party of the Octobrists was liberal, the observance of civil liberties in Russia was extremely important for its participants. But after the first Russian revolution, the state took reactionary measures against its notorious opponents. A group appeared among the Octobrists who issued an opposition resolution. In the document, the signatories accused the government of violating the rights of Russian citizens.
As a result, the party split into three factions in the State Duma. The left wing appeared, led by Guchkov, and the right Zemstvo-Octobrists, whose leader was Mikhail Rodzianko. A small group of independent deputies also separated. The party crisis began. In 1915, the newspaper Golos Moskvy was closed. the Central Committee ceased to convene. Thus, the Octobrists disappeared from the political field of the country before the revolutions and the Bolshevik coup. The left wing of the party joined the Progressive Bloc. Some former Octobrist leaders were prominent political figures in Russia until the summer of 1917.