): program, tactics and revolutionary activity. Populist organization “Land and Freedom” (1876): program, tactics and revolutionary activities Split of “Land and Freedom”

"Land and Freedom" (1876-1879).

In 1876, the surviving participants in the “going to the people” formed a new secret organization, which since 1878 has taken the name “Land and Freedom”. Her the program provided:

bringing about a socialist revolution by overthrowing the autocracy

transfer of all land to peasants

introduction of "secular self-government" in villages and cities

At the head of the organization stood G. V. Plekhanov, A.D. Mikhailov, S.M. Kravchinsky, N.A. Morozov, V.N. Figner et al.

A second “going to the people” was undertaken for long-term agitation of the peasants. The landowners also engaged in agitation among workers and soldiers and helped organize several strikes. In 1876, with the participation of "Land and Freedom", the first political demonstration in Russia was held in St. Petersburg on the square in front of the Kazan Cathedral. G. V. Plekhanov addressed the audience, calling for the fight for land and freedom for peasants and workers. The police dispersed the demonstration, many of its participants were injured. Those arrested were sentenced to hard labor or exile. G.V. Plekhanov managed to escape from the police.

In 1878 Some of the populists again returned to the idea of ​​​​the need for a terrorist struggle. In 1878, discussions began among Zemlya Volya residents about methods of struggle. They were prompted to do this by both government repression and a thirst for activism. Disputes over tactical and programmatic issues led to a split.

secret organization of revolutionary populism. Founded in St. Petersburg in 1876. Initially called the Northern Revolutionary Populist Group. On December 6, 1876, she held a political demonstration at the Kazan Cathedral in St. Petersburg with the participation of students, female students and several workers, one of whom (Ya. Potapov) raised a red banner with the slogan “Land and Freedom” over the crowd. Student G.V. Plekhanov made a speech calling for the fight against despotism, after which up to 30 demonstrators were arrested, put on trial and sent to hard labor and exile. G.V. Plekhanov managed to escape. The organization adopted a new name in 1878 in honor of “Land and Freedom” of 1861-1864.” The founding members were: G. V. Plekhanov, M. A. Nathansoni, A. D. Mikhailov. Later the organization included: V. Ya. Figner, S. M. Kravchinsky, Ya. L. Morozov, S. JI. Perovskaya and others. Managed the activities of the organization “Administration” (“Center”). There were branches in Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkov and other cities. The main provisions of the program: the overthrow of the autocracy and the implementation of the socialist revolution; transfer of all land to peasants with the right of communal use; introduction of rural and urban “lay self-government”; creation of production agricultural and industrial associations; introduction of freedom of speech, assembly, and religion. The method of implementing the program was a peasant revolution, prepared by a group of “villagers”, a “working group” and a “disorganization group”, which carried out “reconnaissance” and obtained information from punitive (police) institutions. To attract new members and implement the program, settlements “among the people” were deployed (see “Walking among the People”), and revolutionary propaganda was carried out among workers, intellectuals, military men and officials. The illegal newspapers “Land and Freedom” and “Listok “Zemlya i Volya”” were published. Disputes over programmatic and tactical issues caused a split in the organization in the summer of 1879 into “People's Will” and “Black Redistribution”.

Essay

“Land and Freedom” of the 70s. XIX century

Content
1. Introduction …………………………………………………… ……………………… .3
2. Main part

2.1. Reasons for the rise of the social movement ……………………. .4

2.2.The emergence of populism. Education of “Land and Freedom” (1876-1879)…………………………………… ……………………………………… .5

2.3. Program “Land and Freedom”. May 1878. Charter… ………………..10

2.4.Activities of “Land and Freedom”………………………………….. 16

Introduction
In the 60s XIX century The era of Great Reforms began. Change - inevitable, necessary, long-awaited, frightening - was perceived differently by people. Some rejected them, others treated what was happening in the country with caution and distrust, others - especially young people - rushed things, passionately dreaming that tomorrow an era of freedom, equality, and brotherhood would begin in Russia. Revolutionary sentiments spread extremely throughout the country. That is why I chose as the object of my research the activities of the first major revolutionary organization “Land and Freedom” in the 70s. XIX century In my opinion, this topic is relevant, because its study allows us to understand further events in the history of the Russian state.
The goal of my work was to study the activities of “Land and Freedom”, to highlight the main tasks of the organization and ways to implement them. Determine how these objectives were achieved and find the reason for the collapse of “Land and Freedom”. Also, using the example of this revolutionary society, draw a conclusion about the mood of society in the 70s of the 19th century.
In my research, I relied on such sources as “The History of Russia from the beginning of the 18th to the end of the 19th century” by A. N. Sakharov and “The Course of the History of Russia in the 19th Century” by A. A. Kornilov, which most fully reflect the events that took place in the 70s. s of the 19th century. Thanks to the literature used, I was able to imagine the participation of “Land and Freedom” in these events, as well as identify the influence of the organization on society. Also, A.A. Kornilov most fully gives an idea of ​​the goals set by the “Land and Freedom” society, which are not in the “History of Russia from the beginning of the 18th to the end of the 19th century.” To study the “Lands and Freedom” program, I used Internet resources where the archives of “Lands and Freedom” were presented.
will." These documents helped to form a clearer opinion about the organization.
Main part.
Reasons for the rise of the social movement
In the second half of the 50s of the XIX century. (the period of preparation for the peasant reform) in the socio-political life of Russia there was a certain convergence of different ideological trends. The whole society understood the need to renew the country. It pushed and stimulated the government's transformative activities that had begun. However, the implementation of the reform and its results caused an intensification of the ideological and political struggle, an even greater division of society
The main reason for the rise of the social movement is the preservation of the old socio-political system and, first of all, the autocratic system with its police apparatus, the privileged position of the nobility, and the lack of democratic freedoms. No less significant reason- the unresolved agrarian-peasant issue, which remained central in the social life of the country. A special reason was the diversity and severity of social contradictions. To the previous social contradictions (between peasants and landowners), new ones were added, caused by the development of capitalism, between workers and entrepreneurs, the liberal bourgeoisie and the conservative nobility, between the autocracy and the peoples that were part of Russian Empire. The half-hearted reforms of the 60-70s and fluctuations in government policy (either measures towards liberalization, or increased repression) also intensified the social movement.
A distinctive feature of the social life of Russia in the second half of the 19th century. there was political inertia of the broad masses. The peasant unrest that broke out after 1861 quickly faded away, and the labor movement was in its infancy. The people retained tsarist illusions. The bourgeoisie also showed political inertia. This provided the basis for the triumph of militant conservatism and determined an extremely narrow social basis for the activities of revolutionaries.
The emergence of populism. Education of “Land and Freedom” (1876-1879)
At the turn of the 50s and 60s, the type of “nihilist” that was captured by Turgenev in the image of Bazarov spread among young people. Rejecting noble prejudices and official ideology, the “nihilist” studied science, became a doctor, engineer, agronomist and brought concrete benefits to people without big words and pompous declarations. Many young people then flocked to universities.
In the fall of 1861, the government introduced tuition fees and banned student gatherings. Then, for the first time, there was unrest in universities. Many students were expelled. Their dreams of becoming “nihilists” and repeating Bazarov’s feat collapsed. Herzen then wrote in “The Bell”: “But where can you go, young men, from whom science has been locked?.. Shall I tell you where?.. To the people! to the people! - This is your place, exiles of science..."
In subsequent years, student unrest occurred more and more often, and again the “exiles of science” were looking for their place in life. Many went to the people voluntarily, others were expelled by the police. When they first encountered the peasantry, they were shocked by its poverty, darkness and lack of rights. The image of the “nihilist” faded and faded into the background, and in the minds of democratic youth (from the nobles and commoners) the ideas of “returning the debt to the people” and selfless service to them began to take root. The “Penitent Nobleman” was a prominent figure in the late 60s and early 70s. Boys and girls became rural teachers, doctors, and paramedics. And sometimes they completely disappeared into the people, like Prince V.V. Vyazemsky, who became a village blacksmith.
Populism developed into a powerful movement with its own ideology, at the origins of which were Herzen and Chernyshevsky. It was from them that populism borrowed its most noble features: protection of the interests of the common people, especially the peasantry, deep democracy.
In Herzen and Chernyshevsky, the populists adopted a negative attitude towards the bourgeois system and faith in a socialist utopia. This gave rise to certain contradictions. Acting in the interests of the people, they sought to eliminate those remnants of serfdom that prevented the people from living. But the elimination of these remnants (for example, landowners' latifundia or peasant lawlessness) was supposed to open up space for the development of capitalist relations in the countryside. This means that the populists unwittingly acted in favor of what they denied. But they believed that Russia, relying on its communal traditions, would be able to “leap” over the period of the bourgeois system - straight into a “reasonably structured” socialist society.
The populists did not attach much importance to the struggle for the constitution and civil liberties. It was believed that social liberation would immediately solve all problems. If the populists participated in the struggle for civil liberties, it was because they hoped with their help to expand their propaganda in order to take power and introduce socialism. This was the shadow side of the ideology of populism.
Since the beginning of the 70s, several populist circles existed in St. Petersburg, headed by M.A. Nathanson, S.L. Perovskaya and N.V. Chaikovsky. In 1871, they united, and the members of the emerging underground society began to be called “Chaikovtsy”, after the name of one of the leaders. There was no strict hierarchical subordination; the work was based on the voluntary zeal of society members. Its branches arose in Moscow, Kazan and other cities. At the time of its heyday, this federation of circles numbered over 100 people.
In 1872, Prince Pyotr Alekseevich Kropotkin (1842-1921), a geographer and later an anarchist theorist, joined the St. Petersburg circle of “Chaikovites.” With his arrival, the ideas of Bakunism began to spread in the circle, and before the circle stood on the positions of Lavrism. The main business of the Chaikovites was propaganda among the workers. Attempts were made to organize work among the peasantry. At the beginning of 1874, the police tracked down and arrested many of the Tchaikovites. But this did not break the connection between those who remained free.
The arrests did not stop the “going to the people” planned by the “Chaikovites” for 1874. However, it was not even an organized event, but a spontaneous movement of radical youth. In the spring of 1874, hundreds of young men and women - both Lavrists and Bakunists - went “to the people” from St. Petersburg, Moscow, Saratov, and Samara. The former set off with the long-term goal of re-educating the people in a revolutionary spirit, the latter were impatient to rouse them to revolt. The revolutionaries dressed in peasant clothes, stocked up with false passports, and were hired as carpenters, loaders, and peddlers. The main backbone of the traveling propagandists were former students, but there were also many retired officers and officials, and there were landowners and even girls from aristocratic families.
The peasants responded vividly to conversations about land shortages and the burden of redemption payments. But the preaching of socialism was not successful. The words of the visiting “master” about how good it would be when all property was shared were met with ironic grins. The haste with which propaganda was carried out at that time did not allow the populists to draw sober conclusions about whether socialist teaching corresponded to popular views.
It was not possible to start an uprising anywhere. The police launched a real hunt for propagandists. 770 people were detained in 37 provinces. Those who managed to escape the police fled to the cities.
In 1876, the circles that survived the defeat began work to recreate the revolutionary underground. The main conclusion that the revolutionaries made was that without the creation of large centralized, but at the same time well-secret organizations, the fight against autocracy is impossible.
In 1876, returning from exile, M. Nathanson headed the so-called “Northern Revolutionary Populist Group”. In the fall of 1876, Nathanson’s group merged with a number of provincial circles and individual revolutionaries who had survived arrest. This was the actual beginning of the famous revolutionary society “Land and Freedom”. The second composition of “Land and Freedom” included such figures as A.D. Mikhailov, G.V. Plekhanov, D.A. Lizogub. Later S. M. Kravchinsky, N. A. Morozov, S. L. Perovskaya, L. A. Tikhomirov, N. S. Tyutchev joined it. In total, the organization consisted of about 200 people. “Land and Freedom” relied on a wide circle of sympathizers in its activities.
The name "Land and Freedom" was given to the society at the end of 1878, with the appearance of a printed organ of the same name; former names: “Northern Revolutionary Populist Group”, “Society of Populists”.
The organization’s propaganda was based not on the former socialist principles, incomprehensible to the people, but on slogans emanating directly from the peasantry, that is, the demands of “Land and Freedom.” “Land and Freedom” was built on the principles of centralism, although still weak. Its core was the “main circle”. Society was divided into several groups. The "village workers", the largest group, were sent to work among the peasants. Other groups were to carry out propaganda among workers and students.
The Administration became the executive body of the “Main Circle”. She was always in St. Petersburg and was in charge of the distribution of all the available forces of the organization and party equipment. The goal of the Society was to prepare an uprising under the slogan “Land and Freedom.”
One of the main underground workers involved in the organizational problems of “Land and Freedom” was Alexey Oboleshev. He led the resolution of issues related to the development and implementation of ciphers, as well as the creation of a network of secret correspondence. Oboleshev took part in the development of the organization's charter. It mentioned the possibility of using codes for communication, while stipulating that “... the codes and passwords that exist for communications between members of the main circle should not be known to anyone except the members of the main circle.” Without rejecting the possibility of encrypted correspondence, the charter recommended making maximum use of the possibilities of transmitting information during personal meetings. When transmitting the most important information, it was strictly forbidden to resort to correspondence, even encrypted. It follows from this that already at the initial stage of organizing their activities, the revolutionaries understood that their codes could be broken by the enemy. There was no longer any faith in the absolute strength of ciphers. Thus, from all the previous activities of various revolutionary organizations, the correct conclusions were drawn.

Program "Land and Freedom". May 1878. Charter

Created under the influence of awareness of the reasons for the failure of “going to the people.” Initially called the “Northern Revolutionary Populist Group”, it was renamed “Land and Freedom” in 1878. The organization made itself known with a political demonstration on December 6, 1876 at the Kazan Cathedral. The protest was dispersed and beaten, up to 30 participants were brought to trial and sent to hard labor and exile. Plekhanov managed to escape.

Organization. The cell was a closed group of fives; everyone knew only the members of their own group of five. Structurally, the organization was divided into groups:

· “Center” (“Administration”) – management. Elected by the “main circle” of 30 people (the core of the organization)

· Villagers - agitation in the village

· Working group– workers’ agitation

· Intellectual group – student agitation

· Disorganization group - reconnaissance, obtaining information from punitive institutions, attracting officials and military personnel to their side, terrorist acts)

· “Heavenly Office” - preparation of passports, residence permits, etc.

Program:

· Transfer of all land to peasants with the right of communal use

· Introduction of self-government

· Assertion of civil liberties (speech, religion, assembly)

· Creation of production agricultural and industrial associations

Facilities:

· Propaganda among peasants, workers, students, artisans, military

· Influence on liberal opposition circles of Russian society in order to attract them to one’s side

Like Bakunin, they abandoned the idea of ​​political struggle (since the masses are indifferent to the character political system). The problem of terror had not yet been raised; it came to light in 1879. Previous acts of violence were caused by bad behavior of the authorities or self-defense (1878 - Zasulich vs Trepov)

In January 1879, Kletochnikov entered service in the 3rd department and gained access to classified materials, and for 2 years he leaked important information to the revolutionaries. In the end, he was discovered and sentenced to execution, which was replaced by eternal hard labor, which he did not live to see - he died in Pertropavlovka.

The group “Southern Rebels” organized the “Chigirin Conspiracy” (1877), which consisted of transferring a revolutionary program to the peasants under the guise of a royal decree. 2 thousand peasants were gathered. The organization was discovered in June. The organizers themselves escaped from prison, and four peasants were sentenced to hard labor.

In 1879, many supporters of terror tactics appeared. 04/2/1879 - unsuccessful attempt by Solovyov on A2 Palace Square. Repression of the populists. There were heated discussions within the organization about the advisability of terror and political struggle. Supporters of terror created the organization “Freedom or Death”. On June 18-24, 1879, a congress of land Volunteers took place in Voronezh. Supporters of terror had already gathered in Lipetsk to determine a line of conduct. At the Voronezh congress, a heated debate broke out between Andrei Zhelyabov (for terror) and Plekhanov (against terror). Zhelyabov won. 08/15/1879 “Land and Freedom” divided into “People’s Will” (the majority of the Land Volyas) and “Black Redistribution” (kept to the same principles)

"LAND AND FREEDOM" of the 1870s, a secret revolutionary society in Russia, one of largest organizations populism. Founded in St. Petersburg at the beginning of 1876 as the “Northern Revolutionary Populist Group”, then called the “Society of Populists”, from the end of 1878 - “Land and Freedom” (in memory of the “Land and Freedom” of the 1860s). Prominent figures of “Land and Freedom” since the foundation of the organization were O. V. Aptekman, A. A. Kvyatkovsky, D. A. Lizogub, A. D. Mikhailov, M. A. Natanson, O. A. Natanson (née Shleisner ), A. D. Oboleshev, G. V. Plekhanov and others. Later S. M. Kravchinsky, D. A. Klements, N. A. Morozov, S. L. Perovskaya, L. A. Tikhomirov joined it, M. F. Frolenko (many were previously members of the Tchaikovsky circle). The group of V. N. Figner collaborated with “Land and Freedom”. Members of “Land and Freedom” for the first time called themselves “populists”.

The formation of “Land and Freedom” was preceded by a discussion by the populists of the unsuccessful experience of “going to the people” in 1873-75. As a result, the foundations of the “Land and Freedom” program were determined (finally adopted in May 1878), which reflected many of the theoretical and tactical provisions put forward by M. A. Bakunin. The members of “Land and Freedom” proclaimed the establishment of “anarchy and collectivism” as their ultimate goal. Pushing the achievement of this goal into the distant future, the landowners in the near future believed in implementing measures based, in their opinion, on the “fundamental character traits of the Russian people”: an equal distribution of all land among the peasants, the establishment of “full secular self-government,” promoting the division of the country “into parts according to local desires,” proclamation of freedom of religion. These tasks were summarized in the slogan “Land and Freedom!” Members of the society were convinced that the implementation of their program was possible only through a “violent coup”; they emphasized the need for its rapid organization in view of the development of capitalism, which, as the landowners believed, was supposed to cause the destruction of the community (the landowners considered it as the basis of the socialist path of development of Russia) and distort the “people's worldview.” To prepare for the revolution, members of “Land and Freedom” considered it necessary: ​​to intensify what they believed was already existing discontent among the people, including through the organization of permanent “settlements and hangouts” of revolutionaries in the countryside; to attract religious sects and “bands of robbers” to one’s side, to organize riots, demonstrations, strikes, and to conduct propaganda in the army - officer circles; to carry out “the systematic extermination of the most harmful or prominent persons from the government and in general people who maintain this or that order that we hate.”

The landowners began to create “settlements” (mainly in the Volga region, where there was a large Old Believer population and, as the landowners believed, the traditions of mass popular movements 18th century), settling in villages as paramedics, teachers, clerks, etc. The organization established the publication and distribution of the newspapers “Land and Freedom” (1878-79) and “Listok “Land and Freedom”” (1879), brochures, leaflets, appeals; conducted propaganda and agitation among workers and students. “Land and Freedom” organized in St. Petersburg in 1876 the first political demonstration in the history of Russia with the participation of workers (it was held under the slogans “Land and Freedom!”, “Long live social revolution!"). In 1878-79, many landowners actively participated in student unrest and several strikes in St. Petersburg.

The terrorist activities of “Land and Freedom” were expressed in the murder of S. M. Kravchinsky, the chief of gendarmes and the main head of the 3rd department, N. V. Mezentsov, and G. D. Goldenberg, the Kharkov governor-general, Prince D. N. Kropotkin, as well as failed attempts by L. F. Mirsky on the new chief of gendarmes and the main chief of the 3rd department A. R. Drenteln and A. K. Solovyov on Emperor Alexander II. In 1877-79, landowners killed police agents N.A. Sharashkin, A.G. Nikonov and N.V. Reinshtein, adjutant to the head of the Kyiv provincial gendarme department, Baron G. E. Geiking. The landowners viewed their terrorist acts as revenge or a means of self-defense and accompanied them with the widespread distribution of proclamations and letters to government officials, in which the attacks were motivated and sometimes announced. Thanks to the efforts of the actual leader of the organization, A.D. Mikhailov, who strictly monitored compliance with the requirements of secrecy, most of the members of “Land and Freedom” managed to avoid arrest (in 1880, the only major trial of members of “Land and Freedom” took place, in which out of 11 defendants, 7 sentenced to various terms of hard labor, 4 to exile in Siberia). In January 1879, N.V. Kletochnikov, who joined “Land and Freedom,” joined the Third Department and supplied the Land Volya members with information about the plans and actions of the political police.

The propaganda of the landowners did not find a response among the peasants and caused disappointment among many “settlers”. In connection with this, as well as in connection with the growth of government repression, the belief in the need for a political struggle against the autocracy in order to achieve democratic freedoms, without which the propaganda of socialist ideas was impossible, began to spread among the landowners. From the beginning of 1878, a group of “politicians” was formed within “Land and Freedom” and by the spring of 1879, supporters of the systematic use of terrorist methods (A. I. Zhelyabov, A. A. Kvyatkovsky, A. D. Mikhailov, N. A. Morozov , L.A. Tikhomirov, etc.), which took the name “Executive Committee of the Social Revolutionary Party”. She began to form the terrorist group "Freedom or Death". Supporters of the previous tactics began to be called “villagers” (O. V. Aptekman, G. V. Plekhanov, M. R. Popov, etc.). Disagreements between the two groups led to the split of Land and Freedom in mid-1879 into two independent organizations - Black Redistribution and Narodnaya Volya.

Source: Revolutionary journalism of the seventies. Rostov n/d., 1907; Archive of “Land and Freedom” and “Narodnaya Volya”. M., 1932; Revolutionary populism 70s XIX century M., 1965. T. 2; Revolutionary radicalism in Russia: the nineteenth century. Documentary publication. M., 1997.

Lit.: Aptekman O.V. Society “Land and Freedom” of the 70s. 2nd ed. P., 1924; Levin Sh. M. Social movement in Russia in the 60-70s of the 19th century. M., 1958; Tkachenko P. S. Revolutionary populist organization “Land and Freedom” (1876-1879). M., 1961; Tvardovskaya V. A. Socialist thought of Russia at the turn of the 1870-1880s. M., 1969; Troitsky N. A. Crusaders of socialism. Saratov, 2002.