In the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century, left-wing radical movements are gaining strength. The first parties created during this period were under police control and were banned. The Socialist Revolutionary Party also belongs to them. The political party began to quickly gain strength due to its ideas to overthrow the autocracy and establish a democratic system.
The emergence of the party of socialists - revolutionaries
The difficult situation in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century led to the emergence of many political parties of various kinds. The party was a meeting of like-minded people who were deciding questions about the future fate of the Russian state. Each party had its own political program and representatives in different parts of Russia.
All political parties and movements were banned, and their representatives were forced to go underground. However, the first Russian revolution changed the policy of the authorities. Imperator Nicholas II was forced to give the people a Manifesto, which allowed important democratic freedoms. One of them was the ability to freely create political parties.
The first political circle was created in 1894 in Saratov. These were representatives of the socialists - revolutionaries. The organization was banned at that time and operated underground. Viktor Mikhailovich Chernov was elected leader of the party. At first, they kept in touch with representatives of the former revolutionary organization "Narodnaya Volya". Later the Narodnaya Volya members were dispersed, and the Saratov organization began to spread its influence.
The Saratov circle included representatives of the radical intelligentsia. After the dispersal of the Narodnaya Volya, the Social Revolutionaries developed their own program of action and began to work independently. Socialist revolutionaries created their own organ, which was published in 1896. A year later, the party began to operate in Moscow.
Socialist Revolutionary Party Program
The official date of the formation of the party is 1902. It consisted of several groups. One of the party cells was involved in carrying out terrorist attacks against high-ranking officials. So in 1902, terrorists attempted to assassinate the Minister of the Interior. As a result, the party was disbanded. Instead of a single political organization, small detachments remained that could not conduct a constant struggle.
The fate of the party changed during the first Russian revolution. Emperor Nicholas II allowed the creation of political organizations. So the party again found itself in the political arena. VM Chernov, the leader of the Socialist-Revolutionaries, saw the need to involve the peasants in the struggle for power. He relied on a peasant revolt.
At the same time, the party created its own program of action. The main directions of the party's work were the overthrow of the autocracy, the establishment of a democratic republic, and universal suffrage. It was supposed to carry out a revolution, the driving force of which was to be the peasantry.
Power Struggle Methods
The most widespread method of the struggle for power for the Socialist-Revolutionary Party was individual terror, and in the future, the revolution. Socialist revolutionaries tried to achieve their goals through political bodies. During the Great October Revolution, party representatives joined the Provisional Government, which was subsequently dispersed.
The Social Revolutionaries called for pogroms of landowners' estates and terrorist acts. Over the entire existence of the party, more than 200 murders of high-ranking officials have been committed.
During the period of the Provisional Government's activity, a split occurred in the Socialist-Revolutionary Party. The scattered movement of the socialist revolutionaries did not bring good results. The left and right wing of the party fought by their own methods, but they failed to achieve their goals. The party was unable to extend its influence to all segments of the population and began to lose control over the peasantry.
End of the Socialist-Revolutionary Party
In the mid-20s of the 20th century, Chernov fled abroad to get away from the police. There he became the leader of a foreign group that published articles and newspapers bearing the party's slogans. In Russia, the party has already lost all influence. Former Social Revolutionaries were arrested, tried, sent into exile. There is no such party today. However, its ideology and demand for democratic freedoms have survived.
The social revolutionaries gave the world a lot of ideas about the establishment of democracy, fair government and the allocation of resources.
