Everyone knows that as a result of the October Revolution and the ensuing Civil War, the Bolshevik Party came to power in Russia, which, with various fluctuations in its general line, remained with the leadership almost until the collapse of the USSR (1991). The official historiography of the Soviet years inspired the population with the idea that it was this force that enjoyed the greatest support of the masses, while all other political organizations, to one degree or another, sought to revive capitalism. This is not entirely true. For example, the Socialist Revolutionary Party stood on an irreconcilable platform, in comparison with which the position of the Bolsheviks sometimes looked relatively peaceful. At the same time, the Social Revolutionaries criticized the "combat detachment of the proletariat" led by Lenin for usurping power and oppressing democracy. So what kind of party was that?
One against all
Of course, after many artistic images created by the masters of “socialist realistic art”, the party of socialist revolutionaries looked ominously in the eyes of the Soviet people. The Socialist Revolutionaries were recalled when the story was about the attempt on Lenin in 1918, the assassination of Uritsky, the Kronstadt uprising (rebellion) and other facts unpleasant for the Communists. It seemed to everyone that they “poured water on the mill” of the counter-revolution, sought to stifle Soviet power and physically eliminate the Bolshevik leaders. At the same time, it was somehow forgotten that this organization waged a powerful underground struggle against the “tsarist satraps”, carried out an unthinkable number of terrorist acts during the two Russian revolutions, and during the Civil War caused a lot of trouble to the White movement. Such ambiguity led to the fact that the Socialist-Revolutionary Party was hostile to almost all warring parties, entering into temporary alliances with them and terminating them in order to achieve their own independent goal. What was she like? It is impossible to figure this out without familiarizing yourself with the party program.
Origins and creation
It is believed that the creation of the Socialist Revolutionary Party took place in 1902. In a sense, this is true, but not quite. In 1894, the Saratov people's society (underground, of course) developed its own program, which was somewhat more radical than before. A couple of years were spent on developing a program, sending it abroad, publishing, printing leaflets, delivering them to Russia and other manipulations related to the emergence of a new force in the political sky. Then, at first, a small circle was headed by a certain Argunov, who renamed it, calling it “the Union of Socialists-Revolutionaries”. The first measure of the new party was the creation of branches and the establishment of stable relations with them, which seems quite logical. Branches were created in the largest cities of the empire - Kharkov, Odessa, Voronezh, Poltava, Penza and, of course, in the capital, St. Petersburg. The process of party building was crowned by the emerging press organ. The program was published on the pages of the newspaper "Revolutionary Russia". This leaflet announced that the creation of the Socialist Revolutionary Party was a fait accompli. It was in 1902.
Goals
Any political force acts in accordance with the program. This document, adopted by a majority of the constituent congress, proclaims goals and methods, allies and opponents, the main driving forces and the obstacles to be overcome. In addition, management principles, governing bodies and membership conditions are indicated. The Socialist-Revolutionaries set the Party's tasks as follows:
1. The establishment in Russia of a free and democratic state with a federal structure.
2. Empowerment of all citizens by equal suffrage.
3. Declaration and observance of the rights and freedoms of conscience, press, speech, unions, associations, etc.
4. The right to free education.
5. The abolition of the armed forces as a permanent state structure.
6. An eight-hour working day.
7. The separation of state and church.
There were a few more points, but on the whole they largely repeated the slogans of the Mensheviks, Bolsheviks and other organizations, which also sought to seize power, like the Socialist Revolutionaries. The party program declared the same values and aspirations.
The commonality of the structure was also manifested in the hierarchical ladder described by the charter. The form of government of the Socialist Revolutionary Party included two levels. Congresses and Soviets (during the inter-congressional period) made strategic decisions that were carried out by the Central Committee, which was considered the executive body.
Socialist-Revolutionaries and the agrarian question
At the end of the 19th century, Russia was predominantly an agrarian country, in which the peasantry made up the bulk of the population. The Bolsheviks in particular and the Social Democrats generally considered this class politically backward, prone to private-ownership instincts, and assigned its poorest part only the role of the closest ally of the proletariat, the locomotive of the revolution. The Socialist Revolutionaries looked at this question somewhat differently. The party program provided for the socialization of land. In this case, it was not a question of its nationalization, that is, the transfer to state ownership, but not its distribution to the working people. In general, according to the Socialist Revolutionaries, true democracy was to come not from town to village, but vice versa. Therefore, private ownership of agricultural resources should be abolished, their sale should be prohibited and transferred to local authorities, which will distribute all the “good” in accordance with consumer standards. Together, this was called the "socialization" of the land.
Peasants
It is interesting that, declaring the village the source of socialism, the Socialist-Revolutionary Party treated its inhabitants themselves quite carefully. Peasants really never were particularly political literate. What did he expect them, the leaders and ordinary members of the organization did not know, the life of the villagers was alien to them. The Socialist-Revolutionaries "were sick of the soul" for the oppressed people and, as often happens, believed that they knew how to make him happy, better than himself. Their participation in the councils that arose during the First Russian Revolution strengthened influence both in the peasant and in the working environment. As for the proletariat, there was a critical attitude towards it. In general, the working mass was considered to be amorphous, and a lot of effort had to be made to unite it.
Terror
The Socialist Revolutionary Party in Russia gained fame in the year of its creation. The Minister of Internal Affairs Sipyagin was shot dead by Stepan Balmashev, and organized the murder of G. Girshuni, who led the fighting wing of the organization. Then there were many terrorist attacks (the most famous of which were the successful assassination attempts on S. A. Romanov, uncle Nikolai II, and Minister Pleve). After the revolution, the Left Socialist-Revolutionary Party continued its murderous list, many Bolshevik leaders became its victims, with which there were significant disagreements. Not a single political party could compete with the AKP in the ability to organize individual terrorist attacks and reprisals against individual opponents. The Social Revolutionaries really eliminated the head of the Petrograd Cheka, Uritsky. As for the assassination attempt at the Michelson factory, this story is vague, but their involvement cannot be completely ruled out. However, in terms of the scale of mass terror, they were far from the Bolsheviks. However, it is possible if they came to power ...
Azef
The personality is legendary. Evno Azef led the combat organization and, as it was irrefutably proved, collaborated with the detective department of the Russian Empire. And most importantly - in both of these, so different in goals and objectives, structures they were very pleased. Azef organized a series of attacks against representatives of the tsarist administration, but at the same time handed over a huge number of militants to the secret service. Only in 1908 did the Social Revolutionaries expose him. Which party will tolerate such a traitor in its ranks? The central committee passed a sentence - death. Azef was already almost in the hands of his former comrades, but was able to deceive them and flee. How he succeeded is not entirely clear, but the fact remains: until 1918 he lived and died not from poison, a loop or a bullet, but from a kidney disease that he “earned” in a Berlin prison.
Savinkov
The Socialist Revolutionary Party attracted many adventurers in spirit who were looking for a point of application for their criminal talents. One of them was Boris Savinkov, who began his political career as a liberal, and then joined the terrorists. He joined the party of social revolutionaries a year after its creation, was Azef's first deputy, took part in the preparation of many terrorist acts, including the most resonant ones, was sentenced to death, and fled. After the October Revolution, he fought against Bolshevism. He claimed supreme power in Russia, collaborated with Denikin, was familiar with Churchill and Pilsudsky. Savinkov committed suicide after his arrest of the Cheka in 1924.
Gershuni
Grigory Andreyevich Gershuni was one of the most active members of the combat wing of the Socialist Revolutionary Party. He directly supervised the execution of terrorist acts against Minister Sipyagin, the attempted murder of the governor of Kharkov, Obolensky, and many other actions designed to achieve public prosperity. He acted everywhere - from Ufa and Samara to Geneva - engaged in organizational work and coordination of the activities of local underground circles. He was arrested in 1900 , but Gershuni managed to avoid harsh penalties, as he, in violation of party ethics, stubbornly denied his involvement in the conspiratorial structure. Nevertheless, failure occurred in Kiev, and in 1904 a sentence followed: exile. The escape led Grigory Andreyevich to Paris emigration, where he soon died. He was a true artist of terror. The main disappointment of his life was Azef's betrayal.
Civil War Party
The deification of the Soviets, instilled, according to the Socialist Revolutionaries, artificially, and carried out by dishonest methods, led to the withdrawal of party representatives from them. Further activities were sporadic. The Social Revolutionaries entered into temporary alliances with the white and the red, and both sides understood that this cooperation was dictated only by short-term political interests. Having gained a majority in the Constituent Assembly, the party was unable to consolidate success. In 1919, the Bolsheviks, given the value of the organization’s terrorist experience, decided to legalize its activities in the territories they controlled, but this step did not affect the intensity of anti-Soviet protests. However, the Social Revolutionaries at times declared a moratorium on speeches, supporting one of the struggling parties. In 1922, the members of the AKP were finally “exposed” as enemies of the revolution, and their complete eradication throughout the entire territory of Soviet Russia began.
In exile
The PSR overseas delegation arose long before the actual defeat of the party, in 1918. This structure was not approved by the central committee, but, nevertheless, existed in Stockholm. After the actual ban on activities in Russia, almost all party members who survived and remained at large were in exile. They concentrated mainly in Prague, Berlin and Paris. Viktor Chernov, who fled abroad in 1920, headed the work of foreign cells. In addition to “Revolutionary Russia,” other periodicals were published in exile (“For the People!”, “Modern Notes”), which reflected the main idea that engulfed former underground workers who had recently fought with the exploiters. By the end of the 30s, they realized the need to restore capitalism.
The end of the Socialist Revolutionary Party
The struggle of the Chekists against the surviving Socialist-Revolutionaries became the subject of many fiction novels and films. In general, the picture of these works corresponded to reality, although it was presented distorted. In fact, by the mid-1920s, the Socialist Revolutionary movement was a political corpse, completely harmless to the Bolsheviks. Inside Soviet Russia, the Social Revolutionaries (former) were mercilessly captured, and sometimes social-revolutionary views were even attributed to people who had never shared them. Successfully conducted operations to lure especially odious party members in the USSR were aimed more likely at justifying future repressions, presented as yet another exposure of underground anti-Soviet organizations. The Socialist Revolutionaries were soon replaced by Trotskyites, Zinovievites, Bukharinites, Martovites and other former Bolsheviks, who suddenly became objectionable. But this is another story ...