Black Hundreds were called members of the Russian patriotic organizations of 1905-17, who adhered to the positions of monarchism, anti-Semitism and great-power chauvinism. These organizations applied terror to rioters. The Black Hundred parties in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century participated in dispersal of rallies, demonstrations, and meetings. Organizations supported the government, carried out Jewish pogroms.
At first glance, understanding this movement is quite difficult. The Black-Hundred parties included representatives of organizations that did not always work together. However, if we dwell on the most important thing, we can see that the Black Hundreds had common ideas and directions of development. We will briefly introduce the main Black-Hundred parties of Russia and their leaders.
Key Organizations and Leaders
The Russian Assembly, created in 1900, can be considered the first monarchist organization in our country. We will not take into account its predecessor, the "Russian squad" (this underground organization did not last long). However, the main force of the Black Hundreds movement was the Union of the Russian People, which arose in 1905.
It was headed by Dubrovin. Purishkevich in 1908 disagreed with him and left the NRC. He created his own organization, the Union of Michael the Archangel. In the NRC in 1912, a second split occurred. The confrontation this time arose between Markov and Dubrovin. Dubrovin now came out of the Union. He formed the far-right Dubrovinsky "Union of the Russian people." Thus, 3 monarchist leaders came to the forefront: Markov (NRC), Purishkevich (AGR) and Dubrovin (VDSRN).
The main Black-Hundred parties are those listed above. You can also note the "Russian monarchical union." However, the representatives of this party were the Orthodox clergy and nobles, so this association was small and not of significant interest. In addition, after a while, the party split. Part of the organization went to Purishkevich.
The origin of the word "Black Hundreds"
The word "Black Hundreds" comes from the old Russian word "Black Hundred", which means a posadly heavy population divided into military-administrative units (hundreds). Representatives of the movement we are interested in were members of Russian monarchist, right-Christian and anti-Semitic organizations. The Black Hundred is a term that has become widely used to refer to ultra-right anti-Semites and politicians. Representatives of this movement put forward the principle of sole, absolute power, as opposed to democratic principles . They believed that Russia has 3 enemies that must be fought. This is a dissident, an intellectual and a foreigner.
Black Hundreds and Temperance
Partially Black-Hundred parties formed from the popular movement against alcoholism. These organizations have never denied sobriety. At the same time, it was believed that the consumption of beer in moderation is an alternative to vodka poisoning. Some of the cells of the Black Hundreds were even framed in the form of sobriety, reading societies for the people, tea houses and even beer houses.
Black Hundreds and Peasantry
The Black Hundreds is a party whose program of action has not been properly designed, with the exception of the call to beat Jews, intellectuals, liberals and revolutionaries. Therefore, the peasantry, which was practically not in contact with these categories, remained almost untouched by these organizations.
Pogroms of intelligentsia and Jews
The Black-Hundred parties made the main bet on inciting ethnic and national enmity. The result was pogroms that swept across Russia. I must say that the pogroms began even before the deployment of the Black Hundreds movement. The intelligentsia did not always avoid the blow, which was aimed at the "enemies of Russia." Its representatives could easily be beaten and even killed on the streets, often on a par with the Jews. Even the fact that a substantial part of the organizers of the Black Hundreds movement consisted of conservative intellectuals did not save.
Not all pogroms, contrary to popular opinion, were prepared by the Black-Hundred parties. In 1905-07, these organizations were still quite small. However, the Black Hundreds were very active in districts whose populations were mixed (in Belarus, Ukraine, and in 15 provinces of the so-called "Jewish Pale of Settlement"). In these regions there were more than half of all representatives of the "Union of the Russian people", as well as other similar organizations. The wave of pogroms as the activities of the Black Hundreds developed began to subside rather. Many prominent figures in these parties have pointed this out.
Organization Financing, Newspaper Publishing
Government subsidies were an important source of funding for Black Hundred unions. Funds were allocated from the funds of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in order to control the policies of these associations. At the same time, the Black-Hundred parties also collected donations from private individuals.
At different times, these organizations published the newspapers Pochaevsky Listok, Russian Banner, Thunderstorm, Bell, Veche. The Black-Hundred parties of the beginning of the 20th century also promoted their ideas in such large newspapers as "Kievlyanin", "Moskovsky Vedomosti", "Svet", "Citizen".
Congress in Moscow
Organizations held a congress in Moscow in October 1906. It elected the Main Board and united all the Black Hundreds, creating the "United Russian People". However, their merger did not actually happen. The organization already a year later ceased to exist.
It must be said that the constructive ideas of the Black Hundreds (both topics discussed by the press and the programs of organizations) presupposed the creation of a conservative society. Considerable debate has generally been held on the need for parliamentarism and representative institutions. The Black Hundreds is a party whose program was outlined only in general terms. Therefore, as well as for a number of other reasons, these organizations were not viable.
Black Hundreds: program
The theory of "official nationality" was at the heart of the program of these organizations. She was nominated by S.S. Uvarov, Minister of Education, back in the 1st half of the 19th century. This theory was based on the formula "Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality." Autocracy and Orthodoxy were represented by primordially Russian principles. The last element of the formula, "nationality", was understood as the commitment of the people to the first two. The Black Hundred parties and organizations adhered to unlimited autocracy in matters of the internal structure of the country. Even the State Duma, which appeared during the revolution of 1905-07, they considered a deliberative body under the tsar. They perceived the reforms in the country as a hopeless and impossible undertaking. At the same time, the programs of these organizations (for example, the NRC) declared freedom of the press, speech, religion, unions, meetings, personal integrity, etc.
As for the agrarian program, it was uncompromising. The Black Hundreds did not want to make concessions. They were not satisfied with the option of partial confiscation of land of the landowners. They proposed selling state-owned empty land to peasants, as well as developing credit and rental systems.
Killing Cadets
The Black Hundred parties of the beginning of the 20th century during the revolution (1905–07) supported the majority of government policies. They killed two members of the Central Committee of the Cadet Party - G.B. Iollosa and M.Ya. Herzenstein. Both of them were their political opponents: they were liberals, Jews, and former deputies of the State Duma. Special anger of the Black Hundreds caused Professor Herzenstein, who spoke on the agrarian question. He was killed on July 18, 1906 in Terioki. The participants in the Union of Russian People were convicted in this case. These are A. Polovnev, N. Yuskevich-Kraskovsky, E. Larichkin and S. Alexandrov. The first three were sentenced for complicity and given 6 years each, and Aleksandrov received 6 months for not reporting the impending crime. Alexander Kazantsev, the perpetrator of this murder, was himself killed by then, so he did not appear in court.
Black Hundreds lose influence
The Black Hundreds is a party that after the revolution failed to become a single political force, despite some successes. Its representatives could not find a sufficient number of allies in a multistructure, multi-ethnic Russian society. But the members of this movement opposed the radical left parties and the liberal centrist circles that were influential at that time. Even part of the potential allies in the person of supporters of imperial nationalism also rebelled against them.
Frightened by the episodic violence and radical rhetoric of the Black Hundreds, the sovereigns who were in power saw ethnic nationalism as almost the main threat to the state. They were able to convince Nicholas II, who was sympathetic to the "allies", as well as court circles, in the need to turn their backs on this movement. This further weakened the Black Hundreds in the political arena on the eve of the events of 1917. World War I also contributed to the weakening of this movement. Many activists and ordinary members of the Black-Hundred organizations went to it as volunteers. The movement of interest to us in the 1917 revolution did not play a significant role. The Black Hundreds are a party whose remnants were mercilessly destroyed after the victory of the Bolsheviks, who saw nationalism as a threat to the Soviet system.
Prohibition of organizations and the fate of their members
The Black Hundred organizations were banned after the February Revolution. They persisted only partially in the clandestine position. Many prominent leaders during the Civil War joined the White movement. Once in exile, they criticized the activities of Russian emigrants. Some prominent representatives of this movement eventually joined nationalist organizations.