Union of the Russian People

Union of the Russian People Союз русского народа
Great Russian nationalism[8] Conservatism (Russian) Orthodox fundamentalism Right-wing populism[2][9] Antisemitism Anti-Ukrainian sentiment[10] Pochvennichestvo[11][12] Proto-fascism[2]
Political position	Far-right
Religion	Russian Orthodox Church
National affiliation	Black Hundreds[13]
Colours	Black,   white and   gold (House of Romanov colours)
Slogan	"For the Tsar, Faith and Fatherland"[14]
Anthem	"God Save the Tsar!"
Party flag
Website
http://srn.rusidea.org/
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The Union of the Russian People (URP) (Russian: Союз русского народа, romanized: Soyuz russkogo naroda; СРН/SRN) was a loyalist far-right nationalist political party, the most important among Black-Hundredist monarchist political organizations in the Russian Empire between 1905 and 1917.^[13][15] Since 2005, organizational cells of the Union have been undergoing a revival in Russia and Ukraine.

Founded in October 1905, its aim was to rally the people behind '

The Union was dissolved in 1917 in the wake of the Revolution, and its leader, Alexander Dubrovin placed under arrest.

Some modern academic researchers view the Union of the Russian People as an early example of fascism.^[2][9]

Ideology and political views

The Union was the leading exponent of antisemitism in the wake of the 1905 Revolution.

The Union also actively campaigned against Ukrainian self-determination and in particular, against the 'cult' of the popular Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko.^[19]

History

Creation

The Union of the Russian people was by far the most important of the extreme rightist groups formed in the wake of the 1905 Revolution.

Five days after the proclamation of the October Manifesto on 30 October [O.S. 17 October] 1905, Purishkevich, Apollo Apollonovich Maikov (son of poet Apollon Maykov), Pavel Bulatzel, Baranov, Vladimir Gringmut^{[citation needed]} and some others gathered at Dubrovin's home. At this meeting, they concurred with Dubrovin's idea to set up a political organization (Dubrovin opposed to calling it a party). In a couple of weeks initiators worked out an organisational structure, devised a program, and on 8 November [O.S. 26 October] 1905 formally announced the founding of the Union of the Russian People. Dubrovin was elected its chairman.^[20]

The Union's Manifesto expressed a 'plebeian mistrust' of every political party, as well as the bureaucracy and the intelligentsia. The group looked at these as obstacles to 'the direct communion between the Tsar and his people'. This struck a deep chord with Nicholas II, who also shared the deep belief in re-establishment of autocratic personal rule, as had existed in the Muscovite state of the 1600s.^[15] It also stood for the russification of non-Russian citizens. The charter was adopted in August 1906.^{[citation needed]}

Support

After the

Members of the Tsar's court, like Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich, Alexander Trepov, and other government officials and clergy members 'unquestionably welcomed a movement such as this'. Sergei Witte was a rare occasion among high-ranking officials being 'unequivocally hostile to the URP'^[26] (in his memoirs he calls Dubrovin a 'high-handed and abusive leader').^[27]

Street fighting

The Union was horrified by Tsar Nicholas II's refusal to strike down harshly on the Leftist revolutionaries. The Union, therefore, decided to organise this for the Tsar, and organised paramilitary bands, which came to be known as the 'Black Hundreds' by the democrats, to fight revolutionaries in the streets. These militant groups marched through the streets holding in their pockets knives and brass knuckles, and carrying religious symbols such as icons and crosses and imperial ones such as patriotic banners and portraits of Tsar Nicholas II.^[2] They marched through the streets fighting to 'revenge themselves' and restore the old hierarchy of society and races. Their numbers were swelled by thousands of criminals who had been released as a part of the October amnesty, who looked at it as a chance of violence and pillaging. Often encouraged by police officers, they beat up suspected democratic sympathisers, making them kneel before tsarist portraits or making them kiss the Imperial flag.^[28] In October 1906, they formed a Black-Hundredist organisation called Russian People United (Russian: Объединённый русский народ, romanized: Ob’yedinyonniy russkiy narod).^{[citation needed]}

1906–1917

By 1906 the Union had a total of 300,000 members spread over 1,000 different branches.

The Union opposed Stolypin's reforms, being supporters of the 'legitimist bloc' which, through its support in the court, church, nobility and the Union, defeated nearly all of Stolypin's reform proposals.[29]

The Union also became the main instigator (through meetings, gatherings, lectures, manifestations and mass public prayers) of the

In 1908–10, the infighting in the URP broke the organisation into several smaller entities, which were in constant conflict with each other: Union of Archangel Michael (Russian: Союз Михаила Архангела, romanized: Soyuz Mikhaila Arkhangela), Union of the Russian People (Russian: Союз русского народа, romanized: Soyuz russkogo naroda), Dubrovin's All-Russian Union of the Russian People in Petersburg (Russian: Всероссийский дубровинский Союз русского народа в Петербурге, romanized: Vserossiysky dubrovinsky Soyuz russkogo naroda v Peterburge), etc.^{[citation needed]} After the February Revolution of 1917, all of the Black-Hundredist organisations were forcefully dissolved and banned.^{[citation needed]}

Soon after the February Revolution of 1917, the URP was suspended and its leader Alexander Dubrovin was arrested.^{[citation needed]}

Party leaders and organisation

The supreme body of URP was called the Main Council (Russian: Главный Совет, romanized: Glavny Soviet). Its chairman Alexander Dubrovin had two deputies: noble landowner and future Duma Deputy Vladimir Purishkevich and engineer A. I. Trishatny. From six other board members (Pavel Bulatzel, George Butmi, P. P. Surin and others) four belonged to the merchant estate, and two were peasants by origin. A merchant from Petersburg I. I. Baranov was the treasurer of the URP, and barrister Sergei Trishatny (elder brother of a Deputy Chairman) performed as secretary.^[18]

Later the Main Council increased to 12 members, among which S. D. Chekalov, M. N. Zelensky, Ye. D. Golubev, N. N. Yazykov, G. A. Slipak are mentioned.^{[citation needed]}

Newspapers

URP's chief

The Union of the Russian People has seen a revival in Russia since 2005 and has several followers and 17 offices in large cities.^[3] The first chairman of the refounded group was Vyacheslav Klykov. The Union's main activities can be described as national patriotism with a strong emphasis on the Russian Orthodox Church and revival of Russian traditions gone into the past after the October Revolution.^{[citation needed]}

The Union of the Russian People has also been noticed to exist in Ukraine since at least 2010.^[34]

See also

• Black Hundreds

Bibliography

• Figes, Orlando (2014). A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution 1891–1924. London: The Bodley Head.
  ISBN 9781847922915
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• Rawson, Don C. (March 1995). Russian rightists and the revolution of 1905. Cambridge Russian, Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies (No. 95). Cambridge University Press.
  ISBN 978-0-521-48386-5
  .
• ISBN 978-0-521-40532-4
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• ISBN 1-85109-444-X
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• Rogger, Hans (1986). "Was there a Russian Fascism? The Union of Russian People". Jewish policies and right-wing politics in imperial Russia.
  ISBN 0-520-04596-3
  .
• Rogger, Hans (1986). "The Formation of the Russian Right: 1900–1906". Jewish policies and right-wing politics in imperial Russia. pp. 191–193.
  ISBN 9780520045965
  .
• Ascher, Abraham (1986). The Revolution of 1905: Authority restored.
  ISBN 0-520-04596-3
  .