Libmonster ID: KG-1306
Author(s) of the publication: I. A. ALTMAN

The 90th anniversary of the "case of March 1, 1887", organized by a group of revolutionaries led by Lenin's older brother A. I. Ulyanov, was celebrated. An unsuccessful attempt on the tsar's life led to the complete defeat of the "Terrorist Faction of the Narodnaya Volya Party" that had emerged in November 1886, and the trial that followed soon ended with the death sentence of Ulyanov and four of his comrades who were executed on May 8 (20), 1887 in the Shlisselburg Fortress.

Ulyanov entered the history of the liberation struggle against the autocracy not only as one of the leaders of the assassination attempt on Alexander III, prepared under the flag of Narodnaya Volya. He compiled the group's program , one of the most interesting documents of the liberation movement, reflecting the painful search for a correct revolutionary theory in the era of reaction, when "Russian revolutionary thought worked most intensively, creating the foundations of a social-democratic worldview."1 With the emergence of the Emancipation of Labor group and the first social-democratic circles in Russia, Marxism exerted an increasing influence on the revolutionaries of the 1880s, who had to " appeal mainly to the urban and industrial population, and, consequently, give the interests of this population an incomparably wider place in their program."2 . This idea is confirmed by the Ulyanov Group's program document.

Its text was practically not used in the works of the pre-October period. Thus, the author of the report on the "March 1, 1887 case", published in the emigrant magazine "Free Russia", V. Burtsev believed that the participants in this case did not proceed from any specific theoretical guidelines, although he noted that they made an attempt to print the program of Group 3 . In the book of gendarme General N. I. Shebeko and Prince N. N. Golitsyn, 4 Ulyanov was called the author of a hectographed program published in Kharkov, which justified the principles of"systematic terror". Indeed, in this document and in the program of the Ulyanov group, there is a unity of views on the issue of decentralizing terror. However, the authors do not provide any data that allows us to consider Ulyanov as the compiler of the Kharkiv program, and a comparison of its text with the program of the group indicates the independence of both documents. A member of the group, I. D. Lukashevich, in his memoirs written at the beginning of 1906, described the document compiled by Ulyanov as a transition between the " program

1 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 12, p. 331.

2 G. V. Plekhanov. Socialism and political struggle. Our differences, Moscow, 1948, p. 25.

3 "Free Russia", Geneva, 1889, No. 1, pp. 59-60.

4 " Chronicle of the Socialist Movement in Russia. 1878-1887". Moscow, 1906, pp. 337-338.

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Narodnaya Volya i sotsial-demokraticheskaya " 5, but did not support his conclusion with its analysis. For the first time, this important source was introduced into scientific use only in 1918 in an article by A. S. Polyakov, which was soon published as a separate pamphlet6 . The author basically retold the program content, quoting some of its provisions. In his opinion, the drafters made an attempt to "reconcile the theory and practice of Narodnaya Volya with the Social Democrats and give a 'scientific explanation' of terror." Certain provisions of the program received a superficial coverage in the article. Prior to the publication of the text of the document in 1927 by A. I. Ulyanova-Elizarova, 7 some authors who used Polyakov's work underestimated the influence of Marxist ideas on the drafters of the program. Thus, E. I. Yakovenko, an active participant in the student revolutionary movement of the 80s of the XIX century, believed that the document "is not, in the strict sense, a program, but rather a statement of the opinions and views of the circle", which represented "a product of the then collective psychology" 8 . S. A. Nikonov, a member of the group, wrote in his memoirs in 1925 that Ulyanov "did not show any special Marxist ideology"in the program9 .

Alexander Ilyich's sister A. I. Ulyanova-Yelizarova, who was also involved in the investigation of the March 1, 1887 case, was greatly credited with developing a scientific approach to studying the group's worldview. For the first time, Anna Ilyinichna compared certain provisions of the document with the programs of Narodnaya Volya and Blagoev's group, and showed the influence of Marxism on Ulyanovsk's worldview .

Monographs and articles by Soviet historians11 made a significant contribution to the study of the main issues of the worldview of Ulyanov and his comrades. These works serve as a solid foundation for further research of the complex process of evolution from narodism to Marxism, characteristic of the Russian revolutionary movement of the late 80's-early 90's of the XIX century. At the same time, the program of the Ulyanov group was not yet the subject of special source studies. That is why a number of important aspects of the appearance of this document, the sources used by the compilers as its basis, and its structural structure are not fully analyzed in the literature. The main goal of the authors of the document-to promote the unification of Narodnaya Volya and Social Democrats-was also not properly evaluated. This article is devoted to these issues.

The main sources for studying the program of the "Narodnaya Volya Terrorist Faction "are the testimony of members of the group at the preliminary and judicial investigation, their speeches at the trial, memoirs about A. I. Ulyanov and the case of March 1, 1887, as well as letters from the participants of the assassination attempt who fled abroad to figures of revolutionary emigration .12 Program text restored by Ulyanov from memory

5 I. D. Lukashevich. Memoirs of the case of March 1, 1887 "Byloye", Ptgr., 1917, N 1, p. 40.

6 A. S. Polyakov. The second of March 1. Moscow, 1919.

7 "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov and the case of March 1, 1887". Edited by A. I. Ulyanova-Elizarova, Moscow, 1927, pp. 375-380 (hereinafter - "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov").

8 E. I. Yakovenko. About the second one on March 1. "Hard labor and exile", M.-L. 1927, N3 (32), pp. 24,26.

9 TsGIA OF the USSR, f. 1093 (P. E. Shchegoleva), op. 1, d. 147, l. 128.

10 A. I. Ulyanova-Elizarova. Preface to the collection "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov"; her own. Preface to the collection " The First of March 1887 The case of P. Shevyrev, A. Ulyanov and others. Stenographic report". Moscow -L. 1927 (hereinafter - "The first of March 1887").

11 B. S. Itenberg, A. Ya. Chernyak. Alexander Ulyanov (1866-1887), Moscow, 1957. The Life of Alexander Ulyanov, Moscow, 1966; Yu. Z. Polevoy. The Origin of Marxism in Russia, Moscow, 1959; S. N. Semanov. In the Name of the People, Moscow, 1961; V. P. Krikunov, A. I. Ulyanov and the revolutionary raznochintsy of the Don and the North Caucasus. Nalchik, 1963; E. F. Pobegailo. Political views of A. I. Ulyanov. "Jurisprudence", 1970, N 6; V. A. Sutyrin. Alexander Ulyanov, Moscow, 1971; ed. 2-E. M. 1975.

12 See "Lavrov-the Years of Emigration", vol. 11. Dordrecht-Boston. 1974, pp. 172-203.

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during the gendarme inquiry, as well as the main documents of the investigation and memoirs were published in 1927. The verbatim report on the trial and the original program were published in the collection "The First of March 1887".

A very important point for highlighting Ulyanov's political views is the date when his group's program was compiled. Three points of view have been expressed in the literature on this issue: A. S. Polyakov, without any arguments, dates the program to February 1887, 13 V. P. Krikunov believes that the document appeared "not earlier than the end of November and not later than the first half of December 1886," 14 most researchers consider the date of its compilation to be December 188615 . The correct date of the document is essential: it is known that from the beginning of 1887 Ulyanov began a systematic study of the works of the founders of scientific communism, and together with O. M. Govorukhin, he prepared the first Russian translation of Karl Marx's work "Towards a Critique of the Hegelian Philosophy of Law. Introduction". Other members of the group also showed an interest in Marxist literature at that time. That is why V. P. Krikunov expressed the opinion that "it is wrong to interrupt the study of the group's ideological development by analyzing its program" 16 . However, the arguments put forward by Krikunov when dating the program seem to be insufficiently substantiated. He refers to Ulyanov's testimony of 5 March, in which he admitted that he had had conversations with future participants in the assassination attempt about the abnormality of the existing system and possible ways to change it "not earlier than the second half of November".17 These words do not indicate a discussion of the text of the program: in the testimony of March 21, Ulyanov definitely indicated that "the idea of drawing up a program of a terrorist faction appeared... about the second half of December, 1886. " 18 Further, V. P. Krikunov cites the testimony of P. I. Andreyushkin, who stated that in the autumn of 1886 in St. Petersburg he "found a new program developed on the basis of the program of the Executive Committee of the Narodnaya Volya Party and the agreement of the Narodnaya Volya Party with the Social-Democratic Party that took place in the last year", 19 as well as the words of Prosecutor N. A. Neklyudov at the trial, who concluded from the testimony of Andreyushkin that the program "in the second half of December already begins to go around" 20 . However, from Andreyushkin's testimony, it is difficult to understand what kind of program we are talking about. He writes about the agreement already drawn up between the Narodnaya Volya and the Social-Democrats, while Ulyanov only suggested that the program he had drawn up could "serve to unite the revolutionary forces." Moreover, Andreyushkin met Ulyanov on December 31 , 1886, and became a member of the group only in January 1887,21 and it is doubtful that he could have known the text of the faction's program before then.

Unfortunately, those researchers who dated the program to the second half of December 1886 also do not give any strong arguments. Meanwhile, in the memoirs of Govorukhin, written in the winter of 1887/88 in Switzerland and at the time of its creation:

13 A. S. Polyakov. Op. ed., p. 14.

14 V. P. Krikunov. Op. ed., pp. 107, 121.

15 S. N. Semanov. Op. ed., pp. 96-97; B. S. Itenberg, A. Ya. Chernyak. The Life of Alexander Ulyanov, p. 122; E. F. Pobegailo. Op. ed., p. 44.

16 V. P. Krikunov. Op. ed., p. 121.

17 "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", pp. 369-370.

18 Ibid., p. 374.

19 See V. P. Krikunov. Op. op., p. 117; TsGAOR USSR, f. 112, op. 1, d. 648, p. 169.

20 "The First of March, 1887," p. 242.

21 Ibid., pp. 70, 79, 125.

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the right to claim a certain chronological accuracy is indicated by the heated discussions on the draft program of the group in December 1886. From the context, however, it is difficult to conclude that the program was finalized even then: Govorukhin notes that most of the participants in the discussion, including Ulyanov, did not yet have definite views on a number of issues .22 Nevertheless, these memoirs, as well as Govorukhin's letters to P. L. Lavrov, help to find out more precisely the process of compiling the program. In his testimony of March 19, Ulyanov said that the program was drawn up by him in February 1887; it consisted "of the general part and the actual program of the terrorist faction," and two days later clarified that it was " in the second half of December 1886 "that"it was decided to formulate our view of terror." Alexander Ilyich calls this program "a special special terrorist program"23 . This important point should be emphasized when considering the ideology of the Ulyanov group, the formation of which was connected with the attempt on the tsar's life, because "the idea of forming an experiment of a general party program that could unite the revolutionary parties soon joined in."24
It is possible that a draft document was developed in December, but the group was able to implement its plan only in February 1887, because, on the one hand, a lot of time and effort was taken up by the direct preparation of the attempt, and on the other hand, its members were not yet ready to solve important theoretical issues. There are a number of reliable sources, in addition to Ulyanov's testimony, that make it possible not only to date the program to February 1887, but also to specify the time and circumstances of its compilation.

S. A. Nikonov, a close friend of Alexander Ilyich, who participated in the creation of the group and was arrested on charges of propaganda among the junkers a month before the assassination attempt, points out in his memoirs that the program appeared after his arrest, on January 28, 1887. He writes that he discussed with Ulyanov the text of the future program, planning to exclude from it words and expressions that interpreted the narodnik views of the group. "Our decisions were taken during the discussion of the issue by the faction and, in the end, when drawing up the program of the faction (after my arrest) these main features of it, outlined with Alexander Ilyich, were preserved by him. " 25 During an interrogation on March 19, one of the group's leaders, Lukashevich, testified that Ulyanov was in a hurry to print a "recently compiled program", emphasizing that he himself "learned about its existence only in the second half of February" .26
Lukashevich's memoirs significantly supplement his testimony at the investigation: Govorukhin and M. I. Sosnovsky also took part in drawing up the program at Ulyanov's apartment. After lengthy arguments, Alexander Ilyich "undertook to formulate our provisions and draw up the text of our faction's program. He went out into another room

22" Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", pp. 219, 220, 231. Govorukhin wrote that " there were disputes about the community, about capitalism... Here everyone judged in their own way. There was only one point on which everyone agreed that systematic terror was the surest way to force concessions from the Government."

23 Ibid., pp. 373-374; Ulyanov noted that in December, when creating this part of the document, "everyone agreed that none of the existing programs sufficiently clearly exposes the main significance of terror as a way to force concessions from the government and does not provide a satisfactory objective scientific explanation of terror as a clash between the government and the state." the intelligentsia."

24 Ibid., p. 375.

25 S. A. Nikonov. Student life and revolutionary work of the late 80's. "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", pp. 158-159.

26 TsGAOR USSR, f. 112, op. 1, d. 649, ll. 243 - 243 vol.

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the room and quite quickly and well coped with its task"27 . Although the memoirs do not contain the date of this group meeting, but judging by the chronology of the presentation, it most likely took place in mid-February. Based on these sources, you can try to more accurately determine the date when the program was compiled. It could not have appeared earlier than February 15, because before that Ulyanov had been near St. Petersburg for several days, where he was preparing dynamite .On February 20, 1887, one of the drafters of the program, Govorukhin, went abroad. 28 Consequently, the text of the document was formulated by Ulyanov between 15 and 20 February 1887 .29
The program, as he showed during the investigation, consisted of a general part, representing the experience of the new program, combining the parties of "Narodnaya Volya" and "Social Democrats" and the "special terrorist program" 30 . Analysis of the text of the document reveals its clear structural structure: the first part, which ends with a note, is presented on behalf of the" socialist party", while the second part begins with the words" being a terrorist faction... " and provides a justification for terror. It can be assumed that the idea of "systematic terror" based on the second part of the program was developed as early as December 1886 when the group was organized.

Another important point related to the adoption of the program and Ulyanov's activities as a group leader is not covered. In the literature, it was suggested that " the program was hardly mastered by all participants of the second first of March. Some of them could not even read it, because it was not ready and even by February 25 it was not completely rewritten"31 . The documents of the investigation and trial, as well as memoirs, show that most of the members of the group were acquainted with the program that was discussed at the last meeting of direct participants in the assassination attempt on Alexander III on February 25, 1887.

Lukashevich wrote in his memoirs that on this day, Alexander Ilyich " arranged a general meeting of the members of the first combat group in Kancher's apartment. Here he once again explained to them the design of projectiles and their effect. Then he read them the program of the terrorist faction and had a long interview with Osipanov on various political issues. " 32 This curious piece of evidence is of great importance, but it needs to be verified, as Lukashevich was not present at this group meeting. The documents of the investigation and the verbatim report on the trial confirm the authenticity of his recollections. M. N. Kancher, who together with P. S. Gorkun and S. A. Volokhov was supposed to signal the tsar's passage, was the first to report the meeting during the inquiry. In an affidavit dated March 4, Kancher said that at the end of the meeting, "Ulyanov came to us, who then went with Osipanov to another room and talked to him about something."-

27 I. D. Lukashevich. From Govorukhin's letters to Lavrov dated May 23 and June 2, 1887, it can be concluded that a larger number of people participated in the discussion, because he writes that five participants in the meeting were followed by the police. Govorukhin notes that he did not participate in the last meeting where the program was supposed to be "stylistically processed" ("Lavrov - the Years of Emigration", vol. II, pp. 178-179, 185). Probably, Govorukhin is referring to the last meeting of participants in the assassination attempt on February 25, 1887.

28 S. A. Nikonov. From the memoirs of A. I. Ulyanov. Foreword by A. I. Ulyanova-Elizarova. "Proletarian Revolution", Moscow, 1929, N 2-3, p. 174.

29 Valuable evidence of this dating is found in O. M. Govorukhin's letters to P. L. Lavrov, written by him already abroad in the spring of 1887. Govorukhin, reporting that the draft was developed over three days in February, pointed to two more meetings of the group in December and January (see "Lavrov-the Years of Emigration" Vol. II, pp. 178-179).

30 "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", pp. 374-375.

31 A. S. Polyakov. Op. ed., p. 17.

32 I. D. Lukashevich. Op. ed., p. 41.

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I was blowing. I don't remember what part Ulyanov took in our conversation." 33
Kancher, who spoke in detail about other aspects of the group's activities, is clearly silent about many things here. This is confirmed by his interrogation at the court investigation, as well as the testimony of Garkun from the same date, who indicated that "Ulyanov spoke the most at this meeting," who not only explained to Osipanov the device of the shells, but also read to him the program of the group: "Actually, Kancher told me that Ulyanov would bring the program in order to Osipanov could repeat it before the court. " 34 The contradictory statements of Kancher and Gorkun, who revealed the main points of the group's activities during the investigation, are easily explained by their desire to present themselves as random people who did not know the "goals of the criminal community".

Testimony at the trial of another participant in the meeting, Volokhov, directly points to Kancher's participation in the discussion of the program. He said that the conversation of the meeting participants took place "in a separate room, where Kancher, Osipanov and Ulyanov were present." 35 Finally, Kancher himself admitted this fact at the trial (unfortunately, the verbatim report does not fully convey his testimony).36 . Although the transcript is interrupted twice (exactly in the places where the program is being read), the presence of Kancher during the reading is quite clear. Moreover, he mentions that "when we read it," Andreyushkin took part in the discussion, speaking out in defense of terror. Now it becomes clear why Gorkun showed that Ulyanov spoke the most at this meeting: it was he who read the program text. This is also evidenced by the testimony at the trial of V. D. Generalov, revealing his participation in the discussion of the program. He said that after resolving the issues related to the attempt, "Ulyanov, Osipanov and I went to another room... When they read the program, I left, and Ulyanov stayed with the"new pa" 37 . The pencil marks that Gorkun saw in the program's text show that certain adjustments were made to it as a result of the discussion, possibly due to a Narodnaya Volya bias.

Thus, after Ulyanov became the head of the faction on February 17, 1887, new significant features appeared in its activities. In particular, there was a collective discussion of the program by the direct participants of the attempt. If we take into account that R. A. Shmidova 38 and B. I. Pilsudski were also familiar with the program text, we can conclude that the group members were ideologically united.

The importance that Ulyanov attached to the group's program is shown by his attempt to print this document in a typographic way just before the assassination attempt. It is necessary to point out factual inaccuracies in a number of works that covered the implementation of this plan by the team leader. Correctly noting that the printing of the program took place in the apartment of Pilsudski, a student at St. Petersburg University, V. P. Krikunov writes that it began on February 15, 39 ; B. S. Itenberg and A. Ya - Chernyak believe that it took place on February 27 and 28, 40 . As can be seen from Pilsudski's testimony of March 16 , 41 Ulyanov worked in his apartment with two assistants on February 28 and March 1, 1887.

33 TsGAOR USSR, f. 112, op. 1, d. 648, l. 89.

34 See the publication of documents: N. B. Kovalenko, A.M. Kozochkina. To the biography of Alexander Ulyanov. "Soviet archives", 1966, N 2, p. 71.

35 "The First of March, 1887," p. 65.

36 Ibid., p. 50.

37 Ibid., p. 73.

38 R. A. Shmidova. Memoirs of March 1, 1887 "Prostor", Alma-Ata 1967, N 4, p. 63.

39 V. P. Krikunov. Decree. soch,, p. 121.

40 B. S. Itenberg, A. Ya. Chernyak. The Life of Alexander Ulyanov, p. 139.

41 TsGAOR USSR, f. 112, op. 1, d. 649, ll. 168-168 ob.

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On the first day, they had to correct the font, and only on March 1, the set of two initial pages of the program was completed. On the same day, Ulyanov was arrested, and he was unable to finish printing the program. Let us emphasize that he sought to print the first part of the document, which he considered as a draft of a general party program. The publication of the second part, the "specially terrorist" part, was only intended 42, and, consequently, Ulyanov put theoretical questions in the foreground, and not the justification of the tactics of the faction.

The program text formulated by Ulyanov is the result of the ideological search of the members of his group and serves as a reliable source for studying their political views. Establishing the structural features of the program makes it possible to refute N. K. Karataev's opinion that certain provisions of the program formulated under the influence of Marxism "lost their significance in so far as the priority attention of socialists was focused on individual terror and regicide" 43 . After all, in the first part of the program published by Ulyanov, not a word is said about terror.

To understand the political views of the authors of the program, it is necessary to answer the question of what sources were used as the basis for it. Ulyanov testified at the investigation that "the former Narodnaya Volya program, due to its lack of scientific justification and some uncertainty in its provisions, did not fully satisfy the revolutionary circles, "so he and his comrades believed that" by correcting these shortcomings and making some changes in it, it is possible to eliminate all the essential causes of disagreements and serve the cause of uniting the revolutionary circles." forces " 44 . Ulyanov's group members did not limit themselves to clarifying and justifying the main provisions of the program of the Narodnaya Volya Executive Committee. The first part of the program, called "general" by Ulyanov, is certainly imbued with the ideas of Plekhanov's works " Socialism and the Political Struggle "and" Our Differences", and shows the authors 'familiarity with the" Manifesto of the Communist Party "and Marx's" Capital". Ulyanov's very stated goal of drafting the document and his desire to make it acceptable to the Social Democrats implied familiarity with the draft programs of Blagoev's groups and Emancipation of Labor (1884).

In the literature, the eclecticism of the Ulyanov group program was quite rightly emphasized. But what was the reason for the eclecticism, and how should we assess the tendency of young revolutionaries who organized the group directly for the terrorist act and were undoubtedly influenced by the heroic aura of Narodnaya Volya to draw closer to the Social Democrats? It is indisputable that the evolution from narodism to Marxism of a certain part of the Raznochin revolutionaries of the 1880s was due, on the one hand, to new phenomena in the country's economy, and on the other, to the spread of social-democratic ideas and the crisis in the theory and practice of narodism. Program text and memories of Ulyanov's group members screenings-

42 "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", p. 374. O. M. Govorukhin wrote to P. L. Lavrov on May 23, 1887, that the document was supposed to be published also in Kharkov. It is possible that V. P. Brazhnikov, the leader of the local revolutionaries, was given the second part of the program for publication on February 25, 1887 (see "Lavrov-the Years of Emigration", vol. II, p. 179; R. A. Shmidov. Op. ed., p. 63).

43 N. K. Karataev. Narodnik economic literature of the 60s-90s of the XIX century. "Narodnicheskaya ekonomicheskaya literatura", Moscow, 1958, pp. 75-76; cf. V. P. Krikunov. Op. ed., p. 112.

44 "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", p. 375. Govorukhin reported to the Paris Narodovoltsy in May 1887 that his comrades, while not adhering to the programs of either the Narodovoltsy or the Social-Democrats, considered "the views of the Emancipation of Labour group and, in particular, Plekhanov, and the formulation of program questions ... very useful," although they found that they were "not fully expressed in relation to political issues."[historical] struggle before the constitution" ("Lavrov-the Years of Emigration", vol. II, p. 174).

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It is clear that its drafters did not consider capitalism to be a regression and decline. The document states that " every country inevitably comes to the socialist system by the natural course of its economic development; it is just as necessary a result of capitalist production and the class relations generated by it as the development of capitalism is inevitable once the country has entered the path of monetary economy." The program noted that every step towards socialism "is possible only as a result of a quantitative or qualitative increase in the strength and consciousness of the working class." 45 In his speech at the trial, Ulyanov said that "every country develops spontaneously according to certain laws, passes through strictly defined phases, and inevitably has to come to a (higher ) public organization." 46 There is no doubt that Ulyanov correctly understood one of the main conclusions of Marx's Das Kapital, which, "having set as its task a scientific analysis of the capitalist social formation, "proved that" the development of this organization that is really taking place before our eyes has such a tendency that it must inevitably perish and turn into another, higher organization. " 47 .

However, it would be a mistake to say that the program gives a positive answer to the question of Russia's entry into the path of capitalism. The document noted that the law cited above is not the only one and "does not exclude the possibility of a more direct transition to the socialist organization of the national economy, if there are particularly favorable conditions for this in the habits of the people, in the character of the intelligentsia and the government." That is why the drafters of the program saw their differences with the Social-Democrats primarily in the fact that they placed "more hope in the immediate transition of the national economy to a higher form."48 The ambivalent attitude to the most important question of the theory of the revolutionary movement in Russia in the second half of the nineteenth century was also clearly manifested in the characterization of the country's class structure. The program of Narodnaya Volya did not consider the proletariat and the bourgeoisie; the state was proclaimed to be the largest capitalist force. 49 The Ulyanov group's program noted that the working class "makes up a significant part of the urban population and is of great importance to the socialist party. By its economic position, it is a natural carrier of socialist ideas...". According to the drafters of the program, the working class was the most conscious social group. Therefore, " the party must devote its main efforts to organizing and educating the working class and preparing it for the social role it is about to play."50
There is no doubt that Ulyanov and his comrades came to these conclusions under the influence of Marxist literature, which brought them closer to a truly scientific understanding of the meaning and role of the proletariat. However, this issue is also affected by the well-known inconsistency in the estimates of the program compilers: in terms of its" social significance", the working class was placed after the peasantry; it was noted that the bourgeoisie" is only at the beginning of its formation", and the term"proletariat" is not included in the text of the program .51 Preserving certain narodnik illusions when considering the peasant community, quoting almost verbatim

45 Ibid., p. 376.

46 Ibid., p. 339.

47 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 1, p. 180.

48 "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", pp. 376, 379.

49 See Narodnik Economic Literature, p. 385.

50 "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", p. 378.

51 Ibid., pp. 377, 379.

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The characterization of the peasantry in the Narodnaya Volya program reflected the lack of scientific analysis of the problem of the development of capitalism in Russia, and a certain influence of narodnik literature, with which Ulyanov was well acquainted .52 The drafters of the program, having taken a significant step towards Marxism in denying "the originality of the Russian economic system in general", were unable to overcome this narodnik position in describing the peasant community.

The assessment of the tasks of the intelligentsia in the liberation movement contained in the program deserves attention. The document noted that "without a class character, it cannot, of course, play an independent role in the social and revolutionary struggle, but it can be a vanguard in the political struggle, in the struggle for freedom of thought and speech." The drafters noted that they attach more importance to the intelligentsia in this matter than the Social Democrats. The program went on to say that the Russian Government was an independent social force that did not represent the interests of any class. These two interrelated propositions, borrowed from the Narodnaya Volya program, led the group members to conclude that it was possible for the intelligentsia to successfully fight the autocracy "without prior class organization." That is why, while noting that "the party must devote its main efforts to organizing and educating the working class", which will form the "core of the socialist party", the authors of the program did not yet consider it possible to work in this direction "under the existing political regime in Russia"53 .

Thus, in practice, the struggle of the intelligentsia against the government was recognized as the main and only possible one. This conclusion of the group, which is based on the "special terrorist part" of the program, does not in any way diminish the importance of a number of provisions of the document, the drafters of which broke with the narodnik views of the working class as an auxiliary unit of the revolutionary army, the main force of which is the peasantry .54
Ulyanov and his colleagues formulated the actual program requirements in eight points. The authors used the main contemporary program documents of Narodnaya Volya, the Emancipation of Labor group (draft of 1884), and the Russian Social-Democratic Party. The main source for the members of the group was the program of the Narodnaya Volya Executive Committee; some points - on free primary education, the requirement for freedom of movement-were borrowed from the programs of the Blagoev and Plekhanov groups, respectively .55
The influence of the "Draft Program of the Party of Russian Social Democrats" on the wording of certain provisions of the document is noticeable. In both programs, the demands of a bourgeois-democratic character are not separated from the "socialist"ones. 56 Both introduce a clause on the nationalization of land (Narodniks in 1884 noted that after the social revolution, "it will be necessary to recognize the state as the owner of land, but the practical use of land is possible only for local communities") .57 Under the influence of Marxism, Ulyanov formulated the demand for " nationalization of factories, factories and all instruments of production in general." The corresponding clause in Blagoev's program speaks only of the transfer of "factories and factories into the hands of workers 'associations"58 . To the rest-

52 See E. F. Pobegailo. Op. ed., p. 40.

53 "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", pp. 377-379.

54 See V. P. Krikunov. Op. ed., p. 114.

55 See B. S. Itenberg, A. Ya. Chernyak. The Life of Alexander Ulyanov, p. 51.

56 See Y. Z. Polevoy. Op. ed., p. 319.

57 "Narodnik economic literature", p. 622.

58 See "Draft program of the Party of Russian Social Democrats". Byloye, 1918, No. 13, p. 45.

page 42

The requirements of Narodnaya Volya have undergone significant editorial changes. It is interesting that Alexander III, after reviewing the program, wrote in the margins: "The purest commune" 59 .

The" special terrorist program", which was just about to be published, explains terror as a clash between the government and the intelligentsia, and expresses hope for its undoubted success. This part is based on the authors ' long-term experience of the heroic struggle against autocracy, considering that it should be scientifically justified. The demands that were made a condition for ending the terrorist struggle were taken from the letter of the Executive Committee to Alexander III. Govorukhin provides valuable evidence that Ulyanov insisted on omitting the Executive Committee's statement of unconditional subordination to the" People's Assembly", which was imbued with faith in the" socialist instincts "of the peasantry; the group agreed with Ulyanov that the peasantry was completely undeveloped politically,"there is no complete certainty that the peasants will not choose the kulaks..." 60 As A. I. Ulyanova-Yelizarova noted, the meaning of terror is given "in almost the same terms as in the Narodnaya Volya program." 61
One cannot agree with N. K. Karataev that Ulyanov's group based its activities on "previous arguments of landowners and narodnaya Volya" .62 V. P. Krikunov rightly noted that terror in the group's program is not the murder of high-ranking officials by conspirators out of a sense of self-defense and revenge "death for death", as it was before .63 The program says nothing about factory and agricultural terror. Putting forward the principle of systematic terror with its decentralization, the drafters, in essence, opposed an organization like the old Narodnaya Volya, recognized themselves as a faction that was actively fighting the government.

The future party was to devote its main attention to the working class. The text of the program says that the drafters agreed with Plekhanov's words:"We do not want secret workers' organizations to turn into secret nurseries for breeding terrorists from the working environment. " 64 The fact that Plekhanov's writings and the social-democratic programs of the 1880s did not categorically condemn terror, and the "lack of conditions for insurrection" led A. I. Ulyanov to believe that this was the "only way" to win political freedom .65 But as a means of struggle, terror did not and could not succeed as long as it was a "special tactic ""with the threat of further attempts and murders." 66
The document did not set out the task of creating a "socialist party", on behalf of which the" general part " of the program is being presented. This is not a question of the Narodnaya Volya party, as N. K. Karataev67 believes, but of a new organization formed on the basis of this document. The program of the Ulyanov group sets the party tasks that are in many respects similar to the programs of the Blagoev and Osvobozhdeniye Truda groups. Already in the literary construction, the first part of the program formulated by Ulyanov differs from the Narodnaya Volya document, and contains a note similar in meaning to the first one.-

59 Cit. by: A. S. Polyakov. Op. ed., p. 16.

60 "Lavrov-the Years of Emigration", vol. II, p. 185.

61 "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", p. 114.

62 "Narodnik economic literature", p. 671.

63 V. P. Krikunov. Op. ed., p. 119.

64 G. V. Plekhanov. Op. ed., p. 394.

65 See "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", p. 370.

66 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 6, p. 371.

67 "Narodnik economic literature", p. 670.

page 43

see you in Plekhanov's program. Only in the second part do the drafters declare themselves as representatives of the "terrorist faction of the party". However, even in the conclusion of the "general part", when speaking about their relations with the Social Democrats, the authors of the program clearly consider themselves to be Narodnaya Volya. Nevertheless, the differences with the Social Democrats seemed to Ulyanov and his comrades "very insignificant and only theoretical. In practice, when we act in the name of the same ideals and by the same means, we are convinced that we will always remain their closest comrades. " 68
This important statement, justified in Ulyanov's testimony at the investigation as a desire to develop a draft of a general party program, cannot be evaluated unequivocally. Against the background of the growing influence of liberal narodism since the second half of the 1980s, the calls for a joint struggle against the autocracy of all opposition elements, "forgetting" for a while the question of socialism, and the statements of many revolutionaries that social-democratic theories are completely inapplicable in Russia, 69 the only alternative for the advanced wing of revolutionary narodism was the evolution of the marxism, social-democratic activity. It is characteristic that in 1883, Plekhanov wrote: "Our revolutionary movement will not only lose nothing, but, on the contrary, gain a great deal if the Russian Narodniks and the Russian Narodnaya Volya finally become Russian Marxists and a new, higher point of view reconciles all the factions that exist in our country..." While, according to Plekhanov, the socialist intelligentsia "should become the leader of the party." the role of the working class in the upcoming liberation movement, to explain to it its political and economic interests, as well as the mutual connection of these interests, should prepare it for an independent role in the social life of Russia. " 70
The history of the creation, discussion, and publication of the Ulyanov group's program, as well as an analysis of its main provisions, show that it is precisely these social - democratic ideas that have found a definite reflection in it, and this should objectively be recognized as an important moment in the process of evolution from narodism to Marxism. However, having failed to resolve the question of Russia's entry into the path of capitalism, and having emphasized the single combat of the intelligentsia with the government, Ulyanov and his comrades were unable to completely break with their former narodnik and Narodnaya Volya views, which was an indispensable condition for their unification with the Social Democrats.

68 "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", p. 379.

69 See A. I. Ulyanov-Yelizarov. Preface to the collection "Alexander Ilyich Ulyanov", p. X.

70 G. V. Plekhanov. Op. ed., pp. 61-71.

page 44


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