The Formation of the Russian Right: 1900–06

Abstract

One of the most interesting and novel aspects of the Russian political scene after the spring of 1905 was the appearance of political groupings and movements that were collectively called, or called themselves, the ‘Right’. These were parties, leagues, unions or circles which professed their dedication to the historical principles of orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality, and whose members seemed inspired only by the wish to return to the status quo ante of a less contentious, less frustrating period of Russian history when every political impulse had come from above. They appeared to look back to a time when the state alone had effectively defended traditional interests and institutions and kept in check the economic and social turbulence which culminated in the Revolution of 1905. Yet for all its apparent nostalgia and immobilism, in spite of all its protests against the revolutionary changes taking place in politics and society, the Right and the very fact of its appearance as an organized public force marked a departure in Russian life. Not all these new advocates of autocracy and opponents of a ‘frivolous’ liberal tinkering with the historical structure of the state were disposed blindly to defend the existing establishment; nor were they necessarily a part of it.