Represje caratu wobec anarchistów podczas rewolucji 1905–1907 w Rosji

• Authors: Wincenty Kołodziej

Abstracts

EN

Revolution in 1905–1907 was the first resolution of the capitalism era, in which participated both bourgeoisie and social classes exploited by it, i.e. workers and peasants. Bourgeoisie supported the revolution in the first phase to improve its political position through its fight against tsar regime, while workers and peasants wanted to improve their material conditions. Existing crisis of authorities in Russia, enormous exploitation of working class, closing of factories, lay offs of workers and intellectuals, increasing starvation and high mortality among working class and peasantry, lead this groups towards direct combat against the tsar. Bourgeoisie took fright at force of the revolution and stopped its support, taking the side of the czarism. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the main political and organisational role in the workers’ environment in Russia was taken by political parties. They conducted vivacious activities in the country, as well as in emigration circles. Political agitation among Russian emigrants in Geneva, Paris and London was conducted – apart from socialist and socialdemocrat parties – also by anarchists. When in 1903 western European anarchist theory began again to penetrate into Russia, it appeared that the Russian Social Democrats were not ideologically prepared for polemics with this doctrine. Social revolutionists proved to be even weaker and less immune to this anti-state movement, which resulted in breakdown of their ranks and the emergence of the so-called maximalist. The anarchists met, however, the most often with members of the Jewish Labour Bund, as initially most of anarchists were of Jewish origin. The Bund members were the least resistant to agitation of the anarchists and they began pour in their ranks. The process of transition of political parties in the ranks of the anarchists and the rapid development of this movement occurred in the second period of the 1905–1907 revolution. This was caused by several reasons, such as the raging counterrevolution, ideological crisis of parties involved in the labour movement, taking away gains of the revolution from working class, increasing crime, resulting from rising unemployment and starvation. Being very active in labour circles, anarchists preached the slogan “active struggle with the bourgeoisie” by political and economic terror. Such slogans were finding supporters among oppressed and exploited in the Russian society. The outbreak of the revolution in 1905 contributed to increased interest in this doctrine in Russia. Anarchism has become fashionable in some circles of the intelligentsia, who started to adapt the doctrine to local conditions and develop it creatively. Political and terrorist struggle led by the anarchists against the tsarist regime, met with firm response from the authorities. They started repressions, which consequently led to the collapse of the revolution and the destruction of the growing labour movement in Russia. In spring and summer of 1906 in Russia revolutionary sentiments had begun to subside and the counter-revolution had begun to arise. In some provinces there was a state of war imposed by the tsarist authorities in 1905, others were hold in readiness. General-governors, governors and heads of municipal acquired dictatorial powers. In order to suppress the revolution, tsarist authorities transported troops from the Russian-Japanese war to regions with revolutionary activities. They began to brutally fight against the revolutionary movement. It consisted of organising pogroms, arrests, the intro duction of the war law, exiles to Siberia, round-ups, rapes, unpunished murders, demolitions of suspects’ housing, robbing and beating or torture of detainees. High monetary fines for the slightest offense were also used as another measure of repressions. Over time, repressions became mass executions. But the biggest victim in this struggle was the anarchist movement. Its organisational structure was broken, and activists were arrested and sentenced to death or exiled to hard labour.

• Publisher: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek
• Journal: Krakowskie Studia Małopolskie
• Year: 2009
• Volume: 13
• Pages: 48-64

Dates

published

2009

Contributors

author

Wincenty Kołodziej

Identifiers

DOI

10.15804/ksm200903

Biblioteka Nauki

2033802