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Peasant Land Reform, Representation and Civil Rights: the Development of Constitutional Thought in the Zemstvos in Russia, 1905-1907

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Peasant Land Reform, Representation and Civil Rights: the Development of Constitutional Thought in the Zemstvos in Russia, 1905-1907 Peasant Land Reform, Representation and Civil Rights: The Development of Constitutional Thought in the Zemstvos in Russia, 1905-1907 Thomas Jones MA by Research The University Of York History September 2013 2 ABSTRACT This paper examines constitutional political opinions among the members of provincial and district zemstvos in Russia, in order to explain this group’s rejection of liberal political parties in the first two Dumas. It finds that the rejection of these parties was not entirely synonymous with a rejection of liberal constitutional ideas among the zemstvo rank and file, who exhibited support for constitutionalism in three main areas. Firstly, arguments advanced against land expropriation among the zemstvo rank and file were based upon the desire to reinforce economic individualism amongst the peasantry, which was considered to be an essential basis for a constitutional regime. Secondly, the zemstvo rank and file supported a Duma elected upon a restricted franchise that would play a role in the political modernization of the peasantry in order to encourage norms of constructive political participation and reduce the popularity of extremist parties. Finally, government repression was criticized on the basis that it contravened notions of law and due process. Evidence from the southern provinces suggests that repression was valued for its role in restoring law and order, although the legality of the repression was still criticized. These findings suggest that the landed nobility who made up the majority of the members of the provincial and district zemstvos were more supportive of constitutional reform in Russia than has previously been suggested, which is significant to historical debates surrounding the stability of the tsarist regime before the First World War. 3 CONTENTS AUTHOR’S DECLARATION ..................................................................................................... 5 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 6 The Zemstvos in 1905 ................................................................................................... 7 Zemstvo Activity up to 1905 ....................................................................................... 10 Current Historiography ................................................................................................ 13 A Note on the Sources ................................................................................................. 19 THE CRISIS OF PEASANT AGRICULTURE AND THE ZEMSTVO ALTERNATIVE TO LAND EXPROPRIATION ......................................................................................................... 27 Individual Economic Effort and the ‘Crisis’ in Peasant Agriculture .......................... 28 The Land Hunger and the Political Priorities of the Peasantry ................................... 38 Alternatives to Land Expropriation ............................................................................. 45 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 52 REPRESENTATION, GOVERNMENT, AND THE ‘ZEMSKY SOBOR’ .............................. 55 The ‘Zemsky Sobor’ .................................................................................................... 57 The ‘Zemsky Sobor’ and the Political Evolution of Russia ........................................ 64 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 72 THE IMPORTANCE OF CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE PROVINCES FOR A CONSTITUTIONAL REGIME ..................................................................................................................................... 75 Russian Law and Civil Rights ..................................................................................... 77 The Importance of Due Process and Consistent Application of the Law.................... 80 The Importance of the Structure of Constitutionalism ................................................ 84 Repression and the Brutalization of Society ............................................................... 86 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 91 4 CHANGING ATTITUDES TOWARDS REPRESSION IN THE SOUTHERN PROVINCES: UTILITY VERSUS LONG TERM INSTABILITY................................................................... 93 Criticisms of Repression ............................................................................................. 96 Recognition of the Utility of Repression ................................................................... 104 The Lack of Consensus on Repression ...................................................................... 108 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 110 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................... 112 BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................................................... 117 5 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION I declare that, except where explicit reference is made to the contribution of others, this dissertation is the result of my own work and has not been submitted for any other degree at The University of York or any other institution. INTRODUCTION In March 1906 the British vice-consul to Odessa, V. H. Bosanquet, reported that there had been widespread peasant unrest in Saratov province as a result of the chronic shortage of land available to the peasants. The following account of an example of the resulting governmental repression was established by Bosanquet on the basis of accounts from landowners who had fled to the local towns. Cossacks were sent to suppress the disorders, and they have seemed to have flogged the peasants mercilessly. I was told of a case where Cossacks (by order of the zemstvo nachalnik, if I remember right) beat the peasants of the soles of their feet so severely that some died and others were taken to hospital. I was further informed that many peasants had been killed by Cossacks.1 This report of brutal government action in the provinces is indicative of a new trend in political thought among the aristocratic landed proprietors of Russia’s provinces. Accounts of brutal punishment resulting in the death of peasants is presented as illegitimate, especially as it was carried out arbitrarily on the orders of the zemstvo nachalnik, or land captain, a representative of the tsarist bureaucracy in the countryside. This represents an interesting concern for the due operation of law and order in the countryside, even where repression was acting in the landowners’ interests. In asserting the right of the peasantry to enjoy the due process of the law, this passage also raises the possibility that the peasantry were also thought of to deserve rights and freedoms that citizens of a constitutional regime would be entitled to. This dissertation will examine the rejection of the Kadet and Octobrist parties among the provincial and district zemstvos in 1906 during the revolution of 1905-1907. In almost a single stroke, in that year’s zemstvo elections most Kadet deputies lost the seats in the zemstvos. By the end of the decade, the Kadets had been completely eliminated from the zemstvos, after their leaders had dominated the gentry’s opposition within the zemstvos up to the formation of political parties. The political opinions of the zemstvo rank and file during the revolution of 1905 to 1907 will be studied in order to determine whether this rejection of liberal political parties represented a rejection of liberal and constitutional politics by the zemstvo rank and file, or if a more complex 1 The National Archives, Kew, FO 881/8755, no. 22, Vice-Consul V. H. Bosanquet to Consul-General C. Smith, March 12 1906, 64. 7 picture emerges where the zemstvo rank and file merely rejected the particular Kadet brand of liberalism, retaining aspects of support for constitutional reform for Russia. The revolutionary period of 1905-1907, in which this investigation will be situated, arguably set the precedent for the interaction and cooperation between the emerging civil society and the state in order to implement constitutional reform. Faced with revolutionary uprisings in major urban centers, rampant peasant unrest in the countryside, and organized campaigns for constitutional reform from educated sections of society, the government granted the concession of the Duma along with new laws for greater accountability of government to Russian society. The extent to which constitutional reform resulted in an increase in cooperation between civil society and the Russian government can be investigated by studying the development of constitutional thought in the zemstvos, with a view to establishing if there existed a movement for moderate political change that would have been compatible with the Russian government. The Zemstvos in 1905 The zemstvo rank and file represented a minority of the Russian population. However, it should not be assumed that this group was homogeneous in its social and political outlook. There existed a variety of different opinions on the welfare of the peasantry, civil liberties, and the role of a representative institution within this group, alongside significant
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