Letter from the executive committee of "people's will" to alexander iii. The tragedy of the reformer king
From the letter of the Executive Committee to Alexander III 6
10. III. 1881 g.
Your Majesty!
The bloody tragedy that played out on the Catherine Canal was not an accident and was not unexpected for anyone ...
You know, Your Majesty, that the government of the late Emperor cannot be blamed for a lack of energy. We hanged the right and the guilty, prisons and remote provinces were overflowing with exiles. As many as dozens of the so-called "leaders" are overfished, outweighed.
The government, of course, can still overcap and outweigh many individuals. It can destroy many separate revolutionary groups. Let us assume that it destroys even the most serious revolutionary organization in existence. But all this will in no way change the state of affairs. The revolutionaries are created by circumstances, the general displeasure of the people, Russia's striving for new social forms ...
Taking an impartial look at the difficult decade we have experienced, one can accurately predict the further course of the movement, unless the government's policy changes ... Scary explosion, the bloody reshuffle, the convulsive revolutionary upheaval of all of Russia will complete this process of destruction of the old order.
There can be two ways out of this situation: either a revolution, completely inevitable, which cannot be prevented by any executions, or a voluntary appeal of the supreme power to the people.
We do not put conditions on you. Don't be shocked by our proposal. Conditions that are necessary in order to revolutionary movement replaced by peaceful work, created not by us, but by history. We do not set, but only remind them.
These conditions, in our opinion, are two:
1) general amnesty for all political crimes of the past, since these were not crimes, but execution of civic duty;
2) the convocation of representatives from the entire Russian people to revise the existing forms of state and public life and remake them in accordance with the people's desires.
We consider it necessary to remind, however, that the legalization of the supreme power by the people's representation can be achieved only if the elections are completely free. Therefore, elections must be made under the following circumstances:
1) deputies are sent from all classes and estates indifferently and in proportion to the number of inhabitants;
2) there should be no restrictions either for voters or for deputies;
3) the election campaign and the elections themselves must be carried out completely freely, and therefore the government must, in the form of a temporary measure, pending the decision of the people's assembly, allow: a) complete freedom press, b) complete freedom of speech, c) complete freedom of gatherings, d) complete freedom of electoral programs.
So, your majesty, decide. There are two paths before you. The choice depends on you. Then we can only ask fate, so that your reason and conscience would prompt you a solution that is the only one consistent with the good of Russia, with your own dignity and obligations to your native country.
Revolutionary populism of the seventies of the XIX century: In 2 volumes - M., 1964. - T. 2.- S. 191-195.
The bloody tragedy played out on the Catherine Canal was not an accident and was not unexpected for anyone. After all that has happened over the past decade, it was completely inevitable, and this is its deep meaning, which a person who has been put by fate at the head of government power must understand. Only a person who is completely incapable of analyzing the life of nations can explain such facts by the malicious intent of individuals or at least a "gang". For 10 whole years, we see how in our country, despite the most severe persecution, despite the fact that the government of the late Emperor sacrificed everything - freedom, the interests of all classes, the interests of industry and even its own dignity - absolutely sacrificed everything to suppress the revolutionary movement, it nevertheless, it stubbornly grew, attracting to itself the best elements of the country, the most energetic and selfless people of Russia, and for three years now it entered into a desperate, guerrilla warfare with the government. You know, Your Majesty, that the government of the late Emperor cannot be blamed for a lack of energy. We hanged both the right and the guilty, prisons and remote provinces were overflowing with exiles. As many as dozens of the so-called "leaders" were overfished, suspended: they died with the courage and calmness of the martyrs, but the movement did not stop, it grew and grew stronger without interruption. Yes, Your Majesty, the revolutionary movement is not a matter that depends on individuals. This is a process of the people's organism, and the gallows erected for the most energetic exponents of this process are just as powerless to save the moribund order, just as the death of the Savior on the cross did not save the corrupted ancient world from the triumph of reforming Christianity.
The government, of course, can still overcap and outweigh many individuals. It can destroy many separate revolutionary groups. Let us assume that it destroys even the most serious revolutionary organization in existence. But all this will in no way change the state of affairs. The revolutionaries are created by circumstances, the general displeasure of the people, Russia's striving for new social forms. It is impossible to exterminate the entire people, nor is it possible to destroy their discontent by means of reprisals; displeasure, on the contrary, grows from this ...
... Whatever the intentions of the sovereign, but the actions of the government have nothing to do with the people's benefit and aspirations. The imperial government subordinated the people to serfdom, gave the masses to the power of the nobility; at the present time it is openly creating the most harmful class of speculators and profiteers. All his reforms lead only to the fact that the people are falling into more and more slavery, more and more exploited. It has brought Russia to the point that at the present time the masses of the people are in a state of complete poverty and ruin, are not free from the most insulting supervision even at their home, they are not powerful even in their worldly ones, public affairs…
... That is why the Russian government has no moral influence, no support among the people; that is why Russia gives birth to so many revolutionaries; that is why even such a fact as regicide evokes joy and sympathy in a huge part of the population! Yes, Your Majesty, do not be fooled by the reviews of flatterers and servants. Regicide is very popular in Russia.
There can be two ways out of this situation: either a revolution, completely inevitable, which cannot be prevented by any executions, or - a voluntary appeal of the Supreme Power to the people. In the interests of home country, in order to avoid unnecessary loss of strength, in order to avoid those very terrible disasters that always accompany the revolution, the Executive Committee appeals to Your Majesty with advice to choose the second path ...
... We appeal to you, having cast aside all prejudices, suppressing the mistrust created by the centuries-old government activity. We forget that you are a representative of the government that only deceived the people, did them so much harm. We are addressing you as a citizen and an honest person. We hope that the feeling of personal bitterness will not drown out the consciousness of your duties and desire to know the truth in you. We can have anger as well. You've lost your father. We lost not only fathers, but also brothers, wives, children, best friends. But we are ready to drown out personal feelings if the good of Russia demands it. We expect the same from you ...
... So, Your Majesty - decide. There are two paths before you. The choice depends on you. Then we can only ask fate for your reason and conscience to suggest you a solution that is the only one consistent with the good of Russia, with your own dignity and obligations to your native country.
Maria diligently folded expensive sheets. The emperor did not listen, violence and repression continued. Well?! The struggle did not stop either. She will carry this letter across the province, let the people read it. Young birch withstood the hurricane. She bent down, rested her top on the ground, like a stretched bow, but she squeezed out ... She can do it too.
It was raining. The wind ruffled the rotten straw on the roofs of the village huts. Lichen stood out on the rain-blackened logs. The tow with heavy droplets of rain was shaggy.
The village of Goreloe, in which Maria taught for the third year, was drowned in autumn mud. On the side of the road, washed out by the rain, stunted elder bushes with withered leaves stuck out lonely. The aspen trembled, covering the road with gray circles.
Having tied a scarf and raised the collar of her jacket, Maria hurried. Legs parted in sticky mud. She pulled them out with difficulty. The paramedic bag with the tools pulled back his hand. We still have to go through the old mill. The wind tossed twisted wings, and the water hummed at the dam, lined with wicker willow. Having waited out the gust of wind, Maria, through the veil of rain, discerned a light in a still distant hut. Fyodor ran ahead in a long army jacket, belted with a rope. An old hat pulled down over his very eyes. The boy stopped, waited for her to get over the puddle.
Coming soon! And over there, Daddy is at the hut!
Maria hurried, risking falling onto the road washed out by the rain. A light flickered faintly in the hut. A bearded man stood in the doorway. The wind blew the canvas shirt with a sail. In the unbuttoned collar of his shirt, a pewter cross was visible on a lace. He brushed drops of rain from his face, and maybe even tears.
Go to the hut, Savely! Maria handed him the bag. - You'll catch a cold! The weather ...
Maria wiped her feet on a large stone - a millstone, hollowed out and chipped. She pushed open the door and immediately found herself in the upper room. I breathed a sour sheepskin. A lamb lay in a curled ball by the Russian stove, which occupied most of the hut. On the earthen floor there is a bucket covered with gray crested beetles. On a high ear is a rooster with a red eye. A sick boy darted about on a bench under a colorful patchwork quilt. In the corner, in front of the icon, a woman was kneeling, whom Mary did not immediately notice.
Maria greeted her. The woman got up reluctantly from her knees. Her face was swollen with tears. She silently walked over to her son and threw back the covers.
Which day is sick? Maria asked.
The third one ... They brought a piece of land from the grave of the little girl, put it on the breast, but the heat does not go away! The woman ran her hand over the child's glowing forehead.
Zemlyatsu ?! What for?
They say it helps with fever.
Maria shook her head: such "treatment" was the most widespread in the village, no matter how much she explained its uselessness. I washed my hands over an earthen bowl and went up to the boy.
Vasyatka was in his fifth year. Maria knew him. How often he fell silent at the door, seeing his brother to school. So she remembered it - swirling, blue-eyed, stood at the doorframe and listened to a fairy tale. And now the friend was unrecognizable. His cheeks blazed with crimson-violet fire. The boy rushed about, his slender belly heaving high, then pulled to the spine. Vasyatka was suffocating.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TO EMPEROR ALEXANDER III
Your Majesty! Fully understanding the painful mood that you are experiencing at the moment, Executive committee However, he does not consider himself entitled to succumb to a sense of natural delicacy, which, perhaps, requires waiting some time for the following explanation. There is something higher than the most legitimate feelings of a person: it is a duty to his native country, a duty to which a citizen is forced to sacrifice himself, and his feelings, and even the feelings of other people. Obeying this omnipotent duty, we decide to contact you immediately, without waiting for anything, since that historical process, which threatens us in the future with rivers of blood and the most severe shocks.
The bloody tragedy that played out on the Catherine Canal was not an accident and was not unexpected for anyone. After all that has happened over the past decade, it was completely inevitable, and this is its deep meaning, which a person who has been put by fate at the head of government power must understand. Only a person who is completely incapable of analyzing the life of nations can explain such facts by the malicious intent of individuals or at least a "gang". For 10 whole years, we see how in our country, despite the most severe persecution, despite the fact that the government of the late emperor sacrificed everything - freedom, the interests of all classes, the interests of industry, and even its own dignity - absolutely sacrificed everything to suppress the revolutionary movement, it nevertheless stubbornly grew, attracting to itself the best elements of the country, the most energetic and selfless people of Russia, and for three years now it entered into a desperate, partisan war with the government.
You know, Your Majesty, that the government of the late Emperor cannot be blamed for a lack of energy. We hanged the right and the guilty, prisons and remote provinces were overflowing with exiles. As many as dozens of the so-called "leaders" are overfished, outweighed. They perished with the courage and calmness of martyrs, but the movement did not stop, it grew and grew incessantly. Yes, Your Majesty, the revolutionary movement is not a matter that depends on individuals. This is a process of the people's organism, and the gallows erected for the most energetic exponents of this process are just as powerless to save the moribund order, just as the death of the Savior on the cross did not save the corrupted ancient world from the triumph of reforming Christianity.
The government, of course, can still overcap and outweigh many individuals. It can destroy many separate revolutionary groups. Let us assume that it destroys even the most serious revolutionary organization in existence. But all this will in no way change the state of affairs. The revolutionaries are created by circumstances, the general displeasure of the people, Russia's striving for new social forms. It is impossible to destroy the entire people, and it is impossible to destroy their discontent by means of reprisals: displeasure, on the contrary, grows from this. Therefore, to replace the exterminated, new personalities, even more embittered, even more energetic, are constantly being nominated from the people. These individuals, in the interests of the struggle, of course, organize themselves, having the ready-made experience of their predecessors; therefore, the revolutionary organization must be strengthened over time, both quantitatively and qualitatively. We have seen this in reality over the past 10 years. What benefit did the government benefit from the deaths of the Dolgushins, Tchaikovites, and leaders of 74? They were replaced by much more resolute populists. Terrible government repressions then brought the terrorists of 78 -79 to the scene. In vain did the government exterminate the Kovalsky, Dubrovins, Osinsky, Lizogubs. In vain it destroyed dozens of revolutionary circles. From these imperfect organizations, only stronger forms are developed by natural selection. Finally, the Executive Committee appears, with which the government is still unable to cope.
Taking an impartial look at the difficult decade we have experienced, one can accurately predict the future course of the movement, unless the government's policy changes. The movement must grow, increase, facts of a terrorist nature must be repeated more and more sharply; the revolutionary organization will put forward in place of the exterminated groups more and more perfect, strong forms. Meanwhile, the total number of dissatisfied people in the country is increasing; trust in the government among the people should fall more and more, the idea of revolution, about its possibility and inevitability, will develop more and more firmly in Russia. A terrible explosion, a bloody reshuffle, a convulsive revolutionary upheaval throughout Russia will complete this process of destruction of the old order.
What is causing this terrible prospect? Yes, Your Majesty, terrible and sad. Don't mistake this for a phrase. We understand better than anyone else how sad is the death of so many talents, such energy in the deeds of destruction, in bloody battles, at a time when these forces under different conditions could be spent directly on creative work, on the development of the people, its intelligence, welfare, his civil society. Why is this sad necessity of a bloody struggle happening?
Because, Your Majesty, now we have no real government in its true sense. The government, by its very principle, should only express the people's aspirations, only carry out the people's will. Meanwhile, in our country - excuse the expression - the government has degenerated into a pure camarilla and deserves the name of a usurper gang much more than the Executive Committee. Whatever the intentions of the sovereign, but the actions of the government have nothing to do with the people's benefit and aspirations. The imperial government subordinated the people to serfdom, gave the masses to the power of the nobility; at the present time it is openly creating the most harmful class of speculators and profiteers. All his reforms lead only to the fact that the people are falling into more and more slavery, more and more exploited. It has brought Russia to the point that at present the masses of the people are in a state of complete poverty and ruin, not free from the most offensive supervision even at their home, powerless even in their worldly, public affairs. Only the predator, the exploiter, enjoys the protection of the law and the government: the most outrageous robberies remain unpunished. But what a terrible fate awaits a person who sincerely thinks about the common good. You know well, Your Majesty, that not only socialists are exiled and persecuted. What is a government that maintains such an "order"? Is this not a gang, is it not a manifestation of complete usurpation?
That is why the Russian government has no moral influence, no support among the people; that is why Russia gives birth to so many revolutionaries; that is why even such a fact as regicide evokes joy and sympathy in a huge part of the population! Yes, Your Majesty, do not be fooled by the reviews of flatterers and servants. Regicide is very popular in Russia.
There can be two ways out of this situation: either a revolution, completely inevitable, which cannot be prevented by any executions, or a voluntary appeal of the supreme power to the people. In the interests of the native land, in order to avoid unnecessary loss of strength, in order to avoid those terrible calamities that always accompany the revolution, the Executive Committee appeals to Your Majesty with advice to choose the second path. Believe that as soon as the supreme power ceases to be arbitrary, as soon as it firmly decides to fulfill only the demands of the people's consciousness and conscience, you can safely drive out the spies who dishonor the government, send the escorts to the barracks and burn the gallows that corrupt the people. The executive committee [is] itself will cease its activities, and the forces organized around it will disperse in order to devote themselves to cultural work for the good native people... Peaceful, ideological struggle will replace violence, which is repugnant to us more than to your servants, and which we practice only out of sad necessity.
We appeal to you, having cast aside all prejudices, suppressing the mistrust that has created the centuries-old government activity. We forget that you are a representative of the government that deceived the people so much, did them so much harm. We are addressing you as a citizen and an honest person. We hope that the feeling of personal bitterness will not drown out the consciousness of your duties and desire to know the truth in you. We can have anger as well. You've lost your father. We lost not only fathers, but also brothers, wives, children, best friends. But we are ready to drown out personal feelings if the good of Russia demands it. We expect the same from you.
We do not set conditions for you. Don't be shocked by our proposal. The conditions that are necessary for the revolutionary movement to be replaced by peaceful work have not been created by us, but by history. We do not set, but only remind them.
These conditions, in our opinion, are two:
1) general amnesty for all political crimes of the past, since these were not crimes, but execution of civic duty;
2) the convocation of representatives from the entire Russian people to revise the existing forms of state and public life and remake them in accordance with the people's desires.
We consider it necessary to remind, however, that the legalization of the supreme power by the people's representation can be achieved only if the elections are completely free. Therefore, elections must be made under the following circumstances:
1) deputies are sent from all classes and estates indifferently and in proportion to the number of inhabitants;
2) there should be no restrictions either for voters or for deputies;
3) the election campaign and the elections themselves must be completely free, and therefore the government must, in the form of a temporary measure, pending the decision of the people's assembly, allow: a) complete freedom of the press, b) complete freedom of speech, c) complete freedom of gatherings, d) complete freedom of electoral programs.
This is the only way to return Russia to the path of correct and peaceful development. We solemnly declare in front of our native country and the whole world that our party, for its part, will unconditionally obey the decision of the People's Assembly, elected under the above conditions, and will not allow itself in the future any violent opposition to the government sanctioned by the People's Assembly.
So, Your Majesty, decide. There are two paths before you. The choice depends on you. Then we can only ask fate for your reason and conscience to suggest you a solution that is the only one consistent with the good of Russia, with your own dignity and obligations to your native country.
Executive Committee, March 10, 1881 Printing house of "Narodnaya Volya", March 12, 1881
Printed by: Revolutionary populism of the 70s XIX century, T. 2, p. 235-236.
From the book Alexander's Walk the author Arrian Quintus Eppius FlaviusArrian's attitude to Alexander Arrian sees in Alexander an exceptionally outstanding political and military figure. As a specialist, he is attracted by the descriptions of Alexander's preparations for sieges, the conduct of sieges, the battle formations of troops and the use of of various kinds
From the book Tsarist Russia during World War the author Paleologue Maurice GeorgesI. Visit of the President of the Republic to Emperor Nicholas (July 20-23, 1914) Monday, July 20. I leave St. Petersburg at ten o'clock in the morning on an Admiralty yacht to go to Peterhof. Foreign Minister Sazonov, Russian Ambassador to France Izvolsky and my military
From the book Frosty Patterns: Poems and Letters the author Sadovskoy Boris AlexandrovichXII. Forgotten telegram from the tsar to Emperor Wilhelm Sunday, January 31, 1915 Petrograd "Government Bulletin" publishes the text of the telegram dated July 29 last year, in which Emperor Nicholas proposed to Emperor Wilhelm to transfer the Austro-Serbian dispute
From the book March 1, 1881. Execution of Emperor Alexander II the author Kelner Viktor EfimovichALEXANDER BLOKU There is a dead stone in the poet's chest And blue ice froze in his veins, But inspiration, like a flame, Over him soars the fury of its wings. Still the same age as Icarus, You fell in love with the sacred heat, In the quiet of the midday heat, Feeling the wings behind your back. They soared over the blue abyss And carried
From the book My Life with Father Alexander the author Shmeman Iulianiya SergeevnaTHE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE EUROPEAN SOCIETY On March 1, by order of the Executive Committee of the Russian Social Revolutionary Party, the execution of the Russian Emperor Alexander II was carried out. The long years of tyrannical rule ended with a dignified punishment.
From the book What the waters of Salgir sing about the author Knorring Irina NikolaevnaFROM KP POBEDONOSTSEV'S LETTERS TO ALEXANDER III ... Forgive me, Your Majesty, that I cannot resist and in these mournful hours I come to you with my word: for God's sake, in these first days of the reign, which will be of decisive importance for you, do not miss case to declare
From the book Red Lanterns the author Gaft Valentin IosifovichLETTER FROM N. I. KIBALCHICH TO ALEXANDER III Your Imperial Majesty, not as a party man, resorting to exaggeration and untruth for the sake of party interests, but as a person who sincerely desires the good of his homeland, sincerely seeking a peaceful way out of the present impossible
From the book Volume 4. Materials for biographies. Perception and assessment of personality and creativity the author Pushkin, Alexander SergeyevichBack to Alexander Soon after I passed my final bachelor's exams, we moved from Granville back to Clamart. I turned seventeen, and two days after my birthday I met Alexander. And then we went through life together: we studied, developed,
From the book, Pushkin aimed at the tsar. Tsar, poet and Natalie the author Petrakov Nikolay YakovlevichAlexander Bloku 1. "When in the broadcasting of lightning ..." When in the broadcasting of lightning I foresee sorrow and torment, - In the familiar rustle of pages I catch tremulous sounds. In them I am looking for my melancholy Silent gaze and unsteady cold, And in the black velvet of the nights Favorite image without a smile. And into the eternal
From the book Remember, Can't Forget the author Kolosova MariannaAlexander Sidelnikov How good it is with you in the car. Talk, compose. In the compartment I'm like a king on the throne - What else can I say. With you as a king on a trip - Fly calmly, ride, sail. Whatever you do, everything is brilliant. It's nice to eat and drink with you ... All
From the book Forex Club: Win-win Revolution author Taran Vyacheslav From the book of Li Bo: The Earthly Fate of a Celestial the author Sergey ToroptsevChapter 2 Jealousy of the Emperor If Pushkin started such a grandiose scandal because of jealousy of Dantes, he would really be ridiculous. That is why the poet's ill-wishers pedaled this pattern of events in every possible way. But Dantes (as an independent figure) was not
From the book People of the Former Empire [collection] the author Ismagilov Anvar AydarovichALEXANDER POKROVSKY Holy power brought out of trouble, Truth rescued from trouble. Life does not tolerate confused fiction, Covers false traces ... Everyone scared with a blizzard and snowdrifts: “Today evil and lies rule the world,
From the author's bookPavel Medvedev (executive director) My victory with the Forex Club Working in the company helped me develop human and professional quality that allowed me to grow up and become who I am. We have a successful symbiosis with the company: I wanted to do a lot for
From the author's bookThe Emperor is ten thousand years old! So, in the ripe autumn of 742, leaving his children at his home in Nanling within the city of Yanzhou under the supervision of the wife of a devoted servant Tansha, Li Bo fastened his sword and, accompanied by Tansha (what kind of knight without a servant?)
From the author's bookEpitaph to Leonidas the First and Last, Emperor of All Soviet Russia, written on the day of his funeral. Here again the wheel has turned - we cannot live as before! And the hero of the jokes is buried against a brick wall. And the longing for a comrade ... a sinner oppresses us, As if they sat in a taxi, and the bridges
Your Majesty! While fully understanding the painful mood that you are experiencing at present, the Executive Committee does not consider it, however, it has the right to succumb to a sense of natural delicacy, which may require waiting some time for the following explanation. There is something higher than the most legitimate feelings of a person: it is a duty to his native country, a duty to which a citizen is forced to sacrifice himself, and his feelings, and even the feelings of other people. Obeying this omnipotent duty, we decide to turn to you immediately, without waiting for anything, since the historical process that threatens us in the future with rivers of blood and the most severe upheavals does not await.
The bloody tragedy played out on the Catherine Canal was not an accident and was not unexpected for anyone. After all that has happened over the past decade, it was completely inevitable, and this is its deep meaning, which a person who has been put by fate at the head of government power must understand. Only a person who is completely incapable of analyzing the life of nations can explain such facts by the malicious intent of individuals or even a "gang". For 10 whole years we see how in our country, despite the most severe persecution, despite the fact that the government of the late emperor sacrificed everything - freedom, the interests of all classes, the interests of industry, and even its own dignity - absolutely sacrificed everything to suppress the revolutionary movement , it nevertheless stubbornly grew, attracting the best elements of the country, the most energetic and selfless people of Russia, and for three years now it entered into a desperate, partisan war with the government.
You know, Your Majesty, that the government of the late Emperor cannot be blamed for a lack of energy. We hanged the right and the guilty, prisons and remote provinces were overflowing with exiles. As many as dozens of the so-called "leaders" are overfished, outweighed. They perished with the courage and calmness of martyrs, but the movement did not stop, it grew and grew incessantly. Yes, your majesty, revolutionary
movement is not a matter that depends on individuals. This is a process of the people's organism, and the gallows erected for the most energetic exponents of this process are also powerless to save the moribund order, just as the death of the savior on the cross did not save the corrupted ancient world from the triumph of reforming Christianity.
The government, of course, can still overcap and outweigh many individuals. It can destroy many separate revolutionary groups. Let us assume that it destroys even the most serious revolutionary organization in existence. But all this will in no way change the state of affairs. The revolutionaries are created by circumstances, the general displeasure of the people, Russia's striving for new social forms. It is impossible to destroy the entire people, and it is impossible to destroy their discontent by means of reprisals: displeasure, on the contrary, grows from this. Therefore, to replace the exterminated, new personalities, even more embittered, even more energetic, are constantly being nominated from the people. These individuals, in the interests of the struggle, of course, organize themselves, having the ready-made experience of their predecessors; therefore, the revolutionary organization must be strengthened over time, both quantitatively and qualitatively. We have seen this in reality over the past 10 years. What benefit did the government benefit from the death of Dolgushin-tsev, Tchaikovites, and leaders of 74? They were replaced by much more resolute populists. Terrible government reprisals then brought the terrorists of 78-79 to the scene. In vain did the government exterminate the Kovalsky, Dubrovins, Osinsky, Lizogubs. In vain it destroyed dozens of revolutionary circles. From these imperfect organizations, only stronger forms are developed by natural selection. Finally, the Executive Committee appears, with which the government is still unable to cope.
Taking an impartial look at the difficult decade we have experienced, one can accurately predict the future course of the movement, unless the government's policy changes. The movement must grow, increase, facts of a terrorist nature must be repeated more and more sharply; the revolutionary organization will put forward all
more and more perfect, strong forms. Meanwhile, the total number of dissatisfied people in the country is increasing; trust in the government among the people should fall more and more, the idea of revolution, about its possibility and inevitability, will develop more and more firmly in Russia. A terrible explosion, a bloody reshuffle, a convulsive revolutionary upheaval throughout Russia will complete this process of destruction of the old order.
What is causing this terrible prospect? Yes, your majesty, terrible and sad. Don't mistake this for a phrase. We understand better than anyone else how sad is the death of so many talents, such energy in the deeds of destruction, in bloody battles, at a time when these forces under different conditions could be spent directly on creative work, on the development of the people, its intelligence, welfare, his civil society. Why does this sad necessity of a bloody struggle occur?
Because, your majesty, now we have no real government in the true sense of the word. The government, by its very principle, should only express the people's aspirations, only carry out the people's will. Meanwhile, in our country - excuse the expression - the government has degenerated into a pure camarilla and deserves the name of a usurper gang much more than the Executive Committee. Whatever the intentions of the sovereign, but the actions of the government have nothing to do with the people's benefit and aspirations. The imperial government subordinated the people to serfdom, gave the masses to the power of the nobility; at the present time it is openly creating the most harmful class of speculators and profiteers. All his reforms lead only to the fact that the people are falling into more and more slavery, more and more exploited. It has brought Russia to the point that at present the masses of the people are in a state of complete poverty and ruin, not free from the most offensive supervision even at their home, powerless even in their worldly, public affairs. Only the predator, the exploiter, enjoys the protection of the law and the government; the most outrageous robberies go unpunished. But what a terrible fate awaits a person who sincerely thinks about the common good. You know well, Your Majesty, that not only socialists
exiled and persecuted. What is a government that maintains such an "order"? Is this not a gang, is it not a manifestation of complete usurpation?
That is why the Russian government has no moral influence, no support among the people; that is why Russia gives birth to so many revolutionaries; that is why even such a fact as regicide evokes joy and sympathy in a huge part of the population! Yes, your majesty, do not be fooled by the reviews of flatterers and servants. Regicide is very popular in Russia.
There can be two ways out of this situation: either a revolution, completely inevitable, which cannot be prevented by any executions, or a voluntary appeal of the supreme power to the people. In the interests of our native country, in order to avoid unnecessary loss of strength, in order to avoid those terrible calamities that always accompany the revolution, the Executive Committee turns to your Majesty with advice to choose the second path. Believe that as soon as the supreme power ceases to be arbitrary, as soon as it firmly decides to fulfill only the demands of the people's conscience and conscience, you can safely drive out the spies who dishonor the government, send the escorts to the barracks and burn the gallows that corrupt the people. The executive committee [is] itself will cease its activities and the forces organized around it will disperse in order to devote themselves to cultural work for the benefit of the native people. Peaceful, ideological struggle will replace violence, which is repugnant to us more than to your servants, and which we practice only out of sad necessity.
We are addressing you, having cast aside all prejudices, suppressing the mistrust that the centuries-old government has created. We forget that you are a representative of the government that deceived the people so much, did them so much harm. We address you as a citizen and an honest person. We hope that the feeling of personal bitterness will not drown out the consciousness of your responsibilities and desire to know the truth in you. We can have anger as well. You've lost your father. We lost not only fathers, but also brothers, wives, children, best friends. But we are ready to drown out personal feelings if the good of Russia demands it. We expect the same from you.
We do not put conditions on you. Don't let it shock you
our offer. The conditions that are necessary for the revolutionary movement to be replaced by peaceful work have not been created by us, but by history. We do not set, but only remind them.
These conditions, in our opinion, are two:
1) general amnesty for all political crimes of the past, since these were not crimes, but execution of civic duty;
2) the convocation of representatives from the entire Russian people to revise the existing forms of state and public life and remake them in accordance with the people's desires.
We consider it necessary to remind, however, that the legalization of the supreme power by the people's representation can be achieved only if the elections are completely free. Therefore, elections must be made under the following circumstances:
1) deputies are sent from all classes and estates indifferently and in proportion to the number of inhabitants;
2) there should be no restrictions either for voters or for deputies;
3) the election campaign and the elections themselves must be completely free, and therefore the government must, in the form of a temporary measure, pending the decision of the people's assembly, allow: a) complete freedom of the press, b) complete freedom of speech, c) complete freedom of gatherings, d) freedom of electoral programs.
This is the only way to return Russia to the path of correct and peaceful development. We solemnly declare in front of the whole country and the whole world that our party, for its part, will unconditionally submit to the decision of the People's Assembly, elected under the above conditions, and will not allow itself in the future any violent opposition to the government sanctioned by the People's Assembly.
So, your majesty, decide. There are two paths before you. The choice depends on you. Then we can only ask fate, so that your reason and conscience would prompt you a solution that is the only one consistent with the good of Russia, with your own dignity and obligations to your native country.
Your Majesty! While fully understanding the burdensome mood that you are experiencing at present, the executive committee does not consider itself entitled to succumb to a sense of natural delicacy, which may require waiting some time for the following explanation. There is something higher than the most legitimate feelings of a person: it is a duty to his native country, a duty to which a citizen is forced to sacrifice himself, and his feelings, and even the feelings of other people. Obeying this omnipotent duty, we decide to turn to you immediately, without waiting for anything, since the historical process that threatens us in the future with rivers of blood and the most severe upheavals does not await.
The bloody tragedy played out on the Catherine Canal was not an accident and was not unexpected for anyone. After everything that has happened during the last decade, it was completely inevitable, and this is its deep meaning, which a person who has been put by fate at the head of government power must understand. Only a person who is completely incapable of analyzing the life of nations can explain such facts by the malicious intent of individuals or even a "gang". For 10 whole years we see how in our country, despite the most severe persecution, despite the fact that the government of the late emperor sacrificed everything - freedom, the interests of all classes, the interests of industry and even its own dignity - absolutely sacrificed everything to suppress the revolutionary movement, it nevertheless stubbornly grew, attracting to itself the best elements of the country, the most energetic and selfless people of Russia, and for three years now it entered into a desperate, partisan war with the government. You know, Your Majesty, that the government of the late Emperor cannot be blamed for a lack of energy. Both the right and the guilty were hanged in your house, prisons and distant provinces were overflowing with exiles. As many as dozens of the so-called "leaders" were overfished, suspended: they died with the courage and calmness of the martyrs, but the movement did not stop, it grew and grew stronger without interruption. Yes, Your Majesty, the revolutionary movement is not a matter that depends on individuals. This is a process of the people's organism, and the gallows erected for the most energetic exponents of this process are just as powerless to save the moribund order, just as the death of the Savior on the cross did not save the corrupted ancient world from the triumph of reforming Christianity.
The government, of course, can still overthrow and outweigh many individuals. It can destroy many separate revolutionary groups. Let us assume that it destroys even the most serious revolutionary organization in existence. But all this will not change the state of affairs in the least. The revolutionaries are created by circumstances, the general displeasure of the people, Russia's striving for new social forms. It is impossible to exterminate the entire people, it is impossible to destroy their discontent by means of reprisals: displeasure, on the contrary, grows from this. Therefore, to replace the exterminated, new personalities, even more embittered, even more energetic, are constantly being nominated from the people. These individuals in the interests of the struggle, of course, are organized, having the ready-made experience of their predecessors; therefore, the revolutionary organization must be strengthened over time, both quantitatively and qualitatively. We have seen this in reality over the past 10 years. What benefit did the deaths of Dolgushins, Tchaikovites, and figures of 74 years bring? They were replaced by much more resolute populists. Terrible government reprisals then brought the terrorists of 78-79 to the scene. In vain did the government exterminate the Kovalsky, Dubrovins, Osinsky, Lizogubs. It was in vain to destroy dozens of revolutionary circles. From these imperfect organizations, by natural selection, only stronger forms are developed. Finally, the Executive Committee appears, with which the government is still unable to cope.
Taking an impartial look at the difficult decade we have experienced, one can accurately predict the future course of the movement, unless the government's policy changes. The movement must grow, increase, facts of a terrorist nature will be repeated more and more sharply; the revolutionary organization will put forward in place of the exterminated groups more and more perfect, strong forms. Meanwhile, the total number of dissatisfied people in the country is increasing; trust in the government among the people should fall more and more, the idea of a revolution, about its possibility and inevitability - will develop more and more firmly in Russia. A terrible explosion, a bloody reshuffle, a convulsive revolutionary upheaval throughout Russia will complete this process of destruction of the old order.
What is causing this terrible prospect? Yes, your majesty, terrible and sad. Don't mistake this for a phrase. We understand better than anyone else how sad the death of so many talents, such energy - in fact, destruction, in bloody battles, at a time when these forces, under different conditions, could be spent directly on creative work, on development of the people, their minds, welfare, their civil society. Why does this sad necessity of a bloody struggle occur?
Because, Your Majesty, now we have no real government, in its true sense, does not exist. According to its principle, the government should only express the people's aspirations, only carry out the people's will. Meanwhile, in our country - excuse the expression - the government has degenerated into a pure camarilla and deserves the name of a usurping gang much more than an executive committee. Whatever the intentions of the sovereign, but the actions of the government have nothing to do with the people's benefit and aspirations. The imperial government subordinated the people to serfdom, gave the masses to the power of the nobility; at the present time it openly creates the most harmful class of speculators and profiteers. All his reforms lead only to the fact that the people fall into greater slavery, more and more exploited. It has brought Russia to the point that at the present time the masses of the people are in a state of complete poverty and ruin, are not free from the most offensive supervision even at their home, they are not even in power in their mundane public affairs. Only the predator, the exploiter, enjoys the protection of the law and the government; the most outrageous robberies remain unpunished. But what a terrible fate awaits a person who sincerely thinks about the common good. You know well, Your Majesty, that not only socialists are exiled and persecuted. What is a government that maintains such an "order"? Is this not a gang, is it not a manifestation of complete usurpation?
That is why the Russian government has no moral influence, no support among the people; that is why Russia gives birth to so many revolutionaries; that is why even such a fact as regicide causes joy and sympathy among a huge part of the population! Yes, your majesty, do not be fooled by the reviews of flatterers and servants. Regicide is very popular in Russia. There can be two ways out of this situation: either a revolution, completely inevitable, which cannot be averted by any executions, or - a voluntary appeal of the supreme power to the people. In the interests of the native land, in order to avoid unnecessary loss of strength, in order to avoid the very terrible disasters that always accompany the revolution, the executive committee turns to your Majesty with advice to elect a second one. Believe that as soon as the supreme power ceases to be arbitrary, as soon as it firmly decides to fulfill only the demands of the people's conscience and conscience, you can safely drive out the spies who dishonor the government, send the escorts to the barracks and burn the gallows that corrupt the people. The Executive Committee itself will cease its activities, and the forces organized around it will disperse in order to devote themselves to cultural work for the benefit of the native people. Peaceful ideological struggle will replace violence, which is repugnant to us more than to your servants, and which we practice only out of sad necessity. We appeal to you, having cast aside all prejudices, suppressing the mistrust that has created the centuries-old government. We forget that you are a representative of the government that only deceived the people, did them so much harm. We are addressing you as a citizen and an honest person. We hope that the feeling of personal bitterness will not drown out the consciousness of your responsibilities and the desire to know the truth in you. We can have anger as well. You've lost your father. We lost not only fathers, but also brothers, wives, children, best friends. But we are ready to drown out personal feelings if the good of Russia demands it. We expect the same from you.
We do not put conditions on you. Don't be shocked by our proposal. The conditions that are necessary for the revolutionary movement to be replaced by peaceful work have not been created by us, but by history. We do not set, but only remind them. In our opinion, there are two of these conditions: 1) General amnesty for all political crimes of the past, since these were not crimes, but the execution of civic duty.
2) Convening representatives from the entire Russian people to revise the existing forms of state and public life and remake them in accordance with the people's wishes. We consider it necessary to remind, however, that the legalization of the supreme power by the people's representation can be achieved only if the elections are completely free. Therefore, elections must be made under the following circumstances:
1) Deputies are sent from all classes and estates indifferently and in proportion to the number of inhabitants;
2) there should be no restrictions either for voters or for deputies;
3) the election campaign and the elections themselves must be completely free, and therefore the government must, in the form of a temporary measure, pending the decision of the people's assembly, allow: a) complete freedom of the press, b) complete freedom of speech, c) complete freedom of gatherings, d) complete freedom of electoral programs.
This is the only way to return Russia to the path of correct and peaceful development. We solemnly declare, in the face of our native country and the whole world, that our party, for its part, will unconditionally submit to the decision of the People's Assembly, elected under the above conditions, and will not allow itself in the future any violent opposition to the government sanctioned by the People's Assembly.
So, your majesty - decide. There are two paths before you. The choice depends on you. Then we can only ask fate, so that your reason and conscience would prompt you a solution that is the only one consistent with the good of Russia, your own dignity and obligations to your native country.
Revolutionary populism of the 70s of the XIX century. Collection of documents and materials in two volumes. T. 2 / Ed. S.S. Wolf. - M .; L .: Science. 1965. S. 170-174.
Loading...