The Extreme Right and the Fall of the Autocracy in Russia

In 1913 Russia widely and festively celebrated the 300th anniversary of the House of Romanov. The monarchist or, as they were often called, the Black Hundreds unions played a major part in the festivities, which were held all around the country. The patriotic demonstrations instilled confidence in Nicholas II, confidence that the monarchy was unshakable. The tsar saw the Black Hundredists as true representatives of the great Russian people, who were prepared to wipe the small, pitiful band of seditionists off the face of the earth. Yet the monarchy had a mere four years of life left until February 1917. Why did the Black Hundredists, despite their assurances, fail to protect the monarchy? We should note that the Black Hundreds movement was never notable for its unity. The ideas of “Autocracy, Orthodoxy, Nationhood” and “Russia for Russians” were supported by a multitude of discrete monarchist organizations. Strictly speaking, the Black Hundreds movement was a conglomerate of loosely interconnected unions, societies, leagues, and militia units. The largest of them were the Union of the Russian People and the Russian People’s Union of the Archangel Michael. In 1910–1912 the Union of the Russian People went through a painful schism into Dubrovinists (named for A.I. Dubrovin, the chairman of the Main Council of the Union of the Russian People) and the “Renovationists,” whose leader was N.E. Markov. The Dubrovinist wing won fame as political radicals who would reject even the most moderate concessions by the authorities and tended to operate by illegal, violent methods. In particular, they believed that the government consisted almost entirely of traitors who were pushing the country onto a constitutional path. The Dubrovinists were often called “revolutionaries on the right.” The Renovationist wing was willing to recognize a compromise on the basis of the June 3