From a letter from the Executive Committee to Alexander III 6
10.III. 1881
Your Majesty!
The bloody tragedy that took place 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 lack of energy. In our country, the right and the wrong were hanged, prisons and remote provinces were overflowing with exiles. Whole dozens of so-called “leaders” were overfished and hanged.
The government, of course, can still catch and outweigh many, many individuals. It can destroy many individual revolutionary groups. Let us assume that it will destroy even the most serious of existing revolutionary organizations. But all this will not change the situation at all. Revolutionaries are created by circumstances, the general displeasure of the people, Russia’s desire for new social forms...
Taking an impartial look at the difficult decade we have experienced, one can unmistakably predict the further course of the movement, unless the government’s policy changes... A terrible explosion, a bloody shuffle, a convulsive revolutionary upheaval throughout 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 don't put any conditions on you. Don't let our proposal shock you. The conditions that are necessary for the revolutionary movement to be replaced by peaceful work were created not by us, but by history. We do not put them, but only remind them.
In our opinion, there are two of these conditions:
1) a general amnesty for all political crimes of the past, since these were not crimes, but the fulfillment of civic duty;
2) convening representatives from the entire Russian people to review the existing forms of state and public life and remake them in accordance with the people's desires.
We consider it necessary to recall, however, that the legalization of the supreme power by popular representation can only be achieved if elections are held completely freely. Therefore, elections must be made under the following conditions:
1) deputies are sent from all classes and estates indifferently and in proportion to the number of residents;
2) there should be no restrictions either for voters or deputies;
3) election campaigning and the elections themselves must be carried out completely freely, and therefore the government must, as 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.
So, Your Majesty, decide. There are two paths before you. The choice is up to you. We can then only ask fate that your reason and conscience prompt you to the only decision consistent with the good of Russia, with your own dignity and responsibilities to your native country.
Revolutionary populism of the seventies of the 19th century: In 2 vols.-M., 1964.- T. 2.- P. 191-195.
LETTER
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
[PARTY "PEOPLE'S WILL"]
ALEXANDER III
Your Majesty! Fully understanding the painful mood that you are experiencing at the present moment, the executive committee does not, however, consider itself entitled to succumb to a feeling 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 one’s native country, a duty to which a citizen is forced to sacrifice himself, his feelings, and even the feelings of other people. In obedience to this all-powerful 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 shocks does not await.
The bloody tragedy that took place on the Catherine Canal was not an accident and was not unexpected for anyone. After everything that happened over the past decade, it was completely inevitable, and this is its deep meaning, which a person placed by fate at the head of government power must understand. To explain such facts by the malicious intent of individuals or at least a “gang” can only be explained by a person who is completely incapable of analyzing the life of nations. For 10 whole years we have seen 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 - it certainly 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 has entered into a desperate guerrilla war with the government. You know, Your Majesty, that the government of the late emperor cannot be accused of lack of energy. In your country, both the right and the wrong were hanged, prisons and remote provinces were overflowing with exiles. Whole dozens of so-called leaders were overfished and hanged: they died with the courage and calmness of martyrs, but the movement did not stop, it grew and became stronger without stopping. Yes, Your Majesty, the revolutionary movement is not a matter that depends on individuals. This is a process of the national organism, and the gallows erected for the most energetic exponents of this process are as powerless to save the moribund order 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 change and outweigh many individuals. It can destroy many individual revolutionary groups. Let us assume that it will destroy even the most serious of existing revolutionary organizations. But all this will not change the situation at all. Revolutionaries are created by circumstances, the general discontent of the people, and Russia's desire for new social forms. It is impossible to exterminate the entire people, it is impossible to destroy their discontent through reprisals: displeasure, on the contrary, grows from this. Therefore, new individuals, even more embittered, even more energetic, are constantly emerging from the people in ever greater numbers to replace those who are being exterminated. These individuals, of course, organize themselves in the interests of struggle, having already had the ready-made experience of their predecessors; Therefore, the revolutionary organization must strengthen both quantitatively and qualitatively over time. We have seen this in reality over the past 10 years. What benefit did the death of the Dolgushins, Chaikovites, and the leaders of ’74 bring? They were replaced by much more determined populists. Terrible government reprisals then brought the terrorists of 78-79 onto the scene. In vain did the government exterminate the Kovalskys, Dubrovins, Osinskys, and Lizogubs. In vain it destroyed dozens of revolutionary circles. From these imperfect organizations, through natural selection, only stronger forms are developed. Finally, an Executive Committee appears, which the government is still unable to cope with.
Taking an impartial look at the difficult decade we have experienced, we can accurately predict the future course of the movement, unless government policy changes. The movement must grow, increase, facts of a terrorist nature will be repeated more and more acutely; The revolutionary organization will put forward more and more perfect, strong forms in place of the exterminated groups. 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, its possibility and inevitability, will develop more and more firmly in Russia. A terrible explosion, a bloody shuffle, a convulsive revolutionary upheaval throughout Russia will complete this process of destruction of the old order.
What causes this terrible prospect? Yes, Your Majesty, scary and sad. Don't take this as a phrase. We understand better than anyone else how sad the death of so many talents and such energy is - in fact, destruction, in bloody battles, at a time when these forces, under other conditions, could have been spent directly on creative work, on the development of the people, their minds, their well-being, their civil society. Why does this sad necessity of bloody struggle occur?
Because, Your Majesty, we now have a real government, in its true sense, that does not exist. The government, by its principle, should only express the people's aspirations, only implement 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, the actions of the government have nothing to do with the people's benefit and aspirations. The imperial government subjected the people to serfdom and placed the masses under the power of the nobility; at present it is openly creating the most harmful class of speculators and profiteers. All his reforms only lead to the fact that the people fall into greater slavery and are increasingly exploited. It has brought Russia to the point where at present 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, and have no power even in their mundane 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 it is not only socialists who are exiled and persecuted. What is a government that protects such “order”? Is this really not a gang, is it really 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 produces so many revolutionaries; That’s why even such a fact as regicide evokes joy and sympathy among a huge part of the population! Yes, Your Majesty, do not deceive yourself with the reviews of flatterers and minions. 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 country, in order to avoid the needless loss of forces, in order to avoid those very terrible disasters that always accompany a 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 carry out only the demands of the people’s consciousness and conscience, you can safely drive out the spies that disgrace the government, send the guards 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 their native people. Peaceful ideological struggle will replace violence, which is more disgusting to us than to your servants, and which we practice only out of sad necessity.
We address you, having cast aside all prejudices, having suppressed the mistrust that centuries of government activity have created. We forget that you are a representative of the government that only deceived the people and 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 your awareness of your responsibilities and desire to know the truth. We can have bitterness too. You have lost your father. We lost not only fathers, but also brothers, wives, children, best friends. But we are ready to suppress personal feelings if the good of Russia requires it. We expect the same from you.
We don't put any conditions on you. Don't let our proposal shock you. The conditions that are necessary for the revolutionary movement to be replaced by peaceful work were created not by us, but by history. We do not put them, but only remind them. In our opinion, there are two of these conditions:
1) A general amnesty for all political crimes of the past, since these were not crimes, but the fulfillment of a civic duty.
2) Convening representatives from the entire Russian people to review the existing forms of state and public life and remake them in accordance with the people's desires. We consider it necessary to recall, however, that the legalization of the supreme power by popular representation can only be achieved if elections are held completely freely. Therefore, elections must be made under the following conditions:
1) Deputies are sent from all classes and estates indifferently and in proportion to the number of residents;
2) there should be no restrictions either for voters or deputies;
3) election campaigning and the elections themselves must be carried out completely freely, and therefore the government must, as 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 to engage in any violent opposition to the government sanctioned by the people's assembly.
So, Your Majesty, decide. There are two paths before you. The choice is up to you. We can then only ask fate that your reason and conscience prompt you to the only decision consistent with the good of Russia; your own dignity and responsibilities to your native country.
Printing house "Narodnaya Volya"
F. Engels: « Both I and Marx find that the Committee’s letter to Alexander III is positively excellent in its politics and calm tone. It proves that in the ranks of the revolutionaries there are people with a state mind.».
"Times": ... " The most daring and terrible petition for rights» .
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
[PARTY "PEOPLE'S WILL"]
TO 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.
Long years of tyrannical rule ended with a worthy punishment. The executive committee, which defends individual rights and the rights of the Russian people, appeals to the public opinion of Western Europe with an explanation of the event that has taken place. Imbued with the ideals of humanity and truth, the Russian revolutionary party for many years stood on the basis of peaceful propaganda of its beliefs; its activities did not go beyond the boundaries allowed for private and public activities in all European countries without exception.
Having set itself as its first duty to work together with the Russian worker and peasant, to develop the consciousness and raise the economic well-being of the Russian people, the Russian [revolutionary] party turned a blind eye to the political oppression and lawlessness that reigned in its native country, and completely ignored political forms, the political question . The Russian government responded to this kind of activity with terrible persecution. Not individuals, not dozens and hundreds, but thousands of individuals were tortured in prisons, exile and hard labor, thousands of families were subjected to ruin and thrown into the pool of hopeless grief. In parallel with this, the Russian government multiplied and strengthened the bureaucracy to incredible proportions and, with a series of measures directed against the people, gave rise to the widespread development of plutocracy. Popular impoverishment, hunger, corruption of the people - examples of easy money and the change in this way from the people's worldview based on labor to the selfishly acquisitive worldview of plutocracy - all this, together with the terrible oppression of the people's spirit, was the result of government policy.
Everywhere, in all countries, individuals die, but nowhere do they die for such insignificant reasons as in Russia; Everywhere the interests of the people are sacrificed to the ruling classes, but nowhere are these interests trampled upon with such cruelty and cynicism as in our country. Persecuted, persecuted, and made impossible under existing conditions to carry out its ideas, the revolutionary party slowly turned to the path of active struggle against the government, initially limiting itself to repelling attacks by government agents with arms in their hands.
The government responded with executions. It became impossible to live. I had to choose between moral or physical death. Disregarding the shameful existence of slaves, the Russian social revolutionary party decided to either perish or break the age-old despotism that was strangling Russian life. In the consciousness of the rightness and greatness of its cause, in the consciousness of the harm of the system of Russian autocracy - harm not only for the Russian people, but also for all humanity, over which this system hangs with the threat of extermination of all rights, liberties and gains of civilization - Russian social[ The ial]-revolutionary party began to organize the struggle against the foundations of the despotic system. The disaster with Alexander II is one of the episodes of this struggle. The Executive Committee has no doubt that thoughtful and honest elements of Western European society understand the full significance of this struggle and will not condemn the form in which it is being waged, since this form was caused by the inhumanity of the Russian authorities, since there is no other outcome other than a bloody struggle. no for Russian people.
The bloody tragedy that took place on the Catherine Canal was not an accident and was not unexpected for anyone. After everything that happened over the past decade, it was completely inevitable, and this is its deep meaning, which a person placed 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 have seen 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 the best elements of the country, the most energetic and selfless people of Russia, and for three years now it has entered into a desperate guerrilla war with the government. You know, Your Majesty, that the government of the late Emperor cannot be blamed for lack of energy. In our country, both the right and the wrong were hanged, prisons and remote provinces were overflowing with exiles. Whole dozens of so-called “leaders” were overfished and hanged: they died with the courage and calmness of martyrs, but the movement did not stop, it grew and became stronger without stopping. Yes, Your Majesty, the revolutionary movement is not a matter that depends on individuals. This is a process of the national organism, and the gallows erected for the most energetic exponents of this process are as powerless to save the moribund order 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 catch and outweigh many, many individuals. It can destroy many individual revolutionary groups. Let us assume that it will destroy even the most serious of existing revolutionary organizations. But all this will not change the situation at all. Revolutionaries are created by circumstances, the general displeasure of the people, and Russia's desire for new social forms. It is impossible to exterminate the entire people, and it is impossible to destroy their discontent through reprisals; displeasure, on the contrary, grows from this...
...Whatever the intentions of the sovereign, the actions of the government have nothing to do with the people's benefit and aspirations. The imperial government subjected the people to serfdom and placed the masses under the power of the nobility; at present it is openly creating the most harmful class of speculators and profiteers. All his reforms lead only to the fact that the people fall into greater slavery and are increasingly exploited. It has brought Russia to the point where 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, and not in power even in their worldly, public affairs...
...That is why the Russian government has no moral influence, no support among the people; that is why Russia produces so many revolutionaries; That’s why even such a fact as regicide evokes joy and sympathy among a huge part of the population! Yes, Your Majesty, do not deceive yourself with the reviews of flatterers and minions. 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 the needless loss of forces, in order to avoid those most terrible disasters that always accompany a revolution, the Executive Committee turns to Your Majesty with advice to choose the second path...
...We turn to you, having cast aside all prejudices, suppressing the mistrust that the centuries-old activities of the government have created. We forget that you are a representative of the government that only deceived the people and 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 your awareness of your responsibilities and desire to know the truth. We can have bitterness too. You have lost your father. We lost not only fathers, but also brothers, wives, children, best friends. But we are ready to suppress personal feelings if the good of Russia requires it. We expect the same from you...
...So, Your Majesty - decide. There are two paths before you. The choice depends on you. We can then only ask fate that your mind and conscience prompt you to a decision that is the only one consistent with the good of Russia, with your own dignity and responsibilities to your native country.
Maria carefully folded the expensive sheets. The emperor did not listen, violence and repression continued. Well?! The struggle did not stop either. She will carry this letter throughout the province, let the people read it. A young birch tree withstood the hurricane. She bent over, rested her top on the ground, like a stretched bow, but she made it... She can make it, too.
It was raining. The wind ruffled the rotten thatch on the roofs of the village huts. Lichen appeared on the rain-blackened logs. The tow with heavy drops of rain was splayed.
The village of Goreloye, where Maria had been teaching for three years, was buried in autumn mud. Along the side of the road, washed out by the rain, stunted elderberry bushes with withered leaves stuck out forlornly. The aspen trembled, covering the road with gray circles.
Having tied a scarf and raised the collar of her jacket, Maria hurried. My feet parted in the sticky mud. She had difficulty pulling them out. The paramedic's bag with tools was pulling his hand away. We still have to go through the old mill. The wind threw its crooked wings, and the water roared near the dam lined with wicker willow. After waiting out a gust of wind, Maria, through the veil of rain, could discern a light in a still distant hut. Fedya ran ahead in a long overcoat belted with a rope. An old hat is pulled down over his eyes. The boy stopped and waited for her to cross the puddle.
It's coming soon! And there’s dad 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 on the threshold. The wind blew the canvas shirt like a sail. In the open collar of his shirt, a tin cross could be seen on a cord. He wiped drops of rain, and perhaps tears, from his face.
Go to the house, 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 the door and immediately found herself in the upper room. It smelled like sour sheepskin. Near the Russian stove, which occupied most of the hut, a lamb lay in a curled ball. On the earthen floor is a tub covered with gray corydalis. On a high ear there is a rooster with a red eye. A sick boy was thrashing about on a bench under a colorful patchwork blanket. In the corner in front of the icon there was a woman kneeling, whom Maria did not immediately notice.
Maria greeted. The woman reluctantly rose from her knees. Her face was swollen from tears. She silently walked up to her son and threw back the blanket.
Which day are you sick? - asked Maria.
Third... They brought some earthen soil from my father’s grave, put it on his chest, but the heat didn’t go away! - The woman ran her hand over the child’s burning forehead.
Earth?! For what?
They say it helps with fever.
Maria shook her head: this “treatment” was the most common in the village, no matter how much she explained its uselessness. She washed her hands over a clay bowl and approached the boy.
Vasyatka was five years old. Maria knew him. How often he fell silent at the door, walking his brother to school. That’s how she remembered him - the curly-haired, blue-eyed man 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 was thrashing about, his thin belly rising high and then retracting toward his spine. Vasyatka was out of breath.
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE TO EMPEROR ALEXANDER III
Your Majesty! Fully understanding the painful mood that you are experiencing at the present moment, the Executive Committee does not, however, consider itself entitled to succumb to a feeling of natural delicacy, which may require, perhaps, to wait some time for the following explanation. There is something higher than the most legitimate feelings of a person: it is a duty to one’s native country, a duty to which a citizen is forced to sacrifice himself, his feelings, and even the feelings of other people. In obedience to this all-powerful 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 shocks does not await.
The bloody tragedy that took place on the Catherine Canal was not an accident and was not unexpected for anyone. After everything that happened over the past decade, it was completely inevitable, and this is its deep meaning, which a person placed 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 - it certainly 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 has entered into a desperate guerrilla war with the government.
You know, Your Majesty, that the government of the late emperor cannot be blamed for lack of energy. In our country, the right and the wrong were hanged, prisons and remote provinces were overflowing with exiles. Whole dozens of so-called “leaders” were overfished and hanged. They died with the courage and calmness of martyrs, but the movement did not stop, it grew and became stronger without stopping. Yes, Your Majesty, the revolutionary movement is not a matter that depends on individuals. This is a process of the national organism, and the gallows erected for the most energetic exponents of this process are as powerless to save the moribund order 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 catch and outweigh many, many individuals. It can destroy many individual revolutionary groups. Let us assume that it will destroy even the most serious of existing revolutionary organizations. But all this will not change the situation at all. Revolutionaries are created by circumstances, the general displeasure of the people, and Russia's desire for new social forms. It is impossible to exterminate the entire people, and it is impossible to destroy their discontent through reprisals: displeasure, on the contrary, grows from this. Therefore, new individuals, even more embittered, even more energetic, are constantly emerging from the people in ever greater numbers to replace those who are being exterminated. These individuals, of course, organize themselves in the interests of struggle, having already had the ready-made experience of their predecessors; Therefore, the revolutionary organization must strengthen both quantitatively and qualitatively over time. We have seen this in reality over the past 10 years. What benefit did the death of the Dolgushins, Chaikovites, and leaders of ’74 bring to the government? They were replaced by much more determined populists. Terrible government repressions then brought the terrorists of 78-79 onto the scene. In vain did the government exterminate the Kovalskys, Dubrovins, Osinskys, and Lizogubs. In vain it destroyed dozens of revolutionary circles. From these imperfect organizations, only stronger forms are developed through natural selection. Finally, an Executive Committee appears, which the government is still unable to cope with.
Taking an impartial look at the difficult decade we have experienced, we can accurately predict the future course of the movement, unless government policy changes. The movement must grow, increase, facts of a terrorist nature must be repeated more and more acutely; The revolutionary organization will put forward more and more perfect, strong forms in place of the exterminated groups. 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, its possibility and inevitability will develop more and more firmly in Russia. A terrible explosion, a bloody shuffle, a convulsive revolutionary upheaval throughout Russia will complete this process of destruction of the old order.
What causes this terrible prospect? Yes, Your Majesty, scary and sad. Don't take this as a phrase. We understand better than anyone else how sad the death of so many talents, such energy in the cause of destruction, in bloody battles, while these forces under other conditions could have been spent directly on creative work, on the development of the people, their mind, well-being, his civil society. Why does this sad necessity of bloody struggle occur?
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 implement 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, the actions of the government have nothing to do with the people's benefit and aspirations. The imperial government subjected the people to serfdom and placed the masses under the power of the nobility; at present it is openly creating the most harmful class of speculators and profiteers. All his reforms lead only to the fact that the people fall into greater slavery and are increasingly exploited. It has brought Russia to the point where 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, and 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 it is not only socialists who are exiled and persecuted. What is a government that protects such “order”? Is this really not a gang, is this 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 produces so many revolutionaries; That’s why even such a fact as regicide evokes joy and sympathy among a huge part of the population! Yes, Your Majesty, do not deceive yourself with the reviews of flatterers and minions. 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 the needless loss of forces, in order to avoid those terrible disasters that always accompany a 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 carry out only the demands of the people's consciousness and conscience, you can safely drive out the spies that disgrace the government, send the guards 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 their native people. A peaceful, ideological struggle will replace violence, which is more disgusting to us than to your servants, and which we practice only out of sad necessity.
We turn to you, having cast aside all prejudices, suppressing the mistrust that centuries of government activity has created. We forget that you are a representative of the government that deceived the people so much and 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 your awareness of your responsibilities and desire to know the truth. We can have bitterness too. You have lost your father. We lost not only fathers, but also brothers, wives, children, best friends. But we are ready to suppress personal feelings if the good of Russia requires it. We expect the same from you.
We don't set any conditions for you. Don't let our proposal shock you. The conditions that are necessary for the revolutionary movement to be replaced by peaceful work were created not by us, but by history. We do not put them, but only remind them.
In our opinion, there are two of these conditions:
1) a general amnesty for all political crimes of the past, since these were not crimes, but the fulfillment of civic duty;
2) convening representatives from the entire Russian people to review the existing forms of state and public life and remake them in accordance with the people's desires.
We consider it necessary to recall, however, that the legalization of the supreme power by popular representation can only be achieved if elections are held completely freely. Therefore, elections must be made under the following conditions:
1) deputies are sent from all classes and estates indifferently and in proportion to the number of residents;
2) there should be no restrictions either for voters or deputies;
3) election campaigning and the elections themselves must be carried out completely freely, and therefore the government must, as a temporary measure, pending the decision of the national 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 to engage in 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. We can then only ask fate that your mind and conscience prompt you to a decision that is the only one consistent with the good of Russia, with your own dignity and responsibilities 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.
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Your Majesty! Fully understanding the painful mood that you are experiencing at the present moment, the executive committee does not, however, consider itself entitled to succumb to a feeling 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 one’s native country, a duty to which a citizen is forced to sacrifice himself, his feelings, and even the feelings of other people. In obedience to this all-powerful 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 shocks does not await.
The bloody tragedy that took place on the Catherine Canal was not an accident and was not unexpected for anyone. After everything that happened over the past decade, it was completely inevitable, and this is its deep meaning, which a person placed 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 have seen 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 - it certainly 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 has entered into a desperate guerrilla war with the government. You know, Your Majesty, that the government of the late emperor cannot be accused of lack of energy. In your country, both the right and the wrong were hanged, prisons and remote provinces were overflowing with exiles. Whole dozens of so-called “leaders” were overfished and hanged: they died with the courage and calmness of martyrs, but the movement did not stop, it grew and became stronger without stopping. Yes, Your Majesty, the revolutionary movement is not a matter that depends on individuals. This is a process of the national organism, and the gallows erected for the most energetic exponents of this process are as powerless to save the moribund order 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 change and outweigh many individuals. It can destroy many individual revolutionary groups. Let us assume that it will destroy even the most serious of existing revolutionary organizations. But all this will not change the situation at all. Revolutionaries are created by circumstances, the general displeasure of the people, and Russia's desire for new social forms. It is impossible to exterminate the entire people, it is impossible to destroy their discontent through reprisals: displeasure, on the contrary, grows from this. Therefore, new individuals, even more embittered, even more energetic, are constantly emerging from the people in ever greater numbers to replace those who are being exterminated. These individuals, of course, organize themselves in the interests of struggle, having already had the ready-made experience of their predecessors; Therefore, the revolutionary organization must strengthen both quantitatively and qualitatively over time. We have seen this in reality over the past 10 years. What benefit did the death of the Dolgushins, Chaikovites, and the leaders of ’74 bring? They were replaced by much more determined populists. Terrible government reprisals then brought the terrorists of 78-79 onto the scene. In vain did the government exterminate the Kovalskys, Dubrovins, Osinskys, and Lizogubs. In vain it destroyed dozens of revolutionary circles. From these imperfect organizations, through natural selection, only stronger forms are developed. Finally, an Executive Committee appears, which the government is still unable to cope with.
Taking an impartial look at the difficult decade we have experienced, we can accurately predict the future course of the movement, unless government policy changes. The movement must grow, increase, facts of a terrorist nature will be repeated more and more acutely; The revolutionary organization will put forward more and more perfect, strong forms in place of the exterminated groups. 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, its possibility and inevitability, will develop more and more firmly in Russia. A terrible explosion, a bloody shuffle, a convulsive revolutionary upheaval throughout Russia will complete this process of destruction of the old order.
What causes this terrible prospect? Yes, Your Majesty, scary and sad. Don't take this as a phrase. We understand better than anyone else how sad the death of so many talents and such energy is - in fact, destruction, in bloody battles, at a time when these forces, under other conditions, could have been spent directly on creative work, on the development of the people, their minds, their well-being, their civil society. Why does this sad necessity of bloody struggle occur?
Because, Your Majesty, we now have a real government, in its true sense, that does not exist. The government, by its principle, should only express the people's aspirations, only implement 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, the actions of the government have nothing to do with the people's benefit and aspirations. The imperial government subjected the people to serfdom and placed the masses under the power of the nobility; at present it is openly creating the most harmful class of speculators and profiteers. All his reforms only lead to the fact that the people fall into greater slavery and are increasingly exploited. It has brought Russia to the point where at present 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, and have no power even in their mundane 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 it is not only socialists who are exiled and persecuted. What is a government that protects such “order”? Is this really not a gang, is it really 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 produces so many revolutionaries; That’s why even such a fact as regicide evokes joy and sympathy among a huge part of the population! Yes, Your Majesty, do not deceive yourself with the reviews of flatterers and minions. 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 country, in order to avoid the needless loss of forces, in order to avoid those very terrible disasters that always accompany a 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 carry out only the demands of the people’s consciousness and conscience, you can safely drive out the spies that disgrace the government, send the guards 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 their native people. Peaceful ideological struggle will replace violence, which is more disgusting to us than to your servants, and which we practice only out of sad necessity. We address you, having cast aside all prejudices, having suppressed the mistrust that centuries of government activity have created. We forget that you are a representative of the government that only deceived the people and 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 your awareness of your responsibilities and desire to know the truth. We can have bitterness too. You have lost your father. We lost not only fathers, but also brothers, wives, children, best friends. But we are ready to suppress personal feelings if the good of Russia requires it. We expect the same from you.
We don't put any conditions on you. Don't let our proposal shock you. The conditions that are necessary for the revolutionary movement to be replaced by peaceful work were created not by us, but by history. We do not put them, but only remind them. In our opinion, there are two of these conditions: 1) A general amnesty for all political crimes of the past, since these were not crimes, but the fulfillment of a civic duty.
2) Convening representatives from the entire Russian people to review the existing forms of state and public life and remake them in accordance with the people's desires. We consider it necessary to recall, however, that the legalization of the supreme power by popular representation can only be achieved if elections are held completely freely. Therefore, elections must be made under the following conditions:
1) Deputies are sent from all classes and estates indifferently and in proportion to the number of residents;
2) there should be no restrictions either for voters or deputies;
3) election campaigning and the elections themselves must be carried out completely freely, and therefore the government must, as a temporary measure, pending the decision of the national 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 to engage in any violent opposition to the government sanctioned by the people's assembly.
So, Your Majesty, decide. There are two paths before you. The choice is up to you. We can then only ask fate that your reason and conscience prompt you to a decision that is the only one consistent with the good of Russia, your own dignity and responsibilities 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. pp. 170-174.