The Authorities and Society in the Elections to the Fourth State Duma (Based on the Materials of Vologda Governorate)

Abstract

The article deals with the interaction of the authorities and society during the election campaign to the Fourth State Duma of the Russian Empire and is based on the materials of Vologda Governorate. The decline in social activity after the end of the First Russian Revolution led to a certain weakening of the population’s attention to election campaigns, and interest in the parliament as a new political institution was clearly fading. However, in 1912, on the eve of the elections to the Fourth Duma, there was a clear revival of social and political life in Vologda Governorate as well as a shift of public sentiments to the left, which caused concern of the authorities at all levels. The article considers the actions of M. Shramchenko, the governor of Vologda, taken to ensure the election to the Duma of the right-wing candidates who were needed by the authorities. On the eve of the elections to the Fourth Duma, polarization of political forces in the governorate as well as throughout the country could be seen: the opposition relied on the Kadet Party and moderate socialists and stood against the right-wing candidates nominated by the authorities. Formally, the Kadets did not have their own organization, but they acted as a united group and enjoyed serious prestige with the voters of the city curia and, to some extent, peasant curia. The article analyzes electoral slogans of the right-wingers and the opposition, the course of the election campaign, and its results. Particular attention is paid to the mechanisms of support for right-wing candidates by the governorate administration and the use of administrative resources by it. The conclusion is made that the opposition sentiments, which were clearly manifested during the elections at the governorate level, tended to grow and the influence of the authorities tended to decline. Despite all the restrictions of the electoral law of June 3, 1907, the elections to the Fourth State Duma showed obvious social demand for reforming the country. However, at the level of Vologda Governorate, the governorate authorities failed to satisfy that demand by entering into a limited dialogue with the opposition and to properly consolidate the right-wing forces. Applying a wide range of administrative measures against the opposition, the governorate administration drove the situation into a dead end even deeper, which led to an increase in contradictions between the government and the public.

Keywords

• election campaigns
• pre-election struggle
• governorate administration
• right-wingers
• opposition
• state duma