Structures of the Civil Society in Tomsk in March - October 1917

In thelate 19th - early 20th century the formation of primary structures of the civil society began in Tomsk as one of the consequences of the capitalistmodernization. From the mid XIX-th century to February 1917 more than 230 public organizations, 20 cooperative organizations,branches of all the big Russian parties were more or less active in the city. 81 periodicals were published. The movements of workers, youth,women and national minorities were gaining strength. However, their development was constrained by the policies of the tsarist regime. TheFebruary Revolution created favorable conditions for the implementation of civic initiatives that materialized in different forms of socialactivities. In the first half of March 1917 public organizations were often more well-organized than the local branches of political parties, asmany of the latter were just beginning to take shape. Therefore, leaders of public organizations were actively involved in political activitiesand participated in the formation of the institutions of power. A new phenomenon in the city life was the emergence of organizations unitingthe representatives of social groups whose interests were reflected in the programs of political parties with insufficient clarity. Since springthe movements of women and youth were gaining strength, the unemployed, the veterans, the soldier-wives were uniting. These organizationswere developing their political face, were getting more involved in the political struggle and becoming objects of political partiesactivities. The politicization of public life brought about the situation when most of public organizations found themselves in the wake ofpolitical parties, lost their individuality and autonomy. Under these conditions part of the population (especially the mid-level city strata),disappointed in the revolutionary ideals and scared of the increase in radical sentiments, lost their hopes for the viability of democratic reformsand withdrew from social activities. The unfinished state of the economic modernization accounts for the fact that by the time of therevolution in Tomsk, as well as in the whole of the country, no middle-class, a potential social stabilizer, had been developed. The structuresof the civil society, awakened by the revolution, were unable to withstand the wave of radicalism, engendered by the low level of life of themajority of population, the low political and legal culture and too high social expectations. At the same time in Tomsk, where significantintellectual and cultural resources were concentrated, the structures of the civil society were represented more widely and were more activethan in other parts of Siberia. Despite growing contradictions, the political elite of the city retained its readiness for look for compromise, andthe main reason that speeded up the collapse of the democratic coalition and brought about the crisis of the civil societys structures were theevents in central Russia.

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