The Philosophical and Political Rhetoric of the “Autocracy of the People” in the Programs of Narodnaya Volya and RSDLP

Speaking about the “autocracy of the people”, historians of political ideas first of all recall Jean-Jacques Rousseau with his unforgettable term “peuple souverain” (“le Peuple est seul détenteur de l'autorité souveraine”). Memory resurrects scenes and images with famous figures of the Great French Revolution who tried to bring the idea of the sovereignty of the people (souverainité du peuple) to life. One recalls Maximilian Robespierre with his “I am not the courtier, nor the moderator, nor the tribune nor the defender of the people, I am the people myself” (“Je ne suis ni le courtisan, ni le modérateur, ni le tribun, ni le défenseur du peuple! Je suis peuple moi-même!”). However, few philosophers of politics and historians of political ideas will recall that once the concept “autocracy of the people” (this is how the expression “souverainité du peuple” began to be translated in the Russian social democratic society) became one of the most important concepts of Narodnaya Volya (People's Will) and once had a powerful influence on RSDLP (Russian Social Democratic Labour Party): it was not only included in the Party's First Program, but was also actively used in Bolshevik political rhetoric. The expression “autocracy of the people” in the years of the First Russian Revolution is used both in the political works of Lenin and Stalin, and in all sorts of leaflets, appeals, calls to the working people. RSDLP takes the expression “autocracy of the people” for its First Program from the literary-political and program documents of Narodnaya Volya. Tracing this conceptual line, we come across such prominent political figures and philosophers as Lev Tikhomirov, Georgi Plekhanov, and Vladimir Lenin. However, of particular interest is the development of the concept in the political thought of Lev Tikhomirov after he ceased revolutionary activities and joined monarchism. At the beginning of the 20th century, in his political philosophy, “autocracy of the people” acquires strongly marked monarchist features while retaining the Russoist revolutionary anti-autocratic content. This, undoubtedly, is extremely rare in the history of political ideas and needs a historical and political analysis. In the humanities, a new direction has been formed -- Tikhomirov studies. What was the meaning and influence of Tikhomirov's thought in the political history of Russia? There are rather fierce debates about this, especially in the current situation and context, when monarchism becomes not just an object of study by historians, but also a concept in political struggle. Books, including the diaries of the thinker, are published and analyzed. His life particularly attracts the interest of scholars in various fields. The interest of political scientists is clearly not incidental here.

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