Revolutionary theory of P.N. Tkachev in domestic historiographies of the postsoviet period

In the article estimations of the revolutionary theory of P.N. Tkachev in the post-Soviet historiographyare considered. The given period in many respects reflects the tendencies in judgement tkachevism (Russian blankism) that appeared inthe second half of the1980s. The studying of Tkachev's sociopolitical sights went in several directions. The first was connected with theproblem of influence of Tkachev's ideas on Lenin. The majority of the authors emphasized close genetic communication betweentkachevism and bolshevism. They recognized the evidence of numerous elements of Russian revolutionary radicalism in the spirit ofTkachev in theoretical constructions of the Bolsheviks and in their practical activity. The second direction considered the well-knownpolemic between Tkachev and F. Engels about ways of revolution in Russia. The impartial analysis shows that arguments of the Russiannarodnik were much more correct in understanding the situation than the speculations of the German social democrat; and divergencesbetween them were not so significant, as emphasized in the official Soviet historiography. The third direction compared the conceptionof Tkachev with the ideas of Nechaev. Tkachev was unreasonably ranked as a follower of Nechaev and made responsible for allmystifications and crimes of the latter. The fourth direction connected Tkachev's name with the beginning of an active terrorist struggleof Russian revolutionaries against the autocratic power. Such conclusions were made by the analysis of the final stage of Tkachev'spolitical activity, on his latest printed works. All creative heritage of the thinker was not considered; the complex and ambiguousprocess of evolution of his conception was simplified. However, with different approaches to Tkachev's doctrine many researchers ofthe post-Soviet time united in recognising him as a serious ideologist, understanding and feeling the rhythm of public life, able to see thelatent tendencies in it, and capable of opposing the mainstream. V.A. Isakov contributed significantly to popularisation of Tkachev's lifeand views. In several works he scrutinises the specificity of Tkachev's revolutionary program, emphasising its dynamism, pragmaticsand realism. Moreover, V.A. Isakov states that the Russian narodnik, non-agreeing with other revolutionary fractions, realised theperniciousness of confrontation between them and called for the unity of the revolutionary forces before the common enemy -autocracy. This focus enriched and corrected the ideas about the place and role of Tkachev in the radical emigrant environment of the1870s essentially. A conclusion about the actualisation of the view on the significant influence of Russian blankism on Russianrevolutionary movement in domestic post-Soviet historiography, and, as a consequence, change of estimations of Tkachev's activity anddoctrine in the history of the Russian radical idea is made.

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