State power reorganization in Russia in early 20 century: projects and reflection of Tomsk liberal intelligentsia (1905 - February of 1917)

Liberals' paying special attention to the problems of power institutions reorganization was due to their inner convictions that only the state that stood guard over public interests could conduct reforms by the means, which made arbitrariness and breach of law impossible. As far as the issue of power organization is concerned the ground of Tomsk liberals had been formed by the beginning of the first Russian revolution and drawn up in the programme since the local department of the Cadet Party was established in November 1905. Believing that the constitutional monarchy was the most optimal form of governing for Russia Tomsk cadets put emphasis on formation procedures and plenary powers of the State Duma as a public representative office. Revolution of 1905-1907 changed the views of the liberally thinking intelligentsia about how various strata of society were ready to realize the projects of state power reorganization. Understanding the lessons of revolution that revealed vividly acuteness of social and political confrontation in the society resulted in the refusal from euphoria in the estimation of possibilities to realize political reforms on the base of democratic principles but at the same time strengthened the conviction of liberals that mature civic consciousness was necessary to develop. Measures directed at the increase in both legal and general culture of the population were considered to be an extremely important component of the process of political organization reformed. In general, analysis of the views of the liberally oriented initiative minority of Tomsk about the perspectives of power institutions reorganization in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century makes it possible to conclude that they had an invariant core oriented at the formation of a lawful state and the use of only legal means to achieve this purpose. Basic principles and techniques of improving the forms of state power suggested by theoreticians of liberalism were characterized by the obvious commonality and remained unchanged, which determined the style of liberals' political thinking itself, in spite of individual nuances of interpretation typical of intelligentsia representatives.

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