The Popular Socialists and their concept of Russia’s state structure in a socialist future (1906-1917)

Abstract

The study aims to provide a scholarly reconstruction of the holistic model of Russia’s state and legal structure envisioned for its socialist future, based on the party program and other political documents of the Popular Socialist Party (1906-1917). The scientific novelty of the study lies in its formulation of the research problem: for the first time in historical literature, a unified, comprehensive, and “concentrated” image of the state-political system of socialist Russia – as envisioned by legalist neo-populists – is reconstructed, focusing on particularly controversial legal and ethno-cultural issues. The article demonstrates that the evolutionary neo-populists were staunch statists who assigned a pivotal role to the state in organizing social life under socialism. The work highlights the core demands of the Popular Socialists regarding the state as a socio-political institution, which demonstrate their expectation of a gradual transformation of the estate-based, class state into a democratic, labor-oriented, rule-of-law, and socially responsible state that would protect the working people and guarantee their rights and freedoms. The study establishes that the political concept of the right-wing neo-populists did not foresee any weakening – much less the eventual disappearance – of state functions in a socialist future. Instead, its authors expressed firm conviction in the absolute necessity of this institution to maintain public order and to foster the harmonious development of both the individual and society as a whole.