Peasant Conservatism as a Driving Force of the “Communal Revolution” during the Russian Civil War

The role of peasant conservatism as a driving force of socio-political processes during the Russian Civil War was examined. Particular attention was paid to the contradictory character of peasant demands, combining traditionalist orientations with social protest. It is shown that the peasantry, despite its internal heterogeneity, opposed capitalist relations, which manifested itself in resistance to the Stolypin agrarian reform, the struggle against private landownership, and the idealization of communal arrangements. At the same time, the dual nature of the peasants’ position was identified: while rejecting private ownership of land, they sought to preserve the ability to freely dispose of the results of their labor. A comprehensive analysis of the “communal revolution” as a manifestation of social conservatism was presented. The common thesis of the socialist nature of the peasant movement was disproved, showing that its ideological foundations were traditional notions of “justice” and “truth” rooted in communal life.  For the first time in historiography, the relationship between the economic demands of the peasantry, its political slogans, and its deep commitment to traditional values has been systematically studied. For the first time in historiography, the relationship between the economic demands of the peasantry, its political slogans, and its deep commitment to traditional values were systematically studied. The results of the study make it possible to reinterpret the causes of the conflict between the peasantry and the Bolshevik authorities, as well as to clarify the role of the agrarian factor in the social processes of the revolutionary era.

EDN MMFTYA

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