The Popular Socialist Party () emerged in Russia in the early twentieth century.

History

The roots of the Popular Socialist Party (NSP) lay in the 'Legal Populist' movement of the 1890s, and its founders looked upon N.K. Mikhailovsky and

Alexander Herzen Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the precursor of Russian socialism and one of the main precursors of agrarian populism (being an ideological ancestor of the Narodniki, Socialist-Revolutionaries, Trudo ...

as ideological forerunners. The NSP was founded in 1906, by a number of dissidents from the

Socialist-Revolutionary Party The Socialist Revolutionary Party (SR; ,, ) was a major socialist political party in the late Russian Empire, during both phases of the Russian Revolution, and in early Soviet Russia. The party members were known as Esers (). The SRs were ag ...

(SRs). They objected to the PSR's adoption of political

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war aga ...

and wanted to 'nationalize' the land (i.e., turn it over to the state), rather than 'socialize' it (i.e., make it common property of the peasantry), as the PSR proposed. The Popular Socialists also wanted to indemnify landowners; the PSR did not. Furthermore, the Popular Socialists deplored the influence of

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

on the leading ideologues of the PSR, such as V.M. Chernov. Leading members of the NSP were N.F. Annensky (1843–1912), V.A. Miakotin (1867–1937) and A.V. Peshekhonov (1867–1933). The latter was minister of agriculture in the

Provisional Government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revoluti ...

of A.F. Kerensky during the

Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

. The Popular Socialists collaborated closely with the Trudoviks (Labour Group), Kerensky's party in the

State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...

. After the

February Revolution The February Revolution (), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and sometimes as the March Revolution or February Coup was the first of Russian Revolution, two revolutions which took place in Russia ...

of 1917, the Popular Socialist Party merged with the Trudoviks and actively supported the Provisional Government, in which it was represented. The Popular Socialists opposed the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

. The party was dissolved during the

Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...

of 1918–1922. The party's Russian name is sometimes translated as 'National Socialist Party', but this is misleading, since that label is usually associated with Hitler's

National Socialist German Workers' Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor ...

(NSDAP). The Russian NSP was not anti-Semitic and advocated democracy and gradual reform.

History

Further reading

External links