MEMORIAL LITERATURE DESCRIPTION OF ALL-RUSSIAN PEASANT UNION LOCATIONS ACTIVITY IN UKRAINE DURING THE YEARS OF RUSSIAN REVOLUTION OF 1905

KUDINOV D.V .

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The complex of memorial historical and revolution literature revealing All-Russian Peasant
Union (ARPU) regional structures activity is examined. The article purpose is to analyze basing
on the memorials of agrarians (participants of the movement) various aspects of regional locations
of Peasant Union social and political activity in Ukraine as well as a struggle for Ukrainian
Peasant Union creation.
It is distinguished that the definition of the ARPU nature differed depending on the political
background of memoirists – from accepting the Union as proper peasant organization disposed
to act in legal field (E.Chikalenko, D.Doroshenko) to formless structure without clear program,
how it was understood by a part of Russian social-democrats. Therefore came different degrees
of parties’ members participation in the operation of the Union. In Ukraine the most active role
in the creation and development of ARPU played the representatives of Ukrainian Liberal camp
together with the representatives of Socialist-Revolutionary party.
In spite of being encouraged by parties’ activists, Peasant Union stayed fully independent
organization guided by peasant interests. Memoirists who belonged to the former Union activists
estimated it as a valid political power and an equal partner of other political organizations
and, in case of Sumy ARPU committee, as a leading political party of the region.
The memorials recreate the picture of ARPU cells, which were mostly established from the
bottom upwards according to the chain reaction. In this regards, authors’ positive attitudes to massive
influxes of peasants to organization are stated. In memoirs conduction of peasant congresses, which
demonstrated the prevailing homogeneity of the peasants’ position on payless cession of landlords’ ,
imperial and church lands to peasants was noted as well as positive perception of revolution
democratic tasks – convention of information meetings, implementation of democratic freedoms,
release of political prisoners, etc. The attention to economic measures of local Union Committees
described by authors is emphasized. The role of peasant intelligence in the operation of Union units
is reviewed. Ukrainian political leaders’ activity aimed at Ukrainian Peasant Union (UPU) creation
is studied separately together with the roles of sertain political activists in this process.
It is concluded that the memoirs point at the list of important aspects of ARPU activity:
successful functioning of Peasant Union Units was due to a strong collaboration of intelligence
and peasant activists; substantial contribution in establishment and activity of ARPU commettees
was made by opposition political organizations, though their influence on peasantry and its
organization was not considerable; the creation of Peasant Union itself became possible due to
the peasantry politization and origin of public society.[/restab]

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KUDINOV D.V . – Kiev National University named after Taras Shevchenko, PhD (History), Assosiate Professor (Ukraine).[/restab]

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