The Liberalization of Russia-Take 2: Battle for the Mind of the Peasant

The newly emancipated peasant attracted the attention of many intellectuals that began to emerge in 19th century Russia.  Although the reforms of Alexander II were claimed to apart of an effort to socially modernize Russia, it was evident that the wealthy dvorianstvo were the mantlepiece of an evolving Russian state.  While it is true that the peasant population (the vast majority of the Russian population) was bearing the brunt of concession to the nobility, middle class Russians had (or at least they felt they had) a significant grievance against the tsar as well.  The middle class was still underrepresented in the zemstvo and many socio-political movements gained traction as a result of heightening class tension.  One such movement was the populist movement.  The narodniki (populists) believed that the true potential for revolution lay with the downtrodden peasant population.  Over the next decade or so, the populist movement made attempts to incite the peasant population into revolt against the Tsar.  In 1866, the narodniki initiated the "Go-to-the-People" movement in which educated members of society would travel to rural areas in an attempt to to turn the minds of the peasant against the tsar.  This attempt was somewhat ineffective in its beginnings as the peasants responded to the movement with hostility and viewed the narodniki as interlopers.  By 1879, two groups -The Black Partition (peaceful resistance against the government) and the People's Will (violent resistance)- had found some success in infiltrating the rural areas of Russia and inciting sedition against the tsar.

Notable Populists:

Nikolay Chernyshevsky (1828-1889)- Russian revolutionary democrat that supported overthrow of the govenrment by the peasant class,  He believed that Russian economy and politics should revolve around the concept of the mir- the old peasant commune.  Author of What is to be Done?

Mikhail Bakunin(1814-1876)- A radical thinker that promoted anarchism on the basis that anyone in power (regardless of class, status, and wealth) would eventually lead an oppressive state solely based on the nature of ruling.  He opposed democracy because he believed that the bourgeoisie would come to rule in any and every scenario.

https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/bakunin/works/1870/on-elections.htm

Alexander Herzen(1812-1870)- Author of the Polyarnaya Zvyezda (or Polar Star), and the Kolokol (The Bell).  Herzen was an ardent supporter of personal freedoms (especially for peasants) and heavily lobbied for the abolition of serfdom.  Although he rejected the notion of state rule and sought self-rule for the people of Russia he initially had faith in the liberal movement (which was despised by the radical Marxist movement under the notion that the liberals would establish a bourgeois democracy) and did not side with the more radical socialists for fear of replacing one dictatorship with another.  Although he rejected the notion of state rule, he understood cooperation with the state was necessary in order to achieve personal liberties for all peoples.  He lost a degree of support in expressing sympathy for the insurgents in the January Uprising of 1863.

http://spuscizna.org/spuscizna/1863-yt.html
https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1912/may/08c.htm