Peasants in Revolutionary Events of Early 20^th Century: Materials of All Union Society of Political Prisoners and Exiles

Abstract

The participation of the “revolutionary turning point” generation of people from the peasant environment in the political life of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20th century is considered. The relevance of the chosen topic is connected with the demand for peasant studies and generational studies in the domestic historical science. Based on the materials of the All-Union Society of Political Prisoners and Exiles and auxiliary archival sources, the characteristic features of the given problem in the socio-historical aspect are determined. The study is based on a methodological scenario: quantification — systematization — interpretation. Materials of historical sources are summarized in tables according to certain criteria developed in accordance with research tasks. The systematized materials were analyzed, and the results were interpreted in the context of the socio-historical content of the modernization processes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. and their influence on the life of rural society in the Russian Empire. There is an undoubted dominance among the representatives of the revolutionary movement of the studied generation of men, which is associated with the strong influence of the habitus of the patriarchal rural world. It was established that they had a low level of education, which was reflected in the motivation for participation in political associations, the admissibility of a combination of participation in two associations or an easy transition from one party to another, and the superficiality of political consciousness.