Constitutional Democratic Party: Lessons from History

The Constitutional Democratic Party of Russia was born in October 1905. A bit more than nine months have passed since Bloody Sunday, and a little over one and a half remained to the Moscow uprising. The country was boiling, discussing the manifesto of Nicholas II from the seventeenth of October, in which the autocrat most graciously presented the first representative body, the State Duma, in the new history.

The Constitutional Democratic Party, uniting in its ranks the European-oriented intelligentsia, the petty and middle bourgeoisie, and some landowners, was determined to develop civil liberties in the empire, winning at the outset sympathy and voices even parts of the proletariat. In the first State Duma, constitutional democrats, using the sympathies of a significant part of the population, managed to win one hundred and seventy-six seats out of four hundred and ninety-nine - this is thirty-five percent! The success was staggering. It was the largest faction.

To simplify the difficult-to-pronounce "constitutional-democratic party", it was decided to be called simply - the party of the Cadets. But "name optimization" did not help the party keep voters' sympathies. After the defeat of the revolution, the cadets positioned themselves as a party of constructive opposition, striving to achieve the realization of their plans by legal methods. Truly, they are terribly far from the people. The people wanted everything at once, and it was impossible to get everything legally right away, that's when the party of the Cadets began to lose supporters, first of all - from among the workers. And the Bolsheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries, who preached exclusively illegal, underground work, received an influx of new members into their ranks.

With each new election to the State Duma, the Constitutional Democratic Party lost the sympathy of the population and, accordingly, places in the legislative body of power. By 1917 in the Constituent Assembly of the seven hundred and sixty-seven members of the Cadets were only fifteen - only two percent! You could put a cross on the party. True, later, in exile, the Cadets still tried to imitate the stormy activity, but to no avail.

The head of the party, Pavel Milyukov, while still in his "Duma seat", was charged with accusations of links with European freemasonry, which did not contribute to the popularity of the Cadets. Whether he really was a member of the "great lodge of France" is unknown. Documents, confirming or refuting his Freemasonry, for obvious reasons, no. But according to his actions it was possible to judge that he really tried to pursue a policy of "supranational force" in Russia.

Modern Russian politicians, of course, are studying the experience of their predecessors. With low financial, administrative and organizational resources, the hearts of the "electorate" can be won only with the help of populism. What the liberal-democratic party of Russia brilliantly confirmed in its practice. Short, slashing slogans, radical statements - and here is another fighter for the happiness of the people. Impossibility or viability of promises is of no interest to anyone. It did not work out - it means, in spite of, it turned out - it means, thanks. The presence of a charismatic leader in this case is an indispensable condition for success. True, the popular liberal-democratic party follows the sympathies of the people in the footsteps of the Cadets. Interest, of course, a little different, but the trend is general - the initial success and the subsequent decline in the number of supporters. They are terribly far from the people ...