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The Hyde Park Rally of 9 March 1890: a British response to Russian atrocities

2014; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 21; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/13507486.2014.933182

1469-8293

Robert Henderson,

Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics

AbstractIn December 1889 The Times carried a report detailing the killing of a group of Russian political exiles in Yakutsk, Siberia. Public outrage at this atrocity was compounded two months later with news of the flogging and suicide of female political prisoners in another Siberian penal colony. These events sparked a series of international protests, and the British reaction culminated in a march and rally in Hyde Park. This article examines the causes and timing of this outburst of militancy and draws attention to the wide range of organisations and individuals who were responsible for the growth of support within Britain for the cause of the Russian ant-tsarist opposition. Drawing on Russian and British archival documents and contemporary press reports, it throws fresh light on the Siberian events themselves as well as on the convergence in London of a range of disparate political groupings determined to show a unified front in support of their Russian brethren.Keywords:: Russian revolutionariesexileprotestHyde Parkinternationalismsolidarity Notes 1. Robert Spence Watson (1837–1911). Liberal politician. President of the SFRF from 1890–1911. Sergei Mikhailovich Kravchinskii (pseud. "Stepniak") (1851–95). Russian revolutionary émigré, political activist and author. Other co-founders included Prince Peter Kropotkin, Edward R. Pease and the MPs Thomas Burt and W.P. Byles. There is some disagreement on the exact date of the Society's foundation. Whereas Stepniak recalled the first meeting taking place in December 1889, the Second Annual Report of the Society's Executive Committee gave the date of its establishment as 31 March 1890. Elsewhere, January 1890 is mentioned. See Stepniak, Zagranichnaia agitatsiia; CitationSociety of Friends of Russian Freedom, Second Annual Report of the Executive Committee, 6 December 1892; CitationThompson, Are Russian Internal Affairs any Concern of Ours?, 1. 2. For a discussion of the society's American branch and journal, see CitationFoglesong, The American Mission. 3.CitationHollingsworth, "Society of Friends of Russian Freedom." 4.CitationPeaker, "We are not Barbarians," 3. 5.CitationHollingsworth, "Society of Friends of Russian Freedom," 45–7. 6. In fact, only one Jewish revolutionary was involved in the assassination plot (and that in a very minor way). For more detail on the pogroms and the spread of Russian anti-Semitism under Alexander III see, CitationDubnow, History of the Jews, 322–420. 7. See, for example, the Guildhall meeting of December 1890 called by the Lord Mayor of London "to give expression to the sympathy felt by Englishmen of all classes and creeds with the cruel sufferings of the Jews in Russia". CitationThe Times, 10 December 1890, 9. 8. Pease, Edward Robert (1857–1955) English Socialist and trade unionist. Founder of the Fabian Society. 9. "Russian Prisons," CitationThe Times, 25 December 1883, 5.10. Kennan's articles appeared monthly from December 1887 to November 1889, as well as in the editions for April and May 1890 and September 1891. Cited in Hollingsworth, "The Society of Friends," 45–64. The articles were issued in book-form in December 1891 under the title Siberia and the Exile System.11. Ekaterina Konstantinovna Breshko-Breshkovskaia (1844–1934). Co-founder of the Party of Socialist Revolutionaries. Feliks Vadimovich Volkhovskii (1846–1914). Russian revolutionary, journalist and writer. Close collaborator of Stepniak. Egor′ Egorevich Lazarev (1855–1937). Revolutionary. Secretary of the Russian Free Press Fund (Fond vol′noi russkoi pressy).12.CitationErmasheva, V londonskoi emigratsii, 227, Kennan to Stepniak, 15 October 1888.13. Ibid., 232.14. "Penal Servitude in Russia," Freemans Journal, 13 November 1889, 3.15. "London," CitationDaily News, 19 May 1890, 4. This is a reference to the 1887 Land League rally in Mitchelstown, County Cork, where three campaigners were shot dead by police acting without orders.16. Ermasheva, V londonskoi emigratsii, 230.17. Ol′ga Alekseevna Novikova (1840–1925). Russian journalist resident in England from 1868. Proponent of Pan-Slavism. See CitationStead, The M.P. for Russia.18.CitationStepniak, Russia under the Tzars, II, 285 (cited in Hollingsworth, 49).19. Burtsev, Vladimir L′vovich (1862–1942). Journalist and historian of the revolutionary movement.20. Samoupravlenie 3 (1889), 3–13, "Prison Life of Russian Revolutionaries" (Tiuremnaia zhizn′ russkikh revoliutsionerov) and 4 (1889), 13–18, "The Final Declaration of the Russian Liberals" (Poslednee zaiavlenie russkikh liberalov).21. Ibid., 18–19.22. The original letter is contained in the Burtsev collection at the Russian State Archive of Social and Political History (CitationRossiiskii gosudarstvennyi arkhiv sotsial′no-politicheskoi istorii) (RGASPI) f. 328, op. 1, ed. khr. 13. It begins: "No doubt you will already have heard rumours concerning the terrible event which occurred here in Yakutsk on 22nd March 1889."23. For a full English description of the events in question, see CitationStepniak, King Stork and King Log, II, 48–93.24. The problems of communication are described in the SFRF pamphlet, The Flogging of Political Exiles in Russia, 7.25. "Krovoprolitie v Iakutske" (Bloodshed in Yakutsk), Svobodnaia Rossiia 3 (April Citation1889), 15–17. The report is dated 25 March 1889. Not to be confused with the SFRF journal of the same name, the first issue of which appeared in June the following year.26. The first to carry the story was Plekhanov's Sotsialist (Socialist), which repeated Burtsev's report almost word for word in its first issue. Sotsialist 1 (June 1889), 31–2. Plekhanov, Georgii Valentinovich (1856–1918). Early Russian Marxist. Social Democrat. Leading Menshevik.27. "Reported Slaughter of Siberian Prisoners," CitationThe Times, 16 December 1889, 5. Also "Editorial," CitationThe Times, 26 December 1889, 7. Ibid., "The Slaughter of Siberian Prisoners," 10.28. See, for instance, CitationBurtsev, Bor′ba, 82–3; "Spanish Feeling on the Treatment of Siberian Exiles," CitationThe Manchester Guardian, 23 April 1890, 7; "Men Shot Down like Dogs; the True Story of the Yakutsk Massacre," CitationThe New York Times, 8 February 1890, 5.29. "Editorial," CitationThe Manchester Guardian, 27 December 1889, 5.30. Hollingsworth, "The Society of Friends," 50.31. "Kara," CitationSotsialist 1 (June 1889), 31.32. Order No. 2926 issued on 8 March 1888. See CitationSociety of Friends of Russian Freedom. The Flogging of Political Exiles, 6.33. "Flogging and Suicide of Female Political Prisoners in Siberia," CitationThe Times, 11 February 1890, 4, and "The Siberian Suicides And Hunger Strikes," 28 February 1890, 13.34. Ermasheva, V londonskoi emigratsii, 274, Lavrov to Stepniak, 15 February 1890.35. Stepniak had no cause for concern regarding literal translation. He had a strong command of English and could always turn for assistance to one of his Russian-speaking colleagues, such as his close associate and fluent Russian-speaker Ethel Lilian Boole.36. Ermasheva, V londonskoi emigratsii, 275–6, Spence-Watson to Stepniak, 18 February 1890.37. Stepniak, King Stork and King Log, II, 84.38. "Flogging and Suicide of Female Political Prisoners in Siberia," CitationThe Times, 11 February 1890, 4.39. "Agitation Against Russian Atrocities," CitationThe Times, 25 February 1890, 3. Also, "The Siberian Suicides and Hunger Strikes," 28 February 1890, 13.40. Beal, James (1829–91). London County Councillor for Fulham. The Beal papers are kept at the London Metropolitan Archives, F/BL, Citation1846–1889. Although they provide evidence of his links with a range of liberals of the day and of his acquaintance with other radicals such as Karl Marx (F/BL/9/6) they contain no mention of his extensive work in support of the Siberian exiles and other oppressed nationalities in Russia, Bulgaria and Turkey.41. Smith (Smith-Headingley), Adolph (1846–1924). English journalist and militant socialist.42. Reports on the various activities of the Committee appeared in The Hampshire Advertiser, 1 March 1890, 6; Reynolds's Newspaper, 29 June 1890, 4, and in the Manchester Times, 23 January 1891, 6.43. "Agitation Against Russian Atrocities," CitationThe Times, 25 February 1890, 3. Indeed, both Beal and Smith would shortly become members of the General Committee of the SFRF.44. "A 'Stepniak' Paper," CitationThe Penny Illustrated Paper and Illustrated Times, 1 February 1890, 65. See also Free Russia 1, no. 1 (June 1890): 1–2.45. Ermasheva, V londonskoi emigratsii, 277–8, Stepniak to Lavrov, 23 February 1890.46. Ibid., 276–7, Spence-Watson to Stepniak, 22 February 1890 and 278–9, 25 February 1890.47. "Agitation Against Russian Atrocities," CitationThe Times, 25 February 1890, 3.48. "The Labour Demonstration," CitationThe Times, 5 May 1890, 7. The May Day demonstrations themselves had started as a reaction to the murder of the "Haymarket Anarchists" in Chicago, another perceived instance of state repression.49. "Treatment of Russian Political Prisoners," CitationThe Dundee Courier & Argus, 10 March 1890. Another detailed newspaper report of the demonstration estimated a total of between 3000 and 4000 participants. "Russian Political Prisoners. Noisy Meeting in Hyde Park," CitationThe Standard, 10 March 1890, 3.50. Mowbray, Charles Wilfred (1857–1910). Anarchist writer. Contributor to CitationCommonweal, official organ of the Social Democratic Federation. Sparling, Henry Halliday (1860–1924). Secretary of the Socialist League. Brighty, Samuel (d. 1892). Early campaigner for the right to protest in Hyde Park. See CitationThe Speaker 5 (1892), 197.51. Burns, John Elliot (1858–1943). One of two socialist MPs elected in 1892 (the other was Keir Hardie). First member of the working class to become a government minister.52. The National Archives (TNA) HO Citation45/9715/A51339.53. Ibid., Letter dated 9 March 1890.54. "Agitation Against Russian Atrocities," CitationThe Times, 25 February 1890, 3.55. "Treatment Of Russian Prisoners," CitationThe Times, 10 March 1890, 6. Burtsev's attendance is referred to in a later report from Scotland Yard. See The National Archives (TNA) Citation144/272/A59222/1a f. 3. "Nihilist Literature."56. John Edward Williams. SDF member. Contested Hampstead in 1885.57. "Russian Political Prisoners: Noisy Meeting in Hyde Park," CitationThe Standard, 10 March 1890, 3.58. "Treatment Of Russian Prisoners," CitationThe Times, 10 March 1890, 6.59. "London Gossip," CitationBirmingham Daily Post, 14 March 1890, 7.60.Freedom 4, no. 41 (April 1890). It would appear, however, that none of these planned meetings ever took place.61.CitationBraginskii, 100 let iakutskoi ssylki, 224–5.62.CitationBurtsev, Za sto let, 31–2.63. For a more detailed discussion of the Foreign Agency's activities during this period see the author's unpublished doctoral thesis Citation"Vladimir Burtsev and the Russian Revolutionary Emigration."64. Errico Malatesta (1853–1932). Active Italian Anarchist. In emigration in London in the 1890s, returning to Italy in 1919.65. The National Archives (TNA) FO 65/Citation1383 ff. 258–260, 19 March 1890, Morier to Salisbury, no 77. "Hyde Park demonstration against Siberian 'atrocities'".66. Braginskii, 100 let iakutskoi ssylki, 115–73. The National Archives (TNA) FO 65/1383 ff. 258–260, Morier to Salisbury, 19 March 1890, no. 77, "Hyde Park demonstration against Siberian 'atrocities' (circulated to the Queen, Mr Matthews, Rome)."67. Ignat′ev, Aleksei Pavlovich (1842–1906).68.CitationRoberts, Salisbury, 71.69. "Russian Exiles: Tragical Occurrences in Siberia," CitationDaily News, 20 March 1890, 5.70.CitationFreedom: a Journal of Anarchist Socialism 4, no. 41 (April 1890).71.CitationLanin, "Russian Prisons," 20–43.72. The assassination attempt had been made on 14 January 1858 by the Italian revolutionary Felice Orsini and accomplices.73. "Death of Mr. Swinburne," CitationThe Times, 12 April 1909, 6.74. First published in the The Fortnightly Review of August 1890 with the footnote: "Written after reading the account of Russian prisons in the last number of the Fortnightly."75.CitationSwinburne, "Russia: an Ode," 165–7.76. See for example, "Literary Notices," CitationThe Liverpool Mercury and Lancashire, Cheshire, and General Advertiser, 6 August 1890, 7. Questions were raised by Mr Patrick O'Brien, MP for Monaghan North, who believed the Ode constituted an incitement to the assassination of the Czar, and asked whether the writer, editor or publisher of the Fortnightly Review would be prosecuted. The Speaker replied that the House had no control over a poet's opinions. See Hansard records of House of Commons Debates for 5, 11 and 12 August 1890 at: http://hansard.millbanksystems.com (Accessed 28 January 2013).77. The law in question was promulgated on 28 March 1893.78. "The Persecution of Jews in Russia," CitationThe Times, 3 November 1890, 6.79. This was the same Volkhovskii who had been interviewed by Kennan in the depths of Siberia some years earlier. He had escaped from captivity the previous year and had only recently arrived in London. "An Escape from Siberia," CitationThe Times, 11 October 1890, 12.80. Unidentified archival source quoted in Hollingsworth, 49.81. "Personal," The Illustrated London News, 20 June 1891, 803.82. "The London County Council," CitationThe Times, 18 June 1891, 12.83. RGASPI f. 328, op. 1, ed. khr. 200.84. Burtsev, Bor′ba, 82–3.Additional informationNotes on contributorsRobert HendersonRobert Henderson is Honorary Research Associate in the School of History at Queen Mary University of London. He worked for a number of years as a curator of the Russian collections at the British Library before, in 2009, completing his doctorate at Queen Mary. He has published articles on the Russian revolutionary emigration in Britain, and is currently working on a book-length study of the political writer and historian V. L. Burtsev.