The History of Liberalism in Russia

Chapter 22

269 The most detailed and accurate account of the history of the Manifesto of October 17, 1905, which proclaimed the change to a constitutional system of government, is provided in his memoirs by Witte, the man who masterminded it. Witte returned to Russia from America on September 16, 1905, after reaching a peace agreement with Japan. He was especially concerned that revolutionary unrest was turning into full-scale revolution, and he recognized that the situation was deteriorating not just by the day, but literally by the hour. This raised the question of how to react. Witte recalls: “From the first days in October 1905, events themselves demanded a response to this question, and from October 6 on, for ten days, pressure from all sides led to that great and significant act, the Manifesto of October 17.”1 Overcoming the revolution was the first priority. When Witte was received by Nicholas II on October 9, he told the tsar that he thought there were two possible choices. Either someone could be appointed with full dictatorial powers and asked to repress the revolution by violent means, or concessions could be made— in other words, the tsar could proclaim that Russia was to be transformed into a constitutional state.2 Witte submitted a memorandum or report to the tsar, which was published in its final version at the same time as the manifesto. We can see from the report that if far-reaching liberal reforms were announced, Witte was relying on the supchapter 22 The manifesto of october 17, 1905, and the constitution of april 23, 1906 History of the october manifesto and the constitution—a legal analysis of the constitution 270 • the manifesto of october 1905, and the constitution of 1906 port of public opinion both when it came to implementing these reforms and in the struggle against the revolution. Witte set out the most important measures that were required to create a stable legal order in Russia—that is, to transform Russia into a state with a liberal constitution. Among them, he mentioned “resistance to the excesses that are manifestly a threat to society and the state,” stressing that the organization of this resistance had to “be carried out with the support of the sensible majority in society.” Further, he stated, “one has to have faith in the political wisdom of the Russian people. It is unthinkable that Russian society wants anarchy.”3 In fact, there is no reason to doubt that at the time, Witte really did believe in the political sense of Russian public opinion. As we know, Nicholas II chose the path of liberal reforms rather than dictatorship and proclaimed them in the October Manifesto.4 This manifesto contains three points: (1) it promised to grant freedoms (of speech, assembly, etc); (2) it announced that elections to the State Duma would be democratic; and (3) it declared that the State Duma would have all the characteristics of a legislative institution .5 It was precisely through this last point that the principle of the separation of powers and thereby the change to a constitutional system of government were proclaimed. The state authorities, in particular Witte himself (who was appointed chairman of the Council of Ministers on October 19), were thus faced with two main tasks whose successful completion could only be guaranteed by moving to a constitutional regime. First, they had to come to an agreement with the moderate elements in society, and second, they had to flesh out the constitution (to be known as the Fundamental Laws), which the tsar was now obliged to proclaim. ———————— Although negotiations with leading public figures were held before the constitution was proclaimed and the decision arrived at to proclaim the constitution, I think it advisable first to outline the history and content of the constitution, in part at least because of the disappointments experienced during the negotiations. The negative attitude of representatives of public opinion is particularly reflected in their rejection of the constitution proclaimed on April 23 and, indeed, of any proclamation in principle. It is therefore important initially to understand what they rejected. To begin with, during the first two months of the Witte government, neither Witte himself nor other members of the Council of Ministers had thought it necessary to pass new constitutional laws.6 Yet it soon became clear that the old Fundamental Laws and the October Manifesto could not simply coexist and that it was necessary to pass a new constitution. Trepov, the palace commandant, was probably...