Black Hundreds - Definition and Overview

The Union of the Russian People (Союз Русского Народа) was a black-hundredist counterrevolutionary organization in Russia, formed in October of 1905 in St.Petersburg.

The Union of the Russian People (URP) combined reactionary representaives of urban petty bourgeoisie, landowners, intelligentsia, clergy, urban declasses, workers and peasantry. URP was founded by Alexander Dubrovin (chairman), Vladimir Gringmut, Vladimir Purishkevich and others. The organization's charter was adopted in August of 1906. Tsar Nicholas II showed his support for the Union. URP stood for unity and indivisibility of Russia and preservation of autocracy. The main organ of the organization was Head Council of 12 members. The URP had numerous offices in many cities, towns and even villages (in 1905-1907, there were up to 900 of them), the biggest of which were located in Moscow, Odessa, Kiev, Volhyn guberniya, Novgorod, Saratov, Astrakhan. URP’s chief newspaper was Russkoe znamya (Russian Banner). The most popular URP newspaper in province was Pochayevsky listok (The Pochayev Circular). URP also printed its propaganda materials in Moskovskiye vedomosti (Moscow News), Grazhdanin (Citizen), Kievlyanin (Kievan) and others. URP’s meetings, gatherings, lectures, manifestations and mass public prayers often provoked the Jewish pogroms (especially in 1906 in Gomel, Yalta, Bialystok, Odessa, Sedlets and other cities), in which the URP members often took part. In October of 1906, they formed a black-hundredist organization called Ob’yedinyonniy russkiy narod (Объединённый русский народ, or Russian People United), in which the URP played a leading role.

In 1908-1910, the URP broke down into several organizations, which were in constant conflict with each other - Soyuz Mikhaila Arkhangela (Союз Михаила Архангела, or Union of Archangel Michael), Soyuz russkogo naroda (Союз русского народа, or Union of the Russian People ), Vserossiysky dubrovinsky Soyuz russkogo naroda v Peterburge (Всероссийский дубровинский Союз русского народа в Петербурге, or Dubrovin’s All-Russian Union of the Russian People in Petersburg) etc. After the February Revolution of 1917, all of the black-hundredist organizations were dissolved and banned.