The Ittifaq-el-Muslimin Party in the Russian Political System of the Early twentieth Century: Religious Aspects of Tatar Liberalism

Piatrovich Igor' ORCID: 0000-0003-1242-6845 Postgraduate student, Department of History of Social Movements and Political Parties, Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University. 119234, Russia, gorod Moskva, g. Moscow, ul. Leninskie Gory, 1, k. 905 (pravaya) igor-petrovich-1995@mail.ru

Consideration of the problem of "freedom of conscience" in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century was the subject of discussion by theorists of Islamic liberalism, which was most widespread among the Tatar intelligentsia^[1]. Tatar liberalism, in whose ideology the question of religion occupied one of their main places, was formed in 1905 – 1906, and its formation is connected with the holding of illegal All-Russian Muslim congresses. Sadri Maksudi, Yusuf Akchura, Gayah Ishaki and M. Bigi were at the origins of his appearance^[2].

The All-Russian Muslim Congress (illegal) was first held on August 15, 1905 at the Nizhny Novgorod Fair. Its participants were representatives of the elite of the Muslim peoples of Russia, mainly Volga and Crimean Tatars, as well as Azerbaijanis. At the congress, it was decided to hold "mejlis" (congresses) in the regions, engage in educational activities and strive to achieve equality with the Christian population^[3]. The "Resolution" of this congress also noted the need to unite all Muslims of Russia on the basis of "socio-cultural political demands and tasks of modern Russian life." The main means of struggle for the achievement of national-cultural autonomy and confessional equality was recognized as educational activities, which consisted in the publication of books, newspapers and magazines of appropriate content, as well as in the organization of "folk courses", libraries and other institutions of a similar nature^[4].  

   After the publication of the Manifesto of October 17, 1905, the Muslim political movement gradually began to turn into an all-Russian one. On November 10, 1905, a meeting was held in Kazan, where the question of joining the Tatars to one of the all-Russian political parties was considered after familiarization with their programs. In the elections to the State Duma, it was supposed to act in alliance with the Constitutional Democratic Party. This decision was made because the cadets guaranteed the population of the empire not only civil equality, but also religious autonomy. For Muslim liberals, such guarantees were sufficient at the stage of development, which required, first of all, religious and cultural autonomy and the creation of an integral education system^[5].

The main requirements of liberal politicians of the Muslim faith were:

· full and mandatory fulfillment of the terms of the Manifesto of October 17 , 1905;

· Proportional representation of Muslims in the State Duma and in zemstvo institutions;

· Free use of local languages in educational institutions intended for Muslims.

Despite the cooperation with the cadets, the Tatar liberals in 1905 – 1906 began to think about organizing their own political association. At the II All-Russian Muslim Congress, which was held in January 1906 in St. Petersburg, the final formation of the All-Russian Muslim Union took place, which later became the basis of the Muslim liberal party "Ittifak" and the election program of Muslim liberals^[6]. The program of this association provided for the creation of a constitutional state under the rule of law with equal rights of all religions and nations^[7]. In matters of legislative and judicial power, as well as in land and labor issues, it almost completely repeated the program of the Cadet Party. Like them, the members of the All-Russian Muslim Union advocated the transformation of the Russian monarchy into a parliamentary one, as well as universal suffrage and the separation of the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government^[8]. The exception was the provision on the role of local self–government bodies (majlises), which were supposed to be given fairly broad powers in both political and economic directions (in particular, the land fund was to come under their control, and Muslim regions were to receive autonomy). "Majlises", according to the program of the union, had the right to legislation within their powers. Control over the execution of national laws was entrusted to officials appointed from the center. The program recognized the language of the majority of the population of the region as its official language, but all other peoples could freely conduct educational and print activities in their own languages^[9].

In addition, Muslims, according to this program, received the right to create their own religious center, elect clergy, and create public organizations. All religious and educational institutions of Islam came under their control^[10]. Also, one of the main tasks of the party was the desire to ensure the number of representatives of Islam in the State Duma in proportion to the total number of the Muslim population of Russia (while most of the regional branches of the Muslim Union were Tatar in ethnic composition).^[11].

 At the same time, the cooperation of Tatar and Russian liberals was developing. On February 5-6, 1906, Y. Akchura concluded an agreement with the Central Committee of the Cadet Party on a single bloc in the elections to the First State Duma. The Cadet Central Committee decided to maintain constant contacts between "representatives of Muslims and the central bodies of the party, as well as between local party committees and Muslim committees to coordinate actions in the election campaign."  On April 26, 1906, Y. Akchura was elected a member of the Central Committee of the Cadet Party^[12].

During the work of the State Duma of the 1st convocation, Muslims actually organized their own faction in it, cooperating with the cadets, which did not have time to implement even part of its program installations due to the short duration of their activities.

At the III All–Russian Muslim Congress (August 16-21, 1906), Y. Akchura actively raised the issue of uniting all political movements of Muslims into a single political party^[13]. This was due to the dissolution of the State Duma, which became the only one where the cadets received a large number of deputy seats. Consequently, cooperation with them was no longer promising for Tatar liberals^[14]. At the III All-Russian Muslim Congress, the Muslim party "Ittifak" ("Ittifak-el-Muslimin") was formed, the basis of which were Tatars. Its program almost completely repeated the program settings of the All-Russian Muslim Union^[15].

However, the work of this congress, contrary to the wishes of the leaders of the Ittifaq party, determined a high degree of contradictions among Muslim political figures adhering to various ideological concepts.  Tatar liberals were supporters of the development of the whole of Russia, including its Muslim citizens, on the model of European constitutional regimes. Formed during the revolution of 1905 – 1907, the radical nationalist movement of the Tatars focused mainly on the possibility of achieving broad autonomy for regions with a Muslim population. At the same time, despite the separation, representatives of the Tatar liberal movement continued to popularize their program through publishing and educational activities. In addition, the Muslim movement and Islam as a denomination were represented by deputies in the State Duma, which, as part of the work of all convocations, considered a fairly large number of issues related to the problem of religious freedom in Russia.

In the State Duma of the 2nd convocation, a special commission was established "to consider bills aimed at exercising freedom of conscience"^[16], among whose members were three representatives of the Ittifak party - S.-B. Karataev, S.N. Maksudi and M.-Sh. Tukaev. They set the following tasks for work in the Duma:

· collecting information about the facts of harassment of Muslims on religious grounds;

· analysis of the current legislation in order to check it for compliance with the interests of representatives of Islam;

· protection of bills necessary for Muslims and checking that proposals are not made, the content of which may infringe on the rights of the Muslim population and harm its interests;

· preparation of a bill on the reform of the management of spiritual affairs of Muslims, its submission to the Duma and further protection for adoption^[17].

Nevertheless, due to the imminent dissolution of the II State Duma, it was not possible to consider a single bill on this issue.

Deputies from the Ittifak party, as well as from the Cadet and Octobrist parties, worked quite actively in the commissions on Old Believer issues and religious affairs in the State Duma of the 3rd convocation. They took part in the development and discussion of such bills as "On changing the provisions concerning the transition from one confession to another"^[18], "On non-Orthodox and non-Orthodox communities and societies"^[19], "On amendments to Article 1368 of the Statutes of Foreign Confessions regarding candidates for the occupation of Mohammedan spiritual posts from the Tauride Province"^[20], "On Old Believer communities"^[21].

A detailed discussion of the first bill took place in 1908-1909. On May 22, 1909, a report on it was submitted, after which, during May – June, the religious commission worked on amendments and additions for this proposal^[22]. This bill was most relevant for the Volga-Ural Tatars, many of whom, since 1905, being Orthodox, converted to Islam. In support of the project, in order to legalize the right of citizens to leave one or another religion and switch to another, the factions of cadets, Octobrists and the Muslim faction spoke. The representative of the latter, H. Khasmamedov, on May 26, 1909, in his speech noted the dual position of the baptized Tatars, who, in his opinion, "throughout the second half of the XIX century were, so to speak, in a state of two-believers: actually professing Islam, legally they were considered Christians." In addition, the speaker stated that representatives of the imperial government, taking advantage of the lack of clear legislative acts on this issue, often use administrative practice in accordance with their own preferences^[23]. For this reason, the adoption of the bill by the members of the Muslim faction seemed necessary.

Khasmamedov's speech was supported by a Muslim deputy from the Octobrist party, I. Mufti-Zadeh^[24]. Representatives of the Cadet party, in particular V.A. Maklakov, noted the need to provide not only the right to withdraw from any religion, but along with it the right to "free preaching" for Old Believers and other confessions^[25]. In addition, the liberals positioned themselves as supporters of the recognition of Old-Believer priests as full-fledged holders of "spiritual dignity" (with the definition "according to Old Believers"). In particular, in one of his speeches, V.A. Maklakov said that "the enemy and danger for the Church is not an Old Believer, ... not even a non–Orthodox, ... the danger for you is indifference, religious indifferentism ... if you allow freedom of preaching to Old Believers ... then no one will benefit from this anymore, like the same Orthodox Church..."^[26].

As a result, on October 30, 1909, by a majority vote of deputies (130 against 91), with clarifications proposed by members of liberal factions, the religious law "On changing the provisions concerning the transition from one confession to another" was adopted, guaranteeing every citizen of the state who has reached the age of 21 the right of free transition "to any religion or creed belonging to which is not criminally punishable"^[27].

The draft law "On Non–Orthodox and non-Orthodox communities and societies" was considered during the 2nd - 5th sessions of the State Duma of the 3rd convocation. He was nominated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but the religious commission headed by the Octobrist P.V. Kamensky made a number of amendments in accordance with the requirements of deputies from the Ittifak party, as well as representatives of religious organizations. In particular, it accepted the community as the main confessional unit (and not all representatives of a particular denomination as a whole). In addition, it was required to grant all religious organizations and communities the right to freely preach their faith. Also, the members of the religious commission proposed to reduce the number of persons necessary for the creation of a community or society, and, conversely, to increase the amount of the value of real estate that they can own^[28]. As a result of the discussion, the commission adopted this bill, and on December 12, 1911, its chairman, P.V. Kamensky, prepared a report with which he was going to speak at the next meeting. However, due to the end of the term of office of the III State Duma, the issue of its discussion was postponed, and during the work of the State Duma of the 4th convocation was not raised^[29].

The problems of state-confessional relations were also the subject of the content of the draft law "On amendments to Article 1368 of the Statutes of Foreign Confessions concerning candidates for the occupation of Mohammedan spiritual posts from the Tauride province." It was developed by members of the religious commission under the leadership of the Muslim Octobrist I. Mufti-Zadeh. This bill assumed the expansion of the circle of persons who had the right to hold a position in the spiritual and administrative apparatus of the Tauride Mohammedan spiritual Board. In general, it was of a local nature, and did not cause a wide discussion in the Duma. The bill was passed in 1912.^[30]

The draft law "On Old Believer Communities", in the development and discussion of which deputies from all liberal parties represented in the Duma took part, was submitted for consideration in May 1909. It was discussed on May 12, 13 and 15, 1909. The main issues identified in the bill were:

· ensuring the equality of Old Believers in matters of civil status (marriage, receiving benefits for sending mail);

· granting Old Believers the right to freely conduct religious sermons;

· codification of the rules on Old Believer communities, including granting them the right to unite in congresses^[31].

 The interests of the Old Believers were mainly defended by the Octobrists among the liberals^[32]. In addition, they were supported by the Muslim faction of the State Duma^[33]. The discussion of this bill ended with its adoption with liberal amendments on May 15 , 1909 .

During the work of the State Duma of the 4th convocation, deputies did not introduce a single bill aimed at implementing the proclaimed principle of freedom of conscience. In many ways , the reason for this circumstance was the beginning of the First World War of 1914 – 1918 . Only during the first session of the IV Duma, members of the Cadet faction headed by P.N. Milyukov on December 3, 1912, took the initiative to return to the development of the legislative assumption "On freedom of Conscience", which completely repeated the text of a similar bill introduced in the Duma of the 1st convocation^[34]. However, this proposal did not receive the support of the Duma majority, as a result of which the question of its discussion was rejected.

In general, the largest number of draft laws related to the problems of compliance with the principles of freedom of conscience were considered within the framework of the work of the III State Duma. The legislative acts adopted by its members were developed and corrected mainly by deputies from liberal political parties. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that despite the official legal consolidation of the concept of freedom of conscience, the Orthodox Russian Church continued to maintain a dominant position in comparison with other religious organizations in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. At the same time, representatives of other faiths (in particular, Old Believers and Muslims) were granted the right to freely preach their own religious beliefs, create public associations, freely carry out educational activities, and take part in the political life of Russia. An example of the implementation of transformations in the issue of state-confessional relations was the formation of the Muslim liberal Party and its activities in the system of political relations of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century.

After the February Revolution, the liberal movement among Russian Muslims intensified. The largest and most active Muslim liberal party, as before the First World War, was the Ittifaq-el-Muslimin.

On the initiative of the Muslim faction of the State Duma, in March 1917, the Provisional Central Bureau of Russian Muslims was formed (headed by A.T. Tsalikov), which included such prominent representatives of Muslim liberalism as M.Ya. Bigiev (Musa Bigi), S.N. Maksudov (Sadry Maksudi), Akhmet-Zaki Validov (activist Bashkir national movement), etc. The purpose of creating this body was to prepare and hold the All-Russian Congress of Muslims.

The issues of the legal status of Islam and Muslims, the organization of national-cultural or territorial autonomy of Muslim peoples, along with general political issues (convocation of the Constituent Assembly and preparation for it, labor and agrarian issues, martial law and the organization of the army, etc.) were actively discussed at the I and II All-Russian Muslim Congress (I Congress was held in Moscow 1 – 11 May 1917, the second – in Kazan on July 21 – 31, 1917), as well as at a joint meeting of its delegates with participants of the First All–Russian Muslim Military Congress (July 17 – 26, 1917) and the All-Russian Congress of Muslim Clergy (July 17 - 21, 1917), which took place on July 22, 1917.  Representatives of Muslim liberal political parties and organizations, such as M. Vakhitov, G. Ibragimov, G. Iskhaki, S. Maksudov, U. Tokumbetov, A. Tsalikov, and others also actively participated in the organization, conduct and work of the II All-Russian Muslim Congress. In general, the Ittifaq-el-Muslimin party remained the leading political party of Russian Muslims of the liberal direction.

The activity of the Muslim liberal political party "Ittifaq-el-Muslimin" was, as before the February Revolution of 1917, aimed at protecting the rights and interests of the Muslim population, implementing the principle of freedom of conscience and religion in relation to Russian Muslims. After the elimination of the monarchical form of government in Russia, Muslim liberals, represented mainly by Tatar, Bashkir and Azerbaijani public figures, resumed active activity, the manifestation of which was the organization of legal All-Russian Muslim congresses. As a result of their conduct, a decision was made to strive for the organization of national and cultural autonomy of Muslim peoples, a detailed draft of its internal and external structure was drawn up, including in the system of the political system of the Russian state. Nevertheless, it was planned to start the active stage of implementing the decisions of the Muslim congresses after the convocation of the Constituent Assembly. Many of the decisions could not be implemented due to the October revolution of 1917 and the subsequent changes in the balance of power in the political arena of Russia.