«Europeanization» of native liberal parties at the end of the XIX and the beginning of the XX centuries

Анотація

Abstract

Posing of the problem. Between the XIX^th and the XX^th centuries as part of the general European trend of liberalism, one can clearly trace the tendency towards democratization and expansion of the social basis through the involvement of broad masses of intelligentsia, towards more radical changes in the ideological sphere, and the preparation of better substantiated and structured political programs. A fairly quick “Europeanisation” of national liberalism takes place, which, on the one hand, was intensively cleansed of outdated ideas, and on the other hand, absorbed and reprocessed the newest ideas of Western European science and Reformist trends in Marxism. The purpose of the research is to perform a holistic reconstruction of organizational and ideal establishment and practical activity of the Ukrainian liberal parties in the late XIXth – early XX^th century. Research methods. The article employs specific-historical methods: historical-genetic, comparative historical, historical-typological, problem-chronological, synchronic, diachronic, retrospective ones. Also applied were interdisciplinary methods and the methods borrowed from other social-political disciplines and the humanities: systemic-structural, classification, verification, and statistical ones. Scientific novelty of the research results. The research includes the completed comparative analysis of program requirements of the liberal parties of Ukraine. The causes of differences between the Ukrainian and Russian liberals are shown. The position of the liberals on the national issue is researched. Various social-political factors are examined, which might influence the liberal parties of Ukraine. The main results of the research. This article is a comprehensive research of the beginnings and the genesis of Ukrainian liberal parties of the end of the ХІX and the beginning of the XX centuries. The article contains a comparative analysis of political parties programs and shows the proximity of Ukrainian liberalism to both socialist-democracy and European liberal movement. It also describes location of Ukrainian liberalism in the system of political parties as a true left–wing liberal-democratic movement. Conclusions and concrete suggestions of the author. At the turn of the XIX and the XX centuries in Ukraine, Ukrainian and Russian liberalism appeared on the same basis. However, Ukrainian liberalism rested mostly on communities, while Russian liberalism rested mainly on “zemstva” (counties), with no clear distinction between them. The specificity of Ukrainian liberalism as emerging out of communities and Ukrainian non-political organization created conditions that accounted for dissimilarity between Ukrainian and Russian liberalism and, at the same time, put closer Ukrainian parties of different wings. Apart from this, most leaders of Ukrainian political parties started their political career as social democrats that took ideas and values of European social movement.