Octobrists
| President | Alexander Guchkov |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1905 |
| Dissolved | 1917 |
| Headquarters | Saint Petersburg, Russia, Russian Empire |
| Ideology |
Reformism Liberal conservatism Constitutional monarchism |
| Political position | Centre-right |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colours | Blue, white |
The Union of October 17 (Russian: Союз 17 Октября, Soyuz 17 Oktyabrya), commonly known as the Octobrist Party (Russian: Октябристы, Oktyabristi), was a liberal-reformist constitutional monarchist political party in late Imperial Russia.
The party's programme of moderate constitutionalism called for the fulfilment of Tsar Nicholas II's October Manifesto granted at the peak of the Russian Revolution of 1905. Founded in late October 1905, from 1906 the party was led by the industrialist Alexander Guchkov who drew support from centrist-liberal gentry, businessmen, and some bureaucrats.
Unlike their immediate neighbors to the Left, Constitutional Democrats, the Octobrists were firmly committed to a system of constitutional monarchy. At the same time they emphasised the need for a strong parliament and a government that would be responsible to it. They were generally allied with the governments of Sergei Witte in 1905-1906 and Pyotr Stolypin in 1906-1911, but they criticised the government for taking extralegal measures and a slow pace of reforms, especially after the revolution ended in 1907 and they no longer saw the need for the extraordinary measures that they reluctantly supported in 1905-1907. The Octobrists' programme included private farming and further land reform, which were in tune with Stolypin's programme. They also supported the government in its unwillingness to grant political autonomy to ethnic minorities within the empire, although they generally opposed legal restrictions based on ethnicity and religion.
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