The Black Hundreds and the Roots of Illiberalism in Russia

Scholars describe illiberalism as a new phenomenon—a backlash against contemporary liberalism—and caution against applying the concept to cases where there was no prior experience with liberalism. This paper challenges that notion by reconstructing the ideology of the Black Hundreds. These diverse right-wing groups were active in Russia between 1905 and 1917, advocating “Orthodoxy, autocracy, and nationality.” By examining the development of the Black Hundreds’ ideology and locating this ideology on a continuum of fascism and illiberalism, this paper contributes to debates in Russian intellectual history and comparative illiberalism studies.