The history of the anarchist movement in the Tambov province in the early 20th century

The article examines the history of the anarchist movement in the Tambov province in the early 20th century, based on a wide range of archival sources and published materials, in comparative perspective with the Voronezh and Oryol provinces. The relevance of the study is due to the insufficient understanding of the regional specifics of the development of anarchism in Central Black Earth during the revolutionary period. The aim of the research is to reconstruct the history of the anarchist movement in the Tambov province, identify the main stages of development and activities of local anarchist groups, their numbers, social composition, tactics and methods of political struggle, and the reasons for their weakness compared to neighboring regions. The subject of the study is the revolutionary activities of Tambov anarchist groups in the early 20th century. The chronological framework of the research covers the period of the First Russian Revolution and the subsequent years of revolutionary decline in the region up to 1917. The methodological framework of the study is built on a combination of general scientific and special historical methods. The methodological basis included methods such as historical-genetic, chronological, and comparative-historical. During the study, it was established that there were 5 organizations in the Tambov province with a total documented participation of no more than 22 individuals. A comparative analysis of the development of anarchism in neighboring provinces (Voronezh and Oryol) showed a direct correlation between the level of industrialization of the region (the presence of a factory-worker proletariat, as the main driver of revolutionary processes) and the scale of the anarchist movement. In conclusion, the author states that the agrarian nature of the Tambov province and the absence of large industrial centers became one of the main reasons for the overall weakness of the anarchist movement in the region during the period in question. The agrarian movement in the province was led by Socialist-Revolutionaries, who had a large number of political circles in the peasant environment. Anarchists failed to establish themselves as a driving political force among the population.