History Professor Catherine Evtuhov Explores the "other" Russian Revolution

A different Russian Revolution, which occurred ten years before 1917, offers deeper insights into Russian politics and society than the one commemorated in its centennial. This perspective was articulated by Columbia’s history professor Catherine Evtuhov in her lecture titled “Was There a Revolution in 1917? A View from Russia’s Imperial Period,” held in mid-November as the fifth installment of the series on the 100 Years of the Russian Revolution. This series was organized by the Santiago Center in collaboration with Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (PUCV), Universidad Católica de Chile (UC), and Universidad de Chile.

Catherine Evtuhov specializes in the history of Russia, particularly during the imperial period. Her research interests encompass the history of Russian thought in a European context, material culture, local history, and the history of the Black Sea region and Russian-Ottoman relations. She taught in the History Department at Georgetown University from 1992 to 2016 and has held visiting professor positions at several universities. Evtuhov is the author of The Cross & the Sickle: Sergei Bulgakov and the Fate of Russian Religious Philosophy (1997), Portrait of a Russian Province: Economy, Society, and Civilization in Nineteenth-Century Nizhnii Novgorod (2011), and co-author, with Richard Stites, of A History of Russia: Peoples, Legends, Events, Forces – Since 1800 (2003).

During her lecture, Evtuhov discussed the Revolution of 1904-07, which arose in the wake of the war with Japan and exacerbated an acute agrarian crisis rooted in the peasant emancipation of 1861. This revolution mobilized a motivated liberal intelligentsia and plunged Russian society into a nationwide crisis that lasted three years. Key events included a liberal agenda reminiscent of the “banquet campaign” of 1848 in Paris, violent peasant uprisings, labor unrest, the establishment of a representative elected government, radicalization, general strikes met with state terror, and the first national elections resulting in a left-leaning Duma. The revolution concluded on June 3, 1907, when Prime Minister Petr Stolypin invoked Article 87 of the Fundamental Laws to dissolve the Second Duma.

Evtuhov explained that throughout the twentieth century, the 1905 Revolution was often regarded as a failure because it did not eliminate the autocracy. However, like many “failed” revolutions, it succeeded in reshaping government mechanisms, removing barriers to freedom of conscience, and paving the way for intensive economic development. The experience of revolution itself marked a significant shift in consciousness.