Zhirinovsky of pre-revolutionary Russia: Duma brawler, Black Hundreds and Tsvetaeva's favorite Vladimir Purishkevich

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

He was a controversial and highly controversial person. A talented politician, Black Hundred, poet, one of those who took part in the elimination of Grigory Rasputin. And a man capable of any, even the most odious antics. The audience gathered for his performances in the Duma, like in a theater, he became the hero of cartoons and feuilletons, Marina Tsvetaeva called him her favorite. Vladimir Purishkevich is somewhat reminiscent of the chairman of the LDPR party, Vladimir Zhirinovsky, but for his time he was a much more odious person.

Loyalty to reputation

He was born in 1870 in Chisinau. In the family of the wealthy landowner Mitrofan Purishkevich, besides Vladimir, there were four more children, two sons and two daughters. The family of the future politician could hardly be called noble: his paternal grandfather was a priest and served his nobility. But the mother of Vladimir Purishkevich was a Polish noblewoman, the Decembrist Alexander Kornilovich was also among the relatives.

Vladimir Purishkevich grew up as an impulsive and hot-tempered boy. Already in the Chisinau gymnasium, where he studied, the future Black Hundreds earned the nickname "Volodka the Crazy." However, despite the strangeness of character, he studied brilliantly, even received a gold medal. Another achievement of Vladimir Purishkevich was the gold medal for his thesis on antiquity, received at the Faculty of History and Philology of Novorossiysk University.

He was frankly proud of his education, demonstrating a very extensive knowledge of history and literature. If Vladimir Purishkevich had not become a politician, perhaps he could have achieved success in literature. He wrote very good poetry, composed epigrams and plays. Even Lev Tolstoy, known for his severity towards young writers, spoke with great approval of the work of Vladimir Purishkevich.

But after graduating from the university, the young and ambitious young man became interested in social activities and in 1894 he already became an honorary magistrate, and three years later he took the place of chairman of the Akkerman district zemstvo council.

He was rapidly moving up the career ladder and already in 1901 found himself in St. Petersburg, where he first served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and at the same time became a member of the Russian Assembly, very quickly taking a place among the leaders of the monarchist movement. In 1905, he took part in the elections to the 1st State Duma, but did not pass, but later became a deputy of the 2nd, 3rd and 4th convocations.

Odious politician

Vladimir Purishkevich was known throughout Russia. Residents of St. Petersburg and visitors attended meetings of the State Duma with pleasure, hoping to see the legendary Purishkevich. He was honored with attention in his works by satirists, he became a hero of cartoons, and Marina Tsvetaeva admitted that the politician is her love in politics. He tirelessly surprised his fellow citizens with his antics and rarely deceived the expectations of those who came to see him.

He had a shaved head, had a beard, but what was most striking was the deputy's extraordinary mobility. It seemed that he could not sit still for a minute. Purishkevich jumped up from his seat, walked impulsively between the rows, made remarks in the direction of the speakers, and even sat down in his seat at the request of the presiding officer, after a few seconds he again ran somewhere.

The archives contain transcripts of meetings with Purishkevich's participation and recordings of his speeches, but it is simply impossible to feel the full flavor of his speeches. His voice, according to his contemporaries, was very shrill, and his speech was very fast, which sometimes made it impossible to keep up with his train of thought. However, he became famous thanks to his very odious deeds.

When, during his speech in the Duma, someone allowed himself to call Purishkevich Khlestakov from Bessarabia, the deputy, without thinking twice, threw a glass at the offender, but missed. Only the bailiff, who was constantly in the meeting room, kept Vladimir Mitrofanovich from throwing the decanter. However, this was far from the most shocking trick of the deputy Purishkevich.

For disobeying the chairman, he was kicked out of the sessions, but Purishkevich did not leave the hall on his own, waited for the guards to arrive, sat down on their crossed arms and solemnly “drove out” the door.

Colleagues considered him unbalanced, hot-tempered, impulsive and even abnormal. One of the factions even demanded a mental health examination. Vladimir Purishkevich could throw up a scandal for any reason, disrupt a performance that he considered not meeting moral standards, appear at a meeting with a red carnation pinned to his trouser fastener. At the same time, he was a very witty person, he never went into his pocket for a word. When the deputy, representing the interests of the peasantry, began to broadcast about the crop failure and famine that overtook his constituency, Purishkevich immediately retorted right from the spot: "And your face is full!"

Ardent patriot

It is safe to say that Vladimir Purishkevich skillfully played the role of a jester, chosen once. In fact, he was perfectly able to cope with his emotions and was a very intelligent person. And a patriot of his land.

During the First World War, he gave up political activity, taking up the organization of ambulance trains and food points. He infected everyone who was with him with his enthusiasm, and teamwork began. Each completed the assigned tasks, solved some issues, and in general, its points and trains were almost exemplary. Even Nicholas II, who visited the ambulance train organized by the former deputy, noted the incredible energy and amazing organizational skills of Purishkevich.

In the winter of 1916, Purishkevich took a direct part in organizing the elimination of Grigory Rasputin, whom he considered very dangerous for Russia. At first, Vladimir Mitrofanovich was seriously infected with revolutionary ideas, but very quickly became disillusioned with them, went to the south and joined the whites. In early 1920, he died of typhoid fever in Novorossiysk.

The history of Russia knows many cases when real talented personalities were involved in politics. However, some have become known precisely because of their creativity. Perhaps Lord Byron was right when he argued that writing poetry helps restless souls to find peace. However, poetry can have a healing effect not only on politicians, but also on ordinary people.