Methods of interaction of Russian conservatives with society and government. The question of the status of the Grand Duchy of Finland at the beginning of the XX century

The subject of the study is the change in the methods of interaction of the Russian conservative trend with society and government structures within the framework of the anti-Finnish discourse in the early twentieth century. The author examines in detail such aspects of the topic as the return of the "Finnish question" to Russian journalism after the assassination of Alexander II by the People's Deputies and a sharp change in the internal political course of the government; the influence of right-wing monarchical organizations (especially the "Russian Assembly") on the spread of anti-Finnish sentiments in Russian society and senior government circles; the actualization of the "Finnish question" in the context of the actions of the tsarist government by incorporation of the outskirts. Special attention is paid to the transition of anti-Finlandic sentiments from the plane of public controversy on the pages of Russian magazines into the practical activities of Russian officials to limit the autonomous rights of the Grand Duchy of Finland. The main content of the research methodology is the study from the point of view of objectivity and historicism of materials giving an idea that the strengthening of anti-Finlandic sentiments among representatives of the right-wing radical spectrum of the Russian social movement, which was caused by revolutionary shifts in the life of Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. The main conclusions of the study are: 1) disagreements over the status of the Grand Duchy of Finland became part of the ideological and practical confrontation between different social groups in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century; 2) the vector of Russian policy regarding the autonomous rights of Finland is changing, and this problem is again becoming part of the information agenda, mainly in conservative publications. The author's special contribution to the research of the topic is to identify the reasons for the change in the nature of the discussion of the status of Finland in the context of serious changes in the Russian Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century. The novelty of the research lies in the analysis of the events of a crucial historical stage, when the activation of the revolutionary and national liberation movement caused a tendency to strengthen pro-monarchist groups seeking to counter the destructive anti-state challenges in the national issue of the idea of preserving the state.

the Finnish question, Russification of Finland, Russian conservatives, the national question, anti-Finnish sentiments, status of Finland, right-wing monarchists, incorporation, Russian journalism, Finnish separatism