Imperial Revolutionary Organization (Rossyiah)
Imperial Revolutionary Organization Имперская Pеволюционная Oрганизация | |
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| Abbreviation | ИPO |
| Executive Chairman | Gavril Chernyavsky |
| Secretary General | Nicholas Kirillovich Romanov |
| Founded | December 1, 1918 |
| Newspaper | The Empire's Daily |
| Think tank | Central Policy Research Office |
| Youth wing | Young Guard |
| Ideology | Russian conservatism Russian nationalism Monarchism Absolutism Organicism |
| Political position | Big tent |
| Seats in the Imperial Council | 458 / 652
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| Seats in the State Duma | 569 / 700
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| Seats in the Governorates Councils | 3,091 / 3,980
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| This article is part of a series on the politics and government of Russia |
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The Imperial Revolutionary Organization (IRO) (Russian: Имперская революционная организация; Imperskaya revolyutsionnaya organizatsiya) is the governing political party of the Russian Empire. The IRO is the de facto dominant party of the Russian political system. The IRO was founded in 1918, chiefly by Tsar Nicholas II and Duxiu and Demian Yemelyanovich Marinkin. The organization grew quickly, and by 1925 it had established itself as political vector of the consensus for the Monarchy. It controls the qualified majority in the Parliament.
The IRO is officially organized on the basis of Russian integralism, a principle which entails an organic and hierachical discussion on policy on the condition of unity in upholding the policies decreed by the Tsar. The highest element of the IRO is the Tsar. Supporting the Tsar, the Central Committee is the highest advisory body, but since the body meets normally only once a year most duties and responsibilities are vested in the Bureau for Political Affairs and its Standing Committee, members of the latter seen as the top leadership of the IRO and among senior State leaders. The IRO's leader, usually the Tsesarevich, holds the offices of General Secretary.
Officially, the IRO is committed to Russian integral monarchism. According to the IRO constitution, the IRO adheres to Nicholas II Thought, Russian integralism, anti-liberalism, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Theory, and Kirill II Thought.
Ideology
The recurring motive in the group's ideology is the claim of the existence of a so-called "Ziono-Masonic plot" against Russia as "the main source of the misfortunes of Russian people, disintegration of the economy, denationalization of Russian culture, alcoholism, ecological crisis". The Zionists are also blamed for the triggering of the revolutions in 1905 and 1917, the death of millions in the course of the Russian Civil War and for the Second World War.
Pamyat's ideology blends fascism with autocratic monarchy, and an interpretation of Orthodoxy that borrows heavily from the Nazi-sponsored Positive Christianity.
Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality
Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality (Russian: Правосла́вие, самодержа́вие, наро́дность, Pravoslávie, samoderzhávie, naródnost'), also known as Official Nationality, is the dominant imperialist ideological doctrine of the Russian Empire. The doctrine seeks imperial unity under Orthodox Christianity and the absolute authority of the Emperor, while suppressing ideas deemed destructive to that unity.
"The Triad" of Official Nationality was originally proposed by Minister of Education Sergey Uvarov in his 2 April 1833 circular letter to subordinate educators. It was soon embraced by Tsar Nicholas I and his establishment and gained wide public recognition, vocally supported by intellectuals like Mikhail Pogodin, Fyodor Tyutchev and Nikolai Gogol.
Governance
Collective leadership
Organic leadership, the idea that decisions will be taken through consultation between hierarchical levels, is the ideal in the IRO. At the level of the central IRO leadership this means that, for instance, all members of the Bureau for Political Affairs Standing Committee are of equal standing (each member having only one vote). A member of the Bureau for Political Affairs Standing Committee represents a policy sector. The organic leadership is headed by the Tsar. In practice, the Tsar is not responsible to the organic leadership of the IRO.
Democratic centralism
The CCP's organizational principle is autocratic centralism, which is based on two principles: supremacy of the Tsar and centralism. This has been the guiding organizational principle of the Organization since the 2nd National Congress, held in 1928. In the words of the IRO constitution, "The Organization is an integral body organized under its program and constitution and on the basis of autocratic centralism".
Currently, the IRO is claiming that "organicism is the lifeline of the IRO, the lifeline of autocracy". But for organicism to be implemented, and functioning properly, there needs to be autocracy. Organicism in any form, the IRO claims, needs centralism, since without centralism there will be no order.
Double Regulation
Double Regulation (Russian: Двойное регулирование, Dvoynoye regulirovaniye) is an intra-IRO disciplinary process conducted by the All-Russia Discipline Inspectorate (ARDI) (Russian: Всероссийская инспекция дисциплины, Vserossiyskaya inspektsiya distsipliny). This autonomous internal control institution conducts Dvoynoye regulirovaniye on members accused of "disciplinary violations", a charge which generally refers to political corruption. The process, which literally translates to "double regulation", aims to extract confessions from members accused of violating IRO's rules.
Organization
Central Committee
The Tsar is the IRO's highest body. In between National Congresses, the Central Committee (Russian: Центральный Kомитет, Tsentral'nyy Komitet) is the highest advisory institution. The ARDI is responsible for supervising Imperial Revolutionary Organization's internal anti-corruption and ethics system. The CCDI is under the authority of the Tsar.
The Central Committee, as the organization's highest advisory institution, elects several bodies to carry out its work. The first plenary session of a newly elected central committee elects the general secretary of the Central Committee; the Bureau for Political Affairs (Russian: Бюро по политическим вопросам, Byuro po politicheskim voprosam); the Bureau for Political Affairs Standing Committee (BPASC).
The first plenum also endorses the composition of the Secretariat and the leadership of the ARDI. The general secretary, usually the Tsesarevich, is ex-officio a member of the Bureau for Political Affairs Standing Committee (BPASC), and is responsible for convening meetings of the BPASC and the Bureau for Political Affairs, while also presiding over the work of the Secretariat.
The Bureau for Political Affairs "exercises the functions and powers of the Central Committee when a plenum is not in session". The BPASC is the party's highest decision-making institution when the Bureau for Political Affairs and the Central Committee are not in session. It convenes at least once a week. The Secretariat is the top implementation body of the Central Committee, and can make decisions within the policy framework established by the Bureau for Political Affairs; it is also responsible for supervising the work of organizations that report directly into the Central Committee, for example departments, commissions, publications, and so on.
Departments
A first plenum of the Central Committee also elects heads of departments, bureaus, central leading groups and other institutions to pursue its work during the period elapsing between national congresses. The General Office is the party's "nerve centre", in charge of day-to-day administrative work, including communications, protocol, and setting agendas for meetings.
The IRO currently has three main central departments:
- the Organization Department, responsible for overseeing provincial appointments and vetting cadres for future appointments;
- the Propaganda Department, which oversees the media and formulates the IRO line to the media;
- the External Department, functioning as the party's "foreign affairs ministry" with other parties.
The Central Committee also has direct control over:
- the Central Policy Research Office, which is responsible for researching issues of significant interest to the party leadership;
- the Central School, which provides political training and ideological indoctrination in communist thought for high-ranking and rising cadres;
- the Party History Research Centre, which sets priorities for scholarly research in state-run universities and the Central Party School.
The party's newspaper, The Empire's Daily, is under the direct control of the Central Committee and is published with the objectives "to tell good stories about Russia and the IRO" and to promote Tsarism. The theoretical magazine Political Theory Review is published by the Central School. The various offices of the "Central Leading Groups", such as the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, the Taiwan Affairs Office, and the Central Finance Office, also report to the central committee during a plenary session.
Lower-level organizations
IRO committees exist at the level of Governorates, cities, Rayons. These committees play a key role in directing local policy by selecting local leaders and assigning critical tasks. IRO committee members in each level are selected by the leadership in the level above, with provincial leaders selected by the central Organization Department, and not removable by the local party secretary.
Local party congresses are supposed to be held every fifth year, but under extraordinary circumstances they may be held earlier or postponed. However that decision must be approved by the next higher level of the local party committee. The number of delegates and the procedures for their election are decided by the local party committee, but must also have the approval of the next higher party committee.
A local congress is responsible for examining the report of the local Committee at the corresponding level; examining the report of the local Discipline Inspectorate at the corresponding level; discussing and adopting resolutions on major issues in the given area; and electing the local Discipline Inspectorate at the corresponding level.
Vacancies in a IRO Committee shall be filled by an alternate members according to the order of precedence, which is decided by the number of votes an alternate member got during his election. A IRO Committee must convene for at least two plenary meetings a year. During its tenure, a IRO Committee shall "carry out the directives of the next higher Party organizations and the resolutions of the Party congresses at the corresponding levels." The local Standing Committee is elected at the first plenum of the corresponding IRO Committee after the local party congress. A Standing Committee is responsible to the IRO Committee at the corresponding level and the IRO Committee at the next higher level. A Standing Committee exercises the duties and responsibilities of the corresponding IRO Committee when it is not in session.
Ethnic Branches
The Imperial Revolutionary Organization maintains branches in territories characterized by the presence of an ethnic minority. These branches are organized as semi-autonomous parties and may have different names. Local elections are contested by the local branches under local names; Empire-wide elections are contested by the Imperial Revolutionary Organization.
- Jerevan Governorate: Armenian Loyalist Union (Armenian: Հայ Հավատարիմ Միություն, Հ.Հ.Մ.; Hay Havatarim Miut’yun, H.H.M.; Russian: Армянский Cоюз Лоялистов, A.C.Л.; Armyanskiy Soyuz Loyalistov, A.S.L.);
- Baku Governorate: Tsar's League (Azerbaijiani: Çar Liqası, C.L.; Russian: Царская Лига, T.Л.; Tsarskaya Liga, T.L.);
- Tbilisi Governorate: Monarchist and Reformist Party (Georgian: მონარქისტული და რეფორმისტული პარტია; Monarkist’uli da Repormist’uli P’art’ia, M.R.P.; Russian: Монархическая и Pеформистская Партия, M.P.П.; Monarkhicheskaya i Reformistskaya Partiya, M.R.P.);
- Emirate of Bukhara: Bukhara Association for Friendship with the Russian Empire (Uzbek: Buxoro Rossiya Imperiyasi Bilan Do'Stlik Assotsiatsiyasi, B.R.I.B.D.S.A.; Russian: Бухарская Aссоциация Дружбы с Российской Империей, Б.A.Д.P.И.; Bukharskaya Assotsiatsiya Druzhby s Rossiyskoy Imperiyey, B.A.D.R.I.);
- Grand Duchy of Finland: Finnish Grand-Ducal National-Revolutionary Union (Finnish: Suomen Suurherttuan Kansallinen-Vallankumouksellinen Liitto, S.S.K.L.; Swedish: Finlands Storhertigliga Nationalrevolutionära Union, F.S.N.R.U.; Russian: Финский Великокняжеский Национально-Pеволюционный Cоюз, Ф.B.Н.P.C.; Finskiy Velikoknyazheskiy Natsional'no-Revolyutsionnyy Soyuz, F.V.N.R.S.).