The Working Question in the Program Settings of the Party Factions of the 3rd and 4th State Dumas of the Russian Empire: a Comparative Analysis

The article provides a comparative analysis of the programmatic guidelines of the party factions of the 3rd (1907-1912) and 4th (1912-1917) State Duma of the Russian Empire on the labor issue. The relevance of the study is due to the need to identify the underlying causes of the legislative impasse in resolving the key social conflict of the empire, which predetermined its fall. Based on the comparative historical method and discourse analysis, the article studies the evolution of the factions positions (rightists, Octobrists, Cadets, Socialist Revolutionaries, Social Democrats) on the issues of labor legislation, the role of trade unions, strikes, and social insurance. The study is based on a set of sources: transcripts of Duma sessions, programs of leading political parties, minutes of political party sessions. A deep ideological gap was revealed: from the repressive-paternalistic model of the right (“the labor question will be resolved with the destruction of sedition”) to the revolutionary program of the Social Democrats, calling for the overthrow of the autocracy. The Cadets proposed the most developed liberal reforms (freedom of coalitions, an 8-hour day, insurance), which were blocked by the majority in the Duma. The Octobrists, realizing the need for reform, were cautious, rejecting radical measures as “disastrous for industry”. By the 4th State Duma, their potential for compromise had been exhausted. The initiatives of the left and liberals were systematically blocked. The main factor that caused the ineffectiveness of the factions activities on the labor question was the irreconcilable contradiction between the radicalization of the labor movement (confirmed by strike statistics) and the unwillingness of the authorities or right-wing parties to make significant concessions given the weak influence of the reformist center in the Dumas. It is proven that the Duma was unable to become an instrument for resolving the labor issue, and its debates only preserved the conflict, pushing the country towards revolution.