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Abstract

Based on narrative sources, the article analyzes the image of a member of the Constitutional Democratic Party in the circles of the Russian administrative elite of the early 20th century: ministers, senior officials, governors, etc. The memoirs of S.Y. Witte, S.E. Kryzhanovsky, V.N. Kokovtsov, P.L. Bark, A.A. Polovtsev, M.M. Osorgin, etc. were used. It is shown that the Cadets were perceived as doctrinaires who were detached from the life and did not understand the urgent needs of the country because of their blind commitment to abstract Western ideas. In the eyes of the highest bureaucracy, by offering an alternative model of the state development, the Cadets turned into fighters with the foundations of the existing system. Cadet politics was regarded as an unprincipled struggle for power in alliance with revolutionary parties; their program was contrary to the interests of the state, and liberal criticism of the actions of the authorities was seen as a "mockery" of the bureaucracy. Equating their ideas and the needs of the country, the highest administrative elite used the image of the Cadet as an "unscrupulous revolutionary" to justify the uselessness of radical reforms and maintain their position. The author compares this image with the one widespread in the right circles of the Russian Empire. The most important differences were the absence of anti-Semitism widespread in the right circles and the disbelief of the administrative elite in the legend of the conspiracy of some "dark forces" against Russia. Accordingly, the Cadets were perceived as a self-sufficient force, and not as servants of anti-Russian forces. It is concluded that there was an extremely negative image of the Cadets in bureaucratic circles, which excluded any possibility to find a compromise between the government and society.