Grand Orient of Russia’s Peoples
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The Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples (russian: Великий восток народов России) (GOoRP) was an illegal
Co-Freemasonry Co-Freemasonry is a form of Freemasonry which admits both men and women. It began in France in the 1890s with the forming of Le Droit Humain, and is now an international movement represented by several Co-Freemasonic administrations throughout th ...
political organisation which existed in
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
from 1912 until 1917. The organisation was highly political in nature and though it included people from several different parties, the most prominent belonged to the
Constitutional Democratic Party ) , newspaper = ''Rech'' , ideology = ConstitutionalismConstitutional monarchismLiberal democracyParliamentarism Political pluralismSocial liberalism , position = Centre to centre-left , international = , colours ...
. Although it originated out of Russian members of the
Grand Orient of France The Grand Orient de France (GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly absorbed the r ...
, by the time the GOоRP emerged in 1912 it had ripped ties to all foreign masonic organisations. GOoRP had around 400 members.Серков А. И. История русского масонства 1845—1945. — СПб.: Изд-во им. Н. И. Новикова, 1997. — С. 115. — .''The proposal to join the Masons I received in 1912, immediately after being elected to the Fourth Duma. After serious reflection, I came to the conclusion that my own goals coincide with the goals of society, and accepted this proposal. It should be emphasized that the society I entered into was not an ordinary Masonic organization. The first thing that was unusual was that society broke all ties with foreign organizations and admitted women into its ranks. Further, a complex ritual and the Masonic system of degrees were eliminated; Only an indispensable internal discipline was maintained that guaranteed the high moral qualities of members and their ability to keep secrets. No written reports were made, lists of members of the lodge were not drawn up. This maintenance of secrecy did not lead to a leakage of information about the purposes and structure of society. When I studied the circulars of the police department at the Hoover Institution, I did not find in them any information about the existence of our society, even in those two circulars that concern me personally.'' - Kerensky AF Russia at the historical turn. Memoirs. M., 1993. P. 62-63


Background

Freemasonry in Russia Freemasonry in Russia started in the 18th century and has continued to the present day. Russian Freemasonry pursue humanistic and educational purposes, but more attention is given to ethical issues. It was a spiritual community of people united ...
was outlawed in 1822 during the reign of
Alexander I of Russia Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg. The son of ...
and a further crackdown was initiated during the reign of
Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I , group=pron ( – ) was List of Russian rulers, Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I of Russia, Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I ...
, as the creators of the
Decembrist Revolt The Decembrist Revolt ( ru , Восстание декабристов, translit = Vosstaniye dekabristov , translation = Uprising of the Decembrists) took place in Russia on , during the interregnum following the sudden death of Emperor Al ...
, the
Union of Salvation The Union of Salvation ( rus, Союз спасения, Sojuz spasenyja), formed in 1816, also known as the Society of True and Loyal Sons of the Fatherland (russian: Общество истинных и верных сынов отечеств ...
, were accused of being connected to Freemasonry. By the end of the 19th century, Russian political and intellectual emigres living in
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
had started to enter Masonic lodges working the
Scottish Rite The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry (the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction in the United States often omits the ''and'', while the English Constitution in the United Kingdom omits the ''Scottish''), commonly known as simply the Sco ...
. This included
Maksim Kovalevsky Maksim Maksimovich Kovalevsky (Russian: Максим Максимович Ковалевский; 8 September 1851 – 5 April 1916) was a Russian jurist and the main authority on sociology in the Russian Empire. He was vice-president (1895) and p ...
,
Grigorii Nikolayevich Vyrubov Grigory Nikolayevich Vyrubov, or Grégoire Wyrouboff (Russian: Григорий Николаевич Вырубов; 31 October 1843, in Moscow – 30 November 1913, in Paris) was a Russian Empire Positivist philosopher and historian of science. ...
and
Pavel Yablochkov Pavel Nikolayevich Yablochkov (also transliterated as Jablochkoff; russian: Павел Николаевич Яблочков) ( – ) was a Russian electrical engineer, businessman and the inventor of the Yablochkov candle (a type of electric ...
. Following the
1905 Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution of 1905,. also known as the First Russian Revolution,. occurred on 22 January 1905, and was a wave of mass political and social unrest that spread through vast areas of the Russian Empire. The mass unrest was directed again ...
, the right to form unions and private meetings was established under
Nicholas II of Russia Nicholas II or Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; spelled in pre-revolutionary script. ( 186817 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer,. was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Pola ...
and thus the limitations on Freemasonry were lifted. Former Russian exiles active in
Grand Orient of France The Grand Orient de France (GODF) is the oldest and largest of several Freemasonic organizations based in France and is the oldest in Continental Europe (as it was formed out of an older Grand Lodge of France in 1773, and briefly absorbed the r ...
and the
Grand Lodge of France Grande Loge de France (G∴L∴D∴F∴) is a Masonic obedience based in France. Its conception of Freemasonry is spiritual, traditional and initiatory. Its ritual is centred on the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. It sees itself as occupying a ...
both set up a number of Lodges in Russia. Prominent figures in this drive were the aforementioned Kovalevsky and also Evgenii Valentinovich de Roberti. These few lodges were typically opened in
St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
and
Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. The three lodges of the Grand Orient had about 94 members in total.


Political aspects

In 1910, the Masonic Association of the Grand Orient of the Russian People's began to emerge among these Lodges. It was marked by a move away from the esotericism inherent in the basic Three Degrees in Freemasonry and an embrace of political activism. The Grand Orient of France in Russia stopped operations at this time because 37 of its 94 members had joined the new Russian Grand Orient as it became openly a separate organisation in 1912. The organisation severed relations with foreign masonic organisations. The group was not limited to just men and included the participation of women such as
Yekaterina Kuskova Yekaterina Dmitriyevna Kuskova (russian: Екатери́на Дми́триевна Куско́ва; 1869–1958) was a Russian Empire economist, journalist and politician involved in founding both the Russian Social-Democratic Workers' Party ( ...
. Most of the members of the Grand Orient were associated with the
Russian Provisional Government The Russian Provisional Government ( rus, Временное правительство России, Vremennoye pravitel'stvo Rossii) was a provisional government of the Russian Republic, announced two days before and established immediately ...
which came into being following the
February Revolution The February Revolution ( rus, Февра́льская револю́ция, r=Fevral'skaya revolyutsiya, p=fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲutsɨjə), known in Soviet historiography as the February Bourgeois Democratic Revolution and somet ...
. Indeed,
Alexander Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky, ; Reforms of Russian orthography, original spelling: ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months ...
had been the Secretary General of the Grand Orient from 1916 until July 1917, while the Vice-President
Nikolai Vissarionovich Nekrasov Nikolai Vissarionovich Nekrasov (russian: Никола́й Виссарио́нович Некра́сов) (, Saint Petersburg – May 7, 1940, Moscow) was a Russian liberal politician and the last Governor-General of Finland. Biography Parliam ...
was the original Secretary General of the Grand Orient. Following the
October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
and the ascent to power of
Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...
and the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks (russian: Большевики́, from большинство́ ''bol'shinstvó'', 'majority'),; derived from ''bol'shinstvó'' (большинство́), "majority", literally meaning "one of the majority". also known in English ...
Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
was banned and freemasons fled abroad to
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, where they formed lodges in exile (some simply fell away from masonry altogether). During the
Russian Civil War , date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
, Masonry was perceived to be allied with the White movement and Kerensky as a figure, thus Bolshevism was hostile to it. At the
4th World Congress of the Communist International The 4th World Congress of the Communist International was an assembly of delegates to the Communist International held in Petrograd and Moscow, Soviet Russia, between November 5 and December 5, 1922. A total of 343 voting delegates from 58 countri ...
held at Moscow in 1922, all Communist Party members were officially ordered to sever any connection to Freemasonry in general, with it being resolved that the two were not compatible.


Secretary General

*
Nikolai Vissarionovich Nekrasov Nikolai Vissarionovich Nekrasov (russian: Никола́й Виссарио́нович Некра́сов) (, Saint Petersburg – May 7, 1940, Moscow) was a Russian liberal politician and the last Governor-General of Finland. Biography Parliam ...
, 1912–1913, 1914–1916 ( Kadets) * Alexandеr Kolyubakin, 1913–1914 (Kadets) *
Alexander Kerensky Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky, ; Reforms of Russian orthography, original spelling: ( – 11 June 1970) was a Russian lawyer and revolutionary who led the Russian Provisional Government and the short-lived Russian Republic for three months ...
, 1916–1917 ( Right SR) * Alexander Halpern, 1917 (
Menshevik The Mensheviks (russian: меньшевики́, from меньшинство 'minority') were one of the three dominant factions in the Russian socialist movement, the others being the Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries. The factions eme ...
) Nikolay Vissarionovich Nekrasov.jpg, Nikolai Nekrasov Alexandr Kolyubakin.jpeg, Alexandеr Kolyubakin Alexander Kerensky LOC 24416.jpg, Alexander Kerensky


References


External links


From the Grand Orient of France in Russia to the Supreme Council of the Grand Orient of Russia’s People
by Andrei Priahin

by Andrei Pirahin
The Russian Masonic Movement in the Years 1906-1918
by Ludwik Hass
Masonic Lodges
at Saint Petersburg Encyclopedia

by Dennis Stocks {{DEFAULTSORT:Grand Orient of Russia's Peoples Freemasonry in Russia Freemasonry-related controversies