The so-called Stary Buyan Republic (russian: Старобуянская республика, translit=Starobuyanskaya respublika) was a short-lived separatist movement in the

Samara Governorate Samara Governorate (russian: Самарская губерния) was an administrative division (a '' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire and Russian SFSR, located in the Volga Region. It existed from 1850 to 1928; its seat was in the city of Samar ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

during the

Revolution of 1905 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 ...

Origins

The village of Novaya Tsarevshchina became the cradle of the revolt, as it had been infiltrated by

social revolutionaries Social revolutions are sudden changes in the structure and nature of society. These revolutions are usually recognized as having transformed society, economy, culture, philosophy, and technology along with but more than just the political syst ...

since the 1880s. Many of these people were to become the leaders of the future "republic." In 1902, the village teachers and doctor formed a peasant revolutionary club, which began to be especially active late in 1904. At about that time the revolutionary S.I. Akramovsky arrived in

Samara Samara ( rus, Сама́ра, p=sɐˈmarə), known from 1935 to 1991 as Kuybyshev (; ), is the largest city and administrative centre of Samara Oblast. The city is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Samara (Volga), Samara rivers, with ...

, where he organized the "Peasants' Union." Early in 1905 members of the

Socialist-Revolutionary Party The Socialist Revolutionary Party, or the Party of Socialist-Revolutionaries (the SRs, , or Esers, russian: эсеры, translit=esery, label=none; russian: Партия социалистов-революционеров, ), was a major politi ...

began arriving in the

gubernia A governorate, gubernia, province, or government ( rus, губе́рния, p=ɡʊˈbʲɛrnʲɪjə, also romanized ; uk, губернія, huberniia), was a major and principal administrative subdivision of the Russian Empire. After the empir ...

, and by the summer they had incited the peasantry to begin to rally and demonstrate. Towards autumn these manifestations had grown greatly in size, with the peasants even forming their own militia by the end of October. Soon similar demonstrations were taking place in the larger village of Stary Buyan, with slogans such as "Away with autocracy" (Russian: ''Долой самодержавие''). The local police unit refused to restore order.

Revolt and independence

Early in November, the gubernia's authorities sent their representatives to Stary Buyan to select the new village elders. Instead of a routine ceremony, they were greeted by about 200 armed villagers from Novaya Tsarevshchina who called a village meeting. There the villagers voted to expel the Imperial representatives, form a "People's Militia" to guard the forests which were an important source of income, and set up a peasants' republic, effectively seceding from the

. The new government set up a "Provisional Law" and began to confiscate land from landowners and distribute it evenly among the peasantry.

Crushing of the revolt and aftermath

The authorities in Samara finally decided to crush the fledgling republic. The early attempts of the police and guards to put down the revolt, however, were repulsed. The government then decided to dispatch a special

punitive expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavio ...

Cossacks The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...

and

gendarmes Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

led by the vice-governor of the gubernia to Stary Buyan. On 26 November 1905 the Stary Buyan Republic was crushed, and its leaders and active participants were arrested and sentenced. The effects of the rebellion were far-reaching, as the "Provisional Law" spread among the peasant communities of the Russian Empire and helped encourage further violence that we now know as the

Russian Revolution of 1905 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 ...

References

History of Middle Povolzhye
{{coord missing, Russia Subdivisions of the Russian Empire 1905 Russian Revolution States and territories established in 1905 States and territories disestablished in 1905 1905 in the Russian Empire Samara Governorate 1905 establishments in the Russian Empire