Alexander Guchkov

Russian politician

Alexander Ivanovich Guchkov (Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Гучко́в; 14 October 1862 – 14 February 1936) was a Russian politician, Chairman of the Third Duma and Minister of War in the Russian Provisional Government.

Alexander Guchkov was born in Moscow. Unlike most of the conservative politicians of that time, Guchkov did not belong to the Russian nobility. His father, the grandson of a peasant, was a factory owner of some means, whose family came from a stock of Old Believers who had acknowledged the authority of the Russian Orthodox Church while keeping their ancient ritual. His mother was French. Guchkov studied history and humanities at the Moscow State University, and, after having gone through his military training in a grenadier regiment, left for Germany where he read political economy in Berlin under Schmoller. Academic studies were, however, not suited to his active and adventurous character. He gave them up and started traveling. He rode alone on horseback through Mongolia to western Siberia, and narrowly escaped being slaughtered by a mob. Under Sergei Witte he was appointed as Minister of Trade and Industry. In October 1906, Guchkov became the head of the conservative liberal Union of 17 October. He had the hope that the Tsar's government would recognize the necessity of great reforms and work with the moderate liberals of the Zemstvos, while safeguarding the monarchical principle. The Tsar signed the October Manifesto. Pyotr Stolypin was for some time in sympathy with that agenda, and even contemplated the formation of a ministry strengthened by leaders of public opinion, of whom Guchkov, Count Heyden and N. Lvov would have been prominent members. When this project came to grief, Guchkov continued to support Stolypin. Guchkov was Chairman of the Duma's Committee of Imperial Defence, which had a veto over the military budget. In 1908 he condemned the diplomats' decision not to go in war in 1908, when Austria annexed Bosnia and Hercegovina. In the third Duma, elected on a restricted franchise, the Octobrists assumed the leading role. After Khomiakov's resignation in 1910, Guchkov was elected speaker. He attacked the "irresponsible influences" at the Russian court and the shortcomings of the Ministry of War in preparing for the inevitable conflict with Germany. As Stolypin became more and more violent and reactionary, the Octobrists lost their standing ground, and Guchkov eventually resigned the presidency of the Duma.

In 1912 the Octobrists were defeated in elections to the fourth Duma, losing over 30 seats. Guchkov in particular was defeated in his constituency in Moscow. The remaining Octobrists in Duma split into two fractions and went into opposition. By 1915 many local party branches and the main party newspaper "Voice of Moscow" ceased to exist. Guchkov is connected with spreading letters between Tsarina Alexandra and Rasputin. Grigori Rasputin's behavior was discussed in the Fourth Duma, and in March 1913 the Octobrists, led by Guchkov and President of the Duma, commissioned an investigation. Worried with the threat of a scandal, the Tsar asked Rasputin to leave for Siberia. Since Rasputin was attacked in the Duma, the Tsarina Alexandra hated him and suggested to hang Guchkov. With the outbreak of World War I, Guchkov was put in charge of the Red Cross organization on the German front, and it fell to him to search for the corpse of the unfortunate General of the Second Army, Alexander Samsonov. In August 1915 Guchkov was among the founders of Progressive Bloc, which demanded for establishing ministerial responsibility before the Duma. Nicholas II constantly refused to satisfy this demand. In October 1915 Guchkov became more revolutionary and involved in the preparations of a coup. On 13 October Guchkov travelled to Kislovodsk because of his health. In December 1916 Guchkov came to the painful conclusion the situation could only improve when the Tsar was replaced. Guchkov reported that members of the Progressive Bloc would consider a coup d'etat to force the government to deal with the Duma.

After the February Revolution the Union of 17 October legally ceased to exist. Guchkov held the office of War Minister in the Russian Provisional Government until 29 April. He was forced to resign after public unrest, caused by Milyukov's Note. Along with his fellow Octobrist Mikhail Rodzianko he continued to struggle for establishing of "strong government". He supported Lavr Kornilov and was arrested after the Kornilov Affair, but released the next day. After the October Revolution Guchkov provided financial support for the White Guard. When the eventual defeat of the White Guard became inevitable, he emigrated, first going to Germany. In 1923, while living in Berlin, Guchkov hosted meetings of the "Eurasian Movement" over which the OGPU maintained covert control even after the fall of The Trust. Sergey Mikhailovich Spiegelglass, who was a military counterintelligence Chekist (военная контрразведка) since January 1919, Earlier he had been a member of a military masonic lodge.

Guchkov has become something of a cult figure in recent years: his reputation in Russia has grown after a documentary on the main state channel, which included an interview with then President Vladimir Putin. In the documentary, Putin revealed that Guchkov had been one of his childhood heroes for the way in which he tried to bring democracy to the country