Revolution of 1848 in the Austrian Empire. Revolution in the Austrian Empire
In 1848, in the Austrian Empire, as in Germany, a bourgeois revolution took place, which took (especially in October 1848) a bourgeois-democratic character, but, like in Germany, this revolution turned out to be half-hearted, incomplete. At the same time, the revolution in Austria differed from the revolution in Germany in many essential features. Unlike Germany, where the central task of the revolution was the political unification of the country, in Austria the main task of the revolution was the destruction of the multinational empire of the Habsburgs, the liberation of the peoples oppressed by it and the conquest of state independence by them. The implementation of this task was inextricably linked with the need to eliminate the feudal order: the semi-feudal dependence of the peasantry, the estate privileges of the nobility, the transformation of Austria from a feudal-absolutist state into a bourgeois state.
The driving forces of the Austrian revolution of 1848, like the revolution of 1848 in Germany, were the broad masses of the people - workers and artisans. peasants, small traders and small entrepreneurs, representatives of the democratic intelligentsia. In the revolutionary events of this year, the role of the working class was especially great. Workers and students constituted the main fighting force in Vienna, "... the core of the revolutionary army." The peasant movement, in general, for a number of reasons, lagged somewhat behind the workers' and democratic movement in the cities. But at the beginning of the revolution, it was the Austrian peasantry, who experienced a stronger feudal oppression than the peasantry in Prussia and the rest of Germany, "... everywhere zealously eradicated feudalism to the last remnants."
The hegemony in the Austrian revolution, as in the German revolution, belonged to the liberal bourgeoisie. The Austrian working class in 1848 was still too weak, small and disorganized to lead the revolution as its leading force. Most of the Austrian proletariat of that time was employed not in large factories, but in manufactures, in small craft establishments. This explains the fact that, in contrast to the Rhineland and some other parts of Germany, where the labor movement was directly directed by Marx and Engels, in Austria the overwhelming mass of the working class was unconscious, was under the influence of petty-bourgeois democrats and petty-bourgeois "socialists".
In Austria, as in Germany, the revolution of 1848 developed, in general, with the exception of a violent upsurge in October, in a downward trend. However, the whole situation of the revolution in Austria was much more complicated than in Germany, since Austria was a multinational country, a country where class contradictions were closely intertwined with national contradictions.
Four periods can be clearly distinguished in the history of the Austrian Revolution of 1848. The first period, from March 13 to May 15, 1848, covers the revolutionary events in Vienna, as a result of which the Metterinh regime was overthrown and power passed into the hands of the liberal bourgeoisie and the liberal part of the bureaucracy. The second period, from May 15-26 until the beginning of the October uprising in Vaughn, covers the popular uprisings of May 15 and 26, caused by attempts by counter-revolutionary forces to go on the offensive and destroy the democratic gains of the March revolution. These attempts failed and strengthened for a time the alliance between liberals and democrats. This second period, the period of the transition of the counter-revolutionary forces to the offensive, was marked by the provocative attack of the ruling circles on the unemployed in Vienna - the bloody clashes on 23 August. The deep rift caused by these events between the liberal bourgeoisie and the working class was exploited by counter-revolutionary forces for a new attack on democratic freedoms. The decisive event of the Austrian revolution of 1848 and the time of its highest rise was the October uprising, representing a special, third period of the revolution. As a result of the October uprising, power in Vienna was for several weeks in the hands of the petty bourgeoisie, who relied on armed workers and students.
Since the fall of revolutionary Vienna, October 31 - November 1, the fourth period began, marked by such counter-revolutionary acts as the transfer of the Reichstag from Vienna to Kromeriz and its subsequent dissolution. The final triumph of the counter-revolution in Austria was expressed in the restoration of absolutism, which took place on December 31, 1851.
As a result of the victory of the counter-revolution, the multinational empire of the Habsburgs survived; the peoples oppressed by it did not receive national independence; the constitutional order and bourgeois-democratic freedoms won during the revolution were destroyed, the power of the landlord nobility remained. But the foundations of the former, feudal-aristocratic order were shaken, and the complete restoration of all pre-revolutionary relations was no longer possible; the agrarian question was resolved in the interests of capitalist development, albeit in the most difficult form for the peasantry — through the redemption of feudal duties and the ruin of small farmers.
The main reason for the defeat of the 1848 revolution in Austria, as well as in Germany, was the betrayal of the liberal bourgeoisie to the people and its transition to the camp of the noble-monarchist counter-revolution. The betrayal of the liberal bourgeoisie to the people was the decisive reason for the failure of the national liberation movement of the oppressed peoples of the Austrian Empire. The Austrian counter-revolution took advantage of the national class contradictions that existed in various parts of the Habsburg monarchy, set one people against another. At the same time, the main support of the Austrian counter-revolution in its struggle against the revolutionary movement both in the German regions of the Austrian Empire and in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Upper Italy was the Croatian and Czech landowners-feudal lords and representatives of the Austrian reactionary military clique closely associated with them.
The defeat of the June uprising of the Paris workers and the subsequent triumph of the bourgeois counter-revolution in France had a great influence on the unsuccessful outcome of the 1848 revolution in Austria, as in other European countries. Of particular note is the fact that in the defeat of the Hungarian revolution, the Austrian counter-revolution relied on the military intervention of tsarist Russia.
The need for the hegemony of the proletariat in the bourgeois-democratic revolution — such is the most important conclusion following from the experience of all the revolutions of 1848; this conclusion fully applies to the Austrian revolution. Another important conclusion follows from the experience of the 1848 revolution in Austria - about the need for the unity of all oppressed peoples in the liberation struggle against "our own" and foreign oppressors.
Under the influence of the Great October Socialist Revolution, the oppressed peoples of Austria-Hungary achieved an independent state existence. Austria-Hungary disintegrated in 1918.
However, the gains achieved by the oppressed peoples of Austria-Hungary in 1918 were still fragile; these peoples acquired real national independence only after the defeat fascist Germany armed forces of the Soviet Union. Soviet army liberated the Austrian people, restoring the state independence of Austria.
The centenary of the 1848 revolution was widely celebrated by the progressive forces of the Austrian Republic. Under the leadership of the Austrian Communist Party, the popular masses of Austria are now waging an active struggle against the forces of internal and international reaction, led by the American imperialists, who are striving to completely transform Austria into their colony and involve it in the war they are preparing against the Soviet Union and the countries of the people's democracies. The working people of Austria occupy a prominent place in the world peace movement, which is led by the Soviet Union and its leader, the great Stalin.
Crop failures 1845-1847 and the subsequent economic crisis had disastrous consequences for the economically retarded Austrian Empire... Numerous bankruptcies, mass poverty, a sharp rise in food prices have prepared an atmosphere in which the news of the revolution in France kindled a general conflagration.
Ernst Violand on the situation in Austria
"A few years before 1848, the situation of the workers worsened, as unemployment increased." And “the number of unemployed grew every year in geometric progression due to the stopping of many factories, the use of new machines and the impoverishment of artisans who joined the ranks of the workers. " "The appalling poverty of these factory slaves, especially in winter, was incredible." The unemployed in Vienna: "it is completely incomprehensible how they can endure such a life."
“The place of concentration, the nursery of the proletariat, was God-mission. Need and poverty were especially strong there. " "Most of the peasants ... support their existence with potatoes." And "a huge number of job seekers are driving down prices so much that it has become impossible to find sufficient income in their homeland." "It was especially bad for factory workers throughout the empire, as the massive influx of Czech workers knocked down prices and thus lengthened the working day." "When the crisis came and some factories stopped or the use of the machine made workers unnecessary, many died of starvation." "The workers had no means whatsoever to fight their plight." They "were forbidden to act in defense of their interests, so that trade and industry would not suffer from high wages." “Long, uninterrupted and monotonous work caused a heavy dullness among the workers. Especially among weavers, their monotonous occupation led to dementia and mental illness. "
On March 3, 1848, the first demands for reforms were heard in Vienna, and soon an armed uprising began in the capital. Emperor Ferdinand I was forced to sacrifice his chancellor, and this "era of Metternich" ended. An attempt to dissolve the insurgent committee in May 1848 led to a new aggravation, as a result of which the government fled from the capital, and when it tried to dissolve the "Academic Legion", which consisted of revolutionary-minded students, Vienna responded with a new uprising.
In the summer of 1848, the Austrian Reichstag abolished feudal privileges and obligations. However, the Vienna National Guard soon shot at a workers' demonstration, which meant a class split among the insurgents. The last outbreak of the Austrian revolution was caused by the decision of the authorities to send troops to suppress the uprising in Hungary.
In October, another uprising broke out in Vienna, during which "the rage reached the highest limit." The government managed to win over to its side the ruler of Croatia, whose troops drowned the uprising in blood. In December 1848 Ferdinand I abdicated power and the Emperor Franz Joseph (1830-1916) entered the pre-table. Soon the Reichstag was dissolved, and Austria was granted a new constitution, which in fact restored the full power of the emperor.
Among the first, during the beginning of the 1848-1849 revolution in the Austrian Empire, Bohemia arose, the Czech population of which aroused hope for the restoration of their ancient rights and privileges. However, already in June, the Czech national movement was defeated. Not long before that, the Slavic Congress took place in Prague, organized in opposition to the German meeting in Frankfurt. The delegates demanded to return to the Slavs their "long heritage - freedom" and opposed the entry of Austria into Germany. Material from the site
Much more serious events unfolded at that time in Hungary, which always occupied a special position in the Habsburgs. Here, unlike other provinces of the empire, there was a thousand-year state tradition and a strong nobility. In the 1830-1840s. the movement for the preservation of Hungarian culture intensified, the Hungarian language was approved as an official language in all provinces of the kingdom, despite the diverse ethnic composition. Fighting for their own identity, the Hungarians denied this right to other peoples. This policy affected the fate of the Hungarian revolution in the most tragic way.
On March 3, 1848, the Hungarian National Assembly demanded the introduction of a constitution. Hungary received internal self-government, serfdom was abolished on its territory. However, the Hungarians stubbornly refused to recognize the national rights of other peoples, who, one after another, overthrew the Hungarian domination and entered into an alliance with the Viennese government.
Revolution of 1848-1849 in the Austrian Empire- the bourgeois-democratic revolution in the Austrian Empire, one of the European revolutions of 1848-1849. The tasks of the revolution were the establishment of civil rights and freedoms, the elimination of feudal remnants. In addition to the deep crisis of the political system, the reason for the revolution was interethnic contradictions in a multinational state, the desire of the peoples of the empire for cultural and political autonomy. In fact, the revolution that began in Vienna soon disintegrated into several separate national revolutions in different parts empire.
Prerequisites
In the 1840s. the national movements of the peoples of the empire intensified, the main goals of which were to recognize national language and the provision of cultural and political autonomy. These movements became especially widespread in the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom (the activities of the Young Italy group by Giuseppe Mazzini), the Czech Republic (the movement for the national revival and restoration of the rights of the Czech Diet led by Františk Palacky), and Hungary (the “reform movement” by Istvan Szechenyi and Ferenc Deak).
In Hungary, the revolution was quickly victorious and spread throughout the country. Democratic freedoms were introduced, the first Hungarian national government of Lajos Battyani was formed, a broad reform program was adopted in March 1848: the personal dependence of the peasants and feudal duties were eliminated with ransom at the expense of the state, universal taxation was introduced, and a national parliament was created. Ferdinand I was forced to accept all the decisions of the Hungarian government. On July 2, the Hungarian National Assembly decided to create its own army and refused to provide the emperor with Hungarian troops for the war in Italy.
At the same time, the disregard of the leaders of the revolution for the national question caused a departure from support for the revolution by non-Hungarian nationalities. In the Serbian regions, the creation of an autonomous Serbian Vojvodina, headed by Archbishop Rajacic, was proclaimed. The Serbs entered into an alliance with the emperor against the Hungarians and launched an anti-Hungarian uprising ( for more details see: Revolution of 1848 in Vojvodina ). In Croatia, Josip Jelacic was appointed a ban, who launched a program for the national rise of the Croats and the restoration of the Triune Kingdom. The Croatian movement was supported by the emperor and the Austrian government, who sought to use the Croats to suppress the Hungarian revolution. On June 5, Croatian Sabor announced the country's withdrawal from the Kingdom of Hungary and annexation to Austria. On August 31, Jelačić declared war on Hungary and launched an offensive on Pest ( for more details see: Revolution of 1848 in Croatia ).
The revolution in Hungary also sparked a strong national movement in Slovakia, the main demand of which was the recognition of the Slovaks as an equal nation. On September 17, the Slovak revolutionary Ludovit Stuhr tried to raise an uprising with the slogan of the separation of Slovakia from Hungary, but was defeated, and in general the Slovak movement remained in line with the Hungarian revolution ( for more details see: Revolution of 1848-1849 in Slovakia ). In Transylvania, the decision on union with Hungary caused a strong interethnic conflict and armed clashes between Hungarians and Romanians ( for more details see: Revolution of 1848 in Transylvania ). In Dalmatia, the Italo-Slavic contradictions intensified: Croatia's claims to unite with Dalmatia met with a decisive rebuff from the Italian bourgeoisie of Dalmatia. In Boka Kotorska, a strong anti-feudal uprising of the peasants broke out ( for more details see: Revolution of 1848 in Dalmatia and Istria ). Slovenia also saw a strong national movement with the slogan of uniting all the lands inhabited by Slovenes into an autonomous province. In connection with the presence of a significant German population in the Slovenian regions, the conflict between Pan-Germanists and supporters of Austro-Slavism ( for more details see: Revolution of 1848 in Slovenia ).
October uprising in Vienna
In September 1848, the revolution in Austria began to decline, while in Hungary, under the influence of the threat from the Jelacic army, a new upsurge began. In Pest, a Defense Committee was formed, headed by Lajos Kossuth, which became the central organ of the revolution. The Hungarian army managed to defeat the Croats and Austrian troops. The victories of the Hungarians caused an intensification of the revolutionary movement in Vienna. On October 3, the emperor's manifesto was published on the dissolution of the Hungarian National Assembly, the cancellation of all its decisions and the appointment of Jelačić as the governor of Hungary. It was decided to send part of the Viennese garrison to suppress the Hungarian revolution, which caused an explosion of indignation in Vienna. 6 October Viennese students educational institutions dismantled the railroad tracks leading to the capital, not giving the opportunity to organize the dispatch of soldiers to Hungary. To restore order, government troops were sent, which were defeated by the workers of the Vienna suburbs. Austrian Minister of War Theodor von Latour was hanged. The victorious detachments of workers and students headed for the city center, where clashes with the National Guard and government forces unfolded. The rebels captured the Zeikhhaus with a large number of weapons. The emperor and his entourage fled from the capital to Olomouc. The Austrian Reichstag, in which only radical deputies remained, decided to create a Public Security Committee to oppose reaction and establish order in the city, which appealed to the emperor to cancel the appointment of Jelacic as governor of Hungary and grant amnesty.
Initially, the October uprising in Vienna was spontaneous, there was no central leadership. On October 12, Wenzel Messenhauser stood at the head of the National Guard, who created the general headquarters of the revolution with the participation of Józef Böhm and the leaders of the Academic Legion. At Behm's initiative, detachments of the mobile guard were organized, including armed workers and students. Meanwhile, the commandant of Vienna, Count Auersperg turned to Jelachich for help. This triggered a new uprising and the expulsion of government troops and Auersperg from the capital. However, Jelacic's troops had already approached Vienna and on October 13-14 tried to break into the city, but were repulsed. The Viennese revolutionaries appealed to Hungary for help. After some hesitation, Kossuth agreed to help Vienna and sent one of the Hungarian armies to the Austrian capital. Detachments of volunteers from Brno, Salzburg, Linz and Graz also arrived in Vienna. On October 19, Hungarian troops defeated Jelacic's army and entered Austrian territory. However, by this time Vienna was already besieged by the 70,000-strong army of Field Marshal Windischgrez. On October 22, the Austrian Reichstag left the capital, and the next day Windischgrez presented an ultimatum of unconditional surrender and began shelling the city. On October 26, government forces stormed into Vienna in the Danube Canal area, but were repulsed by detachments of the Academic Legion. On October 28, Leopoldstadt was captured and the fighting was moved to the streets of the capital. On October 30, a battle took place between the imperial and Hungarian troops on the outskirts of Vienna, at Schwechat, in which the Hungarians were completely defeated and retreated. This meant the collapse of the hopes of the defenders of Vienna. The next day, Imperial troops entered the capital.
Closed constitution
After the defeat of the October Uprising, the dictatorship of Windischgrez was established in Vienna: mass arrests began, revolutionaries were shot, members of the Academic Legion and the Mobile Guard were sent by soldiers to the Italian front. On November 21, a cabinet was formed, headed by Prince Felix Schwarzenberg, which included conservatives and representatives of the large aristocracy. On
At the end of 1848, Venice remained the main center of the revolution in Italy, where a republic was proclaimed, headed by President Manin. The Austrian fleet blocking the city was not strong enough to storm Venice. At the beginning of 1849, the revolutionary movement intensified in Tuscany and Rome: in Tuscany, a Democratic government was formed, which included Giuseppe Mazzini, and in Rome a republic was proclaimed, and the pope fled the capital. The success of the revolution in Italy forced the Kingdom of Sardinia on March 12, 1849 to denounce the truce with Austria and renew the war. But the army of Joseph Radetzky quickly went on the offensive and on March 23 defeated the Italians at the Battle of Novara. The defeat of Sardinia marked a turning point in the revolution. In April, Austrian troops entered Tuscany and overthrew the democratic government. A French expeditionary force landed in Rome and liquidated the Roman Republic. On August 22, after a long bombardment, Venice fell. Thus, the revolution in Italy was suppressed.
In the fall of 1848, the Austrian offensive in Hungary resumed. After the refusal of the Hungarian National Assembly to recognize Franz Joseph as king of Hungary, the troops of Windischgrez invaded the country, quickly captured, and soon in Hungary, 13 generals of the revolutionary army were executed in the Revolution of 1848 // Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary: in 86 volumes (82 t. and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
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REVOLUTION OF 1848-1849 IN AUSTRIA - a bourgeois-democratic revolution, the main tasks of which were: the elimination of the feudal-absolutist system and the multinational Austrian Empire("Prisons of peoples"), the formation of independent bourgeois nation states... In the Austrian Empire, the development of capitalism was extremely hampered by the continued feudal relations. Feudal oppression was closely intertwined with national oppression. In the Habsburg monarchy in the 40s, a political crisis was growing, which intensified in the conditions of the economic crisis that began in 1847. The hegemon of the revolution was the liberal bourgeoisie, its driving force was the broad masses of the people - the workers, the urban petty bourgeoisie and the peasantry. The proletariat was not yet sufficiently developed and did not clearly realize its class interests, and therefore did not put forward its special demands. The bourgeoisie, however, did not go further than the idea of a constitutional monarchy, even the left wing of the bourgeois camp - the Viennese students, did not raise the question of overthrowing the Habsburgs.
The immediate impetus for the action of the masses in Austria was the revolutionary events that unfolded in February - March 1848 in France and in Germany (Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt, Bavaria, Württemberg, etc.). On March 13, 1848, a popular uprising began in Vienna... Chancellor hated by the people Metternich was forced to resign. Austrian emperor Ferdinand I promised to bestow a constitution. On March 17, a government was formed, which included representatives of the nobility, as well as the liberal bureaucracy. Students were allowed to create their own armed organization - the Academic Legion, and the townspeople - the National Guard.
In April 1848, the Public Security Committee was created, which included representatives of the bourgeoisie; this Committee played the role of the unofficial organ of power of the bourgeoisie.
One of critical features the revolution in Austria proper was that it took place in conditions of a powerful upsurge of the revolutionary movement in various parts of the multinational Habsburg empire (the Revolution of 1848-1849 in Hungary, popular uprisings in Milan, Galicia, Vojvodina, Croatia).
On April 25, 1848, the government published a draft constitution, and on May 11, an electoral law. The Constitution actually left all power in the hands of the emperor and the upper house appointed by him, and the electoral law, establishing a high property qualification and residency qualification, deprived a significant mass of the people of voting rights. This caused extreme discontent in the capital. To break the resistance of the Viennese, the government decided to strike at their armed forces. On May 14, a decree was issued to dissolve the Central Committee of the National Guard. At the end of May, an attempt was made to dissolve the Academic Legion. But the armed people came to the defense of the Committee and the legion, and the government was forced to make concessions. An imperial decree was issued on the creation of a unicameral elective Reichstag, whose sessions began on 22 July. In fear of the masses, Emperor Ferdinand I and his entourage fled to Innsbruck, which became the main center of counter-revolutionary conspiracies. The June 1848 uprising in Paris sharply increased the fear of the bourgeoisie about the possibility of independent action by the proletariat in Austria, which contributed to its direct transition to the camp of counterrevolution. The government, nudged by the court camarilla, decided it was time to curb the workers. On August 12, the emperor and his court returned to Vienna. On August 19, a decree was issued to reduce the wages of workers employed in public works... The workers' protest, which resulted in mass demonstrations, was suppressed (on 23 August) by the National Guard, that is, by the armed force of the bourgeoisie. This was an open betrayal of the revolution by the bourgeoisie. The inconsistency and vacillation of the bourgeoisie also manifested itself in its attitude to the peasant question. The law of September 7, 1848 provided for the abolition without redemption of only the personal duties of the peasants; corvee and the quitrent were canceled for a ransom, which was equal to 20 times the value of the annual peasant payments.
The imperial court decided to use the weakness of the revolutionary forces and the treacherous position of the Austrian bourgeoisie to deliver a final blow to the revolution in Austria proper and throughout the Austrian empire, starting from one of its main centers - Hungary. However, the revolutionary army of Hungary inflicted a series of heavy defeats on the troops of Jelacic, who began to retreat to Vienna.
The government ordered the units of the Viennese garrison to march against the Hungarian army. At the same time, the emperor announced the dissolution of the Hungarian Sejm. These orders sparked outrage in Vienna. On October 6, artisans, workers, students blocked the way for the troops that were marching to the front. A popular uprising began in Vienna, part of the garrison went over to the side of the people. Another part was hastily withdrawn from Vienna. The imperial court fled. The October uprising was the culmination of the Austrian revolution. Favorable conditions were created for the unification of the forces of the insurgent revolutionary Vienna with the approaching troops of revolutionary Hungary. The uprising was led by representatives of the petty bourgeoisie and the radical intelligentsia, relying on armed workers and students. The leaders of the uprising did not show the due decisiveness, failed to create a single authority to lead the uprising. The counter-revolution gathered under the command of Field Marshal Windischgrez a huge army (including the Croatian-Serbian troops of Jelačić) and blockaded the capital from all sides. The city was shelled. The Polish politician J. Boehm took an active part in organizing the defense of Vienna; R. Blum was among the defenders of the city. On October 29, the leaders of the insurgents in Vienna entered into negotiations with Windischgrätz and agreed to an unconditional surrender. However, the Mobile Guard, created from the workers in the days of the uprising, refused to recognize the surrender, and, abandoned by their allies, continued to fight heroically. Only on October 31, the imperial troops entered Vienna. The bloody massacre by the troops of Windischgrez put an end to the revolution in Austria. After the defeat of the October uprising in Austria, a new government was created from representatives of the feudal-monarchist circles and the big bourgeoisie, headed by Prince Schwarzenberg. New emperor Franz Joseph(who ascended the throne in December 1848 after the abdication of Ferdinand I) proclaimed the introduction of a reactionary constitution (March 1849); the Reichstag was dispersed.
K. Marx and F. Engels closely followed the events in Vienna, believing that they were of great importance both for the revolution in the Austrian empire itself and for the entire European revolution. At the end of August, Marx arrived in Vienna and in his speeches defined the nature of the events taking place and the role of classes in them. Marx described the October uprising in Vienna as "... the second act of the drama, the first act of which was performed in Paris under the title" June Days "" (K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., Vol. 5, p. . 494).
The revolution in Austria was incomplete. The main reason for the defeat of the revolution was the betrayal of the bourgeoisie and its transition to the side of the counter-revolution. The tasks of the bourgeois-democratic revolution were not solved. The peoples of the Austrian Empire remained under the yoke of the Habsburgs. The absolutist order was largely restored. However, the liberation of the peasants from feudal duties, albeit for a ransom, contributed to the capitalist development of the country; a full return to pre-revolutionary relations was no longer possible.
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The first attempts to describe the revolution of 1848-1849 in Austria were made by its participants already in 1848-1850. In accordance with the class interests of these authors in the study of the revolution, two directions were determined: reactionary and bourgeois-liberal. Authors belonging to the first direction are Ficquelmont (L. Ficquelmont, Aufklärungen über die Zeit vom 20 März bis zum 4 Mai 1848, 2 Aufl., Lpz., 1850), Dunder (WG Dunder, Denkschrift über die Oktober-Revolution in Wien , W., 1849) and others do not even try to comprehend the essence of the events; they openly express their hatred of the revolution, slander its participants. Contemporaries of the era, representing the second direction, are Schütte (A. Schütte, Die Wiener Oktober-Revolution. Aus dem Tagebuche, Prag, 1848), F. Fenner von Fenneberg, Geschichte der Wiener Oktobertage ..., Lpz., 1849), Nordstein (FA Nordstein, Geschichte der Wiener Revolution, Lpz., 1850) created books that are valuable for their documentation and abundance of facts. But they did not rise above the level of supporters of a constitutional monarchy (only Fenneberg expresses anti-monarchist views).
In the following decades, direct slander of the revolution appeared in the writings of conservative historians. So, Meinert (N. Meynert, Geschichte der Ereignisse in der Österreichischen Monarchie während der Jahre 1848 und 1849 in ihren Ursachen und Folgen. W., 1853) and Helfert (JA Helfert, Revolution und Reaktion im Spätjahr 1848), people uprising; workers who protested against wage cuts are called quitters, etc.
In the works of representatives of the bourgeois-liberal Austrian historiography of the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries, some important problems of the revolution were posed. In the books of Reschauer and Smets (H. Reschauer und M. Smets, Das Jahr 1848 ..., Bd 1-2, W., 1872), Zenker (EV Zenker, Die Wiener Revolution 1848 in ihren sozialen Voraussetzungen und Beziehungen, W. , 1897), Friedjung (N. Friedjung, Österreich von 1848 bis 1860, Bd 1 - Die Jahre der Revolution und der Reform. 1848 bis 1851, Stuttg. - V., 1908), the characterization of national oppression in Austria, as one of the causes of the revolution, data on the situation in various parts of Austria, controversy with reactionary authors. Most bourgeois authors are hostile to the working class.
The book of the social democrat M. Bach "History of the Austrian Revolution of 1848" (W., 1898; Russian translation, 2nd ed., Moscow, 1923) contains a lot of factual material about the socio-economic prerequisites of the revolution, about the development of ideas on the eve of the revolution , about popular movements, about the struggle of classes, about the role of the national question in the revolution. However, Bach does not draw revolutionary conclusions from the events of 1848.
During the years of the first (1918-1938) and second (since 1945) republics in Austria, bourgeois historiography did not provide new special studies on the history of the revolution of 1848-1849. In general works on the history of the country, only a scanty presentation of facts is contained, and the authors clearly shy away from attempts to analyze the events. In studies devoted to problems close to the history of the revolution, modern bourgeois Austrian historians (R. Burian, Die Nationalitäten in "Cisleithanien" und das Wahlrecht der Märzrevolution 1848/49 ..., Graz, 1962; M. Enzinger, Franz Grillparzer und Therese Utsch, W., 1963) in a number of cases reproduce, with some variations, the assessment of the revolution given by Meinert and Helfert. Some authors, without directly condemning the Revolution of 1848-1849 in Austria, advocate the enemies of the revolution (for example, F. J. Grobauer, In seinem Lager war Österreich. Feldmarschall Radetzky ..., W., 1957).
Deep scientific analysis the revolution was given by the founders of Marxism-Leninism. They showed her historic site and significance, revealed the nature of the revolution, showed its driving forces, the reasons for its defeat.
Among the first Austrian Marxist works on the history of the Revolution of 1848-1849 in Austria is E. Fischer's book (E. Fischer, Österreich 1848. Probleme der demokratischen Revolution in Österreich, W., 1946), which draws the reader's attention to the national question in Austria ...
A generalizing description of the Revolution of 1848-1849 in Austria is given in the book by E. Prister " Short story Austria "(W., 1949; Russian transl., M., 1952), in the corresponding chapters of publications of historians of the GDR:" Geschichte der deutschen Arbeiterbewegung "in 8 Bänden, Bd 1, V., 1966; Deutsche Geschichte in drei Bänden, Bd 1-, B., 1965. A great contribution to the development of individual issues of the revolution in Austria and to its theoretical generalization was made by the Soviet historiography of the book: Revolutions 1848-1849, v. 1-2, M., 1952; S. B. Kahn, The revolution of 1848 in Austria and Germany, M., 1948; articles by R. A. Averbukh (see lit.).
M. A. Poltavsky. Moscow.
Soviet historical encyclopedia... In 16 volumes. - M .: Soviet encyclopedia. 1973-1982. Volume 6. INDRA - KARAKAS. 1965.
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Main events of the 19th century (chronological table).
Austria, in the 10th century the Bavarian East Mark appeared, which later became a duchy and was named Austria. Since 976, the Babenberg dynasty, a side branch of the Bavarian Wittelsbachs, took root there.
The Prague uprising of 1848, the uprising in Prague on June 12-17 during the revolution of 1848-1849 in Austria.
Engels Friedrich. IV. Austria. Chapter from the book. Revolution and counter-revolution in Germany. K. Marx, F. Engels. Compositions. 2nd ed., Vol. 8, p. 3-113.
Historical persons of Austria (biographical reference).
Literature:
K. Marx, The Revolution in Vienna, K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., Vol. 5; his, the Revolution in Vienna and the "Kölnische Zeitung", ibid; his, Latest news from Vienna, Berlin and Paris, ibid; his, Victory of the counter-revolution in Vienna, ibid; Engels F., Beginning of the End of Austria, ibid., Vol. 4; his, Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Germany, ibid., v. 8; Averbukh R. A., Labor movement in Vienna in August 1848, in collection: To the centenary of the revolution of 1848, M., 1949; her, The Struggle of the Viennese Democracy against the Aristocratic Constitution (May 1848), "IAN. Ser. History and Philosophy", 1947, No. 4; her, the October Uprising in Vienna in 1848, "VI", 1948, No 10; Springer A., Geschichte Österreichs seit dem Wiener Frieden 1809, Tl 2 - Die Österreichische Revolution, Lpz, 1865; Schulz H., Grosskampftage der Revolution 1848-1849, W., 1929.
Plan
Introduction
1 Prerequisites
2 The beginning of the revolution
2.1 Vienna Uprising of March 13-15, 1848
2.2 Development of the revolution in the spring of 1848
3 Social and national movements in the revolution
3.1 Social movements in Austria in the summer of 1848
3.2 Pan-Germanist movement
3.3 National question and national movements
3.3.1 Revolution in Italy
3.3.2 Revolution in the Czech Republic
3.3.3 The Hungarian Revolution
4 October Uprising in Vienna
5 Closed constitution
6 Defeat of the revolution in Italy and Hungary
Introduction
Revolution of 1848-1849 in the Austrian Empire - the bourgeois-democratic revolution in the Austrian Empire, one of the European revolutions of 1848-1849. The tasks of the revolution were the establishment of civil rights and freedoms, the elimination of feudal remnants. In addition to the deep crisis of the political system, the reason for the revolution was interethnic contradictions in a multinational state, the desire of the peoples of the empire for cultural and political autonomy. In fact, the revolution that began in Vienna soon disintegrated into several separate national revolutions in different parts of the empire.
1. Prerequisites
The Austrian Empire by the end of Metternich's reign (1815-1846) was in a state of deep crisis. The political system based on the preservation of the old order, the maintenance of absolutism, centralization and the omnipotence of the bureaucracy no longer met the requirements of the time: industry and the banking sector developed rapidly in Austria and the Czech Republic, the national bourgeoisie was strengthened, the cultural rise of the peoples of the empire began, accompanied by the growth of the influence of the intelligentsia and the development national movements. Of the 36 million citizens of the empire, the Austrians constituted a minority (slightly more than 20%), while the rest of the peoples - Hungarians, Czechs, Italians, Poles, Croats, Slovaks, Romanians, Rusyns, Ukrainians and Slovenes - were in a subordinate position, did not have national autonomies and were subjected to the policy of Germanization. In the 1840s. the national movements of the peoples of the empire intensified, the main goals of which were the recognition of the national language and the provision of cultural and political autonomy. These movements became especially widespread in the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom (the activities of the Young Italy group by Giuseppe Mazzini), the Czech Republic (the movement for the national revival and restoration of the rights of the Czech Diet led by Františk Palacky), and Hungary (the “reform movement” by Istvan Szechenyi and Ferenc Deak).
In 1846, an economic crisis broke out in Austria: many enterprises went bankrupt, unemployment rose sharply and the population's ability to pay fell, and famine began in some peasant regions. The government remained passive and did not take vigorous measures to overcome the crisis. On February 21, 1846, an uprising broke out in Krakow, then an independent republic, in support of the restoration of Poland and with slogans of radical anti-feudal reforms. Almost at the same time, a peasant uprising began in Galicia, which resulted in the brutal "Galician massacre". The government managed to use Ukrainian peasants to suppress the Krakow Uprising, and soon Krakow was annexed to the Austrian Empire. At the same time in Italy, on the initiative of Pope Pius IX, began liberal reforms, in Tuscany and the Papal States, freedom of the press was introduced, which contributed to a new upsurge in Italian national movement, including in the Austrian possessions, with the demand for the unification of Italy. In September 1847, clashes broke out between Italian demonstrators and the Austrian police in Lombardy, which quickly became bloody, and on February 24, martial law was declared in the Lombard-Venetian kingdom.
2. The beginning of the revolution
Ferdinand I's decree on the convocation of the constitutional assembly
In February 1848, a revolution broke out in France, liberal governments came to power in Baden, Hesse-Darmstadt and Württemberg, and a constitutional monarchy was established in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. On March 3, members of the Landtag of Lower Austria came up with a proposal to abolish peasant duties and expand the rights and powers of the Landtags. A week later, they prepared a memorandum to the emperor with a program of bourgeois-democratic reforms. At the same time, students took to the streets of Austrian cities, demanding freedom of the press, civil equality and universal popular representation. After the speech of Lajos Kossuth, preparations for broad socio-political reforms began in the Hungarian National Assembly. On March 13, meetings of the Landtag of Lower Austria opened in Vienna, and a large crowd gathered in front of its building, on Herrengasse Square, demanding democratic reforms and Metternich's resignation. Kossuth's speech at the Pozhonsk Sejm was read, which caused stormy approval and the appearance of calls for the overthrow of the government and the creation of a national guard. The commandant of the capital, Archduke Albrecht, brought troops into the streets of the city and staged a massacre on Herrengasse, which caused an explosion of indignation and a new uprising: the inhabitants of Vienna began to smash arsenals, government offices, enterprises, and build barricades. Emperor Ferdinand I was forced to make concessions: Metternich was dismissed and a committee was announced to develop reform projects. On March 14, censorship was abolished, and the National Guard and the Academic Legion of Students were established. On March 15, under pressure from the rebels who besieged the imperial palace, Ferdinand I proclaimed the convocation of a constitutional assembly to adopt a constitution. This meant the victory of the revolution in Austria.
2.2. Development of the revolution in the spring of 1848
The Vienna Revolution had a significant impact on events in other parts of the empire. On March 15, in Pest, as a result of popular protests, power passed into the hands of a revolutionary body - the Public Security Committee. The emperor agreed to the establishment of a government in Hungary, responsible to parliament. On March 11, an uprising broke out in Milan under the slogan “Down with Austria!”, Which quickly spread to Venice and other provincial cities. After five days of fighting, the Austrian army of Joseph Radetzky left Lombardy. Austrian troops were also driven out by the rebels from Parma and Modena. A republic was proclaimed in Venice, and the Kingdom of Sardinia declared war on the Austrian Empire. Under these conditions, the Austrian authorities made significant concessions to the revolutionary movement. On March 17, a new government of Franz-Anton Kolovrat was created, responsible to parliament, which began to carry out liberal reforms: the court departments and the State Council were abolished, a political amnesty was announced, the reactionary ministers and advisers of the emperor were removed, the functions of governing Vienna were transferred to the Provisional Committee, which consisted of representatives liberal intelligentsia and nobility.
Nevertheless, the reactionaries, led by Archduchess Sophia, continued to influence the emperor. In April 1848, on their initiative, the Provisional Press Regulations were published, which restored censorship. However, under pressure from student protests, Interior Minister Pillersdorf suspended the rules. Meanwhile, the revolution was spreading to other Austrian cities: in Linz, Graz, Innsbruck, uprisings broke out, local national guards were created. But on the whole, the movement outside Vienna was weak and disorganized and was quickly suppressed.
On April 25, a draft Constitution was published, developed by a committee led by Pillersdorf: Austria was declared a constitutional monarchy (without Hungary and possessions in Italy), freedom of conscience, press, assembly, petitions, unions, equality of citizens was recognized, a bicameral Reichstag was created (the lower house is elected by the people, upper - partly appointed by the emperor from the princes of the Habsburg house, partly elected by the large aristocracy), legislative power remained with the emperor and the Reichstag, and laws were to enter into force only after approval by both chambers and the emperor. The draft constitution was met with dissatisfaction by the radical part of the revolutionaries. Students and the National Guard demanded that the Senate be elected by the people and general elections for the lower house. On May 5, the government resigned, and the new cabinet was headed by Pillersdorf, who on May 11 issued an electoral law introducing two-stage elections to the House of Representatives and barring workers and students from the elections. On May 14, the dissolution of the Central Committee of the National Guard was announced. This caused a new outburst of the revolution: the workers of the Viennese suburbs, together with students and radical intelligentsia, took to the streets again and began to erect barricades. The government was forced on May 16 to cancel the decision to dissolve the central committee and promise to revise the draft constitution. A new attempt by the government at the end of May 1848 to take control of student organizations and liquidate the Academic Legion also failed: the students turned to the workers' suburbs for help and, having built over 100 barricades in the capital, defeated the units of the National Guard, which had gone over to the side by that time. moderate. Power in the city passed to the Security Committee, which included, among other things, representatives student organizations and the national guard. On June 1, a new electoral law was promulgated, under which parliament became unicameral, and voting rights were granted to wider sections of society (although the two-stage electoral system was retained).
On May 17, 1848, under the influence of the continuing revolutionary uprisings in Vienna, Emperor Ferdinand I moved with his court to Innsbruck, which quickly became the center of the counter-revolution, where all the reactionary and conservative forces of the country flocked. The emperor began to seek rapprochement with the Slavic peoples of the empire, wishing to oppose them to the Austrian and Hungarian revolutions.
