Monarchy in Contemporary Russia

IMGXYZ3146IMGZYXAs Russians consider possible development paths for the country, one option that could be explored is the possibility of restoring the monarchy, which is a strong part of Russian historical and political traditions. The Carnegie Moscow Center hosted a discussion on the prospects for a restoration of monarchy in Russia. Speakers included Vladimir Karpets of the Higher School of Economics, presidium member of Monarchist Party “Autocratic Russia,” and Andrey Zubov of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations and of the St. John’s Russian Orthodox University. Carnegie’s Alexey Malashenko moderated. 

Attitudes Toward Monarchy in Russia

• The historical aspect: In Zubov’s view, in the late nineteenth century, when a mass revolutionary movement spread in Russia, monarchy and monarchism came to symbolize everything retrograde, obsolete, rigid, and unjust, while the republican system of government was depicted as the way to a “radiant future.” But after the monarchy was overthrown in 1917 and replaced by first the Provisional Government and then the Bolsheviks, people became disappointed in the republic and support for the monarchy began to grow quickly, Zubov said. Support was even stronger among the Russians who emigrated, he added. 
   
• Russia today: According to Zubov, the Soviet period, however, saw the emergence of a new “Soviet man” with a very negative perception of the idea of monarchy. This perception of monarchy has seeped into post-communist Russia, too. For most people in Russia today, the word “monarchist” suggests something eccentric, strange, and hostile.

The Need to Restore the Monarchy

• Foreign examples: As Zubov noted, many countries today still have a monarchy, which forms an important part of their national awareness and identity. The monarchy’s main function is to ensure a continuation of symbolic supreme power and national historical traditions. Many European monarchies are good examples in this respect, he said. 
   
• Restoring continuity: In Zubov’s view, the divisions in Russian society caused by the revolution and the communist regime still persist today, leaving Russia’s history fragmented and broken. Karpets noted that the events of 1917 broke off the continuation in Russian state-legal institutions. Important values such as social solidarity and a stable state can be achieved only when a country enjoys continuity in its national traditions. To restore this continuity, Russia must restore the monarchy, Zubov said. Karpets underscored that such restoration would set Russia on the road to prosperity and growth.

Other Steps to Restoring Continuation in Russia 

Aside from restoring the monarchy, Zubov named several related and important tasks that Russia must carry out to repair the break with its past:   

• Restore historical unity: Russia must develop a perception of itself as the inheritor not of the USSR, but of the Russian Empire.
   
• Change the political elite: The old Soviet elite—state security service officers and mid-level party functionaries—still hold power in Russia today.
   
• Decommunization: Russians must restore the healthy society that the Bolsheviks destroyed.

Practical Steps to Restore the Monarchy

The legitimacy of Russia’s government has been in question ever since the monarchy was overthrown in 1917, Karpets said. He suggested that the current regime could gain legitimacy by accepting the role of a transition government that ushers in a subsequent period of social, legal, and political transformation, ultimately culminating in the monarchy’s restoration.

According to Karpets, the transition to a monarchy should take place as a two-stage peaceful political process:

• In accordance with the current Russian constitution, the president should announce a national referendum on restoring the monarchy or announce the decision to convene the Constitutional Assembly; 
   
• Following a decision to restore the monarchy—either through a referendum or the Constitutional Assembly—the assembly of local representatives, or Assembly of the Land (Zemsky Sobor), is convened in accordance with the country’s social and territorial division, which will decide who should become the monarch. It is important that this be a process not of democratically electing, but of designating a monarch, said Karpets.

Who Could Inherit the Russian Throne?

• Romanov or Rurikovich descendents: Karpets noted that no candidate for the Russian throne has unanimous support today. The monarch could be a descendent not just of the Romanov House, but of the Rurikovich House, too. The best choice would be someone whose ancestry goes back to both dynasties.  
   
• Members of the British royal family: Among the British royal family, two figures are possible contenders for the Russian throne: Prince Michael of Kent, who is a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II and a great nephew to Russia’s last tsar, Nicholas II; and Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson, Prince Harry. Karpets noted, however, that the British royal family has a direct relation to the Russian monarchy’s tragic fate, because British Ambassador George Buchanan did not allow the Russian imperial family to emigrate to Britain in 1917. 

The Extent of the Future Monarch’s Powers

Karpets said that a future Russian monarchy should be a sovereign autocracy, while Zubov said that the monarch’s powers should be symbolic and limited, as in the European monarchies.