The major political parties which had been recognised were the Social Revolutionaries and Social Democrats, Constitutional Democrats, Octobrists, and the Union of Russian People.
In 1900, Populist groups united to form the Social Revolutionaries. They are one of the two main branches of Russian Revolutionaries. The populists were supported mainly by peasantry and followed a programme based on rural socialism. They divided into different groups which included the ‘Black Partition’ and the ‘Peoples will’.
The Constitutional Democrats or the Cadets, is a party which was legalised in 1905-06 and adopted a programme based on liberal democracy. They were not as extreme as the Populists or the Marxists, and they were led by ‘Paul N. Miliyukov’. It aimed for full parliamentary sovereignty based on universal suffrage and full guarantees of civil rights.
The Octobrists were a moderate conservative party in Russia. It took its stand on the principles of the October Manifesto, and at first strongly supported the Tsarist system. But from 1915 some Octobrists joined the Duma in protest against arbitrary despotism.
Although a new legislature was established in the form of the Imperial Council and the State Duma, the Tsar retained the power to approve, to declare war and maintain peace. It was clear that the Tsar was making full use of the ’supreme autocratic power’ given to him. There were 4 Dumas which were recognised throughout the course of the Constitutional Experiment. The first Duma operated in 1906, the second Duma operated in 1907. The third Duma from 1907-1912, and the fourth and last Duma lasted from 1912 – 1917, just before the beginning of the 1st World War. All four Dumas were dissolved for questioning government policy, and the obstructive policy of the Tsar led to their closing and frustration of their members.
The constitutional experiment failed due to three main reasons. First, the obstructive policy of the Tsar; second, the frustration of the members of the Duma; and lastly, the effect of military defeat. After the revolution, the Tsar issued the October Manifesto, which was a precursor of the first ever Russian Constitution. The manifesto and the constitution resulted in insignificant democratization as the Tsar continued to exercise veto power over the Duma, which he dissolved and reformed several times. The Tsar refused to give up his power and exercised authority even after he had promised against in the manifesto. This attitude of the Tsar, led to the frustration of the members of the Duma, which also became one of the factors which caused the experiment to fail.
By closing the first and second Dumas, the Tsar alienated the left-wing Mensheviks and also the constitutional democrats, and the Octobrists became totally disillusioned to join the Progressive Bloc in the Duma. The members of the Duma and all other public representatives were now frustrated and they united themselves and together condemned the Tsar. Thus, by now Tsar had little or no support or loyalty left, even from the higher level of authoritative persons. This was one of the biggest faults of the Tsar, as it eventually cost him his entire empire, and was the key factor in his abdication, and also one of the causes of the failure of the Constitutional Experiment.
The fourth Duma was closed in 1917, just before the starting of the First World War. Russia’s entry in the 1st World War had a major impact. The entire political system was placed under tremendous amount of pressure through the threat of military defeat. The difficulties started when Nicholas II decided to lead the Russian army personally. This left a political vacuum in the centre of the administration at Petrograd. This was opposed by the Duma, which started a Progressive Bloc from the participation of the Constitutional Democrats and Octobrists. The Tsar responded by increasing dictatorship, and later the bureaucracy was also alienated. This increased the resentment of the Duma to a large extent, and since the Provisional Government did not pay much attention to the urgent land reforms and establishment of a constituent assembly as they were too determined to win the war, this paved the way for the Revolution in 1917 and eventually the Tsar was forced to abdicate.
The failure of the Constitutional Experiment was more or less predictable, given the behaviour and actions of the Tsar. The wrong-doings of the Tsar was bound to provoke the people who were actually interested in giving the Duma a meaningful role and saving the constitution. And it was the Duma eventually that ended the Experiment. Therefore the first two factors were a major reason for the failure, and the third factor only accompanied the other two and acted as a catalyst. If the Tsar had succeeded in gaining victory in the War, he would have been easily able to override the Duma, but his defeat enabled the Duma to take power and force the Tsar to abdicate.