Deputy of the Fourth State Duma from Amur Oblast A.I. Ryslev in 1917

This article is devoted to Aristarkh I. Ryslev, a deputy of the Fourth State Duma from Amur Oblast. There are no scholarly studies dedicated to his Duma activities during 1917. To address this gap, the author refers to the clerical documents preserved in Fonds 1278 of the Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA), journalistic writings, personal documents, and materials from the periodical press, primarily those published in the city of Blagoveshchensk (Amur Oblast). In the early days of the February Revolution, Ryslev witnessed the unfolding events as an observer in the streets of Petrograd and on February 27 he joined the private meeting of State Duma members in the semicircular hall of the Tauride Palace to discuss the situation in the capital. Subsequently, on assignments from the Provisional Committee of the State Duma (PCSD) and the Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies, he visited military units stationed in Petrograd in order “to clarify and resolve conflicts.” He was later sent to Arkhangelsk to greet the troops. On March 16, the PCSD sent him to Amur Oblast “for communication with military units and the population.” Upon arrival in Blagoveshchensk, he became involved in organizing local authority. During the July Political Crisis, he sided with the Provisional Government and called for urged supporting it in the struggle against the Leninists. After being elected a zemstvo member, he joined the Amur Oblast Zemstvo Assembly, which condemned the Bolshevik seizure of power and soon declared that it was assuming full authority. While in Amur Oblast, Ryslev put into practice his views on governance, which had taken shape during his time in the Siberian Parliamentary Group. In the spring of 1917, he advocated for the decentralization of power even at the local level, and in the autumn and winter of the same year, he participated in the decision of the Amur Oblast Zemstvo to assume full authority. A. Ryslev declined the post of commissar of Amur Oblast and refused to allow his candidacy to be put forward for election to the Constituent Assembly. These refusals to accept higher office clearly indicate his desire to devote himself exclusively to local matters, which he did throughout his time in Amur Oblast in 1917.

Artleben, M.N. Arkhangel'sk v dni gosudarstvennogo perevorota [Arkhangelsk during the days of the coup d'état]. Arkhangelsk: Gubernskaya tipografiya, 1917. (In Russian)
Chernikova, L.P. “Russkii vostokoved Vyacheslav Pentkovskii (Penkotsi)” [Russian orientalist Vyacheslav Pentkovskii (Penkotsi)]. Obshchestvo i gosudarstvo v Kitae, vol. 49, no. 3 (2019): 428–61. EDN: HFEBFB (In Russian)
Demin, V.A. “Trudovaya gruppa” [The Labor Group]. Gosudarstvennaya duma Rossiiskoi imperii: 1906–1917. Entsiklopediya [State Duma of the Russian Empire: 1906–1917. An encyclopedia], edited by V.V. Shelokhaev, 625–29. Moscow: Rossiiskaya politicheskaya entsiklopediya (ROSSPEN), 2008. (In Russian)
Kuz'min, V.L. “Dal'nevostochnye organizatsii ehserov v 1917 g.” [Far eastern organizations of socialist revolutionaries in 1917]. Rossiya i ATR, no. 3 (97) (2017): 48–60. EDN: ZFTZNH (In Russian)
Lyandres, S. “On the Problem of ‘Indecisiveness’ among Duma Leaders during the February Revolution: The Imperial Decree of Prorogation and Decision to Convene the Private Meeting of February 27, 1917.” The Soviet and Post-Soviet Review, vol. 24, no. 1–2 (1997): 115–29.
Malyshev, V.P. Bor'ba za vlast' Sovetov na Amure [Struggle for Soviet power on the Amur]. Blagoveshchensk: Amurskoe knizhnoe izdatel'stvo, 1961. (In Russian)
Mel'nikov, A.V. “27 fevralya 1917 goda v Petrograde. K voprosu o prisoedinenii k revolyutsii zapasnykh batal'onov leib-gvardii polkov” [February 27, 1917 in Petrograd. More on the Reserve Battalions of the Guards Regiments joining the revolution]. In Gertsenovskie chteniya 2004. Aktual'nye problemy sotsial'nykh nauk: sbornik nauchnykh statei [Herzen Readings 2004. Current Problems of Social Sciences: A Collection of Scholarly Articles], edited by V.V. Barabanov, 99–102. St Petersburg: RGPU im. A.I. Gertsena, 2004. (In Russian)
Mel'nikov, A.V. “K probleme vyyavleniya personal'nogo sostava zhertv Fevral'skoi revolyutsii v Petrograde” [More on identifying the personal composition of victims of the February Revolution in Petrograd]. In 90 let Fevral'skoi revolyutsii v Rossii: sbornik nauchnykh statei [90 years of the February Revolution in Russia: A Collection of scientific papers], compiled by A.B. Nikolaev, 43–58. St Petersburg: RGPU im. A.I. Gertsena, 2007. EDN: UFJMPR (In Russian)
Nikolaev, A.B. “Deputat IV Gosudarstvennoi dumy A.I. Ryslev o Fevral'skoi revolyutsii 1917 goda v Petrograde” [Deputy of the Fourth State Duma A.I. Ryslev on the February Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd]. In Tavricheskie chteniya 2022. Aktual'nye problemy parlamentarizma: istoriya i sovremennost': materialy Vserossiiskoi nauchnoi konferentsii s mezhdunarodnym uchastiem (Sankt-Peterburg, 5–6 dekabrya 2022 g.): sbornik nauchnykh statei [Tauride Readings 2022. Current problems of parliamentarianism: History and modernity: Proceedings of the All‑Russian Scientific Conference with international participation (St Petersburg, December 5–6, 2022): A collection of scientific papers], 2 pts., edited by A.B. Nikolaev. Pt. 1, 208–35. St Petersburg: Asterion, 2023. (In Russian)
Nikolaev, A.B. Dumskaya revolyutsiya: 27 fevralya – 3 marta 1917 goda [The Duma Revolution: February 27 – March 3, 1917]. 2 vols. St Petersburg: Izdatel'stvo RGPU im. A.I. Gertsena, 2017. (In Russian)
Nikolaev, A.B. “Komissary Vremennogo komiteta Gosudarstvennoi dumy (fevral'–mart 1917 g.): personal'nyi sostav” [Commissars of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma (February – March 1917): Personal composition]. In Iz glubiny vremen. Al'manakh [From the depths of time. An almanac], edited by A.V. Ostrovskii et al., iss. 5, 46–74. St Petersburg: Sankt-Peterburgskii gosudarstvennyi universitet telekommunikatsii im. M.A. Bonch-Bruevicha, 1995. EDN: SCHAMZ (In Russian)
Nikolaev, A.B. “Komissary Vremennogo komiteta Gosudarstvennoi dumy v aprele 1917 g.: personal'nyi sostav” [Commissars of the Provisional Committee of the State Duma in April 1917: Personal Composition]. In Iz glubiny vremen. Al'manakh [From the depths of time. An almanac], edited by A.V. Ostrovskii et al., iss. 8, 26–46. St Petersburg: Sankt-Peterburgskii gosudarstvennyi universitet telekommunikatsii im. M.A. Bonch-Bruevicha, 1997. EDN: TBMUCZ (In Russian)
Nikolaev, A.B. “Lidery Fevral'skoi revolyutsii 1917 goda: pochemu M.V. Rodzyanko?” [Leaders of the February Revolution of 1917: Why M.V. Rodzyanko?]. Journal of Modern Russian History and Historiography, vol. 13, iss. 1 (2020): 46–112. https://doi.org/10.30965/22102388-01301003; EDN: ELDQEON (In Russian)
Nikolaev, A.B. “Otrezannye golovy Fevral'skoi revolyutsii” [The severed heads of the February Revolution]. In 90 let Fevral'skoi revolyutsii v Rossii: sbornik nauchnykh statei [90 years of the February Revolution in Russia: A collection of scientific papers], compiled by A.B. Nikolaev, 33–42. St Petersburg: RGPU im. A.I. Gertsena, 2007. EDN: SNLBAV (In Russian)
Nikolaev, A.B. “Ryslev, Aristarkh Ivanovich.” In Gosudarstvennaya duma Rossiiskoi imperii: 1906–1917: Ehntsiklopediya [The State Duma of the Russian Empire: 1906–1917: An encyclopedia], edited by V.V. Shelokhaev, 540. Moscow: Rossiiskaya politicheskaya ehntsiklopediya (ROSSPEHN), 2008. EDN: UWARJF (In Russian)
Ovsyankin, E.I. Na izlome istorii. Sobytiya na Severe v 1917–1920 gg. Mify i real'nost' [At the turning point of History. The events in the North in 1917–1920. Myths and reality]. Arkhangelsk: Arkhkonsalt, 2007. (In Russian)
Parshin, E. “Neizvestnye svobodnentsam imena deputatov Gosdumy tsarskoi Rossii iz Alekseevska i Surazhevki” [Names of State Duma Deputies of Tsarist Russia from Alekseevsk and Surazhevka unknown to the residents of Svobodny]. gzt-sv.ru. Accessed August 19, 2025. https://www.gzt-sv.ru/news/19543-neizvestnye-svobodnencam-imena-deputatov-gosdumy?ysclid=
ll6gxwlqnl104490526 (In Russian)
Pushkarev, V.A. Predstavitel'naya vlast' v Priamur'e: vchera, segodnya, zavtra [Representative power in the Amur region: Yesterday, today, tomorrow]. Blagoveshchensk: RIO, 2019. EDN: UOROQC (In Russian)
Sablin, I. “Dal'nevostochnaya respublika: ot idei do likvidatsii” [The Far Eastern Republic: From idea to liquidation], translated from English by A.Yu. Tereshchenko. Moscow: Novoe literaturnoe obozrenie, 2020. (In Russian)
Troitskaya, N.A. “Komissar Vremennogo pravitel'stva na Dal'nem Vostoke: razmyshleniya nad dokumentami” [The commissar of the Provisional Government in the Russian Far East: Reflections on the archival documents]. Gumanitarnye issledovaniya v Vostochnoi Sibiri i na Dal'nem Vostoke, no. 4 (42) (2017): 65–74. https://doi.org/10.24866/1997-2857/2017-4/65-74; EDN: ZWYYWR (In Russian)
Troshina, T.I. “Arkhangel'skii garnizon v 1917 godu” [The Arkhangelsk garrison in 1917]. Vestnik Severnogo (Arkticheskogo) federal'nogo universiteta. Seriya: Gumanitarnye i sotsial'nye nauki, no. 2 (2020): 16–25. https://doi.org/10.37482/2227-6564-V002; EDN: STJEUG (In Russian)
Tsiunchuk, R.A. “Sibirskaya gruppa” [The Siberian Group]. In Gosudarstvennaya duma Rossiiskoi imperii: 1906–1917. Ehntsiklopediya [State Duma of the Russian Empire: 1906–1917. An encyclopedia], edited by V.V. Shelokhaev, 556–57. Moscow: Rossiiskaya politicheskaya entsiklopediya (ROSSPEN), 2008. (In Russian)