Union of the Russian People

The Union of the Russian People (URP) (; СРН/SRN) is a loyalist far-right nationalist political party, the most important among Black-Hundredist monarchist political organizations in the Russian Empire between 1905 and 1917. Since 2005, organizational cells of the Union have been undergoing a revival in Russia and Ukraine. Founded in October 1905, its aim was to rally the people behind 'Great Russian nationalism' and the Tsar, espousing anti-socialist, anti-liberal, and above all antisemitic views. By 1906 it had over 300,000 members. Its paramilitary armed bands, called the Black Hundreds, fought revolutionaries violently in the streets. Its leaders organised a series of political assassinations of deputies and other representatives of parties which supported the Russian Revolution of 1905. The Union was dissolved in 1917 in the wake of the Revolution, and its leader, Alexander Dubrovin placed under arrest. Some modern academic researchers view the Union of the Russian People as an early example of fascism.