The main content of crowd theories, which were developed by V. M. Bekhterev (1921) in the framework of collective reflexology, L. N. Voytolovski (1925) in the confines of the emotive-centered approach, V. A. Wagner (1929) in the context of the paradigm of instinctive behavior, is characterized. Some changes in these theories made by scientists under the influence of the turbulent events of Russian history, the contemporaries of which they became, are noted. It is emphasized that in the 20s of the last century the Russian psychology of the crowd had great scientific potential, which was not developed in the conditions of Soviet power. It is stated that some provisions of the theories of the crowd proposed by V. M. Bekhterev, L. N. Voitolovsky and V. A. Wagner, can be used in the development of a systematic approach to the study of spontaneous social groups