Russia in Revolution (1881-1917)

Alexander II
1. Assassinated in March 1881 by the Peoples Will in St.Petersburg
2. Emancipation (freeing) of the serfs in 1861
  1. Known as the 'Tsar Liberator'
Alexander III
1. Reactionary (against reform)
2. 1881-1894
3. Temporary regulations
  1. Provincial governors and officials to imprison people without trail
  2. Ban public meetings
  3. Exile thousands of offenders to Siberia
4. Relied on tutor Pobendonostev
  1. Nationality
    1. Russification
    2. 1885 Russian official language
    3. The rights of Russian majority were put before majority groups
    4. This INCREASED OPPOSITION
  2. Autocracy
    1. 1889 elected Justices of the peace were replaced by Land Captains
      1. They could overrule the zemstva (local council)
        In 1890 the Tsar restricted the right to vote for the zemstva in the countryside
  3. Orthodoxy
    1. Rights and privileges of the Russian Orthodox Church were championed above those of other beliefs
    2. Primary schools came under Church control
5. Nikolai Bunge 1881-1887
  1. Created peasant land banks
    1. However too small to be effective
6. Ivan Vyshnegradsky 1887-1892
  1. To raise money for industrialisation
    1. encouraged foreign investment
    2. increased taxes
  2. Foreigners were enticed to invest with incentives
    1. helped expansion of railway networks
    2. growth of heavy industry in ukraine
    3. oil production in Baku
  3. Exported grain to finance his policies, despite the major famine
7. Sergei Witte 1892-1903
  1. Developed a policy of state intervention
  2. Foreign investment
    1. 1897 put the rouble on the gold standard-guaranteeing the currency's value
      1. This encouraged western countries (especially France and Belgium) to invest heavily in Russian industry
    2. Increased from 200m roubles in 1890 to 900m roubles in 1900
  3. Railways
    1. Trans-Siberian railway 1891
      1. Opened up the eastern empire and advanced the growth of new towns and cities
    2. A network of railways was planned for western Russia to link new industrial centres
    3. Linked the oil refineries of Baku to the Black Sea port of Batum
      1. This helped stimulate the growth of iron and coal industries
  4. Successes
    1. Heavy industry meant massive increases in production, especially coal and iron
    2. Output from the Baku oil refineries increased tenfold 1883-1900
    3. Economy grew by 8% a year in the 1890s
  5. Failures
    1. By 1914 trans-siberian only partially finished and didnt increase migration that much
    2. Raised taxes in order to provide money for industrail developments
      1. They squeezed the peasants, making them less likely to spend on consumer goods
    3. The government ran up enormous debts
    4. State control of industry meant that the middle class grew slowly in the years before 1914
    5. Witte didn't improve the state of agriculture industry- even though taxes on peasants accounded for 80% of the governments income
Opposition to Tsardom
1. Industrialisation didn't make for a happy society
  1. The gap between the rich and the poor increased
    1. Society became divided between the countryside and the town
2. Peasants
  1. Most were still paying redemption payments
  2. The nobles kept the best land for themselves-leaving the peasants with poor soil
  3. Farming practices hadn't evolved much since the Middle Ages e.g Old fashioned crop rotation
  4. Couldn't leave their village without the permission of the mir
    1. So weren't really free
  5. Many peasants migrated to towns to earn extra money when they weren't needed for sowing and harvesting
  6. Unrest among the peasants grew as their needs were put after the need to industrialise
  7. Peasants resented the higher taxes and were bitter about the lack of government support during the famine
3. Urban workers
  1. Earned barely enough to survive from one week to the next
  2. Factory hours were not regulated by the state until Witte introduced an 11 1/2 hour working day in 1897. However, this law was often ignored
  3. Factories were meant to be inspected regularly, but safety rules weren't usually followed
  4. Rapid growth of towns meant that workers lived in overcrowded and insanitary tenements
  5. Health and education services were poor, creating more social inequality
  6. Life expectancy were under 30 years
  7. Industrial labourers suffered the most under Witte's industrialisation of Russia
    1. They weren't allowed to form a trade union and there were no legal political parties to represent their needs
    2. Although town dwellers only accounted for 20% of the population, they became an increasingly radical force
4. Liberals
  1. Economic reforms led to the growth of a new, educated middle class
  2. They weren't completely opposed to Tsarism, but they wanted the autocracy of the Tsars to be replaced with a constitutional government
    1. Nicholas II said that a constitutional government was a 'senseless dream'
  3. In 1903 liberals formed the league of Liberation, which wanted a shorter working day, more land for the peasants, and a elected parliament
5. Socialist Revolutionaries
  1. SRs grew out of earlier groups known as Populists
  2. They believed revolution would begin in the countryside
    1. They tried unsuccessfully to convert peasants into revolutionaries
  3. They aimed to: Redistribute land to the peasants, improve living and working conditions in towns and overthrow Tsarism by force
  4. The SRs used terrorism to advance their political aims. Between 1901 and 1905 SR terrorists assassinated several leading politicians, including the Tsar's uncle, Governor of Moscow
6. Social Democrats
  1. Followed the political beliefs of Karl Marx
    1. Tsar feared Marxism due to its revolutionary principles
  2. Later split and became the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks
7. Didn't get far
  1. Too small and ineffective
  2. Major divisions between parties
  3. Faced constant harassment and violence from the okhrana
1905 Revolution
1. Long term causes
  1. Towns and cities didn't have good sanitation or water supplies
  2. Pressure on food supplies and famine
  3. High taxes and redemption payments=poor peasants
  4. Political parties growing
  5. Committed to autocracy
2. Short term causes
  1. Bloody Sunday shocked many Russians and badly damaged the Tsars prestige
    1. Workers went on strikes in protest at the massacre
      1. Affected railways, food couldn't be delivered
    2. Peasants revolted-illegally taking land from the owners
  2. Humiliating defeats in Russo-Japanese war esp. Port Arthur Jan 1905
3. October Manifesto
  1. Freedom of speech, religion and press
  2. An elected Duma, laws issued by the Tsar needed approval of the Duma
  3. In November a 2nd Manifesto was published
    1. improve land bank
    2. abolish redemption payments
4. Tsar survived?
  1. Army and police loyal
  2. No effective opposition
  3. Many revolutionary leaders in exile
The Dumas 1906-1917
1. Fundamental law March 1906
  1. Tsar had supreme autocratic power
  2. Tsar could govern by decree (Article 87)
  3. Laws proposed by the Duma had to be approved by the council of state and tsar
  4. Government ministers were appointed by the tsar
2. 1st Duma April-June 1906
  1. Trudoviks-represented peasants and workers
  2. Octobrists- moderate, loyal to the tsar
  3. Progressives-new party of businessmen
  4. Kadets-supported by intellectuals and professionals
  5. Demands: all male adults vote, land reforms to benefit peasants, political prisoners released, ministers answerable to Duma
    1. demands refused and duma dissolved after 72 days
      1. deputies gathered in Vyborg and appealed to Russian people to protest dissolution
3. 2nd Duma
  1. no. of Kadets dropped
  2. SRs, Bolsheviks and Mensheviks joined
  3. passed land reforms by Stolypin
  4. Constant uproar
    1. lasted 4 months
4. 3rd Duma Nov 1907-June 1912
  1. Duma of lords and lackeys-peasants lost the vote
  2. Octobrists largest party present
    1. right wing- prepared to work with government
  3. further land reforms
  4. Universal health insurance
  5. Land Captains replaced by Justices of the peace
  6. Universal primary education
5. 4th Duma Nov 1912-Feb 1917
  1. Dominated by Octobrists and other right-wing parties
  2. Worked with the government until war in Aug 1914-suspended
Stolypin Prime Minister 1906-1911
1. Proposed agricultural reforms
  1. Increase prosperity of peasants to developed a class of well-off agricultural workers
  2. Increase crop yield
  3. Have fewer famines
  4. Make peasants more content so less likely to rebel against autocracy
2. Land Reforms
  1. each peasant unconditional right to land
  2. Peasants could have their own land holding without interference
  3. agricultural education to train peasants
  4. sold crown land to land banks
3. Emigration to Siberia
  1. rural areas overcrowded
  2. offered incentives to peasants who moved e.g cheaper land
  3. 3 million peasants relocated 1908-1913
4. Other Reforms
  1. Redemption payments ended 1907
  2. Internal passports abolished
  3. Land captains replaced by Justices of the Peace
5. Failures
  1. Few peasants could afford to separate from the mir
  2. still millions of hectares owned by the Tsar
  3. Little change in farming technique and not much increase in output
WW1
1. Armed Forces
  1. enthusiasm shattered by 2 early defeats at Tannenburg and Masurian Lakes
  2. poor conditions, inefficient food supplies
  3. Military hospitals filthy
2. Transport
  1. railways transported troops and supplies
  2. railways were overloaded in peacetime, by 1916 the system had collapsed
  3. food shortages in 1916
3. Economy
  1. 1914- Gold standard abandoned
    1. Led to inflation
  2. Peasants hoarded grain
4. Nicholas and Alexandra
  1. Sept 1915 appointed himself commander in chief and left Alex in charge
  2. Alex constantly changing ministers causing instability in the govt
5. Political Opposition
  1. 1914 Duma suspended
    1. 1915 recall Duma
      1. Had same demands as first Duma, Nicholas rejected
        Progressive Bloc formed, continued to press changes in the running war
  2. Most political parties supported the war
  3. Zemgor formed to help with war effort
    1. Provided supplies for hospitals and helped organise smaller industries
    2. Nicholas was suspicious and refused to work with it

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