Opposition to Tsarism

Opposition to Tsarism

1. The Social Revolutionaries

   • Intention: to widen the concept of 'The People'
   • Victor Chernov was leader
   • wanted revolution and to get rid of autocracy
   • Anarchists
     • wanted to continue to use terrorism to enforce change
     • they were responsible for over 2000 political assassinations
       • they even assassinated Tsar Nicholas' Uncle - the Grand Duke of Sergei
       • Thee assassinations were spectacular successes
       • they did not bring out the desired link with the urban workers
     • between 1901-05 they dominated the party
   • Revolutionaries
     • willing to cooperate with Tsar and other parties
     • they specifically wanted to improve conditions for workers and peasants

2. The Social Democrats

   • The All-Russian Democrats were formed in 1898
   • It was a marxist party accepting the theories of Karl Marx
     • Karl Marx was a German philosopher
   • George Plekhanov was the leader
     • he promoted the idea of proletarian revolution
     • he earned the title of "The Father of Russian Marxism"
   • In 1903 the party split up into two groups
     • Bolsheviks
       • Vladmir Lenin
         • Lenin believed that the way forward could be effectively organised only by a dedicated group of professional revolutionaries
         • he believed revolution had to be led by the revolutionary intelligentsia
       • The bourgeouis and proletarian stages could be telescoped into one
         • This way the route to communism could take place faster
       • The party was tight-knit and membership was limited
       • Authority was exercised through the Central Committee of the party
       • Refused to cooperate with any other parties
       • wanted to make working conditions and conditions of the peasants worse
         • this way the peasants could be radicalized easily
       • educated the peasants to radicalize them
       • turned the workers into revolutionaries
     • Mensheviks
       • Juli Martov
       • Russia was not ready for a proletarian revoluion
         • the bourgeois stage had to occur first
           • capitalism had to come first before communism
       • membership was open to all revoluionaries
       • open democratic discussion
       • decisions were made through voting
       • welcomed cooperation and alliance with all revoltionar and bourgeois liberal parties
       • promoted support for trade unions and better wages for workers

3. The Liberals

   • wanted political/social change
   • preferred reform over revolution
   • liberals emerged due to the small middle-class in the countryside
   • It was a liberal group founded in St Petersburg in 1904
   • originally it wanted the replacement of absolute monarchy for a constitutional monarchy
   • the liberals were soon joined by radical students and they began to meet in secret in Russia
     • The Kadets
       • The League of Liberation merged with the Union of Zemstvo-Constitutionalists
       • consisted of: academics, landlords and small entrepreneurs
       • they wanted Russia to develop a constitutional monarchy
         • with this the powers of the monarchy would be restricted by a democratically elected assembly - just like Britain's political system
           • the assembly would settle Russia's outstanding problems
       • In 1905 they demanded:
         • full equality
         • civil rights
         • ending of censorship
         • recognition of trade unions
         • the right to strike
         • free universal education
   • Viktor Chernov

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