Russia

How was Russia governed, how did political authority change & develop, and
how did this lead to the uprising?

Why was Russia so hard to govern?

1. Big country bordered by the most countries = danger of invasion (hostilities that Russia cannot
react to fast enough)
2. Large number of nationalities (more than 20) ; some hated Russian rule
3. Limited travel (to the North, water frozen  to the west, British territory  to south, Turkish
territory) = cannot defend/ attack
4. Different beliefs & cultures = clash with the way Russians wanted to do things
5. Different religions: worship conflict
6. Peoples (such as Poles) had been conquered by Russia = want their own state (Latvia, Lithuania,
Estonia, Finland)
7. People spread over distances thousands of miles apart = difficult for orders to obeyed country-
wide

How did the Tsar reinforce his authority?

1. Censorship
2. Secret Police: Okhrana (brutal & cruel  even more tense (people hate Tsar even more)
3. Orthodox church: Tsar was head of church (very influential). Official church doctrines stated that
Tsar was appointed by God = challenging Tsar was insult to God  worked against peasants
especially  pushing citizens towards secular rule (communism)
4. The Law: Anyone who opposed Tsar was exiled to Siberia
5. The Army: Enforced Tsarist power (Cossack cavalry regiments ruthlessly loyal to Tsar)

Off to a bad start: Khodynka Tragedy

1. Coronation ceremony, 500,000 people.
2. Stampede took place as they tried to collect free food, thinking cups contained gold
coins.
3. Stampede left 1400 dead, and nearly same number injured.
4. Nicholas did not visit injured; instead, held banquet at French Embassy. (He only cares
for “important people”, aristocracy)
5. Only visited them later (people thought he didn’t care about them)

Russification & Repression

1. Policy of “Russification” introduced to unite those living in Empire. Nicholas continued the
policies of his father = same unpopularity.

1. Policy under Alexander III requested by Pobedonostev

2. Belief that Russian culture was superior = make Russian language & religion central focus of culture
across Empire.

3. Russian government carried out attacks on Finish parliament

4. Repression of Ethnic minorities: Guriya 1892, Uzbek & Armenia 1886

5. Caused religious intolerance: Catholics & Muslims, anti-Semitic programmes & laws = mass

2. Nicholas supported “Black Hundreds” organisation (right wing + anti-Semitic) = attacked ethnic minorities & anyone
who opposed Tsar.

3. Okhrana (secret-police force of Russian Empire) used repressive force during open opposition.

E.g: In 1901, mounted Cossacks attacked crowd, killing 13 students = arrest of 1500 students

1. The peasants:

1. 84% of Russians classified as peasants, after being freed of slavery in 1861

2. Left to fend for themselves & heavily relied on agriculture

3. Had no knowledge of modern agricultural methods = widespread poverty & famines + poor
weather conditions make farming impossible.

4. Village housing very poor, used wooden ploughs & few tools, life expectancy was 40, too many
peasants for the land.

5. They were illiterate & uneducated = easy to control via religion + could not revolt as did not
have the intellectual power
6. Bore great resentment against nobility whom they perceived as continuing to exploit them
(e.g. redemption payments), and found it unfair that nobility owned most of land

7. Peasants were typically quite loyal to Tsar, however, began years of unrest: arson in countryside
“years of red cockerel”

8. Minister Stolypin dealt with unrest so brutally (exiling, shoorting, hanging) = decreased support
for Tsar

1. Increased education
4. 1890’s: literacy levels increased exposing more citizens to reformist ideas from the
West.
5. Updated & modernised Russia = more people coming in contact = increased change of
organised opposition because more educated workforce became more aware of their
rights

2. Nationalities:
6. Made up of 22 different nationalities

3. State of industry:
7. Growing Russian industry in 1900’s disadvantage peasant majority

8. Illegal trade unions set up = increased number of strikes (17,000 in 1894, 90,000 in 1904)

2. Reform (long term factor)

1. Reform in Russia had been fast & dramatic.

2. Growing urban working class + middle class wanted political representation to have some way
of voicing their opinions.

3. Urban class is 4% of population; lived & worked in terrible conditions + survived on starvation
wages

4. Crisis in agriculture (poor farming techniques + rapid population growth) = those in countryside
also rebellious due to famine, led to “jacqueries”

5. Both classes faced overcrowding & poor living conditions = breeding ground for opposition +
easier to coordinate rebellions (over 90,000 strikes in 1904)

6. This encouraged the growth of reformist groups:

1. Social democrats & revolutionaries

1. They focussed on peasants & middle class to help overthrow the Tsar

2. Reformers (Octobrists & Kadets)

1. Wanted to help Tsar rule country

How did these reformist groups cause chaos?

Committed many assassinations to overthrow Tsarist autocracy:

1. Tsar Alexander II (assassinated by “People’s Will” in 19 th century)

2. Vyacheslav von Plehve, Minister of Interior (assassinated in 1904)

3. Backwards, agrarian economy

1. Could not keep up with Western competitors = instability because Russia was always
concerned with fighting wars with the West
2. Rapid industrialization (known as “Great Spurt”)
3. 6% annual economic growth compared to 2% of Britain & France.
4. Negative impact on average worker (industrial employee worked 11 hour day, with 10
hours on Saturday)
5. Factory conditions = harsh & little concern shown for workers’ health + wellbeing.
 6. Tsar tried to gain money for Russian industrialization; but instead of taxing rich nobility,
he taxed peasants & working class = DISSATISFACTION & ANGER = Russia in crisis:
outbreak of violence
7. Attempts at forming trade unions rejected by factory owners & Tsar
8. This led to dissatisfaction at the Tsar regime = encouraged rebellions.

4. Russo-Japanese War:

4. War against Japan (short term factor)

1. 1904 gone to war with Japan

2. Thought it would be quick & moral boosting victory + anti-Japanese patriotism would distract
from internal opposition (this failed)

3. Russian fleet sailed 6000 miles to be defeated by smaller nation = embarrassed & ashamed.

4. Regime claimed Japanese were racially inferior = Tsarism damaging Russia’s standing in world
= falling further behind other powers (not just Britain & France) = felt vulnerable

5. Jan 1905: surrendered Port Arthur Naval base & defeated at Tsushima (Russian Baltic Fleet lost
25 of 35 warships), blown out of water in only few hours.

6. Lead to rising prices, shortages of food & fuel, factories closed

7. Treaty of Portsmouth formally ended war & Japan gained control of Port Arthur & South
Manchurian railway.

How did this lead to revolution?

1. Massive amounts of resources re-diverted to war effort = away from entertainment, consumer goods +
luxuries

2. Mass casualties: poor ranked soldiers dying (affects poor communities)

3. Made people want to change leadership that is leading this lost war (losing against Asiatic nation = lost
pride)

4. Raised taxes due to increase need of funds

5. New politician (short term factor)
5. Shortages of food & resources (because transportation is prioritised for war effort)
6. Appointment of new minister of interior, Svyatopol-Mirsky, led to growth in liberal ideas.

7. He indirectly encouraged concessions.

8. Bloody Sunday (rapid cause)

9. 22nd January 1905, 200,000 men women & children joined peaceful protest, calling for
reform & end to war, led by father Georgi Gapon
10. Aimed to deliver petition to Tsar Nicholas II, but he wasn’t there
11. Police & troops opened fire to disperse protestors.
12. 96 killed, opposition claims 4,000
13. People stopped seeing the Tsar as their “Little Father”, they began to hold him
accountable. Previously, they had blamed other politicians, or claimed that the Tsar did
not know of his peoples’ struggles.

EFFECTS OF UPRISING & EVENTS OF 1905 REVOLUTION

Bloody Sunday destroyed Russian peoples’ confidence in Tsar.
14. Action by workers & students
15. In February, 400,000 workers were on strike.

16. By April, illegal trade unions had formed in all major towns & cities = wave of strike
actions across country

17. May: First workers’ council set up = aimed to seize control of factories.

18. October: 2.5 mil workers on strike. Strike or railway men caused economy to be on
verge of collapse through paralysing whole Russian railway system.

19. Vladimir Lenin (& other Mensheviks) established St Petersburg soviet (Oct 1905) =
demanding better representation for workers.

20. Workers from key industries (lawyers, doctors, engineers) established Union of Unions
& demanded constituent assembly.

21. Major universities closed down when the whole student body complained about lack of
civil liberties by staging walkout.
22. Barricade set up in cities to defend workers from the army

23. Tsar’s uncle is assassinated

24. Action by peasants:

25. Thousands of local disturbances: peasants attacked, burned & seized the property of
landowning classes.

26. By April 1905, most of Russia’s “Black Earth” regions were in revolt

27. In august: organised Peasant’s Union was established (heavily influenced by Socialist
Revolutionaries ideas)

28. Action by national minorities:

29. National minorities seized opportunity of instability of Tsarist authority to gain greater freedom
& independence.

30. Major strikes in Polish cities (e.g. Warsaw & Lodz), which involved running battles between
Polish workers & Russian troops.

31. General strike of October spread to Finland = greater autonomy for the finns.

32. Estonia: “All Estonian Congress” demanded acceptance of Estonian language & greater
autonomy

33. Latvia: 1000 officials demanded greater powers of self-governance

34. Jews: formed “Union for the Attainment of Equal Rights for Jews”

35. Mutiny in Armed Forces

36. May: sailors at Kronstadt naval base rose up against officers

37. June: sailors on “Potemkin” battleship, based in black sea, mutinied & seized control of ship

38. Russian army remained largely loyal to Tsar (most were away fighting Japanese). However,
small mutinies within army units.

How did the Tsar survive?

 Tsarist ministers told Tsar that regime was to collapse. Tsar was only able to survive through
political change + revolutionary groups (Bolsheviks + Mensheviks) were divided = workers &
radical soldiers divided = weak & easy to deal with

Results of revolution: October Manifesto

Published on Oct 30th, 1905.
October Manifesto was huge step towards democracy because it granted:
39. Freedom of speech, religion, assembly, organisation

40. Proposed formation of an elected national assembly “Duma”, which would have the power to
approve or reject proposed legislations.

41. Participation in Duma will be granted to populations which, at present, are deprived of voting
powers.

The liberals were not pleased whilst associating with the revolutionaries; they wanted change
and reform. Therefore, they were ecstatic due to the manifesto, and disassociated from the
revolutionaries and Marxists.

What did the peasants gain?

7. Tsar promised to cancel redemption payments

8. This reduced levels of violence and opposition in countryside

9. The peasants were instinctively loyal to the Tsar & saw these decisions as a greater compromise than the uncertainty

What did this mean for the revolutionaries and Marxists?

42. Bolsheviks and Mensheviks (secular, communist organisation) were not impressed.
43. Trotsky described the manifesto as a “whip wrapped in the parchments of a
constitution”
44. Most of army remained loyal to Tsar & were returning from Japanese warfare = Tsar
could concentrate his forces to REPRESS the revolutionaries having bought off the
liberals & peasants (less people to fight off = Tsar has more control)

Opposition & support of the Manifesto

45. November: members of revolutionary groups & leaders of the union of peasants were
arrested.
46. This led to a last act of resistance (Bolsheviks organised uprising, easily crushed, 1000
rebels killed)
47. Tsar’s plan of concession & repression was working. THE OPPOSITION WAS
WEAKENING.
48. Union of Russian People (new right-wing nationalist political party formed after
manifesto, who were loyal to the Tsar & received government backing) began to further
eradicate the opposition through using the “Black Hundreds”.
49. This group were violent, anti-Semitic thugs who attacked opponents of Tsar (murdered
500 Jews, rebellious peasants, protesting students)

The Fundamental Laws:

50. The Tsar sees that the opposition has weakened and realizes that he can retract many of
his previous promises.
51. April 1906: publishing of “Fundamental Laws” which strengthened Nicholas’s power
within new constitution.
52. Retained autocratic control – could veto any law proposed by Council of Ministers.
53. Article 87: Tsar has power to rule by decree in “exceptional circumstances” when Duma
wasn’t sitting. (exceptional circumstances were decided upon by the Tsar = biased)
54. Council of Ministers only answerable to Tsar NOT the Duma = only Tsar could appoint &
dismiss ministers.

55. Author of Manifesto forced to resign & replaced by old-fashioned conservative (Ivan
Goremykin), who aimed to uphold as much of the Tsarist autocracy as he could.

56. The fundamental law was a fundamental shift away from the promised liberal reforms.