● THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE

● the nationalities: some nationalities for example (cossacks) were loyal to the tzar
,however others hated russian rules.
○ Jews were seen as a separate group(suffer radical prejudice and attacks
called pogroms encouraged by the government.)
● peasants and countryside:they represented 80% of russian society.Peasants lived
in communes or mir ruled by a land capitan(local noble) in each of them who dealt
with crimes in peasants daily life.
○ prosperous farmers:kulaks
○ living and working conditions were dreadful
○ no education
○ hunger and disease
 ○ strictly controlled
● industrial workers and cities: in 19th century russia had been keen to become an
industrial power
○ oil and coal production
○ some peasants leave the countryside to work at industries
○ they were jammed intro slum housing in the cities.especially
ST.PETERSBURG AND MOSCOW.
○ LOW PAY AND BAD WORKING CONDITIONS: but trade unions were illegal
so there was no opportunity for protest.
● the capitalist: as result from industrialization.
○ the capitalist increased the size of russia’s middle class especially in towns
■ businessman
■ land owners
■ industrialists
■ bankers
■ traders

Their main concern is the management of the economy and controlling the workforce.
RUSSO-JAPANESE WAR

when?

1904/1905

who?

RUSSIA VS JAPAN

Why?

tensions between Russia and Japan over Manchuria and Korea.

How did it start?

>>Japanese destroyers made a surprise attack on Russian vessels at Port

Arthur in Manchuria on the night of 8–9 February 1904.

>>Talks broke down between these powers.

>>Japan declared war after this attack.

5 key causes of the Russo-Japanese War:

● Russia wanted to expand its territory in China in an area called Manchuria. This
brought Russia into conflict with Japan, which was trying to do the same.
● Tsar Nicholas II wanted a 'short, swift victorious' war to reduce opposition at home.
● Russia needed ports that could be used all year as its existing ports froze over in
winter.
● The Russians consider Japan as an inferior power.
● Russia was considering expanding into Manchuria. The Japanese saw that as a
threat to their position in Korea.

CHARACTERISTICS OF EACH COUNTRY

RUSSIA JAPAN

● Underestimation of Japanese ● Japan's readiness, skill and spirit

strength ● Japanese army and navy were far
● Inadequate military planning better prepared and equipped than
● Poor strategy the Russian forces
RESULTS

After 18 months of intense warfare in which 200,000 men died, Japan came out victorious
and this started a period of territorial extension that would last all the way to World War II.

SIGNIFICANCE IN RUSSIA

>>the tzar was blamed for humiliation.

>>it was a key trigger of the 1905 revolution & bloody sunday.

BLOODY SUNDAY

when?

on Sunday,22 January 1905

what?

>>Russian workers made astrike at Winter Palace.

>>Presenting a petition asking and demanding some issues they wanted to

improve.

>>Peaceful and patriotic demonstration

who?

● Led by Father Gapon.

>>Developed great sympathy for the working class.

>>Devoted most of his life to improving the lives and working conditions of
Russian factory workers.

THE PETITION

● THEIR DEMANDS
○ Improved working conditions
○ Less working hours
○ Higher wages
○ End Russo-Japanese war
○ Universal suffrage
● COMPLAINS
○ Treated as animals
○ No rights
○ Not recognized as human beings
○ Poverty
○ Ignorance
THE MASSACRE

>>The Imperial Guards began their attacks without warning.

>>The Tsar himself was not in the palace,he had left to St.Petersburg when first
signs of danger appeared.

>>About 200,000 people died, some shot, some trampled.

THE AFTERMATH

● It was a decisive day,the tzar finally lost the respect of ordinary people at russia.
● Bloody Sunday sparked a wave of strikes and disturbances.
● sparked widespread political unrest.

How did the tsar survive?

TSARISM IN DANGER

it seemed like the tzar might lose control over russia.

INSTABILITY OF THE REGIME

The situation at the end of SEPTEMBER was WORSE than ever.

○ Massive popular discontent

○ Worker’s demonstrations

○ Peasant disturbances → attacking the landlords and seizing lands

○ Strikes

○ The Sailors on Battleship Potemkin mutined.

○ Nationalist risings

○ Economic problems

■ unemployment and intensification of poverty

○ Unpopular war with Japan (humiliating defeat)

Many groups have jointed the workers demanding changes:

● liberals and middle class who wanted civil rights and a say in the government
● students who wanted freedom in the universities
● the nationalities demanding independence
however they did not combine to become more powerful.

At september a GENERAL STRIKE began which paralyzed Russian industry.

THE OCTOBER MANIFESTO

what?

The October Manifesto refers to a historical document issued by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
on October 17, 1905, in response to the 1905 Russian Revolution.

The manifesto promised several key reforms:

1. to guarantee civil liberties

2. The right to free speech
3. The right to form political parties
4. to create a legislative body (the DUMA)

However, despite the initial optimism surrounding the October Manifesto, the implementation
of the reforms proved challenging. The tsarist government often hindered the functioning of
the State Duma, leading to frustration among the political parties and revolutionary groups.
Over time, the regime began to backtrack on its promises, ending with the faith of the people
in the tsar's commitment to genuine reform.

THE ARMY RESTORES TSARIST RULE

The tzar made peace with Japan,and brought its troops back to put down the trouble at
home.To ensure their loyalty he promised them better pay and conditions.

● In DECEMBER 1905 the leaders of St. Petersburg and Moscow soviets were
arrested.
● In the countryside it took much of 1906 to bring peasants unrest under control.The
tzar promised financial help by setting up a PEASANTS-BANK to help them buy
lands.However troops were sent to execute/imprison huge numbers of peasants.

THE TROUBLE YEARS 1905-1914

As we can see the tzar survived to the 1905 revolution as a consequence of facing a set of
troubles from years and years.Nicholas needed to reform Russia and satisfy at least some of
the discontented groups after the revolution, by this he create the DUMA.

DUMA: Russian parliment establish after 1905 revolution.

First Duma (April-July 1906) **

○ Second Duma (February-June 1907) **

○ Third Duma (1907-1912)

○ Fourth Duma (1912-1917)

THE FIRST DUMA, 27 APRIL–8 JULY 1906:

the duma was strongly anti-government.Their main demand was land reform: taking
more land from the landlords.These demands were far too radical for the tsarist
government, but the duma deputies were not interested in any sort of compromise. So
the tsar dissolved the First Duma after just 10 weeks. Liberals were extremely
disappointed by this speedy return to autocracy. There was a strong increase in liberal
opposition to the government.

THE SECOND DUMA, FEBRUARY–JUNE 1907 :

This time, the Socialist Revolutionary Party (the SRs) and the Social Democratic Party
(RSDP) took part in the elections.The new prime minister, Pyotr Stolypin, soon
realised that the Second Duma was even more of a threat to tsarism than the First
Duma, and it was dissolved in June 1907. For the revolutionary parties, it became
clear that they would not achieve their aims through elections.
THE THIRD AND FOURTH DUMAS, NOVEMBER 1907–FEBRUARY 1917 :

Stolypin organised a change in the election rules so that more conservative deputies,
rather than reformers, were elected to the Third Duma.Stolypin’s change meant that
the Octobrists and other conservative deputies controlled 287 of the 443 duma seats.
The liberals were very shocked that the government would act in such a dishonest
way in order to control a duma.Although opposition parties continued to make
speeches in the duma criticising government actions, the conservatives always made
sure government policies got duma support.

The Third Duma lasted its full 5-year term; the government did not need to close it
down because it could be relied on to support the tsar’s regime. The Fourth Duma,
dominated also by conservatives, was similar to the Third Duma, except this time the
right-wing, nationalist parties were even stronger. Again, opposition to the government
was too weak to make an impact on laws or policies. The Fourth Duma lasted until
February 1917.

Characteristics

Representation of different parties (These Dumas didn’t suit the government)

● The first two tries were too radical.

● The third Duma was elected by the richest people in Russia in 1907.

NICHOLAS’ ATTITUDE TO THE DUMA

Nicholas hated the idea of limiting his sacred autocratic powers in any way, and
believed deeply that the majority of the Russian people wanted him to remain as their
absolute ruler. An elected duma could only be acceptable to the tsar if the duma could
be counted on to support the tsar and his government.

STOLYPIN:

new Prime Minister in 1906

Stolypin techniques

a “carrot” → a reward—for good behavior

a “stick” → a negative consequence for poor behavior

Stolypin’s approach

The stick:
❏ He came down hard on strikers, protesters and revolutionaries. He killed or exile
them

❏ This method ended the opposition to the regime in the countryside, but it came
back in 1914.

The carrot

❏ Since he knew peasants wanted land, he allowed some of them (kulaks to buy
land, after this production significantly increased)

❏ but they still lived in bad conditions, being discontent.

STOLYPIN’S REFORMS

He also tried to improve Russia's industry

The economy of it grew between 1908-1911. All the profits were given to the
capitalists, while workers wages remained low and food and houses prices raised, so
workers living and working conditions didn't really improved.

Why were Stolypin's land reforms introduced?

❏ To win the support of the peasants and prevent revolution by reducing support for
the left.

❏ To modernise farming in Russia, which was incredibly backward.

❏ To encourage peasants to leave their communes and farm independently.

❏ To increase production and prosperity

Agricultural reforms

Agriculture relied heavily on traditional farming methods, which meant there was not
enough food being produced. By introducing agricultural reform Stolypin believed
production would be increased and therefore more food would be available for the
cities.

What did Stolypin's land reforms change?

There were 3 main changes as a result of the land reforms:

❏ A Peasants' Land Bank → to replace redemption payments,which were loans from

the state →This gave loans to peasants to buy land.

❏ From November 1906, peasants could now leave their communes to farm their own
land independently.

❏ ❖There were financial incentives to move to Siberia where there was plenty of
land.
Stolypin was assassinated in September 1911.

The Tsar had a neutral reaction to this piece of news.The Tsar didn't care very much,
he was about to unemploy him because he thought his reforms were changing Russia
too much, he saw them as threats.

TIP
A common question about this period is how stable Russia was before 1914. To prepare this question
make sure you can EXPLAIN:
● 2 ways in which Russia could be seen as stable before 1914
● 2 ways in which Russia was unstable in this period

RAISING DISCONTENT
Relation between Tsar and his people → worse and worse
Discontent among industrial workers:
- Profit were going to the capitalist
- Low salaries
- Cost of food and living was higher

RASPUTIN
Who was Rasputin?
● Russian mystic who claimed he had healing powers.
● He became very powerful at the court of Tsar Nicholas II.
● Born to a Siberian peasant family around 1869
● Received little schooling – cannot write/read
● Entered the Verkhoturye Monastery in Russia with the intention of becoming a monk.
● Never became a monk since he left that...
● Said to be a “HOLLY MAN”

Seen as a mystic and faith healer.

Tsarina was seeking help for their sickly son, Alexis → 1907
Rasputin quickly gained their confidence by seemingly "curing" the boy of hemophilia.
This action won him the passionate support of Alexandra.

How was he seen by some people?

● Womanizer and drinker man
● Suspicious man
● His name meant “disreputable”

What was his role in the Royal Family?

Rasputin first became a healer for Alexei, son of Nicholas II and his wife, who had
haemophilia. He also advised Tsarina Alexandra and the tzar about how to run the country.

THE END OF RASPUTIN LIFE

1. A group of conspirators (people against Rasputin) assassinate him in 1916.
2. Invited Rasputin to Yusupov's palace and fed him wine and cakes laced with cyanide.
3. Though Rasputin eventually became rather drunk, the poison seemed to have no
effect.
4. Shot and tossed him into a river.