Russia in Revolution

In a nutshell… Tsar Nicholas II comes to the throne of the Russian Empire. It was to be a tragic reign and Nicholas II was to be the last Tsar. By 1918 the Russian Empire had collapsed and the new revolutionary force, the Bolsheviks, had seized power. How? Why? I hear you cry. This story is what the unit is all about.

The state of Russia 1900

The Land Covered over 8 million square miles (2 ½ times the size of USA, 91 times larger than GB). Covered a large part of 2 continents. Europe and Asia. The greater part of the population was concentrated in European Russia and increased from 40 million to 165 million between 1815 – Q. What impression did the size of the Empire give? Was it misleading? Impression of great strength BUT The population was very diverse, different races/language/religion/culture and controlling such a variety over such a vast territory was a major problem.

The Tsar The peoples of the Russian Empire were governed by the tsar (emperor). Since 1613 the Russian tsars had been members of the Romanov dynasty (House of Romanov). By law and tradition the tsar was an absolute ruler – no restrictions on his power and the people owed him total obedience.

‘The Emperor of all the Russias is an autocratic and unlimited monarch. God himself ordains that all must bow to his supreme power, not only out of fear but also out of conscience.’ Article 1 from the ‘Fundamental Laws of the Empire’ issued by Nicholas I in 1832 What strikes you about this Article?

The Tsar The Tsar did have some assistance and his rule was exercised through 3 official bodies: 1) The Imperial Council - advisors 2) The Cabinet of Ministers – ran various government departments. 3) The Senate – supervised operation of law. These had no real power though – appointed not elected and had no authority over the Tsar.

Political backwardness? By the beginning of the 20 th Century all major western- European powers had some form of democratic or representative govt. Russia – no parliament, and although political parties had formed they had no legal right to exist. Many supporters of reform or change were forced to go underground. No free press in Imperial Russia. (Repression) Govt censorship on published books and journals. (Repression)

Political backwardness? 1) Resulted in any form of expression seen as opposition to the regime. Okhrana – secret police whose special job was to hunt down those who challenged the regime. 2) Tended to drive activists not only underground but to extremism – example 1881 when Tsar Alexander II was blown to bits by a bomb from a group known as ‘The People’s Will’. 3) There was no middle ground on which debate could develop.

The Russian Orthodox Church A deeply conservative body, opposed to political change and determined to preserve the tsarist system. It taught the Russian people that it was their duty to be totally obedient to the tsar as he was chosen by God (divine right). However it was becoming detached from Russia’s growing industrial population. (See next lesson) 1900 in a Moscow suburb – 40,000 people had only one church and one priest.

The Russian Army One method of keeping the masses in check was to conscript them into the Russian armed forces. The severity of its discipline and teaching brainwashed large numbers of Russians. Throughout the 19 th Century Russia had a vast army. Some 1.5 million men. This though was expensive (45% of govt expenditure). Late 19 th Century too expensive to have such a huge army – instead had reserves (soldiers that would be civilians too) = less committed and less reliable instruments of social control.

Russia 1900 Write a short article describing Russia in Come up with a catchy headline. Can you highlight any ways in which it is beginning to change?

Peasants Over 80% of the population were peasants. They were predominantly illiterate and uneducated. Regarded with a mixture of fear and contempt by the ruling classes – known as the ‘dark masses’. The sheer size however did not indicate a thriving agrarian economy.

Peasants Until 1861 the social system was founded on serfdom (tied peasants to the land by contracts, between a serf and a landowner). It bound families to villages for generations, suppressing the peasants resulting them not questioning the system. Emancipation of the Serfs (1861) the ex-serfs were entitled to buy land but they found the prices too high. They only way they could raise by borrowing from a fund setup by the govt. Those who did manage to buy were burdened with massive repayments that would take generations to pay. By 1900 the nobility still owned the best land and the vast majority of peasants lived in extreme poverty working for low wages. MAJOR CONCERN?

Working/Industrial Class/Urban poor Low number of industrial workers is a sign that Russia’s industrial development was slow (behind Germany, GB and USA). However, between there had been significant economic modernisation. The size of the working class increased as many ex-peasants left for the factories. Building of railways, increase in production of coal, iron and oil. By the end of the 19th century there were over 2 million industrial workers in Russia concentrated in the large cities Petrograd, Moscow.

Working/Industrial Class/urban poor At this time the Russian industrial employee worked on average an 11 hour day (10 hours on Saturday). Conditions in the factories were extremely harsh and little concern was shown for the workers' health and safety. Some even slept by their factory machines. They were effectively treated as 2 nd rate citizens with no Trade Unions. Because of the nature of the regime any protest against employers was seen as protest against the regime. No political rights. People who attempted to form trade unions were likely to be imprisoned or sent to Siberia. Strikes were illegal and the Russian government would often call out the Russian Army to deal with workers during industrial disputes. Suppressed.

Intelligentsia/Middle class As cities and commerce grew there was a growth in the professional and managerial middle classes. (Teachers, administrators, doctors) They had little in common with the workers or peasants but were equally ignored by the political establishment. This pushed some towards radical and revolutionary politics.

Bureaucracy/nobility Seen as corrupt and incompetent by many Russians. Herzen a revolutionary thinker claimed they had become ‘a kind of civilian priesthood, privileged, grasping and self seeking.’ ‘Sucking the blood of the people with thousands of greedy, unclean mouths.’

SOURCE 1 What is source 1 saying about Russia in 1904? Why might you need to be careful when using this source? What does Imperial Russia rest on? Page 5

Legitimacy – the magic word! Situation by which the people accept the right of the government to make laws and impose them. How do they get it? 1) Tradition 2) Charismatic 3) Legal/Rational 4) Democratic legitimacy Start to question this. What right have they got?

The people – social structure 1) What do you notice about the class distribution of the Russian population from the pie chart? 2) What does this indicate about the Russian economy? Page 6