Tsarist Russia

Tsarist Russia In 1881 Alexander III succeeded as Czar of Russia. He immediately became a ruthless Despot. (Despot is a fancy word for dictator.)

Tsarist Repression Everyone had to “fit in” with his vision of society. Those not in the Russian Orthodox church or spoke another language were “dangerous.” So was anyone who questioned his authority.

Further Repression The Czar had all printed materials censored. His network of secret police spied on ordinary citizens. Teachers were forced to report on their student’s political activities.

A Uniform Culture The Czar wanted to make a single dominant culture. He oppressed minority groups violently. Intellectuals were considered dangerous. Jews especially were targeted for violence.

Pogroms were attacks on Jews organized by the Czar’s government.

Czar Nicholas II Nicholas II became Czar in 1894. He was no better than Alexander III. Completely out of touch, and blind to the Russian people’s problems.

The Winter Palace of the Tsars

When Nicholas took over, Russia was lagging far behind the rest of Europe industrially. Most of the Russian economy was still based on agriculture. England, 1880 Russia, 1880

Russia Industrializes Nicholas II wanted to catch up to Europe. He began to rapidly industrialize Russia. By 1900 Russia was the 4th largest steel maker and began work on the longest railroad ever.

Costs of Industrialization In order to pay for this industrialization the Czar borrowed money from Europe. He also raised taxes on the poorest Russians. They really could not afford the new taxes.

Industrialization Stirs Discontent Industrialization brought unsafe working conditions, child labor, and pollution to Russia. This mainly effected the poor

Bloody Sunday In 1915 200,000 workers and their families came to the Czar asking for reforms The Czar’s troops attacked the crowd killing several hundred unarmed people.

The Czar Resists Reform Nicholas was either unaware of the problems, or chose to ignore them. He refused to enact any kind of reforms to improve the lives of his people.

The Last Straw Russia was losing WWI badly No stalemate like western front The Czar went to the front to lead troops Shy and un-motivating Eventually the army quit fighting