Counter-Revolution What is a counter-revolution? It’s the action by those in power to counter or crush those attempting a revolution. The Tsar’s counter-revolution was marked by…. Repression and Reforms What do the words repression and reform mean? Collins Dictionary Repress = To keep in check, to restrict the freedom of. Reform = To improve, to make improvements, to abandon evil practices. In other words the Tsar wanted to repress all forms of revolutionary activity. Having achieved this he wanted to reform those who indulged in what he considered were evil practices.

It now became obvious that the Tsar’s October Manifesto a shallow and selfish attempt at self preservation. The Tsar never ever intended divesting himself of his autocratic powers. Broken Promises The Tsar broke his promises by.…. Rigging Russia’s First-Ever Elections Peasants and workers votes = 1 vote Land and property owners vote = 10 votes In other words, the Tsar had ensured that pro-Tsarists had ten times the voting power of anti-Tsarists. Introducing laws, while the elections were in progress, severely restricted the Duma’s power as promised in the October Manifesto. The Tsar broke his promises by.…. This was the Tsar’s attempt to retain his position, prestige and power as autocratic leader of Russia.

Retaining the title of ‘autocrat’Making laws himself Controlling foreign affairs The right to declare war The power to dissolve the Duma and use emergency powers to rule Russia until a new Duma was elected Retaining the power to appoint and dismiss all government ministers The First Duma May 1906 He achieved this by.…. Control of the Russian Orthodox Church Only lasted for 72 days before being dissolved by the Tsar. The Tsar dissolved the Duma because it had lost confidence in him and because it wanted.…. To form a new government with ministers chosen from the Duma instead of by the Tsar The right to strike Abolition of the death penalty Release of political prisoners Confiscation of large estates The Tsar dissolved the Duma accusing it of incompetence and illegally appealing to the people for support.

Campaign of Terror In January 1906, Socialist Revolutionaries disillusioned by the Tsar’s broken promises and the powerlessness of the Duma launched a fresh campaign of terror. Over 9,000 people were either murdered or maimed between as they attempted to undermine people’s confidence in the government. Peter Stolypin Replaces Witte In July 1906 the Tsar had appointed Peter Stolypin as Prime Minister. Stolypin was a hardliner charged with the responsibility of bringing Russia under control. Repression and Reform Repression and Reform Stolypin’s methods of achieving this aim were through.…. OUT IN Repress Terrorist and revolutionary activity. Attempts at creating disorder. The number of suspected terrorist and revolutionary opponents of the Tsar executed resulted in the hangman’s noose (gallows) being dubbed ‘Stolypin’s Necktie.’

The Demise of the Duma Reform Stolypin feared restless peasants would cause another revolution. To avoid this he abolished redemption payments and allowed them to own their own land. Of Land laws. Stolypin wanted to create a wealthier peasant class (Kulaks). He believed that by making more peasants better off they would remain loyal to the Tsar and less likely to be involved in revolutionary activity. To encourage industrial growth. Stolypin met violence with violence. He Introduced martial law and special military courts to deal with suspected terrorists and revolutionaries. Over 3,000 were convicted and executed by these special military courts between After several earlier attempts on his life Stolypin was assassinated in 1911 by a police informer who worked for the Okrana. 2nd Duma 3rd Duma 4th Duma Closed by the Tsar after three months because of opposition. Lasted the full term because it cooperated with the Tsar. Was the last Duma and very conservative. Stolypin In one attempt on his life Stolypin’s daughter was disabled and 25 others killed. Not only did he become unpopular with the Tsarista for exiling Rasputin but even the Tsar felt his autocratic powers were being threatened by Stolypin’s policies. When the Okrana got wind of an assassination plot against Stolypin they did nothing to stop it.

An Evaluation of Stolypin’s Reforms Some historians believe that given time, Stolypin’s land reforms and encouragement of industrial development might have achieved his aims of restoring social order and reducing the reasons for revolutionary activity. In 1913 Prince Trubetskoi observed.…. ‘……the rise in the standard of material wealth and the astonishing growth of a new social order’ (In the countryside) In his memoirs Foreign Minister Izvolsky observed…. ‘……the results (of the Peasant Bank) were so satisfactory that on the eve of the revolution of 1917 it is safe to say that the entire agrarian problem was in a way to being definitely solved.’ Positive Assessment

The reality was that by 1917, 90% of peasants still farmed on scattered strips. Negative Assessment  The peasants …. Rejected Stolypin’s reforms.  Resented the idea of personal ownership of land.