The Russian Revolution (Part 3)

Results

Nicholas II had hoped to regain control through the army, but when this failed, he was forced to issue the October Manifesto: –An elected parliament, the Duma, was to discuss laws. All men could vote for representatives in the Duma – peasant farmers were given 191 of the 497 seats. –People could organise their own political parties. –Censorship was to be loosened. The Tsar’s October Manifesto

October 30, 1905

The Opening of the Duma: Possible Reforms? 1906 w The first two tries were too radical. w The third duma was elected by the richest people in Russia in 1907.

The Russian Constitution of 1906 w Known as the Fundamental Laws [April 23, 1906]. w The autocracy of the Russian Tsar was declared. w The Tsar was supreme over the law, the church, and the Duma. w It confirmed the basic human rights granted by the October Manifesto, BUT made them subordinate to the supremacy of the law.

The Duma –Elected on a suffrage which divided a restricted number of electors into 4 groups: Landowners, townspeople, peasants and workers. Nobility and bourgeoisie were given more weightage. The role of the Duma as originally suggested by Nicholas’ Chief Minister, Sergei Witte, was a purely consultative one. –The Duma’s suggestions would still be considered by the Tsarist government before being acted upon. Results of the 1905 Revolution

Although appearing as a step towards greater democratic process, Nicholas retained control over key items: –Retained title of Autocrat –Complete control over armed forces and foreign policy As a result, the 1 st Duma only lasted for over 70 days. Results of the 1905 Revolution

Although the introduction of the Duma pacified a portion of the population, the radical political groups such as the Bolsheviks felt the Duma was a sham. Soon, Nicholas went back on his plans for the Duma and introduced new laws that allowed him to dismiss the Duma and call for fresh elections whenever he felt it necessary. Under new Chief Minister, Peter Stolypin, the Tsar managed to regain control effectively by Results of the 1905 Revolution

Results of 1905 Revolution The October Manifesto - promise of freedom of speech, right to form political parties Establish a Duma No new laws without consent of the Duma Broken Promises Voting system was unfair rich had more influence than the poor Duma had little influence over the Tsar and new laws First two Dumas were dismissed for demanding reforms Further changes introduced to excluded socialist

Why did the Revolution fail? - Summary Japan released prisoners to aid the Tsar Most of the armed forces stayed loyal to the Tsar October Manifesto divided the opposition The workers strikes and the peasants uprisings were not co-ordinated No clear leader for the opposition

Why did the 1905 Revolution Fail?

Stolypin’s Reforms Aim of stability 1. Repress the revolutionaries 2. Introduce reforms to improve living conditions Stolypin assassinated

Stolypin implemented a system of cracking down on political opponents and dissidents. This included investigating suspects, to jailing them and execution. He believed he was merely fighting back as there had been an increase in “terrorist” attacks on the nobility, killing several thousand. Results of the 1905 Revolution

Results of Stolypin’s actions 1.Great reduction in activities of the revolutionaries 2. Richer peasants (Kulaks) now run farms for profit 3. Kulaks now loyal to Tsar 4. Cities have more food 5. Conditions for some workers improve though many remain discontented. 1912/14 many strikes 6. Revolutionaries like Lenin learn to adopt new more tactics

The Path to October, 1917

Exercise Do a mind map of the causes of the 1905 Revolution and show links between the reasons. Look up the effect of World War 1 on Russia