Pre-revolutionary Russia

Basic geography…

In 1900, the Russian Empire covered nearly 23 square kilometres of land –the biggest country in the world. Eg: St Petersburg closer to New York than Vladivostok in Russia’s East Central Russia mostly consisted of fields, meadows, forests Large space known for long and cold winters – hard to travel through and govern Hemmed in on three sides by cold deserts or mountains –only easy in and out is the Western side through Europe Cities were few and far between –because of vast size, ruling elite and upper classes establish power in Moscow and the capital, St Petersburg (European side of Russia) Because of its size and harsh winters, Russia was difficult to govern Basic geography

Mikhail Nesterov’s painting ‘Winter’ 1910

Official census of 1897: the Russian population was the largest in Europe with 122.9 million people Rapid population growth: by 1910, 161 million people More than 100 different ethnic groups (Slavs, Tatars, Mongols, Kazakhs, Poles, Bashkir and others) Official religion of the country: Russian Orthodox, but other religions such as Judaism, Islam, To forge a sense of national unity, a policy of Russification was enforced by Tsar Alexander III: replacement of ethnic culture and languages (eg: Polish, Lithuanian, Belurusian) with Russian culture and language, often enforced Demographics

Demographics At the turn of 19th century, Russia was: 12% upper class 1.5% middle class 4% industrial working class 82% peasants Demographics

Russia was an Empire led by the Tsar– an autocratic ruler Tsar Nicholas II: Tsar from 1894-1917 Only true autocracy left in Europe: political system where ruler has unlimited political power The Fundamental Laws of the Empire (1716): ‘God himself commands his [the Tsar’s] supreme power be obeyed’ The Tsar and Tsarism

Nicholas II – Tsar at 26 in 1894 when his father Alexander III died of kidney failure British Ambassador to Russia Sir George Buchanan in 1910: ‘The Emperor Nicholas has not inherited his father’s commanding personality nor the strong character or prompt decision making which are so essential to an autocratic ruler’ Nicholas was a reluctant ruler: ‘I am not prepared to be a Tsar….I never wanted to become one. I know nothing of the business of ruling.’ Married Princess Alexandra, German granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Shared Nicholas’ strong belief in autocracy The Tsar

Government: Imperial Council (advisors), Cabinet of Ministers (in charge of certain areas) and the Senate (transform ideas into laws). Don’t share Tsar’s powers –only answer to him and implement his rule Bureaucracy: Civil service to put policies and laws into practice (i.e: like our government departments). Formed a noble upper class. Police: 2 police forces. Okrahna (secret police, suppress opposition) and regular police forces to maintain law and order. The Tsar also used Cossacks (fiercely independent people from Eastern Russia skilled on horseback) to keep the masses under control Church: Orthodox Christianity was the official religion of Russia. Claimed Tsar’s authority came from God Pillars of power

Cossacks

During the nineteenth century, Russia was considered economically backward because: It was an underdeveloped agrarian economy so was not industrialised to a large degree – it relied on producing foodstuffs in the countryside The climate and the feudal system meant there wasn’t enough productive land to go around and made it difficult to harvest enough food Farming and industrial sectors used out-dated technology or technology imported from Europe The country’s railroad system was inadequate –it couldn’t move people or objects in large amounts The economy

The economy: industrialisation 1861 Edict of Emancipation: Tsar Alexander II emancipated the serfs (agricultural labourers bound to working on a lord’s estate) to release them from the land and free them from conservative land owners so they could develop more productive ways of farming The economy: industrialisation

The economy: industrialisation 1889: Sergei Witte Minister for Finance tried to modernise industry by: Building the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow to Vladivostok and building more transport and communications connections Building more factories (increasing industrial production) Making it easier for foreigners to invest in Russia In 1897 moves the Russian rouble to the Gold Standard that stabilises the Russian currency This creates more factories and leads to the development of an industrial working class Thousands of landless peasants move to the cities for work –population growth in cities The economy: industrialisation

Sergei Witte

Social structure Ruling class: Tsar and royal family, 0.5 per cent Upper classes: Nobility, higher clergy: 12 per cent. Middle classes: Merchants, bureaucrats, professionals: 1.5 per cent. Working classes: Factory workers, artisans, soldiers, sailors: 4 per cent Peasants: Kulaks, landed and landless farmers: 82 per cent. Social structure

A sarcastic socialist cartoon made in 1900 It reads: “They rule with our money They pray for us, They eat for us, They shoot at us, We work for them all…”

Provide a short-hand ‘snapshot’ of pre-revolutionary Russia in five points that captures information about politics, the economy and society Next, create a more detailed table with the following headings: Under each heading, collect some evidence about pre-revolutionary Russia (eg: dates, events, statistics, quotes) to use in some writing tasks later in the course Political Social Economic Now summarise!