1. To evaluate the impact that these parties had on Russian politics
How did the aims and agendas of the radical parties differ from one another?
Lesson outcomes:  
To recall the parties that emerged in the early 1900s and why they were formed
To compare the nature of these emerging parties and how they grew and developed
To evaluate the impact that these parties had on Russian politics

2. Starter
On your table, create a 5 point manifesto for a ‘radical’ party of your choosing.
What makes a political party ‘radical’?

3. Radical Parties
Before the 1905 Revolution, the Tsar had complete political authority within Russia – no political parties were permitted. Therefore, the many radical parties that were formed were illegal. They all had one thing in common – they wanted to see an end to the Tsarist autocracy. But that was the only aim they had in common.
Radical parties covered the entire political spectrum. Some of them were heavily influenced by the ideas of German philosopher Karl Marx.

4. What is Communism?
A Simple Lesson

5. Sickle for the Peasants – the farm labourers
What is Communism?
This is the symbol of Communism – The Hammer and the Sickle
Hammer for the
Workers
Sickle for the Peasants – the farm labourers
Marx Engels

6. This is his good friend, Frederick Engels.
What is Communism?
Marx and Engels wrote the ‘Communist Manifesto’
in It’s a short book – but billions of people have read it….
This is Karl Marx, the ‘Father of Communism’. People who believe in his ideas are called ‘Marxists’
This is his good friend, Frederick Engels.

7. What is Communism?
Marx and Engels studied the history of the world’s economies
This means the way that power, industry and finance are controlled.
They saw the way countries developed in stages.
Communism
Socialism
Capitalism
Feudalism
Primitive
Communism

8. What is Primitive Communism?
This is how humans first lived together – in small tribes. Primitive means ‘not very advanced’ e.g. hunting and gathering. Communism means that everything was shared amongst the tribe – food, jobs, belongings. No-one owned land. Eventually a group comes to power – this leads to Feudalism…
Primitive
Communism

9. How do we get to Communism?
Feudalism
Primitive
Communism

10. What is Feudalism?
Under feudalism, a king or emperor or chief becomes the ruler over all the people.
He gives land and privileges to ‘nobles’ who rule the people for him.
The people are kept uneducated and told that god chose the king to rule. The church helps the king this way.
Feudalism
As trade develops, some people get richer. This leads to Capitalism…..
Primitive
Communism

11. How do we get to Communism?
Capitalism
Feudalism
Primitive
Communism

12. What is Capitalism?
The capitalists get more power to serve their own interests.
The business owners or capitalists get richer while the workers do all the hard work.
Capitalism
Feudalism
Capitalism creates a huge working-class of people who soon get angry at the way they are treated. They organise in unions and demand changes. This will lead to a revolution and Socialism…

13. How do we get to Communism?
Socialism
Capitalism
Feudalism
Primitive
Communism

14. What is Socialism?
Because nothing is made for profit, all people benefit from education and health.
The workers take control of the country to produce things for everyone.
Socialism
These ideas spread across the world to create Communism….
Capitalism
In the Socialist revolution all the rulers – kings, churches, capitalists are got rid of.

15. How do we get to Communism?
Socialism
Capitalism
Feudalism
Primitive
Communism

16. What is Communism?
The remaining capitalists put up a bitter fight, but the will of the people will always win.
Communism
Socialism
All human activity goes towards benefiting each other – allowing all to live their lives to the full.
As everyone now works together, war is a thing of the past – armies are not needed. Sharing means no police are needed. Everything is provided by the people – so money becomes a thing of the past.

17. At which stage was Russia by the start of the twentieth century?
30mins (Mark Steel on Marxism)
With w/s on active history
Quick guide to Marxism:
4mins
Task: Draw a simplified diagram of the Marxist system. See Culpin p21 or Murphy p25
At which stage was Russia by the start of the twentieth century?

18. Why did so many radical organisations develop in Russia?
Write numbers corresponding to each box in the correct section of your Venn diagram depending on whose anger each one explains.
Work individually.
You have 10 minutes.
Extension: Which group do you think would have been the angriest? Explain your answer.
End

19. What was the most radical organisation in Russia?
Activity 1: Write numbers corresponding to each box in the correct section of your Venn diagram depending on whose anger each one explains.
1) Witte had increased the amount of tax paid by peasants to finance industrial development, plunging many of them into even greater poverty.
8) The recession at the start of the 20th century meant that the prices of basic items, such as oil for lighting, sugar, matches and vodka, were increasing, whilst unemployment was high and wages were low.
10) A worldwide recession from 1900 damaged profits, forcing factory owners to cut wages and lay people off, leading to high unemployment.
2) Russians felt disconnected from the western world due to strict government censorship.
11) Although some laws were introduced to improve working conditions in factories, there were few inspectors to enforce the laws and they were often ignored.
3) There was little regulation of working conditions in factories. Consequently, the hours were long, wages were low, child labour was common, workers were often beaten and injuries were common and uncompensated. In 1905 there were 500 deaths due to accidents in the metal industry alone.
Peasants
Workers
12) The continuing inefficiency of agricultural methods, combined with the growing population meant that famines became increasingly common. For example, 400,000 people died due to famine in the Volga region alone in
4) The government was corrupt, disorganised, incompetent and did not represent the majority of Russians, who had no say in who ruled.
13) Bad harvests in 1902 and 1903 only worsened food shortages and pushed up the cost of food.
14) Industrialisation had occurred so quickly in the 1890s that the supply of housing could not keep up with the growth of population in the cities. This led to terrible living conditions, with whole families sharing a bed and no clean water.
5) Russians had few basic rights, such as free speech and universal education, which were becoming common in other European countries.
Minorities
Middle Class
6) Jewish people were increasingly becoming the victims of pogroms, where when a large mob would enter the Jewish part of towns to destroy Jewish businesses and beat, rob, rape and even kill Jewish people. These were sometimes organised by the government.
9) The growing population meant that farmland had to be split between more people. As a result, many peasants did not have enough land to live on. In illustration, the government estimated that a family needed 5.5 hectares of land to survive, but by % of peasants had less than this.
15) Russia had been made the official language of the entire Russian Empire, including areas where virtually no one spoke Russian.
16) in Poland, where Catholicism was the dominant religion, monasteries were closed, no new Catholic churches were allowed to be built, sermons had to be officially approved and Catholic nobles had to pay an extra 10% in tax.
7) Native Russians were put in charge of running areas of the country with large ethnic minority populations.

20. The formation of radical parties
Aims/views
Supporters
Methods
How radical?
Social Democrats (Bolsheviks)
Social Democrats (Mensheviks)
Social Revolutionaries
Populists
Liberals (Kadets)
Liberals (Octobrists)
Fill in table using murphy page Lynch, p20-24

21. Revolutionaries (SRs) Social Democrats (SDs)
Marxist Revolutionaries (willing to use violence to get rid of the Tsarist system and create a new social order)
Liberal Reformers (wanted peaceful change to make the Tsarist system fairer)
Populists
Social
Revolutionaries (SRs)
Social Democrats (SDs)
Octobrists
Kadets
Mensheviks
Bolsheviks
Date founded
Appeared in the 1860s after the Emancipation of the Serfs.
Officially founded in 1901 by drawing together the remnants of the Populist movement.
The Social Democrats were founded in They split into two separate organisations at the second party congress in 1903 over a disagreement about the direction of the party.
Liberals first appeared in the 1890s as industrial development created a larger middle class. The movement split into two groups after the 1905 Revolution over a disagreement about how to respond to the Tsar’s October Manifesto.
Leader
The leading members were two university students called Peter Lavrov and Nikolai Chaikovsky.
The overall leader was Victor Chernov, but there were many smaller groups within the SRs that had their own leaders.
Led by George Plekhov, the original founder of the SDs.
Led by Vladimir Lenin and Alexander Bogdanov.
The key members were Alexander Guchkov, a factory owner, and Mikhail Rodzianko, a landowner.
Led by Paul Milyukov.
Ideas
Influenced by the exiled Russian writer Alexander Herzon.
Believed all land should be taken from the upper class and shared among the peasants.
Wanted Russia to be run through small local governments.
Similar ideas to the Populists.
They wanted land to be shared among the peasants and governed through local democracy.
Based on the ideas of Karl Marx.
They wanted to improve the rights of workers (economism) whilst waiting for the bourgeois revolution, which could be followed by a proletarian revolution.
Thought Russia could skip the bourgeois revolution and go straight to a proletarian revolution.
Believed economism played into the hands of the upper class by making workers less likely to revolt
Saw the October Manifesto as the end point of reform and wanted to use the powers it gave to modernise Russia and make it fairer.
Saw the October Manifesto as the starting point of reform.
They wanted democratically elected local and national governments, whom the Tsar had to obey.
Wanted all citizens to have the same basic rights. E.g. free speech.
Supporters
Most supporters were university students or professionals (lawyers and doctors).
Tried unsuccessfully to win support from peasants.
Never had much support.
Largest of all the radical organisations.
Most of their supporters were peasants.
Many of the leading members were middle class.
They tried unsuccessfully to win support from industrial workers.
They had an open membership so anyone was welcome to join.
Most of their support came from industrial workers.
Most of the leading members were middle class.
They were larger than the Bolsheviks.
They had a closed membership, carefully selecting those who joined.
Led by a small group of dedicated middle class revolutionaries.
Supported by industrial workers and poor peasants.
Supported by the wealthiest members of the middle class. E.g. owners of large factories and mines.
Supported by the lower middle class. E.g. small business owners, doctors and lawyers.
Methods
Published a magazine called ‘The Bell’.
Went into the countryside to live with peasants and win their support, but the peasants thought their ideas were unrealistic and often turned them in to police.
Used more radical tactics over time.
Methods varied between smaller groups within the overall organisation.
Left SRs used terrorism. E.g. 2,000 assassinations from 1900 to 1905.
Right SRs used speeches and pamphlets to persuade people to support them.
Published pamphlets to campaign for workers’ rights.
Supported trade unions and protests.
Were willing to work with other radical organisations.
Used a newspaper called ‘Iskra’ to spread their ideas.
Trained workers as professional revolutionaries, then smuggled them back into Russia.
Used crime to finance themselves. E.g. robbing post offices.
Only prepared to use peaceful methods.
Tried to work with the Tsarist government to implement the October Manifesto.
Got involved in the Zemstva.
Published newspapers and pamphlets to spread their message.
Got involved with the Zemstva.

22. What were the similarities and differences between the radical organisations?
Write answers to the questions below on the lined paper provided. Work individually. You have 10 minutes.
Were there any ideas or methods shared by all of the radical organisations?
2. What were the most significant differences between the radical organisations?
3. Which organisation do you think was the most likely to succeed in its aims? Explain your answer.
End

23. What was the most radical organisation in Russia?
Write your name on your post it note, then place it above the organisation you think was most radical.
Be prepared to explain your choice.
Populists
Social Revolutionaries
Bolsheviks
Mensheviks
Octobrists
Kadets

24. Decide which group are: Most radical Going to be most successful
b) To be able to analyse which party was most radical and most likely to succeed in its aims before 1914
Task:
Decide which group are:
Most radical
Going to be most successful
Write a paragraph for each explaining your choice. Compare to other parties to support your judgement

25. Key terms
October Manifesto – an agreement signed by the Tsar promising reforms (to be looked at in more depth in later lessons)
Populism – a political idea of ‘the people’ against ‘the elites’
Liberalism - a political idea favouring democracy and rights for all
Marxism – …you tell me!

26. Extension
Which party do you regard as the most radical? Give reasons for your choice.
Highlight any similarities between the parties
Which radical party do you think was most likely to succeed in its aims in the years before 1914?

27. Plenary
Discuss as a pair and come up with a reason why each group will be successful, and a reason why they won’t be successful.
Who will come out on top?

28. The formation of radical parties
Your task is to design a poster that explains the nature of the radical party you are studying. You must include the following:
An explanation of the aims, methods and supporters of your group
A cartoon/poster that encourages people to support the group
An imagined response by the Tsar to the party – this can take whatever form you wish
CHALLENGE – write a list of questions to challenge this party on their beliefs
Could do a ‘secret’ party political broadcast film instead.

29. Word Clouds Using http://www.wordle.net/
Produce 2 word clouds (Bolsheviks and Mensheviks)