1. Pre-revolutionary Russia

3. Basic geography…

4. 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

8. Mikhail Nesterov’s painting ‘Winter’ 1910

9. 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

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

15. Russia was an Empire led by the Tsar– an autocratic ruler
Tsar Nicholas II: Tsar from
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

16. 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

19. 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

20. Cossacks

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

26. Sergei Witte

27. 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

28. 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…”

29. 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!