The Tsarist Regime, 1906-1914

The work of the Dumas
1. Consitution of Feb. 1906
  1. The Council of Ministers - initiated & approved all legislation; appointed by the Tsar, led by the PM, responsible only to the Tsar
  2. The State Duma - debated laws & had to approve them; over 500 delegates, elected every 5 years by men over 25 by indirect sufferage
  3. The State Council - debated laws & had to approve it; half elected by the Tsar, the other half by the zemstva
2. First Duma: May-June 1906; (Duma of National Hope)
  1. It was dissolved but reassembled in FInland
  2. Demanded radical constitutional change; passed a vote of 'no confidence' in the government
  3. Dominated by Kadets & radicals with a large peasant representation
3. Political groupings
  1. Octobrists - liberal reform; upper class, big businesses
  2. Kadets - constitutional & liberal reforml, m/c, lesser businessmen
  3. Conservatives - preservation of Tsarist power; upper classes
  4. Social Democrats - Workers' revolution; workers
  5. Social Revolutionaries - socialism & land distribution; peasants
  6. Trudoviks - agrarian socialism; peasants & intelligentsia
  7. National Minorities - independence; non-Russians
4. Fundamental Laws, 23rd April 1906
  1. Supreme autocratic power; power to initiate legislation & approve laws; the right to appoint & dismiss ministers; command of the armed forces; responsibility for foreign nations; the right to summon & dissolve the Duma; power to rule by decree when the Duma was not in session
  2. 4 days before the State Duma met, the F.L were issued which confirmed Tsarist power
5. Second Duma: February-June 1907; (Duma of National Anger)
  1. Stolypin engineered elections to increase number of Octobrists; Bolsheviks & SRs participated which increased the number of radical deputies
  2. Opposed most Tsarist proposals including agrarian reforms; measures were passed under Article 87 when the Duma was not in session
  3. Leading radicals were exiled after dissolution
6. Third Duma: November 1907-June 1912; (Duma of Lords & Lackys)
  1. The 1907 Electoral Law meant the representation of peasants, workers & national minorities was reduced
  2. It agreed some social & agrarian reforms but there was still some disputes with the tsar; it was twice suspended & Article 48 was used
7. Fourth Duma: November 1912-1917, suspended in 1915
  1. The number of Octobrists decreased, creating a gulf between the Conservatives & Socialists
  2. The right & left wing deputies could not cooperate
  3. They were increasingly ignored; voted for war credits but was suspended in 1915 after demanding more power
Agrarian reforms under Stolypin
1. Background
  1. Favoured hardline methods; the hangman's noose became known as Stolypin's necktie; over 60,000 were executed, imprisoned or exiled under him
  2. Believed in a radical reform of agriculture to prevent peasant unrest
2. Stolypin's legislation
  1. Went against centuries of farming practices in Russia: the mir system & collective ownership by families was abolished in Nov 1906
  2. Redemption payments were cancelled in 1907; peasants were free to leave their villages; peasants could apply for permission to consolidate scattered strips into single farms; more state & crown land was made available for peasant purchase; a new peasant land bank was established to fund purchases; government subsidies for migration to & settlement in Siberia were made available
  3. Suggested that his proposals needed 20 years to work but were cut short by war in 1914
3. Sucesses
  1. Grain production rose from 56 million tonnes to 90 million tonnes
  2. Peasant ownership of land increased from 20% to 50%
  3. Kulaks bought out poorer peasants to make compact and more efficient farms
  4. 3.5 million peasants moved from over-populated areas to Siberia, creating a major agricultural region for dairy & cereals
  5. Some peasants sold and moved to towns - boosted the industrial labour supply
4. Failures
  1. Peasants were still reluctant to change farming methods; some landowners tried to hold onto their lands and so it proved difficult to divide up common land without protracted legal battles
  2. Land Organisation Commission was established but the bureaucracy made proceedings slow
  3. Some were too old to work or too rooted in their communities; Siberia was difficult terrain
  4. Didn't address key issues of redistribution of land held by the nobility & land hunger remained
Economic development
1. Economic development
  1. Experienced an industrial growth rate of 8.5% pa
  2. Increases in oversea investment
  3. The state injected a great deal of money into heavy industry to re-equip the army
  4. Coal & steel grew strongly
  5. By 1914, one of the world's 5th largest industrial power
2. Tsarist economy
  1. An extension of health services provided by the zemstva; a state system of health insurance for workers was introduced in 1912
  2. 77% growth in number of pupils; 85% in the number of schools; literacy rose by 12%
  3. Workers lacked effective trade unions & legal protection; inflation prices rose by 40%
  4. Conditions in factories remained grim; levels of education were still low & 4/5 of the population were still peasants
3. Lena Goldfields Massacre
  1. Thousands coverged and were met with open fire; at least 500 killed; sent sympathy strikes all over Siberia
  2. Gold miners in northern Siberia worked long hours for low pay in an inhospitable climate; they had long standing grievances over their accomodation & treatment but the trigger was one of the workers being fed poor quality horsemeat
  3. Miners went on strike and they presented a long series of demands; the Bolsheviks helped to coordinate the spread of the strike to other miners; the management gained the support of the police
Condition of Russia
1. Politics
  1. Positive - a national Duma had been established appeasing the liberal/m/c; the 3rd Duma worked to pass agrarian & social reforms; no significant opposition due to Okhrana & repression; radical leaders were exiled; politically stable regime
  2. Negative - the tsar issued the fundamental laws & 1907 electoral law; little co-operation from the Dumas; disputes persisted despite electoral management; radical opposition survivedl the tsar was v detatched & conservative
2. Economic
  1. Negative - growing more slowly than others; social disquiet; considerable reliance on foreign investment; bad farming methods
  2. Positive - economic growth average 8.5%; 5th largest industrial power; major reforms by Stolypin
3. Social
  1. Positive - 85% increase in primary school provisions; welfare reforms; expansions of professions; trade unions legalised; agrarian reforms created a wealthy kulak class; massive support for Romanov
  2. Negative - only 55% of children were in full-time education; 60% illiteracy rate; appalling living & working conditions; too few doctos; strikes escalated; slow advances; disapproval over Rasputin

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The Tsarist Regime, 1906-1914

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