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Challenges to the Romanovs 1881-1905

Marxism
1. Class struggle would lead to the abolition of feudalism (the emancipation of the serfs was part of this)
2. Industrialisation caused the oppression of the workers. Eventually they would rise up and overthrow the capitalist oppressors in a revolution
3. Society would then move to a new phase - socialism. The state would be in charge of everything, and all social classes would be abolished.
4. Once classes had been abolished, society would move into its final and permanent stage - communism
Alexander III: 1881-1894
1. He was more repressive than Alex II: he issued the Temporary Regulations which gave provincial governors and officials the power to imprison without trial.
  1. The Okhrana restricted the press and monitored revolutionary and socialist groups.
2. Pobedonostsev's Views
  1. Nationality
    1. Promoted Russification to make Russia more Russian. 1885: Russian became the official language
    2. The rights of the Russian majority were put before those of the minority groups. However, the Tsar didn't distinguish between loyal/disloyal minority groups e.g. Poles/Muslims
      1. This increased opposition to Tsarism from many different sections of society.
  2. Autocracy
    1. Alex III was determined to keep up the tradition of Tsarist autocracy. 1889: eleced Justices of the Peace were replaced by Land Captains appointed by the Tsar
      1. Justices of the Peace could overrule the zemstva and charge peasant farmers with minor offences.
    2. 1890: the Tsar restricted the right to vote for the zemstva in the countryside. This gave the land gentry even more power.
  3. Orthodoxy
    1. The rights and priveleges of the Russian Orthodox Church were championed above those of other beliefs.
    2. Primary schools came under church control
3. Effect on Jews
  1. Loss of Rights
    1. Jewish people weren't allowed to become doctors or lawyers and very few were admitted to universities.
  2. Violence
    1. Over 200 organised violent attacks called pogroms had been carried out on Jewish communities in Russia for a long time. The attacks increased under Russification because they were encouraged by the government
  3. Jew Response
    1. Many Jews left the country and resettled in Western Europe and the USA. Others formed a radical organisation called the Bund, which worked with the opposition parties in the years before 1917
Economic Change
1. Bunge 1881-1887
  1. He created the Peasants' Land Bank to make it easier for peasants to expand their land. However, it was too small to be effective.
2. Vyshnegradsky 1887-1892
  1. He encouraged foreign investment and increased taxes to raise money. Foreigners were enticed with incentives to help the small railway network expansion and the heavy industry growth.
3. Witte
  1. He was the most important finance minister of the period who developed a policy of state intervention in the Russian economy.
  2. He focussed on railways and foreign investment.
    1. 1891: the Trans-Siberian Railway was started. It opened up the eastern empire and advanced the growth of new towns and cities. It was also planned to link western Russia with new industrial centres. A new railway linked the oil refineries of Baku to the Black Sea port of Batum.
    2. 1897: Witte put the rouble on the gold standard - guaranteeing the currency's value. This encouraged western countries to invest in Russia's industry. Foreign investment then increased from roughly 200 million roubles in 1890 to approx 900 million roubles in 1900.
  3. Pros
    1. Heavy industry saw massive increases in production, especially of coal and iron
    2. Output from the Baku oil refineries increased tenfold between 1883 and 1900
    3. The economy grew rapidly by an estimated 8% a year in the 1890s
    4. From 1906-1914, the economy grew by 6% a year
  4. Cons
    1. The T-S Railway was only partially finished by 1914
    2. The taxes put in place made the peasants less likely to spend on consumer goods.
    3. The government ran up enormous debts.
    4. Witte didn't improve the state of agricultural industry, even though taxes on the peasants accounted for over 80% of the government's income.
Opposition to Tsarism
1. Reasons
  1. Peasants
    1. Most were still paying the redemption payments.
    2. The nobles had the best farms, leaving the peasants with poor soil.
    3. Farming practices hadn't evolved much
    4. Peasants couldn't leave the mir without permission
  2. Urban Workers
    1. They earned barely enough to survive.
    2. Factory hours were not regulated; peasants were expected to work an 11.5 hour day under Witte.
    3. Heath and education was poor, creating more social inequality.
    4. Life expectancy was under 30 years
2. Liberals
  1. They wanted the autocracy of the Tsars to be replaced with a constitutional government.
  2. They formed the League of Liberation which wanted a shorter working day, more land and an elected parliament.
3. Social Revolutionaries
  1. They wanted to redistribute land to the peasants.
  2. They wanted to improve living and working conditions in towns.
  3. They wanted to overthrow Tsarism by force.
4. Social Democrats
  1. They followed the political beliefs of Karl Marx.
  2. They formed the Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party which included members who would later become the Bolsheviks, who supported Lenin and his ideas, and the Mensheviks, who preferred a less disciplined and more democratic form of communism.
5. Failure
  1. Most were too small and ineffective to achieve their aims.
  2. There were major divisions between the parties, which made them less effective at opposing the government.
  3. The political parties faced constant harassment and violence from the Okhrana
1905 Revolution
1. Causes
  1. LT: Huge pressures and food supplies and famine was common.
  2. ST: Russia were humiliated in the 1904 Russo-Japanese War.
  3. ST: Bloody Sunday
    1. Sunday Jan 9th 1905, an Othodox Priest named father Gapon led a peaceful march of 150,000 workers to the Winter Palace to present the Tsar with a petition.
      1. Gapon petitioned for an end to the Russo-Japanese War, fair wages and and eight-hour working day, and the election of a national parliament.
    2. The Tsar wasn't there so the guards open fired at the crowd, killing hundreds of unarmed people.
    3. Effects
      1. Around 1/2 a million people went on strike in protest of the massacre. These affected the railways so food couldn't be delivered.
      2. The peasants illegally took land from the landowners
      3. National minorities engaged in widespread protests.
      4. A St. Petersburg Soviet was elected to organise strikes and demonstrations
  4. LT: Poor sanitation and water supplies
Nicholas II
1. Concessions
  1. In August 1905, he announced the formation of an elected Duma (parliament). Its only power was to advise the Tsar.
    1. This pleased no one and people went on strike which brought the country to a standstill.
2. October Manifesto
  1. Nick published the Manifesto on 17th October 1905.
  2. It promised freedom of speech, religion and a free press; an elected Duma with acutal authority; and an improved Peasants' Land Bank.
    1. The Manifesto worked and strikes were called off. Demonstrations in favour of the Tsar were held in St. Petersburg. The St. Petersburg Soviet was dissolved. A December uprising was easily crushed.
    2. The Manifesto also split the opposition to the Tsar as the Liberals welcomed the Manifesto but the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and SR's remained hostile.

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Challenges to the Romanovs 1881-1905

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