Russia before the revolution

1
Russia before the revolution

• Did Russia have hope

2
Most signs were bad

• Government repressive
• With Turkey and Montenegro the only one without
  parliament in 1894
• The Tsars word is law autocracy
• Zemstvos request for liberty turned down 95
• Constantin Pobedonostsev teacher of Nicholas II
• Peasants poor and illiterate
• Some good signs.. Some economic growth but with
  it came the growing working class

3
Sergei Witte

• Minister of finance 1892-1903
• Witte saw Russia future lie in industrialisation
  and the creation of strong modern state
• Had little interests in politics or agriculture
  but focused on industry.
• Tariffs to protect russian industry and offered
  foreign capitalists (mainly french) opportunity
  to invest in the growing russian industry.
• Put the currency on gold foot.

4
Industrial development

• Foreign capital was invested in mining,
  metalurgy, banking, railroads.
• Trans-Siberian-railway 1904
• Exports remained still mostly agricultural
• Urban proletariat was growing and russian towns
  to. Strikes increasing.
• Wages low and working conditions bad

5
Political opposition

• Phlekhanov became the advocate of marxism.
• First meeting of russian social-democratic party
  in Minsk 1898. Rejected terrorism but focused on
  industrial agitation!!
• Socialist revolutionary party 1901.
• Agrarian populist. Peasants should follow in the
  lead of the urban workers in the revolution
• Redistribution of land to peasants.
• Liberals. Various small grops with liberal ideas.

6
The 1905 revolution

• Causes
• Defeat in the Russo-Japanese war 1905
• Social unrest at home
• Defeat means
• The army of little use
• prestige of government low
• Unrest breaks forth in strikes (bloody Sunday
  22.jan.)
• peasant unrest
• rebellion in the armed forces

7
Bloody Sunday a fake picture?
8
Glory to the People's Heroes of the Potemkin!"
9
Political unrest

• Liberals formed the Kadet party and workers and
  marxist the Petersburg soviet.
• The Tsar tried to gain control by
• Ending the war
• Publishing the October manifesto granting civil
  liberties and summoned the assembly Duma
• Cancelled redemption payments
• The autocracy remained in liberal disguise.

10
Was 1905 a revolution

• Naval mutiny
• Army mutiny
• National strikes
• Demands for peace, liberty, equality and
  democracy
• Political change
• Arson of Manors

• Downfall of Monarchy
• Assassination of key figures
• Court intrigue
• Planned revolution
• Demonstrations
• Propaganda

11
Why did the Tsar survive?

• His opponents were not united
• He made a compromise at a critical moment
• The army remained loyal

12
How did he use the breathing space

• Stolypin reforms to win over the peasants
• Duma founded
• Improvement of working conditions
• Repression of opposition

• Duma became less and less democratic and had only
  concilatory powers
• Peasant population growing too fast
• Strikes increasing
• 1912 2000
• 1914 - 4000

13
Stolypin

• Prime minister 1905
• Tough reformist
• Assassinated 1911
• Land reform extended loans to peasants so they
  could buy land from nobles
• Half the peasants had private land in 1915
• Increased health service and primary education

14
The first Duma 1906

• The first attempt at an parliamentary democracy
• Universal suffrage for lower house
• Tsar had veto
• Ministers responsible to Tsar
• First Duma dissolved after ten weeks
• Clash over land reform

15
Later Dumas

• Second duma- extremes right and left
• Dissolved after landreform debate
• Third duma restricted franchise right wing
• Obedient to government 1907-1912
• Fourth Duma 1912-17 conservative but increasingly
  dissatisfied with the Tsar, not least because of
  Rasputin
• This Duma became the basis of the provisional
  government

16
Short definition

• Right
• Fees for services
• Strengthen business with reduced taxation
• Economic freedom
• Individualism
• Nationalism
• Private property

• Left
• Increased velfare
• Better working conditions and pay
• More equality
• Social solutions
• More taxes
• internationalism

17
The war effort

• Why did Russia go to war?
• War popular at first.
• War and the collapse of the regime
• Civil authority subordinated to military
  authority in the war zone.
• Zar took command of war effort.
• Rasputins influence unpopular.
• Army badly equipped
• Worse armed, worse treated, worse led
• Two riffles for every two soldiers
• Food shortage and breakdown of communication
• Huge desertion inflation peasants capture land