generate pod on this "3.1.1 Alexander II (1855 - 1881) Why was it considered necessary to emancipate the serfs? There was an increasing need for modernisation in several aspects of the Russian Empire: economic, military, and social. Alexander II saw that one of the best ways to achieve this modernisation was to emancipate the serfs. Economic ● A lack of labour necessary for industrial development ○ There were 53 million serfs in the Russian Empire, making up about 90% of the population. However, these serfs were often tied to their land, and thus unable to move to the cities to work in factories as labour. ● No incentive for trade ○ Serfs were allowed to trade, as an addition to farming. However, as their landowners would often raise the rent for the serfs that were trading well, effectively taking their profits from them. As such, there was no great incentive to make profit through trade. ● Debt ○ Agricultural stagnation left the serfs unable to pay taxes, and by 1855 they owned about 54 million roubles to the state. ○ Landowners were similarly falling into increasing debt as old-fashioned agricultural practices failed to produce a large enough grain surplus for export. This, combined with the fact that the population had doubled since the early 19th century (increasing domestic consumption accordingly), left a majority of landowners in debt. ○ All this debt contributed towards the government’s debt. 170 Military ● A need for the reformation of the Russian army ○ The Crimean War made it clear that there was a desperate need for the reorganisation of the Russian army. War broke out as a result of a Russian expansion into the Balkans and the Middle East, which threatened the Ottoman Empire, British, and French. The war, which began towards the end of Nicholas I’s rule (dying 1855), was left to be handled by Alexander II. ○ The Russian army faced a defeat in Sebastapol against British-French forces as a result of incompetent fighting combined with a cholera outbreak, and subsequently, lost naval supremacy as a result of the Treaty of Paris (1856). ○ Russian forces also suffered from inadequate transport and communications, as well as outdated and inferior equipment handled by unqualified personnel. ● Long ○ 25-year conscripts and the maintenance of a large peacetime army were taxing on the government budget. Serfs were also freed if they survived the army, which would cause an end to serfdom in several more generations so Alexander II thought “Hey, I might as well set them free before they do it themselves.” ○ Additionally, Serfs that had undergone military training (though not necessarily completing their conscription) could not be sent back to their communes as they feared that they would instigate uprisings, which were already happening frequently. Thus, an emancipation was necessary for the sake of internal and external security. Social ● Poor humanitarian standards for a Western power ○ Serfdom was essentially slavery. Slavery is morally wrong. Westernisers believed that for Russia to become a worthy Western power that achieved social and industrial progress, serfdom had to be abolished. 171 conscripts and tradition How was emancipation carried out, and with what results? * Peasants = serfs ● Stages (a.ka. how they had planned to implement emancipation) ○ For privately owned serfs: i. Stage 1 — Freedom - Personal freedom (could marry, run businesses, set up law courts, travel without interference, etc) however they had to continue to work for their landowners, for 2 years. ii. Stage 2 — Temporary obligation - Continue to work for landowners until ready to pay rent - Could ask to ‘redeem’ land from their landowners, the size of which was negotiated between the serfs and landowners and came with their house iii. Stage 3 — Redemption operation - Payment for their ‘redeemed’ land allotments, in 49 annual payments, with a 6% interest charge — payment went towards the local mir, which exercised control over the serfs after emancipation - Landowners were compensated for land lost to the peasants, based on a very high valuation of the land - Serfs had to remain within the mir until their redemption payments were completed, where they worked communal open fields. iv. For the other serfs: - State serfs were granted the same terms, but the transition period was 5 years instead of 2, and they generally received bigger plots of land allotments. - Household serfs got no land, just freedom. 172 Evaluating the successes and failures of the emancipation (really depends on what criteria you look at this from — in this case, it’s from the perspective of the peasants). ● Successes ○ The emancipation was a nominal success ■ On paper, at least 40 million peasants were liberated and serfdom was abolished. ○ Enterprising or hard-working peasants benefited from the emancipation ■ There were some who purchased additional land through further negotiations with their landowners and others who were able to purchase the land allotments from peasants who were leaving the countryside. ■ Peasants who left the countryside sold their land allotments to other peasants / back to their landowners, forfeiting mir rights, and thus being able to move to the city and obtain regular employment with reasonable wages. ■ Formation of kulaks, a sub-class of wealthy peasants, were able to produce a surplus for sale and exports. ○ Short-term successes ■ Immediate objectives of emancipation achieved: a reduction in peasant uprisings, and also the abolishment of serfdom without violence or a rebellion. ○ Long-term successes ■ If emancipation didn’t improve peasants’ living standards in the short term, it did lead to at least 85% of former serfs becoming landowners within 20 or so years of the reform. 173 ● Failures ○ Failure to meet expectations of the peasants ■ The peasants were largely disappointed in the nominal nature of the emancipation, and the long duration of land redemption. This gave rise to peasant discontent. ■ There was a total of 647 peasant uprisings following the edict, most notably being the Bezdna massacre (a violent uprising ending in an execution) ○ Problems with implementation ■ The immediate impact of the emancipation was that there was a practical problems of implementing the reform at local level. Russia is big. Alexander II quickly realised that he didn’t have the administration capabilities to efficiently carry out the emancipation. ■ Also, the process was dependent upon the support of the nobility, it was often slow and carried out in a way that favoured the landowners over the peasants. ○ Issues with the land allotments (bad for the peasants, good for the landowners) ■ Landowners would inflate the prices of the land (which was often poor; good land they kept for themselves) using the compensation payments form the peasants to write off their debts and invest in businesses in order to increase their own wealth. ■ Land allotments were therefore unfavourable to peasants — they were maid to pay redemption payments way above the actual value of the land, and received less land than they owned by right. Peasants that hadn’t previously worked the land also didn’t receive any land at all, according to the terms of the Edict. 174 ○ Worsened wealth and living standards of the peasants ■ The mir that exercised a considerable amount of control over the peasants, was almost (if not more) oppressive as that of the former landowner. For example, the mir was able to banish peasants to Siberia. ■ Undermined the personal freedom granted in the first stage of the Edict — e.g. even though freedom to travel without interference was technically granted, they required passports issued by the mir which was internal and difficult to get. Personal relationships were also regulated as much as before. ■ Additionally, the mir tended to be backwards looking in terms of perpetuating traditional farming techniques, preventing the transformation of former serfs into landowners as they had to resort to old-fashioned, low yield techniques. ○ Failure to bring about economic modernisation ■ Stuck with redemption payments, the peasants didn’t have much money to spare for anything else. One of the original goals of the Edict hoped that the emancipation would increase the spending power of the peasants, transforming them into a new class of consumers, in order to boost the Russian economy. This didn’t happen. ■ The mir also held peasants to their land and prevented them from leaving their villages to go to the cities to work in factories. Thus, there was no labour force needed to boost economic modernisation. ○ Undermining the social structure ■ The social status of landowners often depended on the number of serfs they owned, and the emancipation would cause them to lose this. In emancipating the serfs, Alexander the II lost the backing of his traditional supporters who lost status and wealth because of him. 175 ■ Alexander II also forgot to consult the landowners before declaring the edict (haha) so they felt betrayed that the Tsar had diminished their social importance ■ Serfdom is deeply rooted in Russian history, and there was a fear from traditionalists that the emancipation would bring about instability and chaos. 176 Alexander II’s further reforms Since serfdom was essential to the functioning of the Russian state (before 1861) in pretty much every aspect of the country, the abolishment of serfdom lead to demands for more reforms in order to function effectively without the serfs. ● Local government ○ It was considered necessary to reform the local government after the nobles lost legal and judicial control over the serfs. Several changes were put into place: ■ 1864: Establishment of the zemstva, consisting of elected councillors representing the local landowners, town dwellers, and peasant members of rural communes. ■ 1870: The duma, who similar elected councils set up in towns and cities to provide municipal self-government. ○ Provided opportunities for local political participation in ways not previously possible, and there was a natural incentive for the local professionals to look after their own affairs, providing services that the peasants originally didn’t have. ○ Very effective at a local level, with local knowledge enabling them to do a good job, promoting public health and welfare, improving hygiene, literacy, mortality rates and the environment. ○ Limited capacity to implement radical change, as many aspects of local government (e.g. taxes, appointing officials, law and order) remained with provincial governors who were appointed by the tsar and the police. ○ Voting system was based on property qualifications, and heavily weighted towards local landowners which made it easy for the conservative nobility to dominate the assemblies. ○ Tsar refused to consider creating an elected national assembly, against his belief in autocracy. His opposition to this had great support from landowners, who thought national representative body would remove their authority. 177 ● Army ○ Forced conscription compounded by the effects of the Crimean War resulted in low morale within the military. Weapons and technology were also outdated compared to other Western countries, resulting in inefficiency. Alexander II appointed Milyutin as the Minister of War, who used the Franco-Prussian War as a model for what could be done by a modernised army. ■ Conscription was now open to all classes, serving duration reduced from 25 to 15 years, soldiers could return home. ■ Promotions granted by merit and improved training, resulting in well-trained soldiers in every province. Literacy improved due to army education campaigns. ■ Army divided into 10 regions, and performed well in a Russian victory against Turkey (1877-1878). ○ Milyutin's reforms made the army more civilised and efficient - training and discipline no longer included brutal punishments, and shorter services meant that the army was no longer a 'life sentence'. ○ Still too much red-tape, bureaucracy, and officer classes remained largely aristocratic and retained its old-fashioned values. ○ Reforms were not enough and Russia also failed to keep peace with other Western Powers. They would face a defeat in the Russo-Jap War (1904-1905) and will later be obliterated by Germany in WWI. ● ● Legal ○ Before 1864 the courts in Russia were very corrupt and bribery was common. Staff were not legally trained, and were sometimes illiterate. Administration was slow, inefficient, socially discriminatory and corrupt - summed up the court system as "no grease, no motion”. 178 ○ ● ■ The legal system was replaced by one that more closely resembled the Western system of justice, with defence lawyers, juries, and staff were provided with proper legal training etc. ○ Procedural changes included equality before the law (defendant's rights were taken into account, accused were now granted defense lawyers), juries were now present and chosen by new local government and appeal courts were set up. ■ The 1878 Vera Zasulich case saw a violent revolutionary acquitted against the wishes of the minister of justice. ○ Changes to personnel included judges that were better trained, better paid and given security to tenure to establish independence from the government. They were also instructed to consider each case on merits and disregard precedents. ○ Lawyers were trained by new independent bar, which meant the growth of an educated elite generally predisposed to more liberal ideas. ○ Political radicals were not given the opportunity for a fair trial, and were still subject to arrest without a cause. Government permission still required for several things: juries could not handle cases involving treason or cases involving government officials. Alexander II also insisted that all reforms be curtailed after the 1878 Vera Zasulich case. ○ Peasants had to be tried in special courts outside the new system, their cases were withdrawn from the crown courts to special tribunals. ○ The police remained powerful and acted outside the law, especially the Third Section, punishing people without trial. ○ A shortage of trained lawyers meant that the reforms were slow to take effect, and the overall spread of the legal system was slow to implement in the empire. ○ Since an independent judiciary was essentially in conflict with the policy of autocracy, there was a long delay in applying this reform measure, only to be curtailed in 1878. 179 ● Economic ○ Geographic problems, backwards social and political structures and a massively expanding population made the economy backward and stagnant. With the nobility and clergy (upper class) exempt from direct taxation, peasants carried the tax burden resulting in a reduced internal demand for goods. Russia also lacked the entrepreneurial middle class that had driven industrial revolutions elsewhere in Europe. There was also an over-expenditure on military, consisting of 62% of the government budget. ■ Government intervention was needed to channel investment along the right paths and so Reutern was appointed as the Minister of Finance. ○ The government invested capital into projects, e.g. transport, and between 1861-1880, the railway track grew from 1000 miles to 14000 miles, government invested capital into projects, e.g. transport. ○ Improvements in heavy industry: a 16 fold increase in coal production, 10 fold rise in steel, and 50% rise in iron from 1860-1876 ○ Founding of the state bank in 1860, making it easier to raise money for business enterprise; extended credit facilities and made loans more available for the people, Jews were allowed to trade. ○ Budgeting and auditing procedures for all government departments. Tax-farming was abolished, with a removal of middle-men 'skimming' tax money. ○ Loans and other things established favoured the upper class. One area that saw little reform was the government's taxation policies - the peasants were still forced to bear the heavy burden of the poll tax, which the gentry were exempt from and which rose by 80% over Alexander's reign. ○ Though steps were made towards industrialisation and economic modernisation, the rate of development was still slow and fragile, as it either depended on foreign investments or good harvests. ○ ○ 180 ● Education and censorship ○ Education was limited to the upper classes and there was harsh censorship, with books and newspapers all submitted for evaluation by the government. Because of this, peasants suffered from massive illiteracy. ■ Golvonin was made Minister of Education and gave the zemstvas the job of providing primary and secondary education. ○ Students from poor families now had better access to education, between 1861-1881 the number of primary and secondary schools had increased fourfold. ○ Schools were more easily opened, and much freer and opened to children of all classes and religions. Village schools were no longer controlled by the Church. ○ Russian newspapers could discuss international and domestic policies, information and ideas could be circulated freely via newspapers. ○ University Regulations in 1863 (University State) gave universities autonomy in educational matters and exempted their libraries from the censorship laws, and scholarships were set up and by 1881 which removed the exclusivity of education to nobles who were able to pay. Women were now allowed into university. ○ The spread of education led to a growing demand for newspapers, books and magazines. By 1855 there were 140 magazines in circulation, and in 1865 Alexander issues a decree which relaxed the harsh censorship laws put in place by his father. ○ After an assassination attempt on the Tsar in 1866, Golvonin was replaced by the more reactionary Tolstoy, who kept a tighter reign over the secondary school curriculum. ○ Editors of newspapers which offended the government, as well as political dissidents, could still be tried in special courts and did not have the right to speak in their own defence, e.g. the radical journal The Contemporary was banned in 1866. 181 Growth of opposition under Alexander II’s rule ● The reforms implemented by Alexander II led to greater political opposition, where the conservatives were displeased at the radically liberal policies he had implemented, and the liberals pushed for further reform. Alexander's reforms had raised hopes which he could not fulfil without undermining the autocracy, in particular calls for a national assembly (parliament) and a written constitution defining and limiting the Tsar’s powers. ● His reactionary impulses in the later years of his rule encouraged the growth of radical extremism against the state, as they came after the political atmosphere had been opened up to Western liberal ideas and lesser censorship, resulting in a demand for fundamental changes to Russian autocracy. ● A new intelligentsia emerged as a result of his reforms and became involved in active opposition to the Tsar and his regime. This resulted in his assassination by radicals in 1881. Was there a tsarist reaction in the later years of Alexander II’s rule? ● Following an assassination attempted in 1866, Alexander replaced the liberal Golvonin, with the conservative Tolstoy. He would clamped down on the universities' independence and introducing tougher entrance requirements. There was also less freedom of the press and greater censorship. ● The Secret Police ("Third Section") were given greater powers to arrest and clamp down on radicals, and by the 1870's the country's prisons were full and an estimated 150, 000 opponents were exiled to Siberia in Alexander's reign. ● Nonetheless, he did give into a reformist demand of a national assembly (parliament). Ironically then, Alexander II was assassinated by radicals just as he had conceded further, and potentially far-reaching, liberal reform for Russia. * Can probably argue that he was a reactionary all along, and that his liberal reforms were just to reinforce his autocracy, instead of undermining them. 182 3.1.2 Policies of Alexander III (1881 - 1894) and Nicholas II (1895-1917) Backwardness and attempts at modernisation Despite the economic advances made during Alexander II’s reign, Russia still lagged behind Western Europe. Alexander III would appoint three finance ministers during his rule. ● Indicators of backwardness ○ Relative lack of capital for investment ■ Landowners suffered after Emancipation - hardly kept out of debt and had limited remaining capital to invest in industry ■ Emancipated peasants were even poorer than before because of the redemption payment terms ■ Lack of middle classes for investment / direction / expertise ○ Remained heavily agricultural and in primary industries ■ 90% of economy was still in the agricultural sector ■ Inefficient farming methods under strict control of ​mir ■ Grain was the whole economy, basically ○ Poor infrastructure and transport system ■ Unable to transport any raw materials / goods ■ Russia’s huge size made internal economic development impossible ■ Underdeveloped banking system, lack of middle class ○ Low industrial output ■ Due to late / low modernisation compared to the rapid pace elsewhere ■ Doubling population size → increased pressure on economy (1881-1914) 183 Alexander’s Finance Ministers ● Nikolai Bunge (1881-1887) ○ Consolidated banking system; created Peasants’ Land Bank (1882) ○ Introduced tax laws that reduced tax burden on peasants ● Ivan Vyshnegradsky (1887-1892) ○ Aims 1. Obtain budget surplus to finance government investment in economy 2. Achieve this through a reduction of import expenditure, increase in taxes, driving up grain exports, etc. ○ Reforms ■ Encouraged foreign companies to invest in Russian businesses by offering them financial incentives, e.g. bonus payments ■ Negotiated foreign loans → expand cash reserves ■ Raised direct taxes on the Russian population (haha Bunge)→ expansion of rail network and increase oil production in Baku and coal in Ukraine ■ Mendele’ev Tariff Act (1891): imposition of highest tariffs (33%) in Russian history on importing coal and oil to protect domestic industry + contribute to government budget ○ Outcomes ■ Obtained cheap loans from France (1888), essential in rebuilding technologically deficient Russian military + building of strategic railways for military transport ■ Successful - Grain exports increased by 18%, achieved budget surplus by 1892, balanced budget, gold reserves and a strengthened rouble ■ But of course he funded much of the surplus by selling grain abroad, this caused a famine (350,000 dead!) in 1891-1892 that led to him being sacked haha 184 Sergei Witte (1892-1903) ✳✳✳ ● Aims ○ Realised the root of the problem behind the lack of economic modernisation was the absence of the middle class (of industrialists and factory owners) to drive the modernisation ○ State intervention policy: government to provide initial drive for industrialization rather than the middle classes / domestic and foreign businesses ● Reforms ○ Foreign investment / involvement ■ Placed Russian rouble on gold standard to stabilise it → made easier to trade with Russia, less risky, increased investment activity and inflow of foreign capital ● French and Belgian investment rose from 98 million roubles in 1880 to 911 million in 1900 ■ Foreign management of industrial enterprises transformed heavy industry ● New Russia Company, under management of a Welshman, became the largest producer of big iron and railway tracks in the Empire ● Baku oilfields + foreign capital → growth of oil-refinement sector ○ Development of railways ■ Private railway companies acquired to build new state-owned, long-distance lines ● 60% of network state-owned, railway coverage expanded from 14,000 km in 1860 to 53,000 km in 1901 ■ Government gained revenues from freight charges, passenger fares ■ Made accessible more Russian raw materials, e.g. linking Baku to Batum on the Black Seas → increase export of Baku oil ■ Reduced cost of transporting grain → huge export growth 185 ■ Connection established between Central European Russia with Vladivostok with the Trans-Siberian Railway → opened up western Siberia for migration, good for troop transport ○ Increasing industrial output ■ Rapid industrial expansion (especially heavy industries) ● Coal: 200%; steel: 700% ● Achieved self-sufficiency in petroleum products ■ Increased consumer and domestic good industries ● Textile industries grew to 40% of industrial output in 1910 ■ Increase in number of industrial workers from 1 to 3 million by 1897, enacted law to limit work hours → improve working conditions ○ Increased commercial and industrial tax (again) ● Impact ○ (+) Massive increases in industry ■ Oil production in Baku rose by 1000% between 1883-1900 ■ Economy grew at 8% a year in the 1890s, fastest of all European countries ■ Long-term: economy continued to grow even after setbacks in 1900s at ~6% a year, Witte set development firmly in motion ○ (-) Remained an agricultural economy, pretty backward still ■ Lagged behind Britain and Germany (~70% industrial output) with only ~30% of national production coming from the industry ■ Productivity still low in the agricultural sector, produced half as much grain per acre compared to Western European countries ○ (-) Peasant unrest ■ Seizure of grain + periods of famine (1891-1892 and 1902) following bad harvests → lots dead, worsened peasant situation ■ Allowed ​mir to remain powerful, peasants still did not gain from their emancipated status → >:^( 186 ■ Increase in tax rates → increase in peasant uprisings (troublesome as they consisted 90% of the population) + lesser disposable income to drive up consumer demand ■ More professionals increasingly demanded political change through provincial ​zemstva and town ​dumas → reforms had broken down old social structure + provided forum for politics ○ (-) Human cost of railway construction did not warrant benefits ■ High number of deaths working in harsh conditions between 1891-1904 ■ Railway was single-track, overall rail coverage minimal, inefficient, kind of half-finished ■ Migration did not increase very much ○ (-) Dependence on foreign capital ■ French loans, 20% annual government spending to service debt ■ Vulnerability ○ (-) Creation of urban proletariat ■ 4%in1897→12%in1914 ■ Poor working conditions (e.g. low wages, long hours despite law, bad living conditions) + lack of trade unions → increasingly political Witte had achieved more than previous finance ministers, and his reforms strengthened Russia leading up to WW1 in terms of military transport (railway) and capital investment. However, the industrialisation and economic growth he brought about had been at the expense of the people, who saw little improvement (and sometimes worsening). Indirectly, Witte’s policies link to the 1905 and 1917 revolutions as a major factor in creating discontent among the proletariat and also the peasants. 187 Nature of Tsardom Alexander III (1881-1894) ● Background ○ Abrupt succession in 1881, after Alexander II’s assassination ○ Unprepared for Tsardom (which was originally his brothers until 1865, when he died); as Tsarevich, he was aided by the conservative figure of Pobedonostsev ● Highly ○ Reversed liberal reforms of Alexander II (father) ■ Blamed his father’s assassination on his reforms ■ Lived in constant fear of revolutionary action, staying far from St. Petersburg in his castle at Gatchina - nature of his rule can be simplified as a reaction to his father’s assassination ○ Konstantin Pobedonostev (1827-1907) ■ Procurator of the Holy Synod, also his tutor and essential in instilling importance of autocracy in Alexander III and had considerable influence on the overall ■ Right-wing conservative, Slavophile, nationalist, anti-semitic ○ Early evidence of conservative reaction ■ Execution of the Narodnaya Volya (People’s Will) terrorists responsible for his father’s assassination; 10,000 suspected revolutionaries arrested and / or exiled ■ Manifesto of Unshakable Autocracy (1881) rejected the liberal reforms of his father in favour of ‘unshakeable autocracy’, summed up reforms to be taken. Pobe’s influence was clear in the document - strong belief in Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationality ○ Evidence against conservative reaction ■ His finance ministers and their economic progress, namely Bunge’s conservative, reactionary Peasant Land Bank (1882); Vyshnegradsky’s budget surplus 188 ● Reforms (1881-1894) ○ Changes to cabinet, prominent figures ■ Nikolai Ignatiev appointed as Interior Minister (1881) to carry out nationalist, reactionary policy - responsible for Jewish progroms and the highly anti-semitic May Laws (1882) ■ Dmitri Tolstoy brought in after Ignatiev (1882-1889), was a strong supporter of autocracy, backed nobility, regulated peasants and prepared the unpopular counter-reforms ■ Mikhail Katkov, editor of ​Moscow News (1863-1887) aided in the dispersal of the government’s ultra-conservative policies / message ○ Repression ■ Statue on Measures for the Preservation of Political Order and Social Tranquility ​(1881, repeatedly renewed till 1917) for the eradication of ‘vile sedition” - revolutionary areas put under ‘extraordinary security’ where suspected revolutionaries were subject to arrest, interrogation, imprisonment, exile, and had no right to legal representation ■ Statute on Police Surveillance (1882) extended power and size of the Okhrana ​(secret police network) ■ Banning or surveillance of public gatherings, schools, universities, etc. ○ Countryside / local government ■ Introduction of new noble position - ​land captains (1889), nobility with power to override ​zemstva elections and local courts, had total authority to root out local sedition ■ Changed constitution of ​zemstva to favour nobles and adjust influence, replaced municipal council members with state employees ■ Electorate Laws (1890-1892) to reduce popular vote in rural and urban elections once again to favour the nobility ■ Banned peasants from leaving the ​mir to extend the control and influence they exerted over individual peasants → attempt at controlling countryside 189 ○ Judicial changes ■ Partial reversal of Alexander II’s reforms - dismissal of judges, establishment of ‘closed court sessions’ where no observers or reporters were permitted (a return to traditional non-Western rulings) ■ Jurors required property and educational qualifications → nobility ■ Elimination of local magistrates, shifted local judicial powers to land captains ○ Education ■ Increased censorship in schools, universities, newspapers, books ■ Removal of independence of universities granted to them by Alexander II (1884), forced to undergo government inspection with professors chosen by the state ■ Only upper classes were eligible for higher education ■ Raising of school fees to exclude peasants ■ Increased number of elementary schools, but fell under control of the Church → lessons had constant indoctrination to ensure religious observance, and since Pobe believed that education of peasants was a waste of time they taught them minimal knowledge ■ Censorship Committee (1882) with power to close offending publications, ban and required presentation of all published material for review before they could be released to public ○ Russification ■ Strict suppression of multi-ethnic groups so as to remove the ‘instinct of nationality’ which could ‘serve as a disintegrating force’ (Pobe’s words) ■ Removed separate languages and cultures of 40 million non-Russians (60% of population) by enforcing use of Russian language and forbidding languages (e.g. Ukrainian and Belarussian); banning of ‘foreign’ literature and forced religious conversions from Lutheranism to Orthodoxy 190 ■ Reorganisation of senates to diminish influence, e.g. Finish Senate in 1892, later abolished in 1899 ■ Harsh repression of uprisings of ethnic peoples e.g. Uzbed district (1886) ■ Members of nonconformists sects were not allowed to hold government positions, e.g. Roman Catholics ○ Anti-semitism ■ Established ‘Pale of Settlement’ in southern and western Russia to confine the Jews to this one area ■ Encouraged anti-Jewish pogroms (first instance 1881) and attacks on Jewish communities → from 1881 to 1884, 200 communities with high concentrations of Jews experienced violent outburst ■ May Laws ​(1882) disallowed Jewish purchase of property and living in rural areas → forced into ghettos and large town or villages ■ Quota on Jewish education, banning form civil service, forced deportation ■ You’d wonder why 20th century Russia had a disproportionate number of Jewish revolutionaries, e.g. Trotsky, Lenin, Zinoviev etc. With the help of his crony Pobe, Alexander III’s reforms were largely to strengthen autocracy and return to traditional structures, as a reaction to his father’s assassination which he believed was caused by his pursuit of moderate reform. Overall, he was largely a conservative reactionary in terms of social and political reform, though economically was more a reformist like his dad. 191 Nicholas II (1894-1917) “His character is the source of all our misfortunes.” - Witte “He’s a sad man; he lacks guts.” - Rasputin “... completely mediocre and brainless... he was not fit to run a village post office.” - Trotsky ● Background ○ Also tutored by Pobe and as a result believed in the morally right, God-given nature of autocracy ■ In his coronation speech made known that he would “devote all [his] strength, for the good of the whole nation, to maintaining the principle of autocracy just as firmly and unflinchingly as it was preserved by [his] unforgettable father” ■ Believed that democracy would bring about the collapse of the Russian empire - ideologically incapable of accommodating the new middle class ○ Received little political training, lacked experience for leadership - unprepared ■ Fickle; unwilling to engage in politics ■ Disorganised, stubborn 192 ○ His wife, Tsarina Alexandra was similarly obstinate ■ A strong believer in autocracy, she urged him to stand firm and avoid making concessions that she thought would weaken the monarchy despite the changing social and economic conditions in Russia ■ She was unpopular herself, due to her German heritage ● Problems faced ○ Economic modernisation was desirable, but also a threat to the regime ■ Working class was volatile, discontented, and were a bigger threat than peasantry due to their high concentration in central areas → increasing pressure for political change ■ Educated workforce read political literature → receptive to political ideas, challenged government ■ Poor working conditions brought about deep resentment → unrest ○ Peasantry ■ Have been kicked around for essentially, all of Russian history, freshly wounded by the failure of emancipation in 1862 + ​mir ​→ uprisings ○ National minorities, impact of Russification ■ Suppressed an alienated 60% of their population → increasing number of uprisings and protests from national groups seeking freedom and autonomy in their parts of the empire ■ Jewish ‘Bund’ (Unions) - revolutaries ○ Political opposition ■ :^) 193 Growth of opposition movements Liberals ● Grown significantly after government reforms in Alexander II (1864) ○ Zemstva had given locals a small degree of autonomy → councils were effective, and created a class of people familiar and skilled in local politics ○ Took a more organised form at the start of the 20th century ■ Union of Liberation (1903) - demanded economic and political reform ● Main beliefs ○ Lobbied for extension of freedom and rights ■ Self-determination for national minorities ■ Sometimes the extension of ​zemstva​ to regional / national level ○ Major opposition to tsarism: free elections, parliamentary democracy and limitation of tsar’s powers ● Methods ○ Believed in nonviolent reform ○ Political channels through ​zemstva​, newspapers, meetings and reform banquets ● Support ○ Not a large popular base, few active supporters outside Moscow, Petrograd, etc. ○ Middle-class intelligentsia, e.g. doctors, lawyers ○ Progressive landowners, industrialists and businesses Revolutaries ​(Populism and the People’s Will) ● Main revolutionary movement in late 19th century, would give rise to formation of the People’s Will and Land and Liberty groups ● Main beliefs ○ Believed that peasants in Russia could help develop their own form of socialism ○ Life based around cooperation and sharing in peasant communities (small scale) ○ Avoid capitalism, “evils” of industrialization 194 ● Methods ○ "Go to the people" ■ In 1874, they went into the villages to spread the idea of social revolution, but they achieved very little; peasants were generally distrustful and hostile towards the Populists and reported them to the police ● Support and timeline and splitting ○ Lobbied for support of ordinary people, while they themselves were wealthy intellectuals (dubbed “Narodniks”) ○ In 1874 the government placed over 200 populists on trial - 153 acquitted and the rest were given light sentences ○ The remaining Populists formed into a violent group, ​Land and Liberty ■ Vera Zasulich shot and wounded Trepov (Governor of St. Petersburg) ■ Put on trial, acquitted by a jury despite her obvious guilt, and the shocked Alexander II would curtail most judicial reforms as a result ○ After another unsuccessful attempt on the Alexander II’s life, Land and Liberty broke up into the ​Black Repartition (which, despite it’s name, favoured peaceful evolution) and the ​People's Will ​which... ■ Favoured violent revolution → created revolutionary tradition ■ Attracted to nihilism of Bakunin, who argued for the complete annihilation of all institutions and all forms of authority (e.g. state, family, religion and morality) ■ Passed a death sentence on the Tsar and made four unsuccessful attempts on the Tsar's life within the year before they blew him up at the Sunday Parade Socialist Revolutionaries ● Formed in 1901, loose organization accommodating groups with a wide variety of views ○ Lacked central control and coordination ○ Split between moderates and radicals (supported extreme terrorism) 195 ● Main beliefs ○ Hope for revolution with the peasants, who would fuel a popular uprising to overthrow the tsarist government and replace with a democratic republic ○ Accepted development of capitalism and growth of proletariat, but believed that peasantry could skip the capitalist stage and move straight to rural socialism ● Methods ○ Agitation and terrorism, assassinated officials ● Support ○ Peasants and industrial workers (who recognised the SRs as the party that supported their aims) ○ Attracted intellectuals that wanted to make contact with masses ○ Peasants recognised the SRs as party that represented them, even though they could not read their leaflets, as they believed they would ‘return the land to those who worked it’ The Marxists ● Background ○ In the 1880s, it seemed to some Russian intellectuals that there was no hope of a revolutionary movement developing amongst the peasantry ○ Turned to theories of Karl Marx - optimistic theories that saw progress through development of industry + growth of working class ● Main beliefs and methods ○ Believed in action in achieving socialism, organised strikes in factories among the working class 196 Marxist stage theory Stage Characteristics Progression to next stage Feudalism ● Absolute monarchy ○ Dominant aristocracy controlling masses ○ Serf (work on estates, owned)→ merchant → knight → lord → king ○ Tied to some form of religion e.g. Christianity, Orthodox Church ● Influence of the merchants would increase as they accumulated wealth ● Conflicted with the old powers (usually the nobility) -> power struggle ● He who controls factors of production rules and the money making class comes to power Capitalism ● Democracy with rights, freedom ● Means of production controlled by the bourgeoisie ● Exploits the proletariat (long working hours, bad conditions) ● Exploitation grows with capitalism ● Wealth is not shared equally ○ Large share goes to the bourgeoisie ○ Small share to the proletariat → anger ● Revolution led by the middle class Socialism ● Everybody is equal ○ Government made up of workers (from the proletariat mostly) ○ Small group of workers dictate how the government is run (resource allocation) ● Industrialised, collectively-owned ● No classes, everyone has equal entitlement to what is produced ● The decreasing need for a government due to the lack of competing classes causes a shift to communism Communism ● Complete elimination of social class or any form of government, leadership ● Everyone is equal where no one is in control, no one is in charge ● Resources are distributed according to the needs of the people ● Contribution by people to the state and society without any personal gain Marxist-Leninism ● Revolution to be accomplished by small group of highly professional, dedicated revolutionaries needed to develop revolutionary consciousness of proletariat ● Believed that the proletariat should develop a revolutionary government of its own alliance with poor peasants - combination of bourgeois and socialist revolution 197 Social Democrats (SDs) ● Background ○ Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (1898) ○ Disputes about party direction ■ Encourage trade unions to improve working conditions of workers ■ Or, focus on revolutionary tactics and preparation of working class for the revolution ● Main beliefs ○ Both parties accepted the main tenets of Marxism but were split over the role of the party → split into Mensheviks and Bolsheviks ● Support ○ Mainly working class ■ Bolsheviks attracted younger, more militant peasant workers who liked discipline, firm leadership, simple slogans ■ Mensheviks tended to attract different types of workers and intelligentsia Mensheviks Bolsheviks ● Broadly based, and take in all those who wished to join ● Be more democratic, allowing members to have say in policy making ● Encouraged trade unions to help working class improve their working conditions Believed in long period of bourgeois democratic government where workers would develop class and revolutionary consciousness → socialist revolution ● Made up of small number of highly disciplined professional revolutionaries ● Operate under centralised leadership ● System of small cells so it would be more difficult for police infiltration Job of the party to bring socialist consciousness to the workers and lead them through the revolution - critics warned that a centralised party would lead to a dictatorship 198 3.1.3 The 1905 Russian Revolution: Causes and Aftermath Long-term causes ● Economic, social ○ Emergence of new working class ■ Grievances over poor working conditions ■ Wanted more political power ■ Militancy was evident in strikes throughout 1890s ■ Failure to properly organise ​Okhrana-​run trade unions ○ Changing nature of civil societies ■ Nobility had lost their power, influence ■ Peasants entering liberal professions, becoming landowners, merchants, a new class of businessmen (​kulaks​) ■ Increasing local involvement in politics ■ In rural areas were still suffering periodic famines, population problems putting pressure on land - poverty, high taxes (Witte’s policy) ○ Economic depression ■ Series of poor harvests from 1897-1901 → unemployment, unrest, starvation and violence in countryside ■ Economic slump in 1902 and international monetary crisis → difficulties in negotiating foreign loans, tax income at home declined ■ Slowing economic growth, now 1% in 1899, made worse by the strikes and worker unrest in factories → urban working class :^( ● Political ○ Leftover impacts of Russification ■ National minorities wanted more autonomy and independence 199 ○ Increasing opposition ■ Alienated intelligentsia - students against censorship, middle-classes wanting political representation or some form of elected national assembly ■ Revolutionaries, e.g. SDs and SRs, taking shape and gaining support Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) - Catalyst ● Causes ○ Russian expansion into the Far East as a response to the dissolution of the Chinese Empire for resources, markets and Port Arthur (warm-water port) ■ Extend Trans-Siberian Railway into Manchuria ○ Tsarist regime seeking war as a convenient way of diverting attention from domestic problems (economic disaster in 1904) ■ "Short victorious war" would unite the people and dampen revolutionary feelings → gaining support for regime ■ Underestimated Japanese military power ○ Growing tensions between Russia and Japan ■ Negotiations between the two countries had proved impractical ■ Territorial disputes in Korea and Manchuria ● Course ➔ 1904 ◆ Battle of Port Arthur​ (February 1804) ● Surprise attack by Japanese ◆ Blockade and Siege of Port Arthur​ (February-April 1904) ● Japanese seized Port Arthur ◆ Battle of Yalu River​ (May 1904) ● Removed perception that Japanese would be an easy enemy ● Russia was unable to match Japanese military power ◆ Battle of Yellow Sea ​(August 1904) ● Heavy losses to Russian troops and battleships 200 ➔ 1905 ◆ Battle of Mukden ​(February 1905) ● Major defeat for Russians (90,000 dead) ● Decisive land battle ◆ Battle of Tsushima​ (April 1905) ● Naval campaign was the decisive factor in determining outcome ● Russian fleet was virtually annihilated, losing 8 battleships, ~5,000 men; Japanese had minimal losses, three torpedo boats ● Only three Russian vessels escaped to Vladivostok, the rest were either sunk or captured ● Forced Russians to sue for peace ◆ Treaty of Portsmouth​ (August 1905) ● Significance of defeat for Tsar Nicholas II ○ Sueing for peace and the treaty was humiliating ■ Though terms of peace were lenient, the whole affair was catastrophic for image of tsarist regime → eroded image of the Tsar, seen as incompetent ■ Asian victory usurped European racial and military superiority ○ Acted as catalyst for the meltdown in 1905 ■ Worsened economic plight of peasants and workers by causing fuel and food shortages, unemployment, inflation etc. ■ Waste of precious resources ○ Strengthened opposition ■ Justified opposition claims that government was ‘irresponsible, reckless’ ■ Felt that those who encouraged the Tsar in his purpose for going to war betrayed their Sovereign as well as their country ■ Opportunity to take advantage of the general dissatisfaction to set the government and the masses against each other 201 Bloody Sunday (9 January 1905) - Immediate Cause ● Course ○ Father Georgy Gapon led unarmed demonstrators marched towards the Winter Palace to present a petition to Tsar Nicholas II ○ Set off peacefully in the morning, but upon reaching the Winter Palace were fired upon by soldiers of the Imperial Guard ○ More than 150 killed ● Demands made by protesters (surrounding working conditions, radical demands but not aggressive) ○ An 8-hour day and freedom to organize trade unions ○ Improved working conditions, free medical aid, higher wages for women ○ Elections to be held for a constituent assembly by universal, equal, secret suffrage ○ Freedom of speech, press, association and religion ○ End of Russo-Japanese War ● Outcomes ○ Repercussions of government action ■ Showed disregard for ordinary people and the state, would stop at no violence and no treachery → undermined the state, brought into question of autocracy and legitimacy of Tsar ○ Change in attitude of the Russian people toward the Tsar ■ Romanoff dynasty began to become odious among the working men in Russia → public outrage, series of massive strikes spreading quickly ■ Illusion of a benevolent autocrat who was going to listen paternally to the demands of his subjects was gone forever ● Peasants especially no longer distinguished the Tsar from other bureaucrats and held him personally responsible for the tragedy ■ Breaking of the social contract between the Tsar and people → delegitimized the position of the tsar and his divine right to rule ○ Start of the active phase of the 1905 Revolution 202 Course of the 1905 Revolution ➔ January-February ◆ Bloody Sunday​ (9 January) ● Strikes spread to other cities and towns ● Censorship collapsed, newspapers → hostile towards government ◆ Assassination of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich​ (4 February) ● Tsar’s uncle, agreed to give new concessions ● Published the ​Bulygin Rescript (5 February) promising the formation of a consultative assembly, religious tolerance, freedom of speech (in the form of language rights for the Polish minority) and a reduction in the peasants' redemption payments. ◆ Formation of factories committees to represent workers ● Economic demands > political ◆ Ultra-nationalist movements ● Right-wing groups and the ​Black Hundreds were staunch supporters the Tsar and opposed any retreat from the autocracy of the reigning monarch ● Launched attacks on people deemed to be anti-government ➔ March-May ◆ Defeat at ​Battle of Mukden​ (10 March) ● At home, police were becoming increasingly ineffective - citizens formed militias or vigilante groups in order to protect themselves from criminals ◆ Series of ​Zemstvo​ Congress meetings (April-May) ● Asked for popular representation at national level ● Civil freedoms, universal adult suffrage ◆ Battle of Tsushima​ (14 May) ➔ June-August ◆ Increase in incident of peasant disturbances ● Demanded land, end of redemption payments and reduction in rents 203 ● Not coordinated movement, largely spontaneous and a response to the economic distress including food shortage during the summer ● Seizure of land, grain, animals, attacks on landlords and refusal to pay rent ◆ Mutiny on the Battleship ​Potemkin​ (14 June) ● Harsh conditions for the navy, low morale following recent naval defeats ● Mutiny - crew killed several officers and seized ship, sailed to Odessa where amongst the strikes and turmoils they invited radicals on board ● Tsar ordered troops to open fire indiscriminately → killed ~2000, brought Odessa back under control and forced surrender of mutineers ◆ Universities granted autonomy (27 August) ● Focal points for political meetings ◆ Treaty of Portsmouth ​(29 August) ➔ September-October ◆ Increasing labour unrest ● Moscow railway strike → spread to other areas of Russia as other railway workers joined it → general strike, attracting support from industrial / urban workers (two million involved in total) ● Opposition groups united in demanding radical change ● Middle-classes supported the strikes and gave money ● Regime afraid to retaliate with violence ◆ Formation of ​Kadets​ (12-18 October) ◆ Formation of ​St. Petersburg Soviet​ (13 October) ◆ October Manifesto ​(1 October) ● Written by Sergei Witte and Alexis Obolenskii, presented to the Tsar ● Followed the demands of the Zemstvo Congress ○ Granting basic civil rights ○ Allowing the formation of political parties ○ Extending the franchise towards universal suffrage ○ Establishing the Duma as the central legislative body 204 ● Signed on 17 October, citing his desire to avoid massacre (and realising that there was no military to pursue other options) ● Proclamation of Manifesto → demonstration of support and collapse of strikes in St. Petersburg and elsewhere, but also violent backlash from conservative elements of society e.g. right-wing attacks on liberals ➔ November-December ◆ Russian liberals satisfied, prepared for upcoming Duma elections; conservatives denounced elections and called for armed uprising to destroy empire → tensions ◆ General strike by Russian workers (5-7 December) ● Government sent in troops → street fighting, artillery used ● > 1000 dead, parts of cities in ruins ● Final struggle in Moscow, where the Bolsheviks had taken control and strikes were common → failed, surrendered, and uprisings ended Reactions to the October Manifesto ● ● Divided the revolutionaries ○ Together they had presented a formidable opposition to autocracy, destroyed unified front that had made the opposition so formidable Nick II abhorred its restrictions upon his powers - backtracked with ​Fundamental Laws ○ Dismissed the First and Second Dumas when they proved "unsatisfactory" to him ■ Who were unable to pass laws without his agreement ○ Altered election statues (violating the constitution) to ensure that more nobility would be elected to future Dumas ■ Third and Fourth Dumas, while more lasting, still quarrelled with the Tsar and his government over overall direction of the state Introduced too suddenly → confusion ○ Most provincial authorities did not understand what was happening, and many ● lacked sympathy for the new course of policy ○ Regions that had already been in tension were thrown into a frenzy by it"