Russian and its rulers

Russia c.1855 n Ruled autocratically by Romanov Tsars since 1613 n Ruled since 1825 by Tsar Nicholas I (‘Thirty wasted years’) n Supported by Russian Orthodox Church; the ‘divine right’ to rule (the ‘little father’ of the Russian people’) n Landowning nobility were the elite (though not necessarily very rich) n Opposition exiled / imprisoned; secret police - The Third Section n Economically backwards; little industry and few railways whilst Western Europe was industrialising rapidly n Primitive agricultural methods and low outputs / yields n 90% of the people were peasants and most were serfs (slaves) n Working and living conditions were harsh n Between 1853 and 1856 defeat in the Crimean War exposed just how backward the Russian Empire had become n See OXLEY Chapter 1 pages for detail

Russia The reign of Tsar Alexander II n Introduced ‘reform from above’, to modernise Russia n Key Reform - The Emancipation of the Serfs 1861 n Several other reforms including the introduction of some local government (zemstva) and trial by jury n Most of these reforms had significant flaws and were met by mounting opposition - the intelligentsia (‘westernisers’ and ‘slavophiles’) n Key Opponents include –The Narodniks in the early 1870s –Land and Liberty –The People’s Will n Alexander was unwilling to give up his own autocratic power; re- considering this when assassinated in March 1881 n An ‘ineffective liberal’ and an ‘inefficient autocrat’ n See OXLEY Chapter 2 pages for detail

Russia The reign of Tsar Nicholas II n Attempted to rule like his father - stern autocracy and repression -but his character and changing circumstances made this impossible n Condemned liberal demands for a constitution as ‘senseless dreams’ n Faced rising opposition from groups like the Social Democrats (Bolsheviks & Mensheviks) and the Social Revolutionaries n Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War (04/05) and events on Bloody Sunday (Jan 05) sparked off the 1905 Revolution n Nicholas survived 1905 by reform (The October Manifesto - granted a Duma or parliament) n From 1906 Nicholas ignored demands from Duma for reform and rigged elections in 1907 to ensure the election of supporters n Stolypin repressed severely but introduced reform in countryside n By 1906 Nicholas II was increasingly under influence of Rasputin n See OXLEY Chapter 3 pages & Chapter for detail Nicholas II - Page 1

Russia The reign of Tsar Nicholas II n Stolypin assassinated in 1911 n Massacre of striking miners in Lena goldfields in 1912 suggests regime in trouble n Entry into the First World War in 1914 probably doomed Nicholas II n Disastrous defeats on Eastern Front as troops lacked modern weapons n Nicholas II appointed himself supreme army commander in 1915 (which left no-one else to blame) n Government increasingly in hands of his unpopular German wife, Alexandra, and Rasputin (until his murder in December 1916) n War led to rapid inflation, food shortages and starvation n Bread riots in February 1917 spiralled into revolution and led to the abdication of Nicholas II and the end of the Romanov dynasty n See OXLEY Chapter 3 pages & Chapter for detail Nicholas II - Page 2

1917 The Russian Revolutions n Two revolutions –February (March) –October (November) n The February Revolution –Tsar Nicholas II abdicated –Two groups claimed power: The Provisional Government (former members of the Duma) The Petrograd Soviet (Workers’ Council) n The Provisional Government failed to reform and lost popularity –Continued fighting (and losing) in the First World War –Failed to re-distribute the nobles’ land to the peasants n Lenin and the Bolsheviks (Communists) gained support with their demand for ‘Peace, Bread and Land’. n In October 1917 the Provisional Government was overthrown and the Bolsheviks, who by then dominated the Petrograd Soviet, seized power. n See OXLEY Chapter 5, pages , for details