Government under the Tsars 1855-1917

From 1855-1905 the format and institutions of central government remained largely the same except for what

One significant but temporary change made in 1861 → The Committee of Ministers added

People started to clamour for what

More representation → constitutional form of government (+ radicals wanted overthrow of system for communism)

Tsar role in government 1855-1905

Autocrat, complete control of policy making and its implementation

Organs of central gov. accountable to tsar

Senate role until 1905

Supreme Court in Russia → final court of appeal on legal matters, promoter of manifestos of the tsar, confirmer of noble titles, adjudicator over land disagreements

Council of Ministers until 1882

• Replaced The Personal Chancellery of his Imperial Majesty (which had a personal secretariat, legal advisers, and the ‘Third Section’ secret police) in 1861

• Chaired by tsar, officials nominated by him

• Discussed draft legislation that could be either put through with immediate royal assent or given to the Committee of Ministers for more scrutiny

• Abandoned 1882 → roles shared out

The Imperial Council of State until 1905

• Established 1810

• Gave advice to tsar on legal and financial matters

• Members appointed by tsar

• Tsar had no obligation to listen to them

The Committee of Ministers until 1906

• Established 1861

• Initially 13 ministers → each responsibility for administration of aspect of Russian affairs

• E.g. minister for war, minister of finance, one responsible for religious affairs (Chief procurator of the Holy Synod)

• Administrative role only

• Did not formulate policies

• Answerable to the tsar → weakness, they didn’t consult each other (conflicted policies)

• E.g. m.o. finance wanted to implement tighter budgetary control, others wanted to spend more on reforms

• in 1906 shared out between new Council of Ministers, Duma and the State Council

When was there pressure for change

• Russo-Japanese War 1904-5

• 1905 → assassinations of key political figures, a massacre of a group of workers by state troops (Bloody Sunday), strikes, a naval mutiny (Potemkin) etc.

Response of Nicholas II to 1905 unrest

October Manifesto (1905) → confirmed more representative form of government centring on the Duma

Fundamental Laws too → this theoretically created new political structure (a ‘hybrid’ form), though tsar still had complete power as the Laws confirmed

Tsar role after 1905

Continued to rule as an autocrat → position reinforced by 1906 Fundamental Laws

Council of Ministers after 1905

• Law-making and administrative body

• Prime Minister (Witte was first) → selected by tsar (still power tsar)

• Officials nominated by tsar (like Committee of Ministers before)

• Material for upper and low chambers to debate

• In theory results of discussions above reported to tsar, who would decide if Council of Ministers would implement law etc.

• Fundamental Laws allowed ministers to report directly to tsar when houses in recess, however

• + tsar could bypass State Council and Duma if he thought they would try to prevent things being put through → he still had power, and once he gave stamp of approval legislation could not be reversed by the chambers

The State Council after 1905 → upper house (nominated and elected)

• Check on the Dumas

• Had to agree with Dumas before reforms could be considered for approval by tsar

• Nominated by tsar or elected as representatives of towns, Church, Zemstva, etc.

• + tsar could bypass them so still power

The Duma after 1905 → lower house (elected)

• Assembly of people from lots of social groups in theory (see below how this didn’t rly work)

• Could not pass laws but could veto proposed legislation

• Election process complex deliberately → electoral college system (voting for ‘others’ who then chose representatives from political parties to sit in duma) favoured those with property + not workers and peasants

• Though still no guarantee that it would support ruling elite totally → first duma (1906) confirms this

• TSAR COULD DISBAND THE DUMA!!

Senate after 1905

Similar to before

First Duma when

April - July 1906

First Duma

• Polish Question debate

• Gov. made statement that compulsory land redistribution was not an option → angered Duma

• Duma more radical solution → press coverage

• Disbanded by tsar

Between first and second Dumas

New approach to dealing with dissidents after arrest of key Kadet and Labourist Party members who signed Vyborg Manifesto (demands from some Duma MPs asking Finnish not to pay taxes/serve army until Duma back)

Stolypin (new Chairman of the Council of Ministers) ordered trial system for civilian rioters to be accelerated by introducing field court-materials → quick trials and execution, ‘Stolypin’s neckties’

Second Duma when

Feb-June 1907

Second Duma

• Fewer Kadets and Labourists

• More SDs, SRs, Octobrists and the far right

• Tsar and Stolypin didn’t trust work over land reform + army

• When SD member of Duma framed for attempting to arrange army mutiny, dissolved by tsar

Kadets

• Centre to centre-right

• The Constitutional Democrats, liberal and political group founded in 1905

Octobrists

• Centre-right

• Supporters of tsar + October Manifesto proposals

Labourists

• Interested in improving working conditions of proletariat

Social Democrats (SDs)

Centre-left to far-left

Dedicated to the overthrow of the autocracy and the establishment of a socialist state based on the revolutionary leadership of the Russian proletariat.

Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs)

Left-wing

Wanted to overthrow the Tsarist autocracy and create a democratic socialist republic, focusing on land redistribution to the peasantry (land socialisation), workers' rights (fair wages, unions, insurance), and a democratically elected Constituent Assembly

Third Duma when

Nov 1907- June 1912

Third Duma

• Mainly people loyal to crown e.g. wealthy property owners

• Fewer nationalist members from non-Russian parts of empire

• Strengthened army and navy

• Justices of the peace and abolition of land captains → still ‘checks’ in judiciary system

• State-run insurance schemes for workers

Justices of the peace

Landowners (appointed as officials) who maintained law and order at local level

What did Stolypin do to destabilise Duma

Manipulate Article 87 so even more biased towards autocracy

Duma did serve full term of office

Fourth Duma when

Nov 1912-Feb 1917

Fourth Duma

• Far right politicians dominated

• Coincided with brutal repression of civil disorder e.g. striking miners at the Lena Goldfields 1912 killed by police

• Duma members (more liberal) outraged → 1914 expressed their concerns at Ministry

• Pressure on tsar to abdicate 1917

Wartime impacts

Work of Duma disrupted when a group of socialist members walked out at Nicholas II’s decision to commit Russia to a war considered not possible to win

Progressive Bloc

By 1915 a ‘Progressive Bloc’ of Duma representatives demanded a National Government to take charge of the war effort

Nicholas suspended Duma after this and personally took charge of armed forces (August 1915) → it reopened Nov 1916 but Progressive Bloc was still prominent

Concern over what wartime

• Real wages plummeting, food prices going up fast, fuel supplies dwindling

• Tsarina Germanic background and ‘friendship’ with the holy mystic Rasputin

Example of a 1917 strike

25 February general strike with workers being fired on by troops → Rozdianko (president of Duma) urged tsar to change attitude towards governing

26 February 1917

Duma defied tsar’s instruction to disband

Around half of the Petrograd Garrison joined protesters

27 Feb

Petrograd Soviet formed alongside the provisional Duma committee → foundation of dual power

clearly tsar unfit to rule

1st March

Soviet Order No. 1 passed → Petrograd Soviet total control over the Russian military

March 1, 1917

2 members of Duma intercepted royal train to ask Tsar to abdicate

March 2, 1917

Provisional Government established → declared itself legitimate temporary power → until Constituent Assembly could be held

Tsar Nicholas Abdicated

PG weaknesses

• Diluted authority due to power sharing (dual power)

• Lenin will start to undermine it

• Lack real authority and legitimacy

Majority of members of other parties wanted what

Main aim of Constituent Assembly → consensus

Leading Bolsheviks rejected this (favour ‘old interests’ to the detriment of workers and peasants)

PG what else was unpopular

• Not radical enough - American style democracy

• Mostly Kadets and Octobrists, except for Kerensky who was the only socialist member → first cabinet fell in May, the First Coalition (Lvov PM) brought in socialist ministers (end of Provisional Gov dominated by socialists)

• Lack of meaningful reform, even if gave freedom of speech to press etc.

Soviets features

• Keep eye on PG in defence of lower-class interests

• 3,000 deputies → large body

• An Executive Committee guided the work of the Petrograd soviet → housed in same building as PG

• Local soviets sprouted up in towns and garrisons – network of lower-class politics to counterweight town dumas + other organs of the PG

• Proletariat gaining voice

• After Order no. 1 had control over military

Lenin’s April Theses

• Assaulted PG + soviet leadership’s cooperation with it

• Policy outline to be followed by the Bolsheviks after his return from exile in April 1917

• CALLED FOR SEIZURE OF POWER BY THE SOVIET

• State power to Soviet of Workers’ Deputies

• Soviets rule Russia – support of peasants and workers

• Confiscate land and give it to the proletariat

Strikes March-October 1917

Some 2.4m workers struck March-October

July Days

• 3-6 July 1917 widespread demonstrations in Petrograd against PG

• Disorganised and easily put down by troops still loyal to PG and not soviets

• Weaknesses of opposition to PG esp. Bolsheviks

Kornilov affair

• Kornilov (Cossack general, commander in chief)

• Kornilov wanted to restore army discipline in Petrograd, war to be prosecuted, and repression of the Bolsheviks

• Early stages – general claimed that Kerensky needed troops to stave off a Bolshevik coup, Kerensky claimed Kornilov planning a coup, dismissed him as commander in chief

• Then Kornilov sends troops towards capital, but stopped by workers and Kornilov arrested

• Summer – Kerensky released Bolsheviks from prison + sought help from Red Guard to fend of Kornilov forces

Kerensky’s Third Coalition in September

Mostly moderate socialists, but did not expel nonsocialists from PG → still not radical enough

When did Strike activity peak

September 1917

By the middle of September

The Bolsheviks were in control of the Petrograd and Moscow soviet

7 October 1917

Lenin back from exile

23 October

Kerensky attempted to round up leading Bolsheviks, closed Pravda

24October

Petrograd soviet’s Military Revolutionary Committee began to seize power under Trotsky’s command

26 October

Members of PG arrested after capture of Winter Palace

2 November

Bolsheviks took control of Moscow

Soviet congress later informed

protests, lots walked out – congress in hands of Bolsheviks