Tsarist Russia 1905

Nicholas the second

Was the last tsar of Russia from the Romanov Dynasty. He had quite weak character and was never prepared to be a tsar in the first place.

Religion in Russia

Almost all Russians were a part of the Russian Orthodox Church. It was believed that the tsar was appointed by God, therefore he had the unconditional support of the religious community in Russia.

Reasons for discontent between peasants

Peasants were 85 percent of Russia’s population, peasants suffered the worst famine in 1890s and were shocked at how badly the famine was dealt with. The peasants were desperate for land, overtaxed and most in desperate poverty

Reasons for discontent between the industrial workers

As the industrialisation of Russia had just began in the 1890s there were little industrial workers and all were concentrated at the big cities. The conditions in the factories were awful, the hours were long, the pay was low and the housing was terrible.

Reasons for the discount among the middle class

The middle class were liberals, they wanted a say in how the government is run and wanted to replace the regime with a constitution.

Reasons for discontent among the non Russians

Only 44 percent of people living in Russia were Russian by nationality. There were parts of the umpire which wanted independence and didn’t want to abide to the ”Russification” and adapt to a different culture

Who were the radicals?

Radicals wanted the peasants and workers to take power for themselves and not abide the regime. A lot of the radicals were a part of the Socialist Revolutionary Party and believed that the regime should be destroyed through violence

What was the radical threat?

Tsarist was under attack by the revolutionaries, Tsars were assassinated before as well as many important figures in the government. Socialists believed that Russia would undergo a revolution through which the workers will gain control

What was the Russian Social Democratic Party?

RSDP was formed in the 1898, it followed the ideas of Karl Marx and it was tiny. It was split into two parts the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks

Who were the Mensheviks?

They were the less radical part of the party, they believed it’ll take a long time for Russia to industrialise enough to have a workers’ revolution

Who were the Bolshevik?

They were the more radical part of the RSDP, they were led by Vladimir Ulyanov, his fake name was Lenin. They believed that a workers’ revolution should be led as soon as the time seemed right.

What were the characteristics of a police state?

police were given a lot of power and were serving the Tsar not the people. Many books about political ideas were censored and anyone suspected of working against the regime was imprisoned or sent to exile to Siberia. There was a secret police division called the Okhrana, any terrorists who were caught planning against the government were executed.