Nicholas II

How was Nicholas II described?

His father described him as a ‘weakling’ and called him ‘girlie’

Nicholas’s leadership

Commanded respect and loyalty, but lacked the training and experience for leadership. He was unable to make decisions, unwilling to engage in politics and lacked organisation skills

Difficulties which the new Tsar faced

• Weak personality

• Weak economy

• Growing anger in countryside

• Radicalism in cities

• Discontent amongst ethnic minorities

Strikes mounted by women (1896-1897)

30,000 spinners and weavers striked, marking the arrival of a proletarist able to organise itself

How did the strikes in 1896 create change by the government?

Forced the government to concede, restricting the working day to eleven and a half hours

The Years of the Red Cockerel (1902-1907)

Named this due to the amount of unrest in the countryside. Peasants would set fire to barns, destroying grain and seizing woodland

How did the Great Famine of 1891-92 affect the population’s trust in the government?

Created distrust, while support for the Zemstva increased as they performed better at solving problems of Russia than the Tsarist government

Why did students join the SR in 1891?

Outbreaks by university students (1901)

Increasing number of outbreaks by students saw the Okhrana take a direct role in policing. Many students were expelled, exiled or drafted into the army

Increasing number of strikes (1894-1904)

By 1904, the number of strikes had risen to 90,000. 1901, the Obukhov factory saw violence clashes between armed police and whip-carrying Cossacks

International recession after 1900

Caused a deep depression in Russia, as it affected all areas of the economy and workers were hit by falling wages and unemployment

How did the depression in 1900 result in revolts?

Led to widespread industrial action. Workers returned to their villages to stir up peasant revolt where there was already huge anger about taxes and high rents.

Polta province revolt 1902

Peasant violence as landlords were withdrawing land needed to feed families or renting it out at exploitative rates

Zubatov trade unions

Set up a police sponsored trade union, which submitted demands to their employers who were pressured by police representatives into making concessions to prevent people turning to socialism

Evaluation of Zubatov trade unions

Short lived when Zubatov was dismissed and exiled after one of his unions had become involved in a general strike in Odessa

Assembly of St Petersburg Factory Workers (1904)

Plehve agreed to the formation of the St Petersburg Factory Workers, by Gapon. Had the support of the Orthodox Church and had 12 members with 8000 members

What was the aim of the Assembly of St Petersburg Factory Workers?

Hope was it would make moderate demands to reduce the level of tension amongst workers

Bloody Sunday

‘Bloody Sunday’ (1905)

Workers marched to the Winter Palace, carrying pictures of the Tsar and church banners, unarmed. Nicholas II gave orders to fire on the unarmed workers, with around a thousand workers killed, alongside the Bolsheviks who had marched with the workers

What was the purpose of the peaceful protest?

Organised a petition, asking for an 8 hour day, minimum wages and more dignified treatment

What was the impact of ‘Bloody Sunday’

The new of the Tsar’s crime spread, sparking anger and resentment as the worker’s intention was peaceful, hoping to show the Tsar the plight they suffered from. Led to the 1905 Revolution

Unorganised strikes after ‘Bloody Sunday’

Disorder in the form of strikes, demonstrations, riots and vandalism increasingly ruled the cities as the police became largely ineffective. Gangs and criminals roamed the streets and citizens formed vigilante groups to protect themselves

What was the issue with leaders of socialist parties being absent?

Many leaders were sent to exile in Europe - workers started to form factory committees to represent themselves, but strikes were spontaneous rather than planned.

What was the response from liberals who had the support of students?

A number of professional organisations (such as lawyers, engineers) and trade organisations came together to form the Union of Unions, to press the cause of liberal political reform

How did the zemstva and city councils respond?

Hundreds of zemstva and city councils sent in petitions demanding political change

What other event created anger towards the government?

The Russo-Japanese War, which led to the Russian Baltic fleet being wiped out at Tsushima in a humiliating manner

Phlehve’s assassination in 1904

His assassination sparks cheers of celebration, with renewed cries for a representative National Assembly (a Duma) which is agreed to hold discussions with zemstvo members, but Nicholas rejects the proposals

How do the peasants respond to the revolt?

They seize land, grain and animals, burning landlord’s houses, cutting timber illegally, and refusing to pay taxes and rents.

What were the demands of the peasants?

Land, the end of redemption payments, and a reduction in rents

Were the peasants co-ordinated in their revolts?

No co-ordinated movements but a range of peasant unions and societies appeared (eg, All-Russian Peasant Union)

How did the national minorities respond to the revolts?

Demonstrations with slogans such as ‘Down with Tsarism’ and ‘Long Live an Independent Socialist Poland’

What were the demands of national minorities?

• The Poles and Finns demanded outright independence

• Strong nationalist character to demands for local language and culture to be taught in schools

How did the Tsar respond to these demands by the national minorities?

• The Tsar dispatched 10,000 troops to Georgia

• In Poland, there was a virtual state of civil war and the tsarist regime had to keep a force of 30,000soldiers there - Russian troops shot 93 Poles who took part in a demonstration

The mutiny on the Battleship Potemkin

The crew of the battleship Potemkin mutinied over harsh conditions and rotten meat rations - led to a full scale mutiny in which 7 officers were killed. Sailors hoisted the red revolutionary flag and sailed to Odessa

How was the government embarrassed by the surrender of the sailors?

Sailors surrendered the ship in a Romanian port in exchange for safe refuge - this was an embarrassment for the government but also a huge wake-up call - the loyalty of the armed forces was paramount

September 1905 - The Printers Strike

The Printers Strike sets off a wave of strikes across Moscow. this leads to railways being shut down, industrial and utility workers and even staff from government offices supported the strike

What was the impact of these widespread strikes?

Food and medical supplies ran short, unburied bodies piled up and there was an explosion of criminality

Formation of the St Petersburg Soviet

Prompted by Mensheviks, the soviet of workers’ deputies met to co-ordinate the activities of workers in the general strike. Mainly made up of representatives elected from factories

Work of the St Petersburg Soviet

Informed workers through its newspaper, directed the general strike, and sorted out matters such as food supplies

How did Trotsky contribute to the strikes?

Trotsky was noted for his fiery speeches, and became deputy chairman - symbolic for the urban workers who were emerging as an organised force confronting the autocracy

The Lena Goldfield Massacre (1912)

Workers striking over long hours, poor working conditions and low wages. More than 200 were killed as they clashed with the police, and caused a wave of strikes and protests which were increasingly militant in nature

Rasputin

Why was Rasputin summoned to the Royal Palace?

Nicholas’s son, Alexei, had haemophilia, and it was believed that Rasputin could cure his illness

Reputation of Rasputin

• Known to be a heavy drinker and womaniser

• Reputation of a mystical man who had hypnotic and powerful eyes

What did the Tsar’s opponents think of him?

• They said Rasputin was a sign of the Tsar’s weakness and unsuitability to rule Russia

• The Tsar’s lack of concern showed just out of touch he was

Rasputin’s relationship with the Tsarina?

• He controlled her

• Rumours of an affair between them

• Tsarina gave influence to Rasputin

How did WWI elevate Rasputin’s position?

Nicholas leaves and makes himself Commander in Chief of the army, leaving the Tsarina in charge - she calls in Rasputin as her advisor. This allows him to place his friend’s in powerful positions

Zukonlyinov

Made war minister at the request of Rasputin - viewed as incompetent and the war turned for the worst