Russia After 1905

Tsar in Power

He managed to stay in power for another twelve years, but in 1917 he was forced to abdicate

Trouble in Russia

most of the trouble in the cities had stopped by the end of 1905, violent disturbances continued in the countryside well into 1906

Prime Minister (1905 - )

Peter Stolypin

Stolypin’s Necktie

Stolypin set up military courts, which could sentence and hang a person on the spot, thousands were executed by these courts, and the hangman’s noose became known as ‘Stolypin’s necktie’.

Stolypin’s Policies

reputation for being tough, he set up military courts, which could sentence and hang a person on the spot, thousands were executed on the spot

Okhrana

Secret Police working for the Tsar, thousands of informers.

Citizen Freedom

everybody had to carry internal passports and travellers had to register with the police outside their home districts.

Freedom of press

was guaranteed in 1905, but newspapers were often fined for writing articles offending the government, frequently censored material

The Duma

parliament or Duma elected by the people

Duma’s First Meeting

April 1906

Conditions of the Duma

the Duma could not pass laws, could not appoint ministers and could not control finance in important areas such as defence. Tsar could dissolve it whenever he wished. Elections favouring nobles, 1 rep for 2000 nobles vs 1 rep for every 90000 workers

First Two Dumas, 1906 & 1907

very radical, demanding more power for the people, and demanded more land for peasants or workers. Tsar dissolved the Duma after a week.

Tsar’s Fundamental Laws

Tsar’s powers over the Duma: the right to rule independently of the Duma when it was not in session. the right to dissolve the Duma at any point

Third Duma

Stolypin changed the way the members were elected to favour the gentry and urban rich. THird Duma was more conservative and lasted from 1907 top 1912, was often critical of the government, and some good measures were passed on matters to do with the army, navy and accident insurance for workers.

Fourth Duma

(1912-14) achieved little before war was declared, but at least the Tsar was starting to work with it.

Changes in the Countryside

Agricultural reforms. Peasants were allowed to buy up strips of land from their less enterprising neighbours to make one single land holding, which they owned individually. He set up a peasants’ bank to provide loans for them to do this, believed that peasants would want to improve their own land and use modern methods to produce more food.

Kulaks

New class of prosperous landowning peasants who would be loyal to the government. About fifteen per cent of peasants took up his offer and there were improvements and grain production increased, biggest harvest in 1913.

WW1 1914-

the outbreak of war interrupted the reforms.

Consequence of Reforms

a lot of poorer peasants were forced to sell their land and became labourers, wandering around the countryside seeking work. Some went to work in the cities, but many remained in the countryside, with not even a small patch of land to support their families.

4 Million Peasants

encouraged by the government to settle on new lands along the Trans-Siberian Railway, made long journeys, crammed into wagons, but best land had been taken by rich land speculators. Over half of them returned to European Russia, very angry.

Cities Changing

between1906 and 1914, there was an industrial boom in Russia, total industrial production increased by 100 per cent. Russia became the world’s fourth largest producer of coal, pig iron and steel. Many of the factories were very efficient, using the most up-to-date mass production methods.

Workers

by 1914, two-fifths of factory workers were in factories with over 1,000 worker, made the factories more efficient, but it also made it easier to organise strikes.

No Working Benefits

working conditions did not improve, average wages were below levels of 1903, and they could only buy bread they needed

1912 Strikes

in Lena goldfields in Siberia, strikers protested working conditions, low wages, and long hours. clashed with strops and there was a massacre where.170 workers were killed and 373 wounded