Tsarist regime before 1917

give recall points for the nature of the Tsarism by 1917?

• actions of this Tsar, his strengths and weaknesses, including his role in the War

• after the premature death of his father, Nicholas II became Tsar with little political experience and a hesitancy to relinquish any power

• he relied on political advisors who abused this trust and resulted in poor decisions. On one side the intelligent senior Liberal Conservative advisors trying to persuade him that Russia had a sophisticated literate intelligent population whose demands for civil rights and political representation was justified. On the other side the Conservative authoritarian group saying the majority are not like that and that the threat from the peasants over land was significant.

• In their view rights would destabilise the regime to the extent that the extreme left-wing will come in
  

• the weak nature of Nicholas made them question his authority. He was not as physically imposing as his late father, nor did he possess intellectual dynamism needed for an effective autocrat ― ‘a well-mannered country squire’

• pressure to subdue the 1905 revolution and Nicholas had reluctantly agreed to the October Manifesto set in place the Duma. The left leaning Duma’s powers were limited by the Tsar and became dominated by the right wing ― which agreed with him. Stolypin’s ability to work with the Duma undermined by conservative courtiers, the Tsarina and the Tsar himself
  the Dumas sparked a greater national interest in politics; emergence of those such as Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and SRs who represented urban workers and peasants
  the ‘Progressive Bloc’ tried to convince the Tsar to create a ‘government of public confidence’ to save the regime

• possible palace coup ― Yusupov plot to detach Tsarina from the Tsar to save the monarchy in late 1916 degenerated into plot to murder Rasputin
  military failures - discredited by the failures in the Great War. Nicholas in 1915 takes decision to go to Mogilev to be with ‘Stavka’ ― he is now blamed for the massive defeats the Imperial Army experience especially from the German Army
  

• Rasputins influence on the Tsarist regime

give recall points for the military defeats before January 1917?

• 1914 ― January,1917 ― Russia had approximately 7 million casualties of dead, wounded and prisoners of war

• loss of Western Provinces/Great Retreat of 1915 led to decline in status/support for Tsar’s rule. Refugees pour into Petrograd increasing overcrowding and disease spread

• lack of artillery shells, rifles, and ammunition by late 1916 had been largely solved due to domestic production and foreign procurement

• Nicholas II personally blamed for military defeats because he took personal command of the Army in late 1915. Tsar isolated at Stavka in Mogilev, Belorussia

• Brusilov Offensive in 1916 almost destroyed the Austro-Hungarian Army but costs over 300,000 Russian casualties. Increased desertion and insubordination in autumn 1916.This affected rear garrisons and some frontline units

• German Army much better trained, led and equipped for the Imperial Army to defeat ― different when facing Ottoman or Austro-Hungarian armies who were not as effective in fighting the Imperial Army.

give recall points for the economic problems before January 1917?

• inflation and failure of wages to keep pace ― estimated 250-300% increase in prices from 1914-January,1917 but only an average of 100% increase in wages

• workers were not able to feed families and maintain standard of living led to political discontent with regime

• lack of consumer goods ― both peasants and workers experienced decline of consumer goods. Factory production geared for military/war production. Peasantry started to withhold food supplies from the market as they had money but cannot buy necessary consumer goods from factory producers

• bread queues lengthened in the cities ― by late 1916 women queuing for bread for 12 hours per day. These queues become politicised as the women begin to blame the government for lack of food supplies

• vodka sales banned in 1914 ― a government monopoly which produced 10% of government revenue. Moonshine vodka produced in peasant homes which gave no revenue to the state

• railway system was breaking down in late 1916 ― food supplies not being delivered in sufficient regular amount to northern cities due to railways being used to transport massive military supplies westwards to the Front

• increased worker militancy ― strikes at Putilov, New Leissner, Anglo-Baltic shipyard in Petrograd examples of increased frustration at declining economic conditions. Strikes take on political overtones very quickly. Influence of Bolshevik, SR and Menshevik Shop Stewards/radical workers and unskilled workers from the peasantry not long arrived in Petrograd.

give recall points for the political disaffection before January 1917?

• Revolutionary Parties ― Mensheviks, SRs and Bolsheviks ― were active in the factories and in the military garrisons. Role of Shop Stewards in organising strikes and agitating against Tsarist rule

• ‘Progressive Bloc’ in Duma were rebuffed by Tsarist government as they refused to cooperate with Progressive Bloc to seek successful outcome in the war effort

• Liberal politician Guchkov conspires with General Alexeev to overthrow Tsar ― evidence of elite disillusionment

• rise of Zemgor and Zemstvo shows alternative to Tsarist administration failures

• Duma at odds with Imperial regime as both Left and Right by late 1916 were calling for change ―

  but hoping for differing outcome.

Provide 2 historiography for the issues faced by the Tsarist regime before 1917?

Orlando Figes - Argues, ‘Nicholas was the source of all the problems. . . a Tsar determined to rule from the throne yet incapable of exercising power’. He points to Tsar’s indecisiveness during the First World War (1914-1917), when the Russian front experienced huge losses

Dominic Lieven - Argues that the Russian military was full of tensions against the Tsar, despite it supposedly being his biggest supporter…it kept losing and this was blamed on the government; military expenditure declined.