Russian Revolution

Social structure

- 0.5% Ruling Class
- 12% Upper Class
- 1.5% Middle Class
- 4% Working class
- 82% Peasants

"I know..."

"I know nothing of the business of ruling." - Tsar Nicholas II

"It was.."

"(It was a man of weakness) and limited outlook who ruled the nation." - Micheal Lynch

"He did not have..."

"He did not have the required intelligence, wisdom or strength of character." - Ryan, Perfect & Sweeny

"Clearly lacked..."

"Clearly lacked the necessary qualities." - Orlando Figes

"Russia gained in...

"Russia gained in him the worst of both worlds; (a tsar reminded to rule from the throne yet quite incapable of exercising power)." - Figes

"The tsar's dismissal..."

"The tsar's dismissal of Witte, at a critical juncture in Russia's fortune, (inadvertently threw away the best change of his dynasty's survival)." -Lynch

"1905 and 1917..."

"Contributed significantly to the revolutions of 1905 and 1917." - Ryan, Perfect & Sweeny

Russia had...

"Ministers but no government"

"The most significant weakness..."

"The most significant weakness of the tsarist system was that... (dependent entirely on the individual character of the tsar) "- Ryan, Perfect, Sweeny

"The authoritarian nature..."

"The authoritarian nature of the tsaris regime was actually a cause of revolutionary tensions." - Ryan et. al.

"Russification meant that..."

"Russification meant that nationalism became a potentially explosive cause of conflict between the government and its people." - Ryan, et. el

"Poor leadership..."

"Poor leadership was a distinguishing feature of Nicholas II's reign." - Ryan, et. al

"People owed..."

"People owed total obedience to the tsar, that there are no restrictions on the tsar's powers."
- Fundamental Laws of the Empire in 1832, issued by Tsar Nicholas I

"The only possible..."

"The only possible source of change was the tsar." - Lynch

"God commands us to..."

"God commands us to love and obey...particularly the tsar."

"The most powerful..."

"The most powerful man in Russia is he who last spoke to the Tsar." - Observation circling in the government ministers

Leo Tolstoy wrote an open letter to Nicholas II in 1902... (Quotes)

"General dissatisfaction of all classes..." and "Impossible to maintain this form of government except by violence."

-Painted a picture of the current situation. The famines, the heavy taxation, the violence.

Who was assassinated on 15th July 1904?

Minister of the Interior Vyacheslav Plehve or just Plehve

What allowed this?

The lack of military presence because of the Russo-Japanese war.

Who replaced him?

Prince Pytor Sviatoplk-Mirskii or just Mirskii

What did he do?

- Eased censorship
- Worked with the zemstovs (local self government)
- Liberal ideals

What did Mirskii say to Tsarina Alexndra in the Natinoal Congress of Zemstvos?

"If we do not ahead with liberal reform, change will come in the shape of revolution."

How did Nicholas respond?

Rejected most proposals.

"I shall never... agree to the representative form of government." - Tsar Nicholas to Witte.

- Incompetence and not being able to see the incoming revolution and change.

What sparked Bloody Sunday?

- In Dec 1904, 4 Putilov Steelworks workers were dismissed.
- In response, 120,000 workers striked in St Petersburg in early Jan 1905.
- Living conditions (1904, average of six people lived in each room in the major cities), overcrowding, etc.

How many people were at Bloody Sunday?

- 150,000-200,000 marched.

When was Bloody Sunday?

9th January 1905

Was the march peaceful or not?

- Peaceful, with religious icons, potraits of the Tsar and singing hyms.

"Soldiers do not shoot at the people." - A banner said

What did the Bloody Sunday demand?

- Political, economic and social reform.

How many were killed/injured?

200 killed and 800 injured by the police firing

What did the Bloody Sunday Petition say?

"We are treated not like humans, but like slaved who must suffer a bitter fate and keep silent."

What were the effects?

- More strikes at the end of Jan 1905, over 400,000 went on strike in St Petersburg.
- Damage to the Tsar's reputation, "Bloody Nicholas." as he's blamed for it.
- ALL LEADING TO THE 1905 REVOLUTION

What did Gapon say?

"And this is the work of our Little Father, the Tsar."

- Use to push on the idea that it was the Tsar's decision to fire instead of reform.
- Use if you want to blame the Tsar

What did the New York Times say?

"It was the duty of the Russian Autocrat to prove himself a man... Nicholas II has not done that."

- Use if you want to blame the Tsar and how he influenced the 1905 rev.

How many students went in strike in Moscow Uni?
About 3000

- Use to show that even the intelligentsia is angry at the tsar

How many workers strike in Feb?

About 400,000 workers

How many manors in the countryside did the peasants destroy?

over 3,000

-They also attacked government officials and nobles, caused overall disorder

Who started the Union of Unions?

- Pavel Miliukov at May 1905,

What was the Union of Unions aiming for?

- To gain an alliance between intelligentsia and peasants/workers
- For universal suffrage and representative government, reforms.

What did the Union of Unions declare the government as?

"A terrible menace" and "The gang of robbers"

- Use to show that even reformists and the intelligentsia are angry at the government.

When was the Battleship Potemkin Mutiny?

June 1905 as troops were coming back from the. Russo-Japanese war.

What happened in the mutiny?

Sailors rebelled against their officers, then shelled in Odessa to support the striking workers who were clashing with local authorities

How did the Tsar respond?

Because they didn't want to shoot unarmed strikers or force peasants from seized land.

- In Summer 1905, soldiers in the Trans-Siberian Railway even mutunied as they travelled home.

"The monarchy..."

"The monarchy's fate hung by a thread." - Robert Service, Historian

- Illustrates how military forces contributed to the 1905 rev

How many soviets sprung up at the end of 1905?

Around 80

How did they prove to be a problem to the Tsarist regime?

- Because they pushed against Tsarism and for reform, spreading it's info through newspapers
- Called a nationwide strike that had about 1.5 million (which also included the intellgentsia), showing that they had more control than the government as major. cities were paralysed.

"The soviet had enormous influence over the workers movement." - Ryan, et. al

How did the Tsar respond to everything?

Proclaimed the October Manifesto on 17th October 1905

How did the Tsar feel about the Manifesto

- Reluctant to reform, wanting to avoid "rivers of blood."
- Didn't like this "terrible decision"

What did the October Manifesto promise?

""Freedom of person, conscience, speech, assembly, and union; dumas."

- They are never made to broken and is supposedly going to limit the tsar's power (though the Fundamental power brought his power back)

Was the 1905 Revolution an actual revolution?

There's defintely doubt about it, because Lynch (Historian) said that the "tsarist regime survived remarkably unscathed"

Trotsky said that "although with a few broken ribs, tsarism came out of...1905 alive."

A revolution is suppose to change the status quo, but yet the Tsarist regime is still standing

Why was the 1905 revolution potentially unsuccessful?

1. It only appeased the middle class for reform that was short term.

2. Dumas didn't have much power by Stolypin "reduced to nothing more dangerous than a talking shop." - Lynch

3. Liberals became scared of workers "Thank God for the Tsar" - Peter Struve, Union of Liberation. They were left to be crushed

4. Moscow strike had over thousands killed by heavy artillery as Revolutionary parties created strikes and seized railway stations.

"War was..."

"War was largely of Russia's own making." - Micheal Lynch

- Referring to Russia looking to expand was it's own fault for the Russo-Japanese war

"Little..."

"Little yellow monkeys." - Tsar Nicholas II

- Underestimation brought them their defeat

"The might..."

"The might of Holy Russia will crush them." - Tsar Nicholas II

- Undestimation

Why, Where and Why did Japan attack?

- Because they sensed the futility of their dimplomacy as Russia ignored Japan presence when they expanded to Manchuria.

- They attacked in Port Arthur at the Russian fleet.

- 8 Feb 1904

How many troops were lost in the siege of Port Arthur?

31,000

How many Russian troops were lost in the battle of Mukden (Feb)

90,000

What was lost in the battle of Tsushima (May)

11 Battleships, 7 of 8 Cruisers and with 10,000 seamen lost or captured all less than 24 hours.

Why did they lose the war?

- Underestimation
- Japanese army and nave were better equiped and prepared (inflated ego due to only fighting the Ottoman Empire)
- Russian Military leaders lacked experiences.
- No understanding of enemy or terrain.
- The Trans-Siberian railway was still incomplete so it couldn't transport reinforcements and supplies --> poor weapons, shelter and food.

"The Japanese..."

"The Japanese are bating us with machine guns... we'll beat them with icons." - Russian Commander

- Highlights the lack of resourced of the Russian troops

"For Russia..."

"For Russia, the conflict was a tale of confusion and disaster." - Lynch

- Highlights the incompetence of the military leaders

When did the war end?

2 Jan 1905, Russian forced surrendered Port Arthur

When and what was the Treaty of Portsmouth?

- 23rd August 1905.

- Treaty between Russia and Japan, where Russia agree to withdraw it's troops from Manchuria. Japan gained control of Port Arthur

What were some impacts of the war?

- Real worth of working class wages dropped to 25% in a year + shortages and rise of price on goods
- Shortages on military crisis ALLOWED WORKERS STRIKES, PEASANT REVOLTS AND SEVERAL ASSASINATIONS + support for liberal reforms and revolutionary movements increase.
- The humilation was widespread, and the Tsar's divine right to rule was bruised.

"The Russo-Japanese war made..."

"The Russo-Japanese War made the discontent in Russia much worse."
- Ryan, Perfect, Sweeney

"The Russo-Japanese war helped..."

"The Russo-Japanese War helped create the conditions that would lead to revolution by late 1905." - Ryan et. al

"Russia is not..."

"Russia is not a state, but a world." - Proverb

"With many nationalities...

"With many nationalities, many languages... the marvel is that the country can be held together even by autocratic means."
- Sergei Witte

Weakness of the Russia is its diversity

"Russification meant that..."

"Russification meant that nationalism became a potentially explosive cause of conflict between the government and its people." - Ryan, et. el

_ Different religions
_ Different languages
_% of Russians are of Orthodox religion

40 different religions
14 different languages (four in ten people spoke Russian)
69% people are of Orthodox religion

(Data is allegedly inflated to maintain Russian nationalism)

By 1900, _ of peasants produced just enough to feed themselves

50%

"Many lived.."

"Many lived on the brink of starvation." Ryan, et. a;

Peasants made up _ of the social pop

82% illiterate peasants

Russia has __ time zones, __ vegetation zones and spans across __ contientns

Eleven time zones
Five vegetation zones
Spans two continents

- The vastness of Russia makes it hard to unify
- Makes military defence and communication hard

"Land in Russia..."

"Land in Russia was a source of national weakness rather than strength." - Micheal Lynch

Who supported the Industrailisation of Russia?

Russian P.M Sergei Witte

Percentage of growht of in national product between 1898-1913 is

98.8%

How did he do it?

Encouraged inflow of foreign capital, investment in industry and negotiating large loans and investments from abord

This led to increase of iron, steel, coal and cotton

What are the effects of industralisation?

- Poor work conditions (12, 16 work hours), overcrowded factories and cities, heavy taxes on industries and individuals

"No ventilation at all..."

"No ventilation at all... moving around these machines is extremely hazardous." - Russian Factory Inspector (1800s)

The Population of St Petersburg went from 1881 with a pop of _ to a pop of _ in 1900

The population of Moscow went from _ in 1881 to _ in 1900

St Petersburg went from 928,000 to 1,439,600

Moscow went from 753,500 to 1,345,000

Was the improvement of the Russian economy really from Witte's contribution?

Not really, it was part of a worldwide boom

- By 1900, the spurt ended and an international recession set in

What did the recession cause?

- Reduced wages, angry workers.

(Number of Industrial strikes that were supposed by military forces went from 19 in 1893 to 522 in 1903, people were not happy)

Why were high ranks in the military a weakness?

Because they were reserved for only aristocracy and nobles, who didn't have military training and sucked at planning attacks (like the Russo-Japanese war)

Franco-Russian Alliance (1894)

- France and Russia were fearful of Germany, so they signed an agreement pledging support for each other in a war by partially funding military infrastructure.

Russia had _ men in the army but only _ riffles available

6.5 million men (largest army in Europe)
4.6 million rifles available

"We have no guns... it's a tragedy." - One commander

Great Military Program

- Provided funding for artillery and transport. It was supposed to be completed in 1917 but made little progress by 1914.
- Limitation of the program is when artillery ammo reserves almost ran out in first six months of the war.

August 2 (a day after Germany declared war), a vast crowd gathered in the Palace square to pay homage to the Tsar by saying...

"God Save the Tsar."

- Showed how WW1 brought back some kind of nationalism.
- Even Lenin who was against the war was seen as a traitor.

Commander-in-Chief Grand Duke Nikolai

- Popular with the troops, supported military reforms. But admitted his LIMITATIONS AS A TACTICAL COMMANDER.
- "Look at me! I have not read a military manual for the last twenty years." Sukhomlinov said to make fun of him.

Russian generals characteristics were:

- Interpersonal rivals against other generals
- Ignorance of modern military tactics
- Limited tactical initiative
- THIS LED TO THE WAR CASUALTIES
(This was due to Russian High Command being based on royalty to the tsar)

Battle of Lemberg

- From 5-21 August 1914
- 100,000 Austrians killed
- 100,000 Austrians captured
- 200,000 Austrians were wounded
- 225,000 Russians lost
- Successful campaign.

Battle of Tannenberg

- From 13-17 August 1914
- Massive failure
- In five days, 70,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded, 100,000 captured. Russians suffered 15,000 casualties

Battle of Masurian Lakes

- From 21 August - 1 September 1914
- Made effective use of railway to defend East Prussia.
- Lost 60,000 men before a retreat. The defeat reflected badly on the tsarist regime.

Brusilov Offensive

- From 22 May-July 1916
- 425,000 men captured in Galician territory.
- 760,000 casualties in the Austrian-German army.
- 550,000 dead or wounded Russian soldiers
- Incompetence and overcation of the Russian High Command failed to capitalise on the offensive.

"In a year of war..."

"In a year of war the regular army had vanished. It was replaced by an army of ignoramuses."

By mid 1915, _ soldiers were dead, wounded of captured

About 4 million

_ million men (mostly peasants) were called to serve the Russian steamroller.

15 million men

Brusilov complained that the draftees were...

"Disgustingly untrained."

All of these factors caused...

The patrionism to dissolve. Revolutionary ideologies grew in workers, soldiers and peasants. By late 1915, more soldiers deserted the front.

"Rapid decline in living standards..."

"Rapid decline in living standards... was a significant contribution to revolutionary tensions." - Textbook
- This is due to Russia focusing on production for the war effort