russia KQ2- the end of romanov rule (1906-1917)

COMPLETE

strength of russian army in 1914

largest army in europe, peacetime strength of 1.4 million and 3 million trained reservists

weaknesses of russian army 1914

1. poor leadership- many senior officers appointed due to connections and lack of competent junior officers, august 1915 nicholas became commander in chief and took direct control of the army

2. poorly educated and unfit soldiers- many peasants had a weak national identity and identified with home districts so high rates of desertion

3. equipment shortages- initially the army required 100,000 rifles per month but russian industry could only supply 27,000. they also lacked sufficient heavy artillery, motor vehicles and machine guns.

battle of tannenberg and the masurian lukes

august 1914, heavy losses and retreats

the great retreat

1915, russian forces pushed out of poland, lithuania and belorussia. 1 million killed or wounded and another 1 million taken prisoner

brusilov offensive

summer 1916, a rare success that inflicted major losses on austria-hungary, but stalled when german reinforcments arrived

munitions crisis

1915, occurred as a long war was unexpected and munitions stockpiles were not built up. russia reliant on british and american arms orders that did not arrive on time. the crisis was a major political scandal so a special committee for state defence was established to centralise and expand arms production.

transport breakdown and food shortages

• trans siberian railway was congested and overwhelmed by military shipments

• food deliveries delayed and sometimes spoiled

• transport crisis led to urban food shortages and rising prices

transport crisis

by 1916, st petersburg and moscow were only receiving 1/3 of food and fuel requirements. pre-war moscow received 2200 wagons of grain but in february 1917 it only received 700

inflation

• grain production declined as germans gained key agricultural regions

• peasants hoarded grain, reluctant to sell for inflated money

• railway delays worsened shortages

in urban areas prices rose faster than wages

in petrograd 1914-17, wages of skilled workers doubled but the cost of a bag of flour rose fivefold and potatoes sevenfold. peasants less affected as more self-sufficient in food.

rasputin’s influence

tasrina alexandra was dependent on him as he was credited with easing her son alexei’s haemophilia. there were reumours the pair were corrupt or even german spies.

ministerial leapfrog

in 1916 there were 3 different chief ministers and 3 different ministers each for the interior, foreign affairs, and justice.

rasputin’s assassination

december 1916 by aristocrats including nicholas’ nephew who wanted to save the monarchy

zemgor

• zemstva formed zemstvo union in 1914 to aid wounded soldiers, feed troops and help refugees

• union of towns united in zemgor in 1915 to manufacture essentials like uniforms, this put the government department to shame although their output only accounted for less than 5% of war needs

war industries committee

july 1915, founded by moscow businessmen to improve arms production and press for better access to government contracts, helped the economy.

lack of support for WW1

initially patriotic parties like the kadets led by milyukov and octobrists supported the war but by mid 1915 they demanded reform.

duma being called in summer 1915

called by nicholas, 300 of 430 members formed the progressive bloc (excluded extremists), calling for a unified government (duma and tsar) and partnership not full constitutional reform as the tsar would retain power to appoint/dismiss ministers. the proposals were rejected by nicholas, who dismissed ministers supporting reform.

progressive bloc’s programme

• amnesty for political prisoners

• more workers’ rights

• autonomy for poland

• jewish rights

bloc leaders plotting nicholas’ abdication

late 1916, milyukov said ‘there is a political storm coming…and it may take a form we do not desire’

urban discontent

wartime inflation accelerated between 1916 and 1917, but real wages fell by nearly 50% during these years. rent in petrograd trebled and heating fuel was scarce in the winter of 1916.

rampant inflation and labour unrest

in 1916 petrograd alone lost over 750,000 working days to strike action and protests became more political as people wanted the tsar removed and an end to the war.

rural discontent

• 15 million conscripted between 1914 and 1917, and 2 million killed, 5 million wounded/captured, mainly from peasant backgrounds and many resented losing family members

• army requisitioned horses and livestock

• soldiers’ wives received minimal state allowances- led to widespread looting and disorder

• in one case 50 peasant women looted shops over fabric shortages

petrograd’s volatile climate

jan 1917 mass strikes commemorated bloody sunday and early feb more strikes, putilov works closed (petrograd’s largest factory)

23rd feb

international womens day- female textile workers in vyborg district striked, demanding ‘bread’ and ‘end the war’. women made up 70% of textile and 20% engineering workforce, male workers joined.

24th feb

over 200,000 workers joined a general strike and protesters reached the city centre and were met with police and military resistance.

25th feb

students and workers protested demanding ‘down with the tsar’ and ‘down with the war’ but troops reluctant to fire on crowds.

26th feb

government crackdown, agitators arrested, troops deployed and hundreds killed

27th feb

soldiers mutinied and refused to shoot civilians and officers fled, petrograd overtaken by armed workers, soldiers and students.

political vacuum

following the collapse of tsarist control, 2 rival bodies formed- the provisional committee of the duma and petrograd soviet

provisional committee of the duma

formed 27th feb 1917, formed by duma leaders led by milyukov (leader of kadets), aimed to restore order and form a new government, but lacked legitimacy and petrograd garrison refused to follow its orders.

petrograd soviet

formed in spring 1917 by mensheviks and socialist intellectuals, based on 1905 st petersburg soviet but included soldiers too this time.

why the petrograd soviet didn’t seize power in feb

russia wasn’t ready for a socialist government, according to mensheviks. leaders lacked administrative experience and fears of civil war if military commanders reacted violently.

dual power system 1917

a provisional government with liberals would rule temporarily and petrograd soviet would act as a watchdog to ensure revolutionary goals weren’t betrayed.

reaction to feb crisis

nicholas was at a military hq in mogilev, 500 miles from petrograd and dismissed early warnings from president of the duma, after garrison mutiny travelled to petrograd but was stopped at pskov.

nicholas’ abdication

military commanders at pskov advised him to abdicate and 2nd march he did in favour of his brother, who refused the throne on 3rd march after speaking with duma leaders, marking the end of romanov dynasty.

why nicholas ii fell

• middle classes disillusioned with war and government corruption

• progressive bloc lost faith

• working class conditions deteriorated

• peasants faced greater poverty and wartime losses

• army and elite institutions abandoned tsar and support evaporated

• army leaders prioritised winning war and maintaining order over saving the tsar

fundamental laws

essentially a constitution but nicholas ii did not call it that as he associated the word with revolutionary opposition

purpose of fundamental laws

to limit october manifesto and claw back political power by reducing duma’s power

article 4 of fundamental laws

declared the tsar’s autocratic authority, reserved defence and foreign policy for the tsar

article 87 of fundamental laws

allowed tsar to issue laws when duma was not in session, these laws only required later ratification, which could be delayed for months of years - effectively allowed tsar to bypass duma and dissolve duma at any time

fundamental laws created a bicameral legislature

imperial state council (half appointed by tsar, half nominated by nobility/orthodox church/zemstva) which had equal law making to duma (second house) and could block/veto duma legislation - a conservative brake on reform

fundamental laws gave tsar control of gov ministers

he could appoint/dimiss ministers without duma, gov was responsible to tsar not parliament

civil liberties granted by fundamental laws

• freedom of association (legalised parties and trade unions)

• freedom of assembly (peaceful demonstrations)

• freedom of speech/press

• but rights could be suspended or restricted by later laws (not entrenched)

when were the fundamental laws issued?

23rd april 1906

when did first duma meet and when was it dissolved?

27th april 1906, july 1906

when did second duma meet and when was it dissolved?

feb 1907 and june 1907

opening of first duma apr 1906

the duma members sat left of the tsar’s throne, met in the winter palace

demands of first duma

dominated by kadets and trudoviks, passed resolutions demanding full democratisation, radical land reform, amnesty for political prisoners which the gov rejected so duma demanded gov resignation so it was dissolved in july

vyborg manifesto july 1906

around 200 duma deputies fled to finland and issued it, called for refusal to pay taxes until duma restored (they wanted mass protests) but it failed - public exhausted after 1905 revolution, so they were arrested and banned from future political activity

composition of second duma

• socialist parties (SRs, bolsheviks, mensheviks) participated

• gov intervened by disrupted opposition campaigning and secretly funding right wing candidates

• around 200 socialists elected, including 18 bolsheviks and 36 mensheviks

• kadets lost half their seats - more polarisation than first duma

dissolution of second duma

left wing deputies refused to support stolypin’s land reforms so stolypin dissolved it in 1907 and bolshevik deputies were accused of treason

stolypin scrapped 1905 electoral law and introduced a new system where nobility elected over half of duma, and peasants elected 1/5 (guaranteed conservative majority, reforms made without duma approval and breached fundamental laws so described as a coup)

nicholas ii’s attitude to duma

referred to it as the ‘damned duma’ in 1906, he believed it violated the principle of autocracy and only accepted it because witte forced him

impact of 1907 electoral law

3rd and 4th dumas elected under stolypin’s revised law so tsar’s main opponents (kadets, trudoviks, socialists) had fewer than 100 seats combined, lots of right wingers like 154 octoberists in 3rd duma

when were 3rd and 4th dumas?

1907-12, 1912-14

alexander guchkov (octobrist leader)

in 1907 he insisted post-1905 russia was not an autocracy when people described tsar as an auocrat, but he criticised nicholas for nepotism and the royal family’s dominance of senior military posts, he publicly attacked rasputin’s influence in 1912 so tsarina was furious and said ‘hanging is too good for him’

evidence of autocracy by 1914

fundamental laws limited duma mainly to law-making, tsar controlled defence, foreign policy, order and policing (decisions made without reference to duma)

weaknesses of duma

• duma silenced through repeated dissolutions

• article 87 of fundamental laws was used extensively eg stolypin’s land reforms

• it was viewed by gov as an irritant, not a threat

lack of rule of law

gov broke fundamental laws in 1907 by altering 1905 electoral law but no consequences

autocracy in russia

charques described post-1906 russia as a ‘demi-semi-constitutional monarchy’

interior minister durnovo

from late 1905-may 1906 he sent army into unrest areas with orders to show ‘no mercy’, 15,000 killed and 45,000 exiled to siberia and some villages burned to the ground

• punished offenders and terrorised rural population into obedience

• restored order along trans-siberian railway and stabilised baltic region

• not enough troops to cover all areas so disorder persisted

concessions made 1950-1907

redemption payments halved in 1906 and abolished in 1907- minimal impact and had little effect on unrest, payments due to end in 1910 anyway

stolypin’s rise to power

1906 appointed interior minister, 2 months later became chairman of the council of ministers

repression under stolypin aug 1906

declared a state of emergency, granted imprisonment without trial up to 6 months and exile of suspected troublemakers, introduced field courts-martial

field courts-martial 1906

courts composed of 5 army officers, cases heard within a day, trials held in secret with no legal representation, no right of appeal and executions by hanging within 24 hours (over 1000 executions between 1906 and 1907 and many more exiled to siberia), nicknamed ‘stolypin’s necktie’

how did stolypin defend fields courts martial

‘exceptional measures for exceptional circumstances’

effectiveness of stolypin’s repression

did not immediately end unrest, some continued until 1908 but violence gradually subsided and regime asserted control over countryside

repression of revolutionary leaders

• trotsky (leader of st petersburg soviet) arrested in 1905 and sentenced to lifetime exile in siberia in 1906)

• lenin fled to finland then western europe, constantly pursued by okhrana

expropriation

bolsheviks and SRs used bank robberies to fund party activities, in 1907 bolsheviks were publicly linked to criminal acts so lost credibility and led to justification for further repression

stolypin’s reasons for land reform

• to help tsarism survive long term

• encourage private landownership to create a conservative peasant class and undermine ideas of communism

• end strip farming to encourage investment in land and boost productivity

• tried to increase agricultural output and stabilise food supplies for less unrest, and increase exports

stolypin’s key land reforms

• right to private ownership

• hereditary communes

• land organisation commissions to settle disputes

• peasants land bank to give out loans with low interest rates to buy land

impact of stolypin’s land reforms

initial enthusiasm faded after a couple years, by 1914 80% of peasants still remained in communes but agricultural production increased since before 1914 (more likely due to good harvests, opening up of siberia, and use of machinery and fertilisers)

limitations of stolypin’s land reforms

• didn’t redistribute land

• did not solve food shortages or reduce rural over population

emigration to siberia advertised by gov/stolypin

trans siberian railway made migration feasible, incentives offered like free land, interest free loans, cheap railway fares and between 1906 and 1913 around 3.5m peasants emigrated but nearly 20% returned due to hardship

stolypin’s other reforms and who opposed it

strengthen zemstva, universal 4 years of schooling, compensation for injured workers - opposed by nobility, church, industrialists so stolypin lost tsar’s confidence and became politically isolated, assassinated in 1911

lena goldfields massacre 1912- causes of strike

horsemeat served in works canteen, workers demanded 30% wage increase, 8 hour working day and better medical care

apr 1912 lena goldfields events

strikes lasted around a month, goldfields mining company brought to a standstill so gov sent troops to arrest strike leaders so miners organised a peaceful march demanding their release

what happened at lena goldfields massacre?

90 soldiers opened fire at nadezhdinsk on 3000 unarmed marchers, around 160 killed and 200 wounded

outcomes of lena goldfields

• workers failed to secure reforms and by 1912 almost 10,000 miners/families abandoned the area so mine owners replaced them with korean and chinese workers

• sparked nationwide protest strikes from 1912 to 1914, subsided with ww1

• encouraged revolutionary parties

• showed violence of tsar and gov

what did lenin say about the lena goldfields massacre?

it ‘inflamed the masses with revolutionary fire’