Tsarist and Communist Russia 1855-1917

Population

- Imperial Russia had a population of about 125 million. Only half of these people were ethnic Russians, the rest were a mixture of different nationalities.

- There were around twenty different nationalities within the Empire and each had their own language and customs; this meant that many did not speak Russian.

- The vast majority of the population were peasants.

- The majority of the population were illiterate.

Ruling class

- The ruling class was made up of the Tsar and his family.

Nobility

- The nobility was the upper class and they owned all of the land in the Empire.

- They dominated the influential positions; civil service and army command.

- They made up about 0.5% of the population.

Middle class

- The middle class was made up of civil servants and professionals such as doctors, lawyers, merchants and businessmen.

- They made up 1.5% of the population.

Working class

- The working class was around 4% of the population and were made up of factory workers, craftspeople, soldiers and sailors.

-The working class suffered from poor wages, insecure employment and bad working conditions.

Peasants

- The peasants made up around 82% of the population and lived in the countryside.

- Until 1861 most of the peasants were serfs. This meant that they were effectively the property of the landowner. In 1861, Alexander II emancipated the serfs.

Methods of control

- The Tsar's authority was supported by several features known as the 'Pillars of Autocracy'. This referred to the army, the civil service and the orthodox church. The Tsars ruled the Empire as Autocrats, meaning that the Tsar held all the power in the country.

- The Tsar chose his ministers, he could also remove them when they desired. They were often drawn from members of the royal family as well as nobility.

- The civil service helped the Tsar rule the Empire, performing his will and maintaining his authority. Their position is what gave them privilege and power, therefore they had to be loyal to the Tsar otherwise they would lose their position and all of their power.

- The Okhrana was a large police system that enforced the Tsars' will by reporting suspicious behaviour and destroying subversive groups.

- The Tsarist army was a large part of the Autocracy because many of the senior officers were Nobles and loyal to the Tsar.

Role of Russian Orthodox Church

- The Tsar was the head of the Orthodox church, which reinforced his authority because the doctrine stated that the Tsar was appointed by God and any challenge to the Tsar was said to be an insult to God.

- The church was very influential across the empire and priests would repeatedly convey the message that the Tsar was appointed by God to their followers. The church was given financial rewards for this propaganda.

- Most of the Russian population was illiterate and had to rely on the Church for education, so they tended to believe the teachings of the priests.

- Priests were not respected by the peasants, who believed they were corrupt and hypocritical.

Backwardness

- Compared to Western Europe, the Russian Empire was politically, economically and socially backwards.

- There was little industry and the vast majority of the population were peasant farmers.

- They worked in an agricultural system that had changed little since the Middle Ages.

- Most of the population were illiterate.

Reasons for backwardness

- Up until 1861 the land was worked by serfs, this source of cheap labour made it so land owners didn't feel the need to invest in industrialization.

- After 1861, Russia brought in redemption payments. These were very high and reduced the amount of money the peasants had to spend. Taxes on goods such as sugar and vodka also reduced the amount the peasants had to spend.

- Most peasants believed that acquiring more land would solve their problems, however very little land was suitable for farming on.

- The peasants felt no need to improve their farming techniques because they had little communication with the wider world beyond their local area, so did not know about the new farming techniques across the world.

- The empire lacked industry because it did not have the money for it, it lacked the road and rail network required to exploit its natural resources, it lacked a skilled workforce, there was a lack of market within the empire and the drive for industrialization was led by the government and not the middle classes. The government did not understand the importance of industrialization.

institutional weaknesses of the Tsarist regime

The country was governed by an absolute monarchical Autocracy, meaning that all politics were ultimately decided by the Tsar. There were no discussions to ministers on actions and he was responsible for co-ordinating ministers, choosing them based on loyalty and friendships.

Alexander II: Reign

1855-1881

Emancipation of the Serfs

19th February 1861

Reasons for Emancipation

- Moral case

- Risk of Revolt

- Crimean War

- Economic reasons

Moral case

- Members of the royal family dating from Catherine the Great (1762-96) had considered serfdom to be morally and ethically wrong.

- Nicholas I had said that serfdom was 'an evil, palpable and obvious to all'.

- Enlightened nobles and liberal state officials had come to accept the view that owning someone like an object was wrong.

- The majority of nobles still didn't accept this view.

Risk of Revolt

- Serious peasant revolts in the past, disturbances had been increasing since the 1840s.

- Better to abolish serfdom from the top than to wait for it to abolish itself from below.

- nobles feared the reform might provoke serious revolt as peasants might be disappointed by the reform

Crimean War

- Embarrassing loss for Russia

- Drew attention to the state of army.

- Army mainly made of peasants- compulsory enlisted periods of up to 25 years.

- Military reformers- Russia needed a smaller, better trained army.

- Military reforms could only happen if serfdom was abolished.

Economic reasons

- Serfdom needed to be abolished to allow for economic advancements

Consequences of emancipation

- Serfs were given personal freedoms such as freedom in marriage and travel.

- Over the next 20 Years 85% of former serfs owed the land they worked.

- Serfs had to pay for the land they gained off the nobility through redemption payments, this debt had a high interest rate meaning that it took generations to pay off. They also were given the worse and less land from the nobility.

- the Mir (peasant councils) were strengthened to maintain stability in the countryside. The Mir now had control over peasant travel and their land if they left as they could not sell. Meaning they were completely discouraged to move from the countryside.

- The nobles retained 2/3 of their best lands and chose the price of the land they sold.

- Most of the money the nobility earned from the redemption payments and government compensation loans went to pre-existing loans and mortgages meaning that the nobility only felt the loss of their serfs.

Military reforms (1874-75)

Strengths:

- Smaller, more professional, more efficient and less expensive army.

- Conscription was made compulsory for all classes from the age of 21.

- Length of service was reduced from 25 to 15 years of active service.

- Punishments were made less severe.

- Better provisioning and medical care was established.

- Modern weaponry was introduced.

- New command structure.

- Military colleges were set up to provide better training.

- Literacy within the army was improved.

- Mass army education campaigns.

Weaknesses:

- Problems with supply and leadership.

- Struggled to win the war against Turkey (1877-78).

- Was defeated at the hands of the Japanese (1904-05).

- Defeated by Germany (1914-17).

- Officer class remained largely aristocratic.

-Opposed by nobility- did not want to work alongside peasants.

- Military overall was still very weak.

Local government reforms (1864-70)

Strengths:

- Introduced self government at provisional and district levels.

- Councils responsible for health and education.

- Maintenance of roads and bridges.

- Better roads, primary schools and transport.

Weaknesses:

- Voting procedure arranged in a way where nobility benefited, they took up 40% of the Zemstva and 70% of the provisional councils.

- Zemstva power limited, no control over local taxes.

- Peasants weren't represented.

- Voting only involved nobles.

Judiciary reforms (1864)

Strengths:

- System of local, provincial and national courts were established.

- Accused were presumed innocent until proven guilty and could now employ a lawyer to defend themself.

- Criminal court cases were heard before barristers and a jury.

- Judges were given training and better pay.

- Defendant present at trial.

- Less corruption

Weaknesses:

- Separate courts for peasants (Volost courts).

- Peasants treated differently.

- Some courts remained outside the system- government officials could not be trialled in them.

- Bureaucracy could still intervene

- Reforms had the most impact in large cities.

- Classist.

- Church was involved.

Education reforms (1863-64)

Strengths:

- Primary schools increased from 8,000 to 25,000 with 1 million children in attendance.

- Secondary schools were opened to all classes.

- Women could go to school.

- Modern schools were introduced.

- All classes could go to uni.

Weaknesses:

- Women couldn't get a degree.

- 50% of professors and teachers left their post from 1854-1862.

- Needed people to be educated to modernise Russia, but didn't want them questioning autocracy.

- Many students relied on state financial help.

- Monarchy had less power as more peasants became literate.

- Negative impact on economy.

Other reforms

Strengths:

- Censorship reform- relaxation of press censorship which extended to books and newspapers.

- Attempt to eliminate corruption in Russian orthodox church.

- Reform for the conditions and ethnic minorities.

- Economic liberalisation.

Weaknesses:

- Growth in Critical writing brought a re-tightening of censorship.

- Churches hopes of reform ended in 1870s.

- 1863 polish rebellion led to a reversal of lenient treatment for poles and jews.

- Everything was reversed except for economic liberalisation.

Alexander II: First assassination attempt

1866

Alexander II's change in approach after 1866

- Became more conservative with reforms.

- Reinstated censorship.

- Death of his son (1865) and illness of wife caused him to withdraw from public.

- Replaced liberal ministers with conservative.

- Church regained control over education.

- Zemstva had less power over education.

- Only the elite could go to university.

- Curriculum controlled.

- Revolutionaries expelled.

- Strengthened police.

- Encouraged the third section.

- Stepped up the persecution of other ethnic and religious minorities.

Loris-Melikov Constitution

- The 1870s were a time of political crisis due to the Russo-Turkish War (1877-8), the famine in 1879-80 and the industrial recession.

- The attempted assassinations led Alexander to accept that the violence and unrest may be curbed by widening democratic consultation.

- Melikov released political prisoners, relaxed censorship, removed the salt tax and lifted restrictions on the activities of the zemstva as Minister for Internal Affairs.

- Third Section was also abolished and the Okhrana was created.

- 1880- Melikov produced a report in response to Zemstva demands, recommending the inclusion of elected representatives of the nobility, of the zemstva, and of the town governments in debating the drafts of state decrees.

- However they did not create a constitution.

- Alexander accepted and signed this in 1881, the same day he was assassinated.

Westernizers

Members of Russian intellctuals who said that Russia needs to become more like Europe if it's to survive.

Slavophiles

Russian intellectuals in the early 19th century who favoured resisting western European influences and taking pride in the traditional peasant values and institutions of the Slavic people.

Radical thinkers

Nikolai Chernyshevsky:

- Nikolai Chernyshevsky was the author of the radical journal, 'The Contemporary' and the book, 'What is to be done?'.

- His writings suggested that the peasants had to be leasers of revolutionary change.

Alexander Herzen:

- Alexander Herzen was the editor of the radical journal of 'The Bell', which was produced abroad and smuggled into Russia illegally.

- In this, he advocated a new peasant-based social structure.

- In 1869, he called on followers to 'go to the people'.

Mikhail Bakunin and Sergei Nechaev:

- Mikhail Bakunin was an anarchist and a socialist.

- He believed that private ownership of land should be replaced by collective ownership and that income should be based on the number of hours worker.

-Although he had been forced to live in exile, he helped to introduce Marxism into Russia by translating Karl Marx's 'The Communist Manifesto' into Russian in 1869. This was the idea that all history was composed of class struggles and that everyone should be equal. Although this was attractive intellectually, the message seemed irrelevant to a predominantly total country, with hardly any proletariat and still fewer bourgeoisie.

-The first volume of Marx's Das Kapital was subsequently produced in Russia in 1872.

-In 1869, Bakunin and Sergei Nechaev (radical who fled from Russia illegally after calling on students to assassinate the Tsar), wrote the manifesto, Catechism of a Revolutionary. This was published in Switzerland and was secretly smuggled into Russia.

-This exhorted opponents of autocracy to be merciless in their pursuit of revolution, laying aside all other attachments - family, friends, love - in order to find the steely resolve required to pursue a revolutionary path.

-In 1871, Nechaev used underground contacts to return to Russia, determined to 'go to the people' and carry out a revolution, but he was forced to flee again, after the murder of a student who disagreed with him.

The Tchaikovsky circle

- The Tchaikovsky Circle was set up in 1868 in St Petersburg.

- It was a literary society that organised the printing, publishing and distribution of specific and revolutionary literature, including the first volume of Marx's Das Kapital.

- The circle had no more than 100 people, but it sought social (not political) revolution. From 1872, the Tchaikovsky Circle began organising workers with the intention of sending them to work with the peasants in the countryside.

Populists

- Aimed to go to the people for revolution- make them angry and get them to start the revolution.

- Encouraged 2000 young men and women from nobility and intelligentsia to travel to the countryside and persuade the peasantry that the future of Russia depended on the development of peasant communes.

- Wasn't successful first time and the second time wasn't much better.

'Land and Liberty'

Black Repartition:

- Georgi Plekhanov

- Wanted to share or partition the black soil provinces of Russia amongst peasants.

- Peacefully worked amongst peasants.

- Create change without resorting to violence.

Peoples Will:

- Planted spy in Tsars third section.

- Violent methods.

- Undermined government.

- Assassinated officials.

- Attempted a number of attempts on Alexander II's life.

- Assassinated Alexander II.

Karl Marx

1818-1883. 19th century philosopher, political economist, sociologist, humanist, political theorist, and revolutionary. Often recognized as the father of communism. Analysis of history led to his belief that communism would replace capitalism as it replaced feudalism. Believed in a classless society.

Alexander II: Assassination

1881, murdered by the People's Will due to increased repression and reaction.

Alexander III: Reign

1881-1894

Alexander III's counter-reforms

Alexander III and his government sought to roll back or curtail the reforms of Alexander II and to deal with the opposition and perceived threats to the stability of the regime.

Changes in local government

Zemstva Act (1890)

- Reduced the independence of the Zemstva.

- Control more centralised- under the Ministry of the Interior.

- Interfered with systems to elect landowners.

Municipal Government Act (1892)

- Same as the Zemstva Act but to the municipal councils.

- Number of people eligible to vote in elections was cut drastically.

Changes in policing/repression

- Nationwide police offensive led to 10,000 arrests.

- Okhrana (new secret police) recruited thousands of agents to penetrate revolutionary groups.

- People's will weakened.

- 1882- Statute on Police Surveillance allowed police to declare any citizen subject to surveillance.

Changes in the Judicial System

- Judicial reforms by AII were partially reversed.

- 1885, a decree provided for the Minister of Justice to exercise greater control, for example, in the dismissal of judges.

- 1887, the Ministry granted powers to hold closed court sessions and in 1889, it became responsible for the appointment of town judges.

- 1887, property and education qualifications needed by jurors was raised, while in 1889, volost courts were put under the direct jurisdiction of Land Captains in the countryside and judges in the towns.

Changes in Education

- 1884, university statuate brought in strict controls on universities- reduced student freedom and minister appointed uni staff.

- Uni courses for women closed.

- Church had more control over primary education.

- Fees in secondary schools increased to stop lower class getting education.

Changes in Censorship

- Censorship was tightened even further.

- Publications which criticised the regime could be suspended and editors banned from publishing.

- Difficult to express a different opinion.

More progressive policies

- Economic development- supported successive finance ministers for future development and creating industrial spurt, 1890s.

- Railway building, foreign investment, tariff protection.

- Financial and social measures- lowed poll tex and lowered redemption payments.

- Peasants land bank- help peasants buy land, 1883

- Nobles' Land Bank- lend money to nobles to get out of debts, 1885

Russification

The process of forcing Russian culture on all ethnic groups in the Russian empire.

The Poles

Alexander II:

- Reforms restored a degree of autonomy.

- Raised expectations and Poles wanted more independence.

- 1863, Polish rebels attacked a pro-Russian regional government.

- Regime regarded the Poles as disloyal.

- Polish serfs were given more generous terms of emancipation than Russian ones- attempt to secure their loyalty to the Russian state and prevent disturbances.

Alexander III:

- Russification was intensified under Alexander III.

- Polish language was prohibited in schools and colleges.

- Russians took the top jobs from the Polish.

- Russians replaced Polish executives and engineers on the railway systems.

- Railway announcements were in Russian.

-Many Poles went into revolutionary groups.

The Ukrainians

Alexander II:

- Ukraine was very important to Russia.

- Second largest ethnic group.

- Produced a lot of the Empires grain.

- Ukrainians were more integrated into the Empire.

Alexander III:

- Ukrainians included the Cossacks who were loyal supporters of the Tsar.

- Developing Ukrainian intelligentsia and Ukrainian cultural societies were being forward.

- Some attempt to develop a literary language but the Tsar issued a decree prohibiting the publication of books in Ukrainian.

The Jews

Alexander II:

- Most lives in poverty.

- Faced prejudice and persecution.

- Under Alexander II, wealthier, educated or skilled Jews were allowed to settle in parts of the Empire outside the Pale Settlement.

- This was stopped after Polish Revolt in 1863.

- Jews' civil rights were restricted.

Alexander III:

- Under Alexander III they faced a wave of anti-semitism.

- They had been involved in the revolutionary groups in the 1870s.

- Religious hatred of the Jews.

- Alexander III and Pobedonoststev supported pogroms and attacks on them.

- Rules and bans imposed on them. Jews:

• Were not allowed to own property and land in rural areas, even inside the Pale.

• Could not hold government office, run schools or appeal against a court sentence.

• Could be deported if they lived outside the Pale (1891, Jews were expelled from Moscow.)

• Were not allowed to work in legal, military or medical professions.

• Had restrictions placed on their entrance to universities and secondary schools.

• Were denied the vote in Zemstva and municipal elections.

• Were forced to sell up businesses and their rights to trade or sell products for example, liquor, were restricted.

- 1880s- series of pogroms carried out in a number of cities, involved armed groups breaking into jewish houses, destroying and stealing property, beating men up, raping women and murdering Jews.

- Pogroms were very bad after 1905.

- A huge number of Jews emigrated to the USA and western Europe.

Death of Alexander III

1 November 1894

Nicholas II: Reign

1894-1917

Witte

Russian minister of finance from 1892-1903 who helped Tsar Nicholas II industrialize Russia.

Witte's industrial policies

1. State-sponsored development of heavy industry.

2. Foreign loans, investment and expertise.

3. High tariffs on foreign industrial goods.

4. Strong rouble, adoption of gold standard.

5. Raised taxation rates.

6. Exports of grain.

State-sponsored development of heavy industry

- Witte launched Russia into an age of heavy industry- believed that iron, coal and steel industries would form the basis for industrial development.

- Witte loved railways- link the people, farms and factories of the Empire.

- Railways stimulated the Metallurgical engineering and coal industries.

- End of 1890s, nearly 60% of all iron and steel was consumed by the railways: four-fifths of locomotives were built in Russia.

- Trans-Siberian Railway, involved 25 factories producing 39 million roubles worth of rails, and other Russian manufacturers producing 1,500 locomotives and 30,000 wagons.

- Railway boom in the 1890s and the extent of railway tracks nearly doubled.

- Witte invested millions of roubles of state money directly into the railways and heavy industry.

- By 1899, the state bought almost two-thirds of all metallurgical production, controlled 70% of the railways and owned numerous mines and oilfields.

Foreign loans, investment and expertise

- Russia did not have the money to invest millions into the development of heavy industry, so Witte negotiated huge loans, mainly from the French.

- Witte also convinced foreign investors to put money into Russian joint-stock companies.

- 1900, one-third of the capital in these companies had been invested by foreigners.

- Witte encouraged more foreign companies, engineers and experts from France, Britain, Germany and other European countries to contribute their commercial and technological expertise.

- Critics- Witte created a dangerous and shameful dependence on foreigners.

High tariffs on foreign industrial goods

- High tariffs on foreign imports to protect domestic industries from foreign competition.

- This meant that companies in Russia bought home-produced iron, steel and other products and less money flowed out of Russia.

Strong rouble, adoption of gold standard

- Russia built up its gold reserves and in 1897 adopted the gold standard for the rouble.

- Exchange rates for the rouble were fixed against other gold-backed currencies, which provided added security for foreign investors.

Raised taxation rates

- Witte raised indirect taxes on everyday items such as kerosene, matches and vodka to get revenue for the state.

- Peasants had to sell more grain to pay their taxes.

- Allowed Witte to increase grain exports to sell abroad.

- Workers' wages were kept low so that money went back into industrial development rather than into wage bills.

Exports of grain

- Grain was essential in Wittes strategy

- Grain exports were the main means by which Russia was could earn more foreign currency to pay the high interest charged on foreign loans and for foreign imports.

Witte's results

Between 1890 and 1900:

- The production of iron and steel had risen from 9 to 76 million poods a year. (1 pood = 36.11 pounds)

- Coal output tripled.

- The production of cotton cloth increased by two-thirds.

International recession:

industrial development, 1908-14

Stolypin

Russian Prime Minister (1906-1911) under Tzar Nicholas II. Instituted land reform policies, and repression of dissent. Assassinated in 1911.

Stolypin's agrarian reforms

1906-1911:

- He set up field courts-martial to crush peasant uprisings and thousands of peasants were executed by hanging (became known as Stolypin's neckties) and many were exiled.

- Allowed peasants to leave the Mir.

- Allowed peasants to consolidate their strips of land into a single unit.

- Reduced the power of the Mir.

- Redistributed the land of some nobles.

- Allowed peasants to buy land from less enterprising peasants and create larger, more efficient, farms.

- The peasant reaction was mixed. While some relished the chance to escape the restrictions of the Mir, others saw those who left as traitors (Stolypin separators).

Impact of Industrialisation: Landed elite

Impact of Industrialisation: Middle class

Impact of Industrialisation: Urban working class

Impact of Industrialisation: Peasants

Change in the role of the Russian Orthodox Church 1855-1894

Nicholas II as a ruler

Nicholas II 1894-1906

Rasputin

Russian peasant monk who was able to influence Russian politics by gaining the confidence of the Tzarina

Russo-Japanese War

(1904-1905) War between Russia and Japan over imperial possessions. Japan emerges victorious.

Bloody Sunday

In Russia 1905 Russian soldiers inadvertently opened fire on demonstrators, turning them against the tsar. Possibly the start of the Revolution.

1905 Revolution

Civil unrest that followed the failed Russo-Japanese War and the massacre of Bloody Sunday. Forced Tsar Nicholas to issue the October Manifesto in which he promised to create a Duma.

October Manifesto

(1905), issued by Nich. II, attempted to quiet strikes, local revolts, promised freedom of speech and assembly, called the Duma into session

Social Democratic workers' party (SDs)

Founded in 1898 on socialist principles. In 1903 they split into two factions, the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, and the Mensheviks, led by Martov. These became separate political parties in 1912.

Socialist Revolutionaries (SR)

populists. Largest radical group. Believed the peasants would one day overthrow the tsar and only revolution could bring reform.

Trudoviks (Labour Group)

The Trudoviks were a breakaway of the Socialist Revolutionary Party faction as they defied the party's stance by standing in the First Duma. They were founded and led by Aleksei Aladin, a Russian soldier.

Kadets (Constitutional Democrats)

- A liberal reformist group who believed Russia needed to become a parliamentary democracy

- Made calls for limits on Tsar's powers in 1906

- Formed the Progressive Bloc in opposition to Tsar during WW1 and called for a 'government of public confidence'. - - Led the Provisional Government after the Tsar's abdication

Octobrists (Union of 17 October)

The Union of 17 October, commonly known as the Octobrist Party, was a liberal-reformist constitutional monarchist political party in late Imperial Russia. It represented moderately right-wing, anti-revolutionary, and constitutionalist views.

Progressives

The Progressive Party, also sometimes known as the Progressists was a group of moderate Russian liberals organized in 1912

Rightists (Including the Union of the Russian People)

The Union of the Russian people was by far the most important of the extreme rightist groups formed in the wake of the 1905 Revolution. It was founded in October 1905 as a movement to mobilise and rally the masses against the Left, by the two 'minor government officials' Alexander Dubrovin and Vladimir Purishkevich.

Nationalists and religious groupings

The First Duma ('Duma of National Hopes')

- The term of work - 27 April - 8 July 1906

- The Chairman: Muromtsev S.A. (Constitutional Democratic Party)

- The opening of the first session took place on 27 April 1906 in Tauride Palace in Saint-Petersburg.

- The elections to the First Duma were conducted in accordance with a law of December 1905. Six curia were established: landowners, city habitats, peasants, workers, Cossacks, and non-Slavic people. There was no universal (women, young people under 25, military people, some nationalities could not vote), equal (landowners' curia: one elector from 2 000 persons with a right to vote, city habitants curia - from 4 000, peasants curia - from 30 000, workers curia - from 90 000) and direct voting.

- The First State Duma was restricted in its powers and authority. In accordance with the Code of Main State Laws, approved by Nicholas II on 23 April 1906, the Emperor took decisions regarding ministers' appointment, Russian foreign policy, and declaration of a state of emergency. The Code also provided that the Emperor was entitled to issue new laws on his own behalf.

- The arrival of delegates of the First State Duma at the Tauride Palace for the first session. 27 April 1906. The photo is in the archives in Saint-Petersburg

- The main issue discussed by the First State Duma was land. - The Duma also attempted actively but unsuccessfully to conduct political reforms and called to stop repressions of participants of the Revolution (1905-1907). Overall the delegates approved only one law initiated by the Government. This law assigned 15 million rubles to people affected by crop failure.

- The First Duma was dissolved by Nicholas II. It is known as "the Duma of people's anger".

The Second Duma ('Duma of National Anger')

- The term of work - 20 February - 3 June 1907

- The Chairman: Golovin F.A. (Constitutional Democratic Party)

- One of the main tasks of the Second Duma was a resolution of procedural issues as the delegates were intended to expand the authority of the representative body.

- The main focus of their attention was an agrarian question and they paid less attention to governmental drafts, counter-revolutionary repressions and measures to improve the financial position of lower classes of the Empire.

- The Duma was dissolved in only 102 days after the beginning of its term. 55 delegates were accused in a plot against Emperor's family. Some members of social democratic faction were said to have connections with "a military organization of the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party" that was planning armed uprising on 3 June 1907 (the so-called the Coup of the June 3rd).

- New Regulations on elections were published together with the Manifesto on the dissolution of the Duma.

The Third Duma ('Duma of Lords and Lackeys')

- The term of work - 1 November 1907 - 3 July 1912

- The Chairman: Khomyakov N.A. (1907-1910, Union of 17 October), Guchkov A.I. (1910-1911, Union of 17 October), Rodzyanko M.V. (1911-1912, Union of 17 October).

- The Third Duma was the only one of four State Dumas in the Russian Empire that worked the full statutory five-year term.

- Elections were held in accordance with new Regulations on elections of 3 June 1907. The new Regulations restricted election rights of peasants and workers and decreased the number of representatives of so-called national remote areas.

- Elections of commission members were held at a general session of the Duma with prior approval of candidates within factions. The majority of commissions included representatives of each Duma's faction.

- The drafts that were initiated by ministries, first of all, were revised by Duma's Gathering that included the Duma Chairman, his comrades, the Duma Secretary, and his comrades (all these titles were set forth in documents on creation and organization of Duma's work). The Duma's Gathering issued a preliminary report on allocation of a draft to one of Duma's commissions and after that, the report was approved by the Duma.

- Request system was widespread. The delegates having gathered a certain number of signatures could ask a government to provide a report on its actions.

The Fourth Duma

- The term of work - 15 November 1912 - 6 October 1917

- The Chairman: Rodzyanko M.V. (Union of 17 October).

- The work of the Fourth Duma was defined by events inside Russia and on the international arena. After the beginning of the First World War and several large defeats of the Russian army, the serious political conflict appeared between the Duma and executive power. On 25 February 1917, Emperor Nicholas II signed a decree on the dissolution of the Duma till April 1917. However, the Duma continued to gather at private sessions.

- Speech of a delegate of the Fourth Duma at a session in Tauride Palace. The photo is in the archives in Saint-Petersburg

- The Duma was one of the centers of opposition to Emperor Nicholas II. On 27 February its members formed the Temporary Committee of the State Duma that by forming the Temporary Government de facto became the supreme authority in the country.

- After the monarchy ceased its existence in Russia the Duma never gathered in its full completion. However, the Temporary Committee of the State Duma had regular sessions.

- On 6 October 1917, the State Duma was dissolved by the Temporary Government prior to elections to the Constitutional Assembly.

Conditions of peasants 1914

Conditions of workers 1914

Impact of WWI on Russia

- The War brought terrible suffering for soldiers and civilians alike. Best estimates state that almost two million Russian soldiers were killed. A similar number of civilians also perished. Morale during this time was very low and the myth of the army as the Russian 'steamroller' had been vanquished.

- The Russian people looked for someone to hold to account for their suffering. In 1915, the Tsar had declared himself Commander in Chief of the Army. This made him a suitable target for this discontent.

Military defeats

February Revolution 1917

- The February Revolution was the first of two revolutions that took place in Russia in 1917.

- At the time of the revolution Russia was an autocracy, with Tsar Nicholas II holding absolute power over his people. Its political, social and economic structures were extremely backward in comparison to other countries in Europe. Food shortages and military failures at the start of the twentieth century had caused strikes and riots that were often brutally suppressed. The 1905 Revolution had led to some reforms, including the establishment of a State Duma (legislative assembly), but there was still no real democracy in Russia.

- Russia's entry into the First World War was initially supported by most Russians. However its infrastructure struggled to cope with the demands of war. Russia's industry depended almost entirely on foreign imports. When Germany and its Turkish allies blockaded Russia's Eastern ports, its railway, electricity and supply systems broke down. There were not enough laborers to collect the harvests and there were serious food shortages.

- The war was going badly for Russia with a string of defeats. In 1915, the Tsar attempted to boost moral by taking personal command of the army. This move had disastrous results. The Tsar was a poor military leader and he was now blamed for every defeat. He had also left his wife, the German-born Tsarina Alexandra, in charge at home. The Tsarina was very unpopular and seemed to be under the control of the equally unpopular mystic Grigori Rasputin.

- With little food, no ammunition or even proper uniforms, Russian soldiers began to mutiny in their thousands. Strikes and protests in Russia saw no reforms from the government. Trade unions were banned and 'troublemakers' were sent into exile. By early 1917 most Russians had completely lost faith in the Tsarist regime.

- On 22 February 1917, metal workers in Petrograd went on strike. They were joined the next day, International Women's Day, by female protesters marching against food rationing. More protestors and strikers took part and around 200,000 filled the streets of the city, demanding the replacement of the Tsar and an end to the war. Eventually nearly all industry in Petrograd was shut down. The Tsar ordered

Provisional Government

A temporary government created by the Duma after the abdication of the Tsar; it made the decision to remain in World War One, costing it the support of the soviets and the people.

Dual Power

The attempt at sharing power between the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet, February - October 1917.

The Petrograd Soviet

The St. Petersburg, or Petrograd, council of workers, soldiers, and intellectuals who shared power with the provisional government.

Provisional Government: The war

- The PG decided that Russia should continue its military action in World War One and land reforms were postponed. Both rulings greatly affected the Russian people. This made the government increasingly unpopular and provided ammunition for revolutionaries, who called for its dissolution

- June Offensive- The June Offensive began on 18th June, 1917 and had collapsed by 5th July it was launched as an attempt by Russia to achieve a crushing military victory and end the war. There were 3 key results of the June Offensive:

❖Huge losses of 400,000 men. It also led to mutinies and chaos.

❖Both the Provisional Government and Kerensky, as the minister of war, were blamed for the failures in the war. This led to resignations, especially from the Kadets.

❖The July Days were a period of social, economic and political upheaval in Russia while the Provisional Government was in charge.

Provisional Government: The land and peasants

the peasants started taking the nobles land (which caused anarchy in the countryside). The PG sent troops to take back the land, which made the peasants very angry - with the government.

Provisional Government: The national minorities

Unsuccessful

•Ukraine - Ukrainians demanded self-government and the moderate socialists in the government made concessions to them. Outraged the Liberals

•As soon as the Tsars regime failed the Finns and Poles wanted independence and reform.

Successful

•In Poland, where they had the least influence, the Provisional Government promised independence, in hope that in exchange they would receive help on the warfront

•Discrimination was made illegal by the Provisional Gov. at their first meeting with the Soviets.

•In fairness, they argued that only the constituent assembly could make such decision regarding the rights of National Minorities.

Provisional Government: Social reform

Unsuccessful

•The Government failed to cater for the needs of the people and paid the political price.

•Kornilov Affair: Kornilov became the new supreme commander of the Russian forces, he wanted to seize control of the government and establish military control. He marched his troops into Petrograd, and Kerensky panicked and called on the soviet to help him, this made Kerensky and the provisional Gov. appear weak to the working class. As the majority of working class were afraid of this possible revolution, and the Bolsheviks became more popular as they were seen as the true defenders

Successful

•In their first meeting with the Soviet, reforms were made that met with public approval; Tsarist officials were imprisoned, Secret police was disbanded, Amnesty granted for political religious prisoners, Freedom of press & speech, Death penalty was made illegal, Promise was made to arrange elections for the constituent assembly using a secret ballot and universal suffrage.

•In fairness, they could not meet the workers demands of wage levels, eight hour days and improvement of working conditions. This was due to the pressure from factory owners and tradesman who did not want their involvement in the workplace.

•In fairness to Kerensky, Kornilov was a man who seemed reliable, and he had no political goals so seemed like the perfect candidate.

Provisional Government: The deteriorating economic situation

Unsuccessful

•The railway system had been damaged by the war and was showing signs of breaking down, even after the Provisional Gov took power.

•Factories cutting output, or closing and laying off workers. 568 factories were closed in Petrograd between February and July.

•The peasants were unwilling to sell their grain, because there were few goods to buy so the Provisional Gov. sent out punishment brigades, but this caused the peasants to be more hostile towards them.

•there was great division within the Provisional. Gov. The Mensheviks in particular could not free themselves from their strong beliefs.

Successful

•Ministers accepted the need for a state monopoly of grain and established a hierarchy of food committee's to which producers were obliged to fell their surplus at fixed prices.

•In fairness, The Provisional Gov. felt pressure from industrialists not to interfere of fix prices, and would not act against them. Because the workers were demanding price controls, therefore this shows us that they were struggling to keep everyone happy, from the workers, to the factory owners.

Alexander Kerensky

Headed the Provisional Government in 1917. Refused to redistribute confiscated landholdings to the peasants. Thought fighting the war was a national duty.

Lenin returns to Russia

After the outbreak of the February Revolution, German authorities allowed Lenin and his lieutenants to cross Germany en route from Switzerland to Sweden in a sealed railway car. Berlin hoped, correctly, that the return of the anti-war socialists to Russia would undermine the Russian war effort, which was continuing under the provisional government.

Vladimir Lenin

Leader of the Bolshevik (later Communist) Party. He lived in exile in Switzerland until 1917, then returned to Russia to lead the Bolsheviks to victory during the Russian Revolution and the civil war that followed.