FP1: How well did the Tsarist regime deal with the difficulties of ruling Russia up to 1914?

Issues facing Russia:

Geography- Russia was large and therefore difficult to effectively rule

  • WYD?

    • Centralised bureaucracy and a network of officers to enforce laws + collect taxes

    • Use of army and secret police to suppress dissent

    • Expanded railway to improve transport and communication

  • HYD?

    • Bureaucracy was corrupt + inefficient

    • Railway was inadequate and often disrupted by strikes

Modernising Agriculture - Outdated practices by uneducated peasants + a need to produce surplus grain to export.

  • WYD?

    • Redemption payment abolished (1906), relieving peasants of financial obligation

    • Stolypin introduced Land Banks, providing loans to purchase land

    • Freedom for peasants to leave mirs.

  • HYD?

    • Increased agricultural output but reforms were uneven and slow

    • Farming techniques remained outdated

    • Social discontent meant frequent strikes

    • Heavy taxation of peasants

Industrialisation - Need to modernise Russian industry so it could compete with other Western powers.

  • WYD?

    • Agrarian reforms aimed to reduce demand for labour in the countryside, boosting urbanisation.

    • Witte attracted foreign investment and oversaw the construction of the Trans-Siberian railway

  • HYD?

    • Foreign capital supported expansion

    • By 1914, 56% of manufacturing employees worked in enterprises employing >500 workers. 40% worked in those employing >1000 workers.

    • Social unrest was prevalent, slowing down industrialisation

    • Rural-Urban migration was a threat to the Tsar due to the more educated workforce it presented.

    • Witte was dismissed (loss- he was getting results.)

Social Unrest - Rife inequality, harsh conditions, demands for reform lead to discontent.

  • Peasants: economic hardships, starvation + famines, land disputes

    • WYD?

      • Repressed uprisings and revolts

      • Granted some demands in October Manifesto

    • HYD?

      • Tsar failed to address underlying issue

      • Social tensions persisted

      • Peasant population was very large- lost support

  • National Minorities: discrimination, Russian favouritism, Russification

    • WYD?

      • Pursued Russification (Russian language enforced, minority languages and cultures restricted)

      • Supported Black Hundreds (extreme Nationalists that killed/attacked those ‘disloyal’ to the Tsar)

    • HYD?

      • Alienated and restricted a portion of the population

      • Fostered resentment and revolutionary ideas

      • Tensions persisted, failed to address effectively

  • Urban Workers: Long hours, harsh conditions, low wages, dangerous jobs

    • WYD?

      • Laws introduced to protect workers (limit on hours)

      • Trade Unions permitted after 1905

      • Force and arrests used to suppress protests

      • Limited reforms

    • HYD?

      • Strikes continued and escalated despite repression

      • Laws were often not followed and conditions persisted

      • Failure to appease workers; discontent and anger persisted

Overall: WYD?

  • Repression of demonstrations of anger and demands

  • Some acceptance of reform but largely ineffective and half-hearted

  • Limited reforms that promised lots

Overall: HYD?

  • Failure to address underlying issues

  • Booms in industry

  • Tensions increased- short term appeasement, long term problems

  • Lack of long term planning to combat the threats of an unstable society filled with unrest.