Russia 1750-1900

Russia Background

  • Expansion Under Czarist Rule

    • Under the leadership of Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, Russia significantly expands its borders.

    • The governance structure features autocratic leaders, known as czars, who embody absolute monarchy, demonstrating a lack of representative government.

    • A powerful class of nobles owns vast tracts of land and employs peasant serfs, who are bound to the land and serve as their labor force.

Russia in Decline

  • The Crimean War (1853-1856)

    • Under czars Nicholas I and Alexander II, Russia engages in conflict against the Ottoman Empire, supported by allies such as Britain, France, and Sardinia.

    • The outcome is a defeat for Russia, which highlights that agrarian Russia struggles to match the technological advancements and military capabilities of other European powers, raising questions about its expansionist ambitions.

Government Reform

  • Reevaluation of Society by Alexander II

    • In an attempt to reform Russian society, Alexander II initiates several key changes:

    • Emancipation Manifesto (1861):

      • This significant decree frees the serfs, addressing the potential for future peasant uprisings and aiming at economic development.

      • However, the emancipation fails to provide real benefits as the serfs lack political rights and the economic means to purchase land.

      • The move does not lead to an increase in agricultural production.

    • Zemstvos (1864):

      • Local district assemblies called zemstvos are established.

      • Despite their creation, these assemblies remain subordinate to the czar and the nobility, failing to empower the local population.

  • Industrialization Efforts

    • The Russian government begins to support industrialization, which sees substantial growth towards the end of the 1800s.

    • The government anticipates that the freed serfs will become a workforce for the burgeoning industrial sector.

    • Finance Minister Sergei Witte borrows extensive funds from European investors to finance projects like the Trans-Siberian Railway.

    • Workers, many of whom are formerly bound serfs, protest poor working conditions; however, the government responds by outlawing labor unions and strikes.

    • Despite economic exploitation, Russian businessmen prosper, leading them to avoid challenging the autocratic system.

    • Economic hardship and repression breed susceptibility to revolutionary propaganda, laying groundwork for the eventual communist revolution of 1917.

People’s Response

  • Rise of Antigovernment Sentiment

    • By around 1900, there is a noticeable increase in antigovernment protests and revolutionary activities, primarily fueled by discontent among peasants lacking land and factory jobs.

    • Among the protestors are university students and intellectuals influenced by European socialism, advocating against capitalism, individualism, and materialism.

    • Efforts by revolutionary intellectuals to inspire peasants in the countryside face challenges, as the peasants often do not grasp complex intellectual concepts.

    • The czar employs secret police to suppress these intellectuals and imposes censorship on their writings.

    • The repressive measures are also observed in regions under Russian control, such as Poland, Ukraine, and Georgia, where local ethnic languages are suppressed as they may incite independence sentiments.

    • Furthermore, the government fosters anti-Jewish riots, leading to many Jews emigrating from Russia due to increased hostility and suspicion.

New Leadership in Russia

  • Assassination of Alexander II

    • Czar Alexander II is assassinated in 1881 by members of the revolutionary group known as the Land and Freedom Party.

  • Response from Future Czars

    • Successors, including Nicholas II, adopt oppressive measures and intense police surveillance to eradicate revolutionary movements.

    • Nicholas II pursues territorial expansion into Korea and Manchuria, igniting the Russo-Japanese War (1904), in which Russia’s naval forces suffer devastating defeat.

  • Social Unrest

    • Internal disturbances intensify across Russia leading up to the Revolution of 1905.

The 1905 Revolution

  • Bloody Sunday (January 1905)

    • On this day, workers march to the czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to request the formation of legislative assemblies.

    • The government's response to the peaceful petition results in violence, as troops fire on the demonstrators, leading to labor unrest, peasant uprisings, student demonstrations, and military mutinies.

    • In the aftermath, urban workers organize into groups known as soviets, which facilitate strikes and labor actions.

  • Creation of the Duma

    • In response to the unrest, Nicholas II is compelled to establish an assembly known as the Duma.

    • However, the creation of the Duma does not quell the discontent, as Nicholas II retains the authority to dissolve it at will, thereby maintaining control and preventing meaningful legislative reform.

  • Fall of the Romanov Dynasty

    • The continued unrest precipitates the eventual downfall of Nicholas II and the Romanov dynasty, particularly amidst the upheavals of World War I.