InNo+Russia+in+War+and+Revolution+Part+1+michellel2013+10.14.10





**__ Chapter One: The Russian Empire in 1900 __** · Russia is really big and can fit all of British Isles into Russia 90 times over · Takes over a week in express train to travel from east to west · So big that sun rises in east when it sets in west ** The land and the climate ** · A lot of land is useless · High mountains at southern border create a food defense against foreign invaders · But also keep warm air from entering from South · Leaves Russia open to cold air from Arctic Ocean · Land mostly useless for farming · In Arctic Circle, the land is ** tundra ** : //only moss and small shrubs grow// · More than 1000 km south of tundra is ** taiga ** : //cold land covered with pine trees// · Only soil in warmer regions can be used for farming · In 1900, 5% Russia land used for farming, rest is wasted · Cold climate affects Russia’s industry, commerce, and farming · Most of Russia is in Arctic circle, so it is frozen over with thick ice for most of the year · Same with rivers of Siberia – Ob, Yenisey, Lena · Nowadays massive ice-breaking ships smash channels through ice for other ships to use · In 1900, ice-breakers weren’t powerful · Coast and rivers were in ice throughout winter · Sea and river trade impossible until spring · New railway: Trans-Siberian­­–– built for trade from east and west all year round · But in 1900, railway was only half-built ** An empire of many peoples ** · In 1900, Russia was great empire ruled by a ** Tsar **** / **// Emperor: // //Nicholas II// · About 125 million people lived in his empire · Less then half were Russians · Majority of people: Poles, Ukrainians · They had been conquered by ancestors of Tsar Nicholas II   · They had their own language, customs, and way of life · 6 out of 10 Tsar’s subjects Russian was foreign language, Russians were foreigners · People of empire were not spread evenly throughout the country · Most lived on 5% land that was good for farming · Cold lands (Siberia), east mountains (Ural), were hardly populated · Fertile land of south-west and city streets overcrowded

**__ Chapter Two: The Government of Russia __** ** The autocracy ** · Tsar Nicholas II was an **autocrat**: //monarch who doesn’t have to share power// · Had limitless power: make new laws, increase taxes, do whatever he wanted without consulting anyone, sack any minister or adviser who disagreed with him · Nicholas couldn’t govern 125 million people by himself · Employed thousands of civil servants, to run affairs · Organized into 14 ranks like an army · At top of ‘Table of Ranks’ were ministers in charge of gov’t departments · At bottom were minor officials, like post office and customs inspectors · Civil service collected taxes from Russians · Made sure Tsar’s decisions were carried out · Underpaid for work, so many civil servants took bribes · Tsar didn’t allow people to question his authority or challenge his power · The ** Okhrana: ** // secret police force, or ‘Protective Section’ so make sure no one opposed him // · Okhrana censored books and newspapers · Agents spied on political groups · People who criticized the gov’t was arrested · Political prisoners were tried by special courts without juries. Usually ended up in exile · They were sent to live in cold lands of Siberia as punishment (like Lenin) · Okhrana couldn’t cope with opponents of Tsar, especially during famines · Riots broke out · Workers went on strike, peasants in the country attacked landlords and tax collectors · Came to Tsar’s rescue**––** ** Cossacks **, // mounted soldiers armed with sabres, specializing in breaking mobs by butchering // anyone who didn’t run away fast enough · Priests of ** Russian Orthodox Church ** taught respect of autocracy and loyalty to Tsar · Head of church was gov’t minister · Bishops took order from minister and priests took orders from bishops · Through this, gov’t controlled minds and souls of many Russian churchgoers ** Nicholas and Alexandra ** · Oct 1894––Nicholas II said he wasn’t ready to become a Tsar on the day of his father’s death · Jan 1895––He wanted to preserve principles of autocracy as his father did · 1906––Russia’s first Prime Minister (Count Witte) was sacked by Nicholas, because he wished Nicholas luck, and he found a written order for his dismissal on his desk later · 1906­­––the British Ambassador in Russia (Sir Arthur Nicholson) said Nicholas was gentle but uneducated, and weak on everything but his own autocracy · 1966––Alexander Kerensky, Russian politician and Prime Minister in 1917, said a day of a rule was very boring · Alexandra: Nicholas’ wife · Was German, confident and strong willed · She encouraged Nicholas to rule as autocrat and ignored ideas of sharing power · Nicholas and Alexandra had a happy marriage with 5 children in first 10 years of marriage · First 4 were girls, and 5th was boy · Alexis: heir to the throne · Happiness was ruined when Alexis was found with a blood disease (haemophilia)–– It prevented his blood from clotting · Nicholas and Alexandra were very religious · Alexandra had a chapel in royal palace grounds · She went there every day and prayed for hours for her son to get better · Ordered daughters to never talk about Alexis’ illness and everyone who knew of it was sworn to secrecy

**__ Chapter Three: Russian Society __** ** The peasants ** · 1900, 4/5 people were peasants––country people made living by farming · ‘Til 1861, peasants had been ** serfs ** : //slaves of landlords// · They had no rights, freedom, or land · 1861, Tsar Alexander II (Nicholas II’s grandfather) freed peasants from serfdom · Allowed them to own land where they grew their food, but with criteria · Land which peasants grew food was not given to them as individuals, but to ** mir ** : //village commune//, where they lived 1) Peasants had to pay for land given to commune in yearly installments, called redemption payments, over next 49 years   2) Have to pay 49 installments for land to become their personal property

· Therefore it didn’t improve lives of peasants  b eing freed from serfdom · Each year, land was divided in the communes and given to each families according to their needs  · Bigger family = bigger land · As population grew, the lands distributed became smaller and smaller, eventually halved · Made it harder for peasants to support their families each year · Meanwhile, still had to keep up with yearly redemption payments · Almost half of new-born children died before age of 5 · A vg, life expectancy that reached age 5 was only 50 years · disease and malnutrition · peasants always hope for a good harvest to have enough to eat and extra to sell to market, to pay for taxes and redemption payments ** The town workers ** · P easants tried to work in towns and cities for a better life · They worked in factories/mines until harvest time, then go back to commune · In 1900, largest city, also the capital, was St Petersburg · Almost 1 million people went there to look for jobs · It was overcrowded, and common for 10+ people living in one room, 4 sleeping in a bed · N ormal work day is 11 and 1/2 half hours · But people work overtime because they were paid so little · T rade unions and going on strike were illegal · C omplaining workers could easily be replaced since so many people want the jobs ** The rich ** · Russian nobles were very rich · Tsar Nicholas, head of nobility, owned 8 palaces and 15,000 servants · 20 railway carriages were needed for luggage when they moved · Nobles = 1% of population · 25% of land were owned by them · M any profits made if they farmed land efficiently · Some sold off little of their land for money · In 1900, **capitalists ** were also becoming rich: //t// //  heir money was made from banking, industry and trade  // · Minister of France, Sergei Witte, made making money for capitalists easy · Gave gov’t contracts, especially building railways · Gave loans to build new factories and cut taxes · Hatred of capitalists grew in slums and boarding houses because t  hey did little to improve lives of workers

**__ Chapter Four: Opponents of the Tsar __** · Tsar’s autocratic system of gov’t was not questioned by most Russians · They believed God has appointed him to to rule them and that everyone had their rightful place in society · But there were some people who didn’t accept it   · They decided they wanted a change in the govt. and get rid of Tsar ** Terrorism ** · March 1881, a bomb exploded near Tsar Alexander II’s carriage · He w as unhurt, but when he came out to inspect damage a young man threw a bomb at his feet and tore off one of Alexanders’s legs, ripping his belly open · His son Alexander and grandson Nicholas watched him bleed to death · This a ssassination was by terrorist group called the ‘People’s Will’ -- o ne of the terrorist groups that wanted to destroy autocracy · But the a ssassination didn’t destroy autocracy · Alexander III and grandson Nicholas II b oth had critics and opponents arrested by Okhrana · Thousands were put in prison or exile in Siberia · But they did not succeed in destroying all opponents · In 1900, still three important opponent groups still existed: ** The Socialist Revolutionary Party ** · Also known as the SRs · W anted all land in Russia to be given to mirs, so peasants had larger share · Wanted to take land away from Tsar, nobles, and church, who owned most of Russia · SRs had a ‘Fighting Organization’ to organize terrorist campaigns · 3 gov’t ministers and many gov’t officials were killed · SRs gained support from peasants who wanted land couldn't because of yearly redemption payments ** The Social Democratic Party ** · I mportant revolutionary group · They f ollowed ideas of Karl Marx (German writer in 1848, wrote a book called the Communist Manifesto) · Marx predicted there would be violent revolution where the working class overthrew capitalists who owned wealth of the country; with w orkers taking away factories, mines, machinery, and raw materials from capitalists, then shared them equally · // This sharing of wealth was called //﻿ ** socialism ** · P eople work together for the good of everyone, stop being selfish, and only took what they needed  i n socialist society, · This resulted in a system of **communism, ** where people work according to their abilities and paid according to their needs · Leaders began to argue the best way to start socialist revolution, then split into two groups · In 1903, Bolsheviks and Mensheviks · **Bolsheviks **// believed revolution should be organized by small group dedicated to skilled revolutionaries // // · They would lead the party and make decisions  // · **Mensheviks** // believed the Party should be with as many workers as possible // · // It would be run democratically, elected leaders and policies // · Leader of Bolsheviks: Vladmir Ilyich Lenin**,** argued it would take years for Mensheviks to start revolution, wasting time on discussion and arguing · L eader of Mensheviks: Julius Martov, said revolution would fail without support of whole working class · Lenin and Martov didn’t reach agreement · From 1903 on, 3 important revolutionary groups were the Social Revolutionaries, the Bolsheviks, and the Mensheviks ** Liberals ** · //S// // ome of Tsar's opponents weren’t violent revolutionaries, they were // // law-abiding people called //**liberals** · They supported Tsar but wanted him to share power · They w anted a democratic system of gov’t, like Britain where elected parliament shared power with monarch · P lans for Russian parliament  was made by Alexander II  the day he was blown up, but Alexander III tore up those plans the first day he became Tsar

**__ Chapter Five: The 1905 revolution __** ** War against Japan ** · 1904, Russia went to war with Japan, fighting for control of Korea and Manchuria in Far East · Tsar Nicholas wanted war because he thought a quick victory would stop criticism of his gov’t and he would be popular · But Russia suffered terrible defeat from the start · Nicholas sent Russian Baltic fleet on a 7 month voyage to Manchuria to help army · But when fleet arrived in Japanese waters, all but 3 Russian ships were destroyed in the **battle of Tsushima** · War with Japan weakened Nicholas’ position instead · War made conditions for working people even worse · Food supplies to cities broke down, raw materials ran short so factories closed ** Bloody Sunday ** · Sunday 22 Jan 1905, crowd of 200,000 workers and families marched to St Petersburg to Tsar’s Winter Palace · Present a petition for better working and living conditions, end of the war with Japan, shorter working day, and others · //**Father Gapon** led the marchers, he was a priest who sympathized the workers // · Soldiers and police tried to stop marchers at the center of St Petersburg · S oldiers opened fire and 500 marchers died with thousands wounded · This massacre was known as **//Bloody Sunday//** · news of massacre spread through Russia, causing riots in countryside and strikes in towns · hundreds of gov’t officials were murdered · Grand Duke Serge, was blown up by terrorist bomb · __ Bloody Sunday started a revolution against Tsar __ ** The 1905 revolution ** · June 1905, crew of battleship **//Potemkin://** //pride of Black Sea fleet,// threw the officers overboard and took over · Mutineers had no plan and surrendered few weeks later · But m utiny was threatening to Tsar Nicholas because it s howed he couldn’t trust his armed forces · Behavior of peasants in countryside worried him too · Peasants rebelled in many areas; b utchered landlords, burned farms · Many non-Russians took opportunity to declare independence from Russian rule · September 1905, general strike began · Factories, offices, shops, railways, hospitals, and schools closed · //Strikers set up councils called// **soviets** // to run the towns // · Soviets became alternative form of gov’t in many places · Striking workers obeyed orders of Soviets, and not the Tsar’s gov’t · October 1905, Nicholas issued document called  **October Manifesto:** said Russia could have **Duma:** //elected parliament, to help run country// · P eople were also allowed to have basic rights (form political parties, free speech, etc.) · Liberals were happy with October Manifesto · Revolutionary parties didn’t trust Nicholas to keep his word · In December, police arrested members of St Petersburg Soviet and sent 15 to exile in Siberia · Also, an a rmy in Moscow was sent to crush the Soviet · More than 1000 people died in fighting · Early months of 1906, Tsar crushed all areas of revolution · The Black Hundreds, who were Bands of thugs, organized massacres of revolutionares · Over 100 cities, people who joined revolution were put to death and police and army didn’t stop them · March 1906, revolution was over · At last Russia got a parliament- March 1906, elections for Duma were held and majority of anti-gov’t candidates gained office · But in May when Duma met for the first time, Nicholas issued a set of **Fundamental Laws:** //  f irst one was ‘To the Emperor of all the Russias belongs supreme and autocratic power’  // · In conclusion, nothing much changed, Russia was still an autocracy

**__ Chapter Six: The Aftermath of the 1905 revolution __** ** The Dumas ** · Tsar Nicholas made it clear he wouldn’t allow Duma to have any real power · When a share in gov’t was demanded, Nicholas surrounded the meeting place with troops and broke it up   · First Duma lasted 75 days · 1907, second Duma was elected, Nicholas disliked even more · included liberals, as well as Socialist Revolutionaries and Social Democrats who aimed to destroy autocracy · Second Duma was broken up after 3 months · 1907, third Duma met, did better than before, lasting 5 years · Nicholas changed voting laws so revolutionaries weren’t elected · Third Duma mostly of conservative politicians who did what Nicholas wanted · Powerless third Duma was to provide a show of democracy · Nicholas could continue business of autocracy · 1906, appointed new, tough Prime Minister, Peter Stolypin · made sure there were no outbreaks of revolution ** The Stolypin reforms ** · Stolypin believed strict gov’t · First act was clamp down terrorism · 1906, 1008 terrorists arrested, tried by special military courts, and executed · 21,000 people exiled to Siberia · He realized brute force wouldn’t solve problems · F eared if peasants remained poor then outbreaks of violence in countryside would happen · Stolypin helped peasants become owners of their own land · Redemption payments were abolished, as well as laws that mirs controlled the land · Hoped hard-working peasants would leave communes and set up own farms, more productive · Thought peasants would grow rich and would want peace, so would help to prevent revolution · Conditions started to improve · Industry and wages grew, harvests were good · Peasants bought own land and started creating new, efficient farms · 1911, Stolypin was shot dead by one of his police agents who turned out to be a terrorist himself ** Rasputin ** · Nicholas and wife Alexandra was involved in a Siberian peasant who claimed to be a //Starets//, a holy man of God · They were introduced to the man who they said had special powers of prophecy and healing · Gregory Efimovitch · One time Alexis fell and started internal bleeding · Gregory prayed at his bedside and he fully recovered the next morning · They were amazed by the miracle · // Starets // became one of the most trusted members · But other people did not like him · In the past in Siberia they gave him nickname of <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13pt;">**Rasputin:** // the disreputable one // · He drank a lot and had many affairs with local women · He t ook part in wild orgies, spend most of his time drunk, once raped a nun · Nicholas and Alexandra didn't listen when told of the wild behavior and continued to trust him · Rasputin’s influence of royal family increased after death of Stolypin in 1911 · Gave political advice to Alexandra, who told Nicholas · It was easier to gain promotion for politicians if they were friendly with Rasputin · Businessmen got gov’t contracts more easily when they entertained him · Rasputin’s influence increased, along with peoples' hatred for him · Rumors of an affair with Alexandra began · Discussed by the Duma, newspapers full of gossip no him

· All of Russia knew about his corruption, but Nicolas and his wife didn't see it

Summary:
====//<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In Part One of this book, we learn about how Russia was run under the rule of Tsar Nicholas II, an autocrat. The lives of peasants were difficult as they were very poor; while the nobles and upper-class were rich with a lot of their own land. Later on, three revolutionary groups were formed, the Social Democratic Party, Bolsheviks, and Mensheviks. Eventually, the revolution during 1905 ended with nothing changed, resulting with Dumas, which had no actual power. Two characters: Peter Stolypin and Raputin, were introduced; Stolypin was the Prime Minister, who got rid of terrorists and improved the lives of the peasants, and Rasputin influenced the royal family by saving Alexis's life in an accident. //====

**Questions:**
====<span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 1.066em; font-weight: normal; margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px 0px;">//1) Explain why people gave Gregory Efimovitch the name "Rasputin".// ==== <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//2) Compare and contrast the lives of the upper-class and lower-class citizens. Why were the peasants unhappy? State specific examples.// <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//3) Explain in what ways the 1905 Revolution relates to the French Revolution.// <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//4) Describe how the liberals were different than the other revolutionary groups.// <span style="color: #008000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//5) In what ways was the Russian Orthodox Church related to the government/Tsar? What can you relate about this to the French Revolution?//