InNo+mengxinw2013+10.17.10


 * AWESOME PART **

The pyramid above shows the social classes of Russia, with the Royals at top of the Pyramid while the peasants at the bottom. From the pyramid, it is possible to understand the reason that the peasants would want to revolt because even though they're the majority of people, they're extremely poor, and had no power at all.
 * Social Classes Pyramid**


 * Cartoon of Rasputin, 1916
 * The cartoon of Rasputin above was drawn in 1916. It shows what people thought Rasputin was, the evil man who is using the Tsar and Tsarina as puppets to get what he want.****


 * NOTES ON PART 1 **

· Russia is very big, sun rises in the far east at the same time as it sets in west · Much of Russia’s land is useless · Useless for farming · More than 1000 kilos south of tundra is taiga, where there’re pine trees · Great rivers freeze · Sea and river trade were impossible until spring arrived · New railway, the Trans-Siberians being built to allow trade between east and west all year round, but in 1900 only half-built · 1900 ruled by Tsar Nicholas II  · 125 million people lived in Nicholas’s empire · majority of people aren’t Russians, they’re Poles and Ukrainians who had been conquered by ancestors of Nicholas · had their own language, custom, own way of life · for 6/10 Tsar’s subjects Russian was foreign language and Russian people were foreigners · people of Russia were not spread evenly throughout the country, most lived on the 5 percent of land that was good for farming · cold lands of Siberia, East of Ural mountains, thinly populated · fertile land of south-west and streets of the cities were often overcrowded
 * The Russian Empire in 1900**

· Nicholas II, emperor of Russia, known as Tsar · Autocrat, a monarch who does not have to share power; could make new laws, increase taxes, do exactly what he liked without consulting anyone · No parliament to limit Tsar’s power, could sack any minister or adviser who disagreed with him · Nicholas could not govern 125 million Russians all by himself, employed thousands of civil servants to run affairs of his vast empire · Organized into 14 ranks, top of the Table of Ranks were ministers in charge of government departments; bottom were minor officials, such as post office clerks · Civil service collected taxes from Russian people and made sure his decision were carried out · Civil servants underpaid for their work, many made ends meet by taking bribes · Tsar didn’t allow people to question his authority or challenge his power, therefore, to be sure, he had secret police force, the OKHRANA, or Protective Section · Okhrana censored all books and newspapers, agents spied on political groups and arrested people who criticized government · Political prisoners tried by special courts without juries, usually ending up in exile, meaning sent to live in the cold lands of Siberia · When there was famine, Okhrana could not cope with all opponents of the Tsar and riots broke out · Factory workers went on strike; peasants attacked their landlords or tax collectors · COSSACKS, fierce mounted soldiers armed with the sabers who specialized in breaking up mobs by butchering anyone not able to run away fast enough, came to Tsar’s rescue when this happened · Church in Russia also helped maintain the authority of the Tsar; priests of Russian Orthodox Church taught people to respect autocracy and to stay loyal to the Tsar · Head of church was a government minister, bishops took their orders from him and priests took their order from the bishops; therefore government had control over minds and souls of many Russian churchgoers
 * Autocracy**

· Nicholas II, Tsar and Autocrat of all the Russias official title · Nicholas was an uneducated Emperor, weak on every point except his own autocracy; could not stand listening long or seriously to ministers’ reports, liked ministers that could tell an amusing story and did not weary his attention with too much business · married a German, Alexandra, who was confident and strong willed · encouraged Nicholas to rule as an autocrat and to ignore new ideas about sharing power with the people from the start of his reign · happily married, had a son, Alexis, heir to the throne; · shortly after birth, Alexis diagnosed with hemophilia · Nicholas and Alexandra deeply religious, had a chapel specially built in the grounds of the royal palace, for praying every day for hours, begging for recovery of her son · Ordered their daughters and everyone else who knew about Alexis’s illness to swear an oath of secrecy
 * Nicholas and Alexandra**

Peasants: · 4/5 citizens were peasant · until 1861, peasants had been SERFS, slaves of their landlords with no rights, no freedom, no land of their own · in 1861 Tsar Alexander II, Nicholas II’s grandfather, freed peasants from serfdom and allowed them to own land on which they grew food; however had strings attached to this deal · land on which peasants grew their food was not given to them as individuals, given to village commune, or MIR, where they lived · peasants had to pay for the land given to the commune in yearly instalments, redemption payments, over the next 49 years; only when a peasant paid all 49 instalments, the land would become their personal property · being freed from serfdom on such conditions did not improve the lives of the peasants · each year, mirs divided up land in the communes and gave out to each family according to its needs that year, meaning the bigger the family, the bigger the plot of land was given · as each year went by, population grew, plots of land grew smaller and smaller; till 1900, average size of plots halved · peasants found it harder each year to support their families, at the same time keeping up with the yearly redemption payments for the land they did not yet own · nearly half of all new-born children died before the age of five, while average life expectancy of those who reached five was only 50 years · disease and malnutrition very common, best peasants could hope for was good harvest, so that they would have enough to eat and a little extra to sell to pay for their taxes and redemption payments Town workers: · peasants tried to improve their lives by going to work in the nearest town or city · work in factories or mines until harvest, when they return home · largest city in 1900 Russia was capital, St Petersburg, nearly a million people went there in search of work · lived in overcrowded lodging houses, terrible condition, miserable wages · workers unable to improve their conditions because going on strike was illegal, and employers could easily replace troublesome workers who complained with other unemployed people in the long lines outside their factory gates Rich: · Russian nobles were fabulously rich · Tsar Nicholas, head of nobility, owned 8 palaces, employed 15,000 servants, and when royal family moved from one palace to another, up to 20 railway carriages needed just for their luggage · Nobles were only 1%, but owned around 25% of all the land · Some made handsome profits at the market when they farmed their land efficiently · Those who could not be bothered sold off a little of their land to pay for their idle and luxurious lifestyles · 1900, new class of Russians becoming rich, the CAPITALISTS, who made money from banking, industry and trade · Minister of Finance made it easy for capitalist to make big profits; gave them government contracts, loans to build new factories, and cut taxes · Capitalists did little to improve the conditions of their workers with their easy profits, hatred of capitalists steadily grew
 * Russian Society**

· Most Russians did not question Tsar’s autocratic system of government · Believed God appointed Tsar to rule over them and that everyone else had their rightful place in society · Some people refused to accept this, wanted to get rid of Tsar and make big changes to Russian government and society
 * Opponents of the Tsar**

· March 1881, a bomb exploded beneath carriage of Tsar Alexander II, who freed the peasants from serfdom 20 years earlier · Unhurt until he got out of his carriage to inspect the damage, young man stepped forward and threw a snowball bomb at his feet; snowball exploded, tering off one of his legs and ripping his belly open · Bled to death shortly after, watched by his son Alexander and his grandson Nicholas · Assassination of Alexander II carried out by terrorist group called People’s Will, one of many small terrorist groups determined to destroy the autocracy · Did not destroy autocracy because Alexander III and Nicholas II determined to not let the same happen to them · Used Okhrana to arrest critics and opponents, many thousands ending up in prison or exile in Siberia · Didn’t succeed in wiping out all their opponents, by 1900, still three important groups of opponents in existence
 * Terrorism**

· Members known as SRs, wanted all land in Russia to be given to the mirs, the village communes, so that peasants could have a bigger share of the land · This meant taking away land from Tsar, nobles and church · To chieve their aim, the SRs had a FIGHTING ORGANIZATION, whose job was to organize terrorist campaigns, managed to kill 3 government ministers, and dozens of other government officials · SRs gained support from millions of peasants who wanted their own land but cannot pay for their yearly redemption payments
 * Socialist Revolutionary Party**

· Social Democrats followed ideas of Karl Marx, who had written a book called the Communist Manifesto · In the book, predicted that there would be a violent revolution in which working class overthrew the capitalists who owned the wealth · Workers would take away factories, mines, machinery, and raw materials from capitalists and share them out equally among themselves, called SOCIALISM · In socialist society, people learn to work together for the good of everyone, not themselves · People would stop being selfish and take only what they needed as payment for their work · A system of communism would come into existence, a society in which people work according to abilities and paid according to needs · Leaders began to argue about what was the best way to start a socialist revolution, in 1903, split into two groups, the BOLSHEVIKS, and the MENSHEVIKS · Bolsheviks believed revolution should be organized by a small group of dedicated and skilled revolutionaries, which lead the party and make all the decisions · Mensheviks believed that Party should be a mass party with as many working class members as possible, should be run democratically, with members electing the leaders and deciding on its policies · Leader of Bolsheviks, VLADIMIR ILYICH LENIN, argued that Mensheviks would take years to start the revolution, wasting time on useless discussion and arguments · Julius Martov, leader of Mensheviks, replied that revolution would fail if did not have the support of the whole working class · Social Democratic Party remained split on this issue · From 1903 onwards, there were three important revolutionary groups in Russia
 * Social Democratic Party**

Liberals · Not all opponents were violent revolutionaries, many law-abiding Russians, particularly those who owned proper, were Liberals · Supported the Tsar, but wanted him to share his power · Wanted a democratic system of government, like one in Britain where an elected parliament shared power with the monarch · Alexander Ii had made plans for a Russian parliament the day before he was blown up by the People’s Will, first thing his son did when he became Tsar was to rip up those plans

· Went to war with Japan in 1904, fighting for control of Korea and Manchuria in the Far East · Nicholas glad to go to war, thought that a quick victory would make him popular and stop people criticizing his government · Right from the start of war, Russian army suffered one terrible defeat after another · To help the army Nicholas sent Russian Baltic fleet on seven month voyage half way around the world to Manchuria, but as soon as Russian fleet arrived in Japanese waters, Japanese fleet destroyed all but 3 of Russian ships in the BATTLE OF TSUSHIMA · Far from making Nicholas popular, war with Japan weakened his position; war also made conditions for working people worse than before, food supplies to the cities broke down and factories closed as raw materials ran short; workers were jobless
 * War against Japan**

· On Sunday, January 22nd, 1905, crowd of 200,000 workers and families marched through the streets of St Petersburg towards Tsar’s Winter Palace · Aim was to present Nicholas with a petition asking for better working and living conditions, an end to the war with Japan, a shorter working day, and other reforms · Marchers led by FATHER GASPON, a priest who sympathized with poor workers · When marchers reached center of St Petersburg, soldiers and police tried to stop them, scuffles broke out, and around 500 were killed, while thousands wounded · Dreadful massacre quickly came to be known as BLOODY SUNDAY, as news of massacre spread through Russia, riots in the countryside and strikes in the towns broke out · Hundreds of government officials were murdered; Tsar’s uncle, Grand Duke Serge was blown to pieces · Bloody Sunday started a revolution against the Tsar
 * Bloody Sunday**

· June 1905, crew of the battleship POTEMKIN, pride of the Black Sea fleet, threw their officers overboard and took control of the ship · Although the mutineers had no plan, and gave themselves up only a few weeks later, the mutiny was very threatening to Tsar Nicholas, showing that he could not trust his armed forces · Peasants rebelled in many areas, butchering their landlords and burning their farms · At the same time, many of the non-Russian people of Empire, took opportunity to declare their independence from Russian rule · September 1905, general strike began, all over Russia, factories, offices, shops, railways, hospitals and schools closed down · Many towns and cities, strikers set up councils called SOVIETS, rot un the town during the strike · Soviets quickly became alternative form of government, for the striking workers willing to obey the orders of the Soviets, even though they would not obey the Tsar’s government · Nicholas had to give away, in October 1905, issued a document called the OCTOBER MANIFESTO, which said that Russia could have a DUMA, an elected parliament, to help run the country, it also allowed the Russian people basic rights, such as right to form political parties and right of free speech · Liberals were delighted, but revolutionary parties didn’t trust Nicholas to keep his word · Proved right in December when police arrested members of the St Petersburg Soviet and sent 15 of them to exile in Siberia · In Moscow, army was sent to crush the Soviet and more than 1000 people died in street fighting between revolutionaries and soldiers · In early months of 1906, Tsar crushed all other areas of revolution · Bands of thugs known as Black Hundreds decided to take the law into their own hands, organized massacres of revolutionaries · In over 100 cities people who had joined in the revolution were put to death in blood baths which the police and army did nothing to stop · March 1906, revolution was over, at least Russia got a parliament out of it  · Elections for Duma were held in March 1906, majority of anti-government candidates gained office · When Duma met for first time in May, Nicholas issued a set of Fundamental Laws, first one stating “To the Emperor of all the Russias belongs supreme autocratic power”
 * The 1905 Revolution**

· Tsar Nicholas made it perfectly clear that he would not allow the Duma any real power · When it demanded a share in government, Nicholas surrounded its meeting place with troops and broke it up  · Russia’s first Duma lasted for 75 days · Second Duma was elected in 1907, but it was even less to Nicholas’s liking because it contained not only liberals but also Socialist Revolutionaries and Social Democrats who aimed to destroy the autocracy · The second Duma was broken up after three months · Third Duma met in 1907, did better than its two predecessors, lasting a full 5 years · Due to Nicholas changing the voting laws to make sure that revolutionaries were not elected to it  · Their Duma mostly made up of conservative politicians who behaved themselves and did what Nicholas wanted · Powerless third Duma providing a show of democracy, Nicholas got on with business of autocracy · In 1906, appointed a new, tough PM, PETER STOLYPIN making sure there were no more outbreaks of revolution
 * The Dumas**

· Stolypin believed in strict government · First action was to clamp down on terrorist, causing 1008 terrorists arrested, tried by special military courts, and executed · 21,000 people were exiled to Siberia, before long, terrorism had ceased to be a serious threat to autocracy · Stolypin realized that brute force alone would not solve every problem, feared that there would be further outbreaks of violence in the countryside if peasants remained poor · Helped peasants become owners of their own land · Redemption payments that peasants had been paying since 1861 were abolished, and law which said that the village communes controlled the land · Stolypin hoped hardworking peasants would now leave the communes and set up their own farms · These farms would be bigger and more productive that the communal famrs · Peasants who owned land would grow rich, would want peace in the countryside and would therefore help to prevent revolution · Conditions in Russia began to improve, industry grew, wages increased and harvests were good · Millions of peasants bought their own land and set about creating new, efficient famrs · In 1911, Stolypin’s police agents who had been investigating terrorist groups turned out ot be a terrorist himself; shot Stolypin to death
 * Stolypin Reforms**

Rasputin · While Stolypin was Prime Minister, Nicholas and Alexandra became involved with strange Siberian peasant who claimed to be a Starets, holy man of God · In 1905, two ladies of the court introduced Nicholas and Alexandra to a man whom they said had special powers of prophecy and healing, Gregory Efimovitch · Shortly after, Alexis had a fall which started off internal bleeding, Efimovitch prayed at Alexis’s bedside, and next morning Alexis had fully recovered · Nicholas and Alexandra were delighted at what they thought was a miracle · Starets was one of the most trusted member of their court from then on  · However, Efimovitch was not regarded with such favour by everyone · Ppl in his native Siberia gave him nickname RASPUTIN, the disreputable one because he drank heavily and had affairs with many local women · At court, he proved to be more than disreputable · Whenever Nicholas and Alexandra were told about Rasputin’s wild behaviors, refused to listen and continued to put all their trust in him · After death of Stolypin, Rasputin’s influence over royal family increased, began to give political advice to Alexandra which she passed on to Nicholas · Ambitious politicans found it easier to gain promotion if they were friendly with Rasputin; businessmen who entertained Rasputin got government contracts more easily than those who didn’t · As Rasputin’s influence increased, hatred of him grew · Rumors began to go around that he was having an affair with Alexandra; discussed by the Duma, and newspapers were full of gossip about him · Seemed as if all Russia knew about Rasputin’s corruption, except Nicholas and his wife

Russia is a very big country governed by Tsar Nicholas II with an autocratic government. The peasants and town workers lived in terrible conditions, while the nobles, capitalists were tremendously rich. Due to this, the government had many opponents, the most important three Revolutionary groups being the Bolsheviks, the Mensheviks, and the Socialist Revolutionaries. Due to such oppositions, a revolution was started in 1905, where the Russians got a powerless parliament out of it, the Duma.
 * Summary: **

1. What’s the difference between the Okhrana and the Cossacks? 2. What is a serf? 3. Which group killed Tsar Alexander II? 4. How did the Fundamental Laws limit the power of the Duma? 5. Why is Rasputin so favored by the court even though he was a more than disreputable man?
 * Questions: **