JohnsonK2013+INO-+Russian+Revolution+October+17+2010+(Part+1)

=** Russia in War and Revolution 1900-24 Part 1 Notes **= toc

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= Notes = Sorry for the messed up format, wikispaces tend to mess things up...

and the font color is messed up too, they shouldn't be all RED...

Word doc format for download:

1. The Russian Empire in 1900
- Russia is very big

. Sun rises in the far east of the country at the same time as it sets in the west The Land and Climate - Useless land . Mountains in the south, also kept warm air away from the south . Useless for farming . Arctic Circle land = tundra . south of the tundra is the taiga: covered in forests of pine trees . only 5% were used for farming - Cold climate affected Russia’s industry and commerce as well as her farming . ocean and rivers frozen

. Ice breaking ship smash the ice for other ships
 * Ob, Yenisy, Lena

> but in 1900s, not so powerful = rivers stayed locked in the ice throughout winter . new railway, Trans Siberian, but in 1900 only half built

An Empire of Many Peoples - Ruled by Tsar, Emperor Nicholas II . population of 125 mil . Majority were peoples conquered by the ancestors of Tsar

> six out of ten of the Tsar’s subjects Russian was a foreign language and Russian people were foreigners
 * had their own language, customs and way of life

. People were not spread out evenly throughout the country

> fertile land of the south-west and the streets of the cities were often overcrowded
 * most lived on 5 percent of land that were good for farming

2. The Government of Russia
__**The Autocracy**__

- Nicholas II was an autocrat . monarch who does not have to share power . could take new laws, increase taxes and do what he liked without consulting anyone . no parliament to limit his power . could kick out anyone who disagreed with him - in practice, Nicholas could not govern 125 mil Russians by himself . run affairs of his empire . employed many thousands of civil servants

. “Table of Ranks” top: ministers in charge of govt. dept.
 * like armies, organized in 14 ranks

. bottom: minor officials . Civil service collected taxes and made sure his decisions were carried out

- Did not allow people to question his authority or challenge his power
 * underpaid = made ends meet by taking bribes

. secret police force: Okhrana “Protective Section”

. Political prisoners were tried by special courts without juries
 * censored all books and newspapers
 * spied on political groups and arrested people who criticized

- Especially during famines, Okhrana could not handle all the opponents of the Tsar
 * usually end up in exile

. riots broke out

. Cossacks cam to the rescue
 * workers went on strikes
 * peasants attacked landlords or the tax collectors

> fierce mounted soldiers armed with sabres, specialized in breaking up mobs by killing everyone - The Russian Orthodox Church helped maintain the authority

. taught people to respect the autocracy and being loyal to the Tsar . head was a govt. minister . bishops took their orders from him and priests took their orders from bishops . had control over many Russian churchgoers Nicholas and Alexandra - Nicholas’ Character: . he said himself: I know nothing of the business of ruling and how to talk to ministers . shall preserve the principle of autocracy just as firmly as how his father had preserved it . Gentle but uneducated emperor is weak on every point expect his own autocracy . thought the job was boring

> could not listen to long serious reports or reading them - Nicholas’ German wife Alexandra

. confident and strong willed . encouraged Nicholas to rule as an autocrat and to ignore new ideas about sharing power with the people - They were happily married . 5 children during the first 10 years of their marriage . 4 were girls and 5th was a boy

- Nicholas and Alexandra were very religious
 * Alexis, heir to the throne
 * blood disease, haemophilia

. had a chapel specially built in the grounds of the royal palace . told their daughters not to speak of it and keep it a secret

3. Russian Society
__**The Peasants**__

- 1900, 4/5 citizens of Russian Empire were peasants . farming - until 1861, serfs, slaves of their landlords with no rights, no freedom and no land of their own - 1861, Tsar Alexander II freed them from serfdom, allowed them to own the land and farm . land were no given to them as individuals, but given to village commune, mir . had to pay for the land, yearly, redemption payments . 49 years, after 49 yearly instalments, the land will become theirs - Being freed from serfdom did not improve their lives . each year the mirs divided up the land in the communes and gave it out to each family according to its needs . as the population grew, the plots of land grew smaller . peasants found it harder each year to support their families

> still paid the yearly redemption payments - For all these reasons life for Russian peasants was hard

. nearly half of al new-born children died before 5 . life expectance was 50 . diseases and malnutrition were very common . only hope was good harvest Town Workers - Many peasants tried to improve their lives by going to work in the nearest town or city . work in factories and mines until harvest - Largest city in 1900 = St Petersburg . nearly 1mil had come to search for work and the number was still growing - Workers were unable to improve their conditions . trade unions were not allowed by law . going on strike was illegal . employers easily replaced troublesome workers The Rich - Not all Russians were poor . nobles were very very rich

. 1% of population but owned 25% of the land
 * Nicholas owned 8 palaces and 15,000 servants
 * up to 20 railway carriages were needed to move the luggages

- 1900, new class of Russians was also becoming rich- capitalists . made money from banking, industry and trade . Minister of France, Sergei Witte made it easy for them to make big profits

. the capitalists didn’t try to improve the lives of the peasants
 * gave them govt. contracts, mainly for building railways
 * gave loans to build new factories
 * cut taxes


 * hatred grew

4. Opponents of the Tsar
- most Russians did not question the Tsar’s autocratic system of govt.

. they believed God had appointed . some people didn’t believe this and decided to get rid of it Terrorism - March 1881 . bomb exploded beneath the carriage of Tsar Alexander II . unhurt but when he came out, a man threw a snowball bomb at him

- The assassination of Alexander II was carried out by a terrorist group called “People’s Will
 * ripped off on of his legs and ripped his belly open
 * bled to death shortly after

”

. one of many small terrorist groups determined to destroy autocracy . Alexander III and Nicholas II determined not to let the same happen to them

. did not succeed in wiping out all their opponents
 * both used the Okhrana to arrest critics and opponents

The Socialist Revolutionary Party
 * 1900, 3 important groups of opponents were in existence

- SRs wanted all lan din Russia to be given to the mirs, the village communes . peasants will have a bigger share of the land . means taking land away from the Tsar, nobles and church - had a “Fighting Organization” . to organize terrorist campaigns . 1900-1905 managed to kill 3 govt. ministers and dozens of other govt. officials - Gained support from mils of peasants who wanted their own land Social Democratic Party - followed by the ideas of Karl Marx . Communist Manifesto

> would take away factories, mines, machinery and raw materials and would share them fairly among themselves “Socialism”
 * predicted that the working class will overthrow the capitalists

- Marx thought people would learn to work together for the good of everyone . they would stop being selfish -> system of communism - set up in 1898 . began to argue about what was the best way to start a socialist revolution . split into 2 groups: Bolsheviks and Mensheviks - Bolsheviks believed the revolution should be organized by a small group of dedicated and skill revolutionaries . should lead the party and make al decisions - Mensheviks believed that party should be a mass party with as many working class members as possible . run democratically . electing the leaders and decide on its policies - Bolshevik leader: Vladimir Ilyich Lenin . argued that it would take years for the Mensheviks to start a revolution . Julius Martov, leader of the Mensheviks replied that the revolution would fail without the mass people support - Social Democratic Party remained split in this issue . 1903, 3 groups of important revolutionary groups Liberals - Not all the Tsar opponents were violent revolutionaries . law-abiding Russians . owned property . supported the Tsar but asked for the share of power . wanted a democratic system of govt. . elected parliament shared power with the monarch - Alexander II had made plans for a Russian parliament the day before he died . Alexander III abandoned this

5. The 1905 Revolution
__**War Against Japan**__

- 1904 Russian vs. Japan . control over Korea and Manchuria . he thought that a quick victory would make him popular - Russian suffered, defeat after another . sent Russian Baltic Fleet on a 7month voyage to Manchuria . Japanese fleets destroyed all but 3

- Weakened Nicholas’ position
 * Battle of Tsushima

. food supplies to cities broke down . factories closed as raw materials ran short

Bloody Sunday - Sunday 22 January 1905 . 200,000 marched through the street of St. Petersburg toward Nicholas’ palace . present Nicholas with a petition

>shorter working day etc.
 * better working and living conditions
 * end war with Japan

. led by Father Gapon

- soldiers and police tried to stop them
 * priest who sympathized with poor workers

. opened fire and 500marchers were killed and thousands were wounded - Bloody Sunday . news spread

. started a revolution against the Tsar
 * riots around countryside and strikes in towns
 * govt. officials were murdered
 * Grand Duke Serge, Nicholas’ uncle was blown to pieces

1905 Revolution - June 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin, threw their officers overboard . controlled the shop . showed Nicholas that he could not trust his armed forces - Behavior of pesants in countryside . many had rebelled . many non-Russians took this opportunity to declare independence for themselves - September 1905, general strike began . schools, hospitals, factories etc. closed down . set up councils called Soviets to run towns during the strick

- Nicholas gave up
 * became an alternative form of govt.
 * people were willing to obey them

. Oct. 1905 October Manifesto

. also allowed people basic rights
 * Russia could have a Duma
 * elected parliament

- Liberals were happy . but the revolutionary parties did not trust Nicholas

. Moscow: an army was sent to crush the Soviet, thousands died
 * proved right
 * Dec. Soviet members were exiled

- Early months of 1906, Tsar crushed all other areas of revolution . bands of thugs, Black Hundreds decided to take the law into their own hands . organized massacres of revolutionaries

- March 1906 revolution over
 * police and army did nothing to stop

. at least had parliament . election held in March 1906

. met first time, Nicholas issued a set of Fundamental Laws
 * majority of anti-govt. candidates gained office


 * “to the Emperor of all the Russias belongs supreme autocratic power”
 * no change

6. the Aftermath of the 1905 Revolution
__**The Dumas**__

- Nicholas made it clear that he will not allow the Dumas to have any real power . demanded share in govt

- 2nd Duma elected in 1907
 * Nicholas’ army surrounded its meeting place and broke it up
 * lasted 75 days

. contained Liberals but also Socialist Revolutionaries and Social Democracts

- 3rd Duma met in 1907 did better
 * aimed to destroy autocracy
 * broken after 3 months

. lasted 5years . made sure no revolutionaries were elected - Nicholas got on with the business of autocracy . appointed a Prime Minister to make sure no more outbreaks of revolution


 * Peter Stolypin

The Stolypin Reforms - believed in strict govt. . clamp down terrorism . 1906 1008 terrorists were arrested

. ceased to be a threat to the autocracy
 * gallows= Stolypin’s Necktie

- Realized brute force won’t solve every problem . feared for further outbreaks if peasants were poor

>hoped the farms will be more productive and bigger
 * helped peasants to become owners of their own land
 * redemption payments were abolished
 * no more mirs

- Conditions began to improve . industry grew, wages increased, harvests were good . 1911, a police agent who turned out to be a terrorist shot Stolypin dead

Rasputin - While Stolypin was PM, Nicholas and Alexandra involved with a strange peasant . Starets – holy man of God - 2 ladies introduced Nicholas and Alexandra a man who had special powers of prophecy and healing . Gregory Efimovitch . Alexis had a fall which started off internal bleeding . Gregory prayed at his bedside and next day he recovered . Nicholas and Alexandra were delighted

- Gregory Efimovitch was not regarded with such favour by everyone
 * Starets became on of the most trusted members on their court

. Rasputin – disreputable one

. whenever Nicholas and Alexandra were told about Rasputin, they refused to listen
 * drank heavily and had affairs with many women

- After the death of Stolypin, Rasputin’s influence increased . began to give political advice to Alexandra which passed to Nicholas

> ambitious officers found it easier to gain promotion if they were friendly with Rasputin > businessmen who entertained Rasputin seemed to get govt. contracts easier - As his influence increased, hatred grew

. people bean to spread a rumor about him having an affair with Alexandra . everyone knew, except Nicholas and his wife

= Summary = During the period, Russia was under the rule of Tsar Nicholas II under the form of autocracy. The lower-class people were very poor while the upper-class were super rich. Eventually, 3 revolutionary groups were formed: Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and the Social Democratic Party. The revolution during 1905 ended with nothing changed, only with Dumas, which had no actual power. Peter Stolypin was the Prime Minister, who stated a few reforms and helped the peasants. After he died, a Staret, Gregory Efiovitch (aka Rasputin) influenced the royal family.

= Questions =

1. Explain the significance of the Bloddy Sunday 2. Why did the royal family like and trust Rasputin? 3. Why was Gregory Efimovitch nicknamed "Rasputin" and what does it mean? 4. Who was Peter Stolypin and how was his role important during that period? 5. Explain and briefly discuss the 3 important revolutionary parties of Russia.