Russian+Revolution+Notes

InNo Russian Revolution (Part 1) HoYunCheon Nov. 17th, 2010

1. The Russian Empire In 1900

· The land and the climate o Russia is very huge, however most of its land cannot be used. o Although Russia’s huge forest help defend against its invaders, it also traps a lot of heat from spreading into Russia, therefore leaves it cold. o The weather (coldness) was the reason why only 5 % of Russia’s land could be used for farming. o Before, when ice-breaking ships were not very effective, it was impossible to trade during the winter. · An empire of many peoples o In 1900, Russia was a giant empire. o The ruler, Tsar (Emperor) Nicholas II ruled over 125 million people. o Tsar Nicholas ruled over people such as Russians, Ukrainians, Poles, etc. o Over half of the Russian empire did not speak Russian, and considered the Russians as foreigners. o Most Russians lived in the 5 % of its soil, with quality farming. o Cities were also often overcrowded.

2. The Government of Russia

· The autocracy o Tsar Nicholas II had absolute monarchy, also called autocrat (does not share power with anyone). o Tsar had the power to change taxes, make laws, etc. o He hired thousands of civil servants, to help him govern 125 million people. o Tsar Nicholas had organized the civil servants into fourteen ranks. o The Tsar was very careful about bad publicity, and he had a police force of his own, the Okhrana, to protect his reputation. o The main job of Okhrana was to censor any books and newspapers regarding Tsar Nicholas. o They also arrested people who were against the Tsar, and they were sent exile. o However, when there was famine, the riots were too strong for the Okhrana. o During these times, the Tsar needed Cossacks’’ help. o Cossacks were well-trained brutal soldiers that were especially good at breaking up riots. o Russian Orthodox Church, the main church of Russia preached to people to respect the Tsar’s authority. · Nicholas and Alexandra o Nicholas had a close bond with his wife, Alexandra. o Alexandra was a big supporter of Nicholas’s autocracy. o Their 5th child, Alexis, had hemophilia. o Hemophilia was very serious in the period, because even the smallest wound could cause him to bleed to death. o The couple were very religious, and they prayed for his wellbeing. o Alexandra also tried to contain this information, by making people who knew take an oath of secrecy.

3. Russian Society

· The peasants o In 1900, most Russians were peasants. o Peasants had no rights of their own, as they were regarded as a property of their landlords. (called serfs) o When peasants grew food, they were given to the village commune, called mir. o The peasants had to work 49 years to be freed from serfdom. o It was harder for peasants to support their family, as the population grew, and land portions became samller. · The town workers o Many peasants tried to turn their life around by moving to a town near them. o About a million people came to St. Petersburg, the capital of Russia, looking for a job. o They did not get any benefit, and were underpaid. o Since unions were not allowed by law, there was no way for workers to improve their job conditions. · The rich o Russian nobles were very rich. o Tsar Nicholas, was the at the top, owning eight different palaces across Russia. o About one percent of Russians were noble, however they kept twenty-five percent of Russia’s property. o Another class, called the capitalists earned a lot of money from banking, trade, etc. o To benefit the country, the government gave privileges to the capitalists. o This caused many people to dislike capitalists.

4. Opponents of the Tsar

· Terrorism o There were terrorist attacks aimed at the Tsar. o Alexander II was attacked in his carriage, and eventually he was killed, in front of his son Alexander and his grandson Nicholas. o There were many terrorists in Russia, and the one that assassinated Alexander II was a terrorist group named “People’s Will”. o After seeing Alexander II’s death, the two monarchs made sure that there would be no attack on them. o However, even with the secret police force, during Nicholas’s reign, there were three important terrorist groups that opposed Nicholas’s rule. · The Socialist Revolutionary Party o The first one was called the Socialist Revolutionary Party. o The SRP wanted ALL Russian lands to be given to peasants. o They had serious campaigns, killing government officials and ministers. o Millions of peasants supported the Socialist Revolutionary Party. · The Social Democratic Party o The Social Democratic Party believed in the ideas of Karl Marx. o Karl Marx wrote a book called the Communist Manifesto, supporting communism. o Marx predicted that the working class would sooner or later overthrow their rulers, take over factories, lands, and share wealth. o This idea was called socialism. o In addition, communism would follow swiftly, so that people could work for the group, not for themselves. o This party soon split up into two groups, the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. o The Bolsheviks believed in organized, small group to start the revolution, while the Mensheviks thought that they should have a giant party of peasants. o The two groups eventually split. · Liberals o Liberals were also against Tsar, but did not condone violence. o They were not against him having power, but they just didn’t want him to have absolute power.

5. The 1905 Revolution

· War against Japan o 1904, there was the Russo-Japan war, to have control over Korea and China’s Manchuria. o Nicholas thought that he could gain popularity by going into war and gaining a victory. o However, the war did not go as planned, as Japanese fleet defeated many of Russian ships. o Additionally, the war made the living conditions of the peasants even worse. · Bloody Sunday o On January 22nd, 1905, 200,000 working class citizens marched towards one of Tsar’s palace. o Their goal was to try and improve their living conditions, as well as end the war in Japan. o The leader of the march was Father Gapon, who was a priest who took sympathy on the peasants. o The police tried to stop the riot, and ended up killing 500 people, making this incident famous as the “Bloody Sunday”. o This angered many people, riots broke out, and many government officials were killed. · The 1905 revolution o The crew of the best of the best battleship Potemkin decided to throw their officials overboard. o Although this was resolved very soon, this was a huge threat to Tsar Nicholas. o Another problem for Nicholas was the peasants in the countryside. o The peasants killed many nobles, taking the land for themselves. o Meanwhile, many of Russia’s colonies declared their independence. o September 1905, the strike began. o Everything closed down, and in various towns, the strikers founded councils called the Soviets to function the town during the strike. o The Soviets were seen as a different type of government. o To calm the angry general public, the Tsar declared the October Manifesto, which stated that there can be a parliament to help run the country. o This Manifesto also guaranteed Russians the basic human rights. o However, Nicholas was not good at keeping his promises. He arrested many Soviets. o There were massacres all over Russia, as a group of bandit 4named Black Hundreds took the law into their own hands. o Even after the Duma (elected parliament) nothing much had changed; Nicholas was still in absolute power.

6. The Aftermath of the 1905 Revolution

· The Dumas o Tsar Nicholas made it clear through the new constitution, (Fundamental Laws: that Russia was an autocracy.) o As the Dumas requested a share in power, the Tsar gathered up troops outside their meeting hall and broke up their meeting. o The second Dumas was set up, but soon enough it was also broken up, because they not only contained liberals, but also contained the two parties responsible for the terrorist attacks. o The third Dumas lasted for five years, because the Tsar made a rule that revolutionaries was not eligible to run for a place in the parliament. o Nicholas also appointed a new Prime Minister, Peter Stolypin, to try and stop the revolutions. · The Stolypin reforms o Stolypin thought that strict policies could save the government. o He rounded up many terrorists, and executed thousands. o Stolypin realized that if the peasants were no longer poor, they would not feel the need to rebel. o The redemption payments peasants were paying was soon eliminated, and Stolypin helped peasants receive their own land. o This helped conditions in Russia improve. o However, Stolypin was murdered in 1911, by his police agent, who turned out to have belonged to the terrorist groups. · Rasputin o Nicholas and Alexandra, the Tsar and his wife was very religious. o They wanted to get help for their son Alexis, who had hemophilia. o They soon met a man who claimed he could fix the disease, named Gregory Efimovitch. o He had effectively cured Alexis by just praying, making the royal family very happy. o However, his nickname back at his hometown was Rasputin, because he was always in trouble, and doing unethical things. o Although these rumors were true, the royal family refused to listen to them, especially after Stolypin died. o Rasputin became very widely hated, because he gained so much political influences.

Summary During the 1900s, Russia was going through turmoil. The Tsar was in absolute power, and many peasants were very unhappy with the way they lived. There was many problems with terrorism, and riots started to rise. There was obviously a need for change in the way the government was run, and the revolution was just starting to begin to change Russia. The people were guaranteed their rights, however, the parliament that was set up for the people was useless, as the Tsar (Russian Emperor) still practiced autocracy.

Questions • How does Russia’s geography affect its economy, trade, etc.? • Why do you think that the Tsar decided to change the way the government was run when he favored autocracy? • How did Rasputin gain massive political power? • How did Karl Marx influence the way people thought in Russia? • What was the October Manifesto? What was the reasons behind its creation?

Awesomeness: Self-made

This is a self-made Venn-Diagram comparing Russia and France, before and during the revolution times, you can see that there are clear similarities AND differences. In addition, both monarchs were eventually executed.

Found Credit: Webring, webspace. Nicholas Portait, n.p., n.d., Oct. 17th 2010.

This is a portrait of Nicholas II, the Tsar. He was portrayed as a soft forgiving ruler, (from his face) but his posture also gives impression that he can also be strict when he needs to. Behind in the background, you can see his very nice palace, and how the Tsar lived.