InNo+christopherc2012+10.11.10

A process chart about the events since Tsar Alexander II. They are listed in chronological order in order to better determine the causes and later events that led up to the Russian Revolution.

Another artist drawing of the assassination of Tsar Alexander II. Different paintings may have different bias towards the assassination, mainly when there are two opposing sides involved in the situation.


 * The Russian Empire in 1900 **
 * Land and Climate **
 * Size**
 * Russia can fit all the British Isles 90 times over
 * Moscow to Vladivostok takes over a week in an express train traveling day and night
 * Sun rises in the far east at the same time it sets in the west
 * Terrain**
 * Much of land is useless
 * Mountains
 * Good defense against foreign invaders
 * Keep out warm air trying to spread to the south
 * Open from cold air coming from Arctic Ocean
 * Useless for farming, except for the warmer regions in the south-west
 * Only 5% of land could be used for farming in 1900, the rest lay waste
 * Climate**
 * Cold climate
 * affects industry, commerce and farming
 * most of Russia is in Arctic circle and therefore frozen, including some rivers
 * river trade impossible in winter
 * railway, Trans Siberian built to allow trade all year round


 * Society **
 * People and Empire**
 * ruled by ** Tsar ** (emperor)
 * Nicholas II
 * 125 million people
 * less than half Russian
 * majority were Poles and Ukranians
 * 6/10 of Tsar's subjects, Russian was a foreign language
 * Russians were foreigners
 * people lived on 5% of land that was good for farming
 * Siberia and east of Ural Mountains thinly populated
 * fertile south-west lands overcrowded


 * The Government of Russia **
 * Autocracy **
 * Tsar Nicholas II was an ** autocrat **
 * autocrat - a monarch who does not have to share power
 * could make new laws, increase taxes, and anything without consulting anyone
 * no parliament to limit his power
 * could dismiss any minister or adviser who disagreed
 * thousands of civil servants
 * organized like an army into fourteen ranks
 * Table of Ranks (minister in charge of government departments -> Minor officials (post office clerks, customs inspector)
 * collected taxes
 * made sure decisions carried out
 * many ended up taking bribes
 * could not question Tsar's authority
 * had secret police ** Okhrana ** aka 'Protective Section'
 * censored all books and newspapers
 * spied on political groups
 * arrested people who critisized government
 * tried by special courts without juries
 * usually ended up in exile (ex. sent to live in cold lands of Siberia)
 * ** Cossaks ** backed up Okhrana
 * fierce mounted soldiers armed with sabers who specialized in breaking up mobs by butchering
 * ** Russian Orthodox Church **
 * taught people to be loyal to Tsar
 * bishops took orders from Tsar, priests took orders from bishops
 * government had control of many churchgoers


 * Nicholas and Alexandra **
 * happily married
 * five children, 4 girls 1 boy
 * Alexis, the boy had hemophilia which prevented blood clots


 * Russian Society **
 * Peasants **
 * Before 1861, peasants were ** serfs ** - agricultural slaves with no rights and no freedom
 * Tsar Alexander II, Nicholas II's grandfather freed them from serfdom
 * did not really change lives of peasants since the ** mir **, or village commune controlled them
 * amount of land became smaller
 * half of all new-borns died before age 5
 * lots of disease and malnutrition


 * The town workers **
 * Many peasants tried to work in the town or city until harvest time
 * almost 1 million people tried to search for work
 * unable to improve conditions
 * troublesome workers could be replaced
 * lots of competition


 * The rich **
 * Russian nobles were fabulously rich
 * Tsar Nicholas had 15,000 servants
 * 20 carriages when royal family moved to another palace
 * nobles, 1% of population owned 25% of land
 * made handsome profits
 * ** Capitalists **, made money from banking
 * Minister of Finance, Sergei Witte gave them government contracts, loans, and tax cuts


 * Opponents of the Tsar **
 * Terrorism **
 * On March 1881, a bomb exploded under the carrage of Tsar Alexander II
 * died shortly after
 * Alexander III and Nicholas II were determined not to let it happen again


 * Three political opponents **
 * Socialist Revolutionary Party
 * wanted land to be given to communes so peasants had more share of land, and taking away land from Tsar, nobles and church
 * gained support from millions of peasants
 * Social Democratic Party
 * followed ideas of Karl Marx, who wrote Communist Manifesto
 * people would share wealth, called ** socialism **
 * ** Bolsheviks **
 * revolution should be organized by small group of skilled revolutionaries
 * run democratically, electing leaders
 * ** Menshiviks **
 * leader ** Vladimir Ilyich Lenin **, said the Bolsheviks would fail
 * Liberals
 * supported Tsar but wanted to share power
 * wanted democratic government, with a parliament


 * The 1905 Revolution **
 * War against Japan **
 * Russia entered in 1904
 * lost the war, at ** battle of Tsushima **


 * Bloody Sunday **
 * On Sun Jan 22, 1905, 200,000 workers marched towards Tsar's Winter Palace to petition for better working and living conditions and to end war with Japan
 * led by **Father Gapon**, who sympathized the workers
 * 500 marchers killed by police known as **Bloody Sunday**
 * government officials were murdered including Tsar Nicholas' uncle, Grand Duke Serge


 * 1905 Revolution **
 * Crew of battleship Potemkin took control in June 1905 and started a mutiny
 * showed Tsar Nicholas that he could not trust armed forces
 * many people took opportunity to declare independance
 * strike began on Sept 1905
 * councils called **Soviets** ran strikes and people obeyed them
 * Issued **October Manifesto** on October 1905, and Nicholas said Russia could have a **Duma** (elected parliament)
 * allowed people to have basic rights
 * In 1906, Nicholas crushed all other areas of revolution
 * March, revolution was over, and Nicholas issued **Fundamental Laws**, which kept supreme autocratic power


 * Aftermath of 1906 Revolution **
 * Dumas **
 * Nicholas surrounded and broke up first meeting
 * 2nd Duma elected in 1907 but less to Nicholas' likely; broke up in 3 months
 * 3rd Duma in 1907 did better and laster 5 years
 * Nicholas appointed new Prime Minister to prevent Revolution, **Peter Stolypin**


 * Stolypin reforms **
 * 1008 terrorists arrested, and executed
 * 21,000 exiled to Siberia
 * terrorism ceased to be threat
 * helped peasants become owners of land
 * payment abolished
 * conditions improved
 * industry grew, wages increased
 * 1911, Stolypin's police agents turned out a terrorist and shot Stolypin


 * Rasputin **
 * In 1905, two ladies of the court introduced Nicholas and Alexandra to a Staret who had special powers of prophecy and healing, called Gregory Efimovitch
 * Efimovich prayed when Alexis had internal bleeding and he fully recovered
 * Starets became most trusted members of their court
 * Efimovich given nickname Rasputin
 * had wild behavior
 * became advisor for Nicholas after Stolypin's death
 * influenced increased, and people got more promotions if they agreed with him

In the 1900's, Russia, with a population of 125 million was ruled by a Tsar Nicholas II, who could do whatever he wished without consulting anyone because that was the way the country was run. The people are mainly split upon the peasants, town workers, and the rich. Since 1881, terrorism had started to break out, including one successful attempt of the assaination of Tsar Alexander II. Many political groups such as the Socialism Revolutionary Party, The Social Democratic Party, and the Liberals started to demand more power among the people. By 1905, people started to revolt leading to Nicholas setting up ministers in order to control the people of Russia.
 * Summary **


 * Questions **
 * 1) In what three groups were Russia mainly split up socially?
 * 2) Why didn't people like Efimovich?
 * 3) Which other government(s) in the world today have ones that are alike the ideas of the Social Democratic Party ?
 * 4) Explain the ways Tsar Nicholas II tried to stop the fall of his power.
 * 5) Describe the changing roles of peasants from before 1881 to 1911.