7) NII and the Challenge to Autocracy Flashcards
Demands for change and government reaction
After 1894, serious unrest in R:
▪️After govt failure to deal w/ 1891-92 famine, support for reform ⬆️.
▪️New outbreaks of trouble in unis👩🏻🎓⚔️➡️crushed by Okhrana👮🏻♂️.
▪️1902-07 widespread disturbances in towns + countryside➡️fiercely suppressed by Stolypin.
▪️Years of Red Cockerel 1903-04: Peasants setting fire to landlords’ barns + grain👨🏼🌾🔥. Landlords attacked + their lands seized. Police repression restored order⚔️.
▪️Industrial strikes escalated in towns.
▪️1904 Father Gapon formed officially approved TU (Assembly of St Petersburg Factory Workers) to channel workers’ grievances🦺.
The Russo-Japanese War 1904-05
- Jan 1904: Japanese attacked R naval base @ Port Arthur.
- Plehve (Minister for Internal Affairs) encouraged Tsar to launch “swift, victorious war” to stop unrest @ home.
- R🇷🇺 underestimated J🇯🇵.
- Initially war supported by pop w/ patriotism, but after series of defeats pop turned hostile + opposition ⬆️.
- July 1904: Plehve assassinated by SR bomb💣.
- R defeated on land + sea.
Consequences of the Russo-Japanese War
❌War exposed weakness of autocracy👑🚫 + R’s backwardness 🔙🇷🇺 compared to modernised + progressive Japan🇯🇵✔️.
E.g. J ships could travel at 16 knots 🆚 R ships only 9 knots🚢.
❌War + internal unrest led conditions in R to worsen - ⬇️ production🏭🚫, ⬆️prices + taxes💰🚫➡️social + economic problems worse.
❌Renewed cries for representative National Assembly Duma.
✅Nov 1904: Mirsky (new Minister for Internal Affairs) agreed to invite zemstvo representatives to discussions in St Petersburg ❌NII refused National Assembly ✅conceded expansions of zemstva’s rights.
Events and outcome of the 1905 Revolution
Dec 1904: R surrendered Port Arthur to J🏆🇯🇵.
Jan 1905: Poor working conditions➡️strikes @ Putilov Iron Works🏭.
Bloody Sunday - Father Gapon led 3,000 in peaceful march to Winter Palace to petition Tsar for decent wages + shorter working hours. Troops shot➡️200☠️ + 800 injured.
Strikes➡️general strike, reaching 400,000 workers on strike by end of Jan🦺.
Feb: Grand Duke Sergei (NII’s uncle) blown up by SR💣➡️NII promised an elected consultative assembly.
March-May: Several illegal TUs formed.
June: Mutiny on ‘Potemkin’ battleship (7 officers ☠️)⚔️🚢.
Aug: Treaty of Portsmouth concluded R-J War☮️.
In countryside Peasants’ Union formed (1st real political organisation of R peasantry)👨🏼🌾.
Sept: Zemstvo Conference demanded a Duma elected by universal suffrage🗳.
Wave of strikes in Moscow➡️economy halted.
Oct: Trotsky ⬆️ circulation of revolutionary🗞’Russian Gazette’ to 500,000.
St Petersburg Soviet set up + directed General Strike.
NII realised he couldn’t rely on repression anymore to stop unrest➡️signed ‘October Manifesto’.
Terms of the October Manifesto
Terms:
✅Civic freedom (e.g. freedom of speech).
✅Duma membership through election (not appointed by🤴🏻).
✅Duma legislative powers + D’s approval needed to pass laws.
✅Consultative role (🤴🏻asks D opinion on matters).
Consequences of the October Manifesto
✅St Petersburg Soviet called off General Strike - brief period of peace☮️.
✅Formation of Kadets + Octobrists.
✅Liberals accept manifesto😊, isolating radicals who can now be defeated w/ repression.
❌Bolsheviks☹️ (no constituent assembly or universal suffridge to get workers’ vote🦺🗳).
❌Mensheviks continue to encourage strike action w/ some success*.
✅’Nov Manifesto to benefit conditions of peasantry’ promised to ⬇️ (Jan 1906) then abolish (Jan 1907) redemption payments + improve peasant land banks ❌peasants took this as a sign to seize land + attack landowners➡️brutally stopped by Black Hundreds👨🏼🌾⚔️.
❌Nov: 10/19 R’s largest cities out of control due to strike action* encouraged by soviets + angry demobilised soldiers returning + adding to unrest👷🏼♀️💂🏻♀️.
❌St Petersburg Soviet surrounded, 300 members arrested⛓, leaders (Trotsky) exiled to Siberia.
❌Moscow Soviet organised General Strike➡️1,000 workers shot🔫☠️.
❌NII no control over army, e.g. Kronstadt mutiny, Trepov orders to open fire🔫.
The new constitution
Government (Council of Ministers under the PM):
🔸Appointed by Tsar.
🔸Responsible to Crown👑, not Duma.
Lower chamber (State Duma):
🔻Members elected through indirect voting 🗳 by estates, in favour of 👑‘s natural allies, nobility 🤵🏻 + peasants👨🏼🌾.
🔻Members elected for 5-year term.
Upper chamber (State council): 🔺Members half elected by zemstva, half appointed by Tsar🤴🏻. 🔺Noble representatives from major institutions🤵🏻.
- 2 houses equal legislative power⚖️.
- All legislation needed Tsar’s approval🤴🏻.
- Any 3 bodies could veto legislation🚫.
The fundamental laws
April 1906, 5 days before 1st Duma met, NII reasserted his autocratic power + his right to:
▪️Rule by decree in emergency or when Duma not in session.
▪️Veto legislation🚫.
▪️Dissolve Duma.
▪️Command R’s army + navy💂🏻♀️🚢.
▪️Control the OC⛪️.
▪️Overturn verdicts given in court of law👩🏻⚖️.
▪️Direct foreign relations + declare war⚔️.
The First Duma, May-July 1906
🟠Duma of national hope.
🟠Bias in electoral system towards nobles🤵🏻.
🟠SRs + Bolsheviks didn’t take part in vote (unhappy w/ fundamental laws).
🟠V radical-liberal members (Kadets🥇).
🟠Only 8 rightists.
🟠1/3 members wealthy peasants👨🏼🌾.
🟠Kadets strongly critical of Tsar🤴🏻.
🟠Requested radical reforms➡️refused🚫➡️passed ‘vote of no confidence’ in govt.
🟠Dissolved after total 2 months.
🟠Stolypin became PM.
🟠200 Kadets in Vyborg tried to organise protest➡️failed❌, its leaders imprisoned. Kadets never recovered or gained as much influence in Duma again.
The Second Duma, February-June 1907
🔴Duma of national anger, but peasants👨🏼🌾 + workers👷🏼♀️ still hopeful for change.
🔴Stolypin influenced elections by supporting Octobrists (right-wing), whose representation doubled.
🔴Left still more representation + much more extreme due to Bolsheviks, SR + Mensheviks participation.
🔴More radical + lots of disagreements between left + right. Views too split between left + right so neither can get majority.
🔴Left angry + argumentative, opposed the govt.
🔴Dissolved after refusing to support Stolypin’s agrarian reform.
🔴Some delegates arrested + exiled.
🔴 Stolypin’s coup: after dissolution of 2nd Duma, Stolypin drastically ⬆️ representation of gentry.
The Third Duma, November 1907-June 1912
🟢Duma of lords + lackeys.
🟢Dominated by right-wing.
🟢Stolypin worked to make relations between Duma + govt more cooperative, though Duma still not subservient.
🟢Agreed to 2200/2500 govt proposals but disputed some reforms.
🟢1911 Duma had been suspended twice + relations breaking down.
🟢Stolypin used emergency powers of Article 87 to pass reforms when Duma not in session, showing the Duma had no control over actions of Tsar or govt.
🟢Proof that Duma could work positively with govt. Most successful Duma - got most done + stayed in for whole 5-year term.
Achievements:
✅Stolypin’s land reforms.
✅Improvements in army + navy💂🏻♀️🚢.
✅Restoration of Justices of Peace to replace unpopular Land Captains.
✅National health insurance scheme to pay sickness benefit to workers💸👷🏼♀️.
✅ 1908 education law to lay foundations for universal education + compulsory primary schools👩🏻🏫.
The Fourth Duma, November 1912-17
🟡Largely ignored by govt - new PM Kokovstev (Stolypin assassinated 1911) ignores Duma, doesn’t believe in democracy.
🟡Continued support + money💰 for 1908 education law so ⬆️ primary schools up to 1914 + literacy rates improved.
🟡Reform of Orthodox Church + ⬇️ state control but WW1 intervened in final decisions.
🟡Talks of reducing consumption of vodka due to its impact on public health, but no action as govt gained much revenue from it🍺💰.
🟡Duma met irregularly during WW1.
🟡NII was persuaded to recall Duma July 1915: 2/3 Duma ‘Progressive Bloc’, offering Tsar chance to work w/ people. Wanted to restore the R people’s confidence in govt (lost due to their incompetence in distributing WW1 supplies).
🟡NII felt they were attacking his position of autocracy + refused to work with them. Duma suspended.
Political groups
SRs: Variety of views; moderates (Black Partition) to extreme terrorists (People’s Will), merged 1901. Led by Churnov. Not well organised🗃🚫 or centrally controlled. Overthrow tsarist govt🤴🏻🚫. Land divided among peasants👨🏼🌾. Continued capitalism. ⬆️ proletariat rise against masters👷🏼♀️. Agitation + terrorism. Supported by peasants👨🏼🌾. SR committees lacked strength💪🏼🚫.
SDs: Plekhanov + Vera Zasulich translated Marx’s work into Russian to create Russian Marxism➡️1898 small group of socialist exiles formed SD Party. 1903 SDs split largely due to aggravation of Lenin; Bolsheviks🆚Mensheviks - roughly equal groups. Both accepted main principles of Marxism but split over role of party.
- Bolsheviks: Led by Lenin. Small, highly disciplined professional revolutionary group. Centralised leadership (critics warned this would turn into dictatorship). Bring socialist consciousness to workers👷🏼♀️+ lead rev. Lenenism - working class govt👷🏼♀️w/ support of peasants👨🏼🌾. 1900 published ‘Iskra’ newspaper to unite revolutionaries🗞. Main support was working class👷🏼♀️. Leadership + simple slogans attracted younger + militant workers who liked discipline.
- Mensheviks: Led by Martov. Broadly based, took in all who wished to join. More democratic; members have say in policy making🗳. Encouraged TUs to help working class improve conditions. Used political channels. Long period of bourgeoise (middle-class intellectuals) democratic govt🤵🏻while workers developed a class👷🏼♀️+ revolutionary consciousness until ready to take over in a socialist rev. Attracted different types of workers + members of intelligentsia💼.
TRUDOVIKS: Labour group, less extreme non-revolutionary break-away from SRs. Moderate liberals. No solid aims. Shared beliefs of improvements for peasants + workers but not organised🗃🚫.
KADETS (1905): Central liberal party, led by Milyukov. Wanted constitutional monarchy🎩👑 w/ parliamentary govt, civil rights, redistribution of private estates.
LIBERALS: Liberal nobility🎩 + Third Element💼. Wants to improve social conditions for peasants👨🏼🌾 + workers👷🏼♀️. Limit Tsar’s powers🤴🏻🚫. Reform, political channels through zemstva, newspaper articles🗞, meetings + reform banquets.
PROGRESSIVES: Loose group of businessmen💼. Favoured moderate reform. Formed R govt after NII’s abdication. Appeared in 4th Duma, frustrated by how little progress Duma was making.
OCTOBRISTS (1905): Moderate conservatives, led by Guchcov. Accepted October Manifesto. More moderate than Kadets. Supported by landowners + industrialists. Didn’t want further concessions.
RIGHTISTS: Union of All-Russian People. Purishkevich was a key leader. In favour of monarchy👑✔️. Promoted violence against Left + anti-Semitic pogroms🗡🩸. Used Black Hundreds to repress peasant uprisings👨🏼🌾⚔️.
