The nature of rule: The nature of government Flashcards
1
Q
what is autocracy
A
one person with complete power
2
Q
what dynasty ruled for 300yrs in russia
A
romanov
3
Q
context of enlightenment in the west and russia’s opinion on this
A
- in the west people had challeneged traditional ideas in the enlightenment (18th cent)
- new ideas about liberties+rights caused huge change → e.g the american revolotion = ‘no taxation without represnetation’, the french revolution = overthrow the monarchy, ‘liberte, ecalite, fraternity’, the british constitional monarchy = power shift from monarchy to parli to a prime minister
russia didnt want this to happen*
4
Q
how did tsars justify autocracy
A
the fundamental laws introduced in 1832
- the three pillars
- Pobedonostsev’s teachings
5
Q
what are the three pillars + explain them
A
- orthodoxy → form of christianity in russia since 998, very traditional, belived god had created teh world as it was SO they belived nothing should change– preached DROK
- autocracy → the Tsar acts as the father of the nation, paternalism
- nationality → ‘russianism’ = believes that russia has a unique/special culture →→ russian victory in 1812 showed they didnt need change
6
Q
how did russia victory in 1812 show they didnt need chnage
A
it was against a ‘changing’ western country so if they coukd defeat the new west then it showed that russia was better than the new west
7
Q
(briefly) who was pobedonstsev, and what were his teachinsg
A
- tutor A3 and N2
- he justifies autocracy in his book ; reflections of a russian statesman’ in 1896
- in the book he said → human nature is inherently lazy, selfsih and sinful SO this justifies a strong leader guiding individuals
- in the book he said → there was an ‘aristocracy of intellect’ therefore Tsar has a duty to preserve aristocract power
- in the book he said → ‘ democracy is the dictatorship of a vulgar crowd’ e,g uneducated, illiterate peasants
- THEREFORE the tsars had a duty to repress, to prevent any form of democracy
8
Q
types of repression
A
Secret Police – to investigate, arrest, imprison, execute, exile, monitor opposition
Army – to deal with riots, revolts, mobs, strikes
Propaganda – Manipulating ideas, values and beliefs by distorting information
Censorship – Controlling access to information which might influence ideas, values and beliefs
9
Q
what are the secret police
A
The secret police are a police force working in secret against a government’s political opponents. They use extra-legal methods which go beyond the normal powers of a police force and are typically used in authoritarian regimes to crush political opposition. All Russian rulers through 1855-1964 used a secret police, but the nature of it the secret police and the effectiveness of it changed over time.
10
Q
what was the secret police under A2
A
the third section
11
Q
what was the purpose of the third section
A
clamp down on political radicals and potential threats to the autocracy. This involved monitoring of known radicals, identifying plots, arresting threats, etc.
12
Q
A
13
Q
A
14
Q
A
15
Q
effectiveness of the third section
A
- During Alexander II’s reign, reforms increased the scope of opposition [more on this later] and exposed the incompetence of the Third Section as a busy but ineffective institution.
- After the 1866 failed assassination attempt on Alexander II, repression increased and Alexander’s great reforming agenda ground to a halt.
- The 1870s, the height of** Alexander II’s repression, became known as the ‘Shuvalov Era’** after the minister responsible for implementing repression.
- 1611 revolutionaries were arrested between 1873-1877, and two major show trials [The Trial of the 50 and the Trial of the 193] show the Third Section was acting.
- However, the ineffectiveness of the Third Section can be illustrated by the fact that despite the Trials bringing some high-profile revolutionaries, both ended with mass acquittals, and only a small percentage were sent on exile to Siberia.
Finally, the failure of the Third Section can be seen by the fact that Alexander II suffered 6 assassination attempts through his reign, the final one being successful in 1881.
16
Q
name of secret police under A3/N2
A
Okhrana
17
Q
effectiveness of the Okhrana under A3
A
During Alexander III’s reign, the secret police was highly effective. Alexander III came to the throne because of the assassination of his father and his primary aim was both to punish the revolutionaries and ensure the autocracy remained firm. In order to achieve this, Alexander III introduced the Statute of State Security, 1881, which was designed to increase the powers of the Okhrana. The Okhrana gained the power to arbitrarily arrest individuals without having to prove any wrong-doings for up to 5 years. Anyone involved in the People’s Will, the organisation that had been involved in Alexander II’s assassination was arrested in this manner and the People’s Will never again appeared as an organisation.
18
Q
effectiveness of the Okhrana under N2
A
Under Nicholas II, the Okhrana continued to be effective but to a lesser extent. Successes can be seen in the extent to which revolutionaries were forced into exile. Through most of 1896-1917, leading members of the Bolshevik party were in exile in Western Europe. Furthermore, most of the party adopted pseudonyms in attempts to avoid detection. Lenin’s real name was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, Stalin’s real name was Joseph Jughashvili, and Trotsky’s real name was Lev Bronstein. These names illustrate the culture of fear that professional revolutionaries experienced. Furthermore, within Russia, thousands of** political prisoners were forced into exile in Siberian labour camps.**
19
Q
Hoe else was the Okhrana effective (methods)
A
Furthermore, the Okhrana was also effective through its army of informers, both ‘insiders’ and ‘outsiders’. Insiders were Okhrana double-agents who infiltrated revolutionary groups and reported on their activities.** Three of the seven members of the 1914 Bolshevik Central Committee meeting in St. Petersburg were Okhrana agents**. Many Okhrana agents had to go to great lengths to convince the groups they were joining they were loyal to them. For instance, Yevno Azev infiltrated the Socialist Revolutionaries Combat Organisation, it’s violent revolutionary wing, by actively planning assassinations of state officials. That is, a Tsarist Okhrana agent actively helping a terrorist organisation assassinate Tsarist officials! Outsiders, on the other hand, were your more typical ‘spies’ – eavesdropping conversations, etc.
20
Q
general overview of effectiveness of the Okhrana
A
Generally the Okhrana was effective against organised political groups – the SRs and the Bolsheviks, for instance – but it was** unable to prevent popular discontent. Repression peaked in 1905, but failed to prevent either the 1905 or the February 1917 revolution**, both of which were not organised by political parties but spontaneous uprisings by the masses.
21
Q
secret police under the P.G
A
The Provisional Government is the only government to have no secret police after abolishing the Okhrana in March 1917. The Provisional Government did this to represent the new liberal nature of the government and introduced a political amnesty on all prisoners. Unfortunately for the Provisional Government, a secret police was probably needed more now than ever before. By disbanding the okhrana and introducing an amnesty. This allowed the Bolsheviks to operate and saw the return of Lenin to Russia in April, paving way for the October revolution.
22
Q
Secret police under lenin
A
Cheka
23
Q
difference between the cheka and secret police under the Tsars
A
The Cheka acted in a different manner to the Tsarist organisations in that it used ‘terror’ as a conscious policy.
24
Q
what policy did lenin implement in 1918-1921
[secret police]
A
the red terror
25
when was the red terror
1918-21
26
27
28
what was the red terror
to reinforce communist authority and eradicate opposition. In essence Red Terror was **a policy of mass repression in order to rule by fear**. It sought to quash revolutionary activities by creating a culture of violence against anyone who opposed the Bolsheviks. The **aim of the policy was to force opposition to comply with Communist rule**
29
examples of red terror
* Mass execution. **Between 500,000-1,000,000 executions for bourgeois activity** (for instance, withholding grain, selling private goods, involvement in non-communist parties, working as merchants, having aristocratic titles, refusing to give up land, refusing communist orders, etc).
* The most well-known example of executions was the execution of the Tsar and his family at Ekaterinburg in 1918.
* **Gulags**. Suspicious people arrested and put in gulags (forced labour camps) where they were required to* conduct hard labour*.
* **Torture**. Gruesome stories spread throughout Russia of the Communist use of torture. For instance, in Kharkov there are stories of the Cheka putting victim’s hands in boiling water until the skin peeled off. In Kiev, victims were tied down whilst heated cages of rats were placed around their body. Once the rats cages became hot they would begin to eat their way through the victim’s body.
* The Cheka **targeted people not just for what they had done, but who they were **[i.e. their social class or association with people]. Felix Dzerzhinsky, the head of the Cheka instructed members that ‘your first duty is to ask him what are his origins, his education, and his occupation. These questions should decide the fate of the prisoner’.
30
effectiveness of red terror
The Cheka was abolished in 1922 after the Civil War came to an end, but the secret police did not disappear.
The **use of terror after 1922 reduced** because, simply, **red terror had been utterly successful in eliminating legitimate threats **to the new regime. Red Terror had crushed the counter-revolutionaries!
31
32
what was the secret police under stalin
the NKVD
33
view on removal of opposition by 1922
By the end of the Civil War in 1922, the Communist Party had all but eliminated opposition parties and movements. BUT not removed internal opp
34
what did stalin conduct in 1936-38?
great terror
35
one major difference between the great terror and the red terror
One major difference, though, between the Red Terror and the Great Terror was Stalin’s willingness to target Communists.
36
who conducted the red terror
lenin
37
who conducted the great terror
stalin
38
features of the great terror
* **The Great Purge of the Communist Party. **The Power Struggle of the 1920s and the events surrounding Kirov in 1934 showed that there was some opposition to Stalin within the Communist Party, even if the extent and nature of that opposition was exaggerated by Stalin.** Party Members in these years were accused of taking part in ‘rightist plots’ to overthrow Communism**.
* A large number of high-profile Communists were arrested under such charges including Kamenev, Zinoviev, and Bukharin. These individuals were then** forced to undergo Show Trials where, after considerable torture the accused person would ‘admit’ their crimes to the public and then be executed**. The Show Trials were important because they had ‘legal’ confessions which ‘proved’ the victims’ guilt. Furthermore, they did actually convince a lot of people that not only were there plotters everywhere, but that these dangerous people were being dealt with by Stalin, thus saving the USSR and justifying his actions. **Approximately 1 million people were killed between 1936-38. **
After the Great Purge, **those bureaucrats Stalin had appointed to conduct it were themselves purged.** 1939 Yezhov, the former head of the NKVD who had been responsible for most of the events above, was now the target of a Stalinist purge himself and accused an ‘enemy of the people’. After torture and ‘admitting’ his guilt,** Yezhov was executed along with around 20,000 of his NKVD comrades. **
Arbitrary imprisonments and Gulag Labour. Arbitrary imprisonment was an everyday feature of the Stalinist Terror. **NKVD Order No. 00447 gave regional quotas for the number of people to be purged in each region**. These people would mostly, then, be sent to conduct forced labour in Gulag camps, often in the far East in Siberia.** In 1938 the Gulags had a population of 8 million, by Stalin’s death in 1953 there were 12 million**. Conditions were so poor on these sights that** approximately 25% died each year.** This army of slave labourers played an important economic role for the Soviet Union in producing raw minerals and contributing to massive infrastructure projects like the white sea canal.** A total of 40 million people went to the Gulag through the entire Stalinist era.**
39
effectiveness of repression under stalin
The repression ensured that there were no real threats to Stalin’s control. The period 1936-38 was an ‘epidemic’ of repression where repression reached its peak and effected millions of lives; but repression in the form of purges, show trials, arbitrary imprisonments, and gulag labour continued through Stalin’s entire rule.
40
what was the secret police under Krushchev
MVD/KGB
41
what was Khrushchev's agenda regarding repression
destalinisation
42
features of destalinsation
* For Khrushchev, the most significant excess of the Stalinist system was repression and terror. Stalin’s arbitrary, repressive legal system was allowed to operate because there was an acceptance of violence and few rules preventing repressive actions.
* Stalin had used the concept of ‘revolutionary justice’ to administer the legal system – which created a whole new class of political crimes (as well as the usual ones of murder etc). All crime thus became the province of the political security apparatus (secret police and camps).
* Khrushchev wanted to replace ‘revolutionary justice’ with something new.
* In 1960 new legal codes were introduced. They stated that: The MVD (Interior Ministry) **could not send people to camps without legal evidence**. The KGB ran the secret police, according to the law (!). I.e. officials could be prosecuted if they closed their eyes to malpractice.
Khrushchev also oversaw an enormous political amnesty of gulag prisoners with around 8-9 million people being released from the camps. By 1960 there were only about 11,000 prisoners in the camps, a significant shift from the 1930s.
43
effectiveness of MVD/KGB
By **1960** there were only about 1**1,000 prisoners in the camps**, a significant shift from the 1930s.
secret police helped to **allow a party coup** to remove Khrushchev from power in 1964.
44
3 main themes regrading the army
army being used:
1. for implementation of policies
2. for repression
3. as a threat to society
45
who used Army for implementation of policies
A3
lenin
stalin
46
who used Army for repression
A2
N2
lenin
khrushchev
47
who viewed Army as a threat to authority
N2
lenin
stalin
khrushchev
48
overview of Army being used for implementation of policies (how not who)
The Russian military was always large. In 1**855 Russia spent 50% of its budget on maintaining an army of around 1.4 million**.
By **1964 the army was 2.4 million**. Naturally the size of the military increased during Russia’s many wars throughout the period and contracted somewhat during peacetime, but regardless the army remained large in peacetime. This **large army allowed Russia’s rulers from time-to-time to use the military to help implement their policies**, should they require boots on the ground and brute force. In particular we see **Alexander III used the military to implement Russification and Stalin used the military to implement Collectivisation. **
49
Army being used for implementation of policies under A3
* showed a willingness to use the military when it came to the **implementation of Russification.**
* The policy of Russification was an attempt to make the many different ethnicities in Russia conform to a Russia way of life. Non-Russian cultural practices, non-Russian languages, etc were banned with Russian being put in their place.
* The purpose of the policy was to ‘Russify’ the Empire in the hope that this would curb separatist or nationalist agendas in regions such as Poland or Ukraine where some separatist movements had been growing.
* **The use of the army, and the policy more broadly, was something that actually had a negative consequence in most of the regions implemented in the long-term.**
50
what is russification
The policy of Russification was an attempt to make the many different ethnicities in Russia conform to a Russia way of life.
51
Army being used for implementation of policies under lenin
* used the Red Army in the **Civil War**, not only to **fight the opposition – the Whites **– but to** implement the policy of War Communism.**
* War Communism required the total mobilisation of the Russian economy for the Civil War effort, requiring the use of brute force to meet the aim of winning the war.
* The main use of the Red Army here was to** force peasants to hand over their grain as part of the requisitioning policy. **
52
what is war communism
War Communism required the total mobilisation of the Russian economy for the Civil War effort, requiring the use of brute force to meet the aim of winning the war
53
Army being used for implementation of policies under stalin
* to use the military when it came to the** implementation of Collectivisation.**
* Collectivisation was a policy which sought to end atomised capitalist farming and move peasants into large, state-run, collective farms.
* Many peasants, particularly the Kulaks – a group of rich peasants – reacted negatively to collectivisation since it raised the prospect of them losing much of their possessions.
* Stalin’s use of the army was an attempt to force these resistant Kulaks to join collective farms, often brutally.
* Kulak resisters were placed in three categories: **1. Counter-revolutionaries to be shot [21,000 in 1931], 2. active opponents of the policy to be deported to Gulags [390,000 in 1931], and 3. Collectivisation resisters who were forced into collective farms [400,000 in 1931]**.
54
what is collectivsation
Collectivisation was a policy which sought to end atomised capitalist farming and move peasants into large, state-run, collective farms.
55
examples of army being used for repression
**1863** – Polish Revolt
**1905** – Revolution suppressed [eventually]
**1918-21** – Civil War, victory by Red Army over the Whites
**1956** – Hungarian Uprising
56
overview of army as a threat
In any country, the army is a powerful force with the ability to influence politics should it choose to do so. In most stable countries the army is firmly under the control of the political leaders. Throughout most of the period 1855-1964, the army was indeed firmly under control. Despite the warnings given to the Tsars by the Decembrist Uprising during Nicholas I reign [see above], Alexander II and Alexander III remained firmly in control of a loyal army. However, **for both Nicholas, Stalin, and to a lesser extent Khrushchev, the army was a threat**
57
army as a threat to N2
The military posed a threat to Nicholas in both **1905** and in **1917**. In 1905 there were some mutinies, the most noteworthy example being on the Battleship Potemkin. However, in** February 1917 150,000 members of the Petrograd Garrison placed themselves under the control of the Soviet**, effectively marking the end of the Tsarist regime.
58
army as a threat under lenin
In 1921 Russian sailors at the Kronstadt naval base staged a revolt. The sailors had been keen backers of the October revolution in 1917, but believed that Lenin’s harsh authoritarian nature of rule [e.g. red terror, the one-party state, war communism] had let down the revolution. The** sailors attempted to seize power from the Bolsheviks, but failed to do so as loyal Red army soldiers** were sent in to crush the revolt. This **uprising frightened the regime into introducing reforms**, most notably the **1921 New Economic Policy.**
59
army as a threat under stalin
Stalin viewed the army as a potential threat to his authority on two occasions. Firstly, in the **1930s Great Terror, Stalin purged the military of a number of high-ranking officers**. Marshall Tukhachevsky had been the commander of the Red Army through the Civil War but was the target of a significant purge of leading military officials, around** 20,000 in 1936-38.
**
Secondly, after the Second World War Stalin viewed Marshall ***Zhukov*** – Russia’s leading second world war general – as a potential threat to his authority. ***Stalin had him removed from the party and exiled from Moscow.***
60
army as a threat under Khrushchev
Similarly, Khrushchev also accused Zhukov of creating a ‘cult of personality’ and forced his retirement.
61
what is censorship
Censorship refers to the way in which regimes seek to limit access to information. Usually this is information that in come way undermined the regimes in control. Whilst all leaders used censorship, the extent of censorship throughout the period went through peaks and troughs with the two more ‘reforming’ leaders loosening censorship, whilst the more repressive leaders more harshly enforced it.
62
censorship under A2, N2 nad Khrushchev
Alexander II, Nicholas II, and Khrushchev were leaders which *tended to reduce the extent of censorship, even if they still used it as a policy*. **Alexander II**, as part of his broader reforming programme, **reduced the extent of censorship in 1865, but retained the regime’s control to ban ‘dangerous’ material** [i.e. anything they deemed to threaten the regime]. As a result of this reform, Marx’s Das Kapital was published in 1872. At the time officials deemed it too long and tedious to have any ‘dangerous’ impact for the regime – they couldn’t have been more wrong in hindsight! Under** Nicholas, similarly, pre-publication censorship disappeared and the period 1894-1914 saw an increase in the overall quantity of books and newspapers being published. **
63
censorship under A3, lenin, stalin
By contrast, the rules of Alexander III, Lenin and Stalin **oversaw harsh increases in the extent of censorship**. Each of these rulers felt particularly threatened by opposition groups and so viewed censorship as a way of maintaining control over Russia. **Lenin** in particular had the challenge of convincing the Russian people of the Communist project and therefore** believed restricting access to damaging information would help the regime**. Lenin created a propaganda department called **AGITPRROP** whose responsibility was to promote communist and restrict access to counter-revolutionary beliefs.
64
cesnorship under A3
Alexander III’s concerns regarding censorship came down to his belief that the reforms of his father had weakened the Empire. Alexander III a** law in 1882 which stated newspapers had to be read three times by state officials before they could be published** and some*** more liberal newspapers were banned***, such as Patriotic Notes [Otechestvennye Zapiski] in 1884.
65
Main form of propaganda under the Tsars
orthodox church
66
propaganda under the tsars
Initially, Tsarist propaganda was** very traditional in form. Without modern media** – imagery, radio, mass-readership newspapers, etc – the Tsars **relied predominantly on the influence of the Orthodox Church to promote their regime**. Every village / community in Russia had an Orthodox Church at its heart and this is where most ordinary Russians would hear information, not only about religion but about wider Russia. Churches where a means by which social control could be maintained [that is, ensuring a strict moral code and ensuring obedience to the Tsar’s authority]. The **successfulness** of this propaganda can be **seen by the extensive influence of Orthodox Christianity throughout Russia.** Most peasant homes in the 19th Century contained what were know as ‘Red Corners’ – shrines decorated with religious icons [religious paintings, often on wood. They acted as a altar in the home to be the centre for prayer, etc].
67
when was the turning point in censoruship under the tsars
1905
68
1905 as the turning point in censorhsip under the tsars
**The revolution of 1905 shook Nicholas II**. It highlighted the popular and historic myth of the **Tsar being the ‘little father’ of his people was not necessarily held by all**. After 1905, Nicholas used propaganda more consciously.
The best example of the increase in propaganda is the **Romanov Tercentenary Celebrations of 1913.** The were a series of national celebrations marking the 300-year rule of the Romanov Dynasty. The Romanovs underwent a royal tour, following the route on Mikhail I, the first Romanov Tsar, who was elected in 1613 The tercentenary **celebrations across Russia were extravagant and well attended by the masses, in spite of Nicholas II's unpopularity since the 1905 Russian Revolution**. While traveling the country, Nicholas and Alexandra were so well received by the people that it seemed as if public opinion had turned in their favour. This experience coloured Alexandra's perspective throughout the next four years when the monarchy began to crumble during World War I.
69
key strategies of censorship under the commi's
1. posters
2. film+cinema
3. newspapers
70
distinct asepcts of propaganda under stalin
1. cult of personality
2. stakhonovite movement
3. Forced adherence to Socialist Realism in art/literature/media
71
use of posters
| propaganda commi
During the Civil War (1918-1921), **Lenin** took control of artistic production **under the Commissariat of Popular Enlightenment and ended freedom of expression**. The primary aim of this institution was to create ‘agitational art’ (termed Agitprop), **art which mobilised support for the communist war effort**. Art during this period was under *strict state control *and freedom of expression was banned. Art was only permitted where it served a purpose for the state.
The Commissariat of Popular Enlightenment was particularly keen to use posters to spread the communist message to the streets. Considering the fact that literacy levels were low in the early part of communist rule, posters were able to convey visual messages in a digestible form for the masses. The following poster is known as **‘ROSTA’ posters** and were displayed in Petrograd during the Civil War. **More than 1,000 of these types of posters were produced between 1919-1921**. They intended to convey a message to illiterate people using imagery, like modern comics
The purpose of the imagery was to convey an ideological message – in this case: the ***inevitability of the working class revolution.***
72
use of film+cinema
| propaganda commi
Film and cinema grew significantly in the Communist period. **In *1917* there were *1,000* cinemas in Russia. By *1958* there were *59,000*.** Cinemas became one of the primary means of accessing information [i.e. newsreel] and a key aspect of popular entertainment. However, film was always restricted by the requirement to conform to political ideology.
Sergei Eisenstein’s 1925 silent film, Battleship Potemkin, is one example of this. The film told the story of a mutiny in the 1905 Revolution and exaggerated the harshness of Tsarism, thereby justifying the revolution.
73
newspapers
| propaganda commi
The CPSU newspaper **Pravda [transl. truth]** and **Izvestia [transl. the news]** promoted the achievements of the CPSU
a popular saying was ***"there's no truth in Pravda and no news in Izvestia". ***
Popular – millions read each day.
74
cult of personality
| propaganda stalin
The cult of personality was purposefully engendered by Stalin, but not by Lenin himself. Stalin constructed an image of himself as the all-knowing, great leader of the Soviet Union. The image conveyed the notion that Stalin was pursuing what was best for the Russian people and that he deserved unquestioning loyalty.
75
stakhonovite movement
| propaganda stalin
The Stakhanovite movement, was **propaganda intended to encourage workers to meet and exceed their production targets during the Five Year Plans**. Workers were encouraged to follow in the lead of Stakhanov, a coal miner who extracted extraordinary quantities of coal - far exceeding his colleagues. It is likely that the statistics were manufactured, nevertheless, **Stakhanov was celebrated as a working class hero. Propaganda celebrated the lengths Stakhanov went to, and celebrated him as the ideal proletariat worker** whose hard work was moving Russia towards the ideal communist future celebrated in the socialist realist artwork below
76
Forced adherence to Socialist Realism in art/literature/media
| propaganda stalin
Artistic productions – statues, art, literature, etc – were supposed to conform with the doctrine of ‘Socialist Realism’. There was no room for the freedom of styles that had existed under Lenin. Socialist Realism meant that art had to portray the ordinary people building a communist future. The art itself had to glorify the work of the proletariat and show life that was improving.
77
key characteristics of Forced adherence to Socialist Realism in art/literature/media
To glorify the present and the future. Although called ‘realism’ it did not seek to present a ‘real’ picture of life as it was now, but an ideal of what life could be like.
To promote socialist values
Artists who did not conform to the ideals of socialist realism were banned. One example is Malevich (see above), but there were many more.
78
key continuity of nature of reforms
All Russian rulers used reform to deal with opponents and controlling the behaviour of the masses.** Both regimes, Tsars and Communists, implemented reforms when the regime were under threat in order to deal with opposition** – i.e. to appease opponents. The best examples of this type of reform come during the reigns of *Alexander II, Nicholas II, and Lenin*. **Alexander II introduced Emancipation of the Serfs**, at least in part because of the idea that ‘reform from above might prevent a revolution from below’. Likewise, **Nicholas’ introduction of the Duma** after the 1905 Revolution was certainly a concession. Furthermore, **Lenin used reform in 1921 by reforming economic policy – replacing War Communism with the NEP** - to deal with both the economic crisis and the Kronstadt sailors revolt.
79
overview of reform under the tsars
When the Tsars reformed, **their motivation tended to be a sense that failure to reform would cause greater problems**. The Tsars instinctively ran a conservative, backward-looking regime which sought most fundamentally to preserve the system as it was – the very opposite of reform. Hence, the Tsars in general **only reformed when they believed that a failure to reform would threaten the system more.** This type of reactive reform can be applied to both Alexander II and Nicholas II.
80
reform under A2
With Alexander II, the Emancipation of the serfs was introduced partly out of the belief that reform from above would prevent a revolution from below. He was concerned that the longer serfdom existed, the more likely a peasant revolution was. Hence, by reforming he sought to preserve Tsarism. Equally, another motivation for Emancipation was a sense that Russia was being left behind by its rivals abroad, as exemplified by the failures in the Crimean War. If this was allowed to continue, rivals could threaten Tsarism. Again, then, by reforming Alexander II sought to preserve.
81
reform under N2
Similarly, Nicholas’ attempts at reforms – although more limited – were motivated by similar ideas. **The October Manifesto of 1905** – which promised a Duma and civil liberties - was designed to **placate the revolutionary atmosphere around Russia and prevent an overthrow of Tsarism**. In both these examples, the Tsarist regime illustrated its fundamental weakness: although change was occurring both to society, economy, and ideas, the **Tsars did not seek to guide change but were merely reactive to the consequences of it. Neither reform went far enough to satisfy the groups they sought to appease**. This failure to guide change would ultimately doom the regime.
82
impact/extent of tsarist reform
Tsarist reforms tended to be limited in nature: **reforms which limited the extent of change**. For instance, Emancipation of the Serfs disappointed the peasanty. Despite gaining new legal freedoms – such as to marry, travel, and access the legal system – peasants were generally unhappy with the terms.
A consequence of this is that** Tsarist reforms tended to generate greater opposition**: their limited nature always failed to satisfy opponents of the regime. Hence, following Alexander II’s reforms there was a period of heightened populist activity in the 1870s. Similarly, following Nicholas II’s reforms, the Dumas were unhappy
83
aims of reforms under commi
Unlike the Tsars, the Communists sought, through reforms, **to guide change and implement their ideology.** For the Communists, change was something that they more actively sought to achieve. Unlike the timeless ideology of the Tsars; **fundamental to Marxism was a sense of economic, political and social progress over time**. The Communists sought to mould this change actively through a variety of policies.
Most fundamental to Marxism was a sense of economic determinism. Marxists believe that the economy Shapes and moulds a society’s culture, ideas, political and social systems. Consequently, it was essential that the economy was transformed. Policies such as War Communism, Collectivisation, the Five-Year Plans [more on these in the economy topics] are illustrative of this agenda and did radically transform the economy of Russia both by eliminating most capitalist practices and through rapid industrialisation.
84
impact/ extent of commi reforms
**Communist reforms tended to be combined with very harsh methods of repression to ensure compliance.** The result was that r*eforms were absolute: opposition was not tolerated and the population was forced into obedience.* Rather than generating opposition like the Tsarist reforms, **Communist reforms tended to wipe out opposition and have a transforming impact on the lives of Soviet citizens**. As an example, the total **Collectivisation of Russia’s agricultural system was achieved in the space of just 10 years from 1930-1940**
