To What Extent was Peasant Unrest the Main Reason for the 1905 Revolution

Question 1

Introduction

Answer 1

• Prior to 1905, Russia was an autocracy governed by the Tsar (emperor), or Nicholas the II, whose authority was unquestionable. Nicholas’ family, the Romanovs, had ruled Russia for 408 years, ending at Nicholas’ abdication in 1917. At the time, Russia was an extremely large country: spanning across two continents, Europe and Asia, covering 22 million square kilometres wide, with a population of over 140 million.
• Due to the wide variety of ethnic groups and the large landmass, Russia was pointedly a very difficult state to rule- especially with only one man in power. With the rise of democratic development in other European countries, it became increasingly obvious that a revolution in Russia was on the horizon.

Question 2

Paragraph One (peasant unrest).

Answer 2

• Before 1861, the majority of the Russian peasants had been serfs. They were considered to be the property of the lord for whom they worked for and bounded to their land. In 1861, Alexander II had emancipated the peasantry from serfdom as part of his agenda to reform Russia and maintain Tsarism: the peasantry were to keep working as serfs for the next two years before they were legally required to purchase a plot of land from their previous masters. However, the majority of peasantry could not afford to buy the allotments and could only pay for the land through the Redemption Payments.
• The Redemption Payments included peasants paying for a quarter of the land themselves, and the other three quarters being paid for by the state to be repaid with interest over a long period of time. The Redemption Payments were extremely troublesome for the peasantry: it caused many of them to be driven into extreme debts for not being able to afford the repayments.
• The problems made by Redemption Payments had only gotten worse as the peasantry population began to increase, resulting in mass ‘land hunger’: the peasantry had to provide for themselves and their family through land, but there was none to go around. These long term conditions caused the peasantry to be upset at the tsar’s inability to protect the peasants from poverty and therefore made the peasants more likely to rise up against the Tsar in the 1905 Revolution.
• . However, the peasantry were less likely to rise up against the Tsar in the 1905 Revolution because the wants of the peasants were largely personal and they were not interested in political change.
• In evaluation, whilst there were limitations such as the peasantry relying heavily on the Russian Orthodox Church for education and preaching, which made them more confident in the tsarist regime and less likely to rise up against the Tsar in the 1905 Revolution, overall peasantry unrest was a main reason for the 1905 revolution because famines in 1891, 1897, 1898 and 1901 caused problems as they led to outbreaks of diseases, which caused the deaths of thousands of people. This led to waves of peasant unrest which took the form of land seizures and rent strikes, and therefore the peasants were more likely to rise up against the Tsar in the 1905 revolution.

Question 3

Paragraph Two (working class unrest)

Answer 3

• The working class in Russia lived on very low wages and paid high taxes as a result of forced industrialisation and businesses trying to maximise profit. The working class in Russia worked an average of 11 hours a day in harsh environments where the smallest infraction could result in brutal punishment. Work-related accidents were common amongst workers and there was a high risk of contracting a disease as a result of these unsanitary conditions. Workers also often lived in barrack-style accommodation next to the factories or mines where they worked: men, women, and children worked alongside each other, separated only by a curtain.
• Trade Unions in Russia were also completely banned; workers strikes were illegal, meaning that the working class had nowhere to vent their frustration. This had led to Russia’s revolutionary parties- the Social Democrats and the Social Revolutionaries- to be able to flourish and grow as a result of increased discontent amongst the workers, as they had to rely on these parties to voice their concerns and make their demands.
• This led to many of the working class joining the 1905 Revolution because workers were upset at having their political demands suppressed, which accumulated anger towards the Tsar.
• However, the working class were not the main reason for the 1905 Revolution because the working class made up a very small percentage of the population, only 2.5%, meaning the working class were at a disadvantage as they were too small to make a significant group to start a revolution.
• In evaluation, although the problems of industry workers were an important reason for the 1905 Revolution because 58% of the working class were literate, meaning they were able to read political ideas and therefore more likely to rise up against the Tsar, overall unrest of the peasants was the most important factor because the peasantry were highly taxed on everyday items such as salt and alcohol levied by the Russian Government as a result of forced industrialisation, therefore the peasantry were becoming more politically aware and more likely to blame the Tsar for their poor living conditions, causing them to rise up against the Tsar in the 1905 Revolution.

Question 4

Paragraph Three (‘Russification’)

Answer 4

• ‘Russification’ was a tactic used by the Tsar to maintain control in Russia. It was a deliberate attempt to make the Empire ‘more Russian’, as minorities made up around 56% of the Russian population during this time. The policy included forcing Russian customs onto non-Russians rather than their own culture, largely affecting Jews, Poles, Lithuanians and Ukrainians. The russian language was made the official language and any other language was suppressed and not taught in local schools. Russian Government Officials were sent to majorly non-Russian areas of the Empire to teach russian in schools, to use russian in law courts, etc.
• Jews were the most greatly affected by Russification- over 600 measures were imposed upon the Jewish people which restricted their social, political and economic rights. During Russification, a group notorious for their attacks on the Jewish community- the ‘Black Hundreds’- spiked in activity, showing how the tsarist regime actively promoted the terrorisation of Jews.
• The policy of Russification can be considered a main cause of the 1905 revolution because the policy of Russification had backfired severely: it created even larger groups of opposition to the Tsar due to their antagonisation, which can be especially said of the Jews. Even countries who were previously loyal to the Tsar such as Finland and Armenia became opponents of the tsarist regime. It created resentment against the rule of the Tsar and made it more likely for the repressed groups to support revolutionary action.
• However, some groups benefited from the policy of Russification such as those who were ethnically Russian as the policy created a united Russia under one culture and religion, and made it much easier for the Tsar to control his empire, therefore ethnic Russians- who made up around 50% of Russia’s population- would be less likely to revolt against the Tsar as a result.
• In evaluation, although russi-fication was an important reason for the 1905 Revolution because it led to the assassination of the Russian Governor and General of Finland in 1904, proving that its policies had caused widespread discontent and opposition to the Tsar throughout the empire, overall unrest of the peasants was the most important factor because the peasantry had made up 80% of Russia’s population, encouraging the peasantry to revolt as they had the numbers and mass to do so easily- they even outnumbered the Russian army.

Question 5

Paragraph Four (Russo-Japanese War)

Answer 5

• In 1904, Russia had went to war with Japan as the Russians wished to expand their empire in the East by taking over Korea and to distract their population from the economic hardships at home- it was an attempt to make Russians feel more patriotic. The Russians were also interested in taking over Port Arthur in Manchuria, as all their own ports froze up during the winter and it was an opportunity for the Russians to make trade all year round.
• The Russians had believed that the Japanese, as they were not Europeans, would be easy to defeat. They were defeated humiliatingly. In the Battle of Mukden, 90,000 Russians are killed, and their final humiliation was during the Battle of Tsushima in May of 1905: the Russian Baltic fleet took eight months to reach its destination, only to be blown out of the water by the Japanese fleet. All Russian battleships, minus three, were sunk and 4380 sailors died. These defeats forced the tsarist government to make peace.
• The war with Japan caused a loss of support for the Tsar and his government because the war highlighted the incompetence of the government: they were disorganised, lacked leadership and used out-dated tactics. The liberals in Russia began to argue that the war was only to create an argument against reform in Russia, ultimately leading to many rising up against the Tsar.
• However, the Russo-Japanese War was not the main reason for the 1905 Revolution because many Russians, including the Russian army, had remained loyal to the Tsar. The leadership which had commanded the army in particular had maintained loyalty- which meant less people were likely to revolt against the Tsar due to fear of violence from the Russian Army.
• In evaluation, although the Russo-Japanese War was an important reason for the 1905 Revolution because the impact of the war on Russia can be directly linked to the political system in Tsarist Russia as the Tsar, an autocrat, personally chose advisors who were inadequate to assess the strength of the Japanese and to lead whole armies, which shows that the Tsar is incompetent at being the sole person in power as he’s out of touch with his people and other opinions should be voiced in government, overall unrest of the peasants was the most important factor because the war had created even more discontent amongst the peasants: the Tsar had increased taxes to help with the war effort which led to even more peasants unable to pay their taxes and having to sell grain despite their own supplies were already inadequate for consumption, encouraging the peasantry to uprise against the Tsar.

Question 6

Paragraph Five (Bloody Sunday).

Answer 6

• In late 1904, four union workers at the Putilov Iron Works Plant in St Petersburg had been dismissed. Russian Orthodox priest Father Gregory Gapon, leader of the trade union group ‘The Assembly of Russian Factory and Mill Workers’, called for industrial action. On Sunday 9th of January 1905, Father Gapon had lead a peaceful march of around 150,000 workers and their families to the Winter Palace in St Petersburg to present a petition to the Tsar, calmly asking for a reduction in working hours, increased pay, and improved working conditions.
• The participants of this march were under the impression that the Tsar was unaware of their plight and were asking for his help through banners proclaiming their love for both God and the Tsar. The peaceful marches were fired upon by troops and then charged down by mounted cossacks. An estimated 200 people were killed and 300-800 were left wounded.
• Bloody Sunday is considered to be the spark that led to the 1905 Revolution because it destroyed the perceptions the Russian people had of the Tsar as being kind and welcoming to his people and willing to improve their lives. The sudden loss of faith led to many people proclaiming ‘there is no god, there is no tsar!’, which made them more likely to rise up against the Tsar.
• However, Bloody Sunday was not the main reason for the 1905 Revolution because the Tsar had survived uprisings such as striking workers previously: if the Russian people had not been exposed to suffering for the long term, perhaps Bloody Sunday would not have led to the revolution alone.