Worker Opposition Flashcards
Tsars
worker oppositions
Add Russia industrialized there were more workers
These workers wanted better pay and reduced hours but the conditions were poor , so they aimed to improove all of them throught peroid
• and there was no factory inspectorates until 1882
– who didn’t really do much
• the average hour working was between 11 and 12 hours
• they did not decrease to a 10-hour working day until 1914
• workers Tactics to achieve these aims were to riots and strike
• before 1880 the strikes were small and localized
– but after 1880s they were large and scale and very threatening
– such as the 1885 Morozov Dye workers strike of 8000 workers
• strikes were frequently banned such as the symphony strikes on Bloody Sunday in January 1905
• or there were dealt with using extreme Force
– which is the Lana goldfields miners 1912 massacre in which 270 people died and 250 were injured
• workers continued striking until/ during World War 1
– some of the most famous strikes occurred in this time period
– such as putilov workes in St petersburg 23.2.17
– who was the main provider of artilery during World War I
Lenin [1917-1924]
worker oppositions
• Lenin and later Stalin both knew that worker protest can only lead to a political Revolution in Russia
– if the workers become aware of the unfairness of the system that governed their behavior
• The formation, growth and role of soviets in the October revolution added weights the argument that the workers played an important part in changing the nature of government in Russia
• the civil war is often deemed as a Turning Point in worker opposition
– has many workers died in the fighting so peasants had to become workers too
– so the 1920s workforce was uneducated, undisciplined and uninterested in politics of the party
• this along with the NEP explains what the workers were docile from 1920s to the 1930s as they were busy and appeased
• any opposition was dealt with quickly by authorities
Stalin [1929-1953]
Worker Opposition
Purges removed many disturbances from the trade union officials
• the workers accepted the Five-Year Plans and Stalin uses to control the workers behaviors
• in the 1940s workers suicide rates increased due to the fear of what would happen if they failed to meet stalin’s quotas
• during World War 2 in contrast to World War 1 there was zero strikes but there were some examples of lack of support for the conflict
Stalin knew that worker protest can only lead to a political Revolution in Russia
– if the workers become aware of the unfairness of the system that governed their behavior
• The formation, growth and role of soviets in the October revolution added weights the argument that the workers played an important part in changing the nature of government in Russia
Khrushchev [1956(3)-1964]
Worker Opposition
Industrial relations with stable under Nikita
but there were riots over perceived failings in the standards of living
• in for example Novocherassk
– protests were against food shortages and rising food prices
– as a result the authorities killed 20 workers and a number of ring leaders were later executed
Impact of Worker Opposition throught the Perioid
Work proposition was effective in the sense of that:
– average working day reduced from 11½ hours in 1897 to 7 hours in the 1960s
– official inspection and administration of workers conditions were established
– there was a change in political system in 1917 which promised a dictatorship of the proletariat leading to full workers control of the country
HOWEVER
• full worker control of the means of the production, distribution and exchange never occurred
• workers standards of living fell below their own expectations
• workers were also continuously repressed using both the law and the full Force of the police and armed forces
