russia- Tsar

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  • Tsar Nicholas II
    • opposition
      • Bolsheviks
        • operate under centralized leadership
        • Be made up of a small number of professional revolutionaries
        • job of the party to bring socialist consciousness to the workers
      • Mensheviks
        • take in all those who wished to join
        • encourage trade unions to help working class conditions to imporve
        • allowed members to have a say in policy making
    • Personality/ beliefs
      • very for himself, little or no respect for those below
      • supporter of  russification
        • Russian culture promoted
        • only language in education was Russian
        • Russian orthodox religion was promoted
        • non-russians had to pay heavy taxes
        • only official language in law-courts and governement
      • national minorities and ethnic groups (jews) were disproportionately represented
        • jews were discriminated against
        • jews werent allowed to live in russia, if they were not to follow the religion
        • jews were beaten, ***** and killed
        • the tsar made the situation worse with his hatred against Jews
    • The war with Japan
      • Russia were defeated by japan
        • Japan were more successful
        • they carried out a successful modernisation programme
          • better equipped
          • had a better led army
          • had a better led navy
        • russia were no longer seen as a threat to other countries
        • russia are no longer the dominant empire
        • russia was weak like their forces and fought badly
        • russia was defeated by japan
    • 1905 revolution
      • The repressive Tsarist regime
        • strict on they russia was governed
        • strongly influenced by Pobenostev that russia only needed one person in charge
      • The peasant anger
        • wages were low, long working hours, many accidents occurred and laws didnt protect them, foreman were allowed to beat them
        • laws such as schooling for children were ignored
        • lifestyles were bad, housing was appalling, overcrowded, insanitary, lack of privacy.
        • 97,000 workers went on strike in 1897, Nicholas refused to do anything about it
        • they had been freed from suffdom (working on certain land), but it didnt bring any benefits
        • still had to use medevil farming methods, little increase of yeild
        • suffered from a bad harvest in 1902-1903
      • Growth of opposition groups
        • middles class russians could get involved in local councils, zemstov,civil service.
        • the russian people wanted a freer, more democratic society
        • some groups wanted revolution
        • some groups wanted their message to be heard
        • they found the corruption and inefficiency of russia frustrating
      • The Russian-Japanese war (1904-1905)
        • Russia had lost the war and people were not happy about it and wanted a change
        • All their money was lost on a costly war with japan instead of spending it on the country
        • losing the war was a humiliating defeat for russia
        • it showed that nicholas was not only tyrannical but also incompetent it weakened his ability to deal with opposition
      • Bloody Sunday 9th Jan 1905
        • the sacking of 4 workers in St petersburg sparked a strike of 100,000 workers
        • it was an economic strike with the demand for minimum wages, and limited working days
        • a petiotion was called for 8 working hours per day with minimum wage and better treatment
        • also called for freedom of speech and assembly, the right to form trade unions and elected parliament
        • as the march reached the winter palace, the troops had began to fire shots are the workers, killing at least 130, and wounding 300
        • order broke down and russia defended into chaos.
        • it continued for the rest of the year, strikes, demonstrations, petitions, terrorists
        • the Tsar was at war with his own people, the bond between the Tsar and his people was now broken, they would never trust him again
    • The build up to the revoltuion
      • Long term discontent
        • Alienated intelligentsia
          • middle class liberals wanted to participate government; wanted some form of elected natioanl assembly
          • students protested against repressive government controls
        • Revolutionary
          • socialist revolutionaries- wanted peasant revolution to create socialism based around peasant communes
          • Social democrats- (marxists) wanted urban working classes ti stage revolution to create a socialist state, then communism.
        • National Minorities
          • wanted more autonomy and independence
          • wanted an end to the policy of Russification
        • Peasants
          • grievances included: poverty, need for more land, high taxes, payments on land
          • suffered periodic famines
          • increasing peasant population was putting more pressure on land
        • workers
          • grievances included: long hours, low pay,terrible working and living conditions
          • more political power
      • Government Policy
        • Tsarist regime
          • weak, indecisive Tsar
          • Repressive government
          • move towards constitutional government
          • denied basic freedoms e.g free press, freedom to form political parties
          • No concessions to nationalities - any protests repressed
        • Wittes economic policy
          • under wittes industrialization policy, urban workers and peasants squeezed very hard by high indirect taxes and low wages
          • economic slump after 1900 led to high unemployment and social tension in towns
          • Poor harvests in 1900 and 1902 led to starvation and violence in countryside
      • catalyst
        • outbreak of russia-japan war, feb 1904
        • defeats on land and at sea shocked public
        • January 1905- port arthur
        • war caused shortages of food and fuel, high prices and unemployment
        • Huge upsurge of discontent as tsars government perceived to be incompetent
      • Spark
        • Bloody sunday- sunday 9th jan 1905, Tsars troops fired on peaceful demonstrator
      • revolution
    • 1905-the consequences
      • makes him look weak s being told what to do instead of making his own decisions
      • overthrown
      • lose Tsar regime
      • army reluctant to kill peasants
      • army may turn against the tsar
      • giving into demands
        • accepted October manifesto
        • freedom of speech
        • freedom of association and unwarranted arrest
        • an elected duma (parliament)
        • had been abandoned?
    • Modernisation
      • Russia had to modernie as it lagged far behind its competitors
      • had to modernise to match the industry of USA, Germany, Britain,France
      • needed to modernise to raise the standards of living for ordinary people
      • sergie witte
        • finance minister from 1892 to 1903
        • was the architect of russian industrialisation
        • relied not only on foreign loans but also on foreign expertise
        • encouraged the growth of private enterprise and created a new class of go-ahead russian industrialists, entrepreneurs and businessmen began to emerge.
      • the governments needed a lot of money to invest in the railways and in expensive capital equipment.
      • witte came up with two sources:
        • foreign investment, negotiated huge loans. encouraged the influx of foreign money. adopted the gold standard, which gave it strength when exchanged with other currencies.
        • russian people themselves: he increased their direct taxes and also indirect taxes on everyday items, workers wages were kept low so that money went back into industrial development rather than wage bills
      • threat to the tsarist regime
        • millions moved from the countrisde to the cities to work in the factories
        • living and working conditions became poor for the working class
        • a more educated workforce would create people to challenge the government
        • the growth of the middle class would create pressure for political change for more an accountable and representative government.
    • The first World War
      • heavy defeats and huge number of russians killed
      • anger about the way the Tsar and the government conducted the war
      • caused distress, short supplies of food, goods and raw materials
      • hundreds of factories closed, and thousands were put out of work
      • inflation was rampant; lack of fuel mean that people were cold aswell as hungry
      • the Tsra made the mistake of leaving the Tsarina and rsputin in charge of the government
    • the role of rasputin
      • made a terrible mess of running the country when left in charge
      • he dismissed able ministers and in favor of friends or toadies who performed poorly
      • caused the cities to deteriorate rapidly with food and in fuel in very short supply
      • became discredited
      • rumors went around him and tsarina was having an affair which damaged the royal family
    • tsraist regime collapsing
      • personality and leadership
        • his personality was weak but obstinate, indecisive, lack of interest in world around hum
        • did not have the skills or capabilities to do the job of ruling russia
        • used repression as his main weapon in dealing with problems, relying on the army, which did not like to be used as a police force
      • attitude to political change
        • resisted all forms of change, confirmed believer of autocracy, not keen on zemstov or allowing local self-government
        • october manifesto- wrenched out of him, never committed to it and subsequently reneged on promises, missed opportunity to bring liberal intelligentsia onto his side
        • did not really want the duma or representative body in first place and in fundamental laws showed his unwillingness to share power
        • would not co-operate with the dumas during 1906-14 or with the progressive bloc
      • reform
        • never willingly supported wittes or stolypins reforms: did not want to change in society these would entail
        • wanted to protect court power and power of landowning classes. sided where he could wh right wing groups who resissted reform
        • half heartedly supported stolypins land reforms. resisted extension of zemstiv to western provinces
        • no real concessions to workers on limiting working day or improving working conditions
        • rejected trade unions or bodies representing workers
      • misjudgments and mistakes
        • Nicholas failed to realise seriousness of the situation building up in 1914 and the need to respond to the demands of iberals and workers
        • bloody sunday 1905 resulted in massive loss of respect for tsar
        • appointment of nonentities and incompetents to run government after stolpins death
        • his and tsarinas support fr rasputin damaged the reputation of the royal family
        • going to the front in 1915, taking onpersonal responsibiity for war
        • leaving government in the hands of  tsarina and rasputin
        • rejected proposals of the progressive bloc
        • February 1917- still not really aware of the dangers to the regime and took no action util too late
    • honeymoon interpretation
      • the tsraist administrative order was being dismantled
      • the provisional government dismissed the old tsarist governors and replced them with commissionors
      • the provisional government
        • crowds demanded that the duma take charge of russia
        • of the duma were frightened and worried , what if generals loyal the tsar arrived with troops to execute them
        • some slipped away into the crowds, those left and argued long into the night
        • the decided to form a temporary government (provisional government)
        • they run the country until elections be held to choose a government and decide how russia would be ruled
      • the soviet
        • As the provisional government was being formed, another body the petrograd soviet talking shape in a different part of the same building
        • workers and soldiers sent representatives to form a soviet to look after their interests
        • in the next few weeks, soviets appeared over russia but the petrograd soviet was the most important
        • the soviet issued No.1 which gave ntrol of the armed forces in petrograd
      • Dual power
        • the provisional government was accepted the government but could only carry out decisions if the soviet agreed
        • people were in favor the first measures taken by the government
        • political prisoners were freed the government announced that they would be freedom of press, freedom of speech, the right to strike and an end to all discrimination
        • provisional government and the petrograd soviet held meetings.
        • alexander kerensky a member of both bodies and provided the main line of communication between the two.
    • situation between february and october
      • the soviet controlled: railways, factories, power supplies, soldiers in petrograd, telegraph station.
      • the mensheviks and the SR's believed that russia had to go through a bourgeois revolution before the workers could assume power.
      • believed the workers needed a period of education before they could play a role in running a country.
      • soviets wanted to avoid civil war and counter revolution . they needed to keep the middle class and army commanders on their side.
      • troops were kept out outside of the city because they were reassured that the duma politicians were in control of the situation

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