Rule of Nicholas II 1894-1905

• The senate, the cabinet and state council were meant to work with the Tsar, but they were merely advisors.
• The law had little affect on the Tsar as he had autocratic powers.

• As a result of autocratic rule there was corruption and a limited civil society

• Used Russification between 1894 and 1905.
• It was a response to increased nationalism in the Russian empire.

consits of:

• Imposing the Russian language on govs and legal systems in the Baltic State.
  
• Primary schools had to promote Russian culture.
• Russian language Unis, and suppressing non-russian cultures.

• Led to nationalism in Baltic states and Poland 
• Violence towards

• Konsrantin Pobedonsteve advised the Tsar to promote orthodoxy as an essential Russian identity.

• Parish clergy increased by 60%

• Students attending church schools increased by 15 fold and the actual schools increased by Ten Folds.

• Other faiths were persecuted 

• Only Orthodx Churches

• Jewish people had quotas on their education:
• Could only make up 10% of students at unis in the Pale of Jewish Setllement.
  
• Jews could only make up 3% of Russia's major cities population

• A law in 1882 banned Jews from Rural Areas. This was called the may laws.
• Jews had to leave to places like the US and Latin America

• They were 'all powerful, all knowing and all capable'.
• They were around to destroy subversive organisation.
• Had loads of powers to to arrest and infiltrate.

• Only had 2,500 agents in 1900
• Before 1905 it infitrated the leader of the SD's and the SR's

Uni life - The university statue of 1884 allowed the Okhrana to police unis:

• Banned clubs and societies on campus
• Emphasised that students should should study traditonal subjects
• banned women from higher education

Surveillance -by the 1900 they had records on 55,000 people 

- 5000 publications by revolutionary groups. 

- 20,000 photographs of suspected radicals

• The Tsar believed that the Russians had built the Empire so he can control it how he wants.

• The Tsar was entiteled to rule the Empire on behalf of the Russian empire

• The majority of peasants had hardworking lives, large debt, and high taxes. They owned little or no land

• Nicholas wanted prevent discontent, and introduced counter-reforms, which removed rights since the 1860s:
• Land captains would replace Zemstovs, these capatains would manage the work of peasants and control law and order.
• Could no longer elect Zemstovs, it was all now the Land Captains decision.

• Made up 4 percent of population in 1894
• Thanks to Sergei Witte's attempt to industralise the economy in the 1890s
• Better pay than peasants. However, higher risk and bad cramped living conditions.
• Expected to work 12 hour days, some even had 17 hour days
• These conditions lead to strikes and the growth of socialist groups in cities

• Made up of the middle class opponents of autocracy in 1903
• Leaders were Pavel Milyukov and Pytor Struve

• Bourgeoisie, made up around 1.5 percent of pop wanted democracy.

Middle class generally wanted:

• A government in which elected represenstives of the people made laws
• A gov that respected individual rights

Their demands:

• An end to autocracy
• Democratic government based on universal suffrage
• A maximum eight hour day for workers
• Redistribution of land to peasants 

The Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour party were established in 1898

Marxism- Inspired by Karl Marx and started in the late Nineteenth century.

- They argued that industrialism and capatilsm exploited the proleteriat

Divisions in the RSDLP

- Lenin and the Bolsheviks argued that the proleteriat in Russia was too weak and too poorly educated to start a revolution. They wanted a small group of professionals.

- Julias Martor, Fyodor Dan and the mensheviks argued it should be a mass party

• Liberals wanted reforms to gurantee political rights, where as socialists wanted a full on revoution.

-The RSDLP was divided between the Bolsheviks and the mensheviks. The Social Revolutionaries were divided over violence.

• The Ukase law was issued in December 1904, and it stated that the gov would respect individual right. It was trying to diffuse the opposition.

• The illiteracy of Peasnts was a major factor, because they couldn't use newspapers to tell peasnts their believes
  

• Okhrana exciled radical leaders

• Lenin was thrown out to serbia

• Milyukov and Struve were banned from attending the first congress of the league of liberation
  

• Bloody Sunday
• 150,000 marched towards the Winter Palace in Petrograd led by Father Gapon.
• This lead to the soldiers opening fire on the protesters and killed 200 people and injured 800

After this event there was consequences for the Tsar, because he now lost his well known name, which was the father figure.

Russo-Japanese war

• This started in September 1904, and it was because the Tsar wanted to expand the Russian Emmpire into Asia.
• The Russians however struggled a lot, because the Japanese Army was a lot more modernised and their economy was going forward unlike the Russian's
• Lost Port Arthur in Feb 1905
• Baltic fleet defeated in the Battle of Tshima in May 1905

• Russia had a backwards economy, they were not industrialising like the rest of Europe

• Peasant discontent
  

• Workers had terrible living and working conditions
  

• By summer 1905, the authorities had lost control of 15% of rural Russia

• The mutiny of the Battleship of Potemkin June 1905- Bombarded port of Odessa then went to Romania.

• Urban workers were causing unrest and violence. Examples:
• In Feb 1905 400,000 workers went on strike in respones to BS. By the end of the revolution 2 mil had been on strike.
• Striked in places like moscow
• October 1905, in Odessa 400 jews killed and 1600 homes destroyed

• Petrograd Soviet was destroyed.

• Began to compromise with first the August Manifesto, and then the October Manifesto. The later was accepted by the opposition as it promised an eleected represenation (Duma) and Greater Freedoms.
  
• Was Succesful as it weakend and divided opposition.

• Had help from the Union of Russian people and the Black Hudreds who oppressed revolutionists

• Gave into Army Demands for loyalty, which then meant he now had a loyal army again to repress any revolts

• The October Manifesto regained the support of the Middle Class Liberals, therefore splitting the opposition, on top of that they had crushed the Soviet..
  

• Opposition had split by November so he was stronger.

• However, the majority of workers were still on strike and Trostky+ The Soviets wanted to keep fighting

The Nobility- Made up less than 1% of the population, but dominated the Bureaucracy and Army Leadership

Middle class-  Made up 0.5% of population and were things like Merchants

Urban Workers- Made up 10.7% of the population, peasants made up the rest.

The Nobility- Made up less than 1% of the population, but dominated the Bureaucracy and Army Leadership

Middle class-  Made up 0.5% of population and were things like Merchants

Urban Workers- Made up 10.7% of the population, peasants made up the rest.