Opponents to Tsardom

The Opponents to Tsardom

During Nicholas II's reign, there were two main groups that opposed tsardom:

The Revolutionaries, who are split up into Populists, Social Revolutionaries and Social Democrats, and the Reformers/liberals, who were split up into the Union of Liberation, the Octobrists and the Kadets. 

The Populists

• Wanted the future of Russia to be in the hands of the Peasants, who made up an overwhelming mass of the population (80%).
• Wanted the tsarist system to be overthrown.
• Was not led by peasants themselves, it was led by people from the middle and upper classes that regarded it as their duty to educate the peasants and allow them to realise their revolutionary role.
• Populists were often ignored by the peasants, and as a result they turned to terrorism.
• In 1879, a group called The People's Will was founded, and their intention was to murder members of the ruling class. They managed to assassinate Alexander II with a bomb. 

The Social Revolutionaries (SRs)

• The SR party grew directly from the Populist movement. 
• Believed that workers could also be educated to overthrow the tsar.

The Social Democrats (SDs)

• SDs wanted to create a revolution in Russia by following the ideas of Marx. 
• When Lenin returned from exile in 1900, he began…