1. Russia Struggles with Reforms
Russia in the 19th
Century
Nicholas IAlexander IIAlexander IIINicholas II
2. Background to the Russian Revolution
Russia under the Romanovs
At the beginning of the 19th
century, Russia was overwhelmingly rural,
agricultural and autocratic. The Russian tsar, Nicholas I, maintained complete
authority and claimed the divine-right to rule. As such, he had unlimited
power over his country during a time when the monarchs of western Europe
were experiencing a reduction in power through the introduction of liberal
reforms. The Russian imperial autocracy built its power upon the loyalty of its
soldiers, the public’s fear of the secret police, and the repression of ideas
through censorship and imprisonment. Through these means, the Romanov
Dynasty managed to withstand the revolutionary fervor that had swept
through western Europe during the first half of the century. However, by
mid-19th
century, it became clear to Alexander II that Russia needed to make
serious reforms if it was going to “catch up” to nations of western Europe—
economically, politically, and militaristically. If Russia was to become a major
player in the new world order (imperial conquests of industrialized nations),
it needed to make serious reforms.
3. Nicholas I: “The Gendarme of Europe”
Autocrat and Emperor
“Conservative Gendarme”
Crimean War
(1853)
Above: Tsar Nicholas I
Decrembrist Revolt (1825)
a group of liberal military officials
staged a revolt against conservative
Tsar but were brutally defeated.
(temporarily halted liberalism in Russia)
Russian troops crush European revolts
politics was illegal and underground
(no pol. parties, free speech or press)
elites humiliated (aristocrats,
intelligencia, entrepreneurs) by
backwardness b/c didn’t have same
pol. rights of upper classes in GB & F
Thought he
deserved a
reward for
helping to
save
European
monarchies
rude
awakening
that military
was no
longer
invincible
4. Between 1853-56,
Russia was in direct conflict France, England and Sardinia
over controlling influence of territories in the failing Ottoman Empire.
needed warm water
ports
economic competition
championed pan-
Slavism
regional political
hegemony
Our army had
defeated Napoleon,
gosh darn it!
GB & F = industrialized
weapons
R = pre-industrial
warfare
War was a bloodbath for Russia
5. Aggressive Reforms to Please the Peasants
emancipation Land reforms
Above: Tsar Alexander II
was convinced that the
tragedy and humiliation
of the war meant Russia
needed to “catch up” to
the West
Below Left: Russian
Peasants in the 19th
century.
Was the last European
country to free the
serfs
Govt provided land
for the peasants by
buying it from the
aristocratic landlords
Free to own
property
Free to marry
as they chose
Alexander II: “The Tsar Liberator”
6. To ensure that the peasants paid their installments, they
were placed in village communes, called mirs.
Above: Russian Peasants on a 19th
century Russian mir.
Landlords kept best
lands
Peasants couldn’t
grow enough to
support themselves
Peasants expect to
pay the govt back in
long-term
installments
Weren’t allowed to
leave communes to
ensure installments
were paid
Result of “reforms”: unhappy, impoverished,
hungry, discontented, no means to improve
farming methods
7. Alexander III returns Russia to repression and autocracy
“autocracy, orthodoxy and nationality”
Political repression of revolutionary ideas
Reactionary end to all political and reforms resulted in
underground revolutionary movements that were hunted
down and eliminated
Oppression of Jews:
pogroms
Rapid
economic
expansion
Above: Vladimr Lenin
Left: Church of the Savior
on Spilled Blood. Below:
Russian Industrialization.
8. Alexander III: Increased violence against Russian Jews
Derived from the Russian
word meaning “to wreak
havoc”, a pogrom is an
organized attack, often a
massacre, against Jewish
peoples , particularly in the
Pale region of western
Russia.
Pogroms:
In the Russian
Empire the
Jews had been
subject to
persecutions
for centuries,
often at the
instigation of
local
government
officials.
Between 1881 and the
Russian Revolution, pogroms
were especially violent.
Reasons:
Rapid economic expansion did not parallel an equal increase in opportunity and security for peasants
-freeing of the serfs in 1861 meant that uneducated peasants flooded the cities looking for work
-peasants began to organize and riot against the better-educated, wealthier Jews they encountered
Long standing anti-Semitism
-many published books and revered Russian writers/poets were publically anti-Semitic
-Alexander III blamed his father’s assassination on the Jews, even though he knew it was not true
11. "The Czarcan
change his
mind fromone
minute to the
next; he’s a
sad man; he
lacks guts.”
“His characteris
the source of all
ourmisfortunes.
His outstanding
weakness is a lack
of willpower.”
“It was not a
weakness of will that
was the undoing of
the last Czarbut… a
willful determination
to rule fromthe
throne, despite the
fact that he clearly
lacked the necessary
qualities to do so.”
Sergei Witte,
Russian Count
who
negotiated
peace with
Japan
Rasputin,
Supposed
holy man
and advisor
to tsarina
Orlando
Figes,
Russian
Historian
12. Reforms Demanded Because…
Economic
Political
Extensive Foreign
Investments & Influence
HUGE gap between rich
and poor b/c of:
-entrenched aristocracy
-ineffective land reform
-rapid industrialization
-unequal development
throughout country
Social
Russo-Japanese War (1904-
1905)
Right:
“Running
away? Not a
bit of it. I’m
luring ‘em
on.”
Left: The
Trans-
Siberian
Railroad
Nicholas II: Troubled, Charmed Family, Troubled, Desperate
Country
13. Russia’s Bloody Sunday: January 22, 1905
Unrest Among the Peasants & Urban Working Poor
Above: Father
Georgi Gapon Right:
Armed Russian
troops poised
against
demonstrators.
Conservative reports
calculated 1,000
deaths at the end of
the massacre.
Fr. Gapon & the Petition:
concerned about the conditions experienced by the working/lower classes and headed
"The Association of Russian Factory and Plant Workers"
The Massacre in St. Petersburg:
Tsar wasn’t at Winter Palace b/c hoped his absence would prevent march on palace
Military opened fire on peaceful demonstration
Tsar didn’t give order, but his absence showed disregard for ordinary people’s needs
14. The Tsar’s October Manifesto: October 30, 1905
Lodz Uprising:
-uprising by Polish
workers in Lodz against
the Russian Empire
-major center of
revolutionary fighting in
the Russian Empire in
1905–1907
-months of unrest,
strikes, & clashes with
the military led to
workers spontaneously
barricading buildings
and assaulting police
and military patrols
-uprising was crushed
-several hundred dead
and wounded
-made international
headlines and attracted
the attention of socialist
and communist activists
worldwide
15. The October Manifesto: Superficial Reform
1914: Outbreak of WWI puts political strife temporarily on hold
1916: Russia is cold, starving, angry, and ready for revolution
The first two
dumas were
too radical
for tsar’s
taste.
The third
duma was
elected by
the richest
people in
Russia in
1907 :. much
more
conservative
Fundamental
Laws (1906):
-Declared tsar
supreme over
the law, the
church, and the
Duma.
-Confirmed basic
human rights as
granted by the
October
Manifesto
BUT
did not make
them
unalienable,
universal rights
protected by law
Editor's Notes
the disregard for ordinary people shown by the reaction of the authorities undermined support for the state
Although the, he was widely blamed for the inefficiency and callousness with which the crisis had been handled. While it was unrealistic for the marchers to expect Nicholas to ride out into the Palace Square to meet them, his absence from the city, against at least some advice, reflects a lack of imagination and perception that he was to show on other occasions. The killing of people, many of whom had seen the Tsar as their "Father", resulted in a surge of bitterness towards Nicholas and his autocratic rule. A widely quoted reaction was "we no longer have a Tsar".
