THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION, c1910-1924

AREA 2 : OPPOSITION TO TSARIST RULE : LIBERALS, SOCIALIST AND SOCIALIST REVOLUTIONARIES 

Key areas:

n       Why was there growing unrest against Tsarist rule?

n       Who were these groups and what did they want?

n       How serious a threat were they to the Tsar before the First World War?

NB : Much of this information is covered in Area 1 -- look at notes about opposition groups and their activities in Area 1 notes

KEY INFORMATION:

·      There were many opposition groups in Russia. The most powerful and the biggest was the Socialists-Revolutionaries. This party was strongest in the countryside, where they were supported by many peasants. They carried out 2,000 murders in the years from 1901-05.

·       The Bolsheviks, part of the Social Democrats (the other part was the Mensheviks) were to be the most significant. They were led by Lenin, however, in 1914 they were scattered and Lenin was living in Switzerland. The Tsar's secret police had been very effective in infiltrating the parties and arresting members.

·         Both the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks drew most of their support from the big cities and it was to be the cities that made the running in 1917.

·         All of these groups were Marxist. They wanted to overthrow the monarchy and establish a communist government. The Bolsheviks were much more aggressive, however, and Lenin came to believe that it would be possible to seize power at some point.

·         More important in the years from 1906 to 1916 were the Cadets and the Octobrists, who were formed after the October Manifesto in 1905. They were both constitutional parties who came to dominate the Duma from 1907 onwards. They were very effective at criticising the Tsar's decisions but could do little to influence him.

KEY QUESTION : How serious was the threat to Tsarist rule before 1914?

1 – Nature of Tsarist rule – many saw it as inefficient. One man could not possibly run country on his own efficiently.

2 – Nature of Nicholas – he was not a strong Tsar.

3 – Nature of his family – The Tsar was dominated by his wife Alexandra. She was unpopular, especially as rumours spread that she was having an affair with Rasputin – Alexis’ illness was kept secret.

4 – Demand for parliamentary government – many middle-class liberals wanted to end the autocracy of the Tsar and replace it with an elected democratic parliament like in Britain. This would give the middle-classes power.

5 – Many intellectual middle-class people were turning towards socialism. They wanted to change the nature of the government by giving power to the people and using the resources of Russia more fairly. Various groups were springing up.

6 – Some people felt that change would only come through violence and revolution. Some like the Bolsheviks wanted to overthrow the Tsar by force and create a workers’ paradise; some, like the Socialist Revolutionaries, wanted to transfer power to the ordinary peasants of Russia.

7 – There were, therefore, lots of groups who were unhappy with Tsarist rule.

8 – In 1904-05 the Tsarist regime came close to collapse due to three events : the War with Japan (1904-05); Bloody Sunday (1905) and the 1905 Revolution. Defeat in the war with Japan discredited the government and people lost faith in it. In 1905 Father Gapon led a peaceful demonstration to see the Tsar asking for improvements in people’s lives – led to massacre known as Bloody Sunday. As a result many lost faith in the Tsar who became known as Bloody Nicholas. This led to a wave of protests and the Tsar came close to being overthrown. Survived as armed forces remained loyal and he granted some concessions, e.g. allowed a parliament (Duma) to be set up. However, if the armed forces had not backed him, he would have been overthrown – shows extent of unrest in Russia.

9 – By 1913 the Tsar’s family – the Romanovs – were celebrating 300 years of ruling Russia. Does seem to have been some support for Tsar, but the demands for change and the unrest was still there and the rumours about Rasputin were destroying his reputation.

10 -- Survived unrest 1912-14 due to lack of peasant support for rebellions and support of army for Tsar.

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