Notes for World History
INTRODUCTION
- In the early years of the 20th century, Russia was in a troubled state. Nicholas II, who was Tsar from 1894 to 1917, insisted on ruling as an autocrat but had failed to deal adequately with the country’s many problems.
- Unrest and criticism of the govt reached a climax in 1905 with the Russian defeats in the war against Japan; there was a general strike and an attempted revolution, which forced Nicholas to make concessions; these included the granting of an elected parliament( the Duma ).
- When it became clear that the Duma was ineffective, unrest increased and culminated, after disastrous Russian defeats in the First World War, both in 1917.
- The first revolution in Feb/March overthrew the Tsar and set up a moderate provisional govt. When this coped no better than the Tsar, it was itself overthrown by a second uprising : the Bolshevik revolution in Oct/Nov.
RUSSIA AND THE REVOLUTIONS (2)
Nicholas survived the 1905 revolution because:
- His opponents were not united.
- There was no central leadership .
- Most of the army remained loyal.
- He had been willing to compromise at the critical moment by issuing the October Manifesto, promising concessions.
Weaknesses of the Nicholas/Tsar regime:
- By 1911, it was becoming clear that Stolypin’s land reforms would not have the desired effect.
- There was a wave of industrial strikes off by the shooting of striking gold miners in Siberia.
- Repressive policies of the govt such as secret police rooted out revolutionaries among university students and lecturers and deported masses of Jews, thereby ensuring that both groups were anti-tsarist.
- As 1912 progressed, the fortunes of the various revolutionary parties, especially the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, revived.
RUSSIA AND THE REVOLUTIONS (3)
REVOLUTIONARY PARTIES
- As 1912 progressed, the fortunes of the various revolutionary parties, especially the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks, revived.
- Lenin and the Bolsheviks wanted a small, disciplined party of professional revolutionaries who would work full-time to bring about revolution; because the industrial workers were in a minority. Lenin believed they must work with the peasants as well, and get them involved in revolutionary activity.
- The Mensheviks, on the other hand, were happy to have a party membership open to anybody who cared to join. They believed that a revolution could not take place in Russia until the country was fully industrialized and industrial workers were in a big majority over peasants. They had very little faith in cooperation from peasants who were actually one of the most conservative groups in society. The Mensheviks were the strict Marxists, believing in a proletarian revolution, whereas Lenin was the one moving away from Marxism.
- The Social Revolutionaries were another revolutionary party; they were not Marxists- they did not approve of increasing industrialization and did not think in terms of a proletarian revolution. After the overthrow of the tsarist regime, they wanted a mainly agrarian society based on peasant communities operating collectively.
RUSSIA AND THE REVOLUTIONS (4)
THE TWO REVOLUTIONS
The February Revolution
- The first revolution began on 23 February when bread riots broke out in Petrograd. The rioters were quickly joined by thousands of strikers from a nearby armaments factory.
- The Tsar sent orders for the troops to use force to end the demonstrations. However, some of the troops began to refuse to fire and the whole Petrograd garrison mutinied.
- Mobs seized public buildings, released prisoners from jails and took over police stations.
- The Duma advised the Tsar Nicholas to set up a constitutional Monarchy but he refused. This convinced the Duma and the generals that Nicholas would have to go.
- The Tsar Nicholas abdicated in favour of his brother who refused to accept the throne. Thus, Russian monarchy came to an end.
October Revolution
The Duma set up a liberal provisional govt. But the new govt was just as perplexed by the enormous problems facing it as the Tsar had been. On 25 October a second revolution took place, which overthrew the provisional govt and brought the Bolsheviks to power.
