Russia and the USSR (part II)
The Tsar and his government.
v The Tsar believed God had placed him in that position.
v Could make any decisions without consulting anyone else.
v Nicholas II was loyal to his family; he was willing to work hard and paid attention to the details. However, he was not an able, forceful and imaginative monarch like his predecessors.
v He tended to avoid making big decisions did not delegate day-to-day tasks to official. This was a major problem.
v Managed his officials poorly.(Felt threatened by able and talented ministers)
v Appointed family members and friends to important positions, many of them were either incompetent or corrupt.
Control.
v Resistance to the Tsar’s regime was limited.
§ Most peasants had their life controlled by the Mir, which could be overruled by land captains (Landlords appointed by the Tsar)
§ There were local governors appointed by the Tsar.(Aristocrats)
§ Russia was a police state (in some areas)
· There were emergency rules that allowed local governors (controlled the police) to:
¨ Order the police to arrest suspected opponents of the regime.
¨ Ban individuals from serving in the Zemstva courts or any government organization.
¨ Make suspects pay fines.
¨ Introduce censorship of books or leaflets or newspapers
§ The Zemstva (local assembly) helped to control Russia.
· Controlled by Landlords in the countryside and by professional people in towns.
Opposition to the Tsar.
v Cadets(Liberals)
Ø Middle class reformers in the Duma that wanted a greater democracy in Russia.
v Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs)
Ø Radical movement
Ø Their main aim was to give peasants estates taken from the nobility.
Ø Believed in a violent struggle
Ø Wide support in the countryside.
v The Social Democratic Party.
Ø Smaller but more disciplined party.
Ø Followed the ideas of Karl Marx.
Ø Split in 1903 into the Bolsheviks (led by Lenin believed that their job was to create a revolution) and the Mensheviks (Thought Russia was not ready for a revolution.)
How secure was the Tsar’s government by 1914?
v Nicholas needed to reform Russia to satisfy at least one discontented group who has joined the 1905 revolution.
Ø The Duma (Parliament) deputies gathered in 1906 for the first time.
§ Hoped that they could help to steer Russia on a new course.
§ Soon disappointedàthe Tsar didn´t take any serious notice of them
§ First and second Duma were critical of the Tsar.(Lasted less than a year).
§ In 1907 Nicholas changed the voting rules in order to avoid his opponents from being elected to the Duma.
§ The third Duma lasted until 1912 àmainly because it was less critical of the Tsar. However in 1912 they were becoming critical of the Tsar’s ministers and policies.
§ It had no power to change the Tsar’s policies, was not a serious threat to the regime.
Stolypin.
v Appointed Prime Minister by the Tsar in 1906.
v Two ways to approach problems in Russia:
Ø The Stickà He came down hard on strikers, protesters and revolutionaries. This suppression killed of opposition to the regime in the countryside until 1914.
Ø The Carrot:
· Tried to win over peasants by giving them what they wanted, land.
· Allowed wealthier peasants (Kulaks) to buy land.
¨ Kulaks created larger and more efficient farms.
¨ Production increased significantly.
¨ 90% of Russia’s production was still run by inefficient communes.
¨ Most peasants still lived in bad conditions.
v Tried to boost Russia’s industries.
Ø Economic growth 1908-1911
Ø Russia was still far behind modern industrial countries.
Ø Workers’ wages were still low.
v Stolypin was assassinated in 1911, but the Tsar was going to sack him anyway.(worried that Stolypin was changing Russia too much)
Rasputin.
v In charge of curing the Tsar’s son through hypnosis.
v Gave the Tsar and his wife advice about how to run the country.
Ø People in Russia were suspicious about him.
Ø Seen as a sign of the Tsar’s weakness and unfitness to rule Russia.