Imperial Russia: Political, Social, and Economic System

• Imperial Russia consisted of many nations
• Russia covered approximately 23,000,000 square kilometers

Russian Political System

• Included the Tsar, Imperial Council, Cabinet Ministers, and the Senate
• All were appointed and not elected
• There was no representative body and it was considered far behind
• Opposing the Tsar was a criminal offense
• The Orthodox Church used spiritual authority to the Tsar's advantage
• Peasants faced severe repression
• The Okhrana (secret police) crushed rebellions
• Political instability and violent revolutionary groups occurred

Russian Society

• Characterized by disproportionate inequality
• 82% were peasants, 0.5% ruling class, and 12% upper class
• Tsar Nicholas II possessed $300 billion
• The Emancipation of the Serfs in 1861 was ineffective, leaving peasants impoverished
• The famine of 1891 killed approximately 400,000 people

Russian Economy

• Lacked modernity and was largely agricultural
• Strip system farming was abandoned by advanced nations, causing agricultural inadequacy
• Wealth from agriculture was used for the military
• In 1881-1885 it was 5th in world production
• Russia was responsible for 3.4% of global industrial production
• The Eancipation of Serfs in 1861 was ineffective due to high land prices and property taxation

Russian Military

• The Military was behind other nations, suffering humiliating failures
• The Crimean War (1853-1856) resulted in the Ottomans reclaiming Crimea
• The Russian army was weakened and humiliated, requiring decades to recover
• Crises in 1885-1887 caused by interference in Bulgarian affairs
• Failures exposed the backwardness of institutions, including the army, navy, roads, railways, and peasant illiteracy
• Allies viewed Russia as a semi-Asiatic state

Nicholas II

• Came to power at age 26 in 1894 after AIII died unexpectedly
• Described the work as "intolerably boring"
• Was pro-autocracy but lacked the characteristics of an autocratic leader
• He upheld the image of the Tsar as a sacred leader, reinforced by the Orthodox Church
• The Day of Coronation in 1896 hosted a feast for peasants that ended in a stampede, resulting in 1389 deaths

Sergei Witte

• The Finance Minister's real task was to solve significant problems for Nicky II
• He was Pro Autocracy but saw the benefits of modernising Russia

The Reforms of Sergei Witte

• Included large infrastructure projects such as the Trans-Siberian Railway (1891-1902), spanning over 6000 km
• Large foreign loans were spent on infrastructure, and the Rouble was converted to the gold standard
• Protective tariffs were implemented for local industries to restrict the import of foreign goods
• Initial economic growth increased industrial output by 63% from 1890-1913
• Rapid urbanization occurred
• St Petersburg's population increased from 928,000 in 1880 to 1,440,000 in 1900
• Moscow's population increased by 50% in 20 years

Impacts of Witte's Reforms

• Included poor working conditions, such as a lack of regulation, 11.5-hour workdays, and the banning of trade unions until 1905
• Poor living conditions included insufficient housing, poor sanitation, lack of running water, and high mortality rates with an average of 6-8 people per room
• An economic slump occurred, ending the boom in 1899
• Industry growth dropped from 8% annually in the 1890s to 1.43% in 1900
• Food prices in urban areas increased by 50% with no wage increases, and bad harvests from 1897 to 1901 led to widespread famine

Overall Negatives

• There was development of Opposition as Autocracy and no rights, creating a need for change/revolution
• Illegal unions and strikes occurred in urban areas
• Occurred 100/year in the 1890's and 200/ year in 1900
• Marxism development was based on the disastrous impacts of the Industrial Revolution on the urban working class
• Peasant Uprisings occurred due to reforms, criticised for focusing on industry vs agriculture and the widespread famine in 1901 led to:
• 1903-04 Years of the Red Cockerel which involved peasant uprisings against nobility and landowners, including lots of arson
• Tsarist Response included Repression, police force called upon military to violently suppress strikes
• Strikes were called upon 50 times in 1899 -> 522 times in 1902

Causes of the 1905 Revolution

• Include the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905)
• Russia was defeated and it helped inspire the 1905 revolution
• 89,000 Russian casualties

Bloody Sunday

• January 1905, a strike at the Putilov Munition Works spread to other factories
• On January 22, Gapon organized an unarmed march with 150,000 people
• They submitted a petition stating that they were impoverished and oppressed, treated not like humans
• The petition asked for reforms such as increasing wages for unskilled workers and abolishing overtime work
• Many carried religious images which was social, not political
• Winter Palace guards panicked and opened fire on the crowd, killing approximately 100 people
• From June to July, there were 11 mutinies on battleships
• On October 7, the first general strike occurred, uniting the opposition and paralyzing the Tsar

October Manifesto

• Began with the arrogant declaration "Grace of God Emperor and Autocrat of all of Russia, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Finland, etc"
• "The nation's sorrow is his sorrow"
• The Reforms of the Oct Manifesto included voting rights
• Stating that "no law shall take effect without confirmation by the State Duma," giving democratic reform
• No censorship and trade union bans lifted with “freedom of speech,”
• Reactions divided people
• Urban working class in St Petersburg soviet calls for uprising
• Peasants were appeased by potential land reforms
• Conservatives were supportive, appeased by voting rights
• Fundamental Laws reversed reforms of Oct. Mani which lead to FULL AUTOCRACY
• The Russian Emperor possesses the supreme and autocratic power, which states God commands obedience to his authority

Restrictions of the Duma

• Oct mani. promises creation of a Duma of:
  • Universal male suffrage
  • Opportunity to be elected
• Fundamental Laws 4 days before opening of the 1st Duma = no law can come into force without his consent
• The First (1906) + Second Duma (1907) demanded "radical" rights such as:
  • Universal + free education
  • Drafting of a constitution to limit powers of a Tsar
• Tsar dissolves BOTH DUMAS – first after only 73 days
• Third (1907-1912) + Fourth (1912-17):
  • Change to electoral laws -> wealthier + conservative groups had larger vote
  • To elect 1 deputy:
    • 230 landowner votes
    • 60,000 peasant votes
    • 125,000 proletariat
  • survived be more conservative ideals because of more conservative members

Reforms of Stolypin

• Replaced Witte as a key advisor
• Traditional Supporter of Tsarism but a political realist, willing to reform to support the Tsar's position

Social Reforms

• Proportional taxation: exempted landless peasants
• Compulsory Education: the number of primary schools doubled from 1906-1912

Industrial Reform

• Meets some demands of the Bloody Sunday revolution
• Night labor banned for women and children
• Max hours were shortened for men to 8-9 hours

Land Reform

• Aimed to create independent landowners (loyal conservative class)
• Peasants could leave mir (means manor) and purchase their own land
• 2 million peasants left mirs by 1913
• Many were unsuccessful (inexperience, poor irrigation and transport)
• This overburdened cities, adding to rapid urbanization

Okhrana Resurgence

• Involved repression of opponents (Stolypin's necktie) in reference to the hangman's noose
• 3144 were executed in 1906
• Censored press, conducted arrests, surveillance of universities
• This Resulted in social unrest
• Strikes dropped to 47,000 in 1910 from 1.3 million people striking in 1914

Battle of Tannenberg

• In August 1914, there was 30,000 causalities and 100,000 POWs

Setbacks

• Attrition warfare ineffective
  • Technologically behind with inadequate railway
  • no machine guns, men encouraged to take dead comrade's guns
  • General Sukhomlinov favoured bayonets

Demoralisation

• POWs outnumbered deaths
• Men possibly captured on purpose as alternative to dying or fighting for the Tsar
• 1st year of WW1: 4 million killed, 16 million captured
• The army was “ill equipped and underfed” and had "poor equipment, the soldiers fought barefooted”

Economic Factors

• Depletion: funding of War estimated at 38 600 million roubles in debt
• Large loans from allies caused further debt
• Increased taxation and loans were not successful in economic redemption
• Gov printing more roubles resulted in severe inflation, with the price of goods rising 100-500%
• Depletion of agricultural production between 1914-16 caused average earnings to double, while the price of food and fuel quadrupled

Social Factors

• Involved growing dissent
• Women laying on train tracks to stop recruits on their way to the front
• Violent resistance to conscription
• Depletion of agricultural production due to ineffective methods and 15 million skilled farmers fighting, which depleted production
• The army had food priority, but rations were still not able to be maintained
• Non-fighters were in famine
• Inflation made trade unprofitable
• Peasants hoarded supplies, further depleting food for the population

Political Factors

• Nicholas the commander of the Army was personally responsible for failures
• NII left Tsarina (Alexandria) in charge, which was negative because she was German and inexperienced
• Communist Propaganda: Bolshevik parties used the anti-war movement to push socialist agenda, anti-Tsar or Tsarism propaganda circulated
• Influence of Bolshevik ideas spread rapidly
• Bolsheviks encouraged surrender and used “Let's end the war” to push their communist and anti-Tsarism agenda through propaganda