Russia: From Tsarist Empire to Communist State PDF

# Russland: Vom Zarenreich zum Kommunistischen Staat ## 2. Imperium Russland - von Europa bis zum Pazifik * The Russian Empire stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean at its greatest extent, bordering China, India, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire. * It was home to a variety of peoples wi...

# Russland: Vom Zarenreich zum Kommunistischen Staat ## 2. Imperium Russland - von Europa bis zum Pazifik * The Russian Empire stretched from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean at its greatest extent, bordering China, India, Persia, and the Ottoman Empire. * It was home to a variety of peoples with diverse traditions and religions. * It was a challenge for the Russian Tsars to rule this vast empire. ### Expansion: From the Baltic Sea to the Pacific * The history of the Russian Empire began in the 9th century in the region around Kiev, the so-called Kievan Rus'. * This first empire, which was under Russian influence, as well as strong Scandinavian and Turk-Mongol influences, flourished in the 11th century. * The Kievan Empire was divided into different domains, subjugated to the Mongols. * The principality of Moscow, located on the outskirts, managed to withstand Mongol rule and eventually subjugated more and more Russian principalities, mainly in the north and east. * Moscow saw itself as the rightful heir to the Kievan Empire. * The Moscow monarchs adopted the title "Tsar" (Bulgarian, Russian from Latin "Caesar") in order to make their claims clear. ### Dominance of the Russian Orthodox Church * The most important religion was the Orthodox Christianity, influenced by Byzantium. * The development of its own script and the unification of the Slavic language, especially by the missionaries Methodius and Cyril, promoted the spread of Christianity. * However, the Russian Orthodox Church was thereby severed from the writings of Greek and Latin antiquity. * Rome's Catholicism experienced repeated "Renaissances" in which it engaged with ancient ideas, but the Eastern Church distanced itself from Western developments. ### Serfdom and Few Cities * The majority of the population lived as peasants in the countryside. * A peculiarity of Russian development was that most Russian peasants were forced into serfdom from the 15th to the 18th centuries. * This was during a time when peasants in the rest of Europe were gaining more freedoms. * Russian peasants were considered property of their landlords and were subject to their jurisdiction and had to do compulsory labor. * This was in the interests of the nobility. The Tsars rewarded their loyal nobles with land and peasants. * Peasants were tied to the land and could not leave it without the permission of the nobleman. * There were frequent peasant uprisings; however, their conditions did not improve. * There were few cities in the Russian Empire and those were often quite small and poorly developed, retaining a largely rural character. * A separate urban culture did not emerge as in Western Europe. ### The Tsar and Autocracy * The power of the Tsars was subject to fewer restrictions than that of the monarchs in Western Europe. * Neither the Church, nor the aristocracy, nor cities were a strong force to counterbalance the Tsar's power. * A bureaucracy with established procedures, which could have acted as a counterweight, only emerged very slowly. * The Tsar viewed himself as an autocrat subject only to the Christian commandments and to tradition. ## 3. Russia in the 19th Century - Between Backwardness and Modernization * At the beginning of the 19th century, Russia was one of the most powerful states in Europe. * However, Russia increasingly came to symbolize backwardness for many Europeans. ### Backwardness in All Areas * Russian society in the second half of the 19th century was still mainly agrarian. * Most of the population lived in the countryside, many in serfdom. * The "noble landowners" to whom they belonged had to pay dues, often compelled to do forced labor. * Few people lived in cities, and there was no strong middle class. * This meant that a wealthy entrepreneurial class could not develop. * The level of industrialization was extremely low compared to Western Europe. * The nobility opposed the industrialization of the country. * Infant mortality was high, and literacy rates were low. * The Tsar's autocracy still shaped the political system of Tsarism. * The Tsar claimed to be the result of divine right, dynastic succession, and tradition. * There were few opportunities for political participation. * There was no constitution and no parliament until 1906. ### Reforms in Agriculture * The Crimean war 1853-56, in which Russia was decisively defeated by the Ottomans with French and British support, showed the country's social, economic, and military backwardness. * The Tsar wanted to change this. * In 1861 the first step was taken to abolish serfdom. * Over 50 million peasants gained personal freedom, but they largely remained economically dependent. * The land that was formerly provided by the landlords was transferred to the village communes (Russian "Mir"). * The village commune collected taxes and exercised police functions. * Each peasant received only a very small plot of land, and few could afford to buy more. * Poverty prevailed in the countryside; the population continued to grow. * At the start of the 20th century, a further agrarian reform aimed to create an independent peasant middle class. * Despite this, some peasants, known as "Kulaks," achieved a certain wealth, but many others were impoverished. * The contrasts in the countryside intensified, and peasant dissatisfaction towards landowners grew. ### The Development of Industry * From the end of the 19th century onwards, there was a rapid industrial growth period in Russia. * As there were few bourgeois entrepreneurs, the state drove industrialization, particularly in heavy industry and railway construction. * Capital for these projects mostly came from Western European lenders, which led to an increase in the state's debts. * The state raised more funds by exporting grain, which exacerbated the dire situation in the country. * The developing industry, concentrated in the large cities, created a new category of wage-earning workers who did not exist in the traditional agricultural society. * Industrial workers represented only a small part of the overall population: in 1897 Russia had 150 million people, only 3.3 million worked in mining and other industrial sectors. * The workers lived in a concentrated manner in industrial regions. * In 1902, 38.5% of factory workers worked in factories with more than 1000 employees (in Germany the figure was only 10%). ### Reform Opposition in the Political System * The state carried out economic reforms to modernize agriculture and industry, but remained resistant to political reforms. * The educated elite – the so-called “intelligentsia” – contained opposition groups. * The "Westernizers” desired an alignment with European conditions with liberal rights of freedom and a constitution.. * A workers' movement was gradually shaping up. * The Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (RSDAP) was founded in 1898. * The Tsar, with the help of the army, police, an extensive surveillance system, and the courts, suppressed any reform debate. * As the social and liberal opposition was shut out of the public sphere it went underground and became increasingly radical. * There were frequent terrorist attacks and attempts at revolution; in 1881, Tsar Alexander II was assassinated in one such attempt. ### Russia Gets a Constitution * After another Russian defeat in 1905 – this time in a war against Japan for influence in Manchuria and Korea – Russia saw reforms in the political sphere as well. * As the Russian defeat became clear, tens of thousands of workers, peasants, and members of the intelligentsia gathered in front of the Winter Palace, the Tsar’s residence in St. Petersburg, demanding social improvements and political participation. * The Tsar ordered his troops to fire on the crowd; on January 9, 1905, hundreds of people were killed (“Bloody Sunday”). * It was only after a general strike in October that the Tsar was forced to make concessions. * He guaranteed basic civil liberties and allowed the establishment of a parliament (Duma). * In 1906, Russia’s first constitution came into effect. * The most important parties represented in the first Duma were the liberal democrats, the socialist revolutionaries who advocated for a transformation of the country in favor of the peasants, and the social democrats, representing the workers. * The latter had already split in 1903 into the moderate Mensheviks and the radical Bolsheviks ### Pseudo-Constitutionalism * The Tsar quickly revoked his concessions. * The first Duma was dissolved, preventing the passage of important legislation. * Many opposition politicians were arrested and the right to vote was restricted. * This created a “pseudo-constitutionalism” as the parties and the Duma had little power. * The increasing politicization of the population could not be reversed by the authorities. ### The Trans-Siberian Railway * Construction on the longest stretch of railway in the world began in 1891. ## 4. Marxism * Few ideologies have changed the world as radically as Marxism. * Following the 1917 Revolution, an entirely new society was created in Russia based on the theory of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. * China and many other countries followed suit so that communism was the great alternative to the Western liberal democratic model in the 20th century. ### Karl Marx and Marxism * The social theory of Marxism is primarily attributed to the German philosopher Karl Marx (1818-1883). * He dedicated all of his energy to analyzing the economic and social conditions in industrial societies. * His main work is titled *Capital* (1867), his *Communist Manifesto* (1848) had a significant political impact. * He studied the situation in England, where industrialization was already well developed in the mid-19th century, to understand industrial society. * The working conditions there were characterized by long working hours, low wages, housing shortages, child labor, and strike bans. * Marx saw the rule of capital - private ownership of money, factories, and machines - as the root cause of these problems. * He sought to overcome "capitalism." ### Bourgeoisie and Proletariat * Marx analyzed how capitalism transformed the old class-structured society into a class society, in which two groups were opposed to each other: the bourgeoisie (French = middle class) and the proletariat. * By bourgeoisie, Marx meant entrepreneurs and factory owners belonging to the upper middle class. * They owned the "means of production," that is, factories and machines. * Marx called the industrial workers the "proletariat." * They owned only their labor power, which they had to sell to the capitalists. * Marx saw these two classes as constantly locked in class war. * The bourgeoisie abused its power to maximize its profits. * Workers, through their labor, which transforms raw materials into products, create "surplus value." * The capitalists, however, appropriated this surplus value and thus generated profit. * Marx called this exploitation. * This exploitation ultimately led to the impoverishment of the workers, whose wages were falling so fast that they could no longer support their families. ### The Crisis of Capitalism * Growing poverty would lead to a proletarian revolution and the end of capitalism. * Capitalism thus hastens its own downfall: the use of machines would exacerbate poverty because the "industrial reserve army" of the unemployed would depress wages. * Competition would lead to the collapse of smaller businesses and the survival of only large, highly technical businesses leading to a concentration of capital in the hands of fewer and fewer large entrepreneurs, destroying purchasing power and demand. ### The End of Capitalism * The crisis of capitalism would ultimately lead to its end. * A proletarian revolution against the bourgeoisie would provide the possibility of overcoming class war. * The means of production would be brought into public ownership with the help of the government. * During a transitional phase (socialism), the “dictatorship of the proletariat” would prevail, during which time the workers would wield sole power. * This would ultimately lead to a classless society, in which everyone would be equal and there would be no exploitation or poverty, Marx named this state communism. ### The Workers' Movement Between Reform and Revolution * These ideas resonated strongly with the growing working class in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. * They provided the emerging working class with an explanation of how capitalism functioned and a promising goal: the communist society. * In the face of economic crises in the early 20th century, skepticism towards capitalism also grew among many artists, journalists, and scientists. * However, the workers’ movement in most European countries pursued a reformist approach. Social-democratic parties aimed not to abolish capitalism through revolution, but to improve the situation of the workers through the establishment of trade unions, democratic co-participation, and the creation of social welfare programs such as state social insurance, which proved successful, especially in the latter half of the 20th century. * Thus, the workers’ movement branched in two directions: while communist parties and trade unions followed Marx's path and prepared for revolution, the social-democratic workers' movement pursued reform. ## 5. The Victory of the Bolsheviks - Russia Becomes Communist * At the beginning of 1917, in the middle of World War I, a revolution took place in Russia. * In March, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated. * People celebrated in the streets, just like the French in 1789, calling for freedom, equality, and fraternity, singing the Marseillaise in Russian. * In the capital, a struggle for power developed between the various opposition groups. * In October, this struggle ended decisively: a group of communists led by Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (known as Lenin) seized power in revolutionary Russia. ### World War I as a Turning Point * World War I was a turning point in Russian history. * The vast empire proved incapable of handling the war, and it was unable to provide enough weapons and ammunition. * The railway network was hopelessly overloaded and was unable to keep the country supplied with food. * There were heavy losses on the battle fronts, leading to war fatigue. * More and more people believed that the Tsar had lost control over the country. ### The February Revolution * In March (February according to the Julian calendar, used at the time in Russia), 1917, workers, including many women, from St. Petersburg textile factories went on strike. * Workers at other factories joined the strike, demanding the overthrow of the monarchy. * A general work stoppage was called; the police and the army were overwhelmed. * The Duma, the previous parliament, declared itself the new government. * The Tsar was forced to abdicate within a few days, and the Russian Tsarist regime was dissolved. ### The New Government Fails * It seemed that Russia was on its way to becoming a liberal democratic constitutional state like the ones in the West. * However, the provisional Duma government acted indecisively. * The supply situation remained poor; elections for a constitutional assembly were repeatedly postponed; the unpopular war continued unsuccessfully. * There were further peasant uprisings, workers' strikes, and a military coup. * Especially the urban underclass became radicalized and turned to left-wing groups. * The situation was further complicated for the Duma government by the formation of a workers' and soldiers' council in St. Petersburg (Russian = Soviet), which consisted of representatives of the revolutionary workers and soldiers, emerging as a second center of power. ### The October Revolution * A group centered around the communist Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, who had been living in exile in Switzerland until 1917, took advantage of this revolutionary situation. * While the Russian Empire was largely still an agrarian society, he believed that under the leadership of the Communist Party, a communist revolution could succeed in Russia and that it would be possible to launch the communist world revolution via Russia (Leninism). * The Russian communists called themselves "Bolsheviks" (Russian = majority), while the moderate socialists, who were numerically stronger, were called "Mensheviks” (Russian = minority). * “Peace, Land, and Bread” was Lenin’s catchy slogan: peace for the soldiers and the civilian population, which was suffering under the war; land for the impoverished peasants; and bread for the suffering workers and the urban population. * Lenin and the Bolsheviks acted decisively and took advantage of this open situation. ### The Seizure Of Power * On October 25, 1917 (according to the Russian calendar, November 7), the Bolsheviks stormed the Duma government headquarters, the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, seized the government, and arrested members of the government. * There was little resistance to this coup. * When Lenin dissolved the constitutional assembly, which had arisen from free elections, in January 1918, there was scarcely any protest. ### The Bolsheviks’ Consolidation of Power * In the following months, Lenin established a communist dictatorship. * He ended the war and signed a separate peace agreement with Germany in Brest-Litovsk in March 1918, accepting the loss of significant Russian territories. * He decreed the expropriation of landed estates and the transfer of land to the peasants. * Large factories were placed under the control of workers' councils, banks were nationalized, and the Church was expropriated.. * He promised the peoples of the Russian multi-ethnic empire the right to self-determination; as a result, many peoples — including the Finns, Ukrainians, and Lithuanians — declared their independence. * Lenin knew that he would face resistance: from the Tsarists, the Church, landowners, and the bourgeoisie, but also from left-wing groups. * He had to rely on both suppression and violence from the very beginning. * He banned other political parties and established the secret police, the Cheka, which fought any form of political opposition with any means necessary. ### The Civil War * The first few years after the October Revolution were characterized by civil war between supporters and opponents of the revolution. * The "Red Army" led by Lenin’s comrade-in-arms Leon Trotsky fought against the "Whites," who were aided by the USA and other European powers. * The Bolsheviks won the civil war. * During the civil war and the ensuing famine, 13 million people died. * Hunger, destruction, and violence traumatized a whole generation. ### The USSR: Continuity and Change * Communist forces seized power in Ukraine, the Caucasus, and Belarus during the civil war, aided by the Russian Bolsheviks. * On the initiative of Lenin, these states united to form the “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics" (USSR) on December 30, 1922. * The Soviet Union extended as far as the Tsarist Empire, and was an empire made up of different ethnic groups. * The Bolsheviks adopted the centralized nature of Tsarist administration. * The Soviet Union was a superpower in which the military was a major force. * The power of Lenin and the cult of personality that arose around him after his death were similar to Tsarism. * The essence of his rule was new: the nationalization of landed estates and factories, as well as banks, that began with the October Revolution created the first communist dictatorship in the world, based on the teachings of Marx and Engels.