russia under the tsar

Russia under the TsarA snapshot: pre-1905

Tsar Nicholas II … the last Tsar

Tsar Nicholas II– The last Tsar• Autocratic• Divine Right Absolute Monarch• Weak government• Rules an area 1/6 of globe’s surface

Russia c.1900

His rule• His word was law• He appointed his ministers• But did not have to listen to them• AND could ‘hire and fire’ them at will• He was a true autocrat.• (And truly deficient as a ruler and

intellect)

…and yet• Many Russians

worshipped the Tsar and peasants

• typically had a picture of the Tsar on a wall of their hut.

• government/ bureaucracy blamed for problems

Social Structure

Social Structure stats.• Ruling class 0.5%• Upper class (nobility) 12%• Commercial class 1.5%• Working Class 4%• Peasants 82% (roughly half were serfs

until 1861 – property of the state/controlled by nobility)

Political System• Non-democratic – different to European

democracy – political parties banned• Dissent suppressed – repression to keep

masses in check• Press censorship• Ruling class hold a tight grip on power – fear

of majority: the ‘dark masses’• Tight restrictions on travel

Army – largest in the world

• Bolstered by conscription from peasantry• One million soldiers• Brutal discipline• Rank linked to class• Tool of suppression

Bloody Sunday 1905

Administration• Bureaucracy/Government – used to

maintain Tsar’s authority• Corrupt, inefficient, incompetent,

upper classes

Orthodox Church• Clergy – adored by some…• …seen as corrupt and self-serving by

others• Conservative• Used to control population (taught

obedience – a sin to not obey Tsar)

Social Structure - Nobility• In decline• To 1861- controlled (owned) serfs• Better educated than majority of

population• Some more liberal

Liberals• Slow emergence of a middle class • Creation of a Western-educated elite

who had travelled and seen other, freer political systems.

• Intellectual class – beginning to support democratic reform

Industrial and urban• Russia industry had grown rapidly

and living and working conditions were horrendous

• Average working day was 14 hours• Trade unions banned but some

strikes took place• Potential for hotbed of political

activism

Peasantry• Backward, inefficient, ignorant,

illiterate.• Emancipation 1861• Lack of land. Debts from land bought

after 1861.• Bear full brunt of famines

And yet…• Some did prosper and it was

generally the shortage of land rather than shortage of food that was the irritant.

• Rural population grew but land owned by peasants and land size failed to keep pace.

• Faith in Tsar remained strong• BUT hunger for land would grow.

Reform• Limited reforms to 1900• Emancipation of the serfs 1861• Sporadic – Tsar’s will – guards power

jealously• Under Alexander II

– some legal reforms– freedom of expression– very limited and eventually withdrawn– repression follows

As a result … political instability and extremism thrive• No outlet for political frustrations• Extreme revolutionary groups emerging• Only offer radical solutions to Russia’s

problems• Secret police – Okhrana – repressive state

– spying on population• Pressure cooker political environment• Regular assassinations of officials…• …and even Tsars