The Russian Empire, 191 7

Russia in the late nineteenth

century was the largest country inthe world. Her territory stretchedfrom Europe across central Asiaand Siberia to the Pacific Ocean.Most of the Asian lands had beenconquered by Russia between theseventeenth and nineteenth cen-

turies. Only about half of the 130million people in this vast empirewere Russians. The others

belonged to many nationalitieswho spoke different languages.There were Poles, Finns,Ukrainians, Uzbeks, and Tatars.Some belonged to the RussianOrthodox Church, the statechurch, but many were RomanCatholics, Muslims, or Buddhists.Many of these national groupswished to be free of Russian

controli )2

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CHINA

11m Main industrial areM

PEASANTRUSSIA

Although Russia had an enormousarmy and appeared to be one ofthe most powerful states in theworld, she suffered from severalweaknesses. Compared to indus-trial countries such as Britain and

Germany, Russia was economicallybackward. Her modern industrieswere begun later than those ofWestern Europe whom she laggedbehind.

Russia was still mainly anagricultural country. Ninety percent of the people were peasants.They lived in the countryside andeither farmed small plots of landor worked on the large wheatestates of the south. Un til the1860s most peasants had beenserfs. This had meant that they \

)

...:..'.;,.....

worked for a landowner and were

not allowed to leave their village.At that time few peasants ownedthe land on which they worked.Most land was owned by the State,the Church, and a small numberof nobles and businessmen. Whenthe serfs were freed in 1861 some

did buy land and become pros-perous. But most peasants becamepoorer. The population wasincreasing rapidly and there wasnot enough land to go round.(D1)* Many peasants becamelandless labourers or went to workin the new industries which were

being built in the countryside, andin the growing towns.

NEWINDUSTRIES

In the middle of the nineteenth

century Russia began to develop

".:,:-, ':'..';,. ",~. ', ; t.

new industries. A large part of theequipment and money needed forbuilding factories, mines and rail-ways came from the industrialcountries of Western Europe. Thismeant that many Russian indus-tries were foreign owned. Russiapaid for the equipment and moneywith exports of grain and timberand with taxes taken from the

peasants. Many of the new indus-tries were in cities such as Moscow

and St Petersburg (it was calledPetrograd after 1914; it is nowLeningrad). The workers lived insprawling slums and worked longhours in bad conditions for low

wages. Russia's factories wereamong the largest in the world.Thousands of men and women

worked in the same factorybuildings. These were ideal placesfor agitators to organize trade

Famine in a village of the Volgaregion, 1892. Peasants being fed by acharity organization. Famine was common in the countryside and led to

~u )*Thc reference ID\ indicates the numbered documents at the end of this book. 3

THE REVOLUTIONARIES

Working men with wooden spoons eating from a common bowl. Apicture drawn in St Petersburg 1905.

During the late nineteenth centurymany Russians, especially theyounger and more educatedpeople, wanted to solve theircountry's problems of poverty andharsh government. Some of thewealthier people, such as lawyersand businessmen, hoped thatchanges would come peacefully.Others thought that conditionswere so bad that gradual reformwould not work. Only a revolu-tion could change Russia.

Many different ways of startinga revolution were tried. Somerevolutionaries favoured the

murder of important politiciansand officials. Others thought itwas more important to stir up thepeasants against their landlords.But these methods did not work.

Some of the revolutionarieswere followers of Karl Marx

(1818-83). Marx was a Germanthinker who wrote about thesocial and economic conditions of

Europe in the nineteenth century.He thought that industrialcountries like Britain and Germanywould go on growing in powerand wealth. The powerful owners(capitalists) of the industries, whoalso ruled these countries, wouldbecome richer while the workers

who made the goods in thefactories would become poorer.He was sure that eventually therewould be a revolution in which

the working class would take overthe factories and the running ofthe Government. (D2) All indus-try would then be owned by thepeople who would share out theriches of the state equally toeverybody in the country. Marx

unions and plan revolution.At the head of the Russian

Government was the Tsar,Nicholas II (reigned 1894-1917).He was an absolute ruler. That

means that he could appointanyone he liked to be a memberof the Government. Not a cleverman, he was ill-suited to run a

country as big and important asRussia. Nicholas believed that he

had been appointed by God torule. He didn't want an elected

Parliament to help him govern orto advise about new laws. Most ofthe nobles, officials and churchleaders who helped to run the slow,badly organized system of govern-ment agreed with this. And thosewho opposed the Government ortried to bring about changes wereeither imprisoned or sent into exile.

Tsar Nicholas II with his only sonAlexius

Lenin. A photograph taken in1919 at a May Day rally in RedSquare, Moscow. Lenin died in1924 at the age of 5.4 after severalstrokes.

thought that this socialist revolu-tion was bound to happen becauseit was a law of history (like ascientific law). He believed thatthe revolution would first start in

Britain and Germany because theywere the most advanced industrial

countries with more factoryworkers, although later he thoughtthat it might start in Russia.

One of the people most stronglyinfluenced by Marx's writings wasVladimir llyich Ulyanov, known asLenin. Lenin was born in 1870,the son of a schoolmaster. Hiselder brother, Alexander, wasexecuted for attempting to killTsar Alexander III in 1887. This

had a great effect upon the youngLenin. He studied law at univer-

sity but was expelled for takingpart in anti-government riots. Inthe 1890s he was imprisoned andsent to Siberia for his politicalactivities. Lenin and others

developed what Marx had writteninto the ideas that we now knowas Communism. Lenin did not

believe in waiting for the revolu-tion to happen. His aim was touse every possible means to start arevolt in Russia. He therefore

organized a group of Marxistscalled Bolsheviks into a disciplined

band of trained revolutionaries.

(D3) He insisted that his ideasshould be accepted. This did notmake him very popular with otherrevolutionaries. But Lenin was

clever and very determined. Hedid not care what other peoplethought. He was sure that he wasright and that revolution wouldcome in Russia.

The Tsarist Government waswell aware of these revolutionariesand their activities. Members of

the various groups were oftencaught <lnd put in prison. Leninhimself spent many years in exilein Britain and Switzerland.

THE RUSSO.JAPANESEWAR

In 1904 Russia went to war with

Japan over who should dominateKorea and Manchuria. (Japan'sModemization)* Japan won andRussia and the Tsar were introuble. The troubles were not somuch because of what had beenlost in the war but because of theshame of defeat. For Russia had

been beating Asian countries forfour hundred years: now one ofthese despised Asian countries hadbeaten her. The Government'sfailure in the war and the terrible

*Titles in brackets refer to other booklets in the Program

The Russo-Japanese war. Russian soldiers preparing to defend an advancedpost in Manchuria 1904

Sailors of the Black Sea fleet mtJtiny during the revolution of 1905. Thispicture is a recreation in the Soviet film Battleship Potemkin made bySergei Eisenstein in 1925

living conditions of the people ledto peasant riots and strikesthroughout Russia.

the battleship Potemkin mutinied,took over their ship and sailedalong the coast of the Black Sea,bombarding towns on the shore.In October the nation was para-lysed by a general strike whichlasted for ten days.

The Tsar at last agreed to makeimportant changes in the Govern-ment. He issued an 'OctoberManifesto' which promised toestablish a Parliament, or Duma.(D6) The Duma was to be electedby some of the people but it could

THE REVOLUTION OF 1905

On 'Bloody Sunday', 9th January1905, troops opened fire on aworkers' demonstration in St

Petersburg. (D4,5) Throughout:the spring and summer there werestrikes in the towns, riots in thecountryside and assassinationseverywhere. In June the crew of

The State Duma in session 1906. A portrait of the Tsar hangs above thehead of the president of the Duma

i,''r:'\ I.' J I),\f" J ' 1\

Peter Stolypin, prime minister ofRussia 1906-11. He ruthlesslysuppressed all attempts atrevolution

only give advice to the Tsar abouthow the country should begoverned. This made littledifference to ordinary people inRussia.

The revolution of 1905 failedfor several reasons. By agreeing toa Duma the Tsar's Governmentgained the support of many of thebetter-off people who were con-tent with gradual reforms. Therewere other people who wantedmore rapid reforms and who weredissatisfied with the plan for theDuma. They wanted a Parliament,similar to those in France and

8

)-

Britain, which was elected bymost of the people and whichwould be responsible for governingthe country. Thus the oppositionto the Tsar's government wasdivided. Also many people whosupported reform were frightenedIn the revolutionary violence andwanted law and order restored.

The revolutionaries who hoped tochange the whole way of life inRussia were few in number and theworkers could not afford to

remain on strike. But most impor-tant were the army and police whostayed loyal to the Governmentand helped to put down revolts inthe towns and the countryside.

The Tsar still ruled Russia. He

could ignore the Duma or justclose it down if he did not likewhat it said. Nicholas was helpedby a very able minister, PeterStolypin. He persuaded the Tsarto introduce reforms in agricul-ture and education which would

make some of the peasants moreprosperous. He hoped thesericher peasants would want peacein the coulltryside and thus helpto prevent revolution. Above allStolypin wanted to develop thewealth of the vast area of Siberia

and thought that many of theproblems of crowded EuropeanRussia could be solved if men

emigrated to the new lands.For a few years peace and

prosperity seemed to be returningto Russia. But it was only abreathing space. Stolypin wasshot dead in 1911. During thenext few years there were renewedoutbreaks of strikes and rioting.When war with Germany broke outin 1914 Nicholas hoped that itwould unite the nation in support

,.. ,.... , '0' ':-~~....

Russian troops stop for food on their way to the front line during theFir.~tWorld War,April 1915

of him and his Government. Someof his ministers feared that warwould only bring revolution.Lenin was sure of this. He realizedthat Russia was unlikely to standthe strain of a long war. (TheTwo World Wars)

THE FIRST WORLD WAR

For Russia the war was an almosttotal disaster. In the first two and

a half years the army sufferedmore than five million casualties.

In many parts of the front line thetroops were reduced to fightingwith their bare hands because the

whole transport system had~roken down and it was impos~ibleto keep them properly supplied

''J

with food and weapons. Thesituation was no better behind thelines. In the big cities the break-down of the transport systemmeant shortages of food and fueland so led to strikes and riots.(07)

When Nicholas decided to takepersonal command of the troopsat the front he handed over therunning of the Government to hiswife, the Tsarina. She was com-pletely under the influence of areligious teacher, Rasputin. Whenany of the Tsar's ministers tried tosay anything against him, Rasputinpersuaded the Tsarina to dismissthem. The Government of Russiawas therefore paralysed as oneincompetent minister was

9

-

Demonstration in front of the Winter Palace, Petrograd 1917

succeeded by another in rapidsuccession. In the last twelvemonths of Nicholas's rule therewere no less than four Prime'Ministers, three Foreign Ministersand three War Ministers.

The Russian people hadsupported the war with enthusiasmat first. But by 1917 the peasantsand workers had become heartilysick of it. Millions of men had

been forced to join the army.Food production fell and pricesrose. The corruption and weak-ness of the Government becamemore and more obvious every day.Many Russians wanted a strongGovernment that would fight thewar properly. (08) Even some ofthe nobles and officials who

supported the idea of absoluterule began to plan how to get ridof Nicholas. Russia was on the

10

)

verge of breakdown. This was anideal situation for the revolu-tionaries who wanted to overthrowthe Government.

THE FEBRUARY REVOLUTION

In late February 1917 strikes andfood riots broke out in Petrograd.(09) The soldiers called out bythe Government to restore ordermutinied (01.0) and joined therioters. Tsar Nicholas ordered theDuma to dismiss but its membersset themselves up as theProvisional Government of Russia.

On the next day Nicholasabdicated. (011)

During the next six months theProvisional Government tried to

govern Russia. Its leaders werereformers and moderate revolu-

tionaries. They wanted to do two

'-~"'~"""""""',-.-r

main things: win the war againstGermany, and hold elections for anew Duma which would then

decide what changes had to bemade in Russia. But theProvisional Government was not

strong enough to rule. It did nothave enough power. ThroughoutRussia factory workers, peasantsand soldiers had organized them-selves in to councils, or soviets,which held local control. One of

the strongest soviets was in thecapital, Petrograd. It was wellorganized and supported by somany workers and soldiers that itcould act as another governmentalongside the Provisional Govern-ment. In the countryside law andorder broke down and peasantsseized the land for themselves.(012) At the 'front' thousands ofsoldiers, most of whom werepeasants, deserted and went home.And many of the national groupsset up governments independentof Russia.

When the February revolutionbroke out Lenin was living inSwitzerland. He was against thepolicies of the Provisional Govern-ment and wanted to return to

Petrograd to organize theBolsheviks ready to seize power.The Germans, eager to see revoltand chaos weaken Russia's war

effort, agreed to help Lenin returnhome. After travelling secretlythrough Germany and Sweden bytrain Lenin arrived at the Finland

Station, Petro grad, in April 1917 .Other leading Bolsheviks living inexile also hurried back to Russia.

The war with Germany con-tinued. Food supplies ran short.Most Russians wanted peace. .

(013) Lenin was against the war

)

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Kerensky (at left) taking thesalute at a military parade. He wasa brilliant speaker but hisProvisional Government failed toend the lmpopular war or dealfirmly with the Bolsheviks.Kerensky went to live in Americawhere he became a professor ofhistory

and in his speeches he used thepopular demands of 'Bread, Peace,and Freedom'. Workers in the bigindustrial areas gave their supportto the Bolsheviks who gained con-trol of the Petrograd soviet. InJuly the Bolsheviks tried to takeover the Government by force butthe attempt failed. Then, inAugust, a general named Kornilovthreatened to march on Petrogradwith his troops and seize power.Kerensky, the leader of theProvisional Government, armedthe workers of the Petrogradsoviet. These 'Red Guards', asthey were called, prepared todefend the city. However,Kornilov's soldiers deserted him

and joined the workers. Many

11

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The first 'Red' Guards with arms seized from the arsenals in Petro~rad

more workers began to supportthe Bolsheviks because they fearedthat other generals might try totake over the government ofRussia. The Bolsheviks in thecapital grew steadily stronger.They were well organized andbacked by armed workers, soldiersand sailors. Lenin decided thatnow was the time to try to takeover the Government.

THE OCTOBERREVOLUTION

On the evening of 24th Octoberthe Bolshevik 'Red Guards' movedagainst the Provisional Govern-ment. They seized the bridgesover the river Neva, occupied themain public buildings and theWinter Palace where the Pro-visional Government met. (D14)Within a few days the Bolsheviks

12

)

..-

controlled Petrograd, Moscow, andseveralother cities. (D15) Securingcontrol of the whole of Russia,however, was to take much longer.

Why were the Bolsheviks able toseize power so easily? One reasonwas that the Provisional Govern-ment was very weak. It could notkeep order in the countryside andthe towns, or prevent soldiersdeserting the army. TheBolsheviks were never a largegroup. In free elections held atthe end of 1917 only a quarter ofthe people voted for them. Buttheir supporters lived in the largeindustrial centres of the heart ofRussia, and were disciplined,determined and united. Many ofthe Bolshevik leaders were ruthlessmen, like Lenin, who were pre-pared to do almost anything togain and keep power. (D16)

...n ",~~"';'.

Demonstrators fleeing from troops of the Provisional Government inPetrograd during the July riots 1917

. .

... -

PETROGRAD 1917

Petrograd, 1917

13

)

Lenin telling the Congress of Soviets to seize power, October 1917. Ahighly romantic view of the October Revolution painted by a Sovietartist after the death of Lenin. Notice that Josef Stalin, dictator ofRussia, isgiven a prominent place behind Lenin

Although large parties opposed theBolsheviks they were poorlyorganized and divided amongthemselves.

In the first months of Bolshevik

control Lenin made a separatepeace with Germany. A decreewas passed giving the land to thepeasants and all banks were takenover by the State. (017) Lenin'saim was a Bolshevik, orCommunist, dictatorship. Hewasn't prepared to share powerwith other revolutionaries, or evenfellow-Marxists, who didn't agreewith his policies. Many of theanti-Bolsheviks prepared to fightLenin's dictatorship.

THE CIVil WAR

Before the war with Germany hadended civil war broke out in

14 )

Russia. Several groups known as'Whites' opposed the Bolsheviks.There were socialists, liberals,nationalists, and former Tsaristgenerals. They set up separategovernments in different parts ofRussia and began to fight theBolsheviks. Britain and France

supplied some of them with arms,and also sent soldiers, in the hopethat if they won they would bringRussia back in to the war againstGermany. In the east Japan, andin the west Poland, took advantageof the chaos caused by the civilwar to seize large parts of Russianterritory. Facing the Whites andthe Poles was the Bolshevik Red

Army. It was organized by LeonTrotsky, one of the most brilliantof the Soviet leaders.

For nearly three years the Redsand Whites fought each other all

1

over Russia. (018) The Bolshevikswon because they not only con-trolled the industrial areas but theRed Army was well trained and wellled. The Whites lacked outstandingleaders, they were constantlydivided, and at times even foughteach other. France and Britaingave little help and soon withdrewfrom Russia.

Millionsof people were killed inthe fighting or died from starva-tion. During the war the Tsar andhis family were killed by theBolsheviks. The old Russianempire was gone for ever. But allthe national groups were not free.When the revolution began manythought that they could breakaway from Russian rule and set uptheir own independent states. Butgradually the Bolsheviks regainedcontrol of almost all the landswhich had previously been ruledby the Tsar. The Bolsheviks now

Students in Moscow drilling forthe Red Army during the civil war

Leon Trotsky, the dynamicorganizer of the Red ArmyLenin's death Trotsky left.He was murdered in 1940 (Stalin's orders

)

Red Guards storming the Winter Palace. From Eisenstein's film versionof the October revolution Ten Days that Shook the World

called the new state the Union of

Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR),or the Soviet Union. They hopedthat as the Communist revolution

spread other countries would joina union of socialist states.(D19)

THE CREATION OF THESOVIET STATE

For Russia the civil war was aneven greater disaster than the warwith Germany had been. Much ofthe country was in ruins. Indus-tries had been destroyed andeverybody's way of life disrupted.Drastic measures were needed torestore order and to rebuild

16 )

Russia's economy. Lenin and theBolsheviks were quite prepared touse whatever methods were

necessary. Secret police and firingsquads got rid of people whodared to oppose them.

Lenin wanted to make Russia aCommunist country with the Statecontrolling industry and agricul-ture rather than leaving it in thehands of private individuals orcompanies. But even with thepower he had at his disposal hewas unable to change everythingat once. The peasants, forexample, would not easily give upthe land that they had justseized for themselves. In 1921Lenin introduced his 'New

,~

Economic Policy' which allowedsome private ownership to con-tinue for a few more years. TheState kept control of the impor-tant parts of the economy, such asrailways, banks and large factories,while small workshops and farmswere left in the hands of theirowners.

The adoption of the 'NewEconomic Policy' was forced onLenin by the desperate state ofRussia's economy and the violentopposition of peasants, workersand soldiers. (D20, 21) Thisshows that the ideas and practiceof Russian Communism do notalways go together. Lenin wasmainly interested in keeping powerand transforming Russia. And to

do this he was pr~pared tohis ideas if necessary. It wto Stalin, Lenin's successorextend State ownership onRussia had fully recoveredthe civil war.

But if economic changesslowly, political and socialcame much more quickly.power was placed in the hathe Communist Party (the jname taken by the Bolshev;other political organizationbanned. The power of theOrthodox Church was brokthe educational system wasto teach people to be goodCommunists. Russia was Sfnew course for a new futun

)

The civil war and foreign intervention caused widespread destructfamine throughout Russia. Hungry refugees at Samara, October 1,

--