Timeline

The Decline and Fall of the Romanov Dynasty

1825 - The death of Alexander I

• Many people in Russia, especially those military personnel who had served abroad, were prompted by the liberal and democratic movements that had taken hold across Europe.

• Some members of the middle classes even began calling for a formal Russian Constitution.

• Alexander had considered one (he had granted one to Poland)but he never made his mind up about one for Russia. However, internal and external unrest, which the Tsar believed stemmed from political liberalisation, led to a series of repressions and a return to a former government of restriction and conservatism.

• The Tsar’s death in December created instability as the Tsar had two brothers. It was thought that the eldest brother Constantine would take the throne, however, he had given up his right by marrying out of his class. Therefore the crown was passed to Nicholas I.

Decembrist Revolt 1825

• On 26th December in a protest against Nicholas

I's assumption of the throne, after his elder

brother Constantine removed himself from the

line of succession, Russian army officers led

about 3,000 soldiers into Senate Square in Saint

Petersburg. Tsar Nicholas I crushed the uprising

and many of the soldiers were exiled to Siberia.

• Because these events occurred in December, the

rebels were called the Decembrists

Nicholas I

• Repressive Ruler

• Sought expansion.

• Led Russia into the disastrous Crimean War

• Historian Barbara Jelavich points to many failures, including the "catastrophic state of Russian finances," the badly equipped army, the inadequate transportation system, and a bureaucracy "which was characterized by graft, corruption, and inefficiency." [31] Wikipedia

• Eventually died of pneumonia during the Crimean War

Alexander II 1855- 1881

• He was a forward thinking leader and learnt from Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War that lack of industrialisation & social structure had led to the defeat.

• He is often referred to as Alexander the liberator, as he passed the Emancipation of the Serfs Act (1861).

• Ironically it was anything but Emancipation for most of the Serfs.

• Not tied to the land anymore and unable to buy land many of the peasants soon began flocking to the cities.

• He was assassinated on 13th March 1881 by members of the revolutionary group “People’s Will”

http://www.historytoday.com/michael-lynch/emancipation-russian-serfs-1861-charter-freedom-or-act-betrayal

Legacy of the Assasination

• This set reform back. One of the plans he had drawn up was for the formation of a parliament (Duma)

• The first action Alexander III took after his father's death was to tear up those plans. A Duma would not come into fruition until 1905, when Alexander II's grandson, Nicholas II, commissioned the Duma following extreme pressure on the monarchy as a result of the Russian Revolution of 1905.

• The assassination triggered major suppression of civil liberties in Russia, and police brutality burst back in full force after experiencing some restraint under the reign of Alexander II, whose death was witnessed first-hand by his son, Alexander III, and his grandson, Nicholas II, both future emperors who vowed not to have the same fate befall them. Both of them used the Okhrana to arrest protestors and uproot suspected rebel groups, creating further suppression of personal freedom for the Russian people. A series of anti-Jewish pogroms and legislation were yet another result.

• Finally, the tsar's assassination also inspired anarchists to advocate "'propaganda by deed'—the use of a spectacular act of violence to incite revolution."[32]

Alexander III

• Strong Leader who was highly conservative. He reversed many of the liberalisation measures his father had put in place.

• He cracked down severely on all forms of public resistance. Although the assassination of his father had failed to trigger a revolution as the plotters had hoped, the incident did serve as a source of inspiration to underground revolutionaries throughout the country, who increasingly saw the autocracy as vulnerable.

• Large strong man who was devoted to his family.

• 1884 – (May 20) Lenin's brother, Alexander Ulyanov, is hanged for plotting to kill the Tsar

• Alexander died in 1 November 1894 of kidney disease.

• His son Tsar Nicholas II (last Tsar) took the throne

Tsar Nicholas II

• When Tsar Nicholas II too the throne in 1895 Russian society had never been more

fractured. The growing discontent of the middle classes was bubbling over.

• He was a mild mannered man who avoided confrontation. Instead he relied on

advisors to make decisions for him. This was often to his detriment as he appeared

weak before the people. When it came to opposition he would let his security forces

address any problem. This led to many “heavy handed’ measures by the police. In

turn causing greater resentment among the public.

• Create a profile for Nicholas II -

Unavoidable Revolution?

• The Russian Royal family from the time of Peter the Great intermarried with other royal families. This progressively removed them from the Russian public.

• At the same time, Russians had more exposure to the culture and happenings of Europe than ever before, and many were inspired by the various democratic and socialist movements taking place there. As dissent grew among the Russian people, the monarchy responded with intolerance and by imposing heavy penalties upon all who openly criticized or resisted the government. A series of military failures, starting with the Crimean War in the mid-1800s, and continuing with the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 and finally World War I, further damaged the image of Russia’s leaders.

• By the early twentieth century, Russia was thus ripe for a revolution. Never in Russian history had so many political organizations existed at the same time. Moreover, many of these organizations were operating outside of Russia itself, where they could plan freely, raise money, and better educate themselves on contemporary political philosophy.

The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party

(RSDRP),

• The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDRP), also known as the

Russian Social Democratic Workers' Party or the Russian Social Democratic

Party, was a revolutionary socialist political party formed in 1898 in Minsk to

unite the various revolutionary organisations of the Russian Empire into one

party. The RSDLP later split (1904) into Majority and Minority factions, with

the Majority (in Russian: "Bolshevik") faction eventually becoming the

Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

1905 “Bloody Sunday”

• Sunday, 22 January 1905 in St Petersburg, Russia, where unarmed demonstrators led by Father Georgy Gapon were fired upon by soldiers of the Imperial Guard as they marched towards the Winter Palace to present a petition to Tsar Nicholas II of Russia.

Follow these links and answer the following question

- To what extent did the events of Sunday 22nd January lead to the eventual fall of the Tsar?

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloody_Sunday_%281905%29

• http://www.historytoday.com/richard-cavendish/%E2%80%98bloody-sunday%E2%80%99-st-petersburg

Bloody Sunday 1905 Background

• Russia had in the early 1890s, under guidance of Minister of Finance Sergei Witte, embarked on a state-led programme of industrialisation through foreign investments and the imposition of tariffs. However the rapid growth in industry during this period was not met by political reform, leading an expanding working class to become heavily discontented. Nonetheless, peasants still formed 80 percent of the population and, despite the Emancipation of the Serfs, agrarian problems were still marked.[1] Russia, remaining a mostly agricultural economy, created economic issues and conflict between the differing social classes, as well as the government of the Russian Autocracy. The conflict created by Russia’s economic and political issues climaxed in the months prior to October 1905, also known as the Russian Revolution of 1905.[2] On January 22 1905, peaceful protesters attempted to bring a petition to the Tsar, as was the tradition.[3] However this protest was violently put down outside the winter palace when guards were ordered to fire on the protesters.[4] The result of the violent revolt of the protest would be known as "Bloody Sunday”.[5] (Source Wikipedia)

The Aftermath

• The immediate consequence of Bloody Sunday was a strike movement that spread throughout the country. Strikes began to erupt outside of St. Petersburg in places such as Moscow, Riga, Warsaw, Vilna, Kovno, Tiflis, Baku, Batum, and the Baltic region. In all, about 414,000 people participated in the work stoppage during January 1905.[26] Tsar Nicholas II attempted to appease the people with a Duma; however, the autocracy eventually resorted to brute force near the end of 1905 in order to curtail the burgeoning strike movement that continued to spread. It is estimated that between October 1905 and April 1906, 15,000 peasants and workers were hanged or shot, 20,000 injured, and 45,000 sent into exile.[27] Wikipedia.

• Perhaps the most significant effect of Bloody Sunday was the drastic change in attitude of the Russian peasants and workers. Previously the tsar had been the champion of the people. In dire situations, the masses would appeal to the tsar, traditionally through a petition, and the tsar would respond to his people promising to set things right. The lower classes placed their faith in the tsar. Any problems that the lower classes faced were associated with the boyars of Russia; however,after Bloody Sunday the tsar was no longer distinguished from the bureaucrats and was held personally responsible for the tragedy that occurred.[28] The social contract between the tsar and the people was broken, which delegitimized the position of the tsar and his divine right to rule. Although Bloody Sunday was not initiated as a revolutionary or rebellious movement, the repercussions of the government’s reaction laid the foundations for revolution by bringing into question autocracy and the legitimacy of the tsar.

The “October Manifesto”

• With Russia’s communication, transportation and public services crippled by the strikes, Nicholas II was forced to act before he lost power completely. Although Russia was at a standstill with violent revolts terrorizing the nation, Nicholas II still opposed any reforms that involved limiting the Autocracy. Nicholas felt that it was not his place to limit a system created by his ancestors and he is even quoted as saying “I cannot squander a legacy that is not mine to squander.”[8] Nicholas could not bring himself to understand that the Russian people wished to limit his power, which he had increasingly used against them.[9]

• The October Manifesto, issued by Czar Nicholas II, brings an end to the 1905 Russian Revolution by promising civil liberties and an elected parliament (Duma)

• The immediate success of the Manifesto was followed by long-term failure, and a return to the cycle of strikes and violence. Shortly after its introduction, strikes returned as the Autocracy began to affirm its power once again. Within months, executions began again, numbering over 1000.[17] The Government began attempting to suppress political parties; by 1906-7 much of Russia was under martial law.[18] It appears that instead of being a reform, the manifesto was just a short term ploy by Nicholas to regain order in Russia.

• Read the Following links and make notes

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_Manifesto

The Duma

• One provision of the Manifesto was the creation of a legislative body in Russia, which was intended to limit the power of the Autocrat in favor of the Russian people.[12] The legislative body known as the Duma was flawed from its inception. One major flaw of the Duma was that the Tsar maintained the power to veto any legislation that he wished.[13] The Duma was also weakened by the influence of the Russian bureaucracy, as well as the fact that the body could be disbanded by Nicholas if he and the Duma could not reach an agreement.[14]

• Why did the formation of the Duma not solve Russia’s social problems?

WWI Begins (July 28 1914)

• Alexander III had cordial relations with Germany but was more closely aligned with Great Britain and France.

• Unlikely that Germany would declare war. Nicholas and the German Kaiser Wilhelm were cousins; Wilhelm and Nicholas’ wife Alexandra were both grandchildren of Queen Victoria of England.

• The alliance system demanded that nations support their allies if one was attacked. This placed the tsar in a perilous position between the Balkan nation of Serbia – a nation with close political, ethnic and religious ties to Russia

• Despite the mass strikes of Russian workers when war was declared 95% of those conscripted went willingly.

• The Russian people initially supported the Tsar.

• Good link for details regarding Russia’s involvement in WW1

• http://alphahistory.com/russianrevolution/world-war-i/

WWW 1 Russia

• The Russian army’s shortfall of equipment was compounded by poor

leadership from its generals and officers.

• Public morale and support for the war was dwindling; Russians became more

receptive to anti-war rhetoric and propaganda, much of it disseminated by

the growing Bolshevik movement.

• (September 18) Tsar Nicholas II error in leaving Russia and leading the War

effort.

Rasputin

Carry out Research

Who was he?

How did he gain influence over the

royal court?

How did he undermine the Tsar’s

rule?

February Revolution

• February 23-27 (March 8-12 NS) - The February Revolution begins with strikes, demonstrations, and mutinies in Petrograd (also called the March Revolution if following the Gregorian calendar)

• February 22, 1917 Nicholas II leaves Petrograd to visit troops

• February 23 International Women’s Day demonstration in Petrograd

• February 24 Massive strikes and demonstrations occur throughout the capital

• February 25 Unrest continues; Mensheviks meet and set up a “Workers’ Soviet” Nicholas II orders military to stop riots

• February 26 Troops fire on demonstrating crowds Mass mutiny begins in local army regiments Firefights break out between troops and police

• February 27 More than 80,000 troops mutiny and engage in widespread looting

• February 28 Duma and Workers’ Soviet gather separately and begin making decisions about restoring order and establishing a new state

• March 2 Nicholas II abdicates the throne; provisional government formed

• March 2 (March 15 NS) - Czar Nicholas II abdicates and includes his son. The following day, Nicholas' brother, Mikhail announced his refusal to accept the throne. Provisional Government formed

• April 3 (April 16 NS) - Lenin returns from exile and arrives in Petrograd via a sealed train

The End

• July 3-7 (July 16-20 NS) - The July Days begin in Petrograd with spontaneous protests against the Provisional Government; after the Bolsheviks unsuccessfully try to direct these protests into a coup, Lenin is forced into hiding

• July 11 (July 24 NS) - Alexander Kerensky becomes Prime Minister of the Provisional Government

• August 22-27 (September 4-9 NS) - The Kornilov Affair, a failed coup by General Lavr Kornilov, commander of the Russian Army

• October 25 (November 7 NS) - The October Revolution - the Bolsheviks take over Petrograd (also called the November Revolution if following the Gregorian calendar)

• October 26 (November 8 NS) - The Winter Palace, the last holdout of the Provisional Government, is taken by the Bolsheviks; the Council of People's Commissars (abbreviated as Sovnarkom), led by Lenin, is now in control of Russia.

The End 1918

February 1/14 - The new Bolshevik government converts Russia from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar turning February 1 into February 14

March 3 - The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, between Germany and Russia, is signed and takes Russia out of World War I

March 8 - The Bolshevik Party changes its name to the Communist Party

March 11 - The capital of Russia is changed from St. Petersburg to Moscow

June - Russian civil war begins

July 17 - Czar Nicholas II and his family are executed