Causes of the Russian Revolution



Background: Like World War I, the Russian Revolution was like an explosive with a very long fuse. The explosion came in 1917, yet the fuse had been burning for nearly a century. Russia and Japan were the only societies outside the West to begin a wholesale process of industrialization before the 1860s. However changes in Russia reflected its distinct authoritarian tradition, marked by political repression and harsh conditions for workers that undercut social stability. The cruel, oppressive rule of most 19th century tsars caused widespread social unrest for decades.

Expansion of Russia

By the early part of the twentieth century, the Russian Empire stretched from Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean. In comparison to Western Europe, Russia remained a backward nation. Peasants and factory workers lived in poverty, while landowning nobles enjoyed wealth and leisure.

Tsars Turn Russia Into a Police State

Tsars had been the rulers of Russia since 1547, but by 1881 social unrest and political reformers have been challenging their absolute authority. Like so much else, the status quo of Russia was rocked by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars. Beginning with Catherine the Great in her later years, tsars sought ways to protect Russia country from the contagion of the French Revolution. The sense that Western policies might serve as models for Russia faded dramatically. Napoleon’s 1812 invasion of Russia also led to a new concern with defense. Conservative intellectuals supported the move toward a renewed isolation.

Defending the status quo produced some important new tensions, however. Many intellectuals remained fascinated with Western progress. Some praised political freedom and educational and scientific advance. Others focused more purely on Western cultural styles. While Russia’s ruling elite continued to welcome Western artistic styles, they increasingly censored intellectuals who tried to incorporate liberal or radical political values. The Decembrist Uprising (1825), a revolt of Western-oriented army officers, inspired the current and later tsars to push for more adamant conservatism. Repression of political opponents stiffened and the secret police expanded. Newspapers and schools, already confined to a small minority, were tightly supervised. Partly because of this political repression, Russia largely avoided the wave of revolutions that spread through Europe in 1830 and in 1848.

In 1881, the reform-minded Tsar Alexander II was assassinated for not pushing reforms at a quick enough pace. With this in mind, his son, Alexander III chose to rule Russia by halting all reforms and turning Russia into a police state, teeming with spies and informants. Tsar Alexander III pushed principles that emphasized his complete power and control. He imposed strict censorship on all published materials, and even private letters. Alexander III also sent secret police to carefully watch secondary schools and universities, and filed detailed reports on every individual student. These strict measures were used to wipe out revolutions. Anyone who questioned the absolute authority of the tsar, worshiped outside the Russian Orthodox Church, or spoke a language other than Russian was labeled as dangerous. The Tsar’s secret police arrested people with little probable cause. Political prisoners were sent to Siberia, a remote region of northeastern Russia.

Russian was made the official language of the empire, and the use of all minority languages was forbidden in schools. Alexander made Jews the target of persecution. A wave of pogroms (organized violence against Jews) broke out in many parts of Russia. Police and soldiers stood by and watched Russian citizens loot and destroy Jewish homes, stores, and synagogues. Alexander III’s tight grip on the Russian people only helped to intensify desires for freedoms and reforms. When Alexander III died, and his son Nicholas II became Tsar in 1894, the tradition of Russian autocracy continued.

1. List three reasons why the autocratic rule of the tsars would make Russia ripe for a revolution?

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Industrialization and the Russo-Japanese War Leads to Unrest

As the West industrialized and central European powers such as Prussia (later Germany) and Austria introduced at least the beginnings of industrialization, including some rail lines, Russia largely stood pat. The move toward industrialization was part of the wider process of change. State support for industrialization (rather than leaving change up to private businesses) was because Russia lacked a preexisting middle class and capital. State enterprises had to make up part of the gap, such as the state sponsored building of the trans-Siberian railroad that connected European Russia with the Pacific. While the railroaded helped to stimulate Russian economic expansion, it also brought Russia into more competition in Asia. To fund industrialization, Tsar Nicholas II borrowed money from other European nations and raised taxes. While the growth of factories created jobs and production, they also brought grueling working conditions, miserably low wages, and child labor. The government outlawed labor unions leaving workers with little opportunities to improve their standard of living and political power.

In 1884, Karl Marx co-wrote The Communist Manifesto, where he predicted that the proletariat’s numbers would become so great, and their condition so poor that a revolution would occur. By 1903, several revolutionary movements began to grow in Russia including the radical Bolsheviks, communists who were willing to sacrifice everything for change. They followed the views of Karl Marx, and believed that the workers could overthrow the Tsar. These workers would then form “a dictatorship of the proletariat.” This meant that the proletariat would rule the country. The leader of the Bolsheviks was Vladimir Ilyich Lenin. He had an engaging personality and was an excellent organizer. He was also ruthless. Lenin had fled to Western Europe to avoid arrest by the Tsar’s strict police. From there he maintained contact with other Bolsheviks.

Sharp social divisions, poor working conditons and an authoritarian government continued to make Russia ripe for revolution. The crisis came to a head after Russia was defeated by Japan in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. The war was fought due to a conflict over Korea. Japan’s military defeated Russian troops and crushed Russia’s navy. Russia was humiliated by being defeated by an Asian nation. After the war with Japan came to a close, Czar Nicholas II became reactionary (someone who is extremely opposed to change.). Popular discontent grew and Nicholas countered with repression, maintaining control but worsening relations with the population.

1. Why would industrialization lead to unrest in Russia?

2. Whose ideas guided Lenin and the Bolshevik party?

3. Why would the Russo- Japanese War be a cause for a revolution in Russia?

Bloody Sunday: The Revolution of 1905

At the beginning of the 20th century the Russian factory employee worked on average an 11-hour day (10 hours on Saturday). Conditions in the factories were extremely harsh and little concern was shown for the worker’s health and safety. Attempts by workers to form trade unions were resisted by factory owners and in 1903, a priest, Father George Gapon, formed the Assembly of Russian Workers. Within a year it had over 9,000 members.

1904 was a bad year for Russian workers, prices of essential goods rose so quickly that real wages declined by 20%. When four members of the Assembly of Russian Workers were dismissed, Gapon called for industrial action. Over the next few days over 110,000 workers in St. Petersburg went on strike.

In an attempt to settle the dispute, George Gapon decided to make a personal appeal to Nicholas II. He drew up a petition outlining the workers’ sufferings and demands. This included a call for a reduction in the working day to eight hours, an increase in wages and an improvement in working conditions. Gapon also called for the establishment of universal suffrage (right to vote) and an end to the Russo-Japanese War.

Over 150,000 people signed the petition and on January 22nd 1905. Gapon led a large procession of workers to the Winter Palace in order to present the petition to Nicholas II. Although he wasn’t present at the scene, Tsar Nicholas II felt threatened. When the procession of workers reached the Winter Palace it was attacked by the police and the Cossacks (military who supported the czar). Hundreds of workers were killed and wounded. (an exact number is unknown because the workers inflated the number while the government said less than a 100 were hurt). The incident, Bloody Sunday, signaled the start of revolution.

1. What are causes for Bloody Sunday?

2. What happened to the workers at the Winter Palace?

To quell the unrest, Czar Nicholas II granted limited reforms, including the creation of a new legislative assembly called the Duma.

OCTOBER MANIFESTO of 1905

In early October 1905, Nicolas II issued the October Manifesto, which promised Russia a constitutional government. This was issued after strikes broke out in St. Petersburg and worker groups called the Soviets controlled the city. Soviets are local political councils that were organized. They were united under the Social Democratic Party, that had forced Nicholas to accept reforms in 1905.

|Manifesto of 17 October 1905 |

|On the improvement of order in the state |

|The disturbances and unrest in St Petersburg, Moscow and in many other parts of our Empire have filled Our heart with great and profound sorrow. The welfare of the |

|Russian Sovereign and His people is inseparable and national sorrow is His too. The present disturbances could give rise to national instability and present a threat|

|to the unity of Our State. The oath which We took as Tsar compels Us to use all Our strength, intelligence and power to put a speedy end to this unrest which is so |

|dangerous for the State. The relevant authorities have been ordered to take measures to deal with direct outbreaks of disorder and violence and to protect people who|

|only want to go about their daily business in peace. However, in view of the need to speedily implement earlier measures to pacify the country, we have decided that |

|the work of the government must be unified. We have therefore ordered the government to take the following measures in fulfilment of our unbending will: |

|Fundamental civil freedoms will be granted to the population, including real personal inviolability, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and association. |

|Participation in the Duma will be granted to those classes of the population which are at present deprived of voting powers, insofar as is possible in the short |

|period before the convocation of the Duma, and this will lead to the development of a universal franchise. There will be no delay to the Duma elect already been |

|organized. |

|It is established as an unshakeable rule that no law can come into force without its approval by the State Duma and representatives of the people will be given the |

|opportunity to take real part in the supervision of the legality of government bodies. |

|We call on all true sons of Russia to remember the homeland, to help put a stop to this unprecedented unrest and, together with this, to devote all their strength to|

|the restoration of peace to their native land. |

1. Highlight the information in the Manifesto that represents Enlightenment ideas.

2. What similarities and differences exist between this document and the French Constitution of 1791?

3. Based on this manifesto, how is Nicholas II similar to Louis XVI?

World War I and the End of Tsarist Rule

In 1914, another disastrous war brought on a crisis. If the Russo-Japanese War had been costly and unpopular, it was at least remote. The First World War, however, took place on Russia’s Western doorstep. Russia was not prepared to fight a modern war. Unprepared militarily or industrially, the country suffered demoralizing defeats, severe food shortages, and soon suffered an economic collapse. Nicholas II decided to go the front line leaving his wife Alexandra in charge of the government.

Unfortunately, the Czarina’s chief advisor Gregory Rasputin was not liked by the Russian nobility because of the power he had over Russia. In December 1916, Rasputin was assassinated. Some historians think that this was the beginning of the Revolution because it undermined the imperial family’s authority.

By February 1917, the workers and soldiers had had enough. Many soldiers had deserted. Riots broke out in St. Petersburg, then called Petrograd, and the garrison mutinied. Workers soviet were set up, and the Duma approved the establishment of a provisional government to attempt to restore order in the capital. It was soon clear that Nicholas possessed no support and on March 2 he abdicated (gave up) the throne in favor of his brother Michael. Michael renounced his claim the next day. This is known as the March Revolution. In the Russian calendar at that time, it is known as the February Revolution.

1. Why did Russia fail in World War I?

2. Why do you think Nicholas II decided to go the front lines during WWI?

3. Why did Nicholas II abdicate his throne?

4. How is Nicholas II’s abidication similar/different from Louis XVI?

Rasputin

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CAUSES OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION

The “Browns” turn to “Reds”

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Failure of the Provisional Government

After the removal of the tsar after the March (February) Revolution, the Provisional Government set up by the Duma attempted to pursue a moderate policy calling for a return to order and promising reform of worker’s rights. From the start there were factions in the Provisional Government. On one side, there were the “privileged Russians”, and on the other side was the “Soviet Russians,” the peasants, soldiers and proletariat (workers). The “Soviet Russians” wanted an immediate end to the war, the transfer of land to peasants and the control of factories by the workers. The middle class-liberals in the government planned to write a constitution and promised democratic reforms. However the government was unwilling to endorse the most pressing demand of the soviets which was an immediate end to the war against Germany. This was a very unpopular decision that drained resources and men. In July came a revolt against the unpopular provisional government. It was known as the July Days. The July Days was a revolt over the continual participation by Russia in World War I. For the next 9 months, the Provisional Government under Alexander Kerensky, unsuccessfully attempted to establish authority. In the meantime, the Bolsheviks gained increasing support from the soviets. On October 25th, led by Vladimir Lenin, they stormed the Winter Palace and deposed the Kerensky government.

1. Led by Alexander Kerensky, what key changes and continuities did the March Revolution bring to Russia?

Changes:

Continuities:

2. Why did Alexander Kerensky and the provisional government fail?

It is important to note that the leadership established under the provisional government did not understand how desperate and tired the Russians were from the war. The Provisional Government’s goal to transform Russia into a democracy by allowing elections and freedoms of speech was well intended, but impractical. Also democracy was unknown to Russians because they were used to autocracy (government ruled by a single individual.)

Name: Mrs. Bellisari

Russia’s Last Tsar: Video by National Geographic

1. Why was Nicholas II called “Bloody”, a “Hero” and a “Saint”?

2. What is significance of July 1918?

3. Why did Tolstoy write to Csar Nicholas?

4. Why was Bloody Sunday significant to the end of the reign of Nicholas II?

5. What were the Cossacks? What was their mission?

6. Who was Rasputin? What was his influence on the Czarina?

7. Why did Czar Nicholas decide to take over the Russian army? What does he become a symbol of?

8. What happened to the Czar and his family? Why was this significant?

9. What is the “house of special purpose”?

10. What is the significance of May 19th?

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Bolshevik leader V.I. Lenin

Soldiers fired on unarmed workers at the tsar’s Winter Palace on what became known as “Bloody Sunday.”

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