All Russian governments in this period faced strong opposition to their regime with the period as a whole punctuated by riots, disturbances and revolutions. Political change was expected in Russia during this period, particularly during the Tsarist regime where the growth of the revolutionary intelligentsia, ironically an effect of the Great Reforms, led many to question the need for a Tsar or a royal family at all. The first main success of political opposition is widely considered to be the assassination of Alexander II at the hands of the People’s Will in 1881. Although they assassinated their Tsar, it is very likely this did not actually lead to their desired outcome, it being greater political freedom/democracy. Many historians have said Alexander II was considering the formation of a parliament in Russia.
To what extent was the lack of political representation the most significant cause of the 1905 revolution? There were a number of different causes that contributed to the start of the 1905 Russian revolution however some were more significant than others. One of the contributing factors was the lack of political representation due to the existence of an autocratic regime. Whilst this was an important factor, the most significant factors were the social and economical issues that caused unrest amongst the Russian population. The long-term policies of Russification imposed by the Tsar in the 1880s, caused a lot of political unrest within Russia and these contributed to the 1905 revolution.
Explain why in the years 1906 to 1911, Stolypin attempted to reform agriculture. (12 marks) Stolypin attempted to reform agriculture for many reasons, one of the most important being to strengthen tsarist autocracy. He strongly believed that the future of Russia depended on building a prosperous peasantry. There was widespread rural poverty but an upper class of peasant that farmed efficiently and were wealthier, they were known as the Kulaks. Stolypin believed that the encouragement of a class such as the Kulaks would make them hostile to further change therefore more conservative and loyal to the Tsar as the Tsar had made them wealthy.
Despite opposition to the tsarist rule being illegal in Russia at this time, there were 3 significant parties which had one thing in common which was wanting to change the Tsarist regime. However their aims, methods and support bases were completely different. The first of the parties were the Liberals made up of a majority of middle class, these were the least radical, and their aim was to introduce parliamentary democracy similar to those in the USA, France and Great Britain. The second was the Social democrats, their support came from the working class and they based their party ideas on those of Karl Marx. Lastly, was the Social Revolutionaries, these were the most radical and whose support came from the peasants.
Marx believed that in a Capitalist society, the Bourgeois was dominant, which he believed to not make sense. He believed that the Proletariat did so much of the work for society, and made up the majority of the population is Russia that they should run the government. Therefore the main principle of Marxism was to make the Proletariat politically equal, and in
Following, Marx ideas of socialism, the Social Democratic Party was set up in 1898. However, four years later in 1903 they spilt into 2 groups- the Bolsheviks (lead by Lenin) and the Mensheviks (lead by Martov). Lenin proposed that the party should be limited only to dedicated revolutionaries but Martov argued that membership should be open to anyone who accepted the party programme and was willing to follow the instructions of the party leaders. Lenin won the debate and his group was later called the Bolsheviks whilst Martov’s group was called the Mensheviks. This disagreement arose because of a profound difference in their beliefs of the role of the party.
Divisions of opposing groups of the Tsar were important to the survival of Tsarist rule in 1881-1905 as the political opponents of the Tsar were clearly divided in their aims and methods. However, other factors such as the church and the power the Tsar held over it; the conservative culture of the Russian people; lack of education especially amongst the peasants and workers; the retributions from opposing the Tsar and the Okhrana were also effective in keeping the Tsar in a state of power. The different political parties all had a similar aim for change and most of wanted to remove the Tsar from power. However they all had different approaches and different plans on how to run the Russia after the Tsars removal. Firstly, the opposition groups of the Tsar were known as the Populists, the Liberals and the Marxists.
This was a dramatic change from the Bolshevik party's position in 1917 when the party enjoyed widespread support amongst the peasants, workers and soldiers who saw in the Bolshevik's the best hope for popular revolution. By the early 1920's however this had all changed. The Bolshevik's had lost the majority of its popular support after a ferocious Civil War and several economic disasters, political failures and mismanagement. Throughout the period 1917 to 1924 the Bolshevik's tried desperately to consolidate their power and regain control of the Country. Lenin’s contribution to the Bolshevik Party was an essential factor in their consolidation of power during 1917-1924, however; Lenin’s role was not the only factor contributing to their success.
Tsar Alexander II was a conservative who believed it was his divine right to rule Russia. This autocratic rule was described as “tyrannical” by many who visited especially for the treatment to the serfs, which were finally emancipated in 1861. Alexander II’s conservative rule created causes over time, which eventually led to the emancipated the serfs in 1861. This makes conservatism the single most important cause as it formed the foundations of the “domino effect” of other causes in the lead up to the emancipation of the serfs. These other causes are all political social and economical factors which helped to free the serfs.
Why did the Reds win the Russian Civil War? When the Bolsheviks (known as the Reds) came to power in November 1917, they started to set out new policies and make new rules such as closing the Constituent Assembly. These new ways of running Russia, were disliked by many and by the summer of 1918 Russia was in the state of the Civil War. The Reds managed to win the civil war in the end. The main reasons for why the Reds won the Civil War the geographical factors affecting the war, support for the Bolsheviks and the Red Army and crucially were the leadership of Trotsky.