These reforms made a significant change to the government as a weakened sense of autocracy replaced the traditional span of control the Tsar ruled over, due to freedom of serfs which ultimately creates opposition. Further consequences of war faced by the government can be illustrated in the assassination of Alexander 2nd and the severe social unrest following the Russo-Japanese war. These protests are suggested to be the beginning point of the 1905 revolution. This caused extreme damage to the government as it questioned the strength of leadership and citizens became more and more critical, eventually leading to further reforms and the initiation of changing the way Russian government was formatted. However, it can be argued that
How far were divisions among its opponents responsible for the survival of Tsarist rule in the years 1881-1905? Divisions among the Tsars opponents were important to the survival of Tsarist rule. However other elements also affected it, such as the belief in the Russian Orthodox Church and the belief that the Tsar was divinely appointed, poor communication across Russia this included the large the number of different languages and nationalities and the Cossacks which stayed loyal to the Tsar. The growing political opposition to the Tsar affected the stability of the Tsarist regime. Many Russian intellectuals were rising up against the Tsar; they believed that the regime was oppressive and that European countries had more freedom and felt that many Russians lacked basic freedoms seen in other European nations.
Alexander III is considered by many to be a conservative reactionary due to his traditional beliefs, taught by Pobedonostev and his reversal of some of his father’s liberal reforms. It was due to the assassination attempts that Alexander II faced which can be seen to have had an effect on his son and thus led him to take a more stern and reactionary approach. Alexander III followed the traditional manifesto: ‘full faith in justice and in the strength of the autocracy’ thus highlighting his loyalty towards protecting Tsarism. Although it is true that Alexander III undid a vast number of his father’s reforms, especially concerning the civil rights of the Russian people, in order to repress opposition; he also succeeded in making a vast number of economic reforms which proved beneficial to Russia. Perhaps the biggest legacy left by Alexander II was his emancipation of the serfs in 1861, he had realised that modernisation was incompatible with serfdom and thus endeavoured to liberalise the serfs.
How accurate is it to say that the growth of reformist groups in the years from 1881 was the main cause of the 1905 Revolution? Many factors caused the 1905 revolution and to say that the growth of the reformist groups from 1881 was the main cause would not be completely accurate. The reformist groups did contribute to the outbreak of the 1905 revolution but other factors such as the dissatisfaction of the people and Bloody Sunday and the Russo-Japanese war also caused the outbreak of the 1905 revolution. The reformist groups were a long term cause for the 1905 revolution. Russia was still an autocratic state (the Tsar held completed political power).
How are Source L and Source K different about Nicholas II? Nicholas II, last Tsar to reign over Russia, is portrayed very differently through the two sources, with Source L giving off the impression of a strong, democratic leader whereas Source K shows us his doubts towards reigning over Russia and how he felt he was unable to do so at this time. Through source L we see Nicholas II’s quotation of reinforcing the laws of autocracy and the Tsarist system is being told to the people of Russia, making him appear powerful and willing to make the same extreme decisions his father had put into place. However, due to source Ks context of it being a confidential diary entry, we are enabled to see his emotions concerning becoming Tsar and how he is not equipped to rule after his rather, Alexander III. Furthermore, the sources also have varying times they come from, whereas source K is imminent after the discovery of him being the new Tsar, source K is later on once he had experience ruling Russia for some time, although both are taken from 1895.
Serfdom was holding Russia back economically, politically and military wise. Alexander realised the utter social unrest among the Serfs which happened to be 85% of the population. Military Serfdom was a crucial factor as to why the Military was failing incredibly. There are many evidential reasons as to why the
To what extent did Witte achieve economic modernisation in Russia? Sergei Witte was introduced as the Tsars financial minister at a time when Russia was in a state of social and economic backwardness. Witte successfully achieved economic modernisation in Russia to a certain extent. Witte’s policies lead to a ‘Great Spurt’ in economic modernisation as they increased the number of factories and led to vast improvements in infrastructure such as railways. However his policies were still very limiting as they did not address the backwardness of agriculture and caused frequent famines, leading to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people; keeping Russia economically and socially far behind the great European powers.
Assess the reasons for opposition and unrest in Russia from 1894 to 1905 During 1894-1905 Russia faced much opposition to its dictatorship rule by Tsar Nicholas II. There was social unrest throughout Russia within this time period, which was created by economic troubles, the loss in the Russo-Japanese war and political problems. The Tsar was also a very weak figure and there was Opposition to the autocratic system. Industrialisation in Russia helped Russia’s economy grow massively and in 1914 it was one of the causes of opposition and social unrest in Russia, as industrialisation caused a gap between the rich and poor. This caused the division of society between the countryside and towns.
So many divisions and factions within the opponents all wanting different things for Russia shows responsibility for the survival of the Tsar as they were too busy against each other, than to unite against the Tsar. Divisions amongst the opposition further disagreed on the methods to overthrow the Tsar. The Liberals preferred reform rather than violence, and peaceful propaganda such as articles in newspapers, meetings and reform banquets. Mensheviks were in favour of alliance with all other revolutionary and bourgeois liberal parties, and supported trade unions in pursuing better wages and conditions for workers. Whereas the Bolsheviks rejected cooperation with other parties, and aimed to turn workers into revolutionaries as soon as possible.
Prior to 1905, disturbances in Russia could have been seen as quite rare. Russia was though suffering from a long period of repression and unrest. From the Tsar in Russia, the regimes had slowly developed into more of an autocratic establishment that implemented its will onto the people with lesser regard for human life and liberty. A major cause of the revolution was the continuing discontent of both the peasants and the landowners due to worsening working conditions. From 1880 onwards, the Russian government encouraged industrial growth, as there was shortages and distress in the countryside.