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.
Prior to the “five year plans”, Russia had mostly a peasant farming economy. The 1750 to 1914 period in Russia was met by a large increase in the available labor force. Coupled with an increase in population, Russia's emancipation of the serfs freed many of Russia's serfdom from perpetual slavery. However, the emancipation process was planned so as to put the freed serfs deeply in debt to the original owners of the land. In fact, many of the serfs were so deeply indebted that they relocated to Russia's cities in search of better work opportunities.
In this essay, i will assess how Marxism was the main factor that influenced the Russian revolution. I will also discuss the other reasons for the cause of the revolution, and how they are linked to Marxism. Marxism is an economic and socio-political worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry based upon a materialist interpretation of historical development, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis of class-relations within society and their application in the analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. The Russian revolution was a response to repression and dissatisfaction under Tsar Nicholas II, and a political ideology (communism) responding to a need for change people were desperate for. This frantic poverty and gross inequality marked the Russian society.
However Lenin was faced troubles on all fronts. The social problems needed to be addressed if Russia would be able to achieve communism, which was the Bolsheviks main goal for Russia. The Bolsheviks had seized a country that had social problems as a result of Russia’s many national minorities. Then was the ongoing class struggle between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie. The proletariat being the working class and the bourgeoisie were the middle class.
‘The Tsar Liberator’ How valid is this description was this of Alexander II? In 1855 Russia was ruled by Alexander Romanov in the form of an autocracy in which the Tsar had absolute power. During this period the economic situation of the country was is ruins, due to the increasing size of the population in 1855 the population was 70 million and in 1900 it grew to 130 million, therefore the already limited 6% of ideal farming land throughout Russia was strained, by the vast amount of mouths to feed. In addition the Russian industry was considered backwards due to Britain leading the industrial revolution it was known as the workshop of the world. Furthermore the social climate fared no better with 80% of the population consisting of peasants, there was a huge divide between the rich and poor.
Wages in the industrial sector were not keeping up with huge increase in manufacture and profits. Stocks lost a huge amount of money in a single day. Investors who had borrowed money to buy stocks were particularly hard hit, as were the banks that had lent the money (Canadian History 1201). Therefore the stock market crash was a very big event that caused The Great Depression. There were many factors that caused the Great Depression.
On the other hand, conditions worsened for the urban workers Stalin’s Five Year plans as harsh and unprincipled methods were used. Stalin maintained a heavy12-hour day and introduced labour camps. The gulags were first established in 1919 under the Cheka, but it was not until the early 1930s that the camp population reached significant numbers: by 1934, the Gulags had several million
A study of Russian governments in the period 1855 – 1964 suggests that Russia simply exchanged one form of autocracy for another after 1917. How far do you agree? When the February revolution brought an end to Tsarist rule, there was a strong belief that the instatement of the Provisional Government would lead to a more democratic Russia. However in deposing the Provisional Government, the October Revolution had removed any such hope. The totalitarian Government of the Communist Party continued and intensified many aspects of the Tsarist regime including use of the secret police and an intolerance for opposition and democracy in general.
A variety of long term and short term factors caused this revolution. The Tsarist autocratic rule was a key factor in the revolution. Most Russians lived in medieval conditions with all the diseases that poverty brings whilst the Tsar and aristocracy lived in opulent luxury. The people were enforced to pay heavy taxes whilst living in desperate poverty, famine and were at best badly educated. Some felt that other countries were progressing at a faster pace and the Tsar should embrace their way of thinking.
There were various factors behind on why the Estates General was called in 1789 but the two main factors can be seen as the critical financial crisis in France and also the failure of reforms. In 1786, Calonne, the Controller General, told Louis that the country was in the verge of bankruptcy – there were deficit of 112 million being made due to the extravagant and lavish spending of the royal expenditure compared to how much they were earning. In two years, the deficit increased to 126 million livres, worsening the situation. The financial crisis was the result of France being at war for the past 20 years. First, the War of Austrian Succession 1740 to 1748, then Seven Years War which lasted from 1756 to 1763 and caused France to lose huge amounts of overseas territory due to its defeat.