The Tsar and his government.

v The Tsar believed God had placed him in that position.

v Could make any decisions without consulting anyone else.

v Nicholas II was loyal to his family; he was willing to work hard and paid attention to the details. However, he was not an able, forceful and imaginative monarch like his predecessors.

v He tended to avoid making big decisions did not delegate day-to-day tasks to official. This was a major problem.

v Managed his officials poorly.(Felt threatened by able and talented ministers)

v Appointed family members and friends to important positions, many of them were either incompetent or corrupt.

Control.

v Resistance to the Tsar’s regime was limited.

§  Most peasants had their life controlled by the Mir, which could be overruled by land captains (Landlords appointed by the Tsar)

§  There were local governors appointed by the Tsar.(Aristocrats)

§  Russia was a police state (in some areas)

·        There were emergency rules that allowed local governors (controlled the police) to:

¨     Order the police to arrest suspected opponents of the regime.

¨     Ban individuals from serving in the Zemstva courts or any government organization.

¨     Make suspects pay fines.

¨     Introduce censorship of books or leaflets or newspapers

§  The Zemstva (local assembly)  helped to control Russia.

·        Controlled by Landlords in the countryside and by professional people in towns.

 Opposition to the Tsar.

v Cadets(Liberals)

Ø Middle class reformers in the Duma that wanted a greater democracy in Russia.

v Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs)

Ø Radical movement

Ø Their main aim was to give peasants estates taken from the nobility.

Ø Believed in a violent struggle

Ø Wide support in the countryside.

v The Social Democratic Party.

Ø Smaller but more disciplined party.

Ø Followed the ideas of Karl Marx.

Ø Split in 1903 into the Bolsheviks (led by Lenin believed that their job was to create a revolution) and the Mensheviks (Thought Russia was not ready for a revolution.)

 How secure was the Tsar’s government by 1914?

v Nicholas needed to reform Russia to satisfy at least one discontented group who has joined the 1905 revolution.

Ø The Duma (Parliament) deputies gathered in 1906 for the first time.

§  Hoped that they could help to steer Russia on a new course.

§  Soon disappointedàthe Tsar didn´t take any serious notice of them

§  First and second Duma were critical of the Tsar.(Lasted less than a year).

§  In 1907 Nicholas changed the voting rules in order to avoid his opponents from being elected to the Duma.

§  The third Duma lasted until 1912 àmainly because it was less critical of the Tsar. However in 1912 they were becoming critical of the Tsar’s ministers and policies.

§  It had no power to change the Tsar’s policies, was not a serious threat to the regime.

Stolypin.

 v Appointed Prime Minister by the Tsar in 1906.

v Two ways to approach problems in Russia:

Ø The Stickà He came down hard on strikers, protesters and revolutionaries. This suppression killed of opposition to the regime in the countryside until 1914.

Ø The Carrot:

·        Tried to win over peasants by giving them what they          wanted, land.

·        Allowed wealthier peasants (Kulaks) to buy land.

¨     Kulaks created larger and more efficient farms.

¨     Production increased significantly.

¨     90% of Russia’s production was still run by inefficient communes.

¨     Most peasants still lived in bad conditions.

v Tried to boost Russia’s industries.

Ø Economic growth 1908-1911

Ø Russia was still far behind modern industrial countries.

Ø Workers’ wages were still low.

v Stolypin was assassinated in 1911, but the Tsar was going to sack him anyway.(worried that Stolypin was changing Russia too much)

 Rasputin.

v In charge of curing the Tsar’s son through hypnosis.

v Gave the Tsar and his wife advice about how to run the country.

Ø People in Russia were suspicious about him.