Timeline

Before 1894
• 1854-6, The Crimean War
• 1855-81, Reign of Alexander II
• 1861, Emancipation of the serfs (slaves)
• 1881, Assassination of Alexander II
• 1881-94, Reign of Alexander III
• 1890s, the Great Spurt
1894 - 1904
• 1894, the Start of Nicholas II’s reign
• 1894-1906, Sergei Witte’s economic reforms
• 1897, the Jewish Bund was formed
• 1898, Social Democrats (SD) Party formed
• 1901, Social Revolutionaries (SR) Party formed
• 1903, the SD party split into Mensheviks and Bolsheviks
• 1904-5, Russo-Japanese War
• 1904, the Union of Liberation formed
1905 - 1913
• 1905, Revolution, Bloody Sunday, All-Russian Union of Peasants formed, October Manifesto, Formation of the
Kadets and the Octobrists
• 1906, Fundamental Laws Issued, First Duma
• 1906-11, Stolypin’s years as chief minister (reform and repression)
• 1907, Second Duma
• 1907-12, Third Duma
• 1911-14, Period of growing political and social tensions
• 1912, Lena Goldfields episode
• 1912-14, Fourth Duma
1914 - March 1917
• 1914, General strike in St Petersburg, Germany declares war on Russia
• 28 June 1914, the Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
• 28 July 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia
• 30 July 1914, Russia's full mobilisation orders given
• 1 August 1914, Germany declared war on Russia, fourth duma suspended
• June-July 1915, the Fourth Duma reconvened
• 25 June 1915, the Progressive Bloc formed in the Duma
• 22 August 1915, Nicholas II put himself in charge of the military
• 1 December 1916, Rasputin murdered
• 18 February 1917, Strike began at Putilov factories in Petrograd
• 23 February 1917, International Women’s Day, Widespread workers’ demonstrations
• 25 February 1917, a General strike began
• 27 February 1917, Unofficial meeting of the duma, the First meeting of the Petrograd Soviet
• 28 February 1917, Nicholas II was prevented from returning to Petrograd, Provisional Government claimed
authority
• 1 March 1917, Petrograd Soviet issued Soviet Order Number 1
• 2 March 1917, a Provisional government formed from the Duma committee
• 4 March 1917, Tsar’s abdication was publicly announced
• 12 March 1917, Bolsheviks begin to return to Petrograd
April 1917 - 1917
• 3 April 1917, Lenin returned to Petrograd
• 4 April 1917, Lenin issued his ‘April Theses’
• 3-6 July 1917, Failed Bolshevik ‘July Days’ uprising
• 8 July 1917, Kerensky becomes prime minister
• 1 September 1917, Kornilov’s abortive march on Petrograd
• 9 October 1917, the Petrograd Soviet set up the Military Revolutionary Committee
• 23 October 1917, Bolsheviks rose against Kerensky’s government
 • 24-25 October 1917, Bolsheviks take control of Petrograd
• 25-26 October 1917, Kerensky flees Petrograd
• 26 October 1917, Bolsheviks established Sovnarkom, with Lenin as chairman
• 27 October 1917, Lenin informs the Congress of Soviets that the Bolsheviks had taken power in their name
• November 1917, November Decrees on Land and Workers’ Control
1918 - 1924
• 1918 - 20, Russian Civil War and foreign intervention
• 1918-21, War Communism
• January 1918, Bolsheviks forcibly dissolved the Constituent Assembly, Red Army established
• March 1918, Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
• June 1918, Decree on Nationalisation
• July 1918, Forced grain requisitions began, and the murder of the Tsar and his family.
• September 1918, Red Terror
• In March 1919, the Comintern was established, and the Bolshevik Party was renamed the Communist Party.
• April 1920, the Invading Red Army driven from Poland
• March 1921, Kronstadt Rising, Introduction of New Economic Policy
• 1921-4, NEP leads to economic recovery
• January 1924, Death of Lenin
Introduction to Tsarist Russia

The Land
• In 1894, Imperial Russia covered over 22 million square kilometres.
• Between 1815 and 1914, the population went from 40 to 165 million.
• The population contained a wide variety of people of different race, language, religion and culture.
The Russian Orthodox Church
• The Orthodox Church supported the tsars.
• The Orthodox Church was one of the great pillars of the tsarist system.
• It was a deeply conservative body, opposed to political change and determined to preserve the tsarist system in
its reactionary form.
• The Church did contain some priests who strongly sympathised with the political revolutionaries.
• As a whole, they taught the Russian people that it was their duty to be totally obedient to the tsar as God’s
anointed.
The Problem Of Reform
• Many in the ruling class accepted that major reforms were needed.
• However, there were major disagreements between the ‘Westerners’ and ‘Slavophiles’.
• ‘Westerners’ believed that Russia would need to adopt the best features of the political and economic systems
of the countries of Western Europe.
• ‘Slavophiles’ were those who regarded Western values as corrupting and wanted to preserve their historical
Slav traditions.
• The dispute between these groups made it difficult to achieve reforms.
• Another barrier was Russia's autocratic structure.
• There were no representative institutions, so only the tsar could implement change.
• However, reforms were usually implemented by individual tsars in response to some form of national crisis or
humiliation.
Local Government Reform
• Alexander II’s reign (1855-81) coincided with the loss of the Crimean War.
• Therefore, Alexander II set up reforms like the Emancipation of the Serfs in 1861, followed three years later by
the introduction of elected rural councils known as zemstvos.
• Along with this, they implemented the Mir, which was a local organisation that would keep order and collect
payments (tax, mortgage, etc.)
Legal Reforms
• Alexander also simplified the court procedures.
• Controls over the press and universities were relaxed.
• Greater freedom of expression were encouraged to develop the intelligentsia.
The Limited Nature Of The Reforms
• Alexander II was not a supporter of reform, he used it to lessen opposition to the tsarist system.
 • He hoped that these reforms would attract the support of the intelligentsia, which it did.
• However, he did not want to compromise his powers so he returned to the tsarist tradition of oppression.
• He was assassinated by a group of Social Revolutionaries known as the People’s Will, which led to even more
severe measures being imposed by Alexander III (1881-94).
• These were so oppressive they were known as ‘the Reaction’.
The Tsar
• One person, the tsar, governed the people of the Russian Empire.
• There were no restrictions on his power and the people owed him complete obedience.
• The tsar's absolute rule was exercised through the Imperial Council, The Cabinet of Ministers and the Senate.
• These bodies were appointed and only gave advice; the tsar’s words were final.
• In 1881, it was a criminal offence to oppose the tsar or his government.
Repression
• There were many restrictions in Russia like government censorship.
• These restrictions did not prevent liberal ideas from seeping into Russia.
• These ‘liberal’ groups wanted political or social change by reforming, not destroying, the tsarist regime.
The Russian Economy
• Russia was slow in economic development.
• The low number of urban workers was a sign that Russia had not achieved the major industrial growth that had
taken place in countries like Germany, Britain, and the USA in the nineteenth century.
• However, Russia was not entirely without industry.
• The Urals region produced considerable amounts of iron, and the chief western cities, Moscow and St.
Petersburg, had extensive textile factories.
• Most villages had smelting works, which enabled them to produce iron goods, and most peasant homes
produced wooden, flaxen or woollen goods to supplement their incomes.
• However, these activities were all small-scale.
• The sheer size of Russia and its undeveloped transport system had limited the chance for industrial expansion.
• A further restriction had been the absence of an effective banking system.
• It was hard for Russia to borrow and invest money, which explains why its expansion has been so slow.
The Peasant Problem
• Over 80% of the population were peasants, yet Russia’s governing class had a prejudice against them.
• The peasants were predominantly illiterate and uneducated, known as the ‘dark masses’.
• Many in the upper class were afraid of educating the peasants as they may prove to be highly dangerous.
Extremism
• The denial of free speech tended to drive political activists towards extremism.
• An outstanding example of this occurred in 1881 when Tsar Alexander II was killed by a bomb detonated by a
terrorist group known as ‘The People’s Will’.
The Social Structure of Tsarist Russia

• 82% were peasants

• 12% were upper class
• 4% were working class
• 1.5% were commercial class
• 0.5% were ruling class
Agriculture In Tsarist Russia
• Russia had an inefficient pattern of agricultural production.
• Most of Russia’s land was too North to have suitable climates.
• Arable farming was restricted to the Black Earth region and the area of European Russia stretching from
Ukraine to Kazakhstan.
• The great number of peasants added to the problem as there was not enough fertile land.
• Under the terms of the Emancipation Decree of 1861, ex-serfs were entitled to buy land, but prices were too
high.
• This was caused by a shortage of suitable farming territory and the government’s taxation of land sales.
• Peasants could raise special loans from the government, but it would take decades to pay off.
The Russian Army
• A key pillar of tsarism
• One common method to keep the ‘dark masses’ in check was to recruit them into the armed services.
• The lower ranks of the army and navy were largely filled by conscription, which was also used as a form of
punishment.
• The Russian army was notorious for the severity of discipline and the grimness of the living conditions.
• It was a widespread belief that Russia needed a large army, so around 1.5 million men were in service.
• The cost to maintain this accounted, on average, for 45% of the government’s annual expenditure.
• Comparatively, only 4% of the budget was spent on education.
Weaknesses Within The Army
• The higher ranks of the army were reserved for the aristocracy.
• Commissions were bought and sold so there was little room for promotion on merit.
• This weakened the fighting force, but Russia was not engaged in any major conflict (other than the Crimean
War 1854-6).
• The army’s active service was essentially putting down national risings or serious disturbances within or along
the borders.
The Bureaucracy (Civil Service)
• Another pillar of tsarism
• Ironically, this was the area with the most attempted reform but also the most corruption.
• Peter I (1683-1725) tried to modernise Russia by establishing a full-scale civil service with the aim of maintaining
central government control throughout the empire.
• However, everything was in the hands of a set of men who first thought of their convenience and advantage.
• Ordinary civilians had no say since any challenges to the system were lost in bureaucratic procedures.
• This was a major source of discontent.
The Reaction
• This was the Statute of State Security, 1881
• Special government controlled courts were set up
• Officials sympathetic towards liberal ideas were removed
• The power of the Okharana, the tsarist secret police, were extended
• Censorship was tightened
• This statute remained until 1917
• The University statute in 1887 brought universities under strict government control
• The Zemstva Act in 1809 decreased the independence of local councils and empowered government officials
Nicholas II's Early Rule 1894 - 1905

The Issue Of Modernity

• The most pressing question facing Russia at the start of Nicholas’s reign was whether Imperial Russia could
modernise itself to compete with European nations.
• The assassination of Alexander II and the repressive Alexander III had made it highly unlikely that the new tsar
would reverse his predecessor’s policy.
• Furthermore, Nicholas’s upbringing and education made him suspicious of change.
• It was no surprise he continued the repressive policies.
• This further angered the intelligentsia.
Economic Reforms 1893-1903
• For some time, it seemed that Russia would become a modern industrial nation.
• This was largely due to Count Sergei Witte and Peter Stolypin
• In the 1890s, Russian industry grew so rapidly that the term ‘great spurt’ was used to describe the period.
• A major reason for the growth was the increase in coal output in Ukraine and the increase in oil production in
the Caucasus.
• Although this sudden acceleration was the result of private enterprise, it was sustained by deliberate
government policy.
• Witte was brought into government in 1892 as a minister of finance
• He achieved a series of major financial and economic reforms that led to the ‘great spurt.’
• However, after 11 years, the tsar dismissed him as he believed a fabricated story that Witte was involved in a
Jewish conspiracy to undermine the Russian state.
• Despite this, the tsar recalled him in 1905 to negotiate peace in the war against Japan, which he did brilliantly.
 • Witte also drafted the October Manifesto, which enabled the tsar to emerge from the 1905 Revolution with his
powers largely intact.
• However, Witte’s effort was unappreciated, and many officials disliked him.
• Therefore, in 1906, Nicholas II dismissed him, thus depriving the government of its most capable minister.
• His reforms showed that Russia could have achieved a lot more had he remained in office for longer.
The Social Democrats (SDs)
• The SDs came into being in 1898
• Their aim was to achieve revolution through the ideas of Karl Marx
• Marx was a German revolutionary who advanced the idea that human society followed scientific principles
• Marx believed that the behaviour of people were governed by social laws, similar to the laws of physics and
chemistry
• Marx believed that the critical determinant of behaviour was class struggle
• When a country enters the industrial age, Marx predicts that the proletariats (workers) would rise against their
bosses who would be exploiting them
• Then afterwards, the workers would remove all opposition and the perfect society would emerge
• This was particularly pertinent in Russia because of the great spurt in the 1890s which created the industrial
conditions Russia would need for the worker’s revolution
• The first Marxist revolutionary was George Plekhanov, who founded the SD party and translated Marx’s writings
into Russian
• Despite this, a number of members were impatient with his theoretical approach
• They wanted a more active revolutionary programme, which Lenin would provide
Bolshevik Tactics
• Lenin and his followers set up training schools for revolutionaries to infiltrate workers organisations
• They also spent their time raising money for the party, usually through the use of violence
• Despite these activities, the police did not see them as a major challenge to the tsar
• The Bolsheviks were no more than 25,000 strong in February 1917
• Yet, they were able to take over the government due to their readiness
The Union Of Liberation
• It’s principle leaders were Pavel Milyukov and Peter Struve
• The Union drew up a programme to find common ground between other liberal groups
• Its influence paved the way for the 1905 Revolution and it showed the range of anti-tsarist feelings that existed
Significance Of The 1905 Revolution
• It must be noted that none of the revolutionaries played a major role, with the exception of Trotsky
• Furthermore, the peasants and liberals readily accepted the reforms, perhaps suggesting that they were not
ready for revolution
• The concessions the tsar granted were not very impactful
• The introduction of dumas did not limit the tsar’s power because of the Fundamental Laws of April 1906 which
gave the Tsar the power to dissolve the duma whenever he wanted
The Lesson Of The 1905 Revolution
• 1905 showed that as long as the tsarist government kept its nerve and had the loyalty of the army, any
opposition would find it very difficult to mount any serious challenge
• Furthermore, the liberals had backed out of the revolution, abandoning the workers
• The government was still strong after the Revolution
Russification
• This was a policy of restricting the influence of non-Russian national minorities by emphasising the superiority
of all things Russian.
• Discrimination against non-Russians became more open and vindictive in the 1890s.
• State interference in their education, religion and culture became widespread and systematic.
The Importance Of The Railways
• Much of the foreign capital that Witte had raised was invested in railways
• Witte’s special project was the trans-Siberian railway, which was constructed between 1891 and 1902.
• The line stretched 6000 km from Moscow to Vladivostok and was intended to connect the remoter regions of
the central and eastern empire with the industrial west.
o This encouraged the migration of workers to areas where they were most needed.
 • The railway was also a symbol of Russian enterprise, and major improvements in transport would boost
exports and foreign trade.
The Populists
• The Populists regarded the future of Russia as being in the hands of the peasants
• They would go to the countryside to ‘educate’ the peasants on political matters
• The peasants tended to regard them as prattlers who had no knowledge of real life
• Some Populists turned to terrorism and created a group called ‘The People’s Will’ in 1879.
• The group successfully killed Alexander II
• This act weakened the Populists instead of strengthening it as it gave rise to a even more repressive tsar
• However, the Populists did establish a violent anti-tsarist tradition
The Octobrists
• They were moderates who were loyal to the tsar and his government
• They regarded the October manifesto and the Duma as a great achievement
• They were mainly drawn from the larger commercial, industrial and landowning interests
• In the dumas, the Octobrists frequently voiced their criticism of the tsar, yet they did not want to overthrow it
Witte’s Role
• Even though Nicholas II had relieved Witte from the post of finance minister, he turned to him again in June
1905
• Witte was able to successfully negotiate peace terms with the Japanese
• He then became head of the council of ministers, yet remained frustrated by the inability of the tsar and his
ministers
Soviets
• By October 1905, the industrial unrest had grown into a general strike
• In a number of cities, most notably in St Petersburg and Moscow, workers formed into elected soviets (councils
made up of elected representatives)
• The soviets began as organisations to represent the workers’ demands for better conditions
• However, their potential for political agitation was immediately recognised by revolutionaries
• Leon Trotsky, a Menshevik, became chairman of the St Petersburg soviet and organised several strikes
Nicholas II’s Upbringing
• As a young man, Nicholas had been tutored at court by Konstantin Pobedonostsev.
• He was known as the ‘Grand Inquisitor’ because of his repressive attitude.
• He was also against all forms of democracy and condemned the growth of parliamentary democracy in Europe.
• In his mind, autocracy was the only possible government for Imperial Russia.
• He played a major part in shaping the reactionary attitude of Alexander III and Nicholas II.
• ‘The Reaction’ coincided with a period of remarkable economic expansion.
• However, the tsarist government, with its resistance to change, denied itself the chance to adapt to a changing
world.
The Failings Of Russification
• This policy was ill-judged as Russia needed to be unity to develop
• The persecution of the 5 million Jews caused many to flee or take part in various anti-Tsarist movements.
• In 1897, Jews formed their own revolutionary ‘Bund’ or union.
State Capitalism
• Witte was impressed by the results of the Industrial Revolution in Western Europe and the USA.
• He argued that Russia could successfully modernise by planning along the same lines.
• Witte judged that Russia’s greatest need was to acquire capital to invest in industry.
• He negotiated large loans and investments from abroad and imposed heavy taxes and high interest rates at
home
• At the same time, he encouraged the inflow of foreign capital and limited the import of foreign goods.
• In 1897, the Russian currency was put on the gold standard
• The hope was that this would create financial stability and so would encourage international investment
• The aim was largely successful, but consumers at home had to pay higher prices due to tariffs and the
increased value of the rouble
Witte’s Problems
• Witte’s policies had a major impact on the expansion of the Russian economy, but critics have pointed out
drawbacks in his reforms
 o Witte made Russia too dependent on foreign loans and investments
o Witte neglected vital light engineering areas, such as machine tool production, which would have
helped to modernise manufacturing
o Witte paid no attention to Russia’s agricultural needs
• However, these criticisms need to be balanced by the problems he faced
• The army often took first priority which interfered with his scheme for railway construction and the building of
new industrial plants
• Witte was largely limited by the court and government as they resisted change and disliked Witte
• In 1903, the tsar forced him to resign despite his great talent
End Of The Great Spurt By 1900
• The improvement of the Russian economy in the 1890s was not simply the work of Witte
• It was part of a worldwide industrial boom, which by 1900 had ended and serious international trade recession
had set in
• This was a major problem for Russia as industrial expansion had led to a ballooning of population in towns and
cities
• The facilities for accommodating the influx of workers were inadequate, so there was severe overcrowding
• When the recession set in, there was widespread unemployment, which increased unrest in cities and urban
areas.
The Social Revolutionaries (SRs)
• This party grew directly from the Populist movement
• Since the urban workforce was rapidly growing due to the economic spurt of the 1890s, the SRs began to
agitate the workers
• They wanted to to include all people in society who wanted to see the end of tsardom
• However, they were weakened by internal disagreements
• The SRs could be split into the anarchists (Left Social Revolutionaries) and revolutionaries (Right Social
Revolutionaries)
• The anarchists wanted to continue the policy of terrorism
• The revolutionaries were more moderate and were prepared to cooperate with other parties
• Between 1901 and 1905, the terrorist faction dominated the party
• The SRs were responsible for over 2000 political assassinations
• These killings did little to encourage the workers to cooperate with them
• Their land policy was the main reason they were the most popular party with the peasants
• From 1906, the party was a collection of radical groups, rather than a united party
• Regardless, before the Bolsheviks outlawed them after the 1917 Revolution, the SRs remained the party with
the largest popular following in Russia
Lenin’s Impact On The SDs
• When Lenin returned to western Russia in 1900, he set about changing the SD to comply with his ideas
• With a colleague, Julius Martov, he founded a party newspaper, Iskra (The Spark), which he used to put his case
to the party members
• Lenin often criticised Plekhanov for being to broad
• Lenin insisted that Russia would need to be led by a party of dedicated, professional revolutionaries
The Bolshevik-Menshevik Split
• The disputes between Lenin and Plekhanov came to a boiling point during the meeting of the SD Party in 1903
• Plekhanov wanted a broad-based party, while Lenin wanted a small, tightly knit party
• Julius Martov, Lenin's co-editor of the Iskra, supported Plekhanov’s ideas, which created a deep divide between
him and Lenin
• There was a vote for members to see who had the majority, but they were split evenly
• However, Lenin was able to claim that his supporters were the majority, so they were called the Bolsheviks
(majority), while Martov’s group was called the Mensheviks (minority)
• By 1912, the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks had become two distinct, conflicting Marxist parties.
• A Bolshevik daily paper, Pravda (The Truth), was first published in 1912.
The Constitutional Democrats (Kadets)
• This was the largest liberal party
• They wanted Russia to develop into a constitutional monarchy
 • They were made up of progressive landlords, smaller industrial entrepreneurs and members of the
professional class
• They were the most outspoken critics in the Dumas
• They played a significant role in the February Revolution in 1917
• The Kadet’s program included:
o An all Russian constituent assembly
o Full equality and civil rights for all citizens
o The ending of censorship
o The abolition of the mortgage repayments on land
o The recognition of trade unions and the right to strike
o The introduction of universal and free education
The Reasons For The 1905 Revolution
• What weakened the tsar was not its tyranny, but its incompetence at handling tense situations
• 1905 marked the first time the tsarist government had been faced by opposition from the industrial workers,
the peasantry and the reformist middle class
• However, rather than a political revolution, it was more of a reaction to the industrial recession and bad
harvests
Potemkin Mutiny
• In June, the crew of the battleship Prince Potemkin mutinied while at sea.
• The mutiny was only restricted to one ship, but this was deeply troubling for the Russian authorities
• A government who could not rely on the loyalty of the armed services in times of war would be in a very
vulnerable position
Government Recovery
• The government had to give concessions to the range of oppositions
• The Liberals were appeased by Witte’s October Manifesto in which he accepted the creation of a legislative
duma.
• The manifesto also promised introducing a range of civil rights, including freedom of speech, assembly and
worship, and the legalising of trade unions.
• This largely satisfied the liberals
• The peasants were appeased in November as mortgage repayments would be progressively reduced and
abolished all together
• This resulted in a drop in the number of land seizures by the peasants and a decline in lawlessness in the
countryside
• Now, the government was only seriously opposed by the industrial workers
• The government felt strong enough to use the army that just returned from the Far East to suppress the
workers as they were still loyal to the tsar
• The army stormed the headquarters of the St Petersburg soviet where the leaders, like Trotsky, were arrested
Moscow Uprising Suppressed
• On 7 December, a group of Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and SRs came together in the recently formed Moscow
Soviet to organise a general strike
• They seized a number of key installations in an attempt to take over the whole city
• However, the army was rushed to Moscow and heavy artillery was used
• The soviet members surrendered on 18 December
• The 12 day uprising resulted in the deaths of over 1000 people
Anti-Semitism
• Over 600 new measures were introduced to impose heavy social, political and economic restrictions on the
Jewish population.
• A group of ultra-conservative Russian nationalists, known as the ‘Black Hundreds’, were notorious for their
attacks on Jews.
• During the reign of Nicholas II, the number of pogroms (attacks on Jews) increased sharply, which was proof of
the tsarist regime’s support of the terrorising of the Jews.
The Opponents Of Tsardom
• Two main groups opposed tsardom during Nicholas II’s reign:
o Revolutionaries
o Reformers (liberals)
 • The revolutionaries comprised three major groups:
o Populists
o Social Revolutionaries (SRs)
o Social Democrats (SDs)
Lenin And Marxism
• By the age of 20, Lenin was a committed Marxist
• His dedication to revolution in Russia had led to internal exile in Siberia
• He was still in exile when the SD party was formed
• Lenin greatest achievement was reshaping Marxist theory to fit Russian conditions
• Lenin used the Bolshevik Party to direct the revolution from above
Lenin And The Bolsheviks Before 1917
• During the years 1904-17, Lenin was largely absent from Russia
• He did provide instructions for his followers, but they only played a minor role in the events in Russia before
1917
Reformers And Liberals
• These groups never came together to form a common front
• Since political parties were illegal before the October Manifesto, it was very difficult for them to develop as
democratic bodies
• The economic boom of the 1890s allowed for the rapid development of these parties
• Three main parties were the Union of Liberation, the Octobrists and the Kadets
The Russo-Japanese War, 1904-5
• Russia had three main motives for going to war with Japan
o To pursue an expansionist policy in the Far East, to make up for what it saw as its relative decline in
Europe
o To obtain an ice-free port, as all its own major ports would freeze in the winter
o To distract the people from Russia’s domestic problems by rallying the nation in a patriotic struggle
• The Russians believed Japan was an inferior nation and would be no match for them
• The war revealed that Russia had severely underestimated the strength of Japan
• The Japanese were far better equipped and prepared
• After a long siege, Port Arthur fell to Japan in January 1905
• Japan then seized the key Manchurian town of Mukden
• The final humiliation for Russia was the Russian Baltic fleet which took eight months to reach its destination,
only to be blown up by a Japanese fleet
• The tsarist government had to make peace and created the Treaty of Portsmouth signed in September 1905
• Within the treaty, Russia would withdraw its forces from Manchuria and accepted Japanese control of Korea
and Port Arthur
• Russia lost the war because of its military leaders
• The incompetence of the government was exposed, stirring social unrest
• This defeat was a huge factor in the 1905 Revolution
Bloody Sunday
• The 1905 Revolution began with Blood Sunday
• On the 22 January, Father Georgy Gapon, an Orthodox priest, led a peaceful march of workers and their
families to the Winter Palace in St Petersburg
• Their intention was to present a petition to the tsar to relieve the desperate conditions
• However, the march induced panic in the police forces and the marchers were fired on
• Around 200 were killed and many more injured
• Although Nicholas II was absent from St Petersburg, this event gravely damaged the traditional image of the
tsar as the ‘Little Father’ (promoting the tsar’s paternal care for the people)
Disorder Spreads
• The immediate reaction to Bloody Sunday was widespread strikes and terrorism against government officials
• Much of it was organised by the Social Revolutionaries and it spread to the countryside
• The situation was made much worse by the outcomes of the war against Japan
• Buildings were attacked and seized by the peasants
• The peasants feared the government was going to repossess the homes of those families who had failed to pay
off their mortgages in the post-emancipation years
 • The unrest and the government’s failings to continue it encouraged non-Russian minorities to assert their
demands
• Georgia and the Poles wanted independence
• The Jews demanded equality
• In May, Pavel Milyukov, leader of the Union of Liberation, persuaded the majority of the liberal groups to form a
‘Union of Unions’
• They aimed to organise a board-based alliance that would include the peasants and factory workers
• It was from this group that the Kadet party would be formed in 1905, also led by Milyukov
Romanov Rule 1906-14

Economic Policy Under Stolypin

• Stolypin was one of Russia’s leading ministers
• He tried to reform Russia but faced many difficulties
The First Duma, April To June 1906
• Early in 1906, France gave a substantial loan to Russia
• This lessened the dumas ability to exercise financial control over the government
• The opening of the first duma also coincided with the Fundamental Laws
• The Fundamental Laws included:
o Every law needed the tsar’s approval
o He could dissolve the dumas at any time
• In addition, the dumas would have two chambers
• One would be an elected lower house, the other would be a state council where members would be appointed
by the tsar
• The state council had the right to veto, depriving the first chamber of any real power
The Tsar’s Position At The Outbreak Of War
• Tsardom was in a relatively strong position and had emerged stronger from the 1905 Revolution
• The army was still loyal and the three groups who rose up were appeased
• The October Manifesto had not decreased the tsar’s power
• The Dumas had no threat to the tsar’s powers
• The liberals could not openly challenge the tsar
• Revolutionary parties were not capable of taking over the government as many of the leading figures were in
exile
• Russia was still feared by European countries and regarded as a great military power
• The tsar believed that only a minority of industrial workers were opposed to his rule
• There were still economic and social problems, but those had been here for a long time
• Russia’s economy was overall behind, but their railways allowed for migration and the agricultural and
industrial sectors had grown by 6% by 1914
• There were no clear signs of the revolution to come
Rural Crisis
• Stolypin first tried to cater for the nation’s growing population
• The growing population led to land shortages and overpopulation
• Severe famines were caused by bad harvests in 1891 and 1897
• The government’s policy of the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 had not helped
• High prices of land resulted in social insecurity among the peasants
Appeasing The Peasants
• The government was able to recognise the peasant’s fear of the government repossessing their land because of
mortgages
• Stolypin prompted the government to announce that the outstanding payments would be cancelled
• The peasants were relieved
Difficulties Facing Stolypin
• Stolypin said he needed 20 years for his policies to show results
• However, he would be assassinated in 1911 and the war in 1914 inevitably stalled his policies
• Doubt still remained as the peasants were very conservative so many in 1914 still used the old strip system of
farming and were too hesitant to go farm independently
The Industrial Front
• From 1908 to 1914 there was an overall increase in industrial output of 8.5%
• However, many workers were not paid well and working conditions were tough
• The trade unions were very weak and there was minimal legal protection for the workers
• The large number of strikes in the pre-1914 years and the general strike in 1914 show the worker’s
dissatisfaction with the conditions
Duma Radicalism, The Vyborg Appeal
• Many in the duma were bitter, so they took a radical stance
• They demanded the rights and powers of the duma to be increased
• Nicholas II reacted by dissolving the duma
• In frustration, 200 Kadet and Labourist deputies assembled in Vyborg, Finland, where they drew up an appeal,
urging the people of Russia to defy their government
• They wanted the people to stop paying taxes and to disobey conscription orders
• The people reacted violently, allowing the government to retaliate
• The Vyborg group was arrested and disallowed from re-elections in the duma
The Second Duma, February To June 1907
• The new assembly was radical and anti-government due to the Vyborg fiasco
• The number of right-wing parties also increased, creating considerable disagreement in the duma
• Stolypin was willing to work with the duma, but his land programme was rejected
• The duma also criticised the imperial army, resulting in the duma being dissolved again by Nicholas II
Repression And Disorder
• Recurring recessions caused widespread unemployment
• Following Stolypin’s assassination in 1911, the ministers in the government were all incompetent
• They lacked political prowess, which meant they only furthered repression
• The regime’s terror tactics caused an increase in strikes from 24 in 1911 to 2401 in 1914
General Strike 1914
• Many were against the government’s dealing of problems
• In July 1914 a general strike paralysed St Petersburg
• Violence followed as the police got involved
• Many in the duma openly supported the strikers
• The First World War prevented matters from getting out of hand
The Third Duma, November 1907 To June 1912
• Despite the failure of the first two dumas, the tsar continued with them because of two main reasons:
o The tsar wanted to protect Russia’s image as a democratic nation
o The duma became more dominated by right-wings (due to changes in the voting system), the
opposite of the first two dumas meaning there was a lot less criticisms about tsardom
• The new make up of the dumas meant Stolypin could continue with his land reforms
• The duma was able to pass social reforms like schools for the poor and national insurance for industrial
workers
The Lena Goldfields Incident 1912
• In 1912, Lena gold miners demanded better pay and working conditions
• The employers resisted and reported them to the police
• The police moved into Lena where the situation deteriorated rapidly, resulting in a large number of miners
killed or injured
• The tsar has learned nothing from Bloody Sunday
The ‘Wager On The Strong’
• In 1906-7, Stolypin introduced measures to restore the peasants’ sense of security.
o Farmers were urged to use the more efficient fenced field pattern, which existed in Western Europe.
o Peasant grouping in obshchinas was discouraged, and incentives were given to peasants to return to
individual farming.
o A Land Bank was set up to provide funds for independent peasants
o Schemes for voluntary resettlement of the peasants were implemented, which aimed to populate the
empire’s remoter areas like Siberia
• Stolypin defined his policy as a ‘wager on the strong.’
 • He hoped to create a prosperous and productive peasantry who would support the tsarist system because of
their newfound wealth
Repression Under Stolypin
• Martial law (placing the population under military authority) was proclaimed
• Disturbances were put down by military courts
• Between 1906 and 1911 there were over 2500 executions in Russia
• The Kadet failure meant it could not recover from its humiliating defeat
• The liberal cause was now discredited, allowing the left and right to argue for more extreme actions
The Fourth Duma 1912 To August 1914
• The fourth duma did criticise tsardom, though less openly then the first two dumas
• The dumas did provide the foundations for state welfare
• It can be argued that the effectiveness of the dumas were limited by the tsarist government
War and Revolution 1914 - 1917

Russian Morale During War

• Nicholas II became the symbol of the nation’s resistance
• All deputies in the duma, except for 5 Bolsheviks, pledged themselves to the national struggle
• Many in the socialist parties abandoned their policies and joined the national war effort
• Lenin called on all true revolutionaries to transform the war into a civil war
• However, everyone was against him, so the remaining Bolsheviks had to flee or go into hiding
Russia’s Problems
• The basic explanation for Russia’s decline is the deterioration of the economy
• The impact of war includes:
o Inflation
o Food and transport
o Living conditions
o The army
o Prohibition
Food And Transport
• Initially, many of the peasant farmers benefited from the war since the demand for food increased.
• Russia’s grain yields were high, but they started to fall in 1916
• Inflation made trading unprofitable, so peasants started hoarding their stocks
• The requisitioning of horses and fertilisers for the war effort made it difficult for peasants to sustain agricultural
output
• The military had priority in the use of the transport system, so food supplies could not be distributed effectively
• Shortages were worse in towns and cities
• Petrograd suffered particularly badly because it was far away from food-producing regions and had many
refugees.
• It was the disruption of the transport system that caused Russia’s wartime shortages.
• Less than 2 years after the war began, the Russian railway system had already virtually collapsed.
• By 1916, Petrograd and Moscow were receiving a third of their food and fuel requirements.
Prohibition
• The consumption of alcohol was an integral part of Russian social tradition
• Nicholas II made a huge error in banning alcohol
• He wanted his people to concentrate on the war effort
• But, nearly a third of the government’s income was from taxes on alcohol sales
• By 1916, the damage was clear and so the laws were repealed
• However, it was too late
Formation Of A ‘Progressive Bloc’
• The duma forced Nicholas II to allow the duma to reassemble in July 1915
• The duma wanted to replace the tsar’s cabinet with members from the duma
• Nicholas II rejected this proposal, which destroyed any support from the progressive parties
• 236 of the 422 duma deputies formed into a ‘Progressive Bloc’
• The group included Kadets, Octobrists, Progressive Nationalists and the Party of Progressive Industrialists
• The SRs did not formally join, but did vote with them
 • The bloc tried to persuade Nicholas II to introduce reforms, but he refused
• The government continued to shuffle its ministers to try find a competent team
• From 1915-16, there were 4 prime ministers, 3 foreign secretaries, 3 ministers of defence and 6 interior
ministers
• None of them succeeded
The Character Of Nicholas II
• Nicholas II had a limited imagination and was not overly bright
• He made crucial errors when he was tsar like taking direct command of the army in 1915
• This effectively tied the fate of the Romanov dynasty to the success of the war
• Nicholas was also a weak leader
• He was the wrong man at the wrong time
• These factors themselves were not sufficient to bring down tsardom
The Role Of Rasputin
• Gregory Rasputin contracted much of the hatred centered on the tsarist system
• Rasputin was known as the ‘mad monk’ who was rumoured to have healing powers
• The Empress Alexandra wanted to cure her son, Alexei, the heir to the throne, of his haemophilia
• She invited Rasputin, who apparently eased Alexei’s conditions when Rasputin was with him
• However, scandals followed as Alexandra was German and Rasputin was hated
• When Nichola was absent at military headquarters, it was effectively Alexandra and Rasputin running the
country, a German women and a debauched monk
Initial Events
• On 23 February, it was International Women’s Day
• This brought thousands of women on to the streets to demand food and an end to the war
• By 25 February, Petrograd was paralysed by a city-wide strike
The Breakdown Of Order
• The tsar was 600 km away from Petrograd in his military headquarters
• The tsarina sent news of the disturbances
• The tsar told the commander of the Petrograd garrison, General Khabalov, to restore order
• However the police and the garrison troops were disobeying orders
• By 26 February, all but a few thousand of the original 150,000 Petrograd garrison troops had deserted
• Reinforcements for the garrison under General Ivanov were also depleted by desertions
Petrograd Soviet Formed
• On 27 February the ‘Petrograd Soviet of Soldiers, Sailors and Workers Deputies’ met
• The soviet spoke for the striking workers and rebellious troops
• Meanwhile, the Provisional Committee represented the reformist elements of the old duma
• The Provisional Committee became the temporary government of Russia
The Tsar Abdicates
• On 28 February, Nicholas decided to return to Petrograd
• However, his train was redirected by mutinous soldiers to Pskov, 300 km from Petrograd
• They advised the tsar to abdicate as the situation in Petrograd was desperate
• Nicholas agreed and signed on 2 March to nominate his brother, the Grand Duke Michael as the new tsar
• Michael was not willing to accept the offer and refused on the pretext that it had not been accepted by a
Russian constituent assembly (a gathering of elected representatives of the Russian people)
• This spelt the end for tsardom
Inflation
• Between 1914 and 1917, government spending rose from 4m to 30m roubles
• This resulted in severe inflation
• Increased taxation and foreign loans was partially successful
• Between 1914 and 1916, average earnings doubled while the price of food and fuel quadrupled
Patriotic Organisations
• One major political mistake of the tsar was not cooperating with other patriotic organisations
• One example was the Zemgor who was a body that helped Russia’s war efforts
• This organisation was successful, highlighting the government’s failures
The February Revolution
• In 1916 there had been a number of challenges to the tsar and his government
 • The Octobrists in the duma had frequently demanded the removal of unwanted ministers and generals
• What made February 1917 different was the range of the opposition to the government and the rapid
transition from a protest to a revolution
The Importance Of War, 1914-17
• It was the length of that war that destroyed tsardom
• A short unsuccessful war like the Russo-Japanese war was fine, but the prolonged struggles caused:
o Deaths and casualties by the million
o Soaring inflation
o Collapsing communication systems
o Hunger
o Incompetent ministers
The Army
• The Russian army was the largest army of all the countries that fought in the war
• Its weakness was its lack of equipment due to poor administration
• By 1916 serious resource shortages began to occur
Morale
• The high morale of August 1914 had turned into pessimism by 1916
• People began to desert in increasing numbers
• However the army was still intact in 1917, even if morale was low
Key steps In The February Revolution
• 18 February, strikes begin at the Putilov factories in Petrograd
• 23 February, International Women’s Day, socialist groups demand female equality
• 25 February, a general strike begins
• 26 February, desertion of Petrograd garrison
• 27 February, members from the duma form a Provisional Committee, Petrograd Soviet formed
• 28 February, Nicholas II prevented from returning to Petrograd
• 2 March Provisional Committee declared itself a Provisional Government, tsar abdication decree
• 3 March Provisional Government declares that a revolution has taken place
• 4 March, tsar’s abdication is publicly proclaimed
Commander-In-Chief
• In August 1915, the tsar had formally taken direct command of Russia’s armed forces
• The intention was to rally the nation around him
• However, Nicholas II was now personally responsible for Russia’s performance in the war
Death Of Rasputin
• In December 1916, out of spite and a genuine wish to save the monarchy, a group of aristocratic conspirators
murdered Rasputin
• However, by early 1917, it was too late to save tsardom
Provisional Committee Formed, 27 February
• Rodzianko, on behalf of the duma, informed the tsar that only a major concession would offer any hope of
preserving the imperial power
• Nicholas instead ordered the duma to dissolve
• A group of 12 members refused and remained in session as a ‘Provisional Committee’
• This was the first unconstitutional defiance of the tsar
• A leading SR member, Alexander Kerensky, also called for the tsar to stand down
The Role Of The Bolsheviks
• The Bolsheviks were absent from the 1905 Revolution and the February Revolution
• All their leaders were in exile
• The Bolsheviks were even surprised by the events of February
The Character Of The February Revolution
• Between 1500 and 2000 people were killed or wounded in the February disturbances
• The lack of direction and leadership at the top stood out as a factor
• The tsardom had collapsed from within
• Revolutionary pressures had no direct effects
• It was the tsar’s biggest supporters who were the first to turn their backs on the tsar
• The defection of the tsar’s supporters and Nicholas II’s failure to resist caused the fall of the Romanov dynasty
 From Provisional Government to the October Revolution

The Dual Authority

• The Provisional Government, led by Prince Lvov, was really the old Duma in a new form
• The new government suffered from two crippling weaknesses:
o It was not an elected body thus it did not have legitimate authority and had no constitutional claim on
the loyalty of the Russian people
o Its authority was limited by its unofficial partnership with the Petrograd Soviet
Role Of The Petrograd Soviet
• The soviet did not intend to be an alternative government
• It regarded it self as a supervisor to make sure the interests of soldiers and workers were met
• However, the Provisional Government often seemed unsure of its own authority
• This uncertainty gave the soviet greater prominence
• The soviets were not opposed to the Provisional Government
• However, the soviets issued ‘Soviet Order Number 1’, which declared that in military matters, the orders of the
Provisional Government were to be obeyed if it did not go against the soviet’s values
The April Theses
• On the following day, Lenin issued his April Theses which outlined the future of Bolshevik policy:
o Abandon cooperation with all other parties
o Work for a true revolution by themselves
o Overthrow the Provisional Government
o Transfer power to the workers
o Total authority should be given to the soviets
• Lenin’s arguments were summed up in two provocative Bolshevik slogans he coined
• ‘Peace, Bread and Land’ and ‘All Power to the Soviets’
• ‘Peace’ related to the war
• ‘Bread’ related to the chronic food shortages
• ‘Land’ related to the disruption in the countryside
• Lenin believed that the Provisional Government could not solve these problems
• He was right as these problems led to the Provisional Government’s downfall
Government Trouble Increases
• The truth was, Russia could not fight a successful war
• In June, a major south-western offensive failed badly
• Whole Russian regiments mutinied or deserted
The Bolshevik Position On The Land Question
• The Bolsheviks did not have a land policy
• When Lenin returned in April, he declared that it would be pointless to work with the peasants
• However, Lenin asserted that because of the unique circumstances of post-tsarist Russia, the peasants were
acting as a truly revolutionary force
• He therefore adapted Marxist theory to add Russian peasants in the proletarian cause
• Lenin simply stole the land policy from the SR programme, producing a slogan ‘Land to the Peasants’
• What this meant was the Bolsheviks accept the land seizures
• This increased support for the Bolsheviks in the countryside
• It also split the SRs as some of them started to align with the Bolsheviks
• They became to be known as the Left SRs
Bolshevik Gains
• The Bolsheviks gained the most from the failed coup
• They had been able to portray themselves as defenders of the revolution
• It also damaged the image of the Provisional Government as it showed its political and military weakness
Kerensky Makes The First Move
• An article by two members of the Bolshevik Central Committee, Gregor Zinoviev and Lev Kamenev, said that it
would be a mistake to attack the government in current circumstances
• Kerensky interpreted this as meaning a date was already set
• Rather than waiting, he ordered a pre-emptive attack on the Bolsheviks
• On 23 October, the Bolshevik newspapers, Pravda and Izvestia were closed down by government troops
 • An attempted round-up of leading Bolsheviks started
• The Bolsheviks no longer had a choice
• Lenin ordered the planned insurrection to begin
Trotsky’s Role
• The Bolshevik plan was made by Trotsky
• Lenin undoubtedly influenced the October revolution, but it was Trotsky who planned it
• The key to Trotsky’s success was the fact that he was chairman of the Petrograd soviet, which he was elected to
in September
• On 9 October the soviet had set up the Military Revolutionary Committee (MRC) to organise the defence of
Petrograd in case of attack
• Trotsky used his influence to have him made one of the three men appointed to run the MRC
• This meant he had an effective military force in Petrograd at his disposal
• It was also a legitimate force since it theoretically acted on the authority of the soviet
• When Lenin gave orders for the uprising, Trotsky directed the Red Guards to seize key vantage points in
Petrograd
The Importance Of Soviet Order Number 1
• The order essentially meant the decrees of the Provisional Government were not binding unless they were
approved by the Petrograd soviet
• The Provisional Government had to compromise with the soviets to gain the support of the army
• Between February and April 1917 this arrangement worked relatively well
Early Achievements Of The Provisional Government
• A set of progressive measures were adopted by the Provisional Government:
o Amnesty for all political prisoners
o Trade unions were legally recognised
o 8 hour days for industrial workers
o Replacement of the tsarist police with a people’s militia
o Full civil and religious freedoms being granted
o Preparations made for the election of a constituent assembly
• These changes did not touch on the critical issue of the war and land
• It would be these two factors that would destroy the Dual Authority
The War
• The Provisional Government’s main problem was the war
• It had to keep fighting in order to receive supplies and war-credits from the Western allies
• Tsardom had left the government bankrupt
• This meant the government could not concentrate on Russia’s social and economic problems
The July Days
• The government seemed to no longer be in control
• The most ominous signs were:
o The spread of soviets
o Workers controlling factories
o Peasants seizing land
o Internal government disputes
National Minorities
• Another problem was that a number of minorities set up their own national government and claimed
independence
• The most notable was the breakaway of Ukraine which helped to provoke the July Days crisis
• In addition, tensions were increased by demonstrations in Petrograd and the failures of the south-western
offensive
The Consequences Of The July Days
• While the July Days may have been uncertain, the failed uprising revealed a number of important facts:
o The opposition movement was disunited
o The Bolsheviks was still far from being the dominant revolutionary group
o The Provisional Government still had sufficient strength to put down an armed insurrection
• This boosted the Provisional Government’s credibility
• Two days after the rising, Kerensky became prime minister
 • He put the Bolsheviks under pressure and closed down Pravda
• Many of the Bolshevik leaders were arrested, while Lenin fled to Finland
• Kerensky also initiated a propaganda campaign, branding the Bolsheviks as traitors
• The Bolsheviks seemed to be broken, but the Provisional Government’s misjudgement over the land question
and the Kornilov Affair saved the Bolsheviks
The Kornilov Affair
• In August, Kerensky’s government became involved in the Kornilov Affair
• Kornilov declared that Russia and the government stood in grave danger of a socialist-inspired insurrection
• He intended to bring his loyal troops to Petrograd to save the Provisional Government
• Kerensky publicly condemned Kornilov’s advance
• He ordered Kornilov to surrender and placed Petrograd under martial law
• In fear of an attack, Kerensky called on all loyal citizens to fight
• The Bolsheviks were freed from prisons and received weapons from the government
• However, railway workers refused to let Kornilov through and a worker’s militia was being formed to oppose
him
• Kornilov gave up and allowed himself to be arrested
The Political Shift In Petrograd
• The Bolshevik’s recovery could be seen by their majority in the Petrograd and Moscow soviets
• After the Kornilov Affair, the Petrograd soviet moved to the left, while the Provisional Government moved to
the right
• This increased the likelihood of a clash between the two bodies
Lenin’s Strategy
• From his exile in Finland, Lenin constantly made his party prepare for the immediate overthrow of Kerensky’s
government
• Lenin’s emergency stemmed from:
o The meeting of the All-Russian Congress of Soviets in late October
o The elections for the Constituent Assembly in November
• Lenin was convinced that the Bolsheviks would have to take power before these events occurred
The Bolsheviks Take Power
• The Bolsheviks took power extraordinarily quickly
• On the 27 October the All-Russian Congress of Soviets began their first session
• The Chairman Lev Kamenev then informed them that they were now the supreme authority in Russia since the
Petrograd soviet had seized power
• Kamenev then read out a list of 14 names in the government, all of whom were Bolsheviks or left SRs
• Lenin was made head of the Russian ministers
• The SRs and Mensheviks walked out saying that it was a Bolshevik coup
Lenin’s Return In April 1917
• Before Lenin’s return on the 3 April 1917, the Bolsheviks were led by Kamenev and Stalin
• They had accepted the Dual Authority and were willing to work with other reformist parties
• However, Lenin changed all of that
• His speech when he arrived scorned the Provisional Government and called for a genuine revolution
Emergence Of Kerensky
• While Lvov was head of government, Kerensky held major influence
• Kerensky was war minister and campaigned for Russia to embrace the conflict with Germany
• He made a number of personal visits to the front to deliver passionate speeches to the troops
Kronstadt
• On the island of Kronstadt, the naval base situated 30 km west of Petrograd in the Bay of Finland became a
source of problems
• Sailors and workers there set up their own separate government
• This tempted a number of revolutionaries to bring down the Provisional Government
• The attempts were known as the ‘July Days’
The Land Question
• The peasants assumed the Provisional Government would redistribute the land
• However, when the government did nothing, the peasants decided to do it themselves
• These disturbances occurred daily in 1917
 • The Provisional Government had no real answer
• The Land Commission body could not handle this massive task
• Also, the Provisional Government was made up of propertied classes, so it was unlikely for them to be
enthusiastic for a policy that threatened their own interests
Collapse Of The Provisional Government
• In the three days (25-27 October) that it took for the city to fall into Bolshevik control, there were only 6 deaths
• The Provisional Government simply did not have any loyal military forces that would fight the Bolsheviks
• When the Red Guards approached the Winter Palace, there was no resistance
• Many had escaped beforehand, including Kerensky
The Weakness Of The Non-Bolshevik Parties
• Many parties had actually accepted the February Revolution as a genuine revolution
• Consequently, they cooperated with the Provisional Government
• For example, the Mensheviks believed the February Revolution was when the bourgeoisie had overthrown the
old feudal forces, so they were content
• This allowed the Bolsheviks a powerful propaganda weapon
• Furthermore, the other parties did not oppose the continuation of the war, unlike Lenin
Early Political Cooperation
• Both the Provisional Government and the soviet contained a wide range of political representation
• However as the months passed, the Provisional Government moved increasingly to the right and the soviet to
the left
• Tension grew between the two groups
Failure Of The Uprising
• The uprising was confusing and disorderly
• Members of soviets were reluctant to make a real bid for power
• This meant loyal troops from the front quickly restored order
• It is not clear who started the rising
• A month before, at the first All-Russian Congress of Soviets, Lenin had declared the Bolsheviks were ready to
take power
• However, many regarded that as a general intention
• A number of other revolutionaries had also demanded the Petrograd soviet take over the Provisional
Government
• Yet none of this came to fruition during the July Days
Lenin Urges A Rising (October Revolution)
• Despite Lenin’s conviction, his colleagues doubted his idea of striking against the Provisional Government
• In an effort to enforce his will, Lenin slipped back into Petrograd on 7 October
• His personal presence did not produce total unity, so he spent hours convincing the Central Committee
members
• On 10 October, they pledged to an armed insurrection, but failed to agree on a specific date
• It was Kerensky and the government that actually initiated the actual rising
Bolshevik Ruthlessness
• Lenin was able to ruthlessly exploit any crisis that arouse
• The Bolsheviks were also self-confident and scornful of all other parties and ideas
• This made it hard for any other party to challenge these dedicated revolutionaries
The Role Of Mutual Misunderstanding
• Before October, the Provisional Government and the Bolsheviks both overestimated each other’s powers
• They delayed their moves in fear of their opposition
• Kerensky was also more afraid of the right, so Kornilov was regarded as a bigger threat then Lenin
• Meanwhile, Lenin thought if government agents ever found him, he would be shot
• This explained his constant absence

Bolshevik Consolidation of Power 1917-24

Bolshevik Problems

The Bolsheviks under Lenin faced huge difficulties in trying to consolidate their hold over Russia
These can be summarised in four basic questions:

Could the Bolsheviks survive at all?

If so, could they extend their control over the whole of Russia?

Could they negotiate an end to the war?

Could they bring economic stability to Russia?

From the beginning, the Bolshevik regime was struggling

The Bolsheviks spent much of their time preparing for revolution, so they did not know how to govern after they had taken power

The Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party was under Lenin and provided the members of the government

This meant power was exercised top-down and not bottom-up

Immediate Difficulties

The shortage of raw materials and investment capital reduced industrial production to two-thirds of its 1914 level

Inflation had rocketed

The transport system was broken

Hunger was prevalent, grain supplies were over 13 million tonnes short of the nation’s needs

The food crisis had been further deepened by the ceding of Ukraine to Germany, Russia’s richest grain producing region

All of Lenin’s economic policies from 1917 onwards can be seen as attempts to deal with these problems

He needed to first persuade the peasantry to produce enough food for the nation

They introduced two new measures:

‘Decree on Land’

‘Decree on Workers’ Control’

These were both issued in November 1917

Reasons For The Russian Civil War 1918-20

The Bolshevikʻs crushing of the Constituent Assembly and their outlawing of other parties showed that they were not prepared to
share power

This made civil war highly likely

Lenin may have wanted a destructive civil war as it would be better to completely wipe out any opposition then to have them remain
for years

Lenin did not want to join the coalition of all the revolutionary parties in 1918 because the Bolsheviks were very much a minority
party

Red, Whites And Greens

The conflict was between the Bolsheviks (Reds) facing their political enemies (Whites), including monarchists and outlawed
parties, and the Greens, groups from national minorities seeking independence from central Russian control

The Ukrainians and the Georgians fought the war to establish their independence from Russia

Russia And The Western Allies

The Provisional Government remained committed to the war against Germany in return for Allied war-credits and supplies

However, the October Revolution led to the Bolsheviks seizing power

Within weeks, an armistice was agreed with Germany and fighting ended in December 1917

Britain and France initially hoped the Bolsheviks would continue fighting in return for supplies
However, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918 ended all hope of Lenin fighting Germany

Any Allied help would now go to anti-Bolshevik groups

After the signing of the Treaty, British, French and US troops occupied key areas in European, central and far-eastern Russia

The Allies did not coordinate their attacks, they all wanted to protect their own interests

Lenin’s Methods For Imposing Control 1917-21

This was the period known as the ‘Red Terror’

Lenin and Trotsky used a range of suppressive methods to retain control

The Cheka

This was the state police fore, created in December 1917 under Felix Dzerzhinsky

It was granted unlimited powers of arrest, detention and torture

This was Lenin’s main form of repression

Conscription

Trotsky increased forced conscription because of the Civil War

Under the slogan ‘Everything for the Front’, Trotsky justified the severity of the Red Army’s methods by referencing the dangers that
Russia faced on all sides

The Bolsheviks believed that the only dependable units were from workers, so they became the elite corps of the Red Army

War Communism 1918-21

From 1918, Lenin introduced restricting economic measures, which were collectively known as War Communism

These were mainly needed because of the Civil War

The New Economic Policy

The New Economic Policy (NEP) was intended to meet Russia’s urgent need for food

Unanimous support for NEP was given because of the grim economic situation

The NEP included:

Central economic control to be relaxed

The requisitioning of grain to be abandoned and replaced by a tax (peasants gave a certain amount of their produce away)

The peasants can keep their surplus and sell them for a profit

Public markets to be restored

Money to be reintroduced as a means of trading

Lenin knew this was a step back from state control, therefore he stressed to his fellow Bolsheviks that it was a temporary
concession

Bolshevik Objections To NEP

Lenin’s realism showed that political theory was second to economic necessity

This troubled members of the party like Trotsky

The main complaint was that the reintroduction of private trading created a new class of profiteers

They were dubbed as ‘Nepmen’

Lenin’s Ban On Factionalism

NEP became such a large issue within the party, Lenin had to take steps to prevent the party from splitting
He introduced the ‘One Party Unity’

Lenin’s ban on factionalism prevented criticism of government or Central Committee decisions

He also declared all parties other then the Bolsheviks were banned

A further boost to Bolshevik unity was the decision by Bukharin

He was an outstanding party economist and he enthusiastically supported NEP

The Decree On Land

Since the February Revolution, peasants In many areas had overthrown their landlords and occupied their property

Lenin had merely accepted this with the decree and with the slogan ‘Land to the Peasants’

The Dissolution Of The Constituent Assembly

Lenin did not want to win mass support, he wanted to seize power when the moment came

Therefore, he did not want the elections to undermine the Bolshevik’s position

However, the October events had come too late to prevent the elections of the All-Russian Constituent Assembly in November

The Bolsheviks had been outvoted by nearly two to one by the Social Revolutionaries

They had only won 24% of the total votes and had barely gained a quarter of the seats in the assembly

Lenin had originally supported the idea of a Constituent Assembly as it could weaken the authority of the Provisional Government

However, with his party now in power, he had no need for the assembly

Furthermore, since it was overwhelmingly non-Bolshevik, it would make life difficult for his government

When the Constituent Assembly gathered in January 1918, it was dissolved at gunpoint by the Red Guards

Lenin justified the Bolshevik action by arguing that the all-Russian body was useless as its purpose was achieved by the creation of
the Soviet government in October 1917

Lenin’s ruthlessness made some of his own supporters uneasy

The Treaty Of Brest-Litovsk 1918

Lenin felt that Russia’s military exhaustion made it impossible for it to fight on successfully

Also between 1914 and 1917, the German foreign office had given substantial amounts of money to the Bolsheviks in the hope they
would pull Russia out of the war after their takeover

Having a settlement with Germany was in Lenin’s best interests since it would guarantee the German source of Bolshevik revenue

Trotsky also believed Russia could not continue their military campaign

He wanted to buy time to allow Bolshevik agitators to exploit mutinies in Austrian-German armies

Trotsky and Lenin were prepared to sacrifice Russia to spread their proletarian revolution

This explains why they were prepared to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918

A War About Food

Sometimes, the fighting was simply a struggle for food

Famine was prevalent during the Civil War

The breakdown of food supply during the war against Germany continued

The failure of the Bolsheviks in solving the food crisis formed the initial military opposition to the Bolsheviks in 1918

Additionally, the broken transport system and the treaty of Brest-Litovsk meant many went hungry

By June 1918, the workforce in Petrograd had shrunk by 60% and the overall population went from 3 million to 2 million
Armed Resistance

40,000 Czechoslovak troops in Russia had volunteered to fight on Russia’s side in the war

After the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, they were isolated

Their aim was to travel to Vladivostok to re-join the Allies

The Bolsheviks resented this foreign army, so local Soviets began to challenge the Czech Legion

All of this encouraged the Whites and all anti-Bolshevik groups to come out openly against Lenin’s regime

The SRs organised a number of uprisings in central Russia and established an anti-Bolshevik Volga ‘republic’ at Samara

A White ‘Volunteer Army’, led by General Denikin, had formed in the Caucasus region and was made up of tsarist loyalists and
outlawed Kadets

In Siberia, the presence of the Czech legion encouraged the formation of a White army under Admiral Kolchak, the self-proclaimed
‘Supreme Ruler of the Russia State’

White units appeared in many regions elsewhere

The speed at which they formed indicated the limitations of Bolshevik control outside the cities of western Russia

The White generals, Denikin, Kolchak, Wrangel and Yudenich, did not coordinate their strategy

This allowed the Red Army to fight them individually and overcome them

The Bolsheviks were able to maintain control over the railways to keep themselves supplied while denying the Whites the same
benefit

Red Strengths

They remained in control of the central area of western Russia by maintaining their inner communications and supply lines

Petrograd and Moscow remained in their hands along with most of the railway network

They had control over the industrial centres of Russia

The Red accused the Whites of being in the same league of foreign interventionalists since they received foreign supplies

The Red Army was brilliantly organised and led by Trotsky

Trotsky’s Role

Trotsky’s strategy was simple and direct:

Defend the Red Army’s internal lines of communication

Deny the Whites the opportunity to concentrate large forces in one area

Prevent the Whites from maintaining regular supplies

The basis of this strategy was the control of Russia’s railways

The railways could transport troops swiftly to any critical locations

Trotsky also plotted the destruction of Russian trade unions and in 1921, ordered the suppression of rebellious Kronstadt workers

The Reds also pointed out that all the land the peasants seized in 1917 would be returned if the Whites won

This was the underlying reason that caused peasants to continue supporting the Bolsheviks

Show Trials

On Lenin’s instructions, between April and August 1922, leading members of outlawed parties were put on humiliating public trials

Laws were also enacted freely by the Bolsheviks

Some Bolsheviks were uneasy, but most accepted it as the hazardous situation justified the repression
Organisation Of The Red Army

Trotsky’s outstanding achievement as war commissar was his creation of the Red Army

Trotsky turned the old Red Guard into an army of 3 million men

Political commissars watched ex-tsarist officers

The commissars would also have to sign off military orders

Desertion or disloyalty resulted in the death penalty

Impact On Industry

The first step of War Communism was a formal policy in June 1918

Lenin knew he could enforce his policy of centralisation with the Red Army and Cheka

Therefore, he issued the Decree on Nationalisation in June 1918

This was a programme that would allow the state to takeover large industrial concerns

In two years, practically all major industrial enterprises were under central government control

This policy did nothing to increase production

Military needs were given priority

There was a shortage of workers due to conscription and the large number of urban inhabitants who fled in search of food or to
escape the Civil War

The populations of Petrograd and Moscow dropped by a half between 1918 and 1921

Hyperinflation also occurred as the government started printing more money and goods became scarce

In 1920, the value of the rouble had fell to 1% of its original value in 1917

War communism was a failure in economic terms

Impact On Agriculture

For Lenin, War Communism was used to tighten government control over agriculture and force the peasants to provide more food

However, the peasants were a conservative class and were resistant to a centralised government

The government blamed this on the kulaks (class of the rich who were exploiting peasants) as they were hoarding grain

However, the kulaks were actually just more efficient farmers who were marginally more prosperous

Furthermore, the resistance to change was because the peasants simply saw no point in producing more food if the government,
their main grain purchaser, did not pay a fair price

The Tambov Rising

There were outbreaks of resistance throughout 1920

The most serious was the one in Tambov

Peasants had formed their own armies

The principal leader was Alexander Antonov, a SR member

The peasants attacked requisition squads and took over whole regions in the countryside

By the end of 1920, Antonov had a guerrilla army of around 20,000

The Red Army was successful in re-establishing government control

The Kronstadt Rising 1921

This was the most serious challenge to Bolshevik control since the October Revolution
Lenin was deeply worried by the development of opposition within the party

Two prominent Bolsheviks, Alexander Shlyapnikov and Alexandra Kollontai, led a ‘Workers’ Opposition’ movement against War
Communism

Kollontai produced a pamphlet which accused the party leaders of losing touch with the proletariat

Groups of workers in Petrograd went on strike in early 1921 in response

By February 1921, thousands of Petrograd workers went to the naval base on Kronstadt

There, they joined with the workers in the naval base and demonstrated for greater freedom

Lenin sent a team of political commissars who were treated with derision

Economic Results Of NEP

The most powerful reason for the party to accept NEP was its statistical results

The production figures suggested that the policy worked

By 1924, the Soviet economy began to make a recovery

NEP had produced an economic balance between private ownership and state domination

However, NEP was not a total success

Opponents of the policy criticised it as the industry failed to expand as rapidly as the agriculture sector

The Decree On Workers’ Control

This measure also authorised what had already been happening

During 1917, a large number of factories had been taken over by workers

However, the workers’ committees that were formed ran the factories inefficiently

The result was a serious fall in industrial output

The decree instructed the workers to maintain a strict order and discipline in the workplace

In December, Vesenkha (Supreme Council of the National Economy) was set up to enforce all economic matters

It achieved:

The nationalisation of banks and railways

Cancelling of foreign debts

The repair of the transport system

These achievements suggested the potential of the Bolshevik regime

Creation Of The Cheka 1917

The Cheka was a better organised and more efficient form of the old Okhrana

It was used to destroy any opposition to the Bolsheviks

The Terms Of The Treaty Of Brest-Litovsk

A huge slice of territory, around a third of European Russia, was ceded to Germany

Russia’s main grain source Ukraine was gone

The population lost was 45 million people

Russia had to pay 3 billion Roubles in war reparations

Effects Of The Civil War On The Bolsheviks

Of all the members in the Bolsheviks (renamed the Communist party in 1919), a third had joined in the years 1917-20 and had
fought in the Red Army

This meant the Bolsheviks of this generation were hard men

This also created a tradition of military obedience and loyalty

This military victory further developed the use of authoritarian measures

The Civil War resulted in the creation of two subcommittees, the Politburo (the Political Bureau, responsible for major policy
decisions) and the Orgburo (Organisation Bureau, which turned policies into practice)

These were set up in 1919 and could act with the necessary speed required

Propaganda Success For The Bolsheviks

The foreign withdrawals were not a military victory

However, Soviet propaganda made it seem like it

Lenin’s government was portrayed as the nation’s saviour from foreign powers who were trying to overthrow the revolution

This helped to mellow the effects of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

It also lent credibility to the Bolshevik depiction of the Whites as agents of foreign powers, intent on restoring reactionary tsardom

The Cheka Wages Class War

In accordance with Dzerzhinsky’s instructions, all legality was abandoned

Evidence and proof of guilt meant nothing

Persecution was directed against whole classes

Famine

By 1921, the combination of requisitioning, drought and the consequences of war had created a national famine

The grain harvests in 1920 and 1921 were half off that in 1913

Even the government’s propaganda newspaper, Pravda, said that one in five of the population were starving in 1921

The Bolsheviks, while continuing to blame the kulaks and Whites, accepted foreign assistance

Despite these efforts, of the 10 million fatalities in the Civil War period, half of them were because of starvation

Enforcing War Communism

By 1921, the grim economic situation had undermined the original justification for War Communism

Yet, many Bolsheviks regarded this policy as true revolutionary communism

Therefore, the policy remained after the Civil War

The peasants expected it to end, but instead, great amounts of grain were seized

The peasants reacted violently

The Kronstadt Manifesto

Early in March, the sailors and workers of Kronstadt elected Petrechenko as chairman of a 15 man revolutionary committee,
responsible for representing their grievances to the government

This committee produced a manifesto that demanded:

New elections to the soviets, to be held by secret ballot

Freedom of speech and of the press

Freedom of assembly
The Bolsheviks were afraid of the people who drafted it as they were great supporters of the Bolsheviks in 1917

The Uprisings Crushed

Trotsky ordered the Red Army to crush the workers on Kronstadt

60,000 Red troops stormed the base, while the sailors and workers there fought fiercely

The uprising was suppressed and the ringleaders were announced as White reactionaries

The Cheka was tasked with hunting down rebels who had escaped

Lenin justified this as the work of the bourgeois enemies of the October Revolution

Lenin learnt from his mistake and softened the severity of War Communism

He announced his introduction of the New Economic Policy

The Bolsheviks’ Early Measures

Lenin knew many Bolsheviks wanted immediate revolutionary policies

However, the new regime did not possess the power to impose this

Its authority was cantered around Petrograd and Moscow

The war against Germany and Austria had brought Russia to the point of economic collapse

The Bolsheviks needed to exercise a much wider political and military control to implement their revolutionary policies

Consequences Of The Treaty

Many Bolsheviks wanted to continue the struggle against Germany

However, Lenin stressed that his policy was the only realistic one

Lenin believed Russia would be able to reclaim its lost territories after Germany lost the war

Lenin gained his way by a majority of only one vote

A number of Bolsheviks, known as Left Communists, condemned the signing of the Treaty

It was only after Lenin’s insistence on the absolute need for party loyalty that they reluctantly accepted the Treaty

The collapse of Germany’s western front in August 1918 and the withdrawal of German forces from Russia cleared all doubts on
Lenin’s decision

Lenin’s gamble had paid off and his position over the party was strengthened

He was also able to expel the Left SRs from the government and to outlaw them politically

Challenge From The SRs

The desperate circumstances encouraged others to openly challenge the Bolsheviks

The SRs, who had been outlawed because of their refusal to accept the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk attempted a coup in Moscow (in
1918, Moscow replaced Petrograd as the capital of Russia due to security reasons)

This failed

Therefore, the Civil War began as an effort by one set of revolutionaries to take power from another

The SRs joined the Whites in their struggles against Lenin

White Weaknesses

The various White armies fought as separate detachments

They were not bounded by a single aim, other then overthrowing the Bolsheviks

They were unwilling to sacrifice their individual interests in order to form a united anti-Bolshevik front
They were also too geographically scattered to combine

The Whites were reliant on foreign supplies which seldom arrived in sufficient quantities, in the right places or at the right time

The Whites lacked good leaders

The Failure Of The Interventions

There were anti-Bolshevik speakers in Western Europe

However, there was no serious attempt made against the Bolsheviks

In reality, the long war with Germany had made the interventionists tired

Contact between the Allies and Whites were lazily done

The French and US troops left in 1919 and by the end of 1920, only Japan remained

Japan remained during the Civil War until 1922

Lenin’s Approach To Foreign Affairs

Lenin had a realistic approach

He knew capitalist nations were too strong for revolution and were against him as they had supported the Whites during the Civil
War

Therefore, Lenin’s foreign policies were guided by the desire to avoid conflict

The Murder Of The Romanovs, July 1918

In July 1918, a group of SRs assassinated the German ambassador as a protest against the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

A month later, an attempt was made on Lenin’s life and the Petrograd chairman of the Cheka was murdered

This allowed the Bolsheviks to enforce their terror

Lenin also personally ordered the execution of the ex-tsar and his family in July 1918

Labour Camps

Dzerzhinsky set up forced labour camps for any enemies of the Bolsheviks

By the time Lenin died, there were 315 camps

They were made to be harsh including severe hunger and regular beatings

Trade Unions Crushed

Trotsky used his powers as war commissar to end the independence of trade unions

Early in 1920, workers were brought under military discipline:

A total ban on questioning of orders and instructions

Pay and conditions were no longer negotiable

Severe penalties for not meeting production targets or poor workmanship

Grain Requisitioning

The government resorted to using the Cheka to take grain by force

The requisitions squads systematically terrorised the countryside between 1918 and 1921

Yet the amount of food decreased

Peasants knew that any surplus would be confiscated, so they only produced the bare minimum to feed their own families

Nevertheless, the Bolsheviks persisted in the belief that grain hoarding was the problem
Lenin’s Legacy

At his death, Lenin left Russia the following legacy: The one party state, Centralised state,The police state, The ban on
factionalism, The destruction of the trade unions. The politicising of the law, The system of purges, Labour camps, Prohibition of
public worship

Liberalism and Nationalism in Germany, 1815-71

Prior to 1815, Germany was made up of 314 states and was part of the Holy Roman Empire. The only thing the states had in
common was the German language.

By 1815, the Vienna Settlement, or Congress of Vienna, reduced the number of states to 39 and formed the German
Confederation. Austria led the German Confederation, better known as the Bund. Prussia made territorial gains due to its
contribution to defeating Napoleon I in his Napoleonic Wars.

• the Prussians defeated Napoleon at the Battle of Leipzig in 1813

The Bund was controlled mainly by Prince Clemens von Metternich of Austria.

• Napoleon I had successfully united the Germans in defeating, giving birth to German nationalism and J.G Herder’s
concept of Volksgeist (spirit of the people)
• Metternich was very conservative due to his royal background. He feared German nationalism and saw it as a threat
to Austrian supremacy
• Metternich was not helped by the growth of the Romantic movement
o this influenced philosophy, literature, and criticism

FQ1: What were the causes of the revolutions in 1848-49?

German nationalism grew particularly in the educated middle classes such as professional people (teachers/professors,
lawyers, businessmen) and student associations (Burschenschaften).

• The educated middle classes opposed the Junkers, the land-owning aristocracy, particularly in Prussia

The middle classes wanted:

• a constitutional monarchy
• freedom of speech, free press, and the right to a fair trial
• free trade with the removal of tariffs

The lower classes were more radical and did not want a constitutional monarchy. They wanted to become a democratic
republic.

Metternich’s System

Metternich’s system was very repressive. He wanted to restore absolute monarchies, particularly after the fall of Louis XVI in
France. As a result, his policies were often centred on censorship.

• Metternich issued the Carlsbad Decrees in August 1819

o university professors were fired if they were seen as liberal; Burschenschaften were dissolved
o newspapers were censored until only four newspapers were in circulation
▪ articles had to be proofread before they could be published
• He also issued the Six Articles in June 1832, and the Ten Articles in July 1832 following the Paris Revolution of
July 1830
o four German states (Saxony, Hanover, Hesse-Cassel, and Brunswick) were forced to give concessions
after the Paris Revolution
o the Hambach Festival of May 1832 was a gathering of nationalists
▪ while the festival had no immediate results, it is considered a milestone in German history toward
nationalism
o the Six Articles and the Ten Articles encouraged German state rulers to impose absolute rule over the
people and crush liberal ideas
o the Six Articles limited the rights of Diets in constitutional states; federal law superseded individual state
law
 o the Ten Articles forbade political organizations, meetings, appeals, and festivals

It is believed that Metternich would have done better in maintaining control over the Bund had he accepted nationalism as a
fact of life instead of suppressing it

However, religious differences within the German states often kept them apart. The northern states were mainly Protestant.
The southern states were Catholic.

The Zollverein

The Zollverein managed to unite Germany through the economy. Prior to the Zollverein’s establishment in 1834, tariffs and
customs duties made it expensive to export goods to other German states. As a result, Prussia established the Zollverein,
which excluded Austria.

• Immediately, the effect of the Zollverein could be seen. With the removal of tariffs and customs duties, free trade
flourished
• the railway system across the German states was invested in and improved thanks to the surplus capital from
removing trade taxes
o improvements in railways allowed travel between German states, hence, the growth of the Romantic period
in Germany’s literature, arts, and music
▪ the poem, Deutschland über Alles - Germany over All, became the German national anthem in
1922; the original music was made by Joseph Haydn in 1797
▪ the Brothers Grimm, Jacob and Wilhelm, were famous thanks to their works such as Cinderella,
The Frog Prince, Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, and many other classical folktales
▪ Adam Müller is known as the main representative of political romanticism. He was a literary critic
and publicist

The Zollverein allowed Prussia to dominate the Bund economically due to the exclusion of Austria. Talks began to rise around
creating a Kleindeutschland (small Germany, excluding Austria) or a Grossdeutschland (big Germany, including Austria).
The Zollverein was a vital part of the process of unification.

Problems leading up to the 1848-49 Revolutions

Despite the Zollverein’s benefits, poor harvests in 1846 and 1847 occurred. This led to rising prices, particularly with food, and
the rising population did not help this shortage of food.

The textile industry also experienced a recession in which workers received reduced wages.

FQ2: What were the consequences of the 1848-49 revolutions?

By 1846, liberal politicians and the middle classes wanted political reform. The revolution in France also encouraged a
revolution in Germany. As a result;

• Baden allowed free press, trial by jury, and other reforms

• Saxony and Nassau also granted some reforms

But this wasn’t enough to appease the people. By March 1848;

• Ludwig I of Bavaria abdicated

• a Volparlament (pre-parliament) was summoned in Frankfurt by representatives of six states at Heidelberg
• in Berlin;
o workers protested about wages and working conditions
o the middle classes wanted to protect their rights

In April 1847, the United Diet demanded a constitution. A liberal regime was only adopted in Prussia by King Frederick William
IV before he dissolved it.

• He allowed the election of an assembly but then established a new constitution: a two-chamber parliament but the
king still had absolute control and the Junkers’ rights were protected

Metternich encouraged state rulers to reassert their authority. Prussia helped restore order in other states such as Baden and
Saxony. Austria and Prussia helped recover monarchies in other German states.
In the end, the revolutions failed due to the divisions in the revolutionary movements between the people. Liberals were
moderate, but the radicals wanted major political changes while the middle- and working-classes had differing aims. The people
could not unite under a single movement.

The Frankfurt Parliament

The Frankfurt Parliament (established on May 1848, dissolved in May 1949) was a constituent assembly of 800
representatives sent from each state. The members were mainly well-off professionals.

The Frankfurt Constitution was drawn up in March 1849. King Frederick William IV of Prussia would become the emperor and
there would be two houses of parliament: one elected, and one consisting of state princes.

The Frankfurt Parliament collapsed for five reasons:

1. an unrepresentative body
a. due to the representatives being mainly professionals, representation for the industrial and working classes
was limited
b. too much time was spent on legalistic discussions
2. divisions within the parliament
a. disagreements over a Grossdeutschland or a Kleindeutschland
b. the southern states wanted a Grossdeutschland
c. Prussia was not exactly to be trusted
3. limited appeal
a. the revolution lacked popular support
b. no representation for the peasants or proprietors
4. overreliance on Prussia to enforce decisions
a. Prussia was already very powerful despite not being very popular among the German states
b. the Bund needed Prussia’s army to defend Schleswig and Holstein from the Danish king
5. the revolution itself
a. the popularity of the revolution diminished, undermining the assembly
b. due to their opposing viewpoints, the parliament was not united enough to fight for control against the
monarchy
c. King Frederick William IV did not want to “accept a crown from the gutters” and become the emperor of the
Frankfurt Constitution

In short, the assembly never got to implement their new constitution.

Reassertion of Austrian Power

Following the events of 1848, the Austrian emperor famously said, “tell the people I agree to everything“. There were too many
uprisings for the emperor to crush by force immediately and thus, had to make concessions for countries like Italy, Hungary,
and the German & Slav states.

However, by the summer of 1849, Austria was ready to reassert its domination of Germany.

• Austria had strong and vicious armies to defeat nationalism in states such as the Czechs, Poland, Hungary, and Italy
• Austria had military support from Russia as Tsar Nicholas I was a firm believer in absolute monarchy
• Germany’s attempt at unification had failed and Germany was left divided
• Austria’s only rival was Prussia, but Prussian armed forces were not strong enough to withstand Austrian pressure
• Prussian conservatives would not have supported any conflict with Austria and the Prussian king was not a dominant
or decisive figure

The Erfurt Union and the Humiliation of Olmütz

By 1849, King Frederick William IV’s advisor, General von Radowitz, wanted to unify northern and central Germany under
Prussian control. This was known as the Erfurt Union. He was to do this by imposing Prussia’s three-tier system.

• the three-tier system decided who could be elected to the lower house of Parliament
• the lower house still had to answer to an upper house of nobles
• the three-tier system was divided depending on the amount of tax paid by an individual:
o Class 1 were generally the richest and made up around 5%
o Class 2 were the next richest and made up 13%
o Class 3 were the majority and made up 82%
• only men over the age of 21 could vote
Saxony and Hanover agreed to this union while other states feared Prussian domination. Prussia was already dominating via
the economy thanks to their establishment of the Zollverein. Some 28 states joined the Erfurt Union due to pressure from
Prussia.

Eventually, the constitution was delayed and Prussia was forced to demobilise its forces and give back Austria’s power in the
Bund. This outcome is known as the Humiliation of Olmütz.

While Prussia appeared to have been defeated by Prussia, it still had economic domination over the German states. By 1856,
Austria lost the support of Russia after failing to aid them in the Crimean War. Prussia could finally go ahead with unifying
Germany.

Economic Developments after 1849

Despite the political drawbacks due to Austria’s reassertion of power, Germany still developed greatly.

Prussia continued to dominate the Zollverein. There was an increased expansion of coal, iron, steel, railways, and many other
industrial aspects.

• 640,000 peasants were freed and could farm independently, leading to increased food supply and internal market
• internal trade doubled between 1850 and 1857
• railways doubled in the 1850s from 5,800 km to 11,300 km

By the 1860s, Germany had developed its economy. Austria was facing an economic downturn and a decline in influence
among the Bund.

Unification of Germany, Common language

Different dialects spoken across German states that contributed to the potential for unification.
Diet
An assembly formed by the Congress of Vienna, with Austria as the permanent President, limiting German autonomy.
Zollverein
A customs union established in 1834 to create economic unity in Germany by removing internal tariffs.
Großdeutschland vs. Kleindeutschland
Controversial concepts regarding whether a unified German state should include Austria (Großdeutschland) or exclude it (Klein deutschland).
Culturkampf
Bismarck's conflict with the Catholic Church aimed at reducing its influence in the newly formed German state.
Carlsbad Decrees
Measures taken in 1819 to censor publications and dismiss revolutionary professors after the murder of Kotzebue.
Frankfurt Assembly
National assembly formed in 1848-49 aimed at unifying Germany, which ultimately failed due to lack of military power.
Battle of Königgratz
A decisive battle in 1866 during the Austro-Prussian War where Prussia defeated Austria.
Treaty of Prague
The treaty that ended the Austro-Prussian War in 1866, leading to the dissolution of the German Confederation.
Kulturkampf Laws
Laws implemented by Bismarck in the 1870s to control the Catholic Church in Prussia and limit its power.