Nicholas II 1894-1917
The Nature of Government
1. Type of rule
- Repressive autocracy adopted by his father
- The setting of the Duma appeared to a move to democracy however the passing of
Fundamental Laws of 1906 says otherwise
2. Structure:
Local government
- 17 October 1905, Tsar agreed to sign October Manifesto to promise establishing a
state Duma, indirect votes
- Lower Chamber ( the State Duma): members elected under a system of indirect voting
by estates, heavily weighted in favour of the nobility and peasants, deputies were to
be elected for a five-year term
- Upper Chamber ( the State council): half elected by zemstvo, half appointed by the
Tsar, noble representatives from the major social, religious, educational institutions
- The Government: was to be appointed exclusively by the Tsar, government was
responsible for the crown, not the Duma
- There were to be four Dumas between 1905 and 1917, the main political parties that
consented the elections included: SD, SR, Labour group, Kadets, Octobrists,
Progressive, Rightists, and Nationalists
The First Duma May- July 1906:
- boycotted by the Bolsheviks and SR etc, strongly critical if the Tsar. Witte replaced by
Ivan Goremykin
- Dissolved in 10 weeks , Goremykin replaced as Prime Minister by Pyotr Stolypin
The Second Duma Feb- June 1907:
- Increase of extreme left wing
- Stolypin struggled to find any support for the reform he had drawn up
- He introduced an illegal emergency law to alter it, the weight of the peasants, workers
and national minorities was drastically reduced, increase representation of the gentry
The Third Duma Nov 1907- June 1912:
- More submissive Duma
- Disputes over naval staff, Stolypin’s proposals
- In 1911 the Duma has to be suspended twice, by 1912 it is clear that the Duma system
wasn’t working
The Fourth Duma Nov 1912-17
- New Prime Minister kokovtsov replaced Stolypin after his assassination
, - He ignored the Duma and its influence declined
central government
- 23 April 1906, 5 days before the first Duma met, Nichloas issued a series of
Fundamental laws reasserting his autocratic powers
- The Tsar claim the right to veto (reject) legislation, to rule by decree in an emergency
when the Duma was not in session, to dissolve the Duma as he wished, command
Russia’s land and sea forces, to declare war and control Orthodox church
- They have upmost power
- October Manifesto
3. Repression
- Stolypin, Okhrana
4. Opposition
- Duma, liberals, socialist revolutionaries
, Opposition
1. Political opposition
- 1895-1905
The liberals
- Liberal intelligentsia in 1850s and 1860s who were active in arguing for emancipation
of the serfs
- Main beliefs: civil rights and freedom of the individual, the rule of law, parliamentary
democracy and the limitation of the tsar’s powers; some also believed the zemstvo
should be extended to regional and national level
- Methods: reforms rather than violent actions, political channels through zemstvo,
articles in newspapers, meetings etc
- Main support: came from middle class intelligentsia: lawyers, doctors, teachers, also
landowners, businessmen
- Members include liberal leaning members of the Russian nobility, and representatives
of the middle classes
The Socialist Revolutionaries
- Grew out of Populist movement
- SRs extremists assassinated as many as 2000 government officials between 1901 and
1905
- Main beliefs: hope for revolution with the peasants who would support a rising which
the tsarist government would be overthrown
- Victor Chernov was the leading exponent of their views, he believes the growth of
capitalism would promote the growth of a proletariat (working class) who would rise
against their masters, move to rural socialism through peasants
- He saw the SRs are representing ‘all labouring people’
- Methods: Agitation and terrorism, assassination of government officials
- Support: peasants, but by 1905 industrial workers formed 50% of the membership as
many workers were ex-peasants, they were the party that peasants recognised as
representing them, return the land ‘to those who worked it’
Social Democrats (SDs)
- George Plekhanov was the father of Russian Marxism who translated Karl Marx’s
work
- 1898, he met with a group of socialist exiles an formed the Russian Social Democratic
Labour Party, 1990 they published a newspaper to unite revolutionaries around
Marxists programme
- 1903 Second Party Congress, it split into two factions
The Nature of Government
1. Type of rule
- Repressive autocracy adopted by his father
- The setting of the Duma appeared to a move to democracy however the passing of
Fundamental Laws of 1906 says otherwise
2. Structure:
Local government
- 17 October 1905, Tsar agreed to sign October Manifesto to promise establishing a
state Duma, indirect votes
- Lower Chamber ( the State Duma): members elected under a system of indirect voting
by estates, heavily weighted in favour of the nobility and peasants, deputies were to
be elected for a five-year term
- Upper Chamber ( the State council): half elected by zemstvo, half appointed by the
Tsar, noble representatives from the major social, religious, educational institutions
- The Government: was to be appointed exclusively by the Tsar, government was
responsible for the crown, not the Duma
- There were to be four Dumas between 1905 and 1917, the main political parties that
consented the elections included: SD, SR, Labour group, Kadets, Octobrists,
Progressive, Rightists, and Nationalists
The First Duma May- July 1906:
- boycotted by the Bolsheviks and SR etc, strongly critical if the Tsar. Witte replaced by
Ivan Goremykin
- Dissolved in 10 weeks , Goremykin replaced as Prime Minister by Pyotr Stolypin
The Second Duma Feb- June 1907:
- Increase of extreme left wing
- Stolypin struggled to find any support for the reform he had drawn up
- He introduced an illegal emergency law to alter it, the weight of the peasants, workers
and national minorities was drastically reduced, increase representation of the gentry
The Third Duma Nov 1907- June 1912:
- More submissive Duma
- Disputes over naval staff, Stolypin’s proposals
- In 1911 the Duma has to be suspended twice, by 1912 it is clear that the Duma system
wasn’t working
The Fourth Duma Nov 1912-17
- New Prime Minister kokovtsov replaced Stolypin after his assassination
, - He ignored the Duma and its influence declined
central government
- 23 April 1906, 5 days before the first Duma met, Nichloas issued a series of
Fundamental laws reasserting his autocratic powers
- The Tsar claim the right to veto (reject) legislation, to rule by decree in an emergency
when the Duma was not in session, to dissolve the Duma as he wished, command
Russia’s land and sea forces, to declare war and control Orthodox church
- They have upmost power
- October Manifesto
3. Repression
- Stolypin, Okhrana
4. Opposition
- Duma, liberals, socialist revolutionaries
, Opposition
1. Political opposition
- 1895-1905
The liberals
- Liberal intelligentsia in 1850s and 1860s who were active in arguing for emancipation
of the serfs
- Main beliefs: civil rights and freedom of the individual, the rule of law, parliamentary
democracy and the limitation of the tsar’s powers; some also believed the zemstvo
should be extended to regional and national level
- Methods: reforms rather than violent actions, political channels through zemstvo,
articles in newspapers, meetings etc
- Main support: came from middle class intelligentsia: lawyers, doctors, teachers, also
landowners, businessmen
- Members include liberal leaning members of the Russian nobility, and representatives
of the middle classes
The Socialist Revolutionaries
- Grew out of Populist movement
- SRs extremists assassinated as many as 2000 government officials between 1901 and
1905
- Main beliefs: hope for revolution with the peasants who would support a rising which
the tsarist government would be overthrown
- Victor Chernov was the leading exponent of their views, he believes the growth of
capitalism would promote the growth of a proletariat (working class) who would rise
against their masters, move to rural socialism through peasants
- He saw the SRs are representing ‘all labouring people’
- Methods: Agitation and terrorism, assassination of government officials
- Support: peasants, but by 1905 industrial workers formed 50% of the membership as
many workers were ex-peasants, they were the party that peasants recognised as
representing them, return the land ‘to those who worked it’
Social Democrats (SDs)
- George Plekhanov was the father of Russian Marxism who translated Karl Marx’s
work
- 1898, he met with a group of socialist exiles an formed the Russian Social Democratic
Labour Party, 1990 they published a newspaper to unite revolutionaries around
Marxists programme
- 1903 Second Party Congress, it split into two factions
