Nature of Government
‘Russian rulers carried out reforms only to control the behaviour of opposition 1855-
1964’ How far do you agree?
Intro
- Faced a variety of opposition across the period
- List factors: economic, social, political
- Overall only political reforms were to control the behaviour of opposition
Economic
- Mostly driven by a desire to modernise Russia rather than opposition
- Alexander II - Von Reutern’s financial reforms meant people now had to publish their
accounts - driven by a desire to modernise Russia (not opposition)
- Alexander III/Nicholas II = The Great Spurt brought a period of mass industrialisation
as a result of Witte’s financial reforms - done to modernise Russia and compete with
the West (not opposition)
- Stalin = FYP’s - done to drive the economy especially during the war
- Lenin = NEP allows the peasants to sell grain as long as they pay a 10% tax - done
due to the unrest following War Communism (opposition)
Social
- Opposition an influencer but not the sole reason
- Alexander II = Emancipation of the Serfs - done for variety of reasons most notably
the failures of the Crimean War however there had been calls for Emancipation since
the 1700s (not just opposition but played a role)
- Khrushchev = Released around 5 million people from Gulags - a result of Stalin’s
death and a move away from ‘cult of personality’ (not opposition)
- Lenin = Decree on Nationalities allowed each of the nations to have their own
sovereign government as long as it remains answerable to SOVNARKOM - a result
of the growing nationalism during WWI and discontent with the PG (no direct
opposition but pre-emptive)
Political
- Mostly driven by opposition
- Alexander II = Zemstva created the first electoral body - implemented due to the
vacuum left after emancipation (not opposition directly but arguably played a role)
- Nicholas II = October Manifesto and the introduction of the Duma created the first
challenge to the principle of absolutism and linked the people and government - a
result of the 1905 revolution (opposition)
- Provisional Gov = brought complete political upheaval with the introduction of
democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of press - a result of the Provisional
Government (opposition)
- In contrast Lenin dealt with opposition by limiting reforms = protest over the NEP
resulted in a Ban on Factions which further strengthened his position as a ‘Red Tsar’
‘Russian rulers carried out reforms only to control the behaviour of opposition 1855-
1964’ How far do you agree?
Intro
- Faced a variety of opposition across the period
- List factors: economic, social, political
- Overall only political reforms were to control the behaviour of opposition
Economic
- Mostly driven by a desire to modernise Russia rather than opposition
- Alexander II - Von Reutern’s financial reforms meant people now had to publish their
accounts - driven by a desire to modernise Russia (not opposition)
- Alexander III/Nicholas II = The Great Spurt brought a period of mass industrialisation
as a result of Witte’s financial reforms - done to modernise Russia and compete with
the West (not opposition)
- Stalin = FYP’s - done to drive the economy especially during the war
- Lenin = NEP allows the peasants to sell grain as long as they pay a 10% tax - done
due to the unrest following War Communism (opposition)
Social
- Opposition an influencer but not the sole reason
- Alexander II = Emancipation of the Serfs - done for variety of reasons most notably
the failures of the Crimean War however there had been calls for Emancipation since
the 1700s (not just opposition but played a role)
- Khrushchev = Released around 5 million people from Gulags - a result of Stalin’s
death and a move away from ‘cult of personality’ (not opposition)
- Lenin = Decree on Nationalities allowed each of the nations to have their own
sovereign government as long as it remains answerable to SOVNARKOM - a result
of the growing nationalism during WWI and discontent with the PG (no direct
opposition but pre-emptive)
Political
- Mostly driven by opposition
- Alexander II = Zemstva created the first electoral body - implemented due to the
vacuum left after emancipation (not opposition directly but arguably played a role)
- Nicholas II = October Manifesto and the introduction of the Duma created the first
challenge to the principle of absolutism and linked the people and government - a
result of the 1905 revolution (opposition)
- Provisional Gov = brought complete political upheaval with the introduction of
democracy, freedom of speech and freedom of press - a result of the Provisional
Government (opposition)
- In contrast Lenin dealt with opposition by limiting reforms = protest over the NEP
resulted in a Ban on Factions which further strengthened his position as a ‘Red Tsar’
