Russia nature of government practice essay 3
'Communists and Tsars ruled Russia in the same way.' How far do you agree with view of the
period from 1855 to 1964?
The lack of liberal reform and the consistent repression of the Russian people
between 1855 to 1964 suggests that all rulers, whether Communist or a Tsar, governed the
nation in the same way. This is evident when Alexander III and Lenin are compared; one of
the tsar's changes was the replacement of justices of the peace with land captains, while
Lenin created the Cheka as a new secret police force. Both reforms were clearly motivated
by a common desire to remove dissidents who posed a threat to the regime and maintain an
autocratic system of government. Similarly, Alexander and Lenin were concerned with
limiting democracy in Russia by making their form of government the only legitimate power
in the state. For example, Alexander disbanded the Zemstva, which had given the peasants
some representation at the expense of the nobility, while Lenin proved that the regime did
not depend on the consent of the governed when he declared the November 1917 elections
to the Constituent Assembly illegal, seemingly due to the landslide Bolshevik defeat by 195
seats. In addition, Lenin's interpretation of Marxism appears to be rooted in a desire to
preserve autocracy given that he did not allow a dictatorship of the proletariat as set out in
the Communist Manifesto and returned Russia to the one-party state that it had essentially
been during Alexander's (and all tsars') reign by purposely excluding rival Social
Revolutionaries and Mensheviks from the State Council.
However, the reformist agendas of Alexander II and Khrushchev, viewed relative to
Lenin and Alexander III, suggest that not all Communists and Tsars ruled Russia in the same
way. Alexander II introduced glasnost to Russia for the first time, leading to a ten-fold
increase in the number of books published between 1855 and 1894. Likewise, with de-
Stalinisation Khrushchev relaxed censorship policies as the total readership of newspapers
grew to nearly 60 million. As a consequence, both rulers reduced the supremacy of the echo
chamber, whereby the lack of new views or criticism ensures the continuity of a repressive
regime, which existed under Alexander III and Lenin. Alexander II and Khrushchev also made
significant agricultural reforms; the former emancipated the serfs in 1861 while the latter
introduced the Virgin Land Scheme. Although both attempts at reform were unsuccessful,
ultimately giving rise to further opposition, they demonstrate a genuine desire to improve
Russia instead of concerning themselves with their own security alone. Both rulers also
appear much more lenient in their methods of punishment compared to Lenin and
Alexander III given that Alexander II replaced the Third Section of the Imperial Chancellery
with the ‘softer’ Department of State Police, while Khrushchev split the MVD into two
departments placed under the administration of the party rather than an individual. In each
case the number of political arrests reduced, and Khrushchev's reform saw the end of the
infamous Gulags of the Stalinist era. They favoured removing rebellious politicians from their
post rather than executing them as with Lenin (and Stalin) especially, adding a degree of
liberalism to Russia.
Nevertheless, both rulers operated a form of government led by one man with few
checks on his power, ultimately wavering little from the autocracy. It is impossible to say
that Russia was ruled in the same way as even within the reigns of repressive leaders there
are varying extents to which they would go. This is clearly demonstrated by Stalin, who like
Lenin governed similarly to Alexander III but in contrast he was prepared to kill millions of
people to protect his position. Over 40 million Russians were sent to gulags while the secret
police, the NKVD, was used to inspire terror on an even greater level than the Cheka. People
'Communists and Tsars ruled Russia in the same way.' How far do you agree with view of the
period from 1855 to 1964?
The lack of liberal reform and the consistent repression of the Russian people
between 1855 to 1964 suggests that all rulers, whether Communist or a Tsar, governed the
nation in the same way. This is evident when Alexander III and Lenin are compared; one of
the tsar's changes was the replacement of justices of the peace with land captains, while
Lenin created the Cheka as a new secret police force. Both reforms were clearly motivated
by a common desire to remove dissidents who posed a threat to the regime and maintain an
autocratic system of government. Similarly, Alexander and Lenin were concerned with
limiting democracy in Russia by making their form of government the only legitimate power
in the state. For example, Alexander disbanded the Zemstva, which had given the peasants
some representation at the expense of the nobility, while Lenin proved that the regime did
not depend on the consent of the governed when he declared the November 1917 elections
to the Constituent Assembly illegal, seemingly due to the landslide Bolshevik defeat by 195
seats. In addition, Lenin's interpretation of Marxism appears to be rooted in a desire to
preserve autocracy given that he did not allow a dictatorship of the proletariat as set out in
the Communist Manifesto and returned Russia to the one-party state that it had essentially
been during Alexander's (and all tsars') reign by purposely excluding rival Social
Revolutionaries and Mensheviks from the State Council.
However, the reformist agendas of Alexander II and Khrushchev, viewed relative to
Lenin and Alexander III, suggest that not all Communists and Tsars ruled Russia in the same
way. Alexander II introduced glasnost to Russia for the first time, leading to a ten-fold
increase in the number of books published between 1855 and 1894. Likewise, with de-
Stalinisation Khrushchev relaxed censorship policies as the total readership of newspapers
grew to nearly 60 million. As a consequence, both rulers reduced the supremacy of the echo
chamber, whereby the lack of new views or criticism ensures the continuity of a repressive
regime, which existed under Alexander III and Lenin. Alexander II and Khrushchev also made
significant agricultural reforms; the former emancipated the serfs in 1861 while the latter
introduced the Virgin Land Scheme. Although both attempts at reform were unsuccessful,
ultimately giving rise to further opposition, they demonstrate a genuine desire to improve
Russia instead of concerning themselves with their own security alone. Both rulers also
appear much more lenient in their methods of punishment compared to Lenin and
Alexander III given that Alexander II replaced the Third Section of the Imperial Chancellery
with the ‘softer’ Department of State Police, while Khrushchev split the MVD into two
departments placed under the administration of the party rather than an individual. In each
case the number of political arrests reduced, and Khrushchev's reform saw the end of the
infamous Gulags of the Stalinist era. They favoured removing rebellious politicians from their
post rather than executing them as with Lenin (and Stalin) especially, adding a degree of
liberalism to Russia.
Nevertheless, both rulers operated a form of government led by one man with few
checks on his power, ultimately wavering little from the autocracy. It is impossible to say
that Russia was ruled in the same way as even within the reigns of repressive leaders there
are varying extents to which they would go. This is clearly demonstrated by Stalin, who like
Lenin governed similarly to Alexander III but in contrast he was prepared to kill millions of
people to protect his position. Over 40 million Russians were sent to gulags while the secret
police, the NKVD, was used to inspire terror on an even greater level than the Cheka. People
