Notes to Accompany Russia Land of the Tsars

Notes to accompany “Russia – Land of the Tsars”

Early opposition crushed and Nicholas the Absolute Ruler

The Decembrists were one of the first significant groups to oppose the Tsar’s rule. In 1825 a group of 3000 soldiers revolted against the rule of Tsar Nicholas Romanov I. The Decembrists wanted The Tsar to free the serfs and create a Constitutional Monarchy - a society where the power of the monarch is limited by a written constitution. A constitution is a formal written document that guarantees citizens certain rights and outlines the powers of government.

Tsar Nicholas (1825 – 1855) used his loyal army officers to crush the Decembrists. He started the creed (belief) of Absolute Rule. Tsar Nicholas completely rejected the idea of democracy or a constitution limiting his powers. Under Nicholas a secret police called the Okhrana are used to arrest and repress opponents. All political opposition is driven underground. Many of the opponents of the Tsar are embarrassed by the backward nature of Russian society.

Revolutions in Europe and Nicholas the Enforcer

Outside of Russia the Industrial Revolution was transforming Europe as large numbers of people poured into cities looking for work in factories. The conditions of employment were awful – with low rates of pay, long hours and dark and dangerous workplaces. In 1848 these conditions helped fuel mass rebellions in France, Germany and Italy. Thousands of people were killed during these uprisings.

The rebellions spread to Austria and the Emperor was toppled. Tsar Nicholas decided it was time to turn the tide on the rebellions and used his forces to crush the revolts in Austria. Tsar Nicholas I established himself as the ‘enforcer’ of the Old Order.

The Crimean War and the death of Nicholas Romanov I

In 1853 Tsar Nicholas decided to expand the Russian Empire by attacking Turkey. Britain and France were nervous about Russia’s expansion so they sent a joint force to Crimea to resist the Tsar’s forces.

The Russian army was the largest in the world and had a reputation for ruthlessness and courage. Many Russians expected their army to defeat the British and French with ease. Instead, the war revealed how backward Russia had become. The Russian army was poorly equipped, trained and fed. Superior numbers were no match for the training and technology of the British and French. The Russians faced an enemy which had access to steamships, railways to supply troops and telegraph communication. The Russians were defeated, humiliated and their reputation as the most powerful army in the world was shattered.

In February 1855 Tsar Nicholas reviewed the Russian troops in the rain. As a result he caught pneumonia and died. His son, Alexander Romanov II conceded defeat and called home the Russian forces..

Alexander II: Reforms and the Emancipation Manifesto

Alexander II turned his attention to Russia’s past. He realised that steam and steel was transforming the world but had not begun to affect Russia. He recognised that the whole system was backward and needed fundamental reforms.

Reforms introduced by Alexander II  Pardoned Decembrists  Introduced trial by jury  Encouraged the development of industries.  Relaxed censorship  Ordered a railway to the Black Sea  Abolished corporal punishment.

Alexander II’s major achievement was the 1861 Emancipation Manifesto which freed the serfs. Nobles were opposed to it, claiming that serfs were needed to work their estates. Tsar Alexander II bluntly stated that “We can either emancipate the serfs from above or they will emancipate themselves from below!”

In 1861 – 2 years before Lincoln freed American slaves the Emancipation manifesto was signed. It was originally greeted as a great act. Tsar Alexander II was called "The Tsar Liberator”. This quickly turned to disappointment when the peasants realised they had to buy land at very high prices. In reality, the ‘free’ peasants were poorer than ever.

Narodnaya Volya – The People’s Will Radical revolutionary groups called for the overthrow of the Tsarist system. Some called for the end of private property and marriage. Others called for elections and free land to be given to the peasants. One of the most extreme was a group called ‘The People’s Will’. They were lead by Sophia Lvovna Perovskaya and called for the assassination of the Tsar. ‘The People’s Will’ argued that only the death of the Tsar could truly free Russia. The People’s Will launched a campaign to assassinate Tsar Alexander. Alexander’s train and Winter Palace were bombed. He found himself being hunted like a “wild beast”.

On March 1, 1881, Tsar Alexander II was assassinated by a team of four suicide bombers. He had been planning to introduce a legislative assembly (Parliament) to Russia. If he had succeeded this would have been a radical step – a Tsar willingly choosing to share power with an elected assembly.

Alexander Romanov III – The emergence of Lenin.

When Tsar Alexander Romanov III came to the throne he honoured his father’s memory but did not share his vision. Alexander III built the “Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood” on the place where his father was assassinated. However, he rejected his father’s plans to share power as “folly”. He replaced the zemsvtos with appointed officials called ‘Land Captains’. These Land Captains crushed and signs of rebellion among the peasants in the areas under their control. Alexander III also began widespread persecution of Jews.

In 1887 a group of terrorists was charged with planning the assassination of Alexander III and hanged. The brother of a young boy called Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov was among those hanged. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov will go on to lead the Russian Revolution under his adopted name - Lenin.

Russia Transformed

In 1894 Russia was modernising its Industry rapidly. In 30 years 30000 miles of railway had been built, this was faster than any other nation had expanded its rail. Peasants moved into the cities looking for work in factories. In Moscow, St Petersburg and Kiev a new industrial working class emerged. They shared the common experience of working and living in appalling conditions. The combination of large numbers of workers being concentrated into cities, the dreadful conditions and the growth growing number of radicals meant that Marxist/Communist ideas were spreading.

By the 1890s St Petersburg was a major city of 1 million people. Among them was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Lenin) a young radical lawyer. Like many Russian radicals he came from the intellectual elite (his father was a school inspector). In 1893 he came to St Petersburg to help organise a Socialist Workers Party. Tsar Nicholas Romanov II – The Last Tsar

In 1894 Tsar Alexander III died of kidney failure, ending 13 years of repression and expansion. He left the crown to his son, Tsar Nicholas II.

Nicholas II was unprepared to be Tsar and had little interest in politics. Most of the official who knew him had concerns about his ability to cope with the massive challenges facing Russia.

Nicholas II reached out to his soul mate Alexandra (a grand daughter of England’s Queen Victoria). Alexandra was terribly shy and her desire for seclusion was interpreted as a lack of interest in the Russian people. She was described as being an “arrogant, uncaring German”.

The opulence of the coronation of Nicholas II only highlighted the difference between the Tsar and lives of most Russians. While the Tsar and Tsarina (wife) were enjoying a life of luxury the factories, farms and mines of Russia served as breeding grounds for discontent and radical beliefs. It was in this context that Lenin and others organised revolutionary cells. In 1895 Lenin was arrested and exiled to Siberia. He escaped and went to the west. From there, his radical writing fuelled revolutionary groups.