1905 – 1914:1905 – 1914:The Troubled YearsThe Troubled Years

The DumaThe Duma

• By 1912 even ‘Loyal’ Duma critical– Had no power to change Tsar’s policies– Criticism alone was no threat to Tsar

• Tsar Nicholas II needed to reform Russia to prevent another revolution– 1906: First Duma meeting held hope

– Duma had no power to override Tsar veto

– 1907: Tsar changed voting rules to remove opponents (only aristocrats and wealthy citizens could vote)

– 1907-1912 ‘Loyal’ Duma held which gave no representation to population

StolypinStolypin • In 1906 Tsar N2 fired Witte as Prime Minister and promoted Peter Stolypin

• Witte had set in motion industrialisation but was very unpopular.

• Stolypin used ‘stick & carrot’ approach to the problems of Russia

• Stick:– Oppressed strikers, protestors, revolutionaries

– 20,000+ exiled, 1,000+ hanged (‘Stolypin’s necktie’)

– Successfully reduced opposition through 1914

StolypinStolypin • The carrot:– Increased production in factories

and on farms. – Planned to offer basic education for

peasants & workers– Planned to create work-safety codes

for factory workers

• Assassinated by revolutionary in 1911

• Tsar, influenced by landlords and his court, planned on firing him anyway, because he was changing Russia too much for the Tsar’s tastes

• Tsar ordered investigation into Stolypin’s assassination halted … hmm

38

55

72

93

10 91 2 3

22

6

15

33

84 5

0

20

40

60

80

100

1890

1900

1910

1913

Grain

Coal

Oil

Pig Iron

Agricultural & Industrial Production: Agricultural & Industrial Production: 1890-19131890-1913

Mil

lion

ton

s

These figures were compiled by the Tsar’s Ministry of Trade and Industry

1,337,4583,5341914

887,0962,4041913

725,4912,0321912

105,1104661911

46,6232221910

64,1663401909

176,1018921908

740,0743,5731907

1,108,4066,1141906

2,863,17313,9951905

Year Strikes Strikers

What does the above table suggest about working peoples’ attitudes to the Tsar’s regime?

After StolypinAfter Stolypin• 1912: Economy turned down

– Unemployment & hunger• Gov’t tried to measures to quell unrest

– Practiced discrimination against Jews, Muslims, other minorities (popular move)

• 1913: Brief pause in unrest due to tri-centennial celebrations

• Afterward, unrest increased, especially among workers– Lena gold field strikes saw troops shooting workers

• Let those in power make no mistake about the mood of the people .. Never were the Russian people … so profoundly revolutionized by the actions of the government, for day to day, faith in the government is steadily waning …”– Guchkov, conservative Duma member, 1913

RasputinRasputin • Worst evidence of Tsar’s incompetence was promotion of dangerous figure to power

• Gregory Yefimovich, aka Rasputin– Gained influence by stopping Tsar’s

son’s hemophilia through hypnosis– Freely gave advise on running Russia– Drunkard & womanizer– Rasputin means ‘disreputable’– Tsar’s opponents seized on Rasputin as

example of Tsar’s unfitness to rule– Tsar’s ignoring of the growing calls for

Rasputin’s removal demonstrates how Tsar either didn’t know or didn’t care about people’s concerns

A Russian cartoon. The caption reads: ‘The Russian Tsars at home.’

Russian cartoon showing how Rasputin influenced the Tsar’s court.

Focus Task: Focus Task: How well was Russia governed How well was Russia governed in 1914?in 1914?

• Here are five characteristics you might expect of a good government:– Trying to improve the lives of its people– Building up its agriculture and industry– Listening to and responding to its population– Running the country efficiently– Defending the country from enemies

• On a scale from 1 to 5, say how well you think the Tsarist government did on each one up to 1914. Explain your reason for that score.

• Now make a list of the successes and failures of the Tsarist government up to 1914.

• Which of the following assessments do you most agree with? By 1913 the government was:– In crisis– Strong but with some serious weaknesses– Secure with only minor weaknesses

A Cossack soldier