Key info

• In 1897, the population of Russia was 129 million.
• The Tsar ruled over 8.5 million square miles.
• There were about 100 different nationalities.
• 8 million poles wanted their independence.
• By 1914, the population was 175 million, but only 26 million lived in towns and cities.
• By 1914, only 5 million worked in industry.
• To acquire own land, the peasantry had to pay redemption payments over 49 years at 6% interest.
• By 1904, women made over a quarter of the workforce in manufacturing industry.
• The dark masses made up 80% of the Russian population.
• There were over 600 new anti-semetic measures under the Tsar.
• The 1890s ’Great Spurt’

  • Under Count Sergei Witte
  • Judicious modernisation
  • Trans-Siberian railway covered 3,750 miles
  • Annual growth spurt increased to more than 8%
  • Economy stabilised by turning the Rouble into the Gold Standard
• Konstantin Pobedonostev was known as the ‘Grand Inquisitor’ and influenced the Tsar with his reactionary attitudes.
• Russo-Japanese War (1904-5)

  • Russian loss at Port Arthur in Jan 1905
  • Forces driven out of Mukden in Feb 1905
  • Russian Baltic fleet blown up at Tsushima in May 1905
  • Treaty of Portsmouth signed in September, Russia agreeing to withdraw forces and accept Japanese control over Korea and Port Arthur
• Bloody Sunday (Jan 1905)

  • 5 workers at Putilov ironworks sacked
  • Plehve established a trade union to make peace, called the Assembly of Russian Factory and Mill Workers (led by Father Gregory Gapon)
  • After 4 workers were dismissed at Putilov Plant, more than 100,000 went on strike
  • Father Gapon organised petition, got over 150,000 signs
  • Troops opened fire on strikers, killing 200 and wounding 800
• The Union of Unions established in 1906.
• The All-Russian Peasant Union in 1906 united the peasantry and rural intelligentsia.
• Mutiny on battleship Potemkin in June 1905.
• General strike in October 1906 paralysed whole of Russia (this was supported by the Union of Unions).
• October Manifesto

  • Accepted creation of a legislative Duma
  • Freedom of speech
  • Freedom of assembly
  • Freedom of worship
  • Legalised trade unions
  • Mortgage payments reduced then abolished
• Peter Stolypin: Concession

  • Created the Kulak class
  • Established a Land Bank
  • After 1907, 2.5 million peasants left Mir and acquired own land
  • By 1914, half of peasants owned own land
  • In two years, 2 million peasants migrated to Western Siberia
• Peter Stolypin: Repression

  • Declared martial law
  • Military courts dealt with rebels
  • Hangman’s noose became known as ‘Stolypin’s necktie’
  • 2,500 executions carried out in 5 years
• The Fundamental Laws restricted the first Duma as it declared the Tsar as the ‘Supreme Autocratic Power’. This led to an unelected second chamber being present that had the right to veto the lower chamber. No law could be passed without the Tsars approval.
• The first Duma was dissolved after 2 months, so 200 representatives (mostly Kadets) gathered in Finland and called for disobedience to Tsar. This did not work, was humiliating, and became known as Vyborg Appeal.
• The third Duma (though more right wing) still proposed measures to modernise armed services, providing schooling for poor children, and setting up a national insurance scheme for industrial workers.
• Lena Goldfields incident of 1912

  • Wanted better pay
  • Treated like criminals
  • Over 200 strikers massacred