October Manifesto

• By October 1905, the tsar was faced by the most united opposition in Romanov history
• The liberals were the first to be appeased. On Witte’s advice, the tsar issued the October Manifesto in which, going further than he had in the August Manifesto, he accepted the creation of a legislative duma
• The peasants were the next to be pacified by an announcement in November that the mortgage repayments which had so troubled them were to be progressively reduced and then abolished altogether.
• What five points suggested the manifesto was transformational?

  1. A duma was set up (elected national parliament) 2. Censorship was loosened, and freedom of speech was encouraged 3. The people were allowed more rights to gather for discussions and meeting 4. A new government structure was adopted 5. Peasants debts were cancelled
• What did the October Manifesto not do?


  It did not Give any power to the peasants or workers
• What did the ‘Fundamental Laws’ say (5 points)?

  1. The Tsar had the right to rule independently of the Duma when it was not in session 2. The Tsar had the right to dissolve the Duma at any point 3. The Duma had the power to change the electoral system 4. The Tsar had the power to appoint ministers he wanted to the council 5. The Tsar was the sole commander of the army and navy, giving him military power to crush any uprisings
• Who was weakened?

  Dividing the classes made industrial workers weak, who were led by a few, inexperienced Revolutionaries
• What happened in December?


  On the 7th, the three revolutionary groups came together in Moscow and organised a general strike. They took over key buildings. However, troops returning from the East brutally suppressed the uprising and it collapsed on the 18th.
• Radical liberals and socialists rejected this new manifesto, due to it not giving enough power to the Duma, And that the reforms failed to address the peasants desire for land or the workers need for better conditions
• The duma was not intended to be, nor did it become, a limitation on the tsar’s autocratic powers. This was evident from the Fundamental Laws, which Nicholas II promulgated in April 1906: ‘The Sovereign Emperor possesses the initiative in all legislative matters … The Sovereign Emperor ratifies the laws. No law can come into force without his approval.’