Four Dumas

• May - July 1906 - first Duma

  Tauride palace

  • hostility between members
  • Opens tenson between classes
  • largest party were Kadets
  • Duma boycotted by Bolsheviks and social revolutionaries
  • Very critical of tsar - witte resigns
  • political amnesty, remove state council, want Duma Responsible, universal direct male suffrage, removal of emergency laws, abolish death penalty, reform civil service, take all gentry land with no recompense
  • Tsar - dismissable acts - Duma passes no confidence vote
  • 2 months arguments
  • Stolypin becomes new pm and tsar dissolves Duma - shuts Kadets offices
• Second Duma Feb - June 1917 


  70% workers turn up

  Dominated by left

  Kadets drop to 92 - weakened

  No bipartisanship - dissolved Duma

  Called stolypins cou against people

  Two months arguing with tsar and themselves
• Third Duma Nov 1907 - June 1912 


  Lords and lackeus - octoberists and rightists are majority - cooperative

  Critical of tsar and system at times and challenged legislation

  Gov proposed 2500 and duma only rejected 300

  When attempting agrarian reforms they are blocked

  Stolypin wants to extend Zemstva but nobility don’t

  Duma is suspended so stolypin could use emergency powers to pass legislation - mock system
• Third Duma achievements

  • Stolypin agrarian reforms
  • Education laws 1908 - foundations for universal education across Russia - primary schools - gives opportunity
  • Improve army, navy - pay - conditions- training
  • Brought back justices of peace replacing lamd captains which removed tensions between gov and people
  • National insurance
• Fourth Duma 1912 - 1917 - on and off 


  More moderate but same composition - attempted legalisation of predecessors

  Financed building of primary schools - increase literacy

  Attempted state and church reform but not approved

  Tasked about vodka impacts but ultimately it brought profit

  Critidal of Lena goldfields massacre

  Form progressive block - take over gov running war

  Form provisional gov that overthrow tsar
• How far were constituent experiment working by 1914 - yes

  Stolypin held it together

  Legislarion passed proving it worked

  Elemet of trust as gov officials consulted Duma
• How far were constitutional experminets working by 1914 - no

  1911 - Stolypin assassinated

  Tsar chooses non entities as pm - didnt work with Duma

  Nic and advisors isolate and lean hevailt right wing - blamed Witta and saw Duma as inconvenience

  Passed fundamental laws five days before Duma starts

  Wedded to principle of autocracy - never going with another institute

  Years of anger means radicals would nevr compromise
• Stolypin 


  Believed in autocracy - had Peasnats hanged

  Recognised need for reform - only pm who regarded Duma as partner and not a limitation

  Actions undermines this - changes electoral system - induces peasant and worker anger as allowed right wing dominance - used fundamental law for reform

  • Countless assassination attempts - September 1911

  Upset tsarism and population - against revolution but for reform