Alevel History OCR Russia and its Rulers
Thematic Question/Essay
'Opposition to the Russian government was more effective in the period from 1855 to 1917 than in the period 1917 to 1964.' How far do you agree?
Themes: Peasants, Workers and Political Groups
'Opposition to the Russian government was more effective in the period from 1855 to 1917 than in
the period 1917 to 1964.' How far do you agree?
Opposition to the Russian government in the period under Tsarist control was more effective than in
the period under communist control. Between 1855 and 1964, opposition came from many sections
of Russian society, most notably from the peasants, the workers and political parties. In order to
determine whether opposition to government was effective it is important to if the group/act of
opposition was able to accomplish what they had aimed to do and how the opposition impacted the
nature of government. Opposition from peasants, workers and political parties were all arguably far
more successful in achieving aims and impacting the nature of government between 1855-1917 than
they were between 1917 and 1964.
Between 1917 and 1964, opposition to the communist governments from the peasantry was largely
unsuccessful and ineffective. This is especially seen in the period of rule under Stalin when
opposition from the peasanty, specifically the Kulaks, emerged in response to the implementation of
collectivisation. However the peasants only practiced a form of passive resistance, resorting to killing
their own livestock and burning their crops which proved to be ineffective when a widespread
famine ensued. It was also ineffective due to Stalin’s response to the opposition in the form of the
Great Purges in which 20,000 kulaks were killed and almost 2 million peasants were exiled. Similarly,
during Lenin’s rule peasant Uprisings of which there were 118 uprisings in 1921 were brutally
stopped using the military. Overall, the peasants made no impact to the Russian government, failed
to combat collectivisation and thus was largely ineffective during this time period. Peasant
opposition during the period of Tsarism can be considered as quite effective, this is especially seen
during the period of rule under Alexander II in which peasant protests and riots successfully
compelled the Tsar to emancipate the serfs. Following this the peasants also succeeding in getting
Alexander II to create Zemtsvos, establishing local governments in which peasants could contribute
to. This greatly impacted the Russian nature and structure of government as it acted as a precursor
for the establishment of the Duma during the reign of Nicholas II. Thus during the period between
1855 and 1917, peasant opposition was far more effective and therefore successful than in the
period from 1917 to 1964, however it can be said that following the reign of Alexander II, peasant
opposition became generally unsuccessful on a whole due to a lack of unity and resources.
Opposition from workers could be perceived as more effective during the period of rule under
communism than it was during the period of Tsarism. Failure of worker opposition between 1855
and 1964 can be most clearly seen through the events of 1905 under Nicholas II when workers
marched to the Winter Palace in a peaceful demonstration with the aim of forcing the Tsar to
implement reform to resolve the issues they faced of long working hours, low wages, and poor
working conditions. This opposition was proved ineffective when they were fired on by police leading
to workers being killed and wounded. This massacre became known as Bloody Sunday and it
suggests that worker opposition was largely ineffective as they were unable to get the Tsar to make
any reforms. Opposition from workers became somewhat more effective between 1917 and 1964
particularly under Lenin when worker unions, such as the railway, post and telegraph unions
organised strikes demanding that the Bolshevik party hold discussions with other political parties to
work towards shared leadership. This opposition can be seen as successful as the pressure and threat
of food supplies to Petrograd being paralysed forced Lenin to send representatives to talk to other
parties about a power sharing government. It also persuaded Lenin to allow the elections for the
Constituent Assembly to go ahead. However worker opposition was also limited during this period,
as seen by the Kronstadt Mutiny an uprising which was suppressed with ringleaders shot without
trial and thousands of others sent to labour camps. This suggests that worker opposition was only
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