Essay
Russia under Lenin was not too dissimilar to Russia under the Tsars. To what extent do you agree?
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A* essay - 2900 words comparing Lenin's rule with Alexander II, III and Nicholas II
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Russia under Lenin was not too dissimilar to Russia under the Tsars. Discuss.There were many similarities between the two periods under the Tsars and under the Communists of Lenin. Both sought to maintain
power through the use of terror, the suppression of political opposition and the failure to bring democracy. When considering the
quality of life for ordinary people in Russia, it is debatable whether they improved under the control of communism. However, there
were also some differences during the reign of Lenin which could be seen as attempts at creating better lives for the workers, even if
they were done for the strengthening of the Communists' position.
The first area of similarity must be the lack of democracy under both regimes. The use of the fundamental law gave the Tsar autocratic
power and the ability to make centralised decisions without opposition. After the October Manifesto of 1905 Tsar Nicholas II agreed to
the introduction of the Dumas which would bring some form of democracy to Russia through an elected assembly. However, the
Dumas were a failure as Nicholas simply dissolved the Dumas if they acted unfavourably and eventually the fourth Duma was
restricted to members chosen by the tsar himself. Democracy was also never allowed to fully enter Lenin’s Russia. After the Bolshevik
seizing of power in the October Revolution of 1917 they were forced to allow the previously decided elections for a constituent
assembly in November. The Bolsheviks were never a widely popular party and only held support in the major cities of Moscow and
Petrograd. The Social Revolutionaries were better known and more popular, this was shown by the Social Revolutionaries gaining 370
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