Revision notes: Modern Europe, 1750–1921
The Russian Revolution, 1894–1921
1 What were the causes and outcomes of the 1905 Revolution up to 1914?
a The tsarist regime and pressures for change - 1894 to 1917: the country was ruled by
Tsar Nicholas II – an autocrat with unlimited power and was opposed to reforms
1 Ethnic and religious diversity
a. multiracial, multifaith empire
• only 45% of the population were ethnic Russians; the rest comprised
Armenians, Germans, Georgians, Poles and Ukrainians, as well as
many Asiatic peoples
• each of these groups was proud of its nationality, language, history
and religion
b. Russification
• the tsarist regime alienated the different ethnic groups through this
policy
• enforced Russian language and Orthodox Christianity and laws
• alienated religious and ethnic groups - 70% of the population followed
the Orthodox faith, but there were significant Catholic, Muslim and
Jewish minorities. Russia’s 5 million Jews endured frequent
persecution (pogroms)
2 Social hierarchy
a. landowning aristocracy supported the tsar
• the nobility did not act as a check on the power of the monarchy
• owed their social position largely to military and civil service to the
state
b. tsar appointed leaders of Orthodox Church
• exercised great influence over society, especially in rural areas
c. peasants
• belonged to communes or mirs – agricultural cooperatives which
organised the distribution of land between households
• had to pay taxes, forced service and redemption payments (for the
land they received)
, • frequent famines
• widespread poverty and production levels were low
• encouraged to move from the west of Russia to Siberia, where land
was plentiful but natural conditions were too harsh to support a
prosperous agriculture
3 Economic structure
a. underdeveloped agricultural methods
• no one interested in any form of modernisation to improve output
b. unfair and corrupt taxation system
• central government did not impose a fair level of taxation on the
Russian ruling class; instead the government relied heavily on indirect
taxes, levied on goods
c. wheat exports did not benefit the peasantry
d. railways expanded, but thinly spread across Russia due to its size
4 Political system
a. Nicholas II became tsar in 1894 – autocratic and resistant to change
• felt threatened; considered the innovations being developed in the
West as unsuitable for his country
b. Tsar
• in charge of appointing and dismissing ministers
• no parliament to limit his authority
• used army and secret police (Okhrana) to put down violent unrest
• uninterested in matters of government
• easily swayed by ministers who also opposed reforms
c. weaknesses of State Council and the Senate
• consisted of senior advisers to the tsar, had no powers
• the system was confused and the powers of the senate were unclear
d. inefficiencies of local officials and zemstvos
• limited powers of the zemstvos could be overruled by governors and
other officials who generally opposed reforms
5 Witte’s reforms
