Alhena Kasem
The Fundamental Laws of 1906 were designed to limit the impact of the concessions given to the
Russian people in the October Manifesto in 1905 which promised a State Duma elected by universal
suffrage. The Laws reinforced Russia’s system of autocracy and emphasised the power of the Tsar.
Across the time period, the Fundamental had some impact on the structure of government/power
however not as much as other events during this time. The Fundamental Laws had very little effect
on the prevalent ideologies, the state of localities and the amount of control enforced by the Russian
governments. In all of these areas, there were many events which led to much more change to the
Russian government.
In terms of the structure of government the Fundamental Laws did lead to some change in terms of
limiting the powers of the duma as according to the Fundamental Laws the Tsar could veto Duma
legislation and dissolve the Duma at will, thus limiting the power of the Duma and undermining the
move towards a more democratic and universal form of government. As a result of the Fundamental
Laws the Duma took on a lesser role than many had thought it would, only handling local and social
affairs rather than economic and political affairs (as the people wanted), thus through the
Fundamental Laws the purpose of the Duma underwent some change. However this ‘change’ is very
limited as the Fundamental Laws can mostly be seen as continuation of the past structure of
government through the reinforcement of complete autocracy with the Tsar in control of all
legislation. Much greater change can be seen in the impact of the formation of the Provisional
Government, a temporary democratic body acting as government awaiting elections for a
constituent assembly elected through universal suffrage, this was a complete shift away from the
structure of autocracy and Tsarism and a move toward a more democratic and representative form
of government. Whilst the Fundamental Laws had some impact on the structure of government at a
more local level, the creation Provisional Government changed the structure of the central
government body and thus can be seen as more significant. Further change to the structure of
government can be seen through the takeover of the Provisional Government, led by Lenin forming
a new government with a new constitution formally named the Council of People's Commissars.
Similarly to the move from Tsarism to the Provisional Government, Lenin’s takeover led to a
complete change of the structure of central government including new branches such as the
Sovnarkom and the Congress of Soviets. Therefore, whilst the Fundamental Laws did change the
Russian government to some extent, particularly on a local level, other events such as the formation
of the Provisional Government and Lenin’s takeover changed the structure of government more as
they affected the structure of the central government.
In terms of the prevalent ideologies within/promoted by the Russian government, the Fundamental
Laws led to little to no change. This is because the Fundamental Laws were designed to be a
reaffirmation of the reigning ideology between the period of 1855 to 1917, which was complete
autocracy. The Fundamental Laws reinforced the Tsars supreme power and total control over all
aspects of Russian life and government and reduced the impact of reforms which threatened this
ideology such as the 1864 Zemstvo and the Duma of 1905, both of which encouraged a more
democratic form of government. Thus many other events can be seen as more significant as they led
to a change in key ideologies of the time period, most notably the October Revolution of 1917 in
which ideology shifted from that of autocracy and Tsarism to a more political ideology - Marxism-
Leninism which promoted a communist revolution and establishment of a one-party state called the
‘dictatorship of the proletariat’. Thus through the October Revolution major change to the ideology
of the Russian government occurred in which the government was led by communists unlike that of
the ideology promoted in the Fundamental Laws – autocracy with the Tsar in charge. Even further
The Fundamental Laws of 1906 were designed to limit the impact of the concessions given to the
Russian people in the October Manifesto in 1905 which promised a State Duma elected by universal
suffrage. The Laws reinforced Russia’s system of autocracy and emphasised the power of the Tsar.
Across the time period, the Fundamental had some impact on the structure of government/power
however not as much as other events during this time. The Fundamental Laws had very little effect
on the prevalent ideologies, the state of localities and the amount of control enforced by the Russian
governments. In all of these areas, there were many events which led to much more change to the
Russian government.
In terms of the structure of government the Fundamental Laws did lead to some change in terms of
limiting the powers of the duma as according to the Fundamental Laws the Tsar could veto Duma
legislation and dissolve the Duma at will, thus limiting the power of the Duma and undermining the
move towards a more democratic and universal form of government. As a result of the Fundamental
Laws the Duma took on a lesser role than many had thought it would, only handling local and social
affairs rather than economic and political affairs (as the people wanted), thus through the
Fundamental Laws the purpose of the Duma underwent some change. However this ‘change’ is very
limited as the Fundamental Laws can mostly be seen as continuation of the past structure of
government through the reinforcement of complete autocracy with the Tsar in control of all
legislation. Much greater change can be seen in the impact of the formation of the Provisional
Government, a temporary democratic body acting as government awaiting elections for a
constituent assembly elected through universal suffrage, this was a complete shift away from the
structure of autocracy and Tsarism and a move toward a more democratic and representative form
of government. Whilst the Fundamental Laws had some impact on the structure of government at a
more local level, the creation Provisional Government changed the structure of the central
government body and thus can be seen as more significant. Further change to the structure of
government can be seen through the takeover of the Provisional Government, led by Lenin forming
a new government with a new constitution formally named the Council of People's Commissars.
Similarly to the move from Tsarism to the Provisional Government, Lenin’s takeover led to a
complete change of the structure of central government including new branches such as the
Sovnarkom and the Congress of Soviets. Therefore, whilst the Fundamental Laws did change the
Russian government to some extent, particularly on a local level, other events such as the formation
of the Provisional Government and Lenin’s takeover changed the structure of government more as
they affected the structure of the central government.
In terms of the prevalent ideologies within/promoted by the Russian government, the Fundamental
Laws led to little to no change. This is because the Fundamental Laws were designed to be a
reaffirmation of the reigning ideology between the period of 1855 to 1917, which was complete
autocracy. The Fundamental Laws reinforced the Tsars supreme power and total control over all
aspects of Russian life and government and reduced the impact of reforms which threatened this
ideology such as the 1864 Zemstvo and the Duma of 1905, both of which encouraged a more
democratic form of government. Thus many other events can be seen as more significant as they led
to a change in key ideologies of the time period, most notably the October Revolution of 1917 in
which ideology shifted from that of autocracy and Tsarism to a more political ideology - Marxism-
Leninism which promoted a communist revolution and establishment of a one-party state called the
‘dictatorship of the proletariat’. Thus through the October Revolution major change to the ideology
of the Russian government occurred in which the government was led by communists unlike that of
the ideology promoted in the Fundamental Laws – autocracy with the Tsar in charge. Even further
