IGCSE HISTORY: RUSSIA DEPTH STUDY
1. Why did the Tsarist regime collapse in 1917?
How well did the Tsarist regime deal with the difficulties of ruling Russia up to 1914?
● Features of Tsarist rule
○ Autocracy
■ Empire ruled by one individual: the tsar (had absolute power)
■ Had the support of the army commanders, the Church, & the
es
bureaucracy that ran the govt
○ Control & repression
■ Newspapers censored
■ Political parties banned
■ Police had special force (Okhrana) with 10,000 officers dedicated to
ot
dealing with political opponents
● Sent thousands to prison/exile in Siberia
● Had support of the army
■ Cossack regiments put down any disturbances
■ Each area if the village has a ‘land captain’ who dealt with
N
crimes/disputes
■ Larger regions had governors (Tsar appointed aristocrats)
● Could arrest people, put down trouble, censor newspapers
● Some were tyrants
ay
■ Elected town officials (Zemstva) were dominated by
nobles/professionals (doctors, lawyers etc.)
● Did some good work in certain areas (healthcare, education)
● Some wanted a national Zemstvo to help run the country
(Tsar opposed this)
○ Chaos & incompetence
nj
■ Tsar Nicholas avoided making big decisions
● Wasted time getting involved in tiniest details of govt
● Personally answers letters from peasants & appointed
provincial midwives (didn’t delegate day to day tasks)
Sa
■ Felt threatened by able/talented ministers
● Refused to chair the Council of Ministers because he disliked
confrontation
● Encouraged rivalry between ministers = chaos
● Appointed family members/friends to court & important
positions despite them being incompetent/corrupt
○ Life under the Tsar
ia
■ The nationalities
● Majority weren’t actually Russians
○ 40% spoke Russian as their first language
○ Cossacks was loyal to the Tsar but others like the
n
Poles/Finns hated Russian rule
○ Jews faced pogroms encouraged by the govt
■ Peasants & the countryside
So
● 80% of Russia’s population were peasants living in
communes (poor living & working conditions)
● Kulaks: prosperous peasant farmers
● Farming was backward/primitive, no education, hunger &
disease were common
● Life expectancy was 40 years in some areas
● Most peasants were loyal to the Tsar (teachings of the
Church)
, ● Some supported radical political parties who wanted to take
the good farming land from aristocrats/the Church & give it to
the peasants
■ Industrial workers & the cities
● Late 19th century: tsars wanted Russia to become an
industrial power
○ Senior minister Sergei Witte introduced policies
es
leading to rapid economic growth
■ Oil & coal production trebled, iron production
quadrupled
■ Some peasants left the countryside to work
in these newly developing industries
ot
■ Living standards didn’t improve
● Slum housing in cities (esp in St
Petersburg & Moscow)
● Workers suffered from illness,
alcoholism, appalling working
N
conditions & low pay
● Trade unions were illegal (couldn’t
protest)
■ Capitalists
ay
● Industrialisation led to emergence of a new class: Capitalists
○ Landowners, industrialists, bankers, traders,
businessmen
○ Increased the size of the middle class in Russia
● Main concern: management of the economy & controlling
their workforce
nj
○ Political opposition to the Tsar
■ Liberals
● Later 1800s: many middle class men + some women
received university education = increased student radicalism
Sa
● Demanded political reform
○ Wanted a Duma (assembly similar to the British
Parliament)
○ Argued that Britain still had a king, but also a
powerful parliament
■ Radicals
● Opposed the Tsar
ia
○ Both parties were illegal & people were sent to exile
in Siberia
○ Most of the leaders (including Lenin) were forced to
live abroad
n
● Social revolutionaries (SRs)
○ Aim: carve up nobility’s huge estates & hand them to
the peasants
So
○ Believed in violent struggle
○ Responsible for the assassination of 2 govt officials
& murder of large number of Okhrana (police) agents
& spies
○ Had support in towns/countryside
● Social Democratic Party
○ Smaller, more disciplined party following Karl Marx’s
ideas
, ○ 1903: party split itself into Bolsheviks & Mensheviks
○ Bolsheviks (led by Lenin) believed the party was
responsible for creating a revolution
○ Mensheviks believed Russia wasn't ready for a
revolution
How did the Tsar survive the 1905 Revolution?
es
● Reasons for the 1905 revolution
○ Economic problems
■ Late 19th century: Russian industry & cities had grown rapidly
● Increased stress
● People moved to towns & cities to find work (terrible
ot
working/living conditions)
■ Post 1900s: Growth stopped when Russia was hit by an economic
depression
● Wages fell, factories & mines closed, people were thrown out
of work
N
● Caused strikes + civil unrest
● Police tried to set up ‘approved’ trade unions to control
workers but failed (only led to more strikes)
● 1901: Poor harvest led to hunger & peasant revolt
○ Political opposition groups
ay
■ Wanted to topple the Tsar (stirred up/organised peasants & workers)
○ Discontented population
■ Peasants
● Treated harshly, suffered poor health & envied land of
landlords
nj
■ Middle class
● Unhappy with Tsar’s inefficient govt & wanted some say in
how the country was run
■ Workers
Sa
● Suffered appalling living/working conditions
■ Nationalities
● Were treated as second class citizens
● Suffered discrimination
○ War with Japan
■ Early 1900s: Japan was becoming an industrialised power with
modern armed forces
a
● Was showing interest in Manchuria (bordered Russia)
● Feb 1904: Rivalry & suspicion = open war
■ Tsar wanted the war to unite the Russian people (didn’t work)
ni
● Most Russians didn’t care about Japan or the Tsar’s lands
● Those who did care were angered by the Tsar’s
incompetence & his commanders losing to the Japanese
■ Tsar refused to seek peace
So
● War was expensive = higher taxes, higher food prices &
shortages
○ Bloody Sunday (22 Jan 1905)
■ Cause: Workers' peaceful march to present a petition to Tsar
Nicholas II for better working conditions, higher wages, and political
reforms
, ■ Background: Rising discontent among workers & peasants due to
harsh working conditions, low wages, & lack of political
representation
■ Events:
● Troops of the Imperial Guard fired upon the peaceful
demonstrators
○ Dec 1905: leaders of St Petersburg & Moscow
es
soviets were arrested
■ Led to fighting in Moscow & other cities
■ Army crushed the worker’s resistance
○ Countryside
● Hundreds were killed and thousands were injured
ot
● Symbolic turning point in the 1905 revolution, marking the
beginning of widespread protests and uprisings across
Russia
■ Consequences:
● Erosion of trust in the tsarist regime and heightened
N
revolutionary fervour
● Formation of the St. Petersburg Soviet (council) by striking
workers
● Widespread strikes, mutinies, and uprisings across the
ay
country
■ Response from Tsar Nicholas II:
● Attempted to address issues through the October Manifesto
○ Promised civil liberties, the establishment of a Duma
(parliament), right to free speech, right to form
political parties, & other political reforms
nj
○ Divided the Tsar’s opponents
■ Liberals felt they achieved their main aim
■ Middle classes (desperate to end the
violence & disorder) now supported moved
Sa
to end the revolution
● Long-term Impact of the 1905 revolution :
○ 1905 revolution set the stage for the larger upheavals leading to the 1917
Russian Revolution
○ Demonstrated the fragility of the autocratic rule and the growing demands for
political change
○ Contributed to the shaping of political movements and ideologies in Russia
a
● How the Tsar survived the 1905 revolution
○ October manifesto
■ Concessions were aimed at pacifying the population and addressing
ni
some of the grievances, helping to stabilise the situation
○ Role of the Army & use of brutal force
■ Imperial Guard remained loyal to the Tsar and suppressed the
demonstrators during Bloody Sunday
So
■ military's support helped the Tsar maintain control and order
■ Military and police crackdowns, arrests, and executions were used to
quell dissent and discourage further protests
■ Created an atmosphere of fear, suppressing opposition movements
○ Support from conservatives (nobility, military & bureaucracy)
■ Were wary of radical change; saw the Tsar as a symbol of stability &
order
○ Lack of united opposition
1. Why did the Tsarist regime collapse in 1917?
How well did the Tsarist regime deal with the difficulties of ruling Russia up to 1914?
● Features of Tsarist rule
○ Autocracy
■ Empire ruled by one individual: the tsar (had absolute power)
■ Had the support of the army commanders, the Church, & the
es
bureaucracy that ran the govt
○ Control & repression
■ Newspapers censored
■ Political parties banned
■ Police had special force (Okhrana) with 10,000 officers dedicated to
ot
dealing with political opponents
● Sent thousands to prison/exile in Siberia
● Had support of the army
■ Cossack regiments put down any disturbances
■ Each area if the village has a ‘land captain’ who dealt with
N
crimes/disputes
■ Larger regions had governors (Tsar appointed aristocrats)
● Could arrest people, put down trouble, censor newspapers
● Some were tyrants
ay
■ Elected town officials (Zemstva) were dominated by
nobles/professionals (doctors, lawyers etc.)
● Did some good work in certain areas (healthcare, education)
● Some wanted a national Zemstvo to help run the country
(Tsar opposed this)
○ Chaos & incompetence
nj
■ Tsar Nicholas avoided making big decisions
● Wasted time getting involved in tiniest details of govt
● Personally answers letters from peasants & appointed
provincial midwives (didn’t delegate day to day tasks)
Sa
■ Felt threatened by able/talented ministers
● Refused to chair the Council of Ministers because he disliked
confrontation
● Encouraged rivalry between ministers = chaos
● Appointed family members/friends to court & important
positions despite them being incompetent/corrupt
○ Life under the Tsar
ia
■ The nationalities
● Majority weren’t actually Russians
○ 40% spoke Russian as their first language
○ Cossacks was loyal to the Tsar but others like the
n
Poles/Finns hated Russian rule
○ Jews faced pogroms encouraged by the govt
■ Peasants & the countryside
So
● 80% of Russia’s population were peasants living in
communes (poor living & working conditions)
● Kulaks: prosperous peasant farmers
● Farming was backward/primitive, no education, hunger &
disease were common
● Life expectancy was 40 years in some areas
● Most peasants were loyal to the Tsar (teachings of the
Church)
, ● Some supported radical political parties who wanted to take
the good farming land from aristocrats/the Church & give it to
the peasants
■ Industrial workers & the cities
● Late 19th century: tsars wanted Russia to become an
industrial power
○ Senior minister Sergei Witte introduced policies
es
leading to rapid economic growth
■ Oil & coal production trebled, iron production
quadrupled
■ Some peasants left the countryside to work
in these newly developing industries
ot
■ Living standards didn’t improve
● Slum housing in cities (esp in St
Petersburg & Moscow)
● Workers suffered from illness,
alcoholism, appalling working
N
conditions & low pay
● Trade unions were illegal (couldn’t
protest)
■ Capitalists
ay
● Industrialisation led to emergence of a new class: Capitalists
○ Landowners, industrialists, bankers, traders,
businessmen
○ Increased the size of the middle class in Russia
● Main concern: management of the economy & controlling
their workforce
nj
○ Political opposition to the Tsar
■ Liberals
● Later 1800s: many middle class men + some women
received university education = increased student radicalism
Sa
● Demanded political reform
○ Wanted a Duma (assembly similar to the British
Parliament)
○ Argued that Britain still had a king, but also a
powerful parliament
■ Radicals
● Opposed the Tsar
ia
○ Both parties were illegal & people were sent to exile
in Siberia
○ Most of the leaders (including Lenin) were forced to
live abroad
n
● Social revolutionaries (SRs)
○ Aim: carve up nobility’s huge estates & hand them to
the peasants
So
○ Believed in violent struggle
○ Responsible for the assassination of 2 govt officials
& murder of large number of Okhrana (police) agents
& spies
○ Had support in towns/countryside
● Social Democratic Party
○ Smaller, more disciplined party following Karl Marx’s
ideas
, ○ 1903: party split itself into Bolsheviks & Mensheviks
○ Bolsheviks (led by Lenin) believed the party was
responsible for creating a revolution
○ Mensheviks believed Russia wasn't ready for a
revolution
How did the Tsar survive the 1905 Revolution?
es
● Reasons for the 1905 revolution
○ Economic problems
■ Late 19th century: Russian industry & cities had grown rapidly
● Increased stress
● People moved to towns & cities to find work (terrible
ot
working/living conditions)
■ Post 1900s: Growth stopped when Russia was hit by an economic
depression
● Wages fell, factories & mines closed, people were thrown out
of work
N
● Caused strikes + civil unrest
● Police tried to set up ‘approved’ trade unions to control
workers but failed (only led to more strikes)
● 1901: Poor harvest led to hunger & peasant revolt
○ Political opposition groups
ay
■ Wanted to topple the Tsar (stirred up/organised peasants & workers)
○ Discontented population
■ Peasants
● Treated harshly, suffered poor health & envied land of
landlords
nj
■ Middle class
● Unhappy with Tsar’s inefficient govt & wanted some say in
how the country was run
■ Workers
Sa
● Suffered appalling living/working conditions
■ Nationalities
● Were treated as second class citizens
● Suffered discrimination
○ War with Japan
■ Early 1900s: Japan was becoming an industrialised power with
modern armed forces
a
● Was showing interest in Manchuria (bordered Russia)
● Feb 1904: Rivalry & suspicion = open war
■ Tsar wanted the war to unite the Russian people (didn’t work)
ni
● Most Russians didn’t care about Japan or the Tsar’s lands
● Those who did care were angered by the Tsar’s
incompetence & his commanders losing to the Japanese
■ Tsar refused to seek peace
So
● War was expensive = higher taxes, higher food prices &
shortages
○ Bloody Sunday (22 Jan 1905)
■ Cause: Workers' peaceful march to present a petition to Tsar
Nicholas II for better working conditions, higher wages, and political
reforms
, ■ Background: Rising discontent among workers & peasants due to
harsh working conditions, low wages, & lack of political
representation
■ Events:
● Troops of the Imperial Guard fired upon the peaceful
demonstrators
○ Dec 1905: leaders of St Petersburg & Moscow
es
soviets were arrested
■ Led to fighting in Moscow & other cities
■ Army crushed the worker’s resistance
○ Countryside
● Hundreds were killed and thousands were injured
ot
● Symbolic turning point in the 1905 revolution, marking the
beginning of widespread protests and uprisings across
Russia
■ Consequences:
● Erosion of trust in the tsarist regime and heightened
N
revolutionary fervour
● Formation of the St. Petersburg Soviet (council) by striking
workers
● Widespread strikes, mutinies, and uprisings across the
ay
country
■ Response from Tsar Nicholas II:
● Attempted to address issues through the October Manifesto
○ Promised civil liberties, the establishment of a Duma
(parliament), right to free speech, right to form
political parties, & other political reforms
nj
○ Divided the Tsar’s opponents
■ Liberals felt they achieved their main aim
■ Middle classes (desperate to end the
violence & disorder) now supported moved
Sa
to end the revolution
● Long-term Impact of the 1905 revolution :
○ 1905 revolution set the stage for the larger upheavals leading to the 1917
Russian Revolution
○ Demonstrated the fragility of the autocratic rule and the growing demands for
political change
○ Contributed to the shaping of political movements and ideologies in Russia
a
● How the Tsar survived the 1905 revolution
○ October manifesto
■ Concessions were aimed at pacifying the population and addressing
ni
some of the grievances, helping to stabilise the situation
○ Role of the Army & use of brutal force
■ Imperial Guard remained loyal to the Tsar and suppressed the
demonstrators during Bloody Sunday
So
■ military's support helped the Tsar maintain control and order
■ Military and police crackdowns, arrests, and executions were used to
quell dissent and discourage further protests
■ Created an atmosphere of fear, suppressing opposition movements
○ Support from conservatives (nobility, military & bureaucracy)
■ Were wary of radical change; saw the Tsar as a symbol of stability &
order
○ Lack of united opposition
