Introduction into the Imperial Russia

2. Introduction into the Imperial Russia • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR1lt5vowtY&list=RDFR1lt5vowtY#t=0

3. Fyodr Tutchev • Russia cannot be understood with the mind alone, • No ordinary yardstick can span her greatness: • She stands alone, unique • In Russia, one can only believe.

4. Land of Tsars • Episode 16 • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXPP1j1yahg

5. Introduction into Russia • 1. Russia was not a nation but an empire, spanning an enormous area and covering one-sixth of the Earth’s landmass. • 2. Russia was inhabited by more than 128 million people of considerable ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic diversity. • 3. Until the mid-1800s Russia’s social structure was semi-feudal, most Russians living in rural areas as bonded serfs. • 4. Defeat in the Crimean War exposed the need for social and economic reform, a process initiated by Tsar Alexander II. • 5. During the second half of the 1800s, Alexander’s reforms – as well as some attempts to wind back those reforms – triggered significant change, social unrest and revolutionary sentiment in Russia

6. Russian Society • 1. Russia was a population of more than 130 million people with great diversity of ethnicity, language and culture. • 2. The dominant classes were royalty, aristocracy and land-owners, who wielded significant political influence. • 3. Russia’s middle class was small in comparison to other nations but was growing by the early 1900s. • 4. The peasantry made up by far the largest section, most living in small communities scattered across the empire. • 5. Russian society was intensely patriarchal, with men dominant in most spheres of decision-making and women denied many legal and civil rights.

7. Imperial Russia • Russian Empire in last half of nineteenth century - vast expanse of land; Siberia rich in natural resources • 1891 Trans Siberian Railway • 1891 widespread famine - “Golodnyi Khleb” Peasant conditions extreme - high taxes; speculators export grain • little organized rebellion

8. Tsarist Russia • Tsarist government was predicated on the tsar’s supreme autocratic power, which was inviolable. • 2. Tsarism had no democracy, representation or accountability at higher levels. All officials were chosen by the tsar. • 3. Beyond the capital, tsarist decrees were implemented and enforced by provincial governors and bureaucrats. • 4. The bureaucracy was the public face of the government but was widely despised for its corruption and officiousness. • 5. Tsarism was also supported by conservative groups like the Black Hundred that sprang up in the early 1900s.

9. Alexander III • Tsar - autocratic regime; Alexander - rejected any form of constitutionalism; • “Father to all the Russians” • anti-semitic • his father assassinated by the People’s Will, March 1881 • supported new military alliance with France in 1883

10. Russian Peasants • Russia in 1890’s - 80% of peasants lived in tiny villages • short lifespan • peasants - “Narod” - dark people • intermarriage - genetic disorders • “izby” - cottage - dark, filthy • ikons, vermin, “cockroaches”?

11. Peasants • village communes - insufficient land to support families • low technology; inefficient farming • bad diet - high mortality rate; vodka • incessant labor • superstitious, fatalistic, ignorant, and illiterate • Tsar viewed as “little Father”

12. Peasants and Intelligentsia • educated Russians ignorant of realities of peasant life • Turgenev - revealed grim lives of peasants • 1874 - young radicals go into the countryside; many believe village commune would be the basis for a new socialist society • 1891 - experts carry out research on peasant life and suggest solutions

13. Industrialization • by early twentieth century Russia had expanded its heavy industry • Sergei Witte - 1892 finance minister • proletariat lived and worked in dire conditions • workers - long hours, low wages, child labor • emergence of intelligentsia among the working class - adopted puritan lifestyle

14. Russian Marxism • 1883 - Plekhanov establishes first Marxist group • Plekhanov criticizes terrorist approach of “People’s Will” - need to educate the masses • workers viewed as source of revolution, not peasants • Plekhanov helped prepare the way for Lenin • Plekhanov in exile in Switzerland

16. Lenin • Lenin - expelled from university; later studied law; convinced Marxist; his brother executed • 1895 - arrested for political activities and exiled to Siberia. Wrote “Development of Capitalism in Russia” • 1896 - widespread strike action • 1898 - Russian Social Democratic and Labor Party founded in Minsk

17. Lenin’s Political Philosophy • newspaper founded “Iskra” - The Spark; Lenin and Plekhanov disagree on political strategy • 1902 - Lenin writes “What is to be Done?” • Lenin believed party must consist of professional revolutionaries, an elite conspiratorial group

18. DifferencesbetweenBolsheviks and Mensheviks

19. the party would guide the working class to victory • 1903 Brussels Congress - party split between Mensheviks and Bolsheviks • Lenin authoritarian approach to party discipline

20. Russo-Japanese War • changes in nineteenth century warfare - repeating rifles, long- range artillery, railroads and costs - placed Russia at a disadvantage • building of the TSR increased Russia’s involvement in the affairs of the Far East - China, Korea and Japan

21. Russian involvement in Manchuria and Korea led to conflict with Japan • Japan in the late nineteenth century had modernized her economy and military

22. Japan short of natural resources - oil, iron • Japan had already defeated China in 1894 • minister Witte had warned against a war with Japan • Nicholas II decides on war - “ little short-tailed monkeys” • Japanese fleet attack Port Arthur - January 1904

23. patriotic outpouring in support of the war • Russian navy - ships and tactics lead to catastrophe • Japanese lay siege to Port Arthur - Russians finally surrendered • war continued until August 1905, when peace terms were finally agreed • Nicholas II humiliated by defeat