Year 12 History: The Russian Revolution Name: ______

The Opponents of Tsardom

Two main groups opposed to tsardom can be identified in Nicholas II’s reign – revolutionaries and reformers (liberals). Within each of these groups there were sub-divisions. The opposition never formed a single coherent movement and rarely acted unison.

1. REVOLUTIONARIES

The revolutionaries comprised of three major forces – The Populists, the Social Revolutionaries and the Social Democrats. They all believed that Russia could not progress unless the tsarist system was destroyed through revolution.

The Populists

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The Social Revolutionaries

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The Social Democrats

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Menshevik View / Issue / Bolshevik View
Russia not yet ready for proletarian revolution – the bourgeois stage had to occur first / Revolution / Bourgeois and proletarian stages could be telescoped into one revolution
A mass organization with membership open to all revolutionaries / The Party / A tight-knit, exclusive organization of professional revolutionaries
Open, democratic discussion within the party – decisions arrived at by votes of members / Decision – Making / Authority to be exercised y the Central Committee of the party – this was described as ‘democratic centralism’
Alliances with all other revolutionary and bourgeois liberal parties. Support trade unions in pursiuing better wages and conditions for workers (economism) / Strategy / No cooperation with other parties, ‘Economism’ dismissed as playing into hands of bourgeoisie and aimed to turn workers into revolutionaries.

Mensheviks – Russian for minority Bolsheviks – Russian for majority

DEFINITIONS:

Proletariat: ______

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Bourgeoisie: ______

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Karl Marx 1818 – 1883


2. The Liberals

Until the October Manifesto in 1905 political parties had been illegal in Russia. This did not prevent their formation – but it had made it very difficult for them to develop as genuinely democratic bodies. Since they were denied legal recognition, they often resorted to extreme methods in order to spread their ideas. As a result, during the brief period of their permitted existence from 1905 – 1921, before they were again outlawed, the Russian political parties proved to be suspicious and intolerant of each other. This made co-operation and collective action difficult to organize. Yet, although they were to have a short and inglorious life, the Russian liberal parties should not be ignored. The economic boom of the 1890s saw the rapid development of a small but ambitious class of industrialists, lawyers and financiers. It was among such social groups that liberal ideas for the modernising of Russia began to take hold. There was also often a strong national element in Russia liberalism. The minorities viewed the liberal movement as a means of advancing their claim to be independent of Russian imperial control. Two principal liberal parties came to prominence in the pre-1914 period – the OCTOBRISTS and the KADETS

The Octobrists

This group dated from the issuing of the tsar’s manifesto of October 1905, which created the duma. The Octobrists were moderates who were basically loyal to the tsar and his government. They believed in the maintenance of the Russian empire and regarded the manifesto and the establishment of the duma as major constitutional advances. The Octobrists were mainly drawn from the larger commercial, industrial and landowning interests. Their leading members were Alexander Guchkov, a factory owner, and Mikhail Rodzianko, a large landowner, both of whom were later to take a major part in the Provisional Government of 1917. The limited aims of the Octobrists led to their being dismissed by revolutionaries as bourgeois reactionaries who were unwilling to challenge the existing system. This was not wholly accurate. They many not have wanted the overthrow of tsardom, but they were very willing to point outs its failings.

The Constitutional Democrats (KADETS)

The Kadets also came into being as a party at the time of the 1905 Revolution. The Kadets, the largest of the liberal parties, wanted Russia to develop as a constitutional monarchy in which the powers of the tsar would be restricted by a democratically elected national assembly. They believed that such a body, representative of the whole of Russia, would be able to settle the nations outstanding social, political and economic problems. The Kadets were the party of the liberal intellegentsia, containing progressive landlords, the smaller industrial entrepreneurs and members of the professions. In the Duma the Kadets proved to be the most outspoken critics of the tsarist system.

DEFINITION BOX

Duma / Constitutional Monarchy

Revision Questions: Try to do this without looking back at the booklet

1. There are 2 main groups opposed to Tsardom, What are they and what primarily do they want to replace the current Tsarist system?

2. Create a diagram illustrating the 2 main opposing groups and then the different subgroups that existed under each main group. Try to include the dates that the subgroups first began – for example People’s Will 1879.

Booklet 3 Opponents of Tsardom: Russian History Sarah Bollandã