Russian Dictatorship 1855 – 1956
A. In the period 1855 to 1956, did the Russian peasantry receive better treatment under Tsarist or Communist rule?
During the period 1855 – 1956 Russian peasantry underwent a number of changes, the first being the emancipation, which saw Russian serfs/slaves become free for the first time in Russia. The emancipation edict was the main reform of Tsar liberator Alexander II, although the idea of being serfs appears to be noble, the majority of peasants felt they were better off before. The land they used to work belonged to the landowners and was not allowed to be worked. Small plots of land were issued to each peasant, however the amount was insufficient for a man to survive let alone sell and make profit.
Alexander II knew that emancipation of the serfs needed to happen if Russia was ever going to progress as a nation. However his main reason for freeing them was not for moral or sympathetic reasons but merely to secure his autocracy.
Peasants were appalled by the conditions of the 1861 emancipation edict, they felt betrayed and misled. However under Tsarist rule peasants had become free, they were no longer under the control of landowners, their lives were their own and belonged to no one else. They were able to marry who they wanted, earn profits etc. Conditions for the peasants seemed to get better in this way.
Not being able to survive in the countryside many peasants now found themselves moving into populated areas such as towns and cities.
Although Alexander II had tried to modernise and improve the current system much had ended in failure. Nicholas II’s failure to give into the demands of the people was the main reason he lost his autocracy. The peasants felt betrayed by the Tsar and wanted political change.
Communism introduced many new ways for the Russian people, however it still failed to help peasants. War Communism gave peasants a very hard time. It placed too heavy a load on the people, demands were not being met. Poverty struck, and thousands died of starvation. Conditions had changed very little for the peasants. In fact much got worse and in 1921 five million died from starvation and disease, high famine had struck. I do not believe that peasant life got better under Communism. In fact, I believe it got worse under the Tsar’s reforms that had been made to help peasants. Although these reforms were largely unsuccessful they did modernise the Russian peasantry system.
Communism got off to a bad start, the effect of the war had left Russia in ruins, poverty in every corner. However peasant welfare was terrible as Communism was strict and impossible to obey. Peasants were no better off under the Tsars than they were Communism.
B. Lenin described the Russian Empire as a ‘prison of the peoples’. To what extent could the verdict be equally applied to Russia throughout the period from 1855 to 1956?
During the Tsarist rule of Russia the common man had very few civil liberties, which seems the obvious reason why Lenin would describe this dictatorship as a ‘Prison of the peoples’.
To what extent this applies is of great debate as if by prison Lenin meant physically confined then he was correct, as there was very little freedom of movement allowed. With all peasants tied to the Mir, and the educated middle classes were not allowed to travel abroad due to the risk of them becoming a Westerniser. However as Tsarist Russia became slightly more liberal through the 1800’s, peasants could move away from the Mir and more had passports to travel abroad. In terms of freedom of movement under Communism people were allowed to move around Russia and were very rarely given blessing to travel to a foreign country.
In terms of political freedom the Tsars were opposed to most opposition and would deal with revolts and uprisings in a brutal manner. Examples of this being the third sections constant review of the press and all written work, they also were more than happy to fire upon crowds which were striking as Nicholas II did on Bloody Sunday in 1905. This type of behaviour was also evident under Communism with the secret police purging many throughout society.
However during the last Tsarist years opposition was allowed with the representation given to people through the Duma. Although the Duma’s effectiveness has been brought into question by many, it is the symbolic value it has which is important, as it shows that Tsarist Russia was not completely a peoples prison and slight reforms had been made.
Under Communism opposition to the state was not tolerated and many who were only suspected of opposing certain policies or the party itself were executed without trial or sent to the gulags.
In terms of political freedom the Russian people received very little, as under the Tsars and the Bolshevists opposition strikes or budding revolutionaries were not tolerated and were dealt with, and in terms of freedom of movement very little was given out to the people and this is why Lenin’s description of the People’s Prison applies to Communist Russia as well as Tsarist Russia.
C. Was Stalin the most successful ruler of Russia in the period 1855 to 1956? Explain with reference to the rulers of this period.
It is clear that of the rulers in this period Stalin was the most ruthless and through this he made huge advances in Russian industry and as a country as a whole. This must be seen as a success of some sort. However is success the acquiring of power such as shown by Lenin, the maintaining of power by Stalin, the increase in economic figures or the most liberating policies while allowing some civil freedoms? All of these can be seen as successes and were all displayed by the various leaders.
Under Tsarism, maintaining autocracy and the status quo was the main aim and any policies passed were to better the Russian people or prevent uprisings. Their refusal to devolve any power or to solve the root of the opposition however meant the levels of opposition grew. Allowing some freedoms through the Duma led to a push for more, emancipation of the serfs in 1861 was a big step forward in modernising Russia but in fact the peasants then farmed 20% less land and were burdened with heavy redemption payments. Under Alexander III many of Alexander II’s ‘Tsar liberator’s’ policies were reversed. Land Banks were formed meaning that by 1904 a third of landlords estates had been taken. Witte’s ‘Great Spurt’ made huge advances and stabilised the economy by the introduction of gold standard. Stolypin’s ‘wager on the strong’ began to create a new class of peasants to better the Russian economy and economically the Russians enjoyed an 8% per annum growth rate, the highest of western economies at the time. Steps were being made in industry with the workforce expanding 50% under Nicholas II.
Overall this shows successes by various Tsarist leaders. However many Russians also suffered, shown by 350,000 dying in 1891. The Tsars did endure the highest population rate of peasants but maintaining the norm has got to be easier than establishing a whole new routine. Ultimately Tsarism can be seen as flawed as it failed to modernise completely due to the wish to remain autocratic, and failing to solve opposition, led to the deaths of Tsars by assassination (clearly unsuccessful) and the collapse of the regime as they could not endure war.
Instead it must be seen that Lenin managed to establish a whole new regime and win the Civil War, two clear successes. Exploring a new ideology successfully did lead to problems as War Communism showed by Russia being the largest grain exporter but producing only 4% of world steel. The NEP changed this but it must be seen that this was despite the communist policy. Opposition was dealt with effectively and the use of the Red Army in civil war was crucial to its success but this can be accounted for by Trotsky’s leadership. Lenin it has been seen established Communism successfully and despite Allied opposition and the huge civil war.
However success was pushed further in all fields by Stalin. He managed to turn Russia from 6th world power to the 2nd and there was a growth of 6% per annum, again the highest of the time. The introduction of the five year plans led to huge leaps for industry and Russian economy as a whole with coal production levels increasing five times and oil levels by two. Huge projects were completed such as Dreiper Dams with workers such as Alex Stakhariorite being held up as the example doing fourteen times the level of work. The huge propaganda did have a huge influence and on many occasions success was faked. The Belamor Canal can also be seen as a problem as it was unusable due to being too shallow for ships, this highlighting the problems of Stalin’s development. Winning the Second World War through command economy allowed Russia to become a super power but the command economy could not be sustained and this led to its collapse after the Cold War.
Living standards were good with everyone getting the basics and no more famines after collectivisation. However you had to manage to survive through the levels of terror as anyone could be executed instantly.
This shows that Stalin was the most successful leader through shear ruthlessness as Krushchev followed unable to maintain the levels of economic success while solving Stalin’s mess ‘the fear is gone’. Plans such as the virgin lands were a disaster with emphasis on the wrong things, ‘we can send a rocket to Venus but our fridges don’t work’. Krushchev had the difficult task of picking up the pieces of Stalin’s ruthless and brutal regime that had economically been a success (in the short term) but ultimately led to its failure. While Tsarism was making slow steady progress which needed long term peace, Stalin made quick steps for economic success for prestige rather than long term gain.
The Marks !
A. In the period 1855 to 1956, did the Russian peasantry receive better treatment under Tsarist or Communist rule?
Awarded 18/60 – band U2(6) – comment by the examiners – “Answer not focused on requirements of the question – serious weakness in knowledge. Gets this mark because at least emancipation was mentioned but very little written on communist period so seriously unbalanced.”
B. Lenin described the Russian Empire as a ‘prison of the peoples’. To what extent could the verdict be equally applied to Russia throughout the period from 1855 to 1956?
Awarded 20/60 – Band U2 (6) – comment by examiner – “Answer not focused on requirements of the question – serious weakness in knowledge. Some valid comments made – hints at continuity – but no reference to major focus of question which was about the minorities in Imperial & Communist Russia. Argument is fragmented.”
C. Was Stalin the most successful ruler of Russia in the period 1855 to 1956? Explain with reference to the rulers of this period.
Awarded 40/60 – Band 3 – comment by the examiners – “More comfortable on Stalin than the Tsars – so unbalanced but has just about covered whole period. Has provided fair degree of comparison between the various leaders – has provided some evaluation. Response reflects a clear understanding of the question – ‘ a fair attempt to provide an appropriate argument’”