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CAUSES OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION - Coggle Diagram
CAUSES OF THE RUSSIAN REVOLUTION
Peasant discontent
Serfs emancipated (1861)
Now allowed to own and farm their own land.
BUT
they had to pay redemption dues for 49 years which put them into poverty.
As a result, they became angry at the Tsar.
Population increase
This led to hunger as there wasn't enough land to feed all the people.
This cultivated anger towards the Tsarist regime.
Heavy taxation on the peasantry.
The heavy taxation was used in order to fund Witte's reforms to industrialise Russia.
Heavy taxation on goods. Eg, vodka, machinery and fertiliser.
Made it difficult for them to make any money. Lack of money, redemption dues and high level of taxation meant that they were unable to invest in their own farms, therefore there was limited opportunity for development.
As a result, they were constantly trapped in this vicious cycle of poverty.
Famines in Russia (1890s and 1901)
The peasants couldn't afford food to begin with, so the famine exacerbated this problem.
Evaluation
The peasantry previously used to direct their anger towards the landlords however, now, they were no longer owned by them. As a result, their grievances were now directed towards the Tsar.
Before 1905, the Orthodox Church attempted to keep the peasants uneducated and taught them to be loyal to the Tsar in order to mitigate the anger that had manifested throughout the peasants.
However, their conditions were so bad that this attempt had failed and, as a result, they started to blame the Tsarist state and
therefore joined the revolution in 1905.
Proletariat/ Workers Discontent
Russia industrialised under Witte and his reforms. Financially, this was good for the cities HOWEVER it put cities/towns under more stress, making it more likely for a revolution to erupt.
Why were cities under more stress?
Population of the cities had drastically increased. Most workers were peasants who
migrated
to the cities looking for work.
This meant that living conditions were poor due to overcrowding.
40% of population had no running water.
No trade unions as they were illegal.
No opposition political party.
This meant that the workers had no outlet to express their frustration. It also meant that they felt like they had no outlet they could use that would create change without a revolution.
Alan Wood argues that these conditions created a situation 'for the spread of mass discontent.'.
Evaluation
Industrialisation reaped a lot of financial reward but the unity that sprung from experiencing the terrible conditions together led to a
class consciousness.
This shared anger at their conditions were directed towards the Tsar which
led many workers to join the revolution in 1905.
Mistakes of the Tsar
Repression
Orlando Figures: "Tsars' reluctance to introduce reforms to improve conditions turned a political crisis into a revolutionary crisis.
Alexander III and Nicholas II- Methods of both Tsars led to discontent overtime.
Both relied too heavily on repression. Eg, exile to Siberia, execution, using Cossack and Okhrana (secret police) troops to stop any dissent.
Over time, both peasants and workers became increasingly angry at the Tsars due to their reliance on repression, and lack of change and improvement towards their living and working conditions.
Minorities
Policy of forcing Russian language and culture on minorities within the empire. Tsars have always depended on this.
Due to urbanisation, minority groups were moving into the massive urban centres (St Petersburg and Moscow). This meant that their grievances also became a problem for the Tsar because they were no longer left at the sidelines.
This policy was popular amongst Russians, however it was detested by the minority groups who, as a result, turned against the Tsar and made them more likely to revolt.
Wrong advisors