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The Nature of Government - Coggle Diagram
The Nature of Government
Autocracy
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3 Strands of Tsarist Autocracy
- was seen as a practical necessity because of how vast and diverse Russia was
- the tsar expected willing and total submission of his subjects, a system based on religious faith (divine right)
- tsar had a paternalist duty to protect his subjects
Alexander II
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before the assignation attempt he opted for a string of reforms which appeared to represent the dilation of autocracy such as education, courts, military and the emancipation
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Alexander III
blames moves to wards liberalism for his fathers assassination in 1881 so his reign had a more intensive authoritarian rule
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Nicholas II
after making liberal concessions (the Duma) in 1905 he introduced the fundamental laws in 1906 which reiterated the need for the preservation of autocracy
constitutional reform were implemented in 1950, but these were forced on the tsar as a result of the economic crisis and consequences of the Russo-Japanese war
Ideologies
Leninism
Lenin saw the only way to change the exiting oder was to overthrow, he believed the 'superstructure' would always prevail to keep workers in their place
Proposed a party central committee led by professionals that would govern in the interest of the workers until they were ready to take control themselves
After the October Revolution of 1917 Lenin began to implement Marxism-Leninism. Opposition to the Bolshevik ideology and rule resulted in the Russian Civil War. Lenin welcomed this as a opportunity to eradicate the Bourgeoise.
These developments show that Lenin, like the Tsars, adjusted his ideology and policies to starve off opposition, but had no intention of veering away from being autocratic and a dictator.
Stalinism
Stalin argued that the base of society could only be permanently challenged by utilising a particular type of superstructure, which he implemented through a command economy - an economy totally controlled by the state.
The superstructure had to be highly personalised under the control of one individual - absolute rule - to prevent infighting. The use of propaganda and repression would enforce Stalins ideology.
De-Stalinisation
By 1956 Khrushchev had formulated a plan to move Soviet Union away from Stalinism on the grounds that:
- It wasn't Lenin's wish that Stalin should become leader
- Stalin hadn't adequately prepared Russia for WW2
- Stalin had committed crimes against the Russian people
- He alienated possible 'outsider' allies like Hungary
However, this didn't signal a move away from authoritarian rule, Khrushchev continued to use physical force to repress opposition, shown when he sent tanks to Hungary in 1956.
Features of De-Stalinisation
- Releasing of political prisoners from the Gulags
- Relaxing censorship
- Attempting to remove the cult of personality
Central Administration
Continuity
All of the administration's under Russian rulers were hierachical in nature. The various organs of gov were always accountable to leaders and not the people. Democracy was debated and experimented with but never fully implemented. The nearest Russia came to achieving democracy fully was through the PG's efforts in setting up the Constituent assembly.
Tsar's
- Council of Ministers - Main lawmaking/admin body
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- Imperial Council of the State - Advised on legal and financial matters
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- Committee of Ministers
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- Senate (Supreme Court) - Final court of appeal on major legal matters
Communists
- All-Russian Congress of Soviets - main lawmaking/admin body
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- Central Executive Committee
. Politburo - elite Bolshevisk in charge of policy
. Orgburo - responsible for organising party affairs
. Ogburo - responsible for maintaining law and order
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- Sovnarkom (Council of People's Commissars) - Commissars were ministers in charge of departments
Change
Nicholas II the October Manifesto led to the abolishment of the Committee of Ministers promising greater representation. It duties were divided between the State Council and Duma.
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However the Fundamental Laws ensured that this apparent move towards democracy was actually just supreme autocracy in disguise, as he restricted the power of the duma by making it accountable to the tsar.
Stalin's 1936 Constitution introduced new representative bodies: Supreme Soviet of the USSR (main lawmaking body), Soviet of the union (representatives from the whole USSR), and the Soviet of Nationalities (represented particular regional groups). However, the Supreme Soviet was just the Communist Party's puppet.
Repression
The Secret Police
Alex II
- initially used the Third Section of the Imperial Chancellory to exile opponents
- replaced with the Okhrana in 1880
- this was less aggressive and targeted specific individuals and small groups rather than large groups of opponents
- ineffective as Alex was assassinated in 1881
Alex III & Nich II
- also used the Okhrana, especially against the SR's and SD's (political opponents)
- Ended in Feb 1917 - the Prov Gov didn’t want to continue with an organisation so hated by the people
Lenin
- established the Cheka in Oct 1917 to deal with opposition to the Bolshevik seizure of power
- integral to the implementation of War Communism and the Red Terror during the Civil War
Stalin
- implemented the OGPU in 1924 after the Cheka had served its purpose, but was less brutal
- introduced the NKVD in 1934 when Stalin perceived dissidence to his rule
- Similar to the Cheka, it was relentless in clamping down on opposition and made use of show trials and purges
Khrushchev
- Introduced a clearer structure of policing
- MKD: ordinary criminal acts & civil disorder
- KGB: internal & external security matters
Summary
- all regimes used repressive measures in order to enforce policies and restrict opposition
- the Communists used extreme repressive methods purposely to enforce obedience through terror
The Army
The Tsars
- was initially made up of 1.4 million peasant conscripts
- reforms came after the military's weakness was shown in the Crimean war
- russification under Alex III gave the army a enhanced role as a peacekeeper force and reguator of regional frontiers
- from 1905-17 it was mainly used to dismantle strikes and riots
Lenin
- initially used the military to consolidate power
- by the end of the civil war the red army consisted of 5 million men, whereas the white army only had 500k
- red army used to impose war communism
- still faced problems of destertion
Stalin
- red army used for grain requisitioning
- administered purges and the great terror (1936-8)
- 40% of military leadership was purged by Stalin who saw them as a threat
Khrushchev
- more focused on resolving international conflicts
- detente resulted in a easing of tensions meaning the army reduced form 3.6m to 2.4m
Censorship
Alex II
- Russia experienced 'openness for the first time'
- 1965 censorship relaxed
- 1955 - 1020 books published to 10,700 in 1894
Alex III
- clamped down on publications
- officials censored written material before it was published
- closed down newspapers, journals, educational insitutions
Nicholas II
- 1894 expansion of the press
- number of periodicals increased 3x from 1900-14
- removal of prepublication censorship
- newspapers aimed at the proletariat emerged
- political matters in the Duma began to be reported
Lenin
- abolished press freedoms to suppress 'counter-revolutionaries'
- 1921 Agitation and Propaganda department founded with the aim of promoting an idealised picture of Russian life
Stalin
- censorship increased
- by 1932 all literacy groups were closed down
- writers had to produce material under the banner to socialist realism as well as promote the concept of 'a new Soviet man'
Khrushchev
- easing of censorship
- books and libraries were proliferated, 2x the books published compared to the 1920s
- newspapers flourished, total readership of 60 million in 1960
Propaganda
Nicholas II used propaganda such as portraits, photographs, pamphlets and events to increase his popularity, especially after 1905
The Cult of Personality
- promoted by Lenin and Stalin in which they were to be worshiped as heroes
- examples: the imagery of Lenin, renaming Petrograd to Leningrad (1924), displaying of Lenin's body in the mausoleum
Stakhanovite movement
- propaganda to raise productivity
- based on miner Stakhanov who produced way above the normal quality of coal per shift, was seen as the "model worker"
Local Government
Zemstva
- introduced by Alex II in 1864
- an elected membership voted in by a mature of landowners, urban dwellers and peasants
- electors were mainly selected by property qualification
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- In 1870 an urban equivalent was introduced, called the Duma. This had a tougher entry requirement than the Zemstva and thus excluded the urban dweller.
The "Third Element"
- by 1900 the councils in some provinces were dominated by teachers, doctors and lawyers who demanded that central government should be remodelled along the lines of the Zemstva and Duma.
- both the Zemstva and Duma were labelled as bourgeois and counter-revolutionary by the Bolsheviks and so abolished after 1917.
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Soviets
- First Soviet emerged after the October Manifesto. Primarily concerned with co-ordinating strikes & protecting factory workers
- Soon became hugely influential - members of the SRs and SDs looked to gain influence over them, but they were dominated by the Bolsheviks
- March-October 1917: Russia effectively run by the Bolshevik-dominated Soviet.
- It dictated when, where & how strikes would occur; also had control over essential services e.g. transport
Petrograd Soviet order no. 1 - placed ultimate authority over the soldiers and workers in the hands of the Soviet, they had more power than the government did
Judicial Changes
Alex II - 1864 - introduction of a jury for criminal cases, created court hierarchy to deal with different cases, better pay for judges to reduce corruption, trials opened to the public, fairer conduction of trials. 1877 - new department of the Senate set up to try political cases after his assassination attempt.
Alex III - 1881 - movement away from the liberal law and order approach of his father. Police centralised under the Ministry for the Interior, special court for political cases, Justices of the Peace replaced by Land Captains who oversaw the Zemstva.
Communists - 1917 - the idea of revolutionary justice, was epitomised by the new criminal code of 1921 which legalised the use of terror to deter crime, the whole justice system rested on this principle.
Reform
Tsars
Tended to implement political, economic and social policies to appease opposition.
Alex II hoped that by freeing the serfs they would be happier and less likely to riot, was also notable for promoting railway construction and introducing the Zemstva
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The Provisional Governement also passed liberal reforms such as the dismantling of the Okrana which they hoped would create more stability
This approach didn't seem to work as the more freedoms the Russian people were given, the more they demanded
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Communists
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Nationalism through the Supreme Economic Council, War Communism, the New Economic Policy (NEP), 5 Year Plans and Collectivisation were all ways of getting Russians to toe the party line.
Opposition
Tsars
Political
The Kadets and Octobrists
- both formed 1905
- Kadets were the intellectual arm of the liberal movement and the opposition in the first Duma
- Octobrists were a more moderate liberal group, displayed loyalty to the tsar but wanted changes to the system of gov
- both supported Nicholas II Oct Manifesto
The Liberals
- formed 1900s
- liberal "westernisers" wanted Russia to be governed in a similar way to Western European democracies like Britain
- liberal ideas were supported by the emergence of the Zemstva
Social Democrats (SD's)
- formed 1898
- encouraged the need for working class consciousness
- improving pay and working hours
- 1905 signs of division between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks
Socialist Revolutionaries (SR's)
- formed 1901
- focused on improving the living conditions of the poorest people in society, like the urban proletariat
- biggest threat to tsarist rule before the 1917 revolution, had the most support
- split into left (radical)and right (moderate) SR's
The People's Will
- formed 1879
- aimed to assassinate the tsar
- succeed in killing Alex II in 1881
The Populists
- formed 1860s
- consisted of Russian intellectuals who were given greater freedom to criticise tsarist rule following the reforms of Alex II
- socialist
Peasants
Overview
- made up 70-80% of the population at any point in time so large scale uprisings were to be taken seriously
- protests and riots mainly occurred due to land distribution and access to food
- opposition was prevelent throughout the period
Emancipation 1861
- revolts caused by land captains in the 1890s, redemption payment issues in 1900-07 as well as land distribution and rising prices
The Black Earth Regions
- 1906 to 07
- Stolypin subsequently carried out land reforms to appease peasants grievances
- which indicated that peasants were successful in employing direct action on a wider scale
- from 1908 to 1914 Stolypin's reforms seemed to pacify peasant leaders, but the upheaval of WW1 ingnited another phase of revolt
- from 1916 they protested at high food prices, and pressure of rising demand for food from urban dwellers
- they were also an integral part of the 1917 revolution
Workers
Effectiveness
- Workers protests achieved very little before 1914.
- Strikes were put down with considerable force, for example, over 200 workers were killed by the army during the Lena goldfield strikes of 1921
Nature
- as the urban proletariat grew and become more politically conscious so did its inclination to go on strike and attend protest meetings
- for example: strikes after Bloody Sunday (1905), and at the Lena goldfields (1912)
- the most famous strike was at the Putilov works in St Petersburg (Feb 1917) - commonly seen as the start of the Febuary revolution
Minorities
Effectiveness
- Finland was granted full autonomy in 1905, but this was taken away the next year by Stolypin.
- Polish National Democratic Party members gained seats in the first and second Dumas
Nature
- strong nationalist movements in Poland, Finland and parts of the Caucasus region
- minorities did prove to be more compliant in the Baltic regions
- the Jews were most passive as they had no 'homeland' within the empire
Communists
Lenin
- as opponents to the tsar, PG and other political parties the Bolsheviks were obviously successful in becoming the sole rulers of Russia by 1918.
- Moderate opponents to the Civil War, and War Communism in particular, emerged within the Bolsheviks. Lenin maintained party authority by appeasing moderates through the introduction of the NEP.
Stalin
- opposition was largely unsuccessful
- Purges, show trials and the Great Terror effectively prevented opponents
Khrushchev
- introduced de-Stalinisation which resulted in greater tolerance of opposition
- by 1959 there were just 11,000 counter-revolutionaries in Gulags compared with 5.5 million in 1953
- Nevertheless, it remained difficult for those who disagreed with Khrushchev's policies to do so effectively
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