Alexander ll:

• Tsar had absolute power ordained by God (religious aspect to the Tsar's power, not through elections). All Russians had to obey the will of the Tsar or suffer punishment. Acted as 'moral judge' on behalf of God and a paternalistic duty to protect his subjects and control their behaviour - backed by Russian Orthodox Church. Autocracy needed, believed by Pobedonostsev, as a liberal democracy + constitutional gov. disastrous for Russia.
• Tsar liberator - introduced series of reforms in order to modernise Russia (not for freedom) eg Emancipation Edict took over 20 years

Alexander lll:

• Ultimate power and control rested in the hands of the Tsars. Autocracy as he maintained + strengthened the autocratic ideas of his father. He blamed his father's assassination on a move towards a more liberal society through his multiple reforms. Democracy to be avoided at all costs, pushed by his tutor Pobedonostsev.
• Reaction - attempt to put a block on the reforms of his father - couldn't reverse them but he put limits on existing reforms + introduced harsh + repressive measures on opponents of the regime (execution of the members of the People's Will)

Nicholas ll:

• Same as the previous Tsar, he maintained Autocracy but granted reforms (eg October Manifesto) like Alexander ll - but never left the basic principles of autocracy for example when he introduced the Fundemental Laws 1906 in order to limit the national Duma and stay in absolute control
• Concessions - was faced with the crisis caused by the Russo - Japanese War (1904-5), Nicholas ll had to give in to the pressure + create a national Duma - limitations through the Fundamental Laws which allowed him to stay in power + control the Duma - Nicholas only made modifications in order to keep opponents at bay + sought to uphold the principle of autocracy

Provisional Gov.:

• Democracy - made up of former duma members who were mostly conservative. A democratically elected Constituent Assembly was being planned. Had Eight principles eg end to death penalty and same rights for soldiers as other citizens.
• Dual authority - The Petrograd Soviet (a coalition of radical leftist groups) formed had control over much of Russian military+ shared power with Prov. Gov., this lead to their demise.

Lenin:

• Communism/Dictatorship of the Proletariat - Bolsheviks, in theory, were a vanguard working on behalf of the proletariat. SOVNARKOM (the Council of People's Commissars) was the new government which Lenin had most power in. Other socialist parties excluded from power + any dissent or factionalism within the Bolshevik( Marxist-Leninists) Party was suppressed. Marxist-Leninism, Lenin's interpretation of the dictatorship of the proletariat - workers could control political power
  
  

• Terror alongside opportunism. The Red Terror, up to 50,00 shot in 1918 carried out by the Cheka. Control increased during Civil War. Constituent Assembly was closed after one day. Harsh methods used eg War Communism

Stalin:

• Stalinism. A continuation of the Marxist-Leninist principles. Stalin used many of the apparatus of power established under Lenin to create a totalitarian dictatorship that rivals or even surpasses Hitler. known as 'The Red Tsar.'
• The ends justify the means - eliminates opponents eg Trotsky exiled in 1929. He used terror to crush any potential dissent or opposition. In 1937, the Central Committee ordered purges, army purge - 2/3rds of senior officers killed. People put in Gulags. By 1939 only 16/71 of the 1934 Central committee were alive. Used slave labour + forced collectivisation to push through policies on agriculture + industry

Krushchev:

• Scientific Socialism/destalinisation - attempted to distance himself from the 'excess' of Stalin's rule. Attempted a scientific approach to communism which borrowed the best of what was happening in the West with the avowed aim of overtaking it.
  
  • Destalinisation - An end to purges + greater tolerance to those who wanted to express an opposing point of view. Began with the 'secret' speech of 1956 which criticised Stalin as never having been chosen by Lenin - leaving the USSR unprepared for the Great Patriotic war - and the 'moral and physical annihilation' of his opponents at home and abroad. Led to the 'Anti Party Group' (Molotov, Kagonovish and Malenkov) unsuccessfully attempting to remove Krushchev. 1935, 5.5 million in camps fell to 11,000 by 1959. October 1964, was removed from power by Presidium members.

Alexander ll:

• Central/national gov. format + institutions remain the same between 1855-1905. Alex. ll had complete control of all policy. Advice taken from the
  Imperial Council of State on legal and financial matters. the senate acted as Supreme court until 1905. Before 1861 - Personal chancery. After 1861 - Council of Ministers, appointed by the Tsar, discussed laws with him, given immediate royal assent or passed to the Committee of ministers (13 ministers in total) - advisory + administrative body w/ no decision making powers. Eg: Minister of the Interior, Minister of war + Minister of Finance.

Alexander lll:

• Continued to have complete control over all policy - he took advice from the Imperial council of State on legal and financial matters and The Senate (Supreme court) still existed. He abolished the Council of Ministers in 1882 and shared its responsibility with other institutes eg Committee of Ministers which remained a purely advisory and administrative body w/ no decision making powers

Nicholas ll: Same as Alex lll until 1905 revolution when the October Manifesto was written - turning point in the nature of Russian Government

• The Duma became the first nationally elected representative body - BUT the Duma could be disbanded (happened in 1906,1907 + 1917) + ignore it through the Fundamental laws of 1906
• The State Council were apponinted by the Tsar or representatives of towns, churches + nobles - acted as a limit on the power of the Duma
• The Council of Ministers (all appointed by the Tsar) became the main law making body chaired by a PM. Duma + State Council had matters to debate which the Tsar would then decide whether the Council of Ministers should make it a law

Provisional Gov: Not in a position to act and shared its power with the Petrograd Soviet. Promise of Constituent Assembly elections were continually delayed + did not address demands of peasants for land + didn't end the war.

Lenin:

• Democratic Centralism - used to justify Bolshevik control + became highly centralised that 'the party became the Government'
• General secretary/President the followed by the Government + the separate Bolshevik Party.
• Gov. - SOVNARKOM, then the Russian Congress of Soviets, Provincial Soviet, District Soviet + Village Soviet
• Bolshevik Party - Orgburo - organised party affairs, Ogburo - dealt with opposition + the Politburo - elite Bolsheviks who formulated policy. The central committee was chosen by Congress, then the Party Congress, Regional Party + Local Party.

Stalin:

• Similar structure to Lenin - wide range of freedoms (eg free press, speech, assembly, religion, voting etc) which was all promised in Stalin Constitution of 1936 - but in reality was a totalitarian gov.
• The SOVNARKOM was changed to the Council of Ministers (Sovmin) in 1948
• The Supreme Soviet itself was headed by the Presidium which Stalin was the leader of - in theory they would make laws for the whole of the USSR + met twice a year
• Constitution created the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities under the Supreme Soviet - designed to give better representation to the republics
• Within the party system the Politburo (Elite Bolsheviks) were also outranked by the Presidium
• The Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party 1934 had only 16 out of 71 members still alive by 1939 + did not meet at all between 1947 and 1952 - all power in the hands of Stalin
• GOSPLAN created to oversee economic targets + Cominform + COMECON were coordinated internationally

Krushchev:

• Largely the same structure as under later Stalinist period - destalinisation did not alter the structure of gov. just the way the tools were used
• Krushchev, unlike Stalin, was always answerable to the Presidium - caused a power struggle between Malenkov + Beria
• The power of the Politburo was raised + more economic planning powers were given to regional Soviets
• Collective leadership, in theory, as men of the stalin era were replaced with his own supporters
• The Supreme Soviet met twice per year
  

Alexander ll:

• Secret police - used to deal with 'unrest' + their aim was to preserve the system : 1855, The Third section - reported to the Tsar, punishments included putting people in 'Administrative exile' or keeping them as prisoners ('Guests of the Tsar'). Then started to respond to assassination attempts + revolutionary activity. Abolished in 1880 + replaced by the Okhrana in 1881. The Okhrana virtually had unrestricted powers - had the power to intercept mail, were spies + informers
• Censorship - period of glasnost (freedom) due to all the reforms created by Alex ll leading to more educated population (increase in periodicals) + more dangerous ideas + revolutionary material increased dramatically - finally led to his assassination. Example: Number of licensed newspapers rose from 6 to 66.

Alexander lll:

• Secret police: Okhrana used to find + execute 150 members of the People's Will who assassinated his father. They infiltrated various opposition groups + trade unions. Monitored revolutionaries at home + abroad. Use of torture.

  
  

• Censorship: Safeguard system included Reinforced Safeguard in place 10 provinces. Some newspapers had to submit before publishing and a committee of ministers could close 'harmful' publications. Restrictions on libraries, reading rooms and university elections.

Nicholas ll:

• Secret Police: Less successful in his use of the secret police but relied on the army more. BUT did use the Okhrana as 'Agents Provocateur' sabotaged oppositions such as 'Father Gapon' + 'Bloody Sunday' event in 1905. Lenin was exiled to Switzerland + Stalin to Siberia. Army used to restore order during 1905 revolution - on striking workers eg Lena Goldfields in 1912 where 2,000 people were killed.
• Censorship: Period of freedom/relaxation - 89 newspapers in 1894 where no prior approval was needed. Extensions of freedoms post 1905 - new newspapers opened discussing political reform.

Provisional Gov.:

• Secret police: People's militia, chosen by local gov., replaced the police. This was ineffective as control of the countryside was lost + Petrograd Soviet was more powerful in the city. Did use some repressive measures such as the Punishment brigade and Kerensky took a more dictatorial role.
• Censorship: Complete freedom of speech was one of the eight principles - which allowed the spread of 'anti-democratic' ideas. BUT Bolshevik newspaper, 'Pravda', was banned after July Days.

Stalin: Inherited a system of police state + rule by terror in 1929 leading to a reign of terror.

• Secret police: Ogburo was reconstituted into NKVD - used to control purges, show trials + gulags. By 1936 5 million were put into Gulags as many as 40 million total with between 1 and 10 million deaths. Crimes included being 'kulaks', 'whites', 'in league with Trotsky', 'industrial sabotage' etc. 1936 - show trials leading to Bolsheviks Kamenev + Zinoviev execution. 1937 - 40,000 Red army officers were purged. 1938 - Purge of ~ 20,000 members of the NKVD. During the Great Patriotic War, surveillance increased + secret police expanded into espionage
• Red Army - used for Grain requisitioning - took grain from Ukraine. Also used to help run the Great terror + administered transfers to camps.
• Censorship - Complete gov. control over all published material. Stalin forced all writers into the Union of Soviet, only they could write (forced to adhere to socialist realism). No foreign radio - led to jamming + arrests of public figures.

Lenin:

• Secret police: Use of the Cheka in order to administer the Red Terror - root out class enemies in the Civil War, stop counter revolution + send them to revolutionary tribunals. Summary executions also carried out eg 10,000 shot after an attempt on Lenin's life in 1918. Also used to implement policies eg War Communism. Cheka needed as the Bolsheviks were still a minority group + Russia were still at war + so had a wide range of enemies (support of the Tsars, peasants etc). By 1918 there were 40,000 agents + during the Civil war Cheka ruled by terror - accepted as seen as necessary for victory.
• Red Army (5 mil members by 1921) used effectively in external conflict but relied more on secret police - fought the whites during civil war. Used against Kronstadt uprising - 10,000 casualties.
• Censorship: Lenin closed all non-Bolshevik newspapers + used Pravda to spread Communist ideas. In 1917, he abolished free press to stop 'counter revolution.'

Krushchev:

• Secret Police: NKVD abolished + its leader,Beria, executed + gave ordinary police powers to the MVD (1953) - dealt w/ criminal acts while the KGB dealt w/ external + internal security of USSR (international espionage) both regulated by the party not individuals. Major focus on infiltration + spying abroad, especially America. Gulags (prison camps) largely disappeared. De-stalinisation led to the plummeting of the n.o of political arrests.
  
  

• Censorship - 'The Thaw' - period of freedom. Stalin critisised. By 1959, 135,000 libraries open + 8 billion books (10x more than 1913).

Tsars: Propaganda rarely used apart from portraits + the 'Little Father' idea spread by the Church. After 1905, 300 year Romanov parade in St Petersburg (1913).

Communists: Used a wide variety of media; films, art + music promoting Socialist realism. The Stakhanovite movement also encouraged hard work for Stalin's goals.

Tsars:

• Attitude: All Tsars wanted to maintain autocracy but some attempts towards democracy were made in the form of Zemstva + Duma but both used to maintain autocracy + deal w/ revolutionary threat. The Fundamental Laws of 1906 + Article 67 proved this
• Extent: Ruled as autocrats throughout Alex ll to Nicholas ll. Many reforms under Alex ll + Nicholas ll but autocracy was still maintained. Ideology + structure of gov. broadly the same + all used a mix of reform + repression to keep control.

Prov. Gov.:

• Attitude: Had a positive attitude towards change attempted to set up the Constituent Assembly, releasing political prisoners, abolishing Okhrana + working w/ the Petrograd Soviet. Gov. based on 8 Liberal principles.
  
  

• Extents: Appointed from the fourth Duma; the 'old guard'. Adopted liberal principles but freeing political prisoners allowed opposition to gather momentum + so it was very short

Communists:

• Attitudes: Initially revolutionary political change was wanted resulting in the collapse of the Tsar, Prov. Gov + Constituent Assembly. BUT after getting control they were more interested to maintain power - so new terror + dictatorial states began. Lenin + Stalin did issue new constitutions eg 1936 Constitution but in reality was not put in use. Krushchev had positive attitude to political change w/ De-Stalinisation programme and shifting authority to the party - but was limited
  
  

• Extents: Ruled as types of autocrat (or authoritarians): used repression + reform
  Introduced Marxism-Leninism towards 'dictatorship of the Proletariat'
  Introduced Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism; moved towards totalitarianism
  Introduced de-stalinisation; moved towards democratic centralism

Tsars: They tended to implement social, economic + political policies to appease opposition

• Alexander ll - hoped that freeing the serfs would make them happier and less likely to revolt

  
  

• Nicholas ll introduced the Duma to quieten those who wanted constitutional reforms

• The Prov. Gov. passed liberal reforms such as the dismantling of the Okhrana which they hoped would create more stability. This approach of reforms didn't work as the more freedoms the population were given the more they demanded - led to riots, strikes + assassination attempts.

Communists: Reforms used to deal with opponents in a more direct fashion - done directly to control opposition. For example: War communism, collectivisation + the Five-Year Plans were combined with repressive measures to ensure they were successfully implemented. Reforms crushed opposition