“Learning to Lead our Lives”

Did Life in Russia improve between 195 and 1914?

Skill: Empathy, Communication

NGfL: Russia 1900-1924

Peace and Quiet, 1906

Reproduced with the kind permission of the David King Collection, London

• The October Manifesto • Promised freedom of

speech and the right to form political parties

• Established a Duma (parliament)

• There were to be no new laws without the consent of the Duma

Reproduced courtesy of the David King Collection, London

What would these people expect from the Tsar’s promises in the October Manifesto?

Law and Order

• The Tsar appointed Peter Stolypin as Prime Minister to restore law

and order to Russia.

• Although the towns settled quickly after 1905 the countryside

remained unsettled. • With a reputation for being tough, Stolypin set up military courts which

could try a man on the spot and sentence him to death!

• The hangman's noose became known as Stolypin’s neck tie!

• The Secret Police (Okhrana) remained very active.• All Russians had to carry internal passports and register

with the police if they travelled away from home.

• Although freedom of speech and the press had been granted in 1905, newspapers were heavily fined for printing articles which upset the government and were sometimes censored.

Law and Order continued . . .

censorship

The Dumas •In 1906 the first Dumas was extremely limited it could not pass laws or appoint minister, nor could it control areas of finance or national defence.

•Elections were also a source of contention as there was a representative for every 2000 nobles but only 1 for every 90,000 workers.

•In spite of this the early Dumas demanded radical changes including free education and more civil rights. They also demanded more land for the peasants.

The Tsar felt threatened by this and closed the first 2 Dumas after just a few weeks

The 3rd and 4th Dumas

The Dumas continued . . .

•Stolypin reorganised the 3rd Dumas to give greater representation to the wealthy and noble classes.

•In spite of this, the Dumas was still keen to make changes. It lasted from 1907 – 1912 and made alterations to the army, navy and gave accident insurance to workers.

•The 4th Dumas had little opportunity to make an impact before World War One began.

Agricultural Reforms

•Peasants were allowed to buy strips of land and combine them together to make plots

•This was to encourage more efficient and productive farming. 1913 saw a record harvest.

•Some peasants were able to buy their neighbours strips of land as well.

•Some peasant farmers became Kulaks – wealthy land owning peasants.

•The Government introduced bank loans to enable peasants to buy land.

Positive points

Agricultural Reforms

•Peasants who sold their land became even

poorer labourers wandering the country side

looking for work.

•4,000,000 peasants were encouraged by the

government to migrate along the Trans-Siberian

Railway. When they arrived in the east the best

land was all taken and half returned to Western

Russia with nothing.

Negative points

Industrial Reforms

•From 1906 – 1914 there was an Industrial

BOOM in Russia.

•Russia’s Industrial output went up by 100%

making Russia the fourth largest producer of

coal and iron in the world.

•Factories used modern mass production

techniques and Russia’s oil fields were

matched only by those in Texas.

Positive points

Industrial Reforms

•Workers gained little from this ‘Boom’.

•Wages in real terms were as low as they had

been in 1903. This left workers barely able to buy

the bread they needed to survive.

•Prices rose and working conditions remained very

poor.

•Striking workers faced harsh treatment by the

army and many were killed or injured.

Negative points

Your task is to assume the role of a Russian

Journalist in 1914. You must write an article for a

Russian newspaper evaluating the changes the Tsar

has made to the people’s lives.

You must pick either an anti-Tsar or a pro-Tsar paper to write for. This must be reflected in the way you write!

Task

Time to Weigh up the Changes!

Draw a giant set of scales and make a brief note of positive changes on one side and negative on the other. How much do you think things changed for the people of

Russia?

Remember more changes are not always better. Think quality as well as quantity!