Liberals
The provincial Zemstvas were often highly critical of Tsarist policies. They cited famine and industrial stagnation as major problems that the government was responsible for.
The lack of power they had to influence decision-making at a national level also frustrated them. They wanted the introduction of a state Duma (Parliament) which would advise the Tsar.
The Union of Liberation was formed in St Petersburg in 1904 under the guidance of Liberal politician Peter Struve. The Union pushed for a constitutional monarchy with enfranchisement (the right to vote) for all men. – believed that Russia needed a period of peaceful 3 volution to adapt to new industrialising status
- Struve wanted to see constitutional system put in place – urban workers can campaign to improve their own conditions
- 1905: grand meeting held – members declared their intention to work for establishment of constitutional govt
- Contributed to momentum that was building up for political change
- Nobles like Prince Lvov wanted national assembly even though tsar said it was a senseless dream
- Ban of ‘All-Zemstvo Organisation’ in 1896 encouraged more radical liberals to est. Beseda Symposium in 1899 to meet in secret and discuss matters of liberal interest – judicial reform & universal education
- 1900: dismissal of hundredds of liberals from zemstva, Beseda Symposium assumed leadership of liberal movement; atgtracting support frompublic figures, town leaders, mombers oif legal & tecahers & indutrialists
Social Revolutionaries
The Socialist Revolutionaries adopted a combination of Marxist and Populist beliefs. They wanted to overthrow the government in favour of giving power to the peasants.
Although they were greatly uncoordinated in their efforts, they carried out approximately 2,000 political assassinations in the years leading up to the 1905 Revolution.
- Most influential theorist: Viktor Chernov
- Fairly loose org
- Wide variety of views
- Wanted redistributing of land
- Concept of land coalition rather than land nationalisation set them apart from the pure Marxists
- Wide national base w/large peasant membership
- 50% of supporters from urban working class
- Maintained killing campaign over following years until secret police foiled activities and infiltrated them
- 1905-9: 4579 SR’s killed
development of Marxism
From the 1880s, Marxist ideas began to spread through Russia. Based on the theories of the German economist Karl Marx, they proposed that the proletariat – the underclass of society – would rise up in rebellion and seize power from the wealthy ruling class and establish a fairer society.
Social Democrats
Social Democrat beliefs were based on Marxism. They did not consider that the peasants would rise in revolution. They focused on agitation amongst the workers in the cities. – working class are exploited by masters and future of Russia = class struggle/impetus for change came from working class
the group split in 1903 after an ideological disagreement. The Mensheviks, led by Martov, wanted revolution by the workers to occur naturally. The Bolsheviks led by Lenin, believed revolution should come as soon as possible.
- Won vote in favour of a more centralised party structure
- Then claimed that his supporters were the maj when opponents dubbed minority (Mensheviks is minority in russian and bolshevik maj)
- Next few years there was continued rivalry and arguing
- 1906 – effectively two separate parties
Although not directly involved in the 1905 revolution, these revolutionary groups had been able to help spread strikes and protests throughout the Empire.
TRADE UNIONS
- After legalisation of trade unions in 05, a reduction in discontent was expected through better employer-employee relationship
- Despite reforms fish as the 1912 insurance law, the state continued to fear independent work class activity and in particular the potential for revolutionaries to work through the trade unions
- 497 tu closed down
- 604 denied registration 06-10
- Unions that survived were mainly unions of the better paid male skilled workers in metal trades
- POST 1907 – economic depression and rise in unemployment & clampdown of opportunity for political action
- LENA GOLDFIELDS – new impetus/new round of strikes ensued
- Tu activity mainly confined to St Petersburg and surrounding area where ¾ of strikes took place
- Demonstrated failure to pacify working class
- Bitter resistance of employees and repressive measures to strikes added to anger and opposing
BUT
- Danger to autocracy of the pre war movement was less than it seemed
- Geographically limited
- Only 12% of enterprises experienced strikes
- even general strike in St Petersburg in 1914 only brought out a ¼ of total labour force
OTHER OPPOSITION GROUPS
- Moderate liberal opposition appeased by tsarist concessions in 1905-6 and tried to cooperate with duma system to further constitutional change
- No single strong opp fro, nationalities post 05
- Apart from Poles and finns no one wanted outright independence
- Ukrainians and belorussians had a combo of assimilation and repression which had some success
- SR & SD weakened by exile of leaders in 05
- Damaging split in SD
- Rivalry between SD & SR
- Ideological divisions w/in party and disagreement over appropriate reps one to 05 rev and how the parties should make use of the legal opportunities to work in and through the duma
- Secret police were v good at infiltrating and smashing revolutionary cells
- Industrial depression post 07, lack of finance and shortage of secret printing presses made organisation difficult
- None of exiled leaders could hold control over parties in Russia
- Membership declined and neither SD’s nor SR’s succeeded in establishing national regional or even city organisations
- At best they maintained ungrounded organisations in individual factories and workshops – leaders were local labour activists
- Local revolutionaries cooperated irrespective of ideological differences
- Revival of bolshevik 12-14 when they took of Mensheviks holdings in petersburg and moscow and secure 6 workers deputies in elections for the 4th duma
- Pravda (their newspaper) enjoyed more circulation than Menshevik paper
- But growing support of bolshevik ideas was limited
- SR boycott helped them to secure deputies in 4th duma
- Had no success w/army or navy
- Nothing came of promise to launch general political strike/ provoke street demonstrations and recreate a soviet of workers deputies
- Pre 1914 – opposition in Russia appeared weakened and demoralised
- Most workers were politically apathetic
- Trade unions failed to have popular base
- Labour protest contained by repression and minimal concession
- Coming of War diminished support for action as a patriotic fervour swept through all political groupings save for Bolsheviks
Lenin wanted defeat – though it would bring Russia closer to revolution