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Was the size of Russia the main reason for making it difficult to rule?
disastrous effects on the people, and matters were made worse by poor harvests and an industrial slump. This is another reason against the size of Russia being the main reason why it was hard to rule. This is all to do with the Tsar disliking the lower classes and treated them with disrespect, and in the end it was too much for the peasants, so the only choice they had left was to rebel.
In 1905 the Russian Revolution had begun. Russia exploded into revolution because of many reasons. Many were to do with the lower classes and how they were treated. The taxes on everyday items such as alcohol and salt were increased, but the workers’ wages were kept low. The peasants also had to pay heavy taxes on grain, and grain was one of their main food sources. There were poor harvests in 1900 and 1902, and there was an industrial slump in 1902. The result of this were thousands of new workers lost their jobs, the peasants were starving, there were outbreaks of violence and landlords’ houses were burned. Strikes and demonstrations broke out in many cities. With how things were going at that moment, a revolution was inevitable. As with Bloody Sunday, this is a reason not linked to size, but to the bad treatment of the lower classes.
On October 30th, the Tsar issued the October Manifesto. It promised:
“A parliament elected by the people, civil rights, uncensored papers and the right to form political parties.”
The groups protesting believed they had won and stopped protesting. A parliament, or Duma, was set up and it appeared that the Tsar’s Government was willing to change. However, the Dumas that took place didn’t really help the people and little change took place. When the Dumas took place, they demanded some changes and they wanted to do other things such as pass laws, but the Tsar would have none of this. In 1906 the Tsar rejected their demands of passing laws, appointing ministers and controlling finance, and the Tsar closed it down. In 1907 the Duma demanded more power for themselves and rights for ordinary people, for example the freedom to strike, and the Duma demanded more land for peasants. The Tsar reacted to this by closing it down and he changed the voting rules so his supporters would win. The Dumas in 1907-12 were often critical of the government, and wanted accident insurance for the workers, but the Tsar took no action. In 1912-17 the Duma did not achieve much due to the war, and in 1917 the Tsar dissolved it. This links to the coursework question because it is an example of the Tsar making Russia difficult to rule by not sticking to his promises. It is worse that the Tsar offered something to the people, but then took it away before making any positive changes. This would [next page]