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Why did Nicholas II survive the 1905 revolution
Russia. And following the year 1905 the number of peasant households becoming independent increased to a peak of 579,409 in 1909, although this number is still small when put into scale with the 12 million peasant households. Now, the only major group of concern for Nicholas was the industrial working class.
The Industrial working class was peasant based initially and was looking for a better standard of life. All that they saw however was poor living and working conditions, bad pay and much unemployment as they were totally at the disposal of the factory owners.
The fact that the Tsarist regime was actually strengthened by the revolution is argued among the historians. An analogy presented in favour of this argument is that the ego and the power of the Tsarist regime had been dented by the embarrassing loss in the war against Japan. The revolution, and the Tsarist regime’s success in preventing it, overshadowed the war, and broadcasted their strengths namely the loyalty of their military. This is in turn helped to strengthen the Tsarist regime’s power.
In conclusion, it can be said that the Tsarist regime survived the revolution for a number of reasons, of which most prominent was foremost the divided opposition, which helped them to crush pockets of resistance. The lack of leadership also played a considerable role in assisting the Tsarist regime, as the majority of the people were unorganised and hence disunited. The groups propagating their ideas had no real way of actually “converting” people to their set of political beliefs. But above all, it was the power and authority that the Tsar had over his military and the sheer size of it actuality sums up the real reasoning of the survival of Tsar Nicholas II despite the attempted revolution of 1905.
Reaction and Revolutions: Russia 1881-1924 (Access to History)
Michael Lynch, Hodder Arnold H&S; 2000