The Russian Revolution, Part I

State Emblem of the Russian Empire, 1890s

THE RUSSIAN SYSTEM

The state, militarized and costly, heavily exploited society (especially the peasantry)

The political system was autocratic-patrimonial, with the monarch being the supreme owner of the country and the sole source of sovereignty

The church was subservient to the state Real power in the state was held by massive and corrupt

bureaucracy Individual rights and liberties were severely curbed Society had no legal means of influencing government

policies – the people had an impact on the state either by obedience to it or by resistance to it (passive or active)

Market economy and private ownership had limited potential for development

When reforms became overdue, the state acted as the main agent of change, usually with limited effect

Russia’s 19th century: The apex of expansion – and the lag behind the West The pressures for change The reforms of Alexander II Development of capitalism

vs. Political modernization

Capitalism was creating new classes, new issues, new conflicts – and the state was expected to evolve to be able to deal with them.

But the Russian state was not up to the task.

It was not part of the solution, it was the source of additional problems

Coronation of Nicholas II:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2b-Cfe7fPok

Tsar Nicholas II and the Romanov Family

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo9sNh5InkY&feature=related

The Russian “battle order”

The effects of wars on the Russian system:

successful wars (1721, 1815, 1878, 1945) – reaffirmed the status-quo, strengthened the state, discouraged reforms

unsuccessful wars (1856, 1905, 1917, 1989) – fostered reforms and revolutions

Start of the Russo-Japanese War Jan.1904: Japan attacks Russian

Navy in Korea and China http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

PwxHNGAM-KU&feature=related

Russo-Japanese War, 1904-05

1904: How Russia expected to beat Japan

Russo-Japanese war of 1904-05: A Japanese cartoon

The Battle of Tsushima, May 1905: Japanese Navy sinks Russian fleet

The 1905-07 Revolution January 1905 Defeats of the Russian army and navy in war with

Japan trigger off discontent over socioeconomic conditions and lack of political rights

January 9: The Bloody Sunday In St. Petersburg, 140,000 workers, led by a priest,

march to the Royal Palace with a petition to the Tsar, asking for reforms

They are met with troops who fire on the crowds

January 9, 1905, St. Petersburg:

January 9th, 1905: 200 killed, 800 wounded, the first victims of the Russian revolution

Classic confrontation between state and society Repression backfires Society revolts against the state, demanding:

Resolution of pressing social issues, such as land reform

Political freedoms Accountable government Peace

Participants: Industrial workers Peasants Soldiers Students Intellectuals Businessmen Clergy Non-Russian nationalities

Forms of struggle: Demonstrations Strikes, many of them political Takeovers of farmland Armed revolts Mutinies in the armed forces Political self-organization of civil society

Creation of political parties – from Left to Right Creation of labour unions, independent professional

associations, etc. Creation of Soviets as new bodies of democratic

government, challenging the autocratic state

Mutiny on battleship “Potemkin”, June 1905

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3NmRPjesOA&feature=related

The government’s response Peace with Japan Repression Reforms, beginning with the Tsar’s October 1905

Manifesto, granting political freedoms and parliamentary elections

By 1907, the revolution subsides But no viable new form of state-society relations

has been created Stalemate

The Tsar is a reactionary, rejects democracy The nobility is stuck in the old order The capitalist class is too dependent on the state,

too afraid to show initiative

The gap between the rulers and the ruled

Reforms stimulate radical protest THE ATTRACTIONS OF SOCIALISM When the state resorts to repression, that only

makes the state-society gap even wider Russia’s options:

A liberal-capitalist path: what it would require An authoritarian-capitalist path: what it would require A non-capitalist path

EUROPE 1914

The summer of 1914 marked a watershed in world history:

For the first time ever, a world war began Since 1914, we’ve experienced 4 world wars They are historically connected with each other –

like links of a chain They may be viewed as 4 stages of one continuous

period of global conflict

What made world wars possible: 1. An integrated world – globalization 2. Struggle for power within countries acquires

international dimensions 3. Availability of economic resources 4. Development of military technologies 5. The culture of war

New rationalizations of war The idea of total war

August 1914 - Berlin

August 1914 - London

Canadian recruitment poster, WWI

Australians are urged to volunteer for WWI

German troops moving on Paris

French troops happily marching to the front, 1914

War’s grim reality

British soldiers blinded by German gas attack

War without end

World War I: 1914-1918

Resulted from: - -Rivalries between states (Germany-Britain, France-

Germany, Russia-Austria, Russia-Turkey, etc.)- -Social tensions within states- -Nationalist struggles against empires

The war for power and influence inside the global capitalist system

Expected to be brief The reality: a bloody 4-year stalemate Ended by revolutions in Russia (1917) and Germany (1918) 15 mln. deaths, incl. 9 mln. combat The flu pandemic of 1918-1919: 20-40 mln. deaths: a direct

environmental effect of “the Great War”

Causes of Russia’s involvement in World War I:

- own imperial goals (the Balkans and Transcaucasus): natural behaviour of an empire

- influence of Britain and France

- a war to avoid a revolution

The clash of empires:

The interstate conflict

The internal factors:

- interplay of nationalisms

- class conflicts

- struggles over democratic reforms

Russian soldiers pledge allegiance to the Tsar: World War I

Russian WWI poster: “The Great European War”

Russian infantry attack, 1914

THE WAR AS A REVOLUTIONARY FORCE: it tested the West and undermined capitalism

Results of the war:

-Collapse of 4 empires: Russian, Austro-Hungarian, German, Turkish

-World capitalism severely undermined – North and South (economically, politically, socially, ideologically)

-The rise of social protest and revolutionary movements everywhere

1917

The protracted, stalemated war puts heavy burden on Russia

The growing mood of anger and protest

February 1917: mass demonstrations break out in Petrograd

The government orders troops to fire on demonstrators

Soldiers turn on their officers and join the protest

Massive revolt engulfs the country

The Tsar abdicates

The state authority collapses within a week

Abdication of Nicholas II

February 1917: Crowds in front of the Royal Palace

“Long live the Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies!”

Women demand voting rights

Armed citizenry

Citizen militias patrol streets

Arrest of generals

Down with autocracy!

8 months in 1917: February-March Dual Power:

The caretaker Provisional Government The Soviets, created again as democratic bodies

of government The Provisional Government has limited control,

little legitimacy, but continues the war The Soviets are divided between reformist and

radical parties Radicals push the Soviets for full takeover of

power in Russia

The Provisional Government – the Rodzyanko Cabinet

1917 cartoon: The Provisional Government depends on war victory

Alexander Kerensky, head of the Provisional Government, July-October 1917