Debate+1

Group #1: Essay Question #2 at the top: Should Alexander II be praised or criticized for his reforms? 1. He was far better prepared for the succession than his father had been, therefore he should have handled the problems better then he really did.

 THEREFORE HE SHOULD BE CRITICISED FOR HIS REFORMS:  The wasn’t enough land to support all of the serfs  The serfs were a property of the landowners || Emancipation  1. Personal freedom  2. Ownership of the houses  3. Redemption payments || 1. They had to pay more than the land was worth  2. It did not solve the problem of industrial backwardness  3. Radicalized opposition movements such as slavophiles.  4. He did not conduct any further reforms to repair the damage. ||  Defeat  Russian Army proved to be backwards || Reduction of the term of service in the army from 25 to 6 and 9 in reserve. || 1. Reduces the size of the Army, the Tsar’s rule becomes more difficult to maintain <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 2. The soldiers didn’t want to go back, they were better off in the army <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 3. Unpopular in the upper classes <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 4. Increase the cost of maintaining the army || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Nicholas I strengthened russification <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Less freedom for minorities || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Tried to restore some of freedoms <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 2. 1856- restored archibishopric, 1857- Agricultural Society <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 3. Proposition of conscription of Poles into the Russian Army || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Radicalized Poles <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 2. 1963 revolt <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 3. Poles wanted full freedom, not partial freedom <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 4. Alexander II was unwilling to change the autocratic rule. ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">What problems Alexander II faced after Nicholas I died? || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">How did he address them? || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Outcomes ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Surfs
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Crimean War
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">National minorities

Group 1- He should be praised for his reforms

//“Considering the difficulties he inherited, Alexander II of Russia should be praised not criticized for his reforms.” To what extent do you agree with this judgment?// **Urban, middle class,** high wages, bad living conditions, || 1. Socially **Class divisions, serfs (70-80% of the country + illiterate)** || Free market, industrial || 2. Economically **Agrarian (not industrialized)** || Constitutional monarchy || 3. Politically **Autocracy- centralized authority** (huge country- hard to rule!!) ||
 * Europe (West) || Russia (social class) ||
 * Modern || ‘Backwards agrarian’ ||
 * 1. Socially
 * 2. Economically
 * 3. Politically

Intro Paragraph: Considering Alexander II inherited difficulties, such as an **//incredibly huge//** population of illiterate serfs, a centralized government ruled by an autocrat and an economic system heavily dependent on agriculture, he should be **//praised for his remarkable and intrepid//** reforms. After Russia **//humiliating//** loss in the Crimean war Russia’s tsar liberator had the **//courage//** to try to modernize a backwards agrarian country. As a result of Alexander II’s reforms, Russia’s long suffering lower social class, as well as the nobility’s lives improved **//significantly//**. __Positive sides of his reforms:__ · Army o **He got rid of life sentence** o Everyone was eligible for conscription regardless of social class § This made the system fairer since nobles also had to serve in the army and couldn’t ‘buy’ their way out. o Promotion should be based on merit, and not on social class § This also made the system fairer because hard working soldiers could be promoted § Making the military less structured by social class (meritocracy) § This also led to a better strategic planning · Legal o The nobility and upper classes were a pillar of tsardom, nonetheless was brave enough to take away some of their power for the better of the country. § Jury trials were introduced for serious crimes · This meant that the power was taken from the judge and given to the people (basically is the judge didn’t like you or was biased he couldn’t influence the trial to such a great extent anymore) § Government officials were no longer exempt from criminal charges § Legal proceedings were conducted in public § They were uniform for all classes of society § Judges were independent of the government

· Local Government o Everyone was allowed to vote § He was once again brave enough to take away some of the nobility’s power and disregard social classes o All votes received equal value regardless of social class

· Education o Increased primary and secondary schools (quadrupled) o University libraries were no linger subject to censorship § More liberalism § This could have backfired and the population might have turned against him due to their new sources of education (They could have realized that autocracy sucks), so he was brave enough to take that risk o Free press was promoted § Freedom of speech, etc; all western ideas! · Economy o State bank was established to start up businesses § This was an incentive to increase industries therefore also creating jobs and a middle class o Railway was increased § Railways enabled importing/exporting goods (trade), transportation · Russia was a large country and so it was hard for supplies to reach villages/small cities, so the railway was a HUGE factor in building new industries __Negative sides of his reforms (what the other side might argue):__ <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 73.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> o Redemption payments left peasants worse off <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 73.5pt; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-indent: -0.25in;"> o They might have been better off without it || · Redemption payments were imposed to make the reform fairer so that the land lords wouldn’t suffer a large loss · The emancipation enabled them to educate themselves and ultimately they created a middle class · Through education their wages/ living conditions improved significantly · They were given more liberty (landlords didn’t control them anymore) || · NO HINDSIGHT, how could he have known? || · Instead we have to focus on the question and place ourselves in Alexander II’s shoes and look at the options he had of saving the country. · He couldn’t know the outcome as so his decision was based on his remarkable bravery to ‘save’ the country || · Yes, it didn’t finish but he didn’t have hindsight and didn’t know that the wars and revolutions would impact it. || · NO HINDSIGHT ||
 * <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Their criticism || <span style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">Our rebuttal ||
 * · “criticism” because Emancipation caused many problems:
 * · Army lost to Japan in 1904 – military reforms were no good || · Military reforms improved strategic planning since those who worked hard (and had good strategies) would be promoted
 * · He preserved autocracy which caused the country to stay backwards In the long run. People’s lives didn’t improve, they still suffered and perhaps their lives even got worse. || · As historians we cannot argue with hindsight because it would be too easy to say this and this happened because of that.
 * · Railways didn’t finish- || · He inherited a large country and tried to improve transportation and the economy (import/export).
 * · His reforms led to all the revolutions later on because the people’s discontent kept on increasing and then sparked the revolutions || · Get realistic and examine other factors

__**Group 2 - Question 2 - Bottom Up - Maciek and David**__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">__Why did the movement for parliamentary government in Russia between 1881 and 1917 fail? How far was the Bolshevik seizure of power in 1917 the result of this failure?__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thesis: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The revolution was a bottom up revolution and to no extent can be considered a coup because the peasants and the serfs were the reason that it has started and ended the way it did, with the help of the army which is also on the lower levels of the pyramid.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> It was a bottom up revolution because the lower classes decided to revolt and then the soldiers joined them making everything from the bottom revolt against the top. the provisional government had to go to the Bolsheviks to get help against the uprising bottom up revolution. The army went against the Government showing that Russia was backwards and so forth and that they needed change to happen in order to prosper again and make Russia re-obtain it’s former glory. Upon other things this was one of the most clear bottom up revolution in Russia. The Tsar had failed them and thus people started to understand how screwed up Russia was and they started to cause uprising them being the serfs or the bottom of the hierarchy. The emancipation of the serfs was one of the many things that caused the final revolution. but what it did exactly was it really angered the serfs. and after that the tsars continuously made bad decisions and thus most people started to want change. Then WWI1 came along and yeah basically made an already bottom up revolution come quicker. Rasputin was another man who changed the history of Russia and it is arguably one of the most important factors of the war. if the peasants are rioting in the streets and then the army joins them and thus we can see by this that it is a bottom-up revolution.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> At this point people had enough, and wanted to get rid of the Tsar and to get an elected government, and Bolsheviks were the ones that helped them achieve that.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">__THE STUFF THE OTHER GROUP WILL TRY TO ARGUE AGAINST US__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The provisional government asked the Bolsheviks to help them control the revolution. and the the Bolsheviks and the Bolsheviks won and gained control and thus because they won it is a coup that succeeded.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> That the Bolsheviks are an upper class group which succeed in gaining control of the government and thus it was more a coup than a bottom up revolution.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The Bolsheviks caused a civil war which they won.(revolutionary war)

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> had an organized revolutionary party that worked and over threw the government

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The only way for a coup was from the Bolsheviks and they where the only group that could be considered to successfully over throw the Tsar.

<span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The movement for parliamentary government in Russia between 1881 and 1917 failed for a variety of reasons. 1881 was the year that Alexander II was assassinated by the “People’s Will” terrorist organization. 1917 the last Tsar of Russia abdicates.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">__The causes and build-up to the Feb Rev.__

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Factors from before 1914:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Tsar:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Indecisive, weak, unwilling to abandon autocracy. Not prepared to make concessions to representative government.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Political system:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Still largely an autocracy: repressive, often corrupt, outdated.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Middle Class:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Growing professional middle class, who wanted a greater role in national government.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Urban workers:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Alienated and disaffected. Strikes increasing.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Peasants:

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Still mainly poor, hungry for more land. Class of hostile landless labourers developing.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">__Impact of War__ <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Defeats hit morale of army. Soldiers were increasingly reluctant to fight.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Tsar takes control of army - blamed for loses.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Middle class saw the Gov as incompetent. Wanted a more representative Gov.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Cities in ruin: Inflation, unemployment, shortages of food, fuel, raw materials etc.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ARMY GOES AGAINST TSAR - SHOWS THAT IT WAS A BOTTOM UP REVOLT

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> - Peasants hit by loss of sons in war and loss of animals to the army. Food production falling.

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 36pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Group #3 by Kasia & Nathalie 3. Compare and contrast the causes of the 1905 and February /March 1917 revolutions in Russia. More similarities

1. People wanted a representative form of government (unrest including strikes) and their goal was to weaken and in some case even overthrow one of the most important pillars of tsardom- autocracy, which meant that all political, economic, military power rested in one infallible man with no limits on his power. 2. Peasants suffered greatly, in 1905 from repression and February/March 1917 from unfulfilled promises of wealth caused by wide-spread poverty as the State did not help them with the problem of food shortages. Their answer lead to the 1905 revolution was the abolition of serfdom which failed to create equality and actually deepened the wide between the classes. Before the February/March 1917 Revolution they increased the amount they paid for grain to encourage the peasants to sell their yields, but that did not have the desired effect.

3. Government’s inability to solve the problems that confronted the people at the time. a. Failed to modernize (heavily dependent on agriculture) i. Railway was not finished by 1914 and only had a single tract. In 1917 the army was not supplied enough weapons due to the failed railway system. b. Find suitable responses to people’s problems of 1- poverty, 2- appropriate representation in an independent chamber i. Land allocation in 1905 and starvation due to all the grain being exported to fund industrialization, approximately 1 million people die from hunger ii. Poverty in 1917 causes hyper-inflation as government prints more money, an effect of this was peasants simply taking land (the government did not want to reform land to not provoke army desertion) iii. Mir’s in 1905 were highly undemocratic with some people being discriminated and their views not represented at all iv. The Duma’s were highly controlled by the tsar and had no real power

4. Failures of wars left people disillusioned and weary- in 1905 it was the Russo-Japanese and in the February/March 1917 it was World War I. They were forced to take part in the wars as nationalism was not strong enough to establish nationalism. Both of these wars took attention away from domestic problems to quell disapproving opinions of the regime and to suppress opposition whilst uniting the country against a common enemy.

5. Both of the revolutions were bottom-up change as despite the fact that the Tsar abdicated in 1905 he did so because of political pressure and in 1917 the people from below, the Bolsheviks, took power. The people were forced to take action because they realized that it was the most beneficial thing to do as history has shown that the government was unwilling to compromise and provide concessions in the long term and decentralize power to satisfy the populists.

6. From a military perspective, being enlisted in the army was not seen by many as more appealing in 1917 than in 1905. Despite the military reforms reducing the conscription time enacted by Milyutin, the soldiers suffered. The only difference was that in 1905 it was because of the unbearable 25 years length of service and in 1917 because of the unbearable hunger and bad logistics that affected army mobility and their weaponry reducing the overall army morale.

7. Causes of both of the revolutions in 1905 and in 1917 included men manipulating the political spectrum from outside the main field of events. In 1905 this character was Rasputin who undermined the image of the Tsar by spending time with his wife unattended and thus being one of the indirect causes of the 1905 Revolution. In 1917 that strong persona was Kerensky, whose inconsistent and ambiguous policies weakened the country further and paved an easy road for the Bolshevik’s power ascension. These policies included him supporting civil liberties but encouraging the war effort. Despite the fact that he was succeeded by Lenin he did not support him, as he called him, “ a state criminal who is in hiding and whom we are trying to find.” Info taken from Spartacus Educational website: http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/

Nature of people’s dissatisfaction of the government did not alter greatly between the periods leading up to the revolutions of 1905 and February/March 1917 in Russia. In both cases, the government failed to fulfill the basic pleas of the peasants, workers and nobility at the time. Peasants were unhappy with redemption dues and land allocation which resulted in the abolition of serfdom and increasing inequality, workers wanted better working conditions through their unions while the nobility wanted decentralization of the tsarist regime in the long term. Causes of both of the revolutions covered the failure to industrialize the country and resulting in Russia being heavily dependent on agriculture for existence. The military disappointments in the form of the Russo-Japanese War leading up to the 1905 Revolution and World War I being one of the causes of the 1917 Revolution signified that war left people disillusioned and critical of the government and demanding change of the system from a tsarist autocracy into a liberal democracy. In hindsight, there were more similarities than differences in the causes of the 1905 and February/March 1917 revolutions in Russia.

<span style="background-color: transparent; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: medium; line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">**Compare and contrast the causes of the 1905 and February/March 1917 revolutions in Russia.**

<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When considering the causes of both the 1905 revolution and the 1917 February/March revolution, it is easy to come to conclusion that the causes were essential.Both occurred during a war in which Russia was doing badly, the effects of the war on the face look similar, there was apparently the same repressive govt. and there was peasant and worker discontent. However upon closer inspection, there are more differences. The situation in 1917 was far removed than that which existed in 1905. The war was far more devastating in its effects, opposition to the tsar was far better organized and were more powerful, and the peasant and workers discontent was worse with the failure of government reform.

1905 was a bottom-up revolution Demonstrations, strikes

The most short-term cause was Bloody Sunday – made

Short-term causes Long-term causes
 * || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1905 || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1917 ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WARS || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Russo-Japanese War not a total war and was limited in impact and far from Moscow and Petrograd

The tsar was not blamed for the defeat, but for shooting on the strikers Not widespread discontent in the army. It later put down the revolts throughout Russia in 1905-1906. || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">WW1 was a total war Had a great impact on the cities This war was more devastating than the Russo-Japanese

The tsar was blamed.

The army was discontent. The tsar lost the support of the army ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">ROLE OF INTELLIGENTSIA || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liberals only wanted more power within the Empire – they settled for a duma.

They did not have a duma to pressure the tsar. || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Liberals wanted the abdication of the tsar – they didn’t stop until the tsar abdicates.

They had an organized institution, the duma, to pressure the tsar, even if it wasn’t very powerful. || No real anger towards the person of the tsar || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">No trust, rumors or treason of the Tsarina, scandals, tsar blamed for the defeats and troubles ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">GRIEVANCES OF THE PEASANTS AND WORKERS || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anger because no reforms || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anger because wrong reforms ||
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TSAR AND ROYAL FAMILY || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Respect, trust
 * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">POLITICAL PARTIES || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Less political awareness of the population || <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More political awareness of the alternatives to tsardom ||

Opposition arguments: <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 12pt; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In both revolutions the middle class was discontented. Same grievances for the peasants and the workers. War did cause similar problems (shortages, inflation, unemployment). Defeats in the war. In both revolution there was discontent of the repressive political system.