CULTURE
Since
the reign of Ivan the Terrible, the Russian Tsars had followed
a fairly consistent policy of drawing more political power away
from the nobility and into their own hands. This centralization
of authority in the Russian state had usually been accomplished
in one of two ways--either by simply taking power from the nobles
and braving their opposition (Ivan the Terrible was very good
at this), or by compensating the nobles for decreased power in
government by giving them greater power over their land and its
occupants. Serfdom, as this latter system was known, had increased
steadily in Russia from the time of Ivan the Terrible, its inventor.
By the time of Catherine the Great, the Russian Tsars enjoyed
virtually autocratic rule over their nobles. However, they had
in a sense purchased this power by granting those nobles virtually
autocratic power over the serfs, who by this time had been reduced
to a state closer to slavery than to peasantry.
By
the nineteenth century, both of these relationships were under
attack. In the Decembrist revolt in 1825, a group of young, reformist
military officers attempted to force the adoption of a constitutional
monarchy in Russia by preventing the accession of Nicholas I.
They failed utterly, and Nicholas became the most reactionary
leader in Europe. Nicholas' successor, Alexander II, seemed by
contrast to be amenable to reform. In 1861, he abolished serfdom,
though the emancipation didn't in fact bring on any significant
change in the condition of the peasants. As the country became
more industrialized, its political system experienced even greater
strain. Attempts by the lower classes to gain more freedom provoked
fears of anarchy, and the government remained extremely conservative.
As Russia became more industrialized, larger, and far more complicated,
the inadequacies of autocratic Tsarist rule became increasingly
apparent. By the twentieth century conditions were ripe for a
serious convulsion.
At
the same time, Russia had expanded its territory and its power
considerably over the nineteenth century. Its borders extended
to Afghanistan and China, and it had acquired extensive territory
on the Pacific coast. The foundation of the port cities of Vladivostok
and Port Arthur there had opened up profitable avenues for commerce,
and the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway (constructed
from 1891-1905) linked the European Russia with its new eastern
territories.
In
1894 Nicholas II acceded to the throne. He was not the most competent
of political leaders, and his ministers were almost uniformly
reactionaries. To make matters worse, the increasing Russian presence
in the far east provoked the hostility of Japan. In January of
1905, the Japanese attacked, and Russia experienced a series of
defeats that dissolved the tenuous support held by Nicholas' already
unpopular government. Nicholas was forced to grant concessions
to the reformers, including most notably a constitution and a
parliament, or Duma. The power of the reform movement was founded
on a new and powerful force entered Russian politics. The industrialization
of the major western cities and the development of the Batu oil
fields had brought together large concentrations of Russian workers,
and they soon began to organize into local political councils,
or soviets. It was in large part the power of the soviets, united
under the Social Democratic party, that had forced Nicholas to
accept reforms in 1905.
After
the war with Japan was brought to a close, Nicholas attempted
to reverse the new freedoms, and his government became more reactionary
than ever. Popular discontent gained strength, and Nicholas countered
it with increased repression, maintaining control but worsening
relations with the population. In 1912, the Social Democrats split
into two camps--the radical Bolsheviks and the comparatively moderate
Menshiviks. In 1914, another disastrous war once again brought
on a crisis. If the Russo-Japanese war had been costly and unpopular,
it was at least remote. The First World War, however, took place
right on Russia's western doorstep. Unprepared militarily or industrially,
the country suffered demoralizing defeats, suffered severe food
shortages, and soon suffered an economic collapse. By February
of 1917, the workers and soldiers had had enough. Riots broke
out in St. Petersburg, then called Petrograd, and the garrison
there mutinied. Workers soviets were set up, and the Duma approved
the establishment of a Provisional Government to attempt to restore
order in the capital. It was soon clear that Nicholas possessed
no support, and on March 2 he abdicated the throne in favor of
his brother Michael. No fool, Michael renounced his claim the
next day.
The
Provisional Government set up by the Duma attempted to pursue
a moderate policy, calling for a return to order and promising
reform of worker's rights. However, it was unwilling to endorse
the most pressing demand of the soviets--an immediate end to the
war. For the next 9 months, the Provisional Government, first
under Prince Lvov and then under Alexandr Kerensky, unsuccessfully
attempted to establish its authority. In the meanwhile, the Bolsheviks
gained increasing support from the ever more frustrated soviets.
On October 25, led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, they stormed the
Winter Palace and deposed the Kerensky government.
Although
the Bolsheviks enjoyed substantial support in St. Petersburg and
Moscow, they were by no means in control of the country as a whole.
They succeeded in taking Russia out of the war (though on very
unfavorable terms), but within months civil war broke out throughout
Russia. For the next three years the country was devastated by
civil strife, until by 1920 the Bolsheviks had finally emerged
victorious.
