Events
1825
Alexander I dies; succession crisis prompts Decembrist
Revolt
1861
Alexander II abolishes serfdom
1881
Alexander II assassinated; Alexander III cracks down
on dissenters
1894
Nicholas II becomes tsar
1905
Troops fire on Russian civilians during demonstration
in St. Petersburg
Russia loses Russo-Japanese WarNicholas II concedes to creation of Russian constitution
and Duma
1914
Russia enters World War I
Key People
-
Alexander I
Tsar
whose 1825 death
prompted the Decembrist Revolt
-
Nicholas I
Brother
of Alexander I; took power upon Alexander’s death
-
Alexander II
Son
of Nicholas I; abolished feudalism in 1861;
assassinated in 1881
-
Alexander III
Son
of Alexander II; cracked down harshly on dissenters
-
Nicholas II
Son
of Alexander III; was tsar in power during the 1917 revolutions
-
Petr Stolypin
Nicholas
II’s prime minister; had many suspected terrorists tried and executed
-
Grigory Rasputin
Peasant and mystic who influenced Tsarina Alexandra;
was killed by Nicholas II’s supporters in 1916
The Decembrist Revolt
The first signs of widespread political dissent in Russia
surfaced nearly a century before the Russian Revolution, following
the death of Tsar Alexander I in December 1825.
Ever since the War of 1812, many
Russians, especially military personnel who had served abroad, were
inspired by growing democratic movements in Europe. Some even began
to call for a formal Russian constitution with guarantees of basic
rights. Alexander actually considered the idea of a constitution,
and indeed granted one to Poland, but never made up his mind about
creating one for Russia.
The tsar’s death in 1825 created
a fleeting appearance of weakness in the Russian leadership. Alexander
had no legitimate children, and there was confusion over which of
his two brothers would succeed him. The eldest brother, Constantine,
was technically next in line but had earlier given up his right
to be tsar when he married a woman outside of his class. Therefore,
the crown passed to the youngest brother, Nicholas I,
resulting in a small public scandal. Seeing opportunity in the momentary
chaos, 3,000 Russian
soldiers marched into the center of St. Petersburg, demanding that
Constantine take the throne and also calling for a constitution.
The uprising was quickly suppressed, and the surviving demonstrators,
who called themselves Decembrists, were arrested and
exiled to Siberia. In the coming years, they came to be seen as
heroes among Russian revolutionaries.
Early Revolutionary Movements in Russia
In 1861,
Tsar Alexander II, Nicholas I’s eldest son and successor, formally
abolished serfdom, freeing Russia’s serfs from indenture to
landowners. Though a positive development in some ways, it also
created a number of new problems, including a severe economic crisis
and significant resentment from landowners. The event also inspired
more open discussion of other political reforms, once more raising
public awareness of the fact that Russia lacked a constitution.
Throughout the 1860s
and 1870s,
a host of organizations formed to promote the introduction of a
constitution, a parliamentary government, and socialistic values
to Russia. Although most of these groups were peaceful, some began
to toy with the use of violence in order to force change. A series
of assassination attempts on Alexander II ensued, and in 1881,
one of these attacks succeeded. Members of a group called The People’s
Will killed Alexander II by throwing a bomb underneath his carriage
as it rode through the streets of St. Petersburg. As a result, the
new tsar, Alexander’s son Alexander III, cracked down
severely on all forms of public resistance. Although the assassination
failed to trigger a revolution as the plotters had hoped, the incident
did serve as a source of inspiration to underground revolutionaries
throughout the country, who increasingly saw the autocracy as vulnerable.
Russia at the Turn of the Century
By the turn of the twentieth century, Russian society
had never been more divided, nor had a Russian tsar ever been so
far estranged from his people. Tsar Nicholas II, who
had come to power in 1894,
had never shown leadership skills or a particular desire to rule,
but with the death of his father, Alexander III, the Russian crown
was thrust upon him. In person, Nicholas II was mild-mannered, even
meek; lacking the personality of a leader, his rule was clumsy,
and he appeared weak before the people. When it came to public opposition
or resistance, he avoided direct involvement and simply ordered
his security forces to get rid of any problem as they saw fit. This
tactic inevitably resulted in heavy-handed measures by the police,
which in turn caused greater resentment among the public.
Violence in 1905
The year 1905 brought
the most extreme examples of Nicholas II’s perceived indifference,
brutality, and weakness. On Sunday, January 9,
a crowd of over 100,000 marched
peacefully through the center of St. Petersburg. Eventually they
assembled in Palace Square in front of the tsar’s Winter Palace
and, unaware that the tsar was not in town that day, called for
the tsar to appear so that they could present him with a petition.
