Extent Of Russian Reforms 1906 14
Isabelle Stanley
To What Extent Did Russia Undergo Economic and Political Reform 19061914? After the 1905 ‘Revolution’ Russia was in desperate need of both political and economic reforms: to maintain its status as an international great power and to prevent future revolutions. There is much debate as to whether the changes made were effective or just an act of superficial appeasement. In my opinion the reforms had too many strings attached to be noteworthy. However many argue that the reforms were a significant turning point for Tsarist
Russia. Politically, Russia appeared to undergo great change. In early 1906 following the advice of Sergei Witte Tsar Nicholas introduced the October Manifesto condoning the establishment of an elected Duma. This Duma was surprisingly diverse considering the heavily biased election process. The second Duma even had a strong representation of the
Left wing: with over 200 left seats including the revolutionary Mensheviks winning 47 seats.
Throughout the prewar period the Duma was not entirely powerless: they passed some reforms including legislation for social progress such as universal education in 1908 and compulsory insurance for industrial workers 1912. Another factor to consider was the unitisation of the left and right wing of the Duma and the apparent cooperation between the
Tsar and the Duma. And yet these constitutional reforms were in practice almost meaningless due to the
Tsar’s firm autocratic beliefs. In reality the Tsar still had complete control, his Fundamental
Laws published April 1906 ensured that the autocracy was still in the ascendancy, “The
Sovereign Emperor possesses the initiative in all legislative measures...” . The Fundamental
Laws established that the Tsar could effectively veto any of the Duma’s decisions by dissolving the Duma, the 1st Duma was dissolved after just three months. The Tsar repeatedly dissolved Dumas until he created one which was conservative and
To What Extent Did Russia Undergo Economic and Political Reform 19061914? After the 1905 ‘Revolution’ Russia was in desperate need of both political and economic reforms: to maintain its status as an international great power and to prevent future revolutions. There is much debate as to whether the changes made were effective or just an act of superficial appeasement. In my opinion the reforms had too many strings attached to be noteworthy. However many argue that the reforms were a significant turning point for Tsarist
Russia. Politically, Russia appeared to undergo great change. In early 1906 following the advice of Sergei Witte Tsar Nicholas introduced the October Manifesto condoning the establishment of an elected Duma. This Duma was surprisingly diverse considering the heavily biased election process. The second Duma even had a strong representation of the
Left wing: with over 200 left seats including the revolutionary Mensheviks winning 47 seats.
Throughout the prewar period the Duma was not entirely powerless: they passed some reforms including legislation for social progress such as universal education in 1908 and compulsory insurance for industrial workers 1912. Another factor to consider was the unitisation of the left and right wing of the Duma and the apparent cooperation between the
Tsar and the Duma. And yet these constitutional reforms were in practice almost meaningless due to the
Tsar’s firm autocratic beliefs. In reality the Tsar still had complete control, his Fundamental
Laws published April 1906 ensured that the autocracy was still in the ascendancy, “The
Sovereign Emperor possesses the initiative in all legislative measures...” . The Fundamental
Laws established that the Tsar could effectively veto any of the Duma’s decisions by dissolving the Duma, the 1st Duma was dissolved after just three months. The Tsar repeatedly dissolved Dumas until he created one which was conservative and