LALALA

Ben Phillips
Why did Tsarism survive the revolution of 1905 but not that of March 1917?
Tsarism in Russia survived the revolution of 1905 but not that of March 1917 due to the difference in support it had in both years. It faced many difficulties throughout much of its late history; from the assassination of Alexander II and the similar attempts on Alexander III, to the downfall of the Romanov dynasty and the final abdication of Tsar Nicholas II on the 2nd of March. The way the country was being run and the strongly Slavophile views within Russian society made it difficult for any kind of revolt to occur at any time. There were, however, two main revolts against the Tsarist government; these were the 1905 revolution and the March revolution of 1917. The first of these predominantly failed to make any major changes to the government for lack of organisation and coordination of the Tsarist regime’s opponents and the persistently loyal attitude of the armed forces towards The Tsar. The March 1917 revolution, however, resulted in major political revolution and a brand new government due to the impact of the First World War and social and economic discontent within Russian society. The attitudes of the regime’s Liberal opposition greatly varied from 1905 in 1917, and this also played a significant part in pressuring the Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate.
Still attempting to establish itself as a European superpower, Russia attempted to prove itself by going through the Russo-Japanese war at the end of 1905 and fighting in the First World War from 1914. In 1905, there was very little to suggest that the survival of the Tsarist regime would be dented by the war, as the impact of it wasn’t at all widespread. However, the disastrous outcome of the Russo-Japanese war, seeing Russia lose one of its main naval bases to the Japanese armed forces, did have people turning against the Tsar and opting for a response. There were mutinies in some parts of the army which were mostly naval, however the overall loyalty of the army towards the Tsar remained intact, helping him survive 1905. There were other factors which contributed to this, many of which involved reforms from Peter Stolypin, President of the Council of Ministers at the time, and Sergei Witte, who was Russia’s finance minister. The two aided the Tsar in temporarily appeasing most of the Russian population, and thus preserved the stability of the Tsarist regime.
In 1917, Russia’s role in World War One was proving to be inexplicably futile, as millions of Russian soldiers were dying. They had been defeated, and this was due to poor conditions for the soldiers and poor military resources. Disillusioned, angry Russian soldiers ultimately had a poor attitude towards their jobs, and visibly low morale following defeat in the war. In Russia itself, the population were furious with their government, and more mutinies in the Volinsky regiment were occurring as well as soldiers refusing to take orders to fire on demonstrators in the cities. The ordinary Russian people had very poor living conditions, and the fact that food and material supplies had been disrupted due to the war caused even poorer conditions. Hundreds of factories were closed in the war leaving thousands of workers unemployed and ever more hostile towards the Tsarist regime. The majority of the Russian population, including the previously loyal army, had turned against the Tsar, making it near impossible for the regime to survive the March 1917 revolution.
Under Witte and Stolypin in 1905, workers, peasants and even the middle classes were far more pleased with their country’s situation than they were in March 1917. The Tsarist regime had come out of 1905 with very stable and strong prospects due to the amount of people it had appeased with agricultural and financial reform, The October Manifesto and the Duma. The peasants were pleased due to the fact that they could make a living in Russia at the time with the cancellation of redemption payments and the introduction of the Peasant Land Bank. The middle classes and Liberals were even more pacified than the workers due to the Duma, which was one of the main reasons why the Tsar survived 1905 and not 1917 as it had been dissolved by the then. Russia’s socio-economic situation was drastically poorer in 1917, as 140000 workers went on strike on the 9th February, and 100000 Russian people demonstrated in Petrograd on February 14th. An International Women’s Day march saw thousands of women furious at their country’s lack of food supplies, only adding to the difficulties the Tsarist regime was facing to survive 1917.Russian troops only became less loyal to the Tsar upon witnessing these events, sympathising with the people they had previously been trying to suppress. The Tsar no longer had the support of much of the army and the Russian population by his side, which is why, in this aspect, the regime couldn’t survive the March 1917 revolution.
Bloody Sunday of January 1905 involved public demonstrators marching on the Winter Palace in St Petersburg, and Tsar Nicholas II ordering for his troops to open fire on them. Many people were killed and severely injured, which made this particular event strike fear into the hearts of the Russian people. Due to the sheer amount of power and support the Tsar had at the time, his public opposition didn’t retaliate but rather ceased to oppose the regime. This included Liberal opposition, who were satisfied to an extent with the manner of the terms of the October Manifesto, which permitted them to elect their own government through the Duma. There was little doubt, therefore, that the Tsarist regime would survive the revolution in 1905. In early 1917, however, the failure of the Tsar’s commander in chief and his wife’s alleged affair with Rasputin transformed public perception of the royal family from fear to disgrace. The Tsarina Alexandra and Rasputin changed very little, as they had virtually no political support. Army officers and the Duma had deserted the Tsar, and his Liberal opposition were growing in power and support. It was virtually impossible at this stage to survive the March 1917 revolution, and in an act of desperation the Tsar attempted to reach a power compromise with the Liberals, offering to share power over Russia. This was refused, and the provisional government was formed following the Tsar’s abdication on the 2nd March.
Tsarism survived the revolution of 1905 but not that of March 1917 due to the lack of political pressure on the Tsar in 1905 and the abundance of it in 1917. Not enough people were willing in 1905 to show that they were against the Tsar, and with the army still loyal at the time it would have been difficult for revolution to occur. This clearly wasn’t the case in March 1917, and the army were no longer loyal and more opposition felt they were able to take advantage of the Tsar’s lack of support and challenge him. The Liberal opposition did exactly this, and it was due to revolutionaries such as them that the Tsar was forced to abdicate.