Tsarist and Soviet Regimes: Terror and Repression during 1855-1964
To what extent did the Tsarist and Soviet regimes rely on terror and repression to maintain order and control between1855-1964?
From the reign of Alexander the lll terror and repression has been widely used as a mean of control. Under the Tsar they were not used as much as their successors but they were used especially with Alexander lll with Russification (Okhrana), and the counter reforms also with Nicholas ll (Okhrana) with bloody Sunday. Under the leadership of Lenin repression and terror persisted with the ‘Red Terror’ campaign (war communism) which consisted of mass arrests and executions ordered by the Bolshevik government and implemented by the Cheka. This idea of control through repression and terror continued in Russia under the leadership of Josef Stalin (OGPU, NKVD, NKGB, MGB). After the death of Stalin, Khrushchev implemented a period of ‘de-Stalinisation’ (KGB) with the aim of ridding the state of its secretive and repressive nature to open up and make allies with the west which was the first time since Alexander ll.
Alexander ll became Tsar in 1855 after succeeding Tsar Nicholas l and was regarded as a “liberator” throughout his time as Tsar, until an attempted assassination attempt on him in 1866 were he turned more reactionary. Alexander ll was assassinated in March 1881, he was not radical and believed in a slow and progressive change, due to this he gathered much opposition to him and was eventually killed by The Peoples Will, and this kicked off ‘the era of great reforms’ [5]. Alexander ll was seen to be liberal in the early years of his reign as seen in the emancipation of the Serfs in 1861. This gave the Serfs more freedom and basic rights which at this time was a major liberal reform compared to the majority of the previous Tsars, this was by in large Alexander’s greatest reform. The emancipation, he hoped, would lead to greater agricultural output in order to finance the railways, and the beginning of the
From the reign of Alexander the lll terror and repression has been widely used as a mean of control. Under the Tsar they were not used as much as their successors but they were used especially with Alexander lll with Russification (Okhrana), and the counter reforms also with Nicholas ll (Okhrana) with bloody Sunday. Under the leadership of Lenin repression and terror persisted with the ‘Red Terror’ campaign (war communism) which consisted of mass arrests and executions ordered by the Bolshevik government and implemented by the Cheka. This idea of control through repression and terror continued in Russia under the leadership of Josef Stalin (OGPU, NKVD, NKGB, MGB). After the death of Stalin, Khrushchev implemented a period of ‘de-Stalinisation’ (KGB) with the aim of ridding the state of its secretive and repressive nature to open up and make allies with the west which was the first time since Alexander ll.
Alexander ll became Tsar in 1855 after succeeding Tsar Nicholas l and was regarded as a “liberator” throughout his time as Tsar, until an attempted assassination attempt on him in 1866 were he turned more reactionary. Alexander ll was assassinated in March 1881, he was not radical and believed in a slow and progressive change, due to this he gathered much opposition to him and was eventually killed by The Peoples Will, and this kicked off ‘the era of great reforms’ [5]. Alexander ll was seen to be liberal in the early years of his reign as seen in the emancipation of the Serfs in 1861. This gave the Serfs more freedom and basic rights which at this time was a major liberal reform compared to the majority of the previous Tsars, this was by in large Alexander’s greatest reform. The emancipation, he hoped, would lead to greater agricultural output in order to finance the railways, and the beginning of the