Tsarist Government Essay

It is possible that Tsarist government survived because of the massive concessions Tsar made in August Manifesto and in, what was more significant at the time, October Manifesto. The concessions pleased only some of the opposition groups, so the Tsar got them on his side. However, there are many other factors, which helped the Tsarist government to survive. In my opinion, the most important factor that contributed to the survival of the Tsarist government was the military power and the fact that it remained loyal to the Tsar, in contrast with 1917 when after WW1, many soldiers died and many solders no longer wanted to serve the Tsar. So, the concession the Tsar made in 1905 wasn’t as significant as the army that remained loyal.
In 1905, a
group of 150.000 workers led by an Orthodox priest, Father George Gapon, head of the Assembly of Russian Factory and Mill Workers marched to the Tsar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg. The main cause of the demonstration was the working conditions of the workers and some political reforms. However, they were faced with the army units. In the end, around 200 killed and 800 wounded in the event of 1905. This incident shocked Russian people and caused a massive wave of protest, so the Tsar had to respond somehow to this. But this response had only a small effect on the survival of Russian government.
Straight after Bloody Sunday, Bulygin wrote a plan of concession and set out it in August Manifesto. However, nearly everyone dismissed it because it was totally inadequate for them. Only ultra-moderate liberals thought that August Manifesto was a basis for negotiation. As August Manifesto wasn’t successful, Sergey Witte, new Russian prime minister advise Nicholas II to do more significant concession. So, the October Manifesto was published later.
October Manifesto contributed a little bit to the survival of the Tsarist government. In 1905, the Tsar granted October Manifesto as August Manifesto wasn’t working. So, Nicholas II promised the setting up of Duma, greater freedom of speech, the right to form political groups, freedom to hold public meetings, and greater freedom of press. The October Manifesto pleased only moderate liberals, later known as Octobrist, while radical liberals – Kadets; Bolsheviks and Mensheviks thought that what the Tsar promised already wasn’t enough or they thought Nicholas will break his promises as he usual did it. So, in following year, many concessions that were made in October Manifesto were withdrawn and he issued a set of fundamental laws that gave him a complete control over Duma. Thus, the October Manifesto brought Octobrists on the side of the Tsar, but other opposition groups still weren’t happy with it. Overall the October Manifesto promised some political reforms, but it wasn’t the most important part in the survival of the government because many of the reforms were withdrawn in the years following 1905.
Furthermore, the lack of leadership due to the division of political aims made it impossible to overthrow the government.
Different opposition groups wanted different reforms: middle class wanted more political say, freedom of speech; peasants concerned at poor harvest; national minorities sought greater self-government; SR’s, Mensheviks and Bolsheviks played little part in the event of 1905 and they looked for proletarian revolution; liberals wanted political reforms not revolution. So, as all these groups were unwilling to cooperate with each other, everyone followed only their aims. So, it was easy to deal with such uprising because it was quieter than if the oppositions were combined. In addition, it was clear that the aim of the Bloody Sunday wasn’t to overthrow the Tsarist government, people wanted Nicholas II to help them. Father Gapon led working class to the Winter Palace in order to present list of grievances. Thus, because all aims of the opposition groups were divided, they were weaker than the Russian government.
Lastly, the most important the cause of the survival of the regime was the military that remained loyal to the Tsar in 1905, in contrast to 1917 when military support shifted drastically away. Without army actions to bring down the revolutionaries, their ideas would have developed into something more dangerous for the government. Overall the army helped to stop the uprising and it prevented others as Nicholas II scared opposition group and made it clear that he won’t stop at anything to protect his
government.
In conclusion, despite the opposition to the Tsar, Nicholas survived the crisis of 1905 unharmed. The concessions Tsar made in 1905 contributed only a little bit as it pleased only small amount of opposition groups. There was more significant reason that helped Russian government to survive – it was the power and authority the Tsar had over his military. So, he was able to deal with the revolution; he could destroy outbreaks of resistance wherever there was opposition to the Tsarist regime.