Tsarist Russia: Society, Economy, and the 1905 Revolution

Tsarist Russia in the Early 20th Century

In the early twentieth century, Russia was a vast empire ruled by tsars under a form of absolute monarchy. It was very far behind other European powers, largely due to its archaic system.

• Tsarist Autocracy

  The Romanov dynasty ruled Russia with a harsh absolutist regime. Tsars controlled all powers and exercised them without limitations. This regime was supported by the landed nobility, the state bureaucracy, the army, and the Orthodox Church. It also imposed harsh repression and censorship.

• Archaic Pre-Industrial Economy

  The economic structure was agro-based, with agriculture being the dominant activity. Large estates were worked by masses of peasants and penniless owners using primitive and traditional exploitation methods, resulting in low productivity levels. Industry was very small, found only in cities and mining areas.

• Polarized and Traditional Society

  There was huge polarization: a privileged minority with power and wealth, and the majority popular classes living in miserable conditions. There was hardly a middle class. The aristocracy was very conservative, retaining manorial privileges until 1861, and concentrated political power and land ownership. The peasantry made up over 80% of the population; although freed from servitude, they still had poor living conditions. The industrial proletariat was a small sector with poor labor and economic conditions, where revolutionary ideas developed. The bourgeoisie and middle class were very scarce and did not undertake a transformative process of bourgeois revolutions. This social structure had huge imbalances and social inequalities.

• Opposition to Tsarist Rule

  The tsars maintained a system closed to change. However, there was a growing ideological and political opposition, alongside social unrest among the masses.

• The Revolution of 1905

  This occurred due to a general opposition movement, triggered by the dire economic situation and defeats in the Russo-Japanese War. In January 1905, a demonstration at the Winter Palace was violently broken up with approximately a thousand victims. This triggered a general revolutionary movement, including strikes, uprisings, and riots. Soviets (workers' mass organizations formed by a democratic structure with revolutionary aims) were formed, which would be key agencies in the revolution. Through these events, Tsar Nicholas II had to implement a number of reforms, such as introducing a parliamentary system and labor and economic improvements for the lower classes. The Tsar gradually reduced these reforms as opposition to the regime intensified.