In
1905 Nicholas II faced a series of domestic
problems that became known as the 1905 Revolution. This included Bloody
Sunday, the
Potemkin Mutiny and a series of strikes
that led to the establishment of the St. Petersburg
Soviet. Over the next few weeks over 50 of these soviets were
formed all over Russia.
Sergi
Witte, the new Chief Minister, advised Nicholas
II
to make concessions. He eventually agreed and published the October
Manifesto. This granted freedom of conscience, speech, meeting
and association. He also promised that in future people would not
be imprisoned without trial. Finally he announced that no law would
become operative without the approval of a new organization called
the Duma.
As
this was only a consultative body, many Russians felt that this reform
did not go far enough. Leon
Trotsky and other revolutionaries
denounced the plan. In December, 1905, Trotsky and the rest of the
executive committee of the St.
Petersburg Soviet were
arrested.
The
First Duma was elected on the basis of indirect universal male suffrage.
The peasants, the townsmen and the gentry all elected their own representatives.
Delegates from all the provinces met in the provincial town and chose
the members of the Duma.
The
first meeting of the Duma took place in May 1906. Several changes
in the composition of the Duma had been changed since the publication
of the October
Manifesto.
Tsar Nicholas
II
had
also created a State Council, an upper chamber, of which he would
nominate half its members. He also retained for himself the right
to declare war, to control the Orthodox Church
and to dissolve the Duma. The Tsar also had the power to appoint and
dismiss ministers.
The
First Duma had a left majority consisting of Socialist-Revolutionaries,
Mensheviks,
Bolsheviks,
Octobrists and
Constitutional Democrat Party.
At their first meeting, members of the Duma put forward a series of
demands including the release of political prisoners, trade
union rights and land reform. Nicholas
II
rejected
all these proposals and dissolved the Duma in July, 1906.
Elections
for the Second Duma took place in 1907. The Tsar's chief minister,
Peter Stolypin, used his powers to exclude
large numbers from voting. This reduced the influence of the left
but when the Second Duma convened in February, 1907, it still included
a large number of reformers. After three months of heated debate,
Nicholas II closed down the Duma on the
16th June, 1907.
The
Tsar's chief minister, Peter Stolypin,
now made changes to the electoral law. This excluded national minorities
and dramatically reduced the number of people who could vote in Poland,
Siberia, the Caucasus and in Central Asia. The new electoral law also
gave better representation to the nobility
and gave greater power to the large landowners to the detriment of
the peasants. Changes were also made
to the voting in towns and now those owning their own homes elected
over half the urban deputies.
The
Third Duma met on 14th November 1907. The former coalition of Socialist-Revolutionaries,
Mensheviks,
Bolsheviks,
Octobrists and
Constitutional Democrat Party,
were now outnumbered by the reactionaries and the nationalists. Unlike
the previous Dumas, this one ran its full-term of five years.
The
Fourth Duma was elected under the same terms as the Third Duma. The
reactionaries and the nationalists were still in the majority but
there had been an increase in the number of radicals (Socialist-Revolutionaries,
Mensheviks,
Bolsheviks)
elected.
The
Fourth Duma continued the policy of the Third Duma. Soon after the
outbreak of the First World War the Duma
voted to support Nicholas II and his government.
When the Bolshevik deputies voted
against the government on this issue, they were arrested, had their
property confiscated and sent to Siberia.
Members
of the Duma, including its leader, Michael
Rodzianko, became increasingly critical
of the way Nicholas II was managing the
war. In 1916 Rodzianko tried to persuade the government to introduce
reforms and to appoint a Duma government.
In February, 1917, he sent a series of telegrams explaining the dangers
of revolution.
After the
Tsar's abdication in March, 1917, Michael
Rodzianko, helped
form the Provisional Government led
by George
Lvov. The Duma was closed down after the Bolshevik
Revolution in October, 1917.
(1)
Sergei Witte, letter to Nicholas
II (22nd October, 1905)
The present
movement for freedom is not of new birth. Its roots are imbedded in
centuries of Russian history. 'Freedom' must become the slogan of
the government. No other possibility for the salvation of the state
exists. The march of historical progress cannot be halted. The idea
of civil liberty will triumph if not through reform then by the path
of revolution.
The government
must be ready to proceed along constitutional lines. The government
must sincerely and openly strive for the well-being of the state and
not endeavour to protect this or that type of government. There is
no alternative. The government must either place itself at the head
of the movement which has gripped the country or it must relinquish
it to the elementary forces to tear it to pieces.
(2)
Felix Yusupov was opposed to the
power given to the Duma in 1906.
In 1906
strikes broke out almost everywhere; there were several attempts on
the lives of members of the Imperial family and of high government
officials. The Tsar was forced to compromise and give the country
a constitutional government by establishing the Duma. The Tsarina
violently opposed this; she did not realize the seriousness of the
situation, and would not admit that there was no other solution.
The Duma
opened on April 27th, 1906. This was a moment of great anxiety for
all, as everyone knew the Duma was a two-edged sword which could prove
either helpful or disastrous to Russia, according to the course of
events.
If all
members of the Duma had been loyal Russians actuated only by patriotic
motives, the Assembly might have done great service to the Government;
but certain questionable and destructive elements - among which were
many Jews - made it a hotbed of revolutionary ideas.
(3)
David Shub was a member of the Social
Democratic Party when Peter Stolypin
was in power.
Stolypin
began to look for an excuse to dissolve the Duma and the Bolsheviks
furnished him with one. Lenin insisted that the deputies use their
parliamentary immunity to agitate for an armed uprising.
Years later
it was discovered that these secret Bolshevik cells were infested
with agents of the secret police. By keeping a sharp eye on the Social
Democratic deputies, these stool pigeons were able to frame the deputies
on the charges of inciting rebellion, thus giving Stolypin his excuse.
(4)
Michael Rodzianko,
President of the Duma, telegram to Nicholas
II (27th February, 1917)
The situation
is growing worse. Measures should be taken immediately as tomorrow
will be too late. The last hour has struck, when the fate of the country
and dynasty is being decided.
The government
is powerless to stop the disorders. The troops of the garrison cannot
be relied upon. The reserve battalions of the Guard regiments are
in the grips of rebellion, their officers are being killed. Having
joined the mobs and the revolt of the people, they are marching on
the offices of the Ministry of the Interior and the Imperial Duma.
Your Majesty,
do not delay. Should the agitation reach the Army, Germany will triumph
and the destruction of Russian along with the dynasty is inevitable.
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