The Advisors of the Tsar, attempts at reform & Rasputin
The Tsar's Advisers
Tsarist Autocracy in the 19th Century was out of step with Western Europe. The desire to preserve this outdated system on the part of the Tsars only heightened the desire by others to destroy it. As a hereditary institution it depended for its success on the character of the Tsars themselves. But they in turn were influenced by those around them. If they selected good advisers, and followed their advice, this could lead to good reforms. Nicholas II did not follow the advice of his wise advisor Sergie Witte because he thought he was too liberal. So he came under the influence of two very different men in the period between 1906 and 1917.
The Stolypin reforms
The most important person in the Russian government after 1906 was Peter Stolypin. Stolypin replaced Sergei Witte as Prime Minister in July 1906. Stolypin however had a reputation for brutality. In his role as a provincial governor he had been so brutal that the hangman's noose was known as 'Stolypin's necktie'. When he came to office his first task was to stamp out any remnants of revolutionary activity. Revolutionary leaders were hanged or exiled. Many fled overseas including Trotsky and Lenin. Although he was brutal in his treatment of revolutionaries Stolypin realised that reforms were essential if autocracy was to survive. His aim was to create a prosperous land owning class which would support the Tsar and would not be open to revolutionary ideas.
Even though there had been changes to the Redemption taxes in 1905 there was still serious discontent among the peasants. To deal with this he began his reforms by introducing changes to land ownership which included:
- Peasants would now own their own land. The Mir [commune] would no longer own the land
- The whole family would not own the land. It became the property of the eldest member of the family
- Pasture and grazing land, which had been owned by the commune, was divided up among the peasants
- The system of strip farming ended, and the land enclosed into small farms
- The Peasant Bank was expanded allow those peasants who could afford it, to buy more land.
This last reform affected about two million families and created a more prosperous, successful group of peasants who, known as kulaks, who were supposed to act a buffer against revolution to protect their own interests. The reforms also led to an increase in agricultural production and a start to the modernisation of agricultural methods.
As a result of the land reforms even more peasants left the land and went to the cities in search of work.
Stolypin also introduced reforms in education which became compulsory. Now every Russian child attended primary school. There was also a period of industrial growth during Stolypin's time as Prime Minister but unfortunately this did not last. The reforms were once again too little too late to prevent disaster. The agricultural changes were too limited. There were not enough kulaks to act as a barrier to discontent. The modernisation process was too slow so that methods in the countryside remained backward and the production of food could not match the growth in the population. In September 1911, in a period of growing industrial unrest, Stolypin was assassinated. He was the last effective tsarist adviser.
Nicholas and Rasputin
One of Nicholas' advisers after the death of Stolypin caused great concern among many Russians. Gregory Rasputin was a peasant born in Siberia who arrived in St Petersburg as a holy man in 1903. He had a reputation as a healer and it was in this capacity that he was introduced to the Tsar and his family. The Tsar's only son has a serious blood disorder called haemophilia (this meant his blood did not clot properly so that if he cut himself there was no way to stop the bleeding). In 1905 Rasputin was introduced to the Tsar's family and it seemed that he was able to ease the young prince's suffering. Because of this he became a trusted friend of the royal family. Alexandra in particular became fascinated by him and would not believe anything against him.
However Rasputin also had a reputation as a drunk and womaniser. He had many affairs, sometimes with ladies of the royal court. After 1911 revolutionaries began to circulate rumours that the Tsarina Alexandra was having an affair with Rasputin, although this has never been proved. Alexandra was not popular with the Russian people and when World War I broke out she, as a German, became even more unpopular. Also after 1911 Rasputin's influence over the royal family grew stronger. In time, Rasputin came to have influence over not only the royal family's private lives but the political life of Russian as well. When Nicholas left St Petersburg for the Eastern Front in 1916 he left control of the government to his wife. She turned to Rasputin for advice even on the appointment of ministers and on military matters. So the country was being run by the 'mad monk' and the 'German spy'. Naturally Rasputin made many enemies, and eventually he was assassinated by a group of noblemen in 1916.
That Rasputin was ever able to gain such influence shows how removed Nicholas had become from the needs of his people and from political reality.
- Name the man who succeeded Witte as Prime Minister in 1906
- List three of the reforms introduced by Peter Stolypin
- What was the aim of his agricultural reforms?
- Why was Rasputin an unsuitable adviser for the Tsar? Write a paragraph.