The tragedy of the Russian people lies in the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century, with a colossal economic upsurge, foreign special services managed to ruin the country in the blink of an eye - in just a week. It is worth recognizing that the processes of decay, pardon the expression, of the "mass of the people" (both the elite and the common people) have been going on for quite a long time - about 20, or even more, years. The great autocrat Alexander III died, Father John of Kronstadt passed away (whose portrait hung in every house in Russia), Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin was killed on the 11th attempt, the British agent Oswald Raynor fired the last bullet in the head of Grigory Rasputin - and it did not become great country, whose name remains only in our souls, hearts and in the title.

With all the greatness and prosperity, our then elite played too much with their foreign friends, forgetting that each country should take into account only its own personal, purely mercantile interest in international politics. So it turned out that after the defeat of Napoleon in the Patriotic War of 1812, under the guise of secret societies, representatives of the British (and under her knowledge - and French) intelligence poured in to us, who began to "spud" fragile young minds, replacing in their minds the Russian age-old "For Faith! For the King! For the Fatherland! to "Freedom! Equality! Brotherhood!". But today we already know that the results of political insinuations did not smell of either one or the other, or the third. Following in the footsteps of the "Great French", the foreign rulers of thoughts, through the hands of the Russian people, shed so much blood that these memories are not easy for us to this day.

One of the books that fell into my hands is dedicated to the role of secret societies in revolutionary movements and upheavals in Russia - from Peter I to the death of the Russian Empire. It belongs to the pen of Vasily Fedorovich Ivanov and is called "Russian Intelligentsia and Freemasonry." I bring to your attention a quote from this book, which clearly proves why the people loved Alexander III so much - not only for his will, but also for his phenomenal economic performance.

So, I quote the above book pp. 20-22:
“From 1881 to 1917, Russia victoriously advanced in its economic and cultural development, as evidenced by well-known figures.

Shaken by the Crimean campaign of 1853-1856, Russian finances were in a very difficult position. The Russian-Turkish war of 1877-1878, which demanded enormous extraordinary expenses, upset our finances even more. Large budget deficits have therefore become a constant annual phenomenon. Credit fell more and more. It got to the point that five percent funds in 1881 were valued at only 89 to 93 per 100 of their nominal value, and five percent bonds of city credit societies and mortgage bonds of land banks were already quoted only 80 to 85 per 100.

Through reasonable cost savings, the government of Emperor Alexander III achieved a restoration of budgetary equilibrium, and then large annual surpluses of revenues over expenditures followed. The direction of the received savings to economic enterprises that contributed to the rise of economic activity, to the development of the railway network and the construction of ports led to the development of industry and streamlined both domestic and international exchange of goods, which opened up new sources of increasing state revenues.

For example, let us compare, for example, the data for 1881 and 1894 on the capitals of joint-stock commercial credit banks. Here is the data in thousands of rubles:

It turns out, therefore, that the capital belonging to the banks increased by 59% in just thirteen years, and the balance of their operations rose from 404,405,000 rubles by 1881 to 800,947,000 rubles by 1894, i.e., increased by 98%, or almost double.

Equally successful was the mortgage credit institutions. By January 1, 1881, they issued mortgage bonds for 904,743,000 rubles, and by July 1, 1894 - already for 1,708,805,975 rubles, and the rate of these interest-bearing securities increased by more than 10%.

Taken separately, the accounting and loan operation of the State Bank, which reached 211,500,000 rubles by March 1, 1887, increased by October 1 of this year to 292,300,000 rubles, an increase of 38%.

The construction of railways in Russia, which had been suspended at the end of the seventies, resumed with the accession of Alexander III and went on at a rapid and successful pace. But most important in this regard was the establishment of government influence in the field of railways, both by expanding the state-owned operation of railroads, and - in particular - by subordinating the activities of private companies to government supervision. The length of railways open for traffic (in versts) was:

The customs taxation of foreign goods, which in 1880 amounted to 10.5 metal, kopecks. from one ruble of value, increased in 1893 to 20.25 metal, kopecks, or almost doubled. The beneficial effect on the turnover of Russia's foreign trade was not slow to lead to results important in the state relation: our annual large surcharges to foreigners were replaced by even more significant receipts from them, as the following data (in thousands of rubles) testify:

The reduction in the import of foreign goods to Russia was naturally accompanied by the development of national production. The annual production of factories and plants, which are in charge of the Ministry of Finance, was estimated in 1879 at 829,100,000 rubles with 627,000 workers. In 1890, the cost of production increased to 1,263,964,000 rubles with 852,726 workers. Thus, over the course of eleven years, the cost of factory output increased by 52.5%, or more than one and a half times.

Particularly brilliant, in some branches directly astonishing successes have been achieved by the mining industry, as can be seen from the following report on the production of the main products (in thousands of poods):

Emperor Alexander III At the same time, he tirelessly cared about the well-being of the working people. The law of July 1, 1882 greatly facilitated the employment of juveniles in factory production: on June 3, 1885, night work of women and adolescents in factories of fibrous substances was prohibited. In 1886, a regulation on hiring for rural work and a decree on hiring workers for factories and factories were issued, then supplemented and expanded. In 1885, the provision on the cash desks of mining associations, approved in 1881, was changed by establishing a shorter period of length of service for miners' pensions.

Despite the extremely difficult state of public finances at that time, the law of December 28, 1881 significantly reduced redemption payments, and the law of May 28, 1885 stopped the collection of the poll tax.

All these concerns of the late autocrat were crowned with brilliant success. Not only were the difficulties inherited from the past era eliminated, but the state economy in the reign of Alexander III achieved a high degree of success, as evidenced, among other things, by the following data on the execution of the state budget (in rubles):

Let government spending increase in 1893 against 1880 by 36.2%, but at the same time revenues increased by 60.6%, as a result of the execution of the painting, instead of the deficit of 44,532,709 rubles that was in 1880, now there is an excess of revenues over expenditures at 98,730,455 rubles. The extraordinarily rapid growth of state revenues did not decrease, but increased the accumulation of savings by the people.

The amount of deposits in savings banks, determined in 1881 at 9,995,225 rubles, increases by August 1, 1894 to 329,064,748 rubles. In some thirteen and a half years, the people's savings went from 10 million to 330, i.e. increased by 33 times.

IN reign of Emperor Nicholas II Russia has achieved even greater success economically and culturally.

The anarchist wave of the “liberation movement” that had arisen in 1905 was swept away by the firm hand of the great Russian man P. A. Stolypin and the efforts of Russian patriots who united at the throne in the name of saving their native land. Historical words of P. A. Stolypin: “Do not intimidate. You need great upheavals, but we need a great Russia" - spread around the world and aroused enthusiasm among the Russian people. "

The strength of the government rests on the ignorance of the people, and it knows this and therefore will always fight against enlightenment.

Lev Tolstoy

Alexander 3 set the task of making Russia the largest world power. It is impossible to achieve this goal without economic development. Therefore, many steps were taken, but the economic policy of Alexander 3, as well as the overall socio-economic policy of Russia in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, did not have great success. No matter how much we are told today that the Russian Empire was the most beautiful country in the world, this is far from being the case.

Major changes in the country

In any textbook on the history of Russia, we will see that the first undertaking of Alexander 3 in terms of economic transformations in the country is an invitation to economists. The most authoritative of them are Witte, Bunge and Vyshnegradsky. We have already considered the peculiarity of Witte's reforms. The policy of Bunge and Vyshnegradsky was based on the massive attraction of foreign capital. Modern economists will tell you that this is great, but imagine: you have a factory, they sent you equipment for it, you pay rent for this equipment, but at any moment it can be taken away from you. Therefore, the dominance of foreign capital is evil for any country.

The main changes in the country's economy are characterized by an attempt to combine capitalism, but with the preservation of the former estate system. The problem is that things are incompatible, and as a result, the contradictions in society have only increased. The main changes in the development of the economy under Alexander 3 are as follows:

• Combination of hired and serf labor. No one canceled corvée and dues, but peasants could be employed in factories for a salary.
• Completion of the industrial revolution. Only a few used his results.
• Formation of a single Russian market.
• Land use crisis.
• Capitalism did not rise from below, but was imposed by the state.

The result is an ugly form of capitalism that could not lead to anything good. It is noteworthy that both attempts to build capitalism in Russia developed in ugly forms. We are talking about the first attempt today, and we saw the second attempt in the 90s, after the collapse of the USSR.

At the end of the 19th century, the main changes in the economy affected agriculture and industry. We will consider them further.

The situation in the village

Russia during the reign of Alexander 3 continues to be an agrarian country. Its population reaches 126 million people, of which 103 million live in the European part of the country. The population structure is as follows:

• Peasants - 70%
• Philistines (urban population) - 11%
• Foreigners (non-Russians) - 7%
• Cossacks - 3%
• Nobles - 1.5%
• Merchants - 0.5%

There are attempts to create an agrarian-industrial system in the country. In many respects for these purposes there is a division and specialization of the economy.

In this period Russia takes 1st place in the world in grain sales. This is probably the most famous fact about the Russian economy of that era, which today is actively speculated by all and sundry. On the one hand, it is very good that the country was making money, but on the other hand, it was at the expense of damage to its own population. In particular, with these volumes of grain exports, in Russia in 1891-1892 there was a terrible famine.

Famine of 1891-1892

During the reign of Alexander 3 in Russia, the first mass famine in the history of the country occurred. Before that, there were also famine years, but famine arose only in other regions, and now it was a famine within the country. The entire economic policy of Alexander 3 is perfectly reflected in the processes that then took place in the countryside. Why did such a massive famine become possible? There are only 2 reasons:

1. The possibilities for extensive development of agriculture have run out. All the lands were developed and there was nowhere to expand new lands for agriculture. After the end of the extensive path of development, the path of intensive development must begin. This did not happen at the end of the 19th century. There were very few landowners who were ready to develop the economy. The reasons for this will be discussed below.
2. The development of factories actually killed the village industry (artels). Previously, villagers actively went to fish in the city. This is what today is called a side job. They came to the city, did simple work, received money and returned to the village. Even if there was a crop failure in the village, the peasant had money to feed himself. The factories were destroyed.

As a result, there were no new lands, and economic phenomena made it impossible for the peasants to earn extra money. To this we can add that the Russian Empire had existing contracts for the supply of grain, and they had to be fulfilled. As a result - the first mass famine in national history.

Land and landowners

During the reign of Alexander 3, the trend towards the reduction of landowners' lands continued. The amount of land owned by landowners decreased by 27%. The estates of the landlords were reduced to an average value of 17 hectares. The landowners leased half of the land to the peasants.

The landowners did not develop agriculture. Only a few have reorganized themselves into a modern way of doing business and have adopted the rules of capitalism. Most of the landowners "eat away the future" by mortgaging their property. Until the abolition of serfdom in 1861, they mortgaged peasants and then began to mortgage estates. Indicative figures: in 1870 - 2.2% of estates were pledged, and in 1895 - 40%. Other figures are also eloquent: in 1886, 166 estates of landowners were sold for debts, and in 1893 - 2400. No other figures underline how unhealthy Russian society was at the end of the 19th century. The development of the economy and the economic policy of Emperor Alexander 3 did not solve this issue, but exacerbated it. After all, pay attention to how this emperor is perceived today - successes in foreign policy. As a rule, no one says anything about the internal. But in vain ... All this resulted in 1905, and then in 1917.

Industry development

Features of the economic policy of Alexander 3 in the field of industry was that the worker did not go to the factory, but the factory went to the worker. Industry moved to the countryside. At the same time, by the end of the 70s, the process of forming factory production was actually completed.

Under Alexander 3, the final formation of industrial regions in Russia takes place. Two more regions were added to the already existing industrial regions in Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Baltic states and Ukraine: Donbass and the Caucasus.

Industry under Alexander 3 developed in strides, especially heavy industry. This was facilitated by the completion of the industrial revolution, as well as the real need and need. The fact is that over the years from 1820 to 1850 Russia lagged far behind the leading world powers in terms of industrial development. It was necessary to catch up. And it was done. It is enough to cite the figures for the amount of iron smelting to prove this.

All industrial centers developed in the European part of Russia. The reason lies in the fact that approximately 85% of the population lived west of the Urals. Moreover, under Alexander 3, they were built mainly in 2 regions: Donbass and the Caucasus (primarily Baku oil). Moreover, the industry was built on foreign capital!

Results

The economic policy of Alexander 3 led to the following results:

• Continued increase in urban population
• End of the industrial revolution
• There are many unresolved issues in the village, which promises a crisis
• Russia remains an agrarian country, and the makings of an agrarian-industrial society remain only on paper
• Capitalism in the country was severely deformed

Under Alexander III, cities, factories and plants grew, domestic and foreign trade grew, the length of railways increased, and the construction of the great Siberian Railway began. In order to develop new lands, peasant families were resettled in Siberia and Central Asia.

In the late 1980s, the state budget deficit was overcome, and revenues exceeded expenditures.

The results of the reign of Alexander III

Emperor Alexander III was called "the most Russian Tsar." He defended the Russian population with all his might, especially on the outskirts, which contributed to the strengthening of state unity.

As a result of the measures taken in Russia, a rapid industrial boom took place, the exchange rate of the Russian ruble grew and strengthened, and the well-being of the population improved.

Alexander III and his counter-reforms provided Russia with a peaceful and calm era without wars and internal unrest, but also engendered a revolutionary spirit in Russians that would break out under his son Nicholas II.

Socio-economic development of the Russian Empire at the turnXIX- XXcenturies Reforms S.Yu. Witte.

At the end of XIX - beginning of XX centuries. The world has entered a new phase of its development. In the advanced countries of the West, capitalism has reached imperialist stage. Russia belonged to the "second tier" of countries that embarked on the path capitalist development.

During the post-reform forty years, Russia has made significant progress in the economy, primarily in industrial development. She has traveled a path that took centuries for the countries of the West. This was facilitated by a number of factors and, above all, the use of the experience and assistance of the developed capitalist countries, as well as the economic policy of the government of the accelerated development of the leading industries and railway construction. As a result, Russian capitalism entered the imperialist stage almost simultaneously with the advanced countries of the West. It was characterized by all the main features characteristic of this stage, although there were also its own characteristics.

After the industrial boom of the 1890s, Russia experienced a difficult economic crisis 1900-1903, then a period of long depression 1904-1908. In 1909-1913. The country's economy has made another sharp leap. The volume of industrial production increased 1.5 times. The same years saw a number of unusually fruitful years, which gave the country's economic development a solid foundation. The process of monopolization of the Russian economy received a new impetus. The crisis at the beginning of the century accelerated the process of concentration of industrial production. The corporatization of enterprises proceeded at a rapid pace. As a result, temporary business associations of the 1880-1890s were replaced by powerful monopolies - mainly cartels and syndicates that united enterprises for the joint marketing of products (Prodmed, Produgol, Prodvagon, Prodparovoz, etc.).

At the same time, the strengthening of banks and the formation of banking groups (Russian-Asian, St. Petersburg International, Azov-Don Banks) went on. Their ties with industry were strengthened, as a result of which new monopolistic associations such as trusts and concerns arose. The export of capital from Russia was not on a large scale, which was explained both by the lack of financial resources and the need to develop the vast colonial regions of the empire. The participation of Russian entrepreneurs in international unions was also insignificant. Russia joined in the redistribution of spheres of influence in the world, but at the same time, along with the interests of the Russian bourgeoisie, the military-feudal aspirations of tsarism played a significant role.

Despite the high rates of economic development, Russia still failed to catch up with the leading countries of the West. At the beginning of the XX century. she was average agro-industrial country with a pronounced multistructural economy. Along with highly developed capitalist industry, in the Russian economy a large share belonged to various early capitalist and semi-feudal forms of economy, from manufacturing, small-scale commodity to patriarchal subsistence.

The concentration of remnants of the feudal era remained Russian village. The most important of these were, on the one hand, latifundial landownership, large landowner estates, and widely practiced working off (a direct relic of corvée). On the other hand, peasant land shortages, medieval allotment land ownership, the community with its redistributions, striped stripes, which were a brake on the modernization of the peasant economy. Although certain changes took place here, expressed in the expansion of sown areas, the growth of gross agricultural crops, and the increase in productivity, however, on the whole, the agrarian sector was strikingly behind the industrial sector, and this lag more and more took the form of an acute contradiction between the needs of the bourgeois modernization of the country and the inhibitory influence of feudal vestiges. The social class structure of the country reflected the nature and level of its economic development. Along with the emerging classes of bourgeois society (bourgeoisie, proletariat), class division continued to exist in it - as a legacy of the feudal era: nobility, merchants, peasantry, bourgeoisie.

By the beginning of the XX century. leading positions in the economy of the country occupied bourgeoisie. However, until the mid-1990s, it did not actually play any independent role in the socio-political life of the country. Being dependent on the autocracy, it remained an apolitical and conservative force for a long time. Nobility, while remaining the ruling class-estate, retained significant economic power. Despite the loss of almost 40% of all its lands, by 1905 it concentrated over 60% of all private land ownership and was the most important social pillar of the regime, although socially the nobility was losing its homogeneity, moving closer to the classes and strata of bourgeois society. The peasantry, which makes up almost 3/4 of the country's population, was also deeply affected by the process of social stratification (20% - kulaks, 30% - middle peasants, 50% - poor peasants). Contradictions were brewing between its polar layers.

Class hired workers, numbering by the end of the XIX century. about 18.8 million people, was also very heterogeneous. A significant part of the workers, especially those who had recently come from the countryside, still retained contact with the land and farming. The core of the class was the factory proletariat, which by that time numbered about 3 million people, and more than 80% of it was concentrated in large enterprises.

The political system of Russia was absolute monarchy. Made in the 60s and 70s of the XIX century. a step along the path of transformation into a bourgeois monarchy, tsarism legally and in fact retained all the attributes of absolutism. The law still proclaimed: "The Emperor of Russia is an autocratic and unlimited monarch." Nicholas II, who ascended the throne in 1894, firmly grasped the idea of ​​the divine origin of royal power and believed that autocracy was the only form of government acceptable to Russia. With stubborn constancy, he rejected all attempts to limit his power.

The highest state bodies in the country until 1905 were: State Council, whose decisions were advisory in nature for the king; Senate- the highest court and interpreter of laws.

executive branch was carried out by 11 ministers, whose activities were partly coordinated by a committee of ministers. But the latter did not have the character of the Cabinet of Ministers, since each minister was responsible only to the tsar and carried out his instructions. Nicholas II was extremely jealous of any major personality among his ministers. So, S.Yu. Witte, who acquired great power and influence in the ruling spheres as a result of successful reforms, was removed from his post in 1903 and appointed to the honorary, but insignificant position of chairman of the Committee of Ministers.

The unlimitedness of the tsarist power in the localities was manifested in the omnipotence of officials and the police, the reverse side of which was the civil and political lack of rights of the masses. Social oppression, the lack of elementary civil liberties were supplemented in many regions of Russia by national oppression.

The Russian Empire was multinational state, in which 57% of the population were non-Russian peoples who were subjected to national oppression in one form or another. National oppression manifested itself in different ways, depending on the level of socio-economic, political and cultural development of a particular region. At the same time, it is important to note that the standard of living of the Russian people was not higher, but more often even lower than that of other peoples. In developed regions (Finland, Poland, the Baltic States, Ukraine), oppression manifested itself in the desire to unify local conditions and their specifics with the all-Russian structure. In the rest of the outskirts, where the national question intertwined with the colonial question, semi-feudal methods of exploitation occupied a significant place, and administrative arbitrariness flourished. Tsarism not only infringed on the rights of non-Russian peoples, but also sowed discord, mistrust, and enmity among them. All this could not but give rise to a national protest. However, the split of Russian society occurred mainly not along national, but along social lines.

The difficult economic situation, civil and political lack of rights, repression and persecution have caused an ever-growing emigration from Russia. Masses of peasants rushed to work in the border states, and then to the USA, Canada, Brazil and even Australia. In an effort to avoid oppression on ethnic grounds, a considerable number of Russian subjects emigrated. And, finally, an increasingly noticeable part of the emigration was made up of people who made the struggle against the autocracy the goal of their lives.

Russo-Japanese War 1904 - 1905

The Russo-Japanese War began on January 26 (or, according to the new style, February 8) 1904. The Japanese fleet unexpectedly, before the official declaration of war, attacked ships located on the outer roadstead of Port Arthur. As a result of this attack, the most powerful ships of the Russian squadron were disabled. The declaration of war took place only on 10 February.

The most important reason for the Russo-Japanese War was the expansion of Russia to the east. However, the immediate reason was the annexation of the Liaodong Peninsula, previously captured by Japan. This provoked military reform and the militarization of Japan.

About the reaction of Russian society to the beginning of the Russo-Japanese war, one can briefly say this: Japan's actions outraged Russian society. The world community reacted differently. England and the USA took a pro-Japanese position. And the tone of the press reports was distinctly anti-Russian. France, which at that time was an ally of Russia, declared neutrality - an alliance with Russia was necessary for it in order to prevent the strengthening of Germany. But, already on April 12, France concluded an agreement with England, which caused a cooling of Russian-French relations. Germany, on the other hand, declared friendly neutrality towards Russia.

The Japanese failed to capture Port Arthur, despite active actions at the beginning of the war. But, already on August 6, they made another attempt. A 45-strong army under the command of Oyama was thrown to storm the fortress. Having met the strongest resistance and having lost more than half of the soldiers, the Japanese were forced to retreat on August 11. The fortress was surrendered only after the death of General Kondratenko on December 2, 1904. Despite the fact that Port Arthur could have held out for at least 2 more months, Stessel and Reis signed an act on the surrender of the fortress, as a result of which the Russian fleet was destroyed, and 32 thousand soldiers were destroyed. man was taken prisoner.

The most significant events of 1905 were:

The Battle of Mukden (February 5 - 24), which remained the largest land battle in the history of mankind until the start of the First World War. It ended with the withdrawal of the Russian army, which lost 59 thousand killed. Japanese losses amounted to 80 thousand people.

The Battle of Tsushima (May 27-28), in which the Japanese fleet, outnumbering the Russian fleet by 6 times, almost completely destroyed the Russian Baltic squadron.

The course of the war was clearly in favor of Japan. However, its economy was depleted by the war. This forced Japan to enter into peace negotiations. In Portsmouth, on August 9, participants in the Russo-Japanese War began a peace conference. It should be noted that these negotiations were a major success for the Russian diplomatic delegation headed by Witte. The signed peace treaty sparked protests in Tokyo. But, nevertheless, the consequences of the Russo-Japanese war turned out to be very tangible for the country. During the conflict, the Russian Pacific Fleet was practically destroyed. The war claimed more than 100 thousand lives of soldiers heroically defending their country. The expansion of Russia to the East was stopped. Also, the defeat showed the weakness of the tsarist policy, which to a certain extent contributed to the growth of revolutionary sentiment and eventually led to the revolution of 1905-1907. Among the reasons for the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. the most important are the following:

diplomatic isolation of the Russian Empire;

unpreparedness of the Russian army for combat operations in difficult conditions;

frank betrayal of the interests of the fatherland or mediocrity of many tsarist generals;

serious superiority of Japan in the military and economic spheres.

The first Russian revolution. Main stages, events and results.

The aggravation of contradictions within the country, and the defeat in the Russo-Japanese War led to a serious political crisis. The authorities were unable to change the situation. Causes of the revolution of 1905 - 1907:

the unwillingness of the highest authorities to carry out liberal reforms, the drafts of which were prepared by Witte, Svyatopolk-Mirsky and others;

the absence of any rights and the miserable existence of the peasant population, which accounted for more than 70% of the country's population (agrarian issue);

the lack of social guarantees and civil rights for the working class, the policy of non-intervention of the state in the relationship between the entrepreneur and the worker (the labor issue);

the policy of forced Russification in relation to non-Russian peoples, who at that time accounted for up to 57% of the country's population (the national question);

unsuccessful development of the situation on the Russian-Japanese front.

The first Russian revolution of 1905-1907 was provoked by the events that took place in early January 1905 in St. Petersburg. Here are the main stages of the revolution.

Winter 1905 - autumn 1905 The execution of a peaceful demonstration on January 9, 1905, called "Bloody Sunday", led to the start of workers' strikes in almost all regions of the country. There were also unrest in the army and navy. One of the important episodes of the first Russian revolution of 1905-1907. there was a rebellion on the cruiser "Prince Potemkin Tauride", which occurred on June 14, 1905. During the same period, the movement of workers intensified, the peasant movement became more active.

Autumn 1905 This period is the high point of the revolution. The all-Russian October strike, started by the printers' trade union, was supported by many other trade unions. The tsar issues a manifesto on the granting of political freedoms and the creation of the State Duma as a legislative body. After Nicholas 2 granted the right to freedom of assembly, speech, conscience, press, the Union of October 17 and the constitutional democratic party, as well as the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks, announce the end of the revolution.

December 1905 The radical wing of the RSDLP supports an armed uprising in Moscow. On the streets - fierce barricade battles (Presnya). On December 11, the regulation on elections to the 1st State Duma is published.

1906 - the first half of 1907 Decline in revolutionary activity. Start of work of the 1st State Duma (with a Cadet majority). In February 1907, the 2nd State Duma was convened (it was leftist in composition), but after 3 months it was dissolved. During this period, strikes and strikes continue, but gradually the government's control over the country is restored.

It is worth noting that along with the loss of government support for the army and the all-Russian October strike, the law on the establishment of the Duma, the granting of freedoms (speech, conscience, the press, etc.) and the removal of the word “unlimited” from the definition of the power of the tsar are the main events of the revolution of 1905 - 1907

The result of the revolution of 1905-1907, which bore a bourgeois-democratic character, was a series of serious transformations, such as the formation of the State Duma. Political parties were given the right to act legally. The situation of the peasants improved, as redemption payments were canceled, and they were granted the right to free movement and choice of place of residence. But they didn't own the land. The workers won the right to legally form trade unions, and the length of the working day in factories and factories was reduced. Part of the workers received voting rights. National politics became softer. However, the most important significance of the revolution of 1905-1907. is to change the worldview of people, which paved the way for further revolutionary changes in the country.

The formation of parliamentarism in Russia. 1 - 4 State Dumas.

The State Duma - a legislative, representative institution of the Russian Empire in 1906-1917 - was declared by the Tsar's Manifesto on October 17, 1905. The Duma considered bills, which were then discussed in the State Council and approved by the tsar. Multistage elections to the Duma were held in four unequal curiae. Half of the country's population (women, students, military personnel) did not have the right to vote. On February 27 (March 12), 1917, the Provisional Committee of the State Duma formed the Provisional Government. Formally, the Duma continued to exist until October 6 (19), 1917.

The composition of the 2nd State Duma (February 20-June 2, 1907) turned out to be more left-wing than the first. The central issue was agriculture. The 2nd Duma was dissolved after being accused of preparing a military conspiracy against the Social Democratic faction.

The 3rd State Duma worked from November 1, 1907 to June 9, 1912. She passed a law on June 14, 1910, aimed at the division of common lands in favor of individual owners. The law was adopted despite the protests of deputies from the peasants, who introduced their own bill, which actually demanded the liquidation of landownership. The consequence of the adoption of the law of June 14, 1910 was the rapid growth of the economic power of Russia.

Sessions of the 4th State Duma were held from November 15, 1912 to October 6, 1917. Its activity coincided with the beginning of the First World War of 1914-1918 and the political crisis that ended with the overthrow of the autocracy. Since the beginning of the war, sessions of the Duma were convened irregularly, legislative activity was carried out by the government in addition to the Duma. After the February Revolution of 1917, the Duma openly opposed the Soviets, and on October 6, 1917, the Provisional Government, under pressure from the revolutionary masses, dissolved the Duma.

Reforms P.A. Stolypin.

Stolypin Petr Arkadyevich (1862 - 1911) during the period of peasant unrest was the governor of the Saratov province. After 3 years, he became the head of the Ministry of the Interior. From July 1906, Stolypin successfully combined this position with the position of head of the Council of Ministers. By that time, Stolypin's activities had earned him fame in all sectors of society. Surprisingly, the attempt on his life by the Socialist-Revolutionaries - Mensheviks (August 12, 1906) only increased the popularity of this man. However, most of his bills were not accepted by the tsarist government.

Stolypin's idea, expressed by him at the height of the revolutionary movement, that the country needed to calm down first, and only then reforms, formed the basis of the government's program. One of the most serious problems of that time was the agrarian question. It was he who in many ways provoked the revolutionary events of 1905-1907.

Stolypin's agrarian reform, begun in 1906, provided for:

the elimination of many estate and legal restrictions that hindered the development of the economic activity of the peasantry;

the gradual introduction of private property of peasants in land plots;

increasing the efficiency of peasant labor;

the reform encouraged the purchase of land by peasants, including landlords;

The reform also provided support for the activities of peasant associations and cooperative farms.

These measures soon yielded noticeable results. The result of the agrarian reform of P. A. Stolypin was an increase in the area of ​​sown land, an increase in grain exports. Also, this reform led to the final departure from feudal remnants, an increase in the productive forces in the villages. According to statistics, up to 35% of peasants left the communities, 10% of them organized farms. The differentiation of types of agricultural production by regions has intensified.

She took into account Stolypin's land reform and the problem of overpopulation in the central regions of Russia. It was supposed to solve the problem of lack of land by resettling part of the peasants in other areas, for example, beyond the Urals. The government allocated considerable sums for the settlement of settlers, laying roads, and medical care. However, the results of this reform, which was undoubtedly progressive for Russia at that time, were not sufficient to radically change the situation. The fact is that the growth of agricultural production was not due to the intensification of production, but due to an increase in the intensity of peasant manual labor. Stolypin's reform described briefly above could not completely solve the problem of hunger and agrarian overpopulation in the central regions of the country. It is worth noting that modern experts, although they put forward a variety of assessments of the Stolypin agrarian reform, but, in general, give it a positive assessment.

Russia's participation in the First World War.

The First World War was the result of contradictions that arose between the states of the Triple Alliance (Germany, Italy, Austria-Hungary) and the Entente (Russia, England, France). At the heart of these contradictions was the conflict between England and Germany, including economic, naval and colonial claims. There were disputes between France and Germany over the regions of Alsace and Lorraine taken from France, as well as Germany's claims to French colonies in Africa.

The reason for the start of the war was the murder in Sarajevo on June 25, 1914 of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife. The attack was carried out by a member of the Serbian nationalist organization G. Princip. An international conflict broke out between Austria and Serbia, in which Russia began to support Serbia, and Germany took the side of Austria-Hungary. On August 19, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia as a response to the mobilization of Russian troops that had begun.

Military operations in Europe were divided into two fronts: Western (in France and Belgium) and Eastern - Russian. Russian troops operated on the North-Western Front (East Prussia, the Baltic states, Poland) and the South-Western (Western Ukraine, Transcarpathia). Russia entered the war without having had time to complete the rearmament of its troops. However, the high patriotic upsurge that reigned in society and the army made it possible to achieve success in the first stage of the war. Despite the failures in East Prussia, the forces of the Southwestern Front managed to carry out an operation, as a result of which the formations of the Austro-Hungarian army were defeated and Galicia was occupied. Successful operations were carried out against German troops near Warsaw and Lodz.

In the autumn of 1914, Turkey took the side of the Triple Alliance. The opening of the Caucasian front greatly complicated the position of Russia. The troops began to experience an acute need for ammunition, the situation was complicated by the helplessness of the allies.

In 1915, Germany, having concentrated the main forces on the Eastern Front, carried out a spring-summer offensive, as a result of which Russia lost all the gains of 1914 and partly the territories of Poland, the Baltic states, Ukraine and Western Belarus.

Germany transferred its main forces to the Western Front, where it began active fighting near the fortress of Verdun. In April, the Russian General Staff developed a plan for a summer offensive. To support the defeated Italian and French troops, a massive offensive was launched by the forces of three fronts.

On the sector of the Southwestern Front, the corps of General A.A. Brusilov, breaking through the defenses, inflicted serious damage on the Austro-Hungarian troops and advanced significantly to the West. The "Brusilovsky breakthrough" distracted the Germans and saved France from defeat near Verdun.

Despite the revolutionary events of 1917, the Provisional Government put forward the slogan: "Continuation of the war to a victorious end."

However, two offensive attempts - in Galicia and Belarus - ended in defeat. The Germans managed to capture the city of Riga and the Moonsund archipelago.

On October 26, 1917, the 2nd All-Russian Congress of Soviets adopted a Decree on Peace, in which all the belligerents were invited to start negotiations. On November 14, Germany agreed to conduct negotiations, which began on November 20, 1917 in Brest-Litovsk.

A truce was concluded, Germany put forward demands, which the delegation headed by L. Trotsky rejected and left Brest-Litovsk. To this, the German troops responded with an offensive along the entire front. On March 3, 1918, the new Soviet delegation signed a peace treaty with Germany on even more difficult terms.

Russia lost Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, part of Belarus. The military presence of Soviet troops in the Baltic states, Finland, and Ukraine was excluded.

Russia undertook to demobilize the army, transfer the ships of the Black Sea Fleet to Germany, and pay a monetary contribution.

February Revolution of 1917.

Since the revolution of 1905-1907. did not solve the economic, political and class contradictions in the country, then it was the prerequisite for the February Revolution of 1917. The participation of tsarist Russia in the First World War showed the inability of its economy to carry out military tasks. Many factories stopped their work, the army felt the lack of equipment, weapons, food. The transport system of the country is absolutely not adapted to the military situation, agriculture has lost ground. Economic difficulties have increased Russia's foreign debt to enormous proportions.

Intending to extract the maximum benefits from the war, the Russian bourgeoisie began to create unions and committees on questions of raw materials, fuel, food, and so on.

True to the principle of proletarian internationalism, the Bolshevik Party revealed the imperialist nature of the war, which was waged in the interests of the exploiting classes, its predatory, predatory essence. The party sought to direct the discontent of the masses into the channel of a revolutionary struggle for the collapse of the autocracy.

In August 1915, the "Progressive Bloc" was formed, which planned to force Nicholas II to abdicate in favor of his brother Mikhail. Thus, the opposition bourgeoisie hoped to prevent the revolution and at the same time preserve the monarchy. But such a scheme did not ensure bourgeois-democratic transformations in the country.

The reasons for the February Revolution of 1917 were anti-war sentiments, the plight of the workers and peasants, political lack of rights, the decline in the authority of the autocratic government and its inability to carry out reforms.

The driving force in the struggle was the working class, led by the revolutionary Bolshevik Party. The allies of the workers were the peasants, who demanded the redistribution of land. The Bolsheviks explained to the soldiers the goals and objectives of the struggle.

The main events of the February Revolution took place rapidly. For several days in Petrograd, Moscow and other cities there was a wave of strikes with the slogans "Down with the tsarist government!", "Down with the war!". On February 25, the political strike became general. Executions, arrests were not able to stop the revolutionary onslaught of the masses. Government troops were put on alert, the city of Petrograd was turned into a military camp.

February 26, 1917 was the beginning of the February Revolution. On February 27, the soldiers of the Pavlovsky, Preobrazhensky and Volynsky regiments went over to the side of the workers. This decided the outcome of the struggle: on February 28, the government was overthrown.

The outstanding significance of the February Revolution is that it was the first people's revolution in history of the era of imperialism, which ended in victory.

During the February Revolution of 1917, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated.

Dual power arose in Russia, which was a kind of result of the February Revolution of 1917. On the one hand, the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies as an organ of people's power, on the other hand, the Provisional Government is an organ of the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, headed by Prince G.E. Lvov. In organizational matters, the bourgeoisie was more prepared for power, but was unable to establish autocracy.

The provisional government pursued an anti-people, imperialist policy: the land issue was not resolved, factories remained in the hands of the bourgeoisie, agriculture and industry were in dire need, and there was not enough fuel for rail transport. The dictatorship of the bourgeoisie only deepened the economic and political problems.

Russia after the February Revolution experienced an acute political crisis. Therefore, the need was ripe for the development of the bourgeois-democratic revolution into a socialist one, which was supposed to bring the proletariat to power.

One of the consequences of the February Revolution is the October Revolution under the slogan "All power to the Soviets!".

Economic policy of Alexander III was aimed at solving two important tasks: accelerating the economic development of the country and supporting and strengthening the positions of the nobility. In solving the first task, the head of the Ministry of Finance, N. Kh. Bunge, was guided by the expansion of the domestic market, the simultaneous rise of agriculture and industry, and the strengthening of the position of the middle strata of the population. At the same time, he advocated the development of tax legislation conducive to the development of industry and agriculture, and opposed state financing of industry.

May 9, 1881 a law was adopted to reduce the size of redemption payments and write off arrears on them for previous years. A December 12, 1881 a decree was promulgated on the transfer of all temporarily liable peasants to compulsory redemption by January 1, 1883. 1886 all state peasants were transferred to redemption payments. The losses incurred by the treasury were supposed to be covered by a 1.5-fold increase in the land tax, the tax on urban real estate, and excise rates on tobacco, alcohol and sugar.

The gradual abolition of the poll tax (1882-1886) was accompanied by the development of other forms of taxation: income from cash deposits increased, excises increased, commercial and industrial taxation was transformed, customs duties were almost doubled.

Burdensome for the country's budget was the system of state guarantees of income for private railways. Under N. X. Bunga, control over the railway sector was introduced and the state began to buy out private railways and finance the construction of state-owned railways.

In 1883, the creation of joint-stock private banks resumed. In 1885, the Noble Land Bank was created, designed to support landownership (N. Kh. Bunge opposed its creation).

In January 1887, N. H. Bunge resigned under pressure from conservatives who accused him of being unable to overcome the state budget deficit. I. A. Vyshnegradsky (1887-1892), who replaced him, was a well-known mathematician and at the same time a large stock exchange businessman. He retained the general direction of the economic and financial policy of his predecessor, but he focused on the accumulation of funds and the appreciation of the ruble through financial and exchange transactions.

Vyshnegradsky increased protectionism in customs policy. In general, for 1880-1890. the increase in import duties brought about an increase in revenue of almost 50%. In 1891, a general revision of the customs tariff was carried out with the aim of its centralization and the elimination of local tariffs. Thanks to the protectionist customs policy, the import of foreign capital into Russia increased (during 1880-1890 from 98 million rubles to 2-15 million).

Taxes were again increased (on land, on city property), in 1887 an excise tax on kerosene and matches was introduced, and the size of the drinking excise tax was raised.

As a result of a successful exchange operation in 1888-1890. Russia's external loans were converted from 5% to 4%.

At the end of the 80s. finally managed to overcome the state budget deficit. By 1893, the revenues of the treasury "increased by 60% compared to 1880, and expenditures - by 36%. In monetary terms, revenues exceeded expenditures in 1893 by almost 100 million rubles."

Question 1. Give a general description of the economic policy of Alexander III. What were its main goals and results?

Answer. Alexander III understood that without economic power, Russia would not be able to finally regain its position as one of the leading powers in Europe. Therefore, he entrusted economic development to professionals in their field. In the economic sphere, constant bold reforms were carried out. In doing so, the following goals were set:

1) to develop the industry of Russia;

2) to transform Russia from an agrarian into an industrial power;

3) thanks to the development of industry, strengthen the army of Russia;

4) switch to gold money circulation.

Question 2. Compare economic programs Η. X. Bunge, I. A. Vyshnegradsky and S. Yu. Witte. What ways of raising the national economy did each of them offer?

Answer. H.X. Bunge was a classical liberal in economics. He opposed government intervention in the economy, including direct financing. Instead, the state should, in his opinion, only create the most favorable conditions for business, and then the economy would be able, in his opinion, to regulate itself. As part of his program, he began to cut taxes. It was then that Russia abandoned the poll tax. To keep government spending from falling, the minister raised indirect taxes such as excise duties as well as customs duties.

I.A. Vyshnegradsky managed the treasury partly as a private enterprise. He accumulated capital, for which he increased customs duties even more, and then invested in foreign exchanges. He also invested part of the funds received in the development of Russian industry: he did not consider government intervention in this area unacceptable. The minister began to encourage the arrival of foreign capital in Russia.

S.Yu. Witte used the same means to replenish the treasury as his predecessors: indirect taxes (especially excises on alcohol) and customs duties. However, he relied on international trade. Foreign capital was attracted much more actively. Developed primarily those industries whose products were exported, such as oil production. To facilitate international trade, S.Yu. Witte used the accumulated money of the treasury to carry out monetary reform. The ruble stabilized, the gold standard was introduced. Thus, the famous chervonets appeared, which were highly valued long after the Russian Empire itself had already ceased to exist.

Question 3. Compare the economic policy of Alexander II and Alexander III. What was the continuity of economic policy, and what was the difference?

Answer. Alexander II pursued only a moderately liberal policy in the economy, which can be seen, in particular, from the peasant reform. He was afraid of offending the landowners too much. But by the time of the reign of Alexander III, those who did not accept liberalism in the economy were completely ruined, therefore they no longer posed a serious danger. At the same time, the successes of the leading European countries, such as Great Britain and Germany, showed the advantages of developing their own industry in the country. Therefore, the policy of Alexander III in the field of economy was even more innovative and liberal than the policy of his predecessor.

Question 4. What were the main problems of the country's agriculture?

Answer. Problems:

1) the lack of land of the peasants, despite the fact that they, and not the landowners who owned most of the land, remained the main producers;

2) little use of new agricultural technologies, advanced machinery and fertilizers.

Question 5. Compare the activities of the government in the field of economics and domestic policy. What conclusions can be drawn from this comparison?

Answer. The activities of the government in these areas were completely opposite, to use the terms of theorists. Because the domestic policy of Alexander III was quite conservative, and the economic policy was liberal. But for the emperor himself, I think there was no contradiction in this. He tried to make Russia a strong power, one of the leading in Europe. Moreover, at that time military-political blocs had already begun to take shape (Russia took a lively part in this process), things gradually went to a world war. In order to make Russia strong, she needed internal peace, which was achieved by internal politics, as well as a strong army, which in the conditions of that time was not possible without a well-developed industry.