Counter-Revolution

1
Counter-Revolution
What is a counter-revolution?

Its the action by those in power to counter or
crush those attempting a revolution.
The Tsars counter-revolution was marked by.
Repression and Reforms
What do the words repression and reform mean?
Collins Dictionary

Repress To keep in check, to restrict the
freedom of.

Reform To improve, to make improvements,
to abandon evil practices.

In other words the Tsar wanted to repress
all forms of revolutionary activity. Having
achieved this he wanted to reform those who
indulged in what he considered were evil
practices.
2
Broken Promises

It now became obvious that the Tsars
October Manifesto a shallow and selfish attempt
at self preservation. The Tsar never ever
intended divesting himself of his autocratic
powers.
The Tsar broke his promises by..
Rigging Russias First-Ever Elections

Peasants and workers votes 1 vote
Land and property owners vote 10 votes

In other words, the Tsar had ensured that
pro-Tsarists had ten times the voting power of
anti-Tsarists.
The Tsar broke his promises by..

Introducing laws, while the elections were in
progress, severely restricted the Dumas power
as promised in the October Manifesto.
This was the Tsars attempt to retain his
position, prestige and power as autocratic leader
of Russia.
3
He achieved this by..
Retaining the title of autocrat
Making laws himself
Controlling foreign affairs
The right to declare war
Retaining the power to appoint and dismiss all
government ministers
Control of the Russian Orthodox Church
The power to dissolve the Duma and use
emergency powers to rule Russia until a new Duma
was elected
The First Duma May 1906

Only lasted for 72 days before being dissolved
by the Tsar.
The Tsar dissolved the Duma because it had
lost confidence in him and because it wanted..
To form a new government with ministers chosen
from the Duma instead of by the Tsar
The right to strike
Abolition of the death penalty
Confiscation of large estates
Release of political prisoners
The Tsar dissolved the Duma accusing it of
incompetence and illegally appealing to the
people for support.
4
Campaign of Terror

In January 1906, Socialist Revolutionaries disillu
sioned by the Tsars broken promises and the
powerlessness of the Duma launched a
fresh campaign of terror. Over 9,000 people were
either murdered or maimed between 1906-1907 as
they attempted to undermine peoples confidence
in the government.
Peter Stolypin Replaces Witte

In July 1906 the Tsar had appointed
Peter Stolypin as Prime Minister. Stolypin was a
hardliner charged with the responsibility of
bringing Russia under control.
OUT
Stolypins methods of achieving this aim were
through..
IN
Repression and Reform

Attempts at creating disorder.
Repress

Terrorist and revolutionary activity.
The number of suspected terrorist and
revolutionary opponents of the Tsar executed
resulted in the hangmans noose (gallows) being
dubbed Stolypins Necktie.
5

Of Land laws.
Reform

To encourage industrial growth.

Stolypin feared restless peasants would
cause another revolution. To avoid this he
abolished redemption payments and allowed them
to own their own land.
Stolypin In one attempt on his life Stolypins
daughter was disabled and 25 others killed. Not
only did he become unpopular with the Tsarista
for exiling Rasputin but even the Tsar felt his
autocratic powers were being threatened by
Stolypins policies. When the Okrana got wind of
an assassination plot against Stolypin they did
nothing to stop it.

Stolypin wanted to create a wealthier peasant
class (Kulaks). He believed that by making more
peasants better off they would remain loyal to
the Tsar and less likely to be involved in
revolutionary activity.
Stolypin met violence with violence.
He Introduced martial law and special
military courts to deal with suspected terrorists
and revolutionaries.

Over 3,000 were convicted and executed by
these special military courts between 1906-1909.

After several earlier attempts on his life
Stolypin was assassinated in 1911 by a police
informer who worked for the Okrana.
The Demise of the Duma
2nd Duma
Closed by the Tsar after three months because of
opposition.
Lasted the full term because it cooperated with
the Tsar.
3rd Duma
4th Duma
Was the last Duma and very conservative.
6
An Evaluation of Stolypins Reforms

Some historians believe that given time,
Stolypins land reforms and encouragement of
industrial development might have achieved his
aims of restoring social order and reducing the
reasons for revolutionary activity.
Positive Assessment
In 1913 Prince Trubetskoi observed ..
the rise in the standard of material wealth
and the astonishing growth of a new social order
(In the countryside)
In his memoirs Foreign Minister Izvolsky
observed.
the results (of the Peasant Bank) were so
satisfactory that on the eve of the revolution
of 1917 it is safe to say that the entire
agrarian problem was in a way to being
definitely solved.
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Negative Assessment

The reality was that by 1917, 90 of peasants
still farmed on scattered strips.
The peasants .

Rejected Stolypins reforms.

Resented the idea of personal ownership of land.