examine the important features of the October Manifesto
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October Manifesto, Russian Oktyabrsky Manifest, (Oct. 30 [Oct. 17, Old Style], 1905), in Russian history, document issued by the emperor Nicholas II that in effect marked the end of unlimited autocracy in Russia and ushered in an era of constitutional monarchy.
Threatened by the events of the Russian Revolution of 1905, Nicholas faced the choice of establishing a military dictatorship or granting a constitution. Although both the tsar and his advising minister Sergey Yulyevich, Count Witte, had reservations about the latter option, it was determined to be tactically the better choice.
Nicholas thus issued the October Manifesto, which promised to guarantee civil liberties (e.g., freedom of speech, press, and assembly), to establish a broad franchise, and to create a legislative body (the Duma) whose members would be popularly elected and whose approval would be necessary before the enactment of any legislation.
ctober Manifesto, Russian Oktyabrsky Manifest, (Oct. 30 [Oct. 17, Old Style], 1905), in Russian history, document issued by the emperor Nicholas II that in effect marked the end of unlimited autocracy in Russia and ushered in an era of constitutional monarchy. Threatened by the events of the Russian Revolution of 1905, Nicholas faced the choice of establishing a military dictatorship or granting a constitution. Although both the tsar and his advising minister Sergey Yulyevich, Count Witte, had reservations about the latter option, it was determined to be tactically the better choice. Nicholas thus issued the October Manifesto, which promised to guarantee civil liberties (e.g., freedom of speech, press, and assembly), to establish a broad franchise, and to create a legislative body (the Duma) whose members would be popularly elected and whose approval would be necessary before the enactment of any legislation.
October Manifesto
QUICK FACTS
DATE
October 30, 1905
CONTEXT
Duma
Fundamental Laws
Russian Revolution of 1905
KEY PEOPLE
Nicholas II
Sergey Yulyevich, Count Witte
RELATED TOPICS
Constitution
Reform
Russia
The manifesto satisfied enough of the moderate participants in the revolution to weaken the forces against the government and allow the revolution to be crushed. Only then did the government formally fulfill the promises of the manifesto. On April 23, 1906, the Fundamental Laws, which were to serve as a constitution, were promulgated. The Duma that was created had two houses rather than one, however, and members of only one of them were to be popularly elected. Further, the Duma had only limited control over the budget and none at all over the executive branch of the government. In addition, the civil rights and suffrage rights granted by the Fundamental Laws were far more limited than those promised by the manifesto.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Heather Campbell, Senior Editor.
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DUMA
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Politics, Law & Government
Politics & Political Systems
Duma
Russian assembly
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Alternative Titles: Gosudarstvennaya Duma, State Duma
Duma, Russian in full Gosudarstvennaya Duma (“State Assembly”), elected legislative body that, along with the State Council, constituted the imperial Russian legislature from 1906 until its dissolution at the time of the March 1917 Revolution. The Duma constituted the lower house of the Russian parliament, and the State Council was the upper house. As a traditional institution, the Duma (meaning “deliberation”) had precedents in certain deliberative and advisory councils of pre-Soviet Russia, notably in the boyar dumas (existing from the 10th to the 17th century) and the city dumas (1785–1917). The Gosudarstvennaya Duma, or state duma, however, constituted the first genuine attempt toward parliamentary government in Russia.
Duma; Russian Revolution
Duma; Russian Revolution
Crowds gathering outside the Duma in St. Petersburg in the early days of the Russian Revolution, 1917.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Duma
QUICK FACTS
DATE
1906 - March 1917
RELATED PEOPLE
Valentin Ivanovich Varennikov
Initiated as a result of the 1905 revolution, the Duma was established by Tsar Nicholas II in his October Manifesto (October 30, 1905), which promised that it would be a representative assembly and that its approval would be necessary for the enactment of legislation. But the Fundamental Laws, issued in April 1906, before the First Duma met (May 1906), deprived it of control over state ministers and portions of the state budget and limited its ability to initiate legislation effectively.