what were the social economic and political conditions in Russia before 1905?
Answers
At the beginning of the 20th century about 85% of the Russia’s population was agriculturists.
Russia was a major exporter of grains. Industry was found in pockets only. Most industries
were run by the private industrialists. Because of wide spread corruption and exploitations,
sometimes workers did not get even the minimum wages and also there was no limit of working
hours. Russia was an autocracy and was ruled by the Tsar. The Tsar, especially Tsar Nicholas
II was a self-willed, corrupt, oppressive ruler. He ignored public welfare as a result of which
the conditions of the peasants and workers had also become very deplorable. The workers and
peasants both were divided. Peasants frequently refused to pay rent and even murdered
landlords. Being influenced by the democratic experiments by the Western European countries,
the Russians also demanded a responsible government but all their demands were turned down.
Consequently, even the moderate reformers began to talk of revolutions.
During the rule of Tsar Nicholas II the privileged had got special rights while the general public
including the workers and farmers had no say in the government. The situation had become so
explosive that even the liberals campaigned to end this state of affairs. The Russian Social
Democratic Workers Party was founded in 1898 by socialists who respected Marx’s ideas. In
1903, this party was divided into two groups - Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks,
who were in majority, were led by Lenin who is regarded as the greatest thinker on socialism
after Marx.