The Strength of the

Tsar

Learning Objective
To analyse the pillars of Tsarist authority and power
To identify and partially explain the threats to each of
these

 Look at these quotes what

do they say about the
authority of the Tsar?

'To the emperor of

all Russia belongs
the Supreme and
unlimited power'
Fundamental Law
'The Tsarist system could
not cope with the
challenges of urbanisation
and the development of a
modern economy' Orlando
Figes

'People do not influence

events. God directs
everything and the Tsar,
as God's anointed, should
not take advice from
anyone...' Nicholas II

'Russia is the
last hope of the
despots' Karl
Marx

Russifcation

Censorship

The Law

The Army

The Civil Service

The Church

The Nobility

The Tsar

The Church
The fundamental law s of 1906 said that people
needed to obey the Tsar as he had been ordained by
God.
The Church worked closely with the government and
the Holy Synod (government of the church) was a de
facto government department and the Tsar appointed
key leaders
Church encouraged people to accept and embrace
autocracy it taught that it was Gods will they
obeyed the tsar
Church was particularly effective with the rural
peasantry
However there were other competing religions such as
Islam and Judaism as well as other Christian
denominations such as the Catholics of Poland. Church

The military
Church was the mouthpiece of the Tsar, the military was his Iron fst
Huge army with over 1 million men. Feared at home and abroad but
because of size not technical ability
Was mostly a conscript army with peasants reluctant to join because the
army was very stern. Officers imposed rigid discipline of beatings,
whippings and deductions of pay.
Conditions were poor and occasionally created discontent and mutinies
(which were always ruthlessly suppressed)
Officers were fercely loyal to the Tsar because he was responsible for
their positions
There was a real problem with lack of motivation and morale as there
was little prospect of promotion for able junior officers
The navy was even more useless with backward facilities nad equipment
Army was used 1500 times between 1893 and 1903 to put down
opposition shows the discontent that existed
Military took 45% of public expenditure, education just 4%

The secret police

The army was The visible broadsword, complementing the hidden dagger of
the Okhrana
Formed in 1881 after assassination of Alexander II
By 1911 there were 60 stations throughout Russia and even in cities like Paris
Spied on opponents of the regime. Infltrated opposition groups with agent
provocateurs. Stood outside the law and answerable only to the Tsar. Had
unlimited power could flog, fne, imprison, exile or execute opponents.
They kept comprehensive fles on the revolutionaries
Also created false documents The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion
which was created to deflect criticism of the Tsar onto the 5 million Jews in
Russia
Worked in industrial cities within factories forming official trade unions. Had
20,000 paid informers earning 100 roubles a month (twice average wage)
Fear of arrest dissuaded many from joining revolutionary groups. They were
probably responsible for 26,000 extra-judicial killings
They drove opposition underground and this made it hard to catch opponents
whilst they had little control over exiles such as Lenin. Their numbers were
thin in the rural heartland of Russia.

The Nobility
Tsar had enormous power over the group.
They prospered in the system and they were therefore
loyal to the tsar.
Their dominance of government and the military
angered the middle classes

Civil Service
Mainly middle class ran the day to day workings of
the government. Relied on the tsar for their position so
were very loyal
Also ran the police
They enforced the laws of censorship and association
Were often spread very thin, only 4 officials for every
1000 people in 1900

Censorship
Controlled what people could read both in terms of
what was published and what was available in libraries
Restricted content in universities
Controlled access to schools and universities
Slowed the spread of revolutionary ideas and groups
Russia becoming more literate and politically aware
society. University student numbers increased tenfold.
Daily newspapers up from 13 to 856. Impossible to
censor them all.
Censorship did not prevent underground pamphlets
from being distributed, or universities becoming
centres of radical thought.

Russifcation
Emphasised the superiority of all things Russian (language,
religion, culture).
Russian was the only official language in education, courts and
government.
Russian officials put in charge of non-Russian provinces.
Non-Russians had to pay heavy taxes to Russian government.
Showed power of Tsar to dictate policy across the whole Empire.
However, policy alienated non-Russians. Many recruits to
opposition parties were Jewish or from national minorities.
Growth in railways and rural schools helped to spread
nationalist ideas and demand for native rights.
Signifcant opposition e.g. uprising in Ukraine, and refusal to
use schools and churches in Armenia and Georgia.