An assessment of the attempts to strengthen Tsarism, 1905-14

The year 1905 saw widespread unrest and strikes, culminating in a general strike in October. In response, Tsar Nicholas II issued the October Manifesto.
This document presented a significant shift in government policy, promising a range of freedoms including the freedom of conscience, speech, assembly, and association.
The Manifesto also promised to create the Duma – a representative assembly vested with legislative powers.
By making these concessions, the Tsar hoped to appease the revolutionary fervour and strengthen his own position.

The Duma was seen as a step towards democracy, with members elected through a voting system. However, the Tsar retained significant control – he could dissolve the Duma and veto any legislation it passed.
The First and Second Dumas lasted only for short periods and were dissolved due to conflict with the Tsar.
After dissolving the Second Duma, the Tsar altered electoral laws to ensure the Third and Fourth Dumas were more conservative and pliant to his will. This strategy notably helped to stabilise Tsarist rule.

Peter Stolypin, appointed Prime Minister in 1906, introduced significant agrarian reforms to pacify the peasantry and hence strengthen Tsarism.
These reforms sought to create a prosperous and contented class of land-owning peasants, known as the Kulaks, who, it was hoped, would support the stool of Tsarism.
Stolypin’s agrarian reforms also included measures like resettlement to Siberia and an insurance scheme for crops. These reforms had a mixed success over a short period.

Stolypin mixed his reforms with repression, cracking down on revolutionary groups through the use of courts-martial and being ruthless with peasants who continued to revolt.
His comprehensive strategy of promising agrarian reforms while demonstrating the power of the state earned his period the epithet of the Stolypin Reaction.
Modernisation of agriculture and industry were other aspects of Stolypin’s policies aimed at strengthening Tsarism by addressing the economic grievances of the peasants and working classes.

Several strides were made to strengthen Tsarism between 1905-14, with the reins in the hands of Peter Stolypin. Both the liberal and repressive policies helped in bolstering the Tsar’s rule.
However, Tsar Nicholas II’s autocratic aspirations still hindered the democratisation of his rule, thereby continuing to fuel discontent, which would increasingly pose a challenge to his authority in the subsequent years.