In the period 1855 to 1956, did the Russian peasantry receive better treatment under the Tsarist or communist governments?

Aim at breaking the question down into issues eg:

Land ownership

• Before 1861 serfs owned no land – post 1861 got ownership of plots around houses + percentage of land owned by masters
• Peasants generally disappointed with allocation – varied according to area but nobles did keep best land
• Control invested in the Mir which insisted on traditional farming methods
• Land Bank set up to provide credit – about 20% of nobles land was purchased
• Stolypin aimed at freeing peasants from the authority of Mir – tried to create Kulak class
• Following revolutions in 1917 peasants seized nobles’ land – many then resorted to subsistence farming
• Lenin did not feel strong enough to challenge this even though it was contrary to his ideology
• Stalin took the land away from the peasants – some referred to collectivisation as ‘the second serfdom’ - in theory was meant to ensure equality
• Khrushchev aimed to give peasants more land by opening up lands in the east
• Under Tsardom the nobles owned the land, under Communism the State owned the land

Personal Freedom

• Obviously under serfdom peasants had no freedom
• Post 1861 peasants enjoyed much more freedom
• Legal reforms & Army reforms gave peasants greater freedom in theory
• Mir & Land Captains restricted peasants
• Peasant level of liberty not really affected by events of 1905/6
• Post 1917 initially peasants had freedom but communists soon introduced internal passports
• NEP gave back a lot to the peasants especially in terms of what they could do
• Hundreds of thousands of peasants lost liberty & rights under Collectivisation – return to the bad old days
• Peasants faced famines under both types of regimes – also man made!
• Under Communism society not so rigid – peasants could receive education – high literacy rates – possible to gain high positions
• Under Tsardom there were periods of repression eg under Alexander III and period immediately after 1906 – discipline was harsh
• Under Communism esp Stalin level of repression/persecution very high

Finances

• Peasants made up bulk of population so hardly surprising they were the most heavily taxed
• Peasants were pushed to the limit under Witte & Stalin to finance industrialisation

Conclusion:
No Golden Age for the Russian peasantry! Perhaps enjoyed brief time of success and happiness under the NEP. Emancipation brought some benefits but perhaps taxes & redemption payments brought more trouble

How far did the working class of Russia suffer more from Bolshevik rule than Tsarist rule during the years from 1855 to 1956?

NB “the working class of Russia” refers specifically to the industrial workers!

• Factory workers seen as the vanguard of the ‘Dictatorship of the Proletariat’ – had formed the backbone of the Red Army during the Civil War
• Proletarian values were perceived values of the working classes – this can be witnessed in much of the art, music, cinema & literature of the period – emphasis on collective action & rejection of personal gain
• All factories nationalised under War Communism – control given to workers (for brief period!)
• Under 5 Year Plans unskilled workers received poor pay & endured appalling conditions – worked very long hours
• Skilled workers suffered initially under the Plans – but later saw wage rises and increase in status – eg the Stakhanovites who became shining examples to all!
• With the emphasis on heavy industry there were few consumer products in the early plans – no obvious rise in living standards
• Some free enterprise restored under the NEP
• Stalin appreciated the value of education – great increase in literacy
• Much employment for women – childcare facilities made available
• Lives of the working classes under Stalin certainly transformed though not necessarily for the better!

• Pre 1917 industrialisation really only occurs during reign of Nicholas II
• Under Witte industrialisation was centrally controlled
• This led to a small number of key areas where industrialisation & urbanisation occurred
• Towns/cities rapidly became overcrowded
• Workers endured poor pay and appalling conditions
• There was little attempt by the government to improve conditions – Father Gapon led march – Bloody Sunday!
• 1912 Neva Gold mines – strikers were fired upon

Conclusion

Great deal of continuity between both periods though in theory at least the proletariat was regarded more highly under the Communists. Perhaps the scale of suffering is much higher after 1917 especially under Stalin – workers’ happiness sacrificed to meet the targets

‘Stalin’s dictatorship owed more to the traditions of autocratic rule, as practised in pre-Revolutionary Russia, than it did to either Marxist theory or Lenin’s methods’.
Discuss this interpretation with reference to the period 1855-1956.

Really this is just a ‘Was Stalin a Red Tsar? ‘ essay!

Features of Stalin’s dictatorship

• No opposition to his rule allowed – feature of both Lenin & Tsardom – explain
• Collectivisation  -a) Financed 5 Year Plans – same as Witte - explain

                                   b) Socialised the countryside ie forced communism on the peasants – Lenin (and War Communism). Lenin really chose to ignore the problem of the peasants – as a true Marxist he would not see the peasants as dedicated communists but eventually he would have had to address this! Alex II began process under Tsardom – emancipation of serfs was first step to modernising economy
c) Cemented his position as leader

• Industrialisation – similar to Witte – recognised need to strengthen Russia. Major feature of comparison is the level of state control – centralised economy.
• Repression – similar to both tsars and Lenin though big difference is the level of repression and terror. Secret police played major role in all ‘reigns’
• Stalin employed the ‘Cult of the Personality’ –anxious to stress his link with Lenin the Father of the Revolution – extensive use of propaganda even to extent of doctoring photos to show his friendship with Lenin. Tsars were known as ‘the Little Father’ – had semi divine status, which was supported by the Orthodox Church. Unlikely that Lenin would have followed Stalin’s path.
• Tsars were supported by privileged group – the gentry. Stalin created a privileged group of bureaucrats – nomenklatura – who were dependant upon his patronage.

How far do you agree that a study of Russian government in the period 1855 to 1955 suggests that Russia did little more than exchange Romanov Tsars for ‘Red Tsars’ from 1917?

Focus: Evaluation of the similarities and differences between the method of government both before and after 1917

How different socially and economically was Tsarist Russia (1855-1917) from Communist Russia (1918-1956)?