Difficulties of Russia (up to 1914)

People were unhappy because of many reasons

• An official count in 1897 showed that 77% of Russians were peasants
• They had been freed from serfdom (a system where a peasant was bound to the land they worked in) in 1861 in turn for paying redemption payments
• Peasants were left to try to survive by themselves and support their families
• Agricultural methods were outdated and inefficient, knowledge of modern methods was lacking

• Russia had been ruled by the Romanov family
• The Tsar at the time was Tsar Nicholas II, who came in power in 1894
• Did not have the knowledge to rule well, and was not taught
• Saw himself as a supreme figure given the power to rule by God
• Did not want to give freedoms and democracy
• Recognised the need to modernise Russia on a level with the western powers
• Needed to control the growing middle class and the suffering peasantry
• People continued to worship the Tsar and respect him

• Made up of more than 200 nationalities
• Majority were Slavs, and there were many minority groups
• The Tsar introduced Russification and forced all nationalities to speak Russian and adopt Russian culture while abandoning heir own
• This was enforced in schools, and local government
• This aimed to unite the people under one language and caused dissatisfaction
• Some people wanted to be away from Tsarist rule
• Russification forbade the many local languages spoken in Russia, even though this rule was ignored in rural areas

• Severely behind other countries
• However, industry began to grow in the 1900s, shifting the previous focus on agriculture to industry
• The railway was created, allowing better transportation and increasing the need for raw materials and creating more jobs
• This was still not enough, and funds to invest in industry from sources such as foreign loans was needed, as well as the need for more workers in the city
• Therefore, it was necessary to move many peasants from the countryside to work in the cities

• Russia's government was an autocracy
• Localised revolts were easy to control
• Peasants generally could not write and read, which made organising revolts less likely
• Modernising Russia would mean peasants moving to the cities and more classes interacting with each other
• This caused a growing educated workforce aware of their rights, which increased the chances of organised revolts and demand for political change