Problems facing Nicholas II

Autocracy and Revolt in Russia, 1881 - 1914 
Problems facing Nicholas II, 1894 - 1905

Weakness of Nicholas II as Tsar. 

• Viewed as ‘soft’ by his father
• Inherited throne suddenly – father died of kidney disease aged 49 (underprepared) 
• Strongly conservative – closest adviser & mentor, Constantin Pobedonostsev; inherited Romanov belief in divine appointment & moral rightness of autocracy

Witte and Industrial Growth. (1892 - 1903)   SUCCESSES ; 

• Work was sponsored, overseen by Government, nicknamed "Witte System"
• Government placed emphasis on production of capital goods (iron, steel, coal, machinery)
• Much of the expansion was financed from loans abroad (France)
• Overseas loans and investments aided industrial growth.
• Raised tariffs, tax, interest rates to increase capital.
• Limit on imported goods, encourage Russians to use Russian products. (also helps money circulate in the country)
• Expansion of the Trans-Siberian Railway system (1902)
• Rapid expansion of cities, as large scale manufacture attracted people seeking employment.
  St. Petersburg's population increased from 1 to 2 million in 1914.

FAILURES ;

• Industrial expansion was a global phenomenon at that time, it wasn't just work of Witte.
• Too dependent on foreign investments. 
• Lighter type of industry underinvested and agriculture ignored.
• Overcrowding in cities, led to poor living conditions and growth in dissent as a result.
• Poor working conditions because trade unions was made illegal.
• Still lagged behind other industrial powers.
  Austria-Hungary expanded national income by 79%, Britain by 70% and Russia with only 50%.

   Problems faced by Nicholas II including discontent of the peasants, town works and subject nationalities (ethnic minorities)

• Growth of the Urban Proletariat.
  • 1900 - only 2-3 million industrial workers out of 110 million Russians.
    These workers were confined in 4 main areas.
  • Factories were poorly lit & badly ventilated, had long working hours & brutal discipline. There was no job security.
  • Living conditions were appalling - workers lived in unsanitary dormitories or rented rooms.
  • In 1911, typhus, smallpox, typhoid & cholera were serious problems for industrial workers.
  • All of these experiences created a militant working class.
  • From the 1880s there was an increasing number of industrial strikes.
    • 68 strikes in 1895.
    • 125 strikes in 1900.
    • 14, 000 strikes in 1905.
  • There was a trickle of social legislation but it was often ignored :
    • 1892 : No children under 12 to be employed.
    • 1892 : No female labour allowed in mines.
    • 1896 : 11 1/2 working day introduced.
      
    • Overpopulation
      • Factory investments and resettlement of farmers into towns built around factories as a way to improve economy. 
      • Russian towns were not ready socially and politically for the sudden economic growth.
        • …