RUSSIA 



RUSSIA 



other European powers intervened and again 

 deprived Russia of its long-coveted prize, a 

 southern outlet to the sea. On March 13, 1881, 

 Alexander II was assassinated in Saint Peters- 

 burg by revolutionary conspirators. 



tnder III. who succeeded to the throne 

 in 1881, was noted for his extreme reactionary 

 policy. During his reign Russian dominions in 

 Asia were extended; the persecution of the 

 Jews became so cruel as to call for protests 

 from other nations; the Trans-Siberian Rail- 

 way was begun, and an alliance was formed 

 with France which has continued to the pres- 

 ent time. 



Recent History. Alexander HI died in 1894 

 and was succeeded by his son, Nicholas II. who 

 was deposed in 1917. The new czar had trav- 

 eled extensively in his Asiatic dominions and 

 was thoroughly acquainted with the needs and 

 possibilities of this part of the Empire. The 

 Trans-Siberian Railway was completed, and 

 other important lines in Asia were constructed. 

 At the close of the war between China and 

 Japan in 1895 Russia secured from China the 

 lease of Kwang-tung Peninsula for twenty-five 

 years. This was erected into a province, the 

 port of Dalny was opened, and a strong naval 

 station was established at Port Arthur. 



Another treaty with China provided for the 

 construction of the Manchurian Railway, and 

 under pretense of guarding the railway Russia 

 assumed military occupation of Manchuria. 

 These measures had been strenuously opposed 

 by Japan, and in 1904 that country declared 

 war against Russia. In the brief conflict, which 

 lasted about a year, Russia was disastrously 

 defeated, chiefly because of lack of preparation 

 and the long distance of the seat of war from 

 the center of government. 



But of far greater significance than the war 

 were the social and political movements within 

 the Empire to which the war gave a strong in- 

 I or more than a century there had 

 been almost constant friction between the aris- 

 tocracy and the people, and during the last half 

 of that century the zemstvos had been educat- 

 ing the people in democracy. The strained re- 

 lations occasionally led to riots and attempts 

 at revolution. These disturbances were quelled 

 by the police or the army, and the leaders were 

 usually executed; nevertheless, the spirit of 

 democracy continued to increase. 



The most intelligent classes realized that 

 Russia's defeat in the war with Japan was the 

 result of the inefficiency and corruption of the 

 bureaucracy, which the czar was unable and 



apparently unwilling to control. In addition 

 to this, the government had refused to grant 

 relief from an intolerable land system, under 

 which thousands of people were starving in a 

 land whose crops were feeding the nations of 

 Western Europe. Moreover, the great railways 

 within the Empire had been built with for- 

 eign capital, and foreign capital had also found 

 that certain Russian industries offered a desir- 

 able field for investment. With the introduc- 

 tion of foreign capital came a limited number 

 of men engineers, superintendents and skilled 

 workmen and from these men the Russian 

 peasant learned of the conditions of the labor- 

 ing classes in other countries. Comparison of 

 these conditions with his own increased his 

 discontent. 



Within the government were two factions 

 the extreme conservatives, who were constantly 

 advocating more drastic measures of repression ; 

 and the liberals, who counseled moderation and 

 advised the czar to yield to the most urgent 

 requests of the people. The conservative fac- 

 tion was in control, and petition after petition 

 was denied until the tension between the gov- 

 ernment and the people reached the breaking 

 point. Then came the revolution of 1905, in- 

 augurated by a series of great strikes. In an 

 attempt to break the stride in Saint Petersburg 

 over 500 innocent people, many of them women 

 and children, were killed, and over 3,000 were 

 wounded by the police and the soldiers. The 

 best political authorities of Russia agree that 

 by this act the government separated itself 

 from the people beyond all possibility of recon- 

 ciliation. 



The ruling power finally realized that it was 

 unable to control the situation by repressive 

 measures, so the czar granted a constitution 

 providing for a national assembly elected by 

 the people. Such restrictions, however, were 

 thrown about the Duma that it could accom- 

 plish little in the way of direct legislation. The 

 czar reserved the power to dissolve it at will, 

 a power which he promptly exercised when- 

 ever the assembly acted contrary to the wishes 

 of the bureaucracy. The first Duma met May 

 10, 1906. It recommended universal suffrage, 

 the abolishing of the Council of the Empire 

 and a reform in the land laws. The Duma was 

 dissolved July 22. While successive Dumas 

 were unable to enact legislation of importance, 

 the influence of this great national assembly 

 continued to increase throughout the Empire, 

 and the oppressive measures of the bureaucracy 

 met with more strenuous opposition from year 



