Food shortages, along with famine, were another consistent feature of the period. The disruption caused by World War I had a drastic effect on food supply under Nicholas II, with 400% inflation the peasantry were faced with higher prices for materials, yet there was no such gain when they sold it on, so they begun hoarding. Similarly in 1932 when collectivisation under Stalin did not have the desired impact, the Kulak’s were accused of hoarding supplies as they had been under Lenin, who chose to send in the requisition squads.
In contrast to the lack of interest regarding living conditions, sweeping reforms were introduced
under the communists that aimed to improve working conditions for the peasantry. Investment was made in new agricultural techniques with mixed success as Stalin realised that agriculture had to be used in order to boost industry, much like Stolypin before him. In contrast, under the Tsars peasants did not have access to such technology, however they were able to set their own pace as to how they worked, and therefore how much they produced. In most cases, this meant they had to work as hard as possible in order to provide food for their families, as well as the requisition squads which Lenin would later introduce in an attempt to improve productivity.
Despite these atrocities from the Tsarist regime continuing, the communists were not oblivious to the poor quality of life the urban workers were suffering from. Vast improvements in healthcare were made under the communists. The universal plan introduced by Stalin made medical care much more widely available, in contrast to the Tsarist regime where the urban workers had virtually no access to medical care. Under Alexander II access to education initially improved, in particular through the university reforms and charter for secondary education introduced by Golovin, and improvements were also seen under Nicholas II and Lenin, following the restrictions emplaced under Alexander III. The subsequent increase in literacy rates did improve the workers quality of life, and despite the Tsarist regime laying the groundwork, the biggest rate increases were seen under the communists.
In June 1962, there were protests in the city of Novocherkassk regarding poor housing, food shortages and wage cuts, as there were prior to the 1905 and 1917 revolutions. Quality of life was still poor for the urban workers, however in terms of living conditions it was the communists who made the biggest efforts to improve it, despite many of their reforms often being short sighted and temporary.
Another common theme throughout the period is the inadequate working conditions the urban workers faced. For all the positive effects of Witte’s great spurt, wages remained low and conditions were harsh. Little regard was given towards employee health and safety, and this did not change under the communists. The factories were ruled in an autocratic style similar to the Russian state, and the workers had no rights throughout the tsarist period, as strikes were illegal and trade unions were banned. Despite Nicholas II making concessions and allowing trade unions in 1905, they were once again banned under Lenin in 1920, so the urban workers only benefited from this for a short time. In Tsarist Russia, the workers had to endure 11 hour days, this was initially reduced under the communists. However war communism destroyed much of the initial benefits by imposing military discipline on the workers, and most of the NEP benefits were seen by the peasantry which affected quality of life for the urban workers in much the same way that Stalin’s repression in the workplace would later have. Through the use of Stakhanovite targets, fines, beatings, executions and the threat of imprisonment to ensure workers met their targets which Gosplan had set them, Stalin demonstrated a complete disregard for the urban workers unparalleled to anything else shown in the period. The impact Stalin had on working conditions is far greater than any difference that may arise between Tsarist and Communist regimes, however due to the excessive target setting and brutal repression seen under his rule, the communist governments did far less than the tsars to improve the quality of life for the working class.
Repression was another consistent feature throughout the period. The Polish Revolution resulted in a greater level of repression which heavily increased under Alexander III, however this pales in comparison to the communists. Opposition at least had some success under Tsarist rule, namely forcing Nicholas II to make concessions in the October Manifesto, however under the communists, especially Stalin, repression was used to such an extent that opposition simply did not exist. The use of secret police was a consistent feature throughout the period, with Lenin’s Cheka in particular creating a ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’, going far beyond the actions of the Third Section and Okhrana. However the indiscriminate nature of terror seen under Stalin again saw an unprecedented level of repression different from that of the Tsars, switching from a more targeted approach to ordinary citizens being drawn in through denunciations, which heavily affected their quality of life as they constantly feared the Gulag or even death.
Much like living and working conditions, it can also be argued that the workers saw little increase in their civil rights throughout the period. Despite being granted, albeit reluctantly, under Nicholas II in the October Manifesto to provide a town and national duma, this was again withheld by the communists much like the allowing of trade unions. However despite being given the right to vote, which Lenin would later reinstate, the urban workers saw that their say meant very little compared to the nobles and middle class land owners. The Soviet Constitution introduced by the communists may have given broad guarantees to workers that they had the right to vote, however as a one party state, only communists could be elected. In this sense, little had changed from the 1905 concessions as even though the peasantry could vote, it made little difference. Throughout the period, the only clear attempt to increase civil rights for the proletariat occurred during the Provisional Government where huge promises were made towards freedom of speech and democracy, but due to their short tenure in power were never acted upon. Where concessions on civil rights were made, it was always for the benefit of the state and not to benefit the quality of life of the urban workers. This is demonstrated by religious concessions, under Alexander III the Orthodox church played a key role in enforcing the policy of Russification, and similarly during World War II Stalin revived the churches and gave them legal recognition. This was in order to increase patriotic spirit as the Nazis rapidly closed in on Moscow, not to benefit the urban workers. Civil rights in Russia rarely improved throughout the period, despite occasional breakthroughs such as the October Manifesto, however they took lesser importance to living and working conditions, as it is more important for the urban workers to earn a decent wage and put food on the table, neither of which they were sufficiently able to do under Tsarist or communist rule.
On balance, neither Tsarist nor communist regimes had any real effect on improving the quality of life for the urban workers. Individual rulers such as Stalin had a bigger impact than any differences between the two regimes, and despite some improvements such as a better healthcare system, the communists did less than the Tsars to improve the lives of the working class, despite Khrushchev’s best efforts towards destalinisation and reform. Such reforms were often ineffective, which is a consistent feature throughout the period. Unlike the Tsarist regime, which ruled under a strong belief in autocracy, the intention of Marxist theory is to prioritise the workers. Given that the urban workers suffered a reduced quality of life under communist rule compared to Tsarist rule, this is a notable failure on the part of the communist governments.
