The Church
The Orthodox Church in Russia (official religion) held a very prestigious position. There were other permitted religions at the time but their members weren’t considered ‘true Russians’ and not as respected as the members of the Orthodox Church. Like the Nobles, people within the Church were very rich and had a comfortable lifestyle. The Church received its money from the state and the main responsibility of the Church was to educate Russians who could afford it. They taught students to respect God and the tsar as the tsar was seen as ‘his appointed representative’.
Only one third of Russians were given an education so two thirds of the population did not receive this indoctrination. It was thought that these two thirds would start to disobey the system of the tsar being the representative of God but in the end it was nearly everyone who did. This was because of many teachers who had radical views and did not agree with the system. Universities also shared these radical views.
Army
Despite being valued less than the Church and Nobles, it was the Army that guaranteed Russia’s status as a great world power. It had 2.6 million men which were more than Germany’s 1.9 million men and Austria-Hungary’s 1.1 million men. However, Russia needed a lot of men as their country covered an enormous distance so in relation to Germany’s army – it is not a drastic difference in size.
The army was vital in enforcing Autocracy. In 1903, it was estimated that one third of the infantry and two thirds of the cavalry were employed in suppressing domestic order. The police also dealt with the actions of revolutionary groups but it was the army that dealt with the mass unrest.
Middle Class
These people were still quite rich but were not as prestigious as the above but they had many advantages over the poor peasants. Most middle class children could afford to go to school and many went to boarding school.
The Peasants
The peasants were concentrated in the rural areas of Russia and Siberia and lived in communes. Land was divided into strips for each commune but peasants did have the ability to own their own land. Many did not however and the land they used was owned by rich landlords. Peasants found it extremely hard to survive. They lived on the food they grew they made as well as selling some and the money they received went mainly on tax. In the years before the turn of the 20th century, there was growing unrest from the peasants as they desperately wanted the land to be given to them and not be owned by the landlords.
The peasants were the lowest class in Tsarist Russia and people looked down upon then. Many died through starvation and malnutrition as well.
