Another form of opposition which was less threatening but still apparent involved the growing educated and free thinking middle class able to read and understand western authors and ideas. There was an increasing potential of revolution in the 1890’s, however they were more concerned about living conditions. However this progressed to serious student disorders where the Minister of Education was assassinated. This led to strikes all across St Petersburg which had to be dispersed by Cossack troops and armed policeman. The serious nature of this opposition is not that serious again because only one person was killed and the uprising was quickly crushed by armed forces. Again in terms of the Tzarist regime in relation to the opposition was that troops fired on the strikes, again reflecting brutal punishment and causing unsuccessful opposition and putting off further opposition.
Other less threatening opposition involved Collectivization this was forcing peasants to join huge collective farms so machinery could be implemented and economies of scale could be used. However most peasants didn’t want to join because extra effort they put in to produce more grain simply got taken away. Furthermore a particular group called Kulaks (rich peasants) made their wealth from Lenin’s N.E.P this now meant that if they had to join collective farms they would lose their wealth to the state. This produced mass opposition to Stalin and collectivization; many peasants destroyed their grain and animals because they would only be taken away by the secret police. The worst area was in what is now Kazakhstan where more than 80% of animals and grain were destroyed. Stalin ordered these Kulaks to be sent to labour camps. It is estimated that 7 million people were killed or died in the labour camps. The threat of this opposition was great in terms of restricting food for the country and starving millions of Russians but was not a threat to overthrowing Stalin’s power. Stalin’s brutal methods of sending the Kulaks to Labour camps and seizing grain was one reason why he faced so little opposition in his time in comparison to the relatively kind Tzars.
This nature of opposition on Bloody Sunday is marginally more of a threat to the Tzarist regime. It started from Father Gapon drawing up a petition outlining the workers' sufferings and demands. The news spread and soon there was 105,000 workers marching to the Winter Palace led by Father Gapon. When they reached the Palace they sung hymns and the national anthem. However Tzar Nicholas II ordered soldiers to fire on the workers and 200 were killed and 800 wounded. In terms of opposition to the Tzar the sheer support is large however as the opposition was entirely peaceful it is of a different nature and less of a threat to the Tzar; especially in a country where only violence seems to change political direction. The Tzar in relation to the opposition was very extreme with 200 killed, this with out a doubt showing why opposition wasn’t successful because it was so fiercely destroyed.
The less threatening Bloody Sunday led to more extreme opposition and the visions of Bloody Sunday caused mass peasant revolts and even the Tzar’s uncle Grand Duke Sergei was assassinated this made the Tzar so anxious he published the October Manifesto which granted freedom of speech, meeting and association. This wasn’t enough to satisfy the peasants and a Union of Peasants was set up and finally a mutiny on the battleship ‘Potemkin’ which sparked mutiny in the whole armed forces. By mid October the whole of Russia was paralyzed by strike, this meant that all of the Tzar’s opponents were now united. This now meant the Tzar was forced to accept cabinet government and appointed Russia’s first Prime Minister Count Witte. This opposition was quite fierce as it was supported by vast numbers of the population and completed halted the Russian economy. This forced Tzar Nicholas II to distribute some of his power in the form of appointing a Prime Minister which he would not have done that lightly. Therefore this opposition was more successful as it forced the Tzar to make changes.
The Kronstadt mutiny took place in 1921 under Lenin’s rule. The Kronstadt sailors took a key role in the seizer of power for the Bolsheviks in 1917, however since then they felt that the communist’s policies weren’t right for the country and they called for the end of the communist dictatorship. The government acted swiftly, Trotsky was sent to crush the rebellion and did so with 50,000 red army troops. The threat of this opposition was serious as it caused the death of 10,000 red army soldiers, this in relation to the Communist regime was that it was put down very quickly and efficiently showing the strengths of the party to deal with opposition unlike Tzar Nicholas II.
Another threatening opposition in Tzarist time was political opposition to Alexander II was also apparent with 150,000 prisoners exiled to Siberia. Political trials took place to sentence political cases but most of them failed and with many terrorists free to walk the streets they formed the people’s will. In 1881 they achieved there main goal of assassinating the Tzar. This nature and threat of opposition was serious as it actually caused change to the way the country was run because now the Tzar was killed and replaced with Alexander III. This was successful compared to the communists opposition because of the ability to get up close to the Tzar unlike the Communist leaders and actually believing it right to kill the Tzar to bring about political change.
The Bolsheviks polices in early 1918 made them a lot of enemies. The Union for the Defence of the Motherland and Liberty actively started armed revolts and the murder of Count Mirbach, the German ambassador. Further to this Allied opposition grew because they wanted Russia back into the war. The Bolsheviks then seize foreign property and cancelled the Tzar’s huge debts to the Allies. The allies gave millions of pounds to any group who wanted to re open the eastern front. This escalated into a full blown Civil War, with the Red army having to fight the S.R’s, Whites and Greens however due to divided opposition the Communists won. This was an extreme threat to the communist party but due to the strengths of the Red army and the weaknesses of the Whites they were able to maintain power. This links in with the Communist regime in relation to the opposition as they had the resources to overcome this opposition unlike Tzar Nicholas II.
This successful opposition was obviously the most threatening which started in 1914 with the outbreak of war and with the standard of living for the population greatly decreased causing opposition against the Tzar. There was huge inflation, food shortages and fuel shortages. To add to this opposition the Tzar made himself commander in chief of the Russian army and left the Tzarina in charge of the country. She was seen as a traitor to the motherland as she was German born and blamed for the army defeats. The influence of over her by Rasputin merely added to the hatred for the Tzarina. This caused a huge demonstration in 1917 where troops were sent to disperse the crowds joined and half of the Petrograd garrison of 150,000 armed troops actively supported the revolution. Police stations were burnt down and the Winter Palace was seized as was many government buildings. This forced the Provisional Government to rule the country, as the Tzar never made it to capital. Instead his train was blocked by disloyal troops and he was urged by his advisors and general to abdicate. This opposition of no particular group just generally the whole country was extremely successful opposition as it caused the overthrow of 300 years of Romanov rule. This was more successful than the opposition of communism because of the far less threat of fear compared to the degree under communism.
In conclusion, I think that yes the opponents of the Tzars from 1855 were ultimately more successful than those who opposed the Communists regime after 1917. This was because firstly there was a greater threat to the Tzarist regime between 1855-1917 with the poor standard of living and famine which was more extreme in Tzarist time. This led to circumstances resulting in opposition such as the 1905 revolution and the forced abdication of the Tzar because of the failing war and lack of reforms. In terms of the Tzarist regime in relation to the opposition they brutally put down opposition but not to the same extend as the Communists who used more fear tactics to scare opposition. Furthermore with the cult of personality especially of Stalin, opposition was less likely to arise as people believed Stalin to be even like a god figure and with clever use of propaganda that the Communists made better use of to keep their support high and opposition low. However I think the key factor why the opponents of the Tzars from 1855 were ultimately more successful than those who opposed the Communists regime after 1917 were the extreme measures that would happen to Communist opposition no matter what scale such as certain death!
