How far were divisions among its opponents responsible for the survival of the Tsarist regime?
How far were divisions among its opponents responsible for the survival of the Tsarist regime in the years 1881-1905
The divisions between the opponents of the Tsarist regime were a key factor in its survival, but other important factors should be considered such as the Tsars dispensations for peasants and the mass oppression of the Russian people.
There were three main opposition groups in Russia at the time: the liberals, socialist revolutionaries and social democrats, each with very different political agendas. The main liberal parties – the Kadets, Octoberists and Progressive Bloc – wanted democracy, freedom of speech, parliament, free elections and to embrace western values. Their methods were mainly non-violent and political; they did not want a mass revolution. The Socialist Revolutionaries, on the other hand, hoped that capitalism would promote the growth of the proletariat who would revolt against their masters. Their support was mainly from the proletariat. Their methods were mainly agitation and terrorism. The two Social Democrat parties – the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks – were Marxists who wanted the development of industry leading to the political triumph of socialism and did not expect revolution, seeing it as unlikely. Their support was mainly from the educated middle classes. These two groups in themselves disagreed on the role of the party in government. Each opposition party has different aims, different methods and a different following which divides Russia making a popular revolution at the time impossible. If the parties had found common ground to combine their supporters, they could have led an organized revolution. Therefore the Tsarist regime was able to continue, since individual factions of opposition are easier to annihilate than a mass revolution.