To some degree, each of the Russia Tsars used central control as a way of gaining power throughout the state. The Emancipation Edict of 1861 was the mechanism by which Alexander II freed all Russian serfs [one third of the total population]. All serfdom was abolished and the peasants were to receive land from the landlords. This land would be paid for over a period of 49 years through redemption payments. It was to the peasants displeasure however that they were forced to pay for land which their believed was rightfully theirs. Along with the latter, Alexander II also introduced judicial reform which was built around several “western” institutions. The reforms included trial by jury, representation by council for the accused and acts such as flogging were forbidden. The local government was also reformed as from 1864 the zemstva was introduced and it would take control of education, health, transport and the local economy. Up until the start of Alexander’s reign, the army was not unified. Through central control, men were now chosen through ballot form their classes and would serve for six years and then lay in reserve for a further nine. These reforms made by Alexander II helped to centralise the regime as he made Russia more nuclear and tried his up most to bring Russia to the level of other world powers.
The second Tsar to centralise Russia’s power was Alexander III. Firstly, he introduced Russification, choosing to teach only the Russian culture in education, and preserve his god like figure status. In the year of his accession, Alexander III gained central control through the Statue of Measures to Preserve National Order and would be renewed every three years up until 1917; it transformed Russia into a police state, introducing the Okhrana to crush political activity. As well as this, 1889 saw the introduction of a new tier of provincial officials. Land Captains were introduced who had administrative and judicial powers over the peasantry. In addition, military tribunals now replaced criminal trials and censorship was much stricter than before. Along with his reactionary policy, Alexander III also made huge changes in industry. Between the years 1896 and 1905, the population almost doubled, as the peasants were now free to marry and even migrate. Population increased from 40million to around 76million, which increased pressure on the land and released labour for industry, allowing the construction of the Trans-Siberian railway. Count Sergei Witte was brought in as Minister of Finance from 1892 to 1903 and was able to finance expansion through raising taxes and placing the rouble on the gold standard by raising loans in Paris. Each of these changes continued to improve Russia’s status as a growing world power through centralisation
The last of the Romanov Tsars, Nicholas II also consolidated power in one place by firstly introducing the Fundamental Laws in April of 1906. the laws issued were to all intents and purposes a constitution, implying an end to autocracy and placing limits on the power of the Tsar for the first time. The Fundamental laws liberalised life in Russia significantly, as censorship before publication was abolished and trade unions and political parties were also legalised. The Fundamental laws did however disappoint the hopes of liberals for political power. Voting became indirect – one gentry vote carried as much weight as 3 burgher, 15 peasant or 45 worker votes. The government hoped that by reducing the workers votes, the Duma would be less hostile. The Duma itself was composed of elected representatives, and had the rights of voting legislation, including the budget, and questioning ministers. The role of Commander-in-Chief of the army meant that Nicholas was frequently away from home, leaving an incompetent Tsarina and Rasputin at the centre of Russia. Due to the Tsarinas German decent, it was dislike highly for her to be left in control of Russia, but it was a method of him redeeming control. When the Duma met in April 1906, it was dominated by liberal parties, with the Constitutional Democrats, or Kadets being the largest party. They were determined to press for a Constituent Assembly that would draw up a real constitution for Russia. The government, believing that the majority of peasant voters would ensure a conservative Duma, was shocked by the demands of the Duma, and dissolved it almost immediately.
By the time of Lenin’s death in 1924, the communists had eliminated all political opposition in Russia. This meant that Stalin would have a lot of control over the 160 million people of Russia, the majority of whom lived around Moscow and Leningrad. Upon his succession, Stalin inherited a huge peasant population, angered by Bolshevik decrees of 1917 which restored the power that the Tsarist land reforms had given them, back to village communes. Few peasants, however, had obeyed Bolshevik laws to pool their land to form collective farms as they preferred to own their own land as individuals or household groups. These collective farms were the communist model for agricultural production. Its main form was one state owned land; where the sovkhoz would produce crops needed by the state e.g. cotton, and employ workers who would be paid wages. The USSR had not yet industrialised as it may of hoped to, so the majority of these 25 million farms, or holdings, were poor and backwards. They were operating a three field rotation system of planting with one field always follow. Man and horse would provide the power needed and incompetent machines were more common than sufficient ones. Centralisation was also effective for the communists as well as the Tsars, as with no opposition and only Stalin in power, he could dictate to the nation below him.
Stalin took full control of the communist party in 1929 and aimed to change the USSR through three themes, industrialisation, collectivisation and repression. This would be necessary for Stalin’s ‘revolution from above’ to take place. Through industry, the Five Year Plan set high targets for both industry and agriculture. In the first Five Year Plan (1928-33), new cities and industries were built in central Russia. The second (1933-8), saw the development of engineering, power and metal industries. The third, however, was faced with the Nazi Germany threat and the USSR’s need for rearmament. Thus, the plans did not meet their initial targets, but the Soviet Union became an industrial superpower. The population, however, still faced poor living conditions, where millions died in the famine and terror of the 1930’s. The second theme, collectivisation, aimed to control the supply of grain to towns or for exportation. In 1928, grain was requisitioned in order to feed the workers, and those who requested it were called ‘kulaks’. 1929 brought the launch of a war from Stalin to eliminate this group. Peasants were forced into collective farms so the grain could be centrally controlled, but they resisted by bringing about a famine in 1932 through slaughtering their livestock. Collectivisation was a huge failure for agriculture and Stalin had to make concessions to the peasants to prevent total collapse. Through repression, masses of volunteers helped to construct new industrial towns to create a new society. Fear was used widely during the process, as foreign helpers were labelled as spies and harsh labour laws were used to discipline workers. Millions were arrested, sent to gulags and shot.
Through these attempts to attain central control, factors such as the USSR’s geographical position and population could not be helped. Its 80% peasant population was highly illiterate, yet becoming more aware of political aspects as the church was no long there to dictate to them. This peasant population were reluctant to adapt to any form of change in the social order, and so only made things worse for Stalin. The USSR was a federation of states, which included the Ukraine and Georgia. The communists took over each of these governments individually and became a one-party state.
TSARIST STATE CONTROL
Stalin also used state control during his time as the leader of the USSR. His effective control over the Secret Police was only one method in his approach. Through the Cheka, Stalin was able to eliminate any political opposition left within the Empire since Lenin. Extensive measures such as the executions of the old Bolshevik party came about to those suspected to be disloyal to the communist party. Disloyal Stalinists that were executed include the assassination of Sergei Kirov in 1934, who was a popular leader from Leningrad, and 1937 brought the death of the majority of the Red Army leadership were executed for treason. Trotsky and Stalin himself were the only surviving Bolshevik leaders until Trotsky’s assassination in Mexico 1940. Throughout the construction of new society from the volunteered help of millions, gulags (prison camps) were constructed for those that were to be sent there, where others were arrested or shot. The gulags themselves were a section of the secret police, and during 1936- 1952, 40 million people were sent to them, where 24million of them died from harsh labour.
The introduction of the Five Year Plans, with the first being in 1928 saw the setup of grain requisitioning in order to feed the workers, and those that hoarded the grain were dubbed ‘kulaks’. After the widespread purges of the Communist party itself, Stalin now decided to purge the Red Army. Some historians believe that Stalin was telling the truth when he claimed that he had evidence that the army was planning a military coup at this time. In June, 1937, Mikhail Tukhachevsky and seven other top Red Army commanders were charged with conspiracy with Germany. All eight were convicted and executed. All told, 30,000 members of the armed forces were executed. This included fifty per cent of all army officers. Stalin did this to create a state that would comply by his communist views and none other.
Stalin also used propaganda in order to gain control the USSR. Through the newspapers, ‘Pravda’ and ‘Izvestia’, Stalin had full censorship over what was and what was not to be published in his Empire. Extensive measures were taken such as the re-publication of textbooks throughout schools in an act of Russification. This would enable Stalin to have only his message put across to the people who were to be the future of the USSR.
From examining the question and looking into information providing examples of acts carried out by the Romanov Tsars and communists from the death of Lenin to that of Stalin, it is apparent that both forms of government used central control by the state to an extent. This makes the similarities between the two forms of government greater than the differences, but once again, only to an extent.
