How Far Do You Agree That It Was The Role Of War Which Brought About The Most Significant Changes To Russian Government And Society Across The Period 1856-1964?

From 1856 to 1964, Russia s involvement in war had blown together- and then put back together- an empire covering one-sixth of the surface of the globe . Inevitably, significant change resulted from these wars as society was alienated against the monarchy, giving way to a communist state. War increased Bolshevik prestige, enabling them to initiate ideological change. The policies of individuals were crucial in causing change as the country was not constantly in war. Long-term social and economic pressures on Russia meant reform was consistently needed. War played a vital and often direct role in reshaping Russian government and society but also indirectly caused change by worsening long-term socio-economic pressures which forced individuals to react accordingly.

Russia was engulfed in defeat in war from 1856, causing social unrest that ultimately ended Tsarism. Losing the Crimean War (1853-56) exposed the urgent need for Russian industrialisation . Consequently, the Emancipation of the Serfs (19^th Feb 1861), catapulted Russia into the 20th century . This changed the structure of Russian s society, transforming the legal status of forty million Russians and reducing the power of the nobility. The war also showed Russia s supposed military strength as an illusion . As the Serfs had failed to provide the calibre of solider Russia needed , military reform resulted with universal conscri ption introduced in 1874, making all classes serve for six years. The Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905) accelerated the rise of political movements among all classes , paving the way for the 1905 Revolution which would result in great social change. Incidents such as Bloody Sunday made the Tsar seem insensitive to the people s plight, turning previously loyal Russians against their leader. World War I exposed the weakness of Nicholas II`s government , reducing society s support for the regime and thereby decreasing governmental prestige. The impact of the war on society caused the February and October revolutions. Had it not been for the war, the Tsar may have survived as he would have had the loyalty of the army but the harshness of war made revolutionary ideas spread in the trenches. The soldiers refused to open fire when workers went on strike in 1917. This forced Nicholas to abdicate and ended the Romanov dynasty, showing that war brought about the most significant transition to government. The military failures of 1856-1918 portrayed the Tsars as incompetent whilst the economic impact of defeat added to social tensions, causing rebellion to end Romanov rule.

Whilst war had negatively affected the Tsars, from 1918 onwards war strengthened the government, allowing change to occur from above. Red victory in the Civil War consolidated Bolshevik power which was to vastly reshape Russian society. During the Civil War, a third of the Red Army joined the Communist Party the new authoritarian government was ready to use coercion to rule. Subsequently, Russia became a terror state with 6300 executions occurring in 1918. Russia emerging as a Superpower was a significant change resulting from the triumph of World War II as the country had traditionally been backwards compared to her western allies. The war left the government stronger than it had been before, particularly increasing the prestige of Stalin who was awarded the Order of Lenin. Stalin stuck to his old polices in a period known as High Stalinism as he was afraid the war had generated threats to his personal authority. Arguably, this indicates that WWII did not bring about significant change however in reality the reparations and prisoners of war from Germany brought about recovery which bettered society. 1940 levels of production had been surpassed by 1950 with steel production increasing by nine million tonnes. For once, the Russian economy prospered as a result of war. Another significant change resulting from WWII was that of anti-cosmopolitanism which Stalin introduced due to vast interaction with the West during the war. In doing so, society was limited to Russian thinking and suspicions remained high. This led to the Cold War as Stalin s lack of trust caused diplomatic tensions with the West. The Cold War caused increased terror with a new wave of purges occurring in 1949 including that of the Leningrad affair and the death penalty was reinstated in 1950. From 1918 onwards war caused vast changes to society by reinforcing a communist government who increased terror within government and across the state.

As Russia was not consistently in war from 1856 to 1964, individual people accounted for significant changes in government and their varying policies caused vast fluctuation to society. The liberal nature of Alexander II meant that even if war had not highlighted the need to abolish Serfdom, he would have done so before it abolish[ed] itself from below . This reduced the imbalance amongst society by making the legal procedure equal for all classes. Alexander was willing to reduce imperial control by establishing the Zemstva. These elected local assemblies gave society a greater say in how they were to be ruled and therefore made government more democratic. Government became less conservative with Alexander appointing liberal minister such as Norov who changed society by ending oppressive education policies. War would not have affected education, showing that other factors caused more significant change. During Alexander III s reign, vast change occurred despite no wars taking place as he reversed the liberal policies of Alexander II in order to maintain his autocratic self-interest. The Land Commandment (1889) took power from the elected Zemstva and gave it to the nobility, making government less representative. Government became conservative again with Alexander appointing reactionary ministers who deepened societal inequality. Lower classes were not educated, causing an illiteracy rate of 79% in 1897. 1889 saw the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway under Sergie Witte whose commitment to modernising Russia caused the Great Spur . Witte s policies caused remarkable economic progress with Russia being the world s fourth largest producer of steel by 1900. As Chief Minister to Nicholas II, Witte advocated the October Manifesto (30th October 1905) which was necessary due to the 1905 Revolution caused by the Russo-Japanese war, showing that significant change resulted from a combination of the impact of war causing social tensions and forcing individuals to compromise. Various freedoms were granted in the Manifesto, making society less oppressive. Nicholas II also established the Duma in response to the 1905 Revolution. His opposition to democracy meant his reforms gave off the appearance of concessions but in reality the Duma was limited whilst he gained more power, governing by decree through the 1906 Constitution, thus causing backwards change to society. Lenin s commitment to a Bolshevik state put society under a dictatorial regime when he dissolved the Constituent Assembly, ending the democratically elected government. The CHECKA and Red Army were to stop aristocratic and bourgeois power and in turn they were granted vast control which caused a shift of power within society. Lenin s November and December decrees and 1918 constitution enforced a communist society, nationalising industry, distributing land and removing the class system which was a significant break from the previous oligarchical system. Stalin s competitiveness with the West initiated the Five Year Plans which began a process of transforming the USSR into a industrial force, fixing society s traditional backwardness. Industrial output was 2.6 times greater in 1937 compared to 1928. The purges he embarked upon from 1934-38 due to his paranoia eliminated all political opponents, leaving Stalin as the undisputed leader. Khrushchev s personal desire to denounce his predecessor s cult of personality resulted in his policy of de-stalinisation which caused significant changes to Russia. The imperial Government saw a decrease in power with economic control being decentralised from Moscow to local bodies such as the Sovnarkhozy. His social policies benefited society with the amount of homes doubling from 1955-64 and university fees abolished in 1958. Condemning Stalin s distrust, Khrushchev made society less repressive by releasing 10,000 prisoners between 1953-55. Regardless of whether the country was in war or not, the individuals who governed Russia had different beliefs and motivations which meant that government was constantly transitioning and this caused significant changes to society as a result of leaders implementing their preferred policies.

Throughout 1856-1964, Russia faced long-term social and economic pressures which caused significant changes as social unrest continually needed addressing. When Alexander II came to the throne in 1855, Russia was arguably the most economically and politically backwards of all of Europe s major states, meaning there was need for his liberal policies. However, the defeat in the Crimean War was needed to uncover this backwardness. Witte s policies drew peasants into the cities in search of work, heightening social unrest. The cities could not cope with the influ3x of people St Petersburg s population increased by 250 000 people from 1890-1900. Consequently, industrial employers faced low standards of living and became susceptible to revolutionary ideas . These ideas festered amongst society and eventually contributed towards the 1905 Revolution which vastly changed Russian society by forcing Stolypin into agrarian reform, allowing 30% more peasants to own land in a decade. Arguably, the Russo-Japanese War was paramount in causing these agrarian reforms as there was no victory to compensate for economic losses which only worsened the peasantry problem, thereby indirectly causing the 1905 Revolution. The February 1917 Revolution ended the Tsar regime, greatly changing Russia. Considering this revolution was caused by social unrest with strikes occurring on 8th March due to food shortages, it is clear that socio-economic pressures caused significant changes. However, it was the impact of WWI which caused food shortages due to inefficient distribution , increasing the price of meat by 232%, again showing the significant role war played in causing change when combined with existing social tensions. Socio-economic pressures were exacerbated with Lenin s War Communism, causing famine and the Kronstadt Revolt which forced change in the form the New Economic Policy. Economic freedom allowed the Bolsheviks to restore political power as they surrendered to the peasantry . This eased social pressures with grain production doubling by 1923. Stalin s collectivisation policy condemned Soviet agriculture to decades of stagnation by launching a war against peasants between 1928-30 which eliminated the Kulaks. The loss of their expertise meant cattle production fell by 33.3 million tonnes between 1928-34, condemn[ing] a whole generation of Russians to a meatless diet . Consequently, Khrushchev introduced his Virgin Lands Programme in February 1954 which improved agricultural production with grain harvest increasing by 42.5 million tonnes from 1953-56. The constant economic and social pressures Russia faced, especially as a result of war, provoked society into rebellion which significantly changed government whilst the reforms implemented to address pressures meant society persistently underwent change.

The impact of war, the role of individuals and the existing socio-economic problems interacted to cause significant change to government and society but war played the most important role as it indirectly heightened both of the other factors. Individuals carrying out their preferred policies caused short-lived change as each leader reversed the actions of their predecessor. It was policies in response to war which caused the most significant, long-lasting change such as the Crimean War causing the abolition of Serfdom. Russia was in a bad position socially and economically from as early as 1856 but her constant involvement in war made it difficult to recover. Defeat in war meant the economy was fragile, creating need for numerous economic policies such as the Five Year Plans and NEP which in turn affected society. Economic strains resulting from war exacerbated social pressures such as WWI causing the February and October revolutions which ended three-hundred years of autocratic rule and put Russia under communist control, showing how war indirectly caused substantial change due to it s widespread impact. Arguably, from 1918 onwards the policies of individuals caused the most significant changes as military victories allowed government to rule without compromise. However, triumph in the Civil War and WWII was needed to consolidate Bolshevik prestige, again showing the importance of the role of war. War undoubted caused the most significant change to government and society as without it, socio-economic pressures would have been less severe, meaning that individuals would not have been forced to drastically react to hardships faced by society.