Russia covered 8 Million square miles, with an increased population of 40 million to 165 million in under a hundred years. This Russia which covered two large sections over two continents was full of diverse cultures and nationalities, with 82% of people being peasants and under 50% of people being purely Russian. The country was controlled in the west, at St.Petersburg and Moscow leaving barely anything in the middle (apart from Vladivostok at the far edge). Therefore, Russia was a very difficult place to control.

Russia for centuries had been under the control of the Tsarist family the Romanovs, under Nicholas II at this point of history. The Tsar was autocratic and used absolute power, ‘Emperor of Russia is an autocratic and unlimited monarch’ and that he was chosen by god to rule Russia. Three parts of his governing were the Imperial Council, the Cabinet of Ministers and the Senate, who only advised the tsar what to do and he could ignore them at at will.
Russia compared to other European countries, was very politically and economically backward. As most governments in Europe had formed some form of democratic and elected council, Russia stuck with autocracy and the Tsar, who had limited reforms. Censorship was used heavily in Tsarist Russia, preventing liberal ideas from emerging, and political parties had no rights to exist, and all those who opposed the tsar would be arrested and possibly executed. This led to extremism, as underground liberals and revolutionaries began to appear, in the late 19th century with previous Tsars being assassinated. The Orthodox Church of Russia too was backward compared to the other Christian religions around Europe, as they remained very reactionary and unlikely to change their support for the tsar.

The amount of peasants compared to workers (4%) meant a very slow economic pace or development, though they had many textiles factories across the cities and an increased iron output at the Ural Mountains. It was on a very small scale, and the transport system of Russia was limited, exporting was next to impossible. Russia had a poor banking system and didn’t master the borrowing of loans for expansion, which discouraged entrepreneurialism. Russia also failed to form a strong Agrarian Economy (or farming market) as most land was unworkable due to the harsh conditions of the northern coast (arctic sea) with Arable farming only happening in the Ukraine and other southern provinces. Because 82% were peasants, there was simply not enough land to go around. The Emancipation decree allowed peasants to buy land, however most of them found it too expensive, and eventually a huge mortgage repayment. It is also thought that the Tsar saw the education of the ‘dark masses’ would be high dangerous, socially and politically. To keep them in check, they would be conscripted to the army, The Russian army was well known for severity and harsh treatment of its troops, and the training camps were seen more as penal colonies in Siberia plus the limited amount of supplies they had .

The Bureaucracy was also known to be corrupt as nepotism ran riot. The Army and various parts of the running of the country were in the control of people who were at that post for their own advantage and were given the post by Nicholas.

SUMMARY
Russian Problems so amounted to the Land, the Economy, the People, and the Tsarist System
• Russia’s land problem (control in west, nothing in the middle)
• Social (hundreds of nationalities, 82% peasants, tiny dominant elite)
• Economy (Poor banking and trading system, no industrial revolution, backward agriculture)
• Autocracy (One man in control of 165M, oppressed army, a corrupt bureaucracy and Reactionary church)