question_answer

What were the social, economic and political conditions in Russia before 1905?

Answer:

                Social Conditions Russian society was divided into three classes, the clergy, nobility and the working class. Serfdom was abolished in 1861, but the peasants, who constituted 85 percent of the population, had to pay heavy taxes for small holdings. Economic Conditions After industrialisation, many factories were set-up by industrialists. The wages were minimum and the working hours were sometimes 15 hours. The condition of the workers was miserable. The state treasury was bankrupt due to heavy expenditure. Political Conditions Under the autocratic rule of Tsar Nicholas II, the Russian empire was vast and feudal. The disastrous defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 had eroded the prestige of Tsar Nicholas II.