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

The social, economic and political conditions in Russia were very deplorable before 1905 which brought about a big revolution there known as ‘1905 Revolution’. 

At the beginning of the 20th century about 85% of the Russia’s population was agriculturists. Russia was a major exporter of grains. Industry was found in pockets only. Most industries were run by the private industrialists. Because of wide spread corruption and exploitations, sometimes workers did not get even the minimum wages and also there was no limit of working hours. Russia was an autocracy and was ruled by the Tsar. The Tsar, especially Tsar Nicholas II was a self-willed, corrupt, oppressive ruler. He ignored public welfare as a result of which the conditions of the peasants and workers had also become very deplorable. The workers and peasants both were divided. Peasants frequently refused to pay rent and even murdered landlords. Being influenced by the democratic experiments by the Western European countries, the Russians also demanded a responsible government but all their demands were turned down. Consequently, even the moderate reformers began to talk of revolutions. 

During the rule of Tsar Nicholas II the privileged had got special rights while the general public including the workers and farmers had no say in the government. The situation had become so explosive that even the liberals campaigned to end this state of affairs. The Russian Social Democratic Workers Party was founded in 1898 by socialists who respected Marx’s ideas. In 1903, this party was divided into two groups - Mensheviks and Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks, who were in majority, were led by Lenin who is regarded as the greatest thinker on socialism after Marx. 

Social conditions: People of different social status, classes, religions and diverse nationalities were there. Imposition of Russian language was made to belittle the cultures of these people. Main groups of Russian population were farmers, workers, landowners, capitalists, industrialists and traders. 

Economic conditions: 85 percent of Russians were agriculturists. Agriculture provided employment to a vast population. Cultivators produced food for market as well as their own needs 

Political conditions: Nobles got their power and position through their services to the Tsar, not through local popularity. This was unlike France where peasants respected nobles and fought for them. In Russia, peasants wanted the land of the nobles; they refused to pay rent and even murdered landlords.