Changes

Russia was and is a vast and diverse country with a huge multi-ethnic population. The Russian Empire was an autocracy, where effectively the Tsar’s will was the law. Tsar Nicholas II ‘indulged in a fantasy of absolute power’ and he believed that he had been appointed by God to the throne.<ref>Figes, Orlando. ''A People's Tragedy: The Russian Revolution: 1891-1924''.(Pimlico, 1996), p. 23</ref> [[File: 1106px-Family Nicholas II of Russia ca. 1914.jpg|thumbnail|Tsar Nicholas II and his Family 1913]]The Tsarist government repressed any signs of organized dissent and as a result there were many political prisoners. Russia was changing in the early years of the twentieth century. It was rapidly industrializing and the country’s economy was growing fast.<ref>Figes, p. 86</ref> A new industrial class of workers was emerging and society was becoming increasingly urbanised. However, this class was impoverished and lived and worked in appalling conditions. The majority of the population were still peasants that often worked the land for wealthy landlords and endured lives of great hardship. The industrial workers and the peasants did not benefit from the economic expansion in anyway. Russia’s economic growth did create a new middle class. However, this class was excluded from the political system and resented the Tsar’s restrictions on its political and personal freedoms. Only the aristocracy and the elite supported the Tsarist government and only out of self-interest.