The First four Dumas ans opposition to Tsarism

• After 1905, when political parties were made legal, many different parties formed. The two middle-ground political parties were the constitutional Democrats (known as the Kadets) and the Octoberists.
• The Kadets more liberal while the Octobersits were more conservative 

• The socialist revolutionary had refused to take part in the first duma. The Trudoviks were SRs that split to form a new peasant party do that they could take part 
• The first duma was made up of the deputies from the Kadets and the Trudoviks
• The trudoviks main demand was land reform, taking more land from landlords.
• The Kadets supported land reform and also wanted the state council abolished so that the government answered directly to the duma 

Obviously, these demands were far too radical for the tsarist government, but the duma deputies weren't looking for a compromise.

Because of this Nicholas dissolved the first Duma after just 10 weeks 

• This time, the socialist Revolutionary party and the social democratic party both decided to take part in the election. 
• Two Hundred and Twenty-Two socialists were elected 
• Pyor Stolypin soon realized that the second duma was even more of a threat to tsarism than the first and quickly dissolved it in June 1907

It became clear to the revolutionary parties that they would not achieve their aims through elections.

• On 3rd June 1907, Stolypin organized a change in the election rules so that more conservative deputies, rather than reformers were being elected to the Third Duma.
• Conservative deputies could be relied on to support the government.
• Stolypin's change meant that the conservative deputies controlled more than half of the duma seats.
• The liberals were very shocked that the government would go to such dishonest lengths to control the Duma.
  • They now realized that the government was never willing to give up autocratic power.
• The Third Duma lasted its full 5-year term. The government didn't need to close it down because it could be relied on to support the tsar's regime. 
• The fourth Duma was dominated also by conservative deputies except for this time they came even stronger and occupied more seats.
• the opposition to the government was too weak to make an impact on laws or policies. It lasted until February 1917.

• By the time of the Third Duma, police repression was too severe that the revolutionary parties were almost unable to operate.
• It was difficult for parties to connect with workers; factory owners were allowed to sack striking worker, so those who had jobs were desperate to hold on to them and had to keep their distance from revolutionaries 
• In the countryside, the peasants were also terrified of Stolypin's repression
• Landlords had fortified their manor houses, employed armed guards to protect against nighttime attacks.
  • By rigging the elections the Duma was mostly filled with conservative landlords who would never agree to radical land reform