Section 7: The Four Dumas 1906-1914

The Duma was the elected assembly reluctantly agreed to by Nicholas II in October 1905 in "The October Manifesto" as a way of avoiding revolution. Moderate Liberals led by Guchkov formed the Octobrist party and accepted an assembly made up of nobles, landowners, officials and capitalists. Under Witte's direction the Tsar was able to split the Liberals from the working class with such promises. The violence of the 1905 revolution began to subside and the forces of law and order gained control again. In May 1906 the Tsar showed just how little notice he intended to take of the Dumas when he issued The Fundamental Laws which stated that the Tsar's ministers (The State Council) could not be appointed by the Duma but only by the Tsar, and nor were they to be responsible to the Duma. The State Council had the right of veto over any laws sent to them. Article 87 said that no laws could be passed without the Tsar's approval and that the Tsar could rule by decree in a state of emergency.

The first Duma, April - June 1906

In 1906 the tsarist regime secured a huge loan from France which meant that it would not be dependent on the Duma granting it money to govern. The largest parties elected were Progressives who were mainly businessmen wanting moderate reform and Kadets (see note on the next page). They demanded that the original promises made by the Tsar in the October manifesto should be met. Nicholas is reported to have said, "Curse the Duma. It is all Witte's doing." Nicholas closed the duma down after two months and a group of Kadets and Trudoviki (moderate Social Revolutionaries) set up an unofficial meeting in Finland and appealed to Russian people to boycott taxes and conscription in an effort to make the Tsar keep his original promises. The Tsar appointed Peter Stolypin as chief minister to sort out the trouble that followed. Between 1906 and 1911 there were over 2,500 hangings of supposed ring leaders under Stolypin's orders, and law and order was restored.

The second Duma, February - June 1907

The failure of the alternate Duma set up in Finland led to a decline in popularity of the Kadets, and in the elections for the second Duma the SRs became the largest party. Stolypin was willing to work with the Duma for social and economic reforms but the Tsar dissolved it after only three months, accusing the Duma of being subversive and trying to undermine his authority over the army.