Primary Sources from Russia, 1905-1929

             The first source that I read comes from the web site http://www.dur.ac.uk/a.k.harrington/Russhist.HTML, and was received from Polone sobranie znkonov Rossiiskoi Imperii, and is titled Manifesto of 17 October 1905. Clearly this source was written on the 17 of October in 1905, but the real question is why this document was written. This was written because "The disturbances and unrest in St. Petersburg, Moscow and in many other parts of our Empire have filled Our heart with great profound sorrow." This document was written to inform the people that the leaders at this time are going to start to deal with these out breaks. Also it tells the people that they will have fundamental civil freedoms, participation in the Duma, and that no law can come affective without the approval of the Duma and the representatives in it. This document is geared toward the people of Russia that are unhappy with what is going on at this time because they state that "We call on all true sons of Russia to remember the homeland...and, together with this, to devote all their strength to the restoration of peace to their native land." This document tells us about how life in Russia was in 1905, two of which would be that there are disturbances and unrest throughout all of Russia, and that there may be national instability that would show as a threat to the unity of Russia. There are three main passages that I would write down if I were to take notes. The first would be "Fundamental civil freedoms will be granted to the population, including real personal inviolability, freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and association." The second thing I would write down is, "Participation in the Duma will be granted to those classes of the population which are at present deprived of voting powers, insofar as is possible in the short period before the convocation of the Duma, and this will lead to the development of a universal franchise. There will be no delay to the Duma elect already been organized." The third and last thing that I would write down would be, "It is established as an unshakable rule that no law can come into force without its approval by the State Duma and representatives of the people will be give the opportunity to take real part in the supervision of the legality of government bodies." The reason I would write these passages down is because these passages give an understanding of what the government was doing to help the people and ease their aggression toward the government. Also, this is three things that the people are getting that will truly help them. Having civil rights and a Duma are big accomplishments for the people and give them a chance to voice their opinions. This document helps us understand the history of Russia around this time period by showing us that the people were unhappy with the government and end up receiving rights and a Duma which gives them more power and say with what goes on in Russia. 
             The second source that I read was from the site http://www.firstworldwar.com/source/russian_councilofworkmen1.htm, entitled Manifesto of 15 May 1917 by Council of Workmen and Soldiers, and was obtained by Source records of the Great War. This was written on the 15th of May, 1917. I believe this document was written to bring up the moral of the soldiers that were fighting against the Germans in the trenches. This document was to remind the soldiers what they were fighting for and why they were fighting. It states, "Reject, therefore, everything which weakens your military power, which distracts the army and lowers its morale. Soldiers, be worthy of the trust that revolutionary Russia puts in you." This document was pointed toward the soldiers and armed forces that fought for Russia. The first sentence says, " The people did not wish the war...". This gives us a little background information on Russia and how the country as a whole was doing. Russia was tired and worn down from the war and all the people wanted to pull the troops out and bring them back home. Some passages from this document I would consider writing down would be: "Do not forget, you in the trenches, that you are defending the liberty of the Russian revolution and your brother workmen and peasants.", another would be "Frequently only an offensive can repel or check a hostile offensive, frequently those who await an attack perish". These two passages were chosen to show that they were trying to boost the moral of the soldiers and have them think of the positive aspects, which were few, instead of the negatives. The last passage is at the end of the document when it reads "Reject, therefore, everything which weakens your military power, which distracts the army and lowers its morale. Soldiers, be worthy of the trust that revolutionary Russia puts in you". This is telling the soldiers that what you do now will help the people at home and save the country. This source helps us understand the history of Russia because it provides insight to what the life of a soldier was like and how they were treated. This also shows that the people were unhappy, but the government couldn't just take the troops out of the western front.
             The last, but certainty not least document that I read was the Public Announcement of the Formation of the First Provisional Government. This document was obtained from the source of Izvestiia on 3 March, 1917. This document was written to establish the Provisional Government as the new form of government in Russia. It tells the people that there will now be a "more stable executive power". This document lists all of the representatives and the principles that they are guided by. This document was written to everyone that lived in Russia during this time. This document informs people of what is happening in the government and how the government is going to work. This document informs us about some of the events that were going on in Russia at the time such as the State Duma, which was a committee represented by the people to voice their opinions and that civil freedoms were granted to the people of Russia. One passage I would consider writing down would be that "Freedom of speech, press, and assembly, and the right to form unions and to strike and the extension of political freedom to persons serving in the armed forces limited only by the demands of military and technical circumstances", because this shows that the people have the rights of all the above. Another excerpt might be "Elections to the organs of local self-government are to be held on the basis of universal, equal and direct suffrage and secret ballot". This gives everyone in Russia the right to vote which is a big deal for the women. This source helps us to understand the ever changing government during this unstable, energetic time period.