Soviet historians hold the view that the period ranging...

Discuss the reasons why the Bolsheviks had achieved so little by 1914 Despite being the main opposition to the Tsar in Russia at the time, the Bolsheviks failed to make any significant progress in their aims to overthrow the Tsarist autocracy, due to many problems throwing the party in to crisis, with their efforts to influence the proletariat to revolt against the Tsar proved to be failed attempts. In order to come out with a fair and balanced conclusion, it is necessary to look at the opinions of historians from both ends of the spectrum: from the sympathetic Soviet historians, to the more critical opinions of the Western historians, and then lastly looking at the more balanced and neutral views†¦show more content†¦In the light of this, the tsar brought out a law stating that no law could be passed without his permission. The Okhrana, the Tsar’s secret police, were another obstacle for the Bolsheviks, as due to the large scale membership of the Mensheviks, Lenin became wary of a large party due to suspicion from the Okhrana, as th e Tsar was clamping down on any form of revolutionary party. It was this that made Lenin think that the best way to move forward was with a small, tight-knit party of professional revolutionaries. However this still did not help as Lenin and his party were forced into exile during the early 1900’s due to scares from the Okhrana and the autocracy. The newest problem the Bolsheviks would have to overcome was how would they be able to dictate affairs in Russia while in exile? The Soviets argue the answer by stating that Lenin was relaying messages back to Russia in hope of stirring up revolution. Another reason for the lack of achievement was Stolypin’s land reforms which they allowed the peasants to opt out of the Mir, thus, in a way, diminishing the need for an uprising. The land bank was then established so they could buy their own land, and this encouraged resettlement and Stolypin hoped to create a class of Kulaks. This