'From 1894 to 1914 the authority of the Tsardom remained essentially unchanged.'

It is without a shadow of doubt that the authority of the Tsardom did not remain “essentially unchanged”. Whilst throughout the regime of Alexander III Tsarist authority remained relatively strong, it is clear Nicholas II’s reign significantly weakened the authority of the state. This is demonstrated to the greatest extent through both Alexander III and Nicholas II’s differing degrees of success regarding the repression of opposition. Both Tsars employed repressive policies on the public to limit opposition to the Tsardom; however whilst Alexander III’s use of repression ensured opposition was limited greatly, Nicholas II’s use of repression merely served to instigate further direct opposition to the Tsardom. This phenomenon occurred due to the more conservative social and political climate fostered by Alexander III, which ensured that significant opposition to the Tsarist authority was minimised. In contrast, Nicholas II's regime did not successfully maintain this conservative culture, and as the masses continued to grow frustrated with Nicholas' policies, the authority of the Tsardom continued to decrease. Moreover, through examining their success in appeasing classes which had potential to weaken the Tsardom, it is once again clear the authority of Tsardom weakened significantly after the regime of Alexander III. Alexander III's ability to identify, understand and appease potentially threatening classes, particularly through his embracing of a peasantry class who had been routinely alienated from mainstream Russian life ensured the authority of the Tsardom improved under Alexander. Despite this, under Nicholas II once again the authority of the Tsardom was weakened; his inability to effectively maintain this improved relationship between the peasantry and the Tsardom ensured that the Tsardom faced a weakening of authority under Nicholas II. Finally, through both Tsar’s use of Russification to quash potential nationalist opposition to the Tsardom it is clear once again that the authority of Tsardom was relatively strong after the reign of Alexander III; however under Nicholas II there was a distinct rise in minority opposition to Tsardom. Therefore, it is clear that the statement 'From 1894 to 1914 the authority of the Tsardom remained essentially unchanged' is invalid.