1894-1914 Flashcards
Give details about the character of Nicholas II. (10)
1) Weak-willed
2) Poorly educated
3) Kind
4) Benevolent
5) Poor judge of character
6) Obstinate - took charge of the Russian military in 1914.
7) Devoted to his family
8) Lacked the taste for power required to be an autocrat
9) Devious
10) Lacked confidence
Political problems in Russia in 1894. (4)
Growing opposition to the repressive measures imposed by Alexander III:
1) Centralised control of the police under the minister of the interior.
2) Replacement of elected Justices of the Peace by Land Captains.
3) Rise in censorship
4) Tighter control of the provincial government, the Zemstva and less peasant representation in these institutions.
Economic problems in Russia in 1894. (5)
1) Lack of productivity compared to international rivals.
2) Lack of free enterprise - the tsar and his ministers directed production by controlling the armaments industry and the railways who were the main consumers of industrial products.
3) Reliance on foreign investment.
4) Rising exports of grain which led to the famine of 1891.
5) Backward agriculture which limited output and productivity.
Social problems in Russia in 1894. (3)
How many died in the famine?
1) Peasants aggrieved about living standards despite the formation of the Peasants Land Bank (1883) and the abolition of the Poll tax (1886).
2) Famine of 1891 - 350,000 died.
3) Industrialisation led to urbanisation - poor housing, lack of sanitation and water supplies led to the spread of disease.
Which national minorities supported the tsar? (3)
1) Finns
2) Baltic germans
3) Christian Armenians
Which national minorities desired autonomy or independence? (3)
1) Poles
2) Ukrainians
4) Tartars
What was russification? (Briefly)
When did it begin?
The process of russification began in 1863 and was intended to force the national minorities to integrate into the Russian empire.
From which groups did Nicholas II receive opposition? (3)
1) Marxists: Social Democrats - later Mensheviks and Bolsheviks
2) Liberals: Kadets and Octobrists
3) Populists: Socialist Revolutionaries
Who were liberal westernisers and what did they want?
What was founded in 1904 and by whom?
Liberal westernisers demanded that Russia should be governed in a similar way to Western Europe.
In 1904, Pytor Struve founded the Union of Liberation which demanded greater freedoms and justice for all Russians.
Who were the Kadets and what was their ideology?
The Kadets were led by Paul Milyukov and they called for a constitutional monarchy.
What was it the Octobrists desired?
The Octobrists supported the tsar but desired changes to the system of government.
On what did the Social Democrats base their ideology?
When were they founded and where?
The social democrats based their ideology on the writings of Karl Marx, believing that the working class could be educated to overthrow Russian autocracy by revolution. Founded in Minsk in 1898.
When did divisions between the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks surface?
What was the difference between the opposing factions?
By 1903, there were signs of divisions between the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks.
The Mensheviks focused on improving pay and conditions whereas Bolsheviks argued that workers were capable of being sufficiently educated to create a revolution.
Who were the populists?
The populists were revolutionaries operating in the 1870s who believed that agricultural communes and cooperative workshops would provide a base for economic development without resorting to capitalism.
When were the Socialist Revolutionaries founded and who was their leader?
When did they split?
What was the difference between the right and left wing SRs?
They were founded in 1901 and led by Victor Chernov/
They split into left and right wing SRs in 1905.
The left believed in direct action and focused on workers whereas the right worked with other groups to gain momentum and support and appealed to the peasants.
