2 Flashcards
when was the constitution of russia created and what key idea did it state?
-1832
-the divine right of kings and autocracy of the tsar
who was Alexander II and what was his legacy?
-N2’s grandfather
-emancipation of the serfs which freed farmers from their land owners
-introduction of local councils called the Zemstva
what was the emancipation of the serfs and disadvantages?
-freed the farmers from their land owners
-a lot of the slaves had no money/resources so a lot of the same system continued
how did Alexander II die?
he was assassinated by a terrorist peasant group called ‘the people’s will’
who was Alexander III? how did he rule and how did he die?
-N2’s father
-he ruled in reaction to A2’s assassination and was reactionary and conservative
-died abruptly of kidney failure
why was the structure of the government counterproductive to reform?
-autocracy
-any change that the tsar would make to put more representation in power would weaken his power
why was N2’s personality counterproductive to change?
-prejudice and anti-semetic
-conservative
-indecisive
-not very aware what the real problems are (diary’s recount more attention to the death of favourite dog rather than the events of the 1905 revolution)
how was situations out of N2’s control counterproductive to change?
-father died abruptly and therefore he was thrust into rule unprepared and untrained
-dealing with WW1
how was N2’s relationship with the army’s counterproductive to reform?
-he was deeply attached to the army
-he thanked friends and family by giving them high ranks in the army (nepotism) but a lot of the time this caused damage
who was N2’s childhood adviser and why was this counterproductive to reform?
-Konstantin Pobedonostsev
-he was deeply religious and against democracy
how was the tsarina’s actions and ideas counterproductive to reform
-reinforces ideas of autocracy
-promotes the idea of the divine right of kings to her husband
what were the tsars 3 bodies of advice?
-the imperial council (directly responsible for the tsar)
-the cabinet of ministers (in charge of various government departments )
-the senate(advised on the law)
name 3 reforming tsars
- Peter I
-Cathrine II
-Alexander II
when was it made not a criminal offense to oppose the tsar?
-1881
features of russias political backwardness:
-no parliament (although some political parties had formed)
-government censorship was imposed on published books and journals
features of the orthodox church
-entirely separate from any outside authority such as the pope
-by the late 19th cent it became deeply conservative and wanted the tsar system to remain and spoke of the divine right of kings
Moscow suburbs church statistic
in 1900 there was one church and one priest for 40,000 people
examples of small industrialisation
-iron was produced in the urals region
-there was textile factory’s in st petersburg and moscow
-iron smelting works in villages and people also engaged in marking wooden flaxen and woollen goods
what factors limited Russian industrialisation?
-lack of infrastructure
-lack of capital
percent of governing class versus peasants?
less than 1% versus 80%
what did the tsarina say about the dark masses?
they needed to be kept “under the whip”
what was the response of the rich towards the dark masses?
-kept their lack of acknowledgement (“safe ignorance”)
-fear that giving power/educating the poor would be risky to their own power
what was the army like?
-full of conscripted soldiers
and those who had committed crime
-military camps were set up but were more penal colonies
-harsh and unclean conditions
what did the rigorous training cause?
death of 1 million soldiers during the peace time between 1825 and 1855
what percentage of the governments annual expenditure was used on the army vs education
-45% on army
-4% on education
what was the civil service like?
-this was formed by tsar peter II to improve russia
- this eventually became incredibly influenced by nepotism which caused incompetence
what did alexander state about the civil service? what year?
-1868
- the bureaucracy was a “civilian priesthood sucking the blood of the people with thousands of greedy unclean mouths”
what were the okrana?
the tsars secret police that infiltrated potential opposition to the tsarist regime
what was sergei wittes idea?
sought to modernise russia
what was the “great spurt” and what was it caused by?
- an spurt in trade that gave russia more money
-increase in output of coal in ukraine and oil in caucasus
-mostly caused by private enterprise but sustained by deliberate government policy
when was sergei witte the minister of finance?
between 1892 and 1903
why was witte dismissed by N2
rumours about him being involved in jewish conspiricies to undermine the russian state (rumours in 1902)
why was witte recalled and what for?
-1905
-to assist in negotiating the war with japan(this left them militarily defeated but not really diplomatically humiliated)
how was witte involved in the the October manifesto?
he drafted it to leave the tsars power largely intact
when was witte dismissed altogether from the government?
1906
how did witte increase state capital?
-heavy taxes and high interest rates on homes
-limited the import of foreign goods
-set up protective tariffs to protect Russian young domestic industries
-put the rouble (russian currency) onto the gold standard
when was the rouble put under the gold standard?
1897
flaws of wittes methods of gaining capital?
-prices overall increased due to raised value of the rouble
-higher interest rates at home penalised people
when was the trans siberian railway made and how long did it stretch?
-1891-1902
-6000km from moscow to vladivostok
when was the trans siberian railway made and how long did it stretch?
-1891-1902
-6000km from moscow to vladivostok
how did the trans siberian railway fail?
-sections of it were still incomplete by 1914
-although there was a huge increase in foreign trade, the population increase meant the per capita decreased
what was the increase in production caused by the t-s railway?
-96.8%
-must be put in perspective as they were starting at an extremely backwards place
how did witte fail?
-made russia too dependant on foreign loans
-neglected certain vital areas of light engineering(machine tool production…)
-he was disliked by a lot of the government and made enemy’s easily
-there was no attention to the agricultural needs of the country
-the priority of the army interfered with his plans
what happened after the great spurt?
-economic recession
-this was amplified by the increased population
how many agents were in the okhrana?
2500
what opposition parties had the okhrana infiltrated?
by 1905 they had infiltrated the social democrats and social revolutionary’s
who was sergei zubatov and what did he do?
-head of the moscow okhrana
-introduced “police socialism”
-he was sacked in 1903
what is police socialism?
-investigation of claims of abuse
-attempt to take control of emerging unions
-provided sick pay and unemployment benifit
what did the 1884 university statute do?
-banned clubs and societys
-encouraged study of traditional subjects
-forbade women from studying in higher education
by 1900 okhrana stats:
-records on 50000 people
-pictures of 20000 suspected rivals
