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
how many new measures were made against jewish people
600
how did the tsar have complete power?
he was not constrained by any constitutional checks
parish clergy stats during N2s rule?
between 1894 and 1902 there was a 60% increase in parish clergy
examples of orthodoxy?
-increase in church schools
-orthodox missionary’s were sent away to establish new churches in the baltic states where protestantism was popular
how many pogroms were there between 1903-1904
49
population restrictions on jewish people
-couldn’t make up more than 10% of university’s
- and 3% of russsias major cities
examples of russification
- russian language as the official language in government
-promotion of russian culture in primary schools
-surpression of non russian cultures
-russian language universities set up
example of a russian language university
lur’eu uni in estonia
who were the black hundreds?
a group of highly conservative russian nationalists who were notorious for their attacks of jewish people
how many jewish people fled during the period of nationalisation?
5 million
who did the populists represent? and when were they formed
-the peasants
-1870s
what was going to the people? and effects
-educated populists would go and live among the peasantry to try to convince them to appose tsardom
-this wasn’t very effective as the peasantry thought of them as unrealistic
what was the people’s will? and number of members
-a populist terrorist group that assassinated alexander the second
-had 400 members
who was the social revolutionary’s leader and when did they form?
-victor chernov (became leader in 1901)
-1890s during the great spurt
what did the left SRs want and what did they cause?
-a more violent approach than the right
-2000 political deaths including the tsars uncle and interior minister
- they were initially more successful than the right party
what was the right SRs ideas and what did this cause?
- believed that revolution was the end goal but wanted to cooperate for the immediate improvement of the workers conditions
- they therefore achieved greater influence over the party policy after the 1905 revolution
what is revolutionary socialism?
immediate improvement of the lives of the peasants and proletariats but had the end goal of revolution
who did the social revolutionaries represent?
mostly peasantry as they were persuaded by the overthrow of the tsar and the redistribution of land
who were the leaders of the social democrats?
-George plakanov (1898-1900)
-Vladimir lenin (1900-1903)
who did the SDs represent?
the proletariats (lenin did not trust these people and wanted a professional revolution)
what did the SDs believe?
they believed in marxism and wanted to use the great spurt to start the “dictatorship of the proletariat”
what was wrong with george plekanov?
he wanted to make ally’s and this took too much time and people got bored with him
when was “what is to be done” written and what is it?
-1902
-an account of what Lenin thought should happen in terms of revolution
what caused the SD split?
disagreements over:
-approach on revolution(men wanted traditional marxism but bol thought they could combine the bourgeois and proletarian revolution)
-party members(men wanted everyone who was a revolutionary but bol wanted the elite revolutionary’s)
where was the Sd split?
1903 in brussels
what were the bolshevik’s methods?
-training schools for revolutionary’s that would then be sent back into russia to infiltrate trade unions
-terrorism to gain money for the party
what did a bolshevik gang do in georgia
set of a bomb in a post office to run off with a quarter of a million roubles, killing 20 people in the process
what was the bolshevik newspaper?
the pravda
who was the leader of the mensheviks?
Julius martov
how were the mensheviks different to the bolshevik’s?
- wanted to collaborate with other revolutionary parties
- wanted to improve the lives of the proletariat along side the revolution
- wanted a classic marxist revolution
who was the leader of the the union of liberation?
paul milyukov + peter struve
when was the union of liberation set up?
1904
what did the union of liberation detail in their program?
-to establish political liberation as completely incompatible with the absolute power of the tsar
-use of extensive democracy to resolve political issues
what was the union of liberations aim?
to collaborate with other political parties who wanted the destruction of the absolute power of the tsar
who were the leaders of the octoberists?
alexander guchkov and mikhail rodzianko
when did the octobrists form?
after the october manifesto in 1905
what did the octobrists want?
-the continuation of a “strong and authoritative regime”
-inclusion of improvements to the tsars rule
what did the revolutionary’s refer to the octobrists as
“bourgeois reactionary’s”
who were the leaders of the kadets?
paul milkukov
when were the kadets founded?
1905
what did the kadets want?
-a constitutional government where the tsars actions are checked by an assembly for permission
-equality among citizens
-end of censorship
-the end of redemption payments
-recognition of trade unions
when did the russo-japanese war start
1904
why did the Russians want the russo japanese war?
-to persue an expansionist policy in the far east to make up for what russia saw as its relative decline in the europe
-to obtain an ice free port as most of its ports for trade froze over during the winter
-to distract russia from its domestic issues
why did the russians want the R-J war
1) to peruse an expansionist policy in the far east to make up for what it saw as failure in europe
2)to obtain an ice free port that didn’t freeze over during the winter
3) to distract russia from its domestic problems
what did internal minister pleuve say?
“we need a small victorious war to avert revolution”
(this was likely deliberately taken out of context by witte as he wanted russian expansion and this made conflict with japan likely )
how did the russo japanese war start?
russia rejected proposals to settle their rivalry over the settlement of Korea and Manchuria and then japan attacked the fleet that russia had in port arthur in 1904
who was the emperor that japan had undergone major reform? how had this affected the Russians?
-Emperor Meiji (1869-1914)
-they had deeply underestimated the country that they were going to war with which became a part of their failure
examples of russian humiliation during the RJ war?
-by 1905 port arthur had fallen to japan after a siege and then in the following month japan had seized the key town mukden in manchuria
-russian-baltic fleet took 8 months to arrive at japan only for it to be blown up as soon as it arrived and before it had any chance to fight
what happened as a result of the RJ war?
-russia was forced to withdraw its forces in manchuria
-accept japanese control over korea and port arthur
Why did russia lose the RJ?
1)the commanders were incompetent (🙄)
2)they had an extremely unimaginative strategy
3)the distance that they had to travel and transport goods was long and the TS railway was still incomplete
what happened on bloody sunday?
-father gapon lead a group of workers to winter palace in peaceful protest to ask for better working and living conditions
-N2 who was not there ordered his army to clear the crowds
-when the crowds refused to move the forces open fired at the unarmed crowds
léo Tolstoy 1828-1910?
who was he and what did he do?
-a russian philosopher and novelist
-published 1902 “open address to Nicholas II” detailing the unrest of the country and how this would lead to “general dissatisfaction of all classes with the government and their open hostility against it”
what was the reaction to Bloody sunday?
-opposition from the peasantry, workers and reforming middle class
-people initially just wanted the tsar to fix the economic problems but his reaction to bloody sunday lead to attacks to his power
how many people died at the bloody sunday event?
-200ish as different accounts say different numbers (russian parliament estimated a lot lower)
what day was the Bloody Sunday?
9th January 1905
how do we know that Bloody Sunday was meant to be peaceful protest?
the workers were carrying posters of the tsar and the phrase “little father” (the idea that the tsar is a paternal figure meant to look after the people) was seen on many of them
what did father gapon say during the massacre?
“there is no god any longer. There is no tsar”
what was the life of Gapon like?
-1903 he founded the assembly of Russian workers
-suspicians that he was an okhrana double agent as although he showed signs of genuine sympathy towards the workers he often betrayed them and reported them to the authorities
-after bloody sunday he went to geneva and joined a group of sds where he met lenin and he informed him about a lot of the working classes conditions
-when he returned to russia in 1906 claiming that he nolonger believed in revolution he was assassinated by okhrana agents
what happened after bloody sunday?
-strikes, terrorism and general disorder across the country mostly organised by the srs
-georgia declared itself as an independent state, poland demanded autonomy and jewish people pushed for equal rights
-the union of liberation would call for a union of unions which would become the kadet party
what and when was the potemkin mutiny?
-the summer of 1905
-the crew of the potemkin mutinied while at sea in response to having to eat poor food and drink
-the crew then docked in odessa where an anti government strike was going on and they honoured the crew and placed the body of their leader (peter vakulenchuck) on a platform and surrounded it with flowers
-then after a massacre caused by authority’s trampling the strikers towards the sea the crew left for costanza where they were forced to surrender
what was wittes role in the 1905 revolution?
-in june 1905 he was turned to to negotiate peace with the japanese
-he stated that the government was “a mixture of cowardice, blindness and stupidity”
-he convinced the tsar to pass the august manifesto which was a failure
-he then convinced him to issue the october manifesto which issued more reforms
what did the august manifesto detail and why did it fail?
-to create a state of elected representatives of the 51 provinces that would start sitting in January 1906
-however the tsar stated that he wanted to reserve the right to “perfect” the council which showed that he had no intention to limit his power at all
-this caused further strikes in the universities in st Petersburg and Moscow
how has things progressed by october?
-the strikes became general
-in st petersburg and Moscow the workers formed into soviets which organised strikes
-leon trotsky became the chairman of the st petersburg soviet
-this forced the government into the october manifesto
what did the october manifesto state?
-a duma was created and no laws could be passed w/o their approval
-range of civil rights: freedom of speech, assembly, worship and the legalising of trade unions
-mortgage repayments were to be reduced and then abolished
effects of the october manifesto?
-the liberal parties were happy
-revolutionary’s were not happy and faced suppression with the closing down of the soviets in st petersburg
what was the moscow uprising
-7th september 1905
- a group of mensheviks, bolshevik’s and srs came together to make a strike but the regiments that delt with the st petersburg soviet were rushed to the scene
- lenin who had not been in moscow at the time arrived to see the soviet in flames and the death of 1000+ people
what was shocking about the 1905 revolution?
-the revolutionary parties played an extremely insignificant role in the revolution
-the liberals didn’t actually want loads of change and were scared of the proletariat and were satisfied with the minute reform due to the october manifesto
what was the significance of the railway advancement
-“facilitated and speeded the transmission of news”
-allowed for urban population to grow as it doubled between 1867 to 1897
-allowed for more trade such as the factory town Iuzouka made by john hughes
how were the railways insignificant ?
-they were incredibly inefficient
-areas of the TS railways were still incomplete in 1914
-radical ideas still couldn’t spread until 1905 when censorship collapsed
-railways built in 1860/1870 were privately organised and therefore there was a lack of attention put into them as the government prioritised other things
issues faced by migrants moving to more industrial areas
-overcrowding (10 people to one room)
-inadequate drainage, sewerage facilities, transport
-diseases such as typhus, cholera and syphilis
-prostitution
what was strip farming and what did it cause?
land had to be shared equally among peasants and so they used strip farming, this was highly inefficient- this created tensions
what were the years of the red cockerel
-1903-4
-when peasants seized a great deal of land from the countryside and caused chaos
what was the zemstvo movement
-the origin of liberal ideas after the reforms of 1964
what was the response to further rioting in the countryside after 1905?
15000 people were executed in response to this violence and the hang man’s rope was nicknamed stolypins necktie
how did N2 get the name “Nicholas the bloody”
he praised a group for killing 1200 minorities and supported the black hundreds
