2.7 Nicholas II and the challenge to autocracy Flashcards
Disaster at Khodynka Field
May 1896, coronation of Nicholas II - around 1400 trampled
what event had politicised Russia?
Great Famine 1891-1892 - failure of central government to cope - zemstva and voluntary organisations provided necessary relief work
1901, use of force against students
squadron of mounted Cossacks charged into crowd of students, killing 13 + in aftermath, 1500 imprisoned in Peter and Paul fortress
what were the years 1902 to 1907 known as
‘the years of the red cockerel’ - the many instances of arson in rural communities
where was the unrest of the years of the red cockerel the worst
in the central Russian provinces (where landlord/peasant relation most traditional), but also spread into Georgia, the Ukraine, Poland
Who was the Tsar’s minister who dealt with the years of the red cockerel? how?
Pyotr Stolypin
flogged, arrested, exiled, shot peasants in their thousands
gallows - ‘stolypin’s necktie’
industrial strikes in 1894 to in 1904
1894: 17,000
1904: 90,000
what did the Moscow chief of the Okhrana do to control illegal trade unions?
Zubatov - 1900, began organising own police-sponsored trade unions - to provide official channels for complaints
1903 - Zubatov exiled after one of unions joined a general strike in Odessa
what trade union was created along the Zubatov model in 1904? who led it?
Assembly of St Petersburg Factory Workers, in 1904, by Father Georgi Gapon - soon had 12 branches + 8000 members
what did Russia do in January 1904
respond to japanese assault on Russian far eastern naval base at Port Arthur - Plehve: ‘short swift victorious war’
beginning of Russo-Japanese War
end of Russo-Japanese War?
20 December 1904, Russian forces at Port Arthur surrendered to the Japanese - humiliation added to growing discontent
when was Plehve assassinated, what happened
July 1904, crowds in Warsaw turned out to celebrate on streets
renewed cries for representative National Assembly (Duma) - Plehve’s replacement Mirsky agreed to have talks with zemstvo representatives. Nicholas refused to give away his god-given rights - only allowed expansion of zemstva rights
when was Bloody Sunday
9 January 1905
what led up to Bloody Sunday
3 January 1905 - strike began at Putilov Iron Works at St Petersburg + soon involved 15,000.
Father Gapon decided to conduct peaceful march to Winter Palace Sunday 9 January.
how many troops were used to break up the protests on 9 january 1905
12,000 - bloody sunday
mutiny on Battleship Potëmkin
Over mouldy meat ration, 7 officers killed, Odessa townsfolk arriving to show solidarity with sailors - fired upon, more than 2000 killed, 3000 wounded
What organisation was set up to direct a General Strike in October 1905
St Petersburg Soviet - dominated by radical revolutionaries
who was the Chairman of the Tsar’s Council of Ministers? What did he warn?
Sergei Witte - warned that the country was on verge of revolution that would ‘sweep away a thousand years of history’
(also Tsars uncle repeatedly threatened to shoot himself if there weren’t reforms)
When did the tsar finally agree to sign a decree promising constitutional reform? what was it called?
17 October, the ‘October Manifesto’
what did the October Manifesto promise?
- to grant civic freedom (conscience, speech, assembly, union)
- to establish a state Duma (allowing a voice to all classes of the population)
- to give state Duma power to approve laws
what did Trepov order troops, in contrast with the October Manifesto’s promise of ‘full civil rights’?
to ‘fire no blanks and spare no bullets’ in forcing striking workers back to factories
how did the Jews and peasants suffer in the final months of 1905?
Jews suffered in terrible pogroms
gangs sent to round up/flog the peasants to restore order
What happened on 3 December to HQ of St Petersburg Soviet?
surrounded, leaders arrested + exiled to Siberia
What institutions were created in the new constitutional arrangement?
Lower Chamber (The State Duma)
Upper Chamber (The State Council)
Government (Council of Ministers under the Prime Minister)
how was The State Duma elected in?
members elected under a system of indirect voting by estates - heavily weighted in favour of nobility + peasants (assumed as crown’s natural allies)
how was The State Council elected in?
half elected by zemstva, half appointed by the Tsar - noble representatives from major institutions
how was the Council of Ministers appointed?
appointed exclusively by the Tsar - government responsible to the Crown, not the Duma
How did the system of indirect voting work?
every man over 25 could vote, but only those with more than 400 acres could vote directly - other groups had indirect vote. Country divided into districts, each elected delegate to vote on their behalf.
how was the vote weighted, as a result of the indirect voting system?
31% landowners
42% peasants
27% town dwellers
When did Nicholas the Fundamental Laws
23 April 1906, 5 days before the Duma first met
What did Article 4 of the Fundamental Laws state?
‘It is ordained by God himself that the Tsar’s authority should be submitted to, not only out of fear but out of a genuine sense of duty’
What did the Tsar claim the right to through the Fundamental Laws?
the right to:
- veto legislation
- rule by decree in emergency/ when Duma not in session
- appoint and dismiss government ministers
- dissolve Duma as he wished
- command Russia’s land and sea forces
- declare war, negotiate treaties + control all foreign relations
- control military and household expenditure
- overturn verdicts + sentences given in court of law
- control Orthodox Church
Social Democratic Party (SD) - ideology, factions
Committed to Marxism, split into Bolsheviks: led by Lenin, Mensheviks: led by Julius Martov
Ideology of Bolsheviks
Believed in discipline, centralisation, organisation + role of proletariat under party guidance. From 1905 favoured peasant/ proletariat alliance.
Ideology of Mensheviks
Believed in cooperation with bourgeoisie/ liberals rather than peasantry. Believed in use of legal channels of opposition
Main beliefs of Socialist Revolutionaries
Favoured populist ideas of redistribution of land and nationalisation. Left of party favoured terrorism.
Main beliefs of Trudoviks
Non-revolutionary breakaway from SRs - moderate liberal views - supported by peasants and intelligentsia
Main beliefs of Kadets
Central liberal party - favoured constitutional monarchy w/ parliamentary government - full civil rights
Main beliefs of Octobrists
Moderate conservative party - accepted October Manifesto - opposed further concessions to workers or peasants - supported by wealthy landowners + industrialists
Main beliefs of Rightists
Included Union of Russian People - extremely right wing - monarchism, chauvinism, Orthodoxy, Pan-Slavism, anti-Semitism.
Promoted violent attacks on left through street fighting gangs, the ‘Black Hundreds’
When was the First Duma?
May- July 1906
The first Duma - composition, standpoint?
- boycotted by Bolsheviks, SRs and extreme right wing Union of the Russian People - therefore overwhelmingly radical-liberal - 1/3 of new deputies from peasantry
- strongly critical of Tsar + ministers (brought about Witte’s resignation - replaced by Ivan Goremykin)
What was the name of the demands the First Duma passed?
‘address to the throne’
What did the First Duma request within it’s ‘address to the throne’?
- political amnesty
- abolition of the State Council
- transfer of ministerial responsibility to the Duma
- compulsory seizure of lands of gentry w/o compensation
- universal and direct male suffrage
- abandonment of the emergency laws
- abolition of the death penalty
- reform of civil service
How did Nicholas react to the ‘address to the throne’? How did the Duma react in turn?
Nicholas: demands ‘totally inadmissible’
Duma then passed a vote of no confidence in the gov + demanded resignation of the ministers
10 weeks later, Duma dissolved + Goremykin replaced as PM by Pyotr Stolypin (even more ‘hard line’)
When was the Second Duma?
February - June 1907
The Second Duma - composition, standpoint
(despite Stolypin’s government trying to influence elections)
the number of extreme left wing ^ enormously, as Bols, Mens, + SR participated - even more oppositional than First Duma
Relationship between Second Duma and Stolypin’s government
Stolypin struggled to find any support for his agrarian reform programme. He resorted to passing legislation under emergency powers when Duma not in session. Duma refused to ratify these - spread story of plot to assassinate Tsar, dissolved Duma, exiled the more radical
What did Stolypin do after he dissolved the Second Duma?
He introduced an (illegal) emergency law to alter franchise - weight of peasants, workers + national minorities drastically decreased, weight of gentry ^
When was the Third Duma?
November 1907 - June 1912
The Third Duma - composition, standpoint
Stolypin’s altering of the Franchise produced a more submissive Duma - agreed to 2200 of approximately 2500 government proposals.
What was the Third Duma called?
Duma of Lords and Lackeys
How many government proposals did the Third Duma agree to?
2200 of approximately 2500 government proposals
What was a sign of how unpopular the tsarist regime had become in the Third Duma?
Even Third Duma proved confrontational - disputes over: naval staff, proposals to extend primary education, local government reform.
In 1911, Duma had to be suspended twice while the government forced through legislation under emergency powers
How many times was the Third Duma suspended in 1911? Why?
twice in 1911, while the government passed legislation under emergency powers
When was Stolypin assassinated? Who replaced him?
1911, replaced by Count Kokovstov
When was the Fourth Duma?
November 1912-17
Relationship between the government and the Fourth Duma?
Fourth Duma a relatively docile body, + New Prime Minister Kokovstov simply ignored Duma, and its influence declined. It was too divided to fight back, and in any case workers were beginning to take direct action.
In 1906, what did Stolypin establish in order to deal with political crimes?
Aug 1906 - Stolypin established court martials led by senior military officers to deal with crime deemed to have political intent.
How did Stolypin’s Court Martials work? How many people were convicted and executed by this system between 1906 and 1909?
all cases had to be concluded within 2 days, the accused was not allowed a defence counsel, while death sentences were carried out within 24 hours.
Over 3000 people were executed through these courts between 1906 and 1909.
What did Stolypin believe? How did this work?
Combined intolerance and ruthlessness with radical reform of agriculture - best strategy for resisting revolutionary demands.
By 1914, agrarian siutation improving + Dumas totally weakened. Revolutionary groups much weakened - police activity and internal quarrels.
What caused labour troubles to resurface once again in 1912?
None of issues sparking 1905 revolution had been fully resolved + regime simply turned its back - believed it could continue as it always had
