3. The last years of peace Flashcards
What occurred within the workers from 1906 to 1914?
Unionisation increased, with sporadic strikes from 1906 to 1911 and then a significant increase in strikes from 1912 to 1914.
What caused the strike that led to Lena Goldfields massacre in April 1912?
The Lena Goldfields were located in Siberia and controlled by the Lenzoloto Mining Company, who provided their workers with housing and food of an extremely low quality. Also, the working day was around 11.5 hours depending on the season. The trigger for the strike was when the workers were served rotten horse meat in the canteen. The workers drew up a list of demands which included:
. An 8 hour day
. Sick pay
. A 30% wage increase
. Paid overtime
. Better quality food
. Respect from company officials
The workers were refused by the Lenzoloto Mining Company.
How and why did the Lena Goldfields massacre occur?
The leaders of the miners were politically moderate and wanted to reach a compromise rather than resort to violence, but the mine’s management asked the police and the army to break up the strike. Initially, the leaders were arrested which triggered a protest march by the miners, the army responded by opening fire - killing 172.
What were the consequences of the Lena Goldfields massacre?
The massacre did not lead to an improvement of conditions in the Lena Goldfields - the Lenzoloto Mining Company couldn’t find Russians to hire so used Chinese and Korean workers instead.
The Russian press, the Kadets and the Octoberists condemned the massacre. It became a turning point in the Russian union movement, the movement became more assertive and the number of workers on strike increased from 750,000 in 1912 to 1,450,000 in 1914.
What were the opinions on the exact nature of the Tsarist Gov by 1914?
The Octoberists claimed that the Tsar was now part of a constitutional government while Socialists disagreed, believing that Russia was still an autocracy.
What evidence is there that Russia was still an autocracy in 1914?
The powers of the Duma were minimal and Stolypin’s state of emergency allowed Nicholas to ignore individual rights. Some believed that Russia was a partial democracy, with the Duma’s power of scrutiny and the emergence of free press meaning the Tsar no longer had total freedom of action.
What evidence is there that Russia was a growing democracy in 1914?
There was largely free press in Russia and the emergence of trade unions and political parties led to the development of a civil society.
Also, the later Dumas were able to scrutinise the Tsar’s gov:
. Members were allowed to question ministers and expose problems in the gov.
. Duma committees monitored key areas of gov policy e.g the Third Duma’s implementation of a military committee in 1907 which lead to changes in military spending policy in 1911.
