7.3 The era of the Dumas Flashcards

1
Q

What were the three main bodies that could veto legislation?

A
  • Lower chamber; State Duma
  • Upper chamber; State Council
  • Government; Council of Ministers under the PM
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2
Q

What power did the LOWER chamber have?

A
  • The State Duma’s members were elected through indirect voting by estates which was heavily weighted in favor of the nobility and peasants (Tsar’s allies)
  • Deputies were to be elected for a 5 year-term
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3
Q

What power did the UPPER chamber have?

A
  • The State council was half elected by the Zemstvo and half appointed by the Tsar
  • Noble representatives from the major social, religious, educational and financial institutions
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4
Q

What was indirect voting?

A

Indirect; voters do not choose between candidates for an office, but elect people who then choose. Russia was divided into districts and each elected a delegate to vote in the general election on their behalf

  • In Russia every man over 25 could vote

BUT only those with 400+ acres could vote directly

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5
Q

What was the social group weighting in Russian elections early 1900’s?

A

42% - peasants
31% - landowners
27% - towndwellers

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6
Q

What power did the GOVERNMENT have?

A
  • Council of Ministers under the PM was appointed by the Tsar
  • The government was responsible to the crown not the Duma
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7
Q

What were the fundamental laws (1906)?

+ Article 4

A

Nicholas II issued laws the reaffirmed his autocratic power. Total power from veto, declaring war, dissolution of Duma’s

+ Article 4 ‘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’

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8
Q

When were the fundamental laws created?

A

23rd April 1906 - 5 days before the Duma first met

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9
Q

How many duma’s were there between 1905 and 1917?

A

4

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10
Q

What was the Social Democratic Worker’s part (SD) Mensheviks and Bolsheviks?

A
  • Founded in 1898
  • Committed to Marxist
  • 1903 split Bolsheviks; led by Lenin; believed in discipline; centralisation; organisation; 1905 onwards favored peasant/proletariat alliance
  • Mensheviks; Led by Martov; co-operation with the bourgeoisie/liberals rather than peasants; use of legal channels of opposition
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11
Q

What did the Bolshevik’s believe in? (Leader+4)

A

Founded in 1903, led by Lenin

  • Believed in discipline
  • Centralisation
  • Organisation
  • 1905 onwards favored peasant/proletariat alliance
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12
Q

What did the Mensheviks believe in? (Leader+2)

A

Founded in 1903, led by Martov

  • Co-operation with the bourgeoisie/liberals rather than peasants
  • Use of legal channels of opposition
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13
Q

What were the Socialist Revolutionaries? (Founded+Leader+2)

A

Founded in 1901, led by Chernov

  • Favored populist ideas of redistribution of land and nationalisation
  • Left of party favored terrorism to achieve aims
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14
Q

What were the Kadets (Constitutional democrats)?

A

Founded in 1905, led by Milyukov

  • Central liberal party
  • Constitutional monarchy
  • Full civil rights
  • Legal settlements of workers’ disputes
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15
Q

What were the Octobrists (Union of October 17)?

A

Founded in 1905, led by many like Guchkov

  • Moderate conservative party that accepted the October manifesto
  • Opposed further concessions to workers
  • Supported by wealthy landowners and industrialists
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16
Q

What were the electoral results of the SECOND Duma?

A

National and religious groupings - 93

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17
Q

What were the electoral results of the THIRD Duma?

A

Octobrists - 154

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18
Q

What were the electoral results of the FOURTH Duma?

A

Rightists - 154

19
Q

When did the Octobrists Duma election results peak?

A

3 - 154,

20
Q

When did the Rightists Duma election results peak?

A

4 - 154, dramatic increase from 2-3

21
Q

When did the National and religious groupings Duma election results peak?

A

2 - 93, fell considerably after

22
Q

Who boycotted the First Duma (May-July 1906)?

+ What did this make clear?
+ How what percentage of new deputies were peasants?

A

Bolsheviks, SR’s and extreme Right Wing Union of the Russian people

+ Made clear that there was a very radical-liberal composition
+ 1/3

23
Q

What was the nickname given to the first Duma (May-July 1906)?

A

Duma of National Hope May-July 1906

24
Q

What was the FIRST duma’s (May-July 1906) opinion of the Tsar and what did this lead to?

A

‘Strongly critical’, lead to Witte’s resignation who was replaced by Goremykin (old-fashioned Conservative) in 1906

25
Q

What did the FIRST duma (May-July 1906) request? (8)

A
  • Political amnesty
  • Abolition of the state council
  • Transfer of ministerial power to the Duma
  • Seizure of gentry land without compensation
  • Universal and direct male suffrage
  • Abandonment of emergency laws
  • Abolition of death penalty
  • Civil service reform
26
Q

What was the Tsar’s reaction to the FIRST duma’s (May-July 1906) demands like political amnesty and abolition of the state council?

A

Nicholas ordered Goremykin (new PM who had replaced Witte) to inform the Duma that they were ‘totally inadmissable’

27
Q

What happened in the FIRST duma (May-July 1906) when the Tsar stated that their demands (like political amnesty and abolition of the state council) were totally inadmissable?

A

Passed a vote of no confidence and demanded the resignation of the Tsar’s ministers

  • 10 weeks later the Duma was dissolved and Goremykin was replaced as PM by Stolypin
28
Q

What was an example of public reaction to the failure of the demands of the FIRST duma (May-July 1906) ?

+ How did the government react?

A

200 delegated travelled to Finnish town Vyborg and issued a citizens appeal to refuse to pay taxes or do military duty

+ BUT authorities imprisoned leaders and disenfranchised those who signed the appeal

29
Q

What was the nickname of the SECOND Duma (Feb-June 1907)?

A

Duma of National Anger (Feb-June 1907)

30
Q

What did new PM Stolypin and the government try to achieve with the election results of the SECOND Duma (Feb-June 1907) and was is successful + why?

A
  • Tried to influence but they were not successful as the number of more extreme left-wing members increased as the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and SR’s decided to participate
31
Q

Was the SECOND Duma (Feb-June 1907) more or less oppositional than the FIRST Duma (May-July 1906)?

A

More oppositional

  • Refused to ratify some of Stolypin’s agricultural reforms so he had to rely upon the Tsar’s emergency powers whilst the Duma was not in session
32
Q

What did Stolypin do when the Duma refused to ratify some of his proposed reforms?

A

He spread a rumour about a plot to assassinate the Tsar. The Duma was dissolved. Stolypin introduced an emergency law to adjust the franchise in the favour of the gentry

33
Q

How co-operative was the 3rd Duma?

A

VERY 2200/2500 government proposals

BUT in 1911 was dissolved twice whilst the government passed legislation under emergency provisions

34
Q

Who replaced Stolypin after his assassination in 1911, what was his co-operation with Duma’s?

A

Vladimir Kokovtsov

  • “Thank God we still have no parliament”, simply ignored Duma’s
35
Q

Why did the Duma not oppose Vladimir Kokovtsov?

A

They were too divided to fight back

36
Q

What was the state of the autocracy by 1914?

+ Why?

A

It appeared like the autocracy had largely recovered since 1905

+ Stolypin had helped restore order in the countryside

BUT none of the issues raised in 1905 had been fully resolved. From 1912 labour troubles resumed

37
Q

What did Stolypin establish in 1906 to restore order?

A

Court Martials led by senior military officers to deal with crimes of political intent. Had to be resolved in 2 days, defendant not allowed a council and 24 max executions

  • 3k convicted and executed 1906-09
38
Q

Who won the FIRST duma?

A

National and religious groupings

39
Q

What did Alan Wood say about political power after 1905?

A

‘tragic drama; a revolution it was not. After 1905 there was no real devolution of political power… Ideological bedrock… Bruised but unbroken’

40
Q

Who aided to tarnish the reputation of the Tsarist royal family?

A

Rasputin - distanced from reality. This lost support from politicians and people that supported the Tsar

41
Q

Was Rasputin’s position a cause or a ‘symptom’ for the state of autocracy by 1914?

A

Symptom but it showed that whatever the 1905 revolution had achieve it had not changed the Tsar’s outlook

42
Q

What is Norman Davies perspective on the state of ‘late imperial Russia’?

A

There were ‘obvious defects’ but much of its ‘backwardness was masked by the glittering court of the Tsar’

Problem of minorities suppressed

43
Q

Who said that there were ‘obvious defects’ but much of Russia’s ‘backwardness was masked by the glittering court of the Tsar’ & that the problem of minorities had been suppressed?

A

Norman Davies

44
Q

What was Christopher Read’s perspective on the state of ‘late imperial Russia’?

A

‘No one at the time seriously believed the autocracy was liberalising… They showed signs of moving further towards military dictatorship’