7.3 The era of the Dumas Flashcards
What were the three main bodies that could veto legislation?
- Lower chamber; State Duma
- Upper chamber; State Council
- Government; Council of Ministers under the PM
What power did the LOWER chamber have?
- 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
What power did the UPPER chamber have?
- 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
What was indirect voting?
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
What was the social group weighting in Russian elections early 1900’s?
42% - peasants
31% - landowners
27% - towndwellers
What power did the GOVERNMENT have?
- Council of Ministers under the PM was appointed by the Tsar
- The government was responsible to the crown not the Duma
What were the fundamental laws (1906)?
+ Article 4
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’
When were the fundamental laws created?
23rd April 1906 - 5 days before the Duma first met
How many duma’s were there between 1905 and 1917?
4
What was the Social Democratic Worker’s part (SD) Mensheviks and Bolsheviks?
- 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
What did the Bolshevik’s believe in? (Leader+4)
Founded in 1903, led by Lenin
- Believed in discipline
- Centralisation
- Organisation
- 1905 onwards favored peasant/proletariat alliance
What did the Mensheviks believe in? (Leader+2)
Founded in 1903, led by Martov
- Co-operation with the bourgeoisie/liberals rather than peasants
- Use of legal channels of opposition
What were the Socialist Revolutionaries? (Founded+Leader+2)
Founded in 1901, led by Chernov
- Favored populist ideas of redistribution of land and nationalisation
- Left of party favored terrorism to achieve aims
What were the Kadets (Constitutional democrats)?
Founded in 1905, led by Milyukov
- Central liberal party
- Constitutional monarchy
- Full civil rights
- Legal settlements of workers’ disputes
What were the Octobrists (Union of October 17)?
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
What were the electoral results of the SECOND Duma?
National and religious groupings - 93
What were the electoral results of the THIRD Duma?
Octobrists - 154
What were the electoral results of the FOURTH Duma?
Rightists - 154
When did the Octobrists Duma election results peak?
3 - 154,
When did the Rightists Duma election results peak?
4 - 154, dramatic increase from 2-3
When did the National and religious groupings Duma election results peak?
2 - 93, fell considerably after
Who boycotted the First Duma (May-July 1906)?
+ What did this make clear?
+ How what percentage of new deputies were peasants?
Bolsheviks, SR’s and extreme Right Wing Union of the Russian people
+ Made clear that there was a very radical-liberal composition
+ 1/3
What was the nickname given to the first Duma (May-July 1906)?
Duma of National Hope May-July 1906
What was the FIRST duma’s (May-July 1906) opinion of the Tsar and what did this lead to?
‘Strongly critical’, lead to Witte’s resignation who was replaced by Goremykin (old-fashioned Conservative) in 1906
What did the FIRST duma (May-July 1906) request? (8)
- 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
What was the Tsar’s reaction to the FIRST duma’s (May-July 1906) demands like political amnesty and abolition of the state council?
Nicholas ordered Goremykin (new PM who had replaced Witte) to inform the Duma that they were ‘totally inadmissable’
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?
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
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?
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
What was the nickname of the SECOND Duma (Feb-June 1907)?
Duma of National Anger (Feb-June 1907)
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?
- 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
Was the SECOND Duma (Feb-June 1907) more or less oppositional than the FIRST Duma (May-July 1906)?
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
What did Stolypin do when the Duma refused to ratify some of his proposed reforms?
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
How co-operative was the 3rd Duma?
VERY 2200/2500 government proposals
BUT in 1911 was dissolved twice whilst the government passed legislation under emergency provisions
Who replaced Stolypin after his assassination in 1911, what was his co-operation with Duma’s?
Vladimir Kokovtsov
- “Thank God we still have no parliament”, simply ignored Duma’s
Why did the Duma not oppose Vladimir Kokovtsov?
They were too divided to fight back
What was the state of the autocracy by 1914?
+ Why?
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
What did Stolypin establish in 1906 to restore order?
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
Who won the FIRST duma?
National and religious groupings
What did Alan Wood say about political power after 1905?
‘tragic drama; a revolution it was not. After 1905 there was no real devolution of political power… Ideological bedrock… Bruised but unbroken’
Who aided to tarnish the reputation of the Tsarist royal family?
Rasputin - distanced from reality. This lost support from politicians and people that supported the Tsar
Was Rasputin’s position a cause or a ‘symptom’ for the state of autocracy by 1914?
Symptom but it showed that whatever the 1905 revolution had achieve it had not changed the Tsar’s outlook
What is Norman Davies perspective on the state of ‘late imperial Russia’?
There were ‘obvious defects’ but much of its ‘backwardness was masked by the glittering court of the Tsar’
Problem of minorities suppressed
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?
Norman Davies
What was Christopher Read’s perspective on the state of ‘late imperial Russia’?
‘No one at the time seriously believed the autocracy was liberalising… They showed signs of moving further towards military dictatorship’
