Autocracy And Modernisation Flashcards
Describe autocracy
Tsar has unlimited power and he wasn’t constrained by the rule of law he was a father to his subjects and was appointed by God
Who is konstantin pobedonostsev?
An influential tutor to both Alexander III and Nicholas II
What was pobedonostsev like?
Instrumental in driving repressive measures
Encourages Russification
Deeply anti Semitic
Total believer in autocracy
What was the orthodox church’s job?
Support the tsar
Get messages to peasants
Church a prop for autocracy
What are the weaknesses of the tsarist state?
Tsar was the centre (weak tsar = weak govt)
Inefficient- ministers and departments didn’t work together
Ministries fought each other
Incompetence at top of system
Operation of govt kept secret from officials who carried it out
Elements in govt conspire against each other
Describe bureaucrats
Bribe taking common
More interested in getting to higher ranks and salaries than the public good
What was Alexander IIIs 13 years of rule like?
Peaceful and stable
Describe Alexander III
Broad shouldered and powerfully built
Impression of authority
Devoted to his family
Military training
Why did Alexander III reject his fathers reforms?
They and the western ideas that inspired them led to his fathers assassination
Name six of A IIIs counter reforms
Emergency measures Control (police) Education Local government (zemstva) Legal Repression
When were the emergency measures?
1881
Statue of state security
What were the emergency measures?
Have govt power to: Prohibit gatherings of more than 12 people Prosecute anyone Introduce emergence police rule Special courts outside legal system Close schools, unis and newspapers -initiated period of repression
When were the okhrana established?
1881
What did a decree in March 1882 allow the police to do?
Declare any citizen subject to surveillance
What did the counter reforms for control do?
Land captains created - could overrule district courts
Censorship tightened
Okhrana
What are the three main principles for the tsarist regime?
Autocracy
Orthodoxy
Nationality
What were the education counter reforms of AIII?
1884 uni statute brought in strict controls on unis, reducing autonomy and student freedom
Uni staff appointed by m o e
No women uni courses
Church controls primary schools
Secondary schools fees raised to exclude lower classes
When was the zemstva act?
1890
What was the zemstva act?
Reduced independence of zemstva
M o I controls them
Electoral system changed to favour landowners
Peasant representation reduced
When was the municipal government act?
1892
What was the municipal government act?
Number of people eligible to vote in elections cut drastically
In Moscow and St Petersburg only 0.7% of population could vote
What are the two counter reforms of AIII in local government?
1890 zemstva act
1892 municipal government act
What were the counter reforms in the legal system under AIII?
M o j could order a trial to be held in private
Crimes against state could be tried without jury
Judges appointed directly from m o j
Justices of peace abolished and land captains replace them
What repressiveness followed the assassination of A II in 1881?
Nationwide police offensive 10 000 arrests Crackdown on anyone associated with revolutionary activities Okhrana Mail was read Thousands arrested and sent into exile
What happened to revolutionary groups when A III reigned?
Peoples will greatly weakened and never recovered
Violence kept under control but more plots discovered by okhrana
1887 Alexander Ulyanov (Lenin bro) hung with four others for assassination plot
What were AIIIs more progressive policies?
Economic development - supported finance minsters into creating industrial spurt
What are the three finance minsters that worked under AIII?
Bunge
Vyshnegradsky
Wire
When did bunge abolish poll tax and lower redemption payments?
1883-87
What did vyshnegradsky do that nullified bunges abolition of poll tax?
Increased indirect taxes so the overall tax burden on the peasants wasn’t changed
When was the peasants land bank set up?
1883 (bunge)
When was the nobles land bank set up?
1885 (bunge)
What measures were taken to improve workers lives?
Restrict child labour Limit working hours for women at night Reduce fines Factory inspectorate But these had limited effect
How much of the population of the Russian empire were actually Russian?
Around half (55.6 million)
What did the government come across as a result of the civil disobedience of the ethnic groups in Russia?
Russification
What did pobedonostsev believe about Russification?
Orthodox Church was at the centre
All citizens of the empire become orthodox Christians
Non orthodox subjects are disloyal
What did Russification mean for nationalities?
Had to adopt Russian language, culture sitcoms and religion
Lose national identity
What happened under Russification?
Russian language used in schools lawcourts and regional government
Russians got the important jobs in government and state sponsored industry
How did the nationalities react to Russification?
Infuriated them fundamental attack on their way of life and heritage unfair policy and discrimination
Drove many to revolution
what did the poles do in 1863
Attacked the regime it was put down by the government and rebels were exiled to Siberia
Who were one of the first national group to take advantage of the 1905 revolution
The polish because of Russification
What group is the second largest ethnic group in Russia
Ukraine
What happened to the Jews in Russification
Forced to live in pale of settlement and faced prejudice and persecution with restrictions on their way of life poverty
Pogroms
Name seven rules and band imposed on Jews
Can’t own property
Couldn’t appeal against the court sentence
Couldn’t live outside the pale or would be deported
Can’t work in legal militarily or medical profession
Restricted uni and school entry
denied vote
Rights to trade and sell products restricted
The pogrom’s against the Jews
Armed groups break into Jewish homes destroyed property murder local authorities turned a blind eye or were involved Ministry of interior backed and planned programs
What was the result of all of the repression on the Jews
Many joint revolutionary groups or emigrated to the USA and Western Europe
When and why did Alexander the third die
First of November 1984 of kidney complaint
What did industry take the form of at the beginning of the 1860s
State run factories manufacturing military goods
domestic craft based industry and workshops making materials for the local domestic market
What were the only privately funded industries in the 1860s
Sugar and textiles industry
That was 90% of the domestic demand for cotton produced
Petersburg
What is the number of miles of railway track increase from to between 1866 and 1881
3000 miles to 13,270 miles
When did Alexander the third invite John Hughes to come to Russia to demonstrate iron and steel methods
1868
What did John Hughes do in Russia
Set up the new Russia company limited in the Donbass with the capital of £300,000 called use of called yuzovka
What was the largest steelworks in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century
The new Russia company limited (Welsh company)
What is wittes program for industrial growth
State-sponsored development of heavy industry
Foreign loans investment and expertise
Hi tariffs on foreign goods
Raised tax , grain exports
When was sergei witte finance minister from and to
1892 to 1903
Give an example of the higher tariffs to protect the development of Russian industry
By 1891 the duty on the materials had risen to 30% of the value allowing Iron industry to develop supplies of coal and iron
What was good about all the railway development
Can access more distant areas for new oilfields and food and grain supplied to cities and required coal and steel so stimulated the industries
How much of all Iron and steel was consumed by the railways by the end of the 1890s
60%
How many locomotives were built in Russia
4/5
When was there a railway boom
1890s
By 1899 how much of the railways did the state control
70%
How did witte achieve the railway boom
Invested state money directly into the railways and heavy industry
What was the problem with all of the state sponsorship
Date to have enough money so witte had to negotiate huge loans from the French and foreign investors
By 1900s how much of the capital in Russian companies have been invested by foreigners
One third
What did high tariffs on foreign industrial goods mean
Companies in Russia bought home produced iron steel and other products
What did the adoption of gold standard mean
Change rates for the ruble fixed against other gold backed currencies so that was security for the foreign investors
By 1910 how much of the state revenue was from vodka sales
A Quarter
What did wits raising of indirect taxes on every day items mean
Peasants have to sell more grain to afford taxes so witte could increase grain exports to sell a broad
What happened to the industry between 1890 and 1900
I am still production rose from 9 to 76,000,000 poods a year
Coal output tripled
Cotton cloth production increased by 2/3s
What happened in 1899 to put a sudden stop to expansion
International recession
In the Donbass region by 1903 how many of the blast furnace is working
23/35
What Did the recession cause
Slump in the oil industry
Witte lost the tsars support
Small firms closed
raw materials output decreased
Give some criticisms of Wittes policies
Interest rates to service foreign debt very high
Prioritised heavy industry over light industry
Neglected agriculture
Prioritised industrial development over welfare
Failed to create a consumer market - high tariffs on foreign goods = difficult for people to buy
By 1900 how much of the budget was used to pay for foreign debt?
20% - 10 times the amount spent on education
When was witte promoted to the minister of finance?
1893
Why was witte unpopular with the royal court and High ranking government officials?
He was an outsider and a difficult personality to deal with - ill mannered, quarrelsome, boastful
What were wittes good personality properties?
Energetic, highly organised, intellectually towers above most,
What did witte do to the finance industry?
Made it all powerful with a budget several times that of the ministry of the interior - close relationship with okhrana
When was witte dismissed because Nicholas 11 had lost faith in him?
1903
What did witte believe?
Firm supporter of autocracy but beloved constitutional reform was necessary to modernise Russia
What did witte do in 1905?
Negotiate peace settlement to end Russo-Japanese war and then made PM
When did witte resign from PM?
1906 when he discovered Nicholas wasn’t going to honour the October manifesto he persuaded him to sign
When did industry begin to expand again?
After 1908
Why did industry begin to expand again after 1908?
Governments rearmament programme - rebuild Baltic fleet after losses in Russo Japanese war
What rate did industrial production grow by from 1908 until 1914?
6% per annum (high because it started from a low base)
By 1914 what was Russia in industrial terms?
Fourth largest producer of coal, pig iron and steel
Worlds fifth largest industrial power
What Russian aircraft designer designed the largest aircraft in the world with four engines?
Igor Sikorsky - shows tech development up to date in Russia
By 1909-11 what was three times greater than foreign investment?
Domestic investment
How many joint stock companies were started by Russian entrepreneurs leading up to 1913?
774
What did the focus on military requirements mean,
Industry couldn’t meet the demand for agriculture tools and machinery
What supplied a disproportionate amount of total industrial production?
Food processing 50%
How many industrial workers worked in small scale workshops and what per cent of total industrial output were they?
67%
33% - productivity low
In 1913 what was Russia’s per capita income compared to rest of world?
1/10th USA
1/5th UK
What was agriculture like 1860-1880?
Still farmed usin three strip field system
Peasants had to rent land to supplement own strips
When was the peasants land bank created and what did this mean?
1883 - peasants could now but and sell land
Between 1877 and 1905 the amount of land owned by peasants grew from what to what?
6 million to 21.6 million hectares
By 1905 how much landlord land had passed to the peasantry?
27%
By 1913 how much arable land did the peasants own?
66%
How much did grain grow by 1883-1914?
2.1% per annum
Despite this growth what are the signs of agricultural crisis?
Backwards agricultural methods
Huge increase in pop created pressure on the land
Where were thee huge sugar beet farms?
Western Ukraine
Where was agriculture doing best?
Outside the central area
What crop production grew by 43% 1880-1913?
Potatoes
What are the new methods in agriculture being used?
New crops (potatoes) , new fertilisers , iron instead of wooden ploughs
What prompted the government to look more closely at agriculture?
1891-92 famine
What was the government concerned about about the peasants?
Peasant disturbances of early twentieth century (1905-6)
When did Peter stolypin become PM?
1906
What did stolypin believe was the key to political stability?
Peasant prosperity
What did stolypin said reforms 1906-11 aim to do?
Allow peasants to leave Mir and consolidate strips into a single unit
Reduce Mir power
Redistribute some noble land
Larger more efficient farms
What did stolypin think making peasants independent property owners wit full civil rights would do?
Give a stake in the country and lead them into supporting the regime
What was the split in the peasantry to stolypin a reforms?
Relished chance to escape Mir
Saw those who left as traitors to peasant tradition
How many households had set up farms seperate to the commune by 1914?
Only 10%
When did Russia become the largest cereal exporter in the world?
1914
What did investment of agricultural machinery rise by 1891-1913?
9% per annum
What did over concentration on grain production lead to?
Failure of livestock to keep pace with population increase
Wha was still common use in agriculture by 1914?
Still 3 strip field system and wooden ploughs
What did major Russian cities have by 1914?
Electric street lighting, cinemas theatres and opera
What was the population increase 1897-1914?
128million -178 million
80% peasants
What did te population in St P do 1863-1914?
Quadrupled to 2.2mill
How much of the pop of St P in 1890 was born outside the city?
Over 2/3rds
How much of the total pop were urban workers in 1900?
2.5%
What shows interaction between town and countryside in 1907?
Half of Moscow printers kept farms in home villages and 90% sent money back to village
What were working and living conditions like for workers?
Over 11 hours a day Accidents common Wages low Living conditions dirty and unsanitary Typhus smallpox and cholera in St p 1/3rd deaths caused by infectious disease
What did Marxist groups do to generate a sense of community for workers?
Invited them to reason circles, talks and social events
In 1897 what per cent of workers could read?
57%
What prompted workers action in 1905 revolution?
Government nit addressing demands over working lives and bad conditions - wanted dignity
What was introduced in 1912 for workers but only covered a minority of the workforce?
Limited insurance
Did things improve after the 1905 revolution?
Government made no real attempt to improve workers lives
In some workplaces hours actually increased after 1905
Housing conditions deteriorated due to dramatic increase in workforce
What did the workers literacy level reach in 1914?
64%
Where were living standards increasing for the peasants?
Areas outside of the central agricultural regions
What were the small class of more prosperous peasants called?
Kulaks
What did the number of primary schools do between 1871-1911?
Quadrupled
Literacy rise from 21% in 1897 to what in 1914?
40%
What split does figes identify in the peasants?
Younger and older
Younger more literate and better to deal with new tech and more likely to work in cities
A zemstvo survey in the 1880s found that how many households in the Tambov province couldn’t feed themselves without getting into debt?
2 out of three
When were redemption payments ended?
1907
What drive peasants into debt and poverty?
Redemption langue bra and indirect taxes on everyday items
In 1861 nobles owned 80% of land in 1905 how much did they own?
40%
How many of the highest ranking civil servants in 1897 were nobles?
1000 out of 1400
In 1880 how much of uni professors came from the nobility?
One fith
In Moscow in 1882 how many nobles owned businesses?
700
When was the office of land captain brought in?
1889
What did nobles set up to represent their interests?
All Russian Union of landowners - opposed stamina reforms and reinforced regimes conservatism
Who ensured that Moscow had an electric tram system in 1895?
The merchant mayors
Give some families who made money from industries and were the emerging middle class
Tretyakovs
Marmontovs
Morozovs
How many entrepreneurs were there in 1914?
2000
What was formed in 1906 and had considerable political influence?
Association of industry and trade
What did the number of doctors grow from to in 1897?
From 17000 to 28000 in 1914
What did the number of teachers do 1906 - 1914?
Almost doubled to over 20000
What did professionals push for?
Further political reform and many joined liberal groups
Give an example of societies the professionals set up
1881 pirogov medical society
How did the 9th pirogov congress of 1904 end?
In chaos with cries of down wit the monarch y
In 1912 Moscow how many middle class voluntary organisations were there?
Over 600
What were these middle cakes organisations creating?
A more diverse and less homogeneous society - state couldn’t control them or their views
Name three important Russian writers around the middle of the nineteenth century
Turgenev
Tolstoy
Dostoyevsky
Wha did turgenev write about in his sportsmans sketches of 1852?
Real sufferings of serfs and presents them as human beings
What does chernyshevsky do in 1860s?
Provides inspiration for young revolutionaries in his novel what is to be done where he argues socialist solutions
What was did Tolstoy fight in?
Crimean war
What is Tolstoys great novel?
War and peace 1869
What were Tolstoys beliefs?
Idealised the peasantry and attacked the wealthy state repression and church hypocrisy
In Tolstoys last novel resurrection 1899 what does he criticise
The injustices of the legal system
What did maxim Gorky do?
One of country’s most influential writers - workers - close personal friend to Lenin - wrote stories that drew on concerns of workers
Who are the wanderers?
1863 thirteen artists who rebelled against the academy of art - brought their work to people in travelling exhibitions - focused on Russian landscape and history
What merchant was the main buyer of Russian art?
Tretyakov
