Chapter 10 Flashcards
Opposition: ideas and ideologies
Why was liberalism particularly strong in the zemstva?
The government’s incompetence during the Great Famine 1891-92 and the reduction of their powers under Alexander III
What was the goal of the zemstvo?
To eventually form an all-class zemstvo at district level and a National Assembly
Why was the zemstvo’s planning banned?
Ivan Shipov tried to set up an ‘All-Zemstvo Organisation’ in 1896
What was formed as a result of the zemstvo’s ban?
The Beseda Symposium in 1899
How did the Beseda Symposium assume leadership?
By attracting attention and support from public figures, town leaders and industrialists
When and who was the Union of Liberation founded under?
By Pyotr Struve in 1903
What did Pyotr Struve believe that Russia needed to reform?
A period of peaceful evolution to adapt to its industrial status
How much influence did the liberals really have?
Limited influence regardless of their position
Why did the liberals avoid police attention?
The police was overworked coping with more radical opposition as well as rural and urban unrest
What was agrarian socialism?
Taking estates from landowners and dividng the land between the peasants to be farmed communally
What were the primary aims of the Social Revolutionaries?
To destroy autocracy and bring about land redistribution
Where did the bulk of their support come from?
50% of their supporters were from the urban working class
Who was Yevno Azef?
A double agent working for the Social Revolutionaries and the Secret Police who was exposed in 1908
How many political assassinations did the SRs carry out from 1901-05?
Around 2000 - including two Ministers of Internal Affairs in 1902 and 1904
What was the SRs most notable political assassination?
The assassination of Prime Minister Stolypin (necktie) in 1911
How many SRs were sentenced to death from 1905-09 and how many were executed?
4579 were sentenced to death and 2365 were actually executed
What marked the welding of the Marxist groups together?
The 1898 First Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Workers’ Party
What pamphlet cemented Lenin as a revolutionary?
‘What is to be done’ in 1902
Where did divisions stem from in the Second Party Congress?
Lenin argued for a strong disciplined organisation of professional revolutionaries whilst Martov believed in a broad party with working-class membership
What did the two groups eventually become?
The Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks
How were trade unions affected by the state’s suspicion?
497 trade unions were closed down and 604 were denied registration
What did the new strikes in 1911 demonstrate?
It demonstrated the State’s failure to pacify the working class in he 1905 rebellions
Why did the strikes appear less significant?
Only 12% of entreprises experienced strikes
What were the impact of national minorities on opposition?
No states (except the Poles and the Finns) wanted outright independence and there was no clear opposition
What factors indicated that opposition was ineffective?
Industrial depression in 1907, lack of finance, a shortage of printing presses
How many deputies did the Bolsheviks elect to the Duma in 1914?
Six
What were the Bolshevik and Mensheviks newspapers called (and which was more popular)
Pravda (The Truth) and Luch (The Ray). Pravda was far more successful
How big of a threat was opposition really before 1914?
Not a big threat at all - workers were apathetic, trade unions failed to provide a popular base and labour protests had a minimal effect
