Chapter 4: National Minorities Flashcards
What were the results of the 1863 Polish revolt?
Poland was under the direct control of Russia, fully in the hands of Milyutin.
Polish nobility were exiled to Siberia
Polish peasants were emancipated & gained favourable terms (better than in Russia)
Rural district councils were set up (zemstva)
What were the main national minority groups?
Polish, Finnish, Caucasians, Central Asia, Far East, Baltics, Jews, Ukranians
What was a common theme across all leaders regarding national minorities?
They all wished to Russify the minority groups
What caused the Polish Revolt 1863?
Rise in Polish Nationalism
Attempts to draft Polish men into the Russian army
Who was Alexander Wielopolski?
Prime Minister of Poland in 1862 - accepted Russian rule
Why was Wielopolski unpopular with nationalists?
He was viewed as a Tsarist lapdog
How long did the Polish revolt last?
January 1863 - Spring 1864
Who was Jaroslav Dabrowski?
A polish general who led the rebels during the Polish revolt
What effects did the Milyutin plan have on Poland?
The level of nationalism diminished
Russian became the official language
Catholic Church was not allowed to communicate with the Vatican
What was the impact of WW1 on Russo-Polish relations?
By September 1915, Russia had to give up jurisdiction over Poland due to German advances.
What was the effect of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on Poland?
They gained full independence
When was the Russo-Polish war?
1920
What were the terms of the Russo-Polish armistice in 1920?
Lenin agreed to leave Poland alone and recognise their independence from Russian rule.
What events in Russo-Polish relations happened during the leadup to WW2?
The neutrality pact between Russia & Germany, and the annulment of the Polish non-aggression treaty.
This meant Russia would not oppose any germany invasion of Poland.
The Nazi-Soviet non agression pact agreed Russia would not stop Hitler’s invasion of Poland.
When was the Nazi-Soviet non-agression pact?
1939
What was the impact of WW2 on Russo-Polish relations?
The Polish government fled to London
The Lublin poles were set up as a puppet government in Poland
What was the Katyn Forest massacre?
The NKVD killed 4231 Polish officers in a forest near Smolensk in 1940.
The Russians blamed the Germans for the massacre.
What were the Lublin Poles?
Set up as the National Liberation Committee (NLC), formed to administer Warsaw when the Russians took it back.
What was agreed over Poland at the conferences?
Roosevelt and Churchill acquised, and the western border of Poland was moved at Stalin’s request.
What party led the Polish government in 1947?
Polish Worker’s Party
What were the landmarks of the set-up of the Polish puppet government?
1947 - Provisional constitution set up: established council of state
1948 - PPR was the only party available to vote for (one party state)
1950 - over 30,000 workers went on strike and were rounded up in camps
1952 - New constitution: renamed People’s Republic of Poland; Soviet style government complete
What was Khrushchev’s approach to Poland?
He allowed Gomulka to take leadership in Poland, and forced out the Stalinist leader.
Catholic Church was allowed to teach religion in school
Peasants could leave collective farms to set up smallholdings
What was Russification?
The process whereby non-Russian regions were drawn more securely into the Empire.
What is considered to be the event that started Russification?
The Polish Revolt 1863
What did the Communists do to further Russification?
Set up constitutions that established a federal government within the Empire
What did the 1918 Constitution do?
Set up the RSFSR
(Russia with parts of Central Asia, notably Kazkhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenia)
What did the 1924 Constitution do?
Formally created the Federal Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
Republics of Ukraine, Belorussia and Transcaucasia had joined the RSFSR in 1922
Republics were given devolved government, but it was answerable to Sovnarkom
What did the 1936 constitution do?
Created a system that allowed republics to (in theory) secede from the USSR.
What did Khrushchev do with Russification?
Returned to a similar style as Lenin
What repression was used on Minorities under the Tsars?
A mixture of reforms to appease & military force.
What repression was used on Minorities under the Communists?
Promised reforms, but relied more heavily on repressive measures. For example, Stalin ordered swathes of minority groups to be deported when Russia was invaded in 1941, accusing their governments of collaboration.
What demands were conceded to Finland before Nicholas II?
Given a Diet in 1863
Given a constitution in 1865
Who did Nicholas II appoint as governor general of Finland?
Nikolei Bobrikov
What reforms did Bobrikov undertake in Finland?
Finland’s seperate army was disbanded
The Finnish state secretariat was abandoned
What happened in Finland in 1904?
Bobrikov was assassinated by terrorists
What was given to Finland in 1905?
Independence - reneged on by Stolypin in the same year