Chpt. 21, Totalitarianism and Nationalism Flashcards
Alexander 2
the Russian czar who decided after the Crimean War that Russia needed to take steps in order to keep pace with the modernization of other nations; he began his reforms by freeing the serfs in 1861, replacing serfdom with peasant communities; nonetheless, the peasants still had to pay the Russian government for their land, while the nobles received government payment for their land
Alexander 3
in 1881, Alexander 2 was assassinated, and this man, his successor, increased the czar’s control over Russia while promoting industrial development; although western nationalist sentiment that promoted democracy was growing in Russia, this man continued along the path of autocracy by encouraging the secret police and imposing strict censorship of written materials; political dissidents were exiled to remote Siberia
pogroms
organized violence against Jewish people; Jews were subjected to this in Russia, as well as being forced to live in areas segregated from other Russians; this was part of an effort to establish a national Russian culture
Nicholas 2
coming to the throne of Russia in 1894, he vowed that he would continue in the autocratic tradition of his father, Alexander 3; nonetheless, he heavily industrialized, primarily though state-sponsored heavy industries such as railroads, armament factories, and steel manufacturing; during his reign, the Trans-Siberian Railway was constructed, stretching across Russia
Mensheviks
a group of Marxists who by 1903 differed with other Marxist parties in that it wanted to further industrialize before gaining support from the proletariat for a revolution
Bolsheviks
a group of Marxists who by 1903 wanted radical change executed by a small group of extremely committed revolutionaries
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin
the exiled leader of the Bolsheviks, he maintained contact with them until he could return to Russia from Europe
Russo-Japanese War
the Russian loss in this war to the seemingly insignificant islands of Japan in 1905 hurt national morale
Bloody Sunday
an event in January 1905 in which workers and their families marched on the czar’s Winter Palace in St. Petersburg; Czar Nicholas was not there, but his generals ordered soldiers to fire on the protesters, killing several hundred and wounding more than 1,000
Duma
the first Russian parliament, it was created by Czar Nicholas in response to popular demands; meeting for the first time in May 1906, it was led by moderates who wanted to pattern the Russian government after the constitutional monarchy of Great Britain; it was soon dissolved by Nicholas, and never wielded enough power to reform the Russian government
Czarina Alexandra
the wife of Czar Nicholas, she ran the government when Nicholas moved his headquarters to the front during WW1
Alexis
the son of Czarina Alexandra and future heir to the throne, Alexandra became increasingly preoccupied with his health while Nicholas was away; he had hemophilia
Rasputin
a mysterious, self-proclaimed holy man who seemingly relieved the symptoms of Alexis Romanov; Alexandra fell under his spell and began allowing him to make important decisions; he was assassinated in 1916 by a group of nobles
March Revolution
starting with riots in March 1917, it was a general protest against Czar Nicholas that forced him to abdicate the throne; in July 1918, Bolshevik revolutionaries executed the czar and his family
Alexander Kerensky
the leader of a provisional government that was set up to replace Czar Nicholas; he was determined to continue Russian participation in WW1
soviets
local councils of peasants, laborers, and soldiers that some revolutionaries organized themselves into; in 1922 Lenin restructured the Russian government into self-governing republics known as these, united under the central government, the USSR
White Army
an army of those who opposed Bolshevik policies
Red Army
the army that supported the Bolsheviks
Leon Trotsky
a Bolshevik leader of the Red Army