Collapse of autocracy 1894-1917 Flashcards
What were the main features of Nicholas II’s personality
- Greatly influenced by Pobby and Alexander made him very stubborn on autrocracy
- Indifferent to the world; more saddended by his dogs death than 1905 revolution
- Deeply distrusted his minsters and was very indecisive and would never support someone over another
- As a result no one trusted him with his minsters saying he was ‘incapable of playing fair’
How is Nicholas II typical as other Tsar’s
- viewed his authority from God and it was his sacred duty to preserve his absolute power intact
- autocrats typically hated ministers Phleve said ‘the distrust of ministers is common to all sovereigns starting with Alexander I’ and that tsars ‘always turns to outsiders who appeal to their hearts’
- Most were militaristic
What were the main featurs of Alexandra (Nicholas’ II wife)
- Fanatical belief in Orthodocy made her feel it was her sacred duty to maintain Nicholas’ complete autocracy
- Unpopularity at court made her turn to mystic leaders such as Phillipe
- Who in turn would influence Nicholas’ political decision
e.g. Phillipe telling Nicholas that ‘ Russia was chosen to dominate the Far East’ and that ‘consitution would be the ruin of Russia’
What were the 4 main causes of the 1905 revolution
- Political problems
- Economic disconent
- Russo-Japanese War
- Bloody Sunday
What economic hardship did the peasants undergo
- Heavy taxation
- Redemption payments
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Famine of 1901
- Land hunger was a major issue, poorer peasants had no land
What did the severe economic hardship the peasants underwent lead to
- 1903-4 became known as the years of the Red Cockerel when peasants seized a great deal of land
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What economic hardship did workers go under
- condtions were terrible with little to protect the pay or safety of work
- workding day 11.5 hours
- Many lived in communal houses similar to army quarters or sleeping in a factory
- limited sanitation and running water with a high mortality rate
What happened to workers in the early 1900s
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Economic downturn early 1900s leading to a lack of jobs and regular income
- disastorous for those migrating to the cities looking for work
What were the main features of political discontent in Russia by 1894
- Ethnic minorities oppressed by the policies of Russification
- The influence of Zemstvas was reduced
-
1900 officials criticising the government were purged
- Middle class industrialists were unhappy that they had no say in how the country was governed
What was the liberal political opposition
- Zemstvas were highly critical due to famine and stagnation
- Lack of power fustrated them
- Union of liberation formed in 1904 by Peter Struve pushing for a constitutional monarchy w/ right to vote for all men
What was the political discontent from the radicals
- Radical opposition groups often carried out political assassinations. The People’s Will tried to assassinate Alexander III in 1887. Populism existed in the universities. The Narodnik socialist movement tried to persuade the peasants to rise against the Tsar and take power for themselves.
How did the social revoloutionaries contribute to political discontent
- The Socialist Revolutionaries adopted a combination of Marxist and Populist beliefs. They wanted to overthrow the government in favour of giving power to the peasants.
- Although they were greatly uncoordinated in their efforts, they carried out approximately 2,000 political assassinations in the years leading up to the 1905 Revolution.
How did the Russo-Japanese War contribute to the 1905 revolution
- Embarassment of defeat by Asian power furthered belief of incompetency
- Tsar had to agree to a humiliating peace treaty of losing port arthur, influence in korea and more
What did the Russo-Japanese war lead to
- mutiny on the Potemkin battleship
- resources diverted to war worsened supply and caused food shortages
- Plehve assassinated in terrorist bomb attack
What happened on bloody sunday
- protesters sang hymns and begged in a peitition for the tsar claiming ‘government by beauracracy has brought the country to complete ruin’
- a mass of 20,000 were shot at and 4600 lpeople were killed/wounded
- Fathe Gapon denounced Nicholas as a traitor
- Nicholas failed to realise the gravity and made few concessions
What was the effect of Bloody Sunday
- led to an outbreak of protests across the empire and minorities took this opportunity to demand autonnomy
- People lost all faith in the autocratic nature of governance with this cruel tsar
What was the events of Russia in the far east prior to 1904
- Russia acquired 400,00 sq miles of Chinese territory
- Russia negotiated a claim to Port Arthur with Japan
- By 1901 Russian troops were also occupying Manchuria
What were Russian motives for the war
- Nicholas was stubborn to accept a Japanese compromise of a Russian Manchuria and a Japanese Korea
- Russia broke its treaty to leave Manchuria and even though Japan pursued further compromise, Nicholas saw Japan as a ‘barbarian army’
- a powerful domestic motive shown by Vyacheslav Plehve advising the tsar to embark on a ‘little victorious war to stem the tide of revolution’
What were the japanese motives leading to the war
- She had been excluded from a strategically important area, excluded from Port Arthur
- Resented Russias expanding influence in Manchuria and sphere of influence in Korea
- Inconsistent and rude Tsar humiliated their compromises
What happened at the Battle of Mukden February 1905
- Disaster from a Russian point of view. On land, the Japanese took Port Arthur and inflicted heavy defeats on the Russian armies along the Yalu River, on the Manchuria-Korea border, and at the Mukden. Brave Russian soldiers were badly led and suffered heavy casualties
- At sea; Russian fleet at Port Arthur was destroyed and to replace it the Russians sent their Baltic fleet to the Far East
What happened to Russia’s baltic fleet at the Battle of Tsushima May 1905
- In May 1905, the Japanese fleet under the brilliant Admiral Togo virtually destroyed the whole of the Russian fleet in the Straits of Tsushima
What was The Treaty of Portsmouth 1905
- Japan gained Port Arthur, southern Manchuria and the southern half of the island of Sakhalin
- Korea was recognised as within Japan’s sphere of influence
What was the significane of the Russo-Japanese War
- first instance in modern history of an eastern country defeating a western power
- war showed the Russian backwardness compared to Japan who had embarked on a programme of industrialisation and westernisation
- news of these disasters leaked to the Russian people and their despair became anger
What was the 1905 October Manifesto
- ‘free citizenship’ and ‘freedom of person, conscience, speech, assembly and union’
- Introduction of a consultative assembly (Duma) with legislative powers elected by a broad franchise that would include social groups that had no elected rights
What was the further concessions made on top of the October Manifesto in the 3rd November Manifesto
- Remaining redemption payments reduced from 1st January 1906 and discontinued altogether after 1st January 1907
- Resources of Peasants Land Bank increased so it could offer better loans
What was the Fundamental Laws of the Russian EMpire published on the 23rd April 1906 with the Duma first day
- Exercise law-making power in conjunction with the Council of the Empire and the Imperial Duma
- Approve the laws, and without his approval no law could come into existence
- Hold all governmental powers in their widest extent throughout the whole Russian empire
- Appoint and dismiss the president of the Council; Ministers were responsible to him alone and even if the Duma, by 2/3rds majority passed a vote of censure on the Government, the government did not have to resign
- Declare war and approve a peace settlement
- Rule by decree during periods when the Duma was not in session
What allowed Nicholas to retain his autocracy
The ‘consultative’ nature of the Duma meant he was under no obligation to accept its proposals
What was the liberal response to Nicholas’ 1905 concessions
- split the various interest groups that had united in opposition to him:
Right liberals immediately accepted its terms relieved that the revolution was over
Moderate Liberals reorganised to form a new party; the Octobrists with Alexander Guchkov as their leader
Left wing Liberals formed them into a rival party, the Constutional Democrats, the Kadets. They criticised the Manifesto for its failure to provide for an elected constitutional assembly, but they had no desire for revolution
What was the peasant response to Nicholas’ concessions of 1905
- November Manifesto put an end to the redemption payments, many joined the 1905 revolution because they feared that the government would repossess the land of mortgage holders after many bad harvests
- Some peasants interpreted the Manifesto as a right to seize the land that they considered to be theirs by custom
- Number of peasants disturbances rose during the spring and summer 1906 the peasants burnt the landlord’s house, reaching a peak in November and December but then declined as Stolypin’s agricultural reforms took effect
What was the army response to Nicholas’ 1905 concessions
- They interpreted the November Manifesto as permission to ignore authority and indulge in expressions of resentment
- Between October and December 1905 mutinies in the army reduced the regime’s effective control over the cities and blocked communication
- These mutinies were usually confied to a petition demanding improvements in conditions and they always expressed loyalty to the tsar
What was the most famous incident of mutiny
The most famous incident was the mutiny at Kronstadt naval base which was put down with force only after 26 men were killed and another 107 injuries
How many mutinies during 1906
There were over 200 mutinies during 1906, affecting more than 20% of units
What was the working class response to Nicholas’ 1905 concessions
- Were not satisfied
- St Petersburg Soviet continued and on the 1st November 1905 called the second general assembly
What happened to the St Petersburg Soviet after the 1905 concessions
- St Petersburg Soviet continued and on the 1st November 1905 called the second general assembly
- However the soviet increasingly met with little response and on the 5th of November called off its strike and had all its members arrested on the 3rd of December including Trotsky
What reasons are there for Tsarist Survival and Recovery from 1905
- Benefitted from inherent disunity of the opposition
- No clear leadership co-ordinated revolutionary activities
- Protests were more outbreaks of rage than intention of forcing concession
- Peasants and workers were content with new deal and got back to work, cancelling strikes
- Benefitted from loyal army that took harsh action against revolutionaries
- Regime made use of anti-semitic right-wing loyalists organising themselves as the Black Hundreds who took part in attacks on liberals, especially jews
What did Micheal Lynch say about the lesson from 1905
‘ the lesson of 1905 was that as long as the Tsarist government kept its nerve and the army remained basically loyal, the force of opposition would not be strong enough to mount a serious challenge’
How did the leader of the Kadets; Peter Struve react to Nicholas’ concessions
(showing the lack of a threat to the Tsar)
‘Thank God for the tsar who has saved us from the people’
What did Leonardo Shaprio say about Stolypin
‘by left dismissed as a savage butcher who hanged peasants and workers… to the extreme right he became a hateful figure whose policy of reform and attempt to work with the duma were a threat to the principle of autocracy…
for his many admirers he has posthumously become the wisest statesman Russia ever had who could had he been given time have saved Russia from war and revolution’
Why did the moderate left hate Stoypin
for dissolving the first 2 attempts at representational government, the Duma and changed the electoral law
Why did Stolypin face opposition from the Emperor’s inner circle and the upper ranks of bureaucracy
As a result of his reformist policies and attempt to work with the Duma
What was the main aims of Stolypins reforms
derevolutionise the peasantry by removing some grievances and creating a system of private peasant ownership, he believed that the programme would take 20 years
How much did the intelligenstia grow from 1850-1900
grew by 700%
What changes did P.N Milyukov take note of in 1903
’ enormous growth of the politically conscious… the gentry still play a part but are by far not the only social medium of public opinion as they were before the emancipation of the peasants’
What lead to instability within Nicholas’ government
- Nicholas failure to have a specific domestic policy programme created disorganisation in the funcitoning of government
- The political climate was changing under the impact of mounting social pressures and the activities of different revolutionary groups
What divisions appeared over tactics of how to deal with challenges to autocracy
Witte favoured the traditional tsarist policy of repression
The Ministry of the Interior responsible for domestic security supported the policy Zubatov of ‘divide and rule’ to win over workers even if this meant alowing trade unions to operate under police control
How many times did the Chairmen of the Council of Ministers, Ministers of the Interior and Ministers of Education change between 1894-1917
8 Chairmen of the Council of Ministers
15 Ministers of the Interior
11 Ministers of education
What was the attitude of Nicholas towards the Duma
Nicholas was of the view that he ‘had created the Duma not to be directed by it, but to be advised’
Tied publication of the Fundamental Laws to coincide with the meeting of the first Duma re-affirming that he had supreme power and ‘ it is ordained by God himself that his authority should be submitted to’
Which groups shared Nicholas attitude to the Duma
- views were shared by the various right wing organisations such as the Union of the Russian People and the Russian Orthodox Committee
What was the State Council
The upper chamber; known as the State Council with half came from zemstvo, half from ministers with same rights to legislation
How much of voting was intially given to landowners, peasants and those who lived in towns
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31% of vote to landowners, 42% to peasants and town 27%
- property qualification meant very few factory workers had access to the ballot box
What was the problem with the first 2 Duma’s
First 2 Dumas more radical than expected demanding socialisation of the land and full national self determination of the Russian People
What did Stolypin do to make the Duma’s less radical
- dismissed the second Duma and issued a new electoral law, enormously restricting the franchise and added representation to the landowners and the peasantry
- This reduced the number of men who could vote to one in six so that the peasants and the working class were almost excluded, in addition representation of the hostile minorities, particularly the Poles was significantly cut.
What did Stolypin’s new electoral law make the compositrion of the third Duma
produced a third Duma with a greatly increased extreme right and right of centre grouping, this was more favourable and lasted the full term
What role did the SD’s Bolsheviks play in the Duma’s
Gained a majority by 1917 supporting Lenin’s view of a narrow centralised party of professional revolutionaries, remained a small insignificant group till this point
What role did the SD’s Mensheviks play in the Duma’s
- Believed society should progress by natural evolution towards socialism, so opposed November revolution, drew membership from the ranks of the intellectuals
- Most influential in the second duma but ceased to have any representation in the 3rd and the 4th
What role did the Social Revolutionaries play in the the Dumas
- Boycotted every Duma apart from the 3rd
What role did the Trudoviks play in the Duma’s
- Members of the SR’s who stood as Trudoviks (labourists) after the boycott of the First Duma, numerically small. Claimed to be Populist Socialists, significant in first and second duma but declined after.
- By 3rd and 4th, they were led by Alexander Kerenesky when the revolution of February 1917 broke out.
What role did the Kadets play in the Duma
- Composed of l liberals from the propertied classes and was the great party of reform
- Were the majority of the First Duma and significant in the second but declined after
What role did the Octobrists play in the Duma
- Conservative constitutional party and were a powerful group in the third and fourth Duma
Who were the Rightists
- Consisted of a number of individual groups who represented a range of conservative views from right of centre to extreme right
- Biggest Group in third and fourth Duma
What did the Kadets and the Trudoviks (two biggest groups) of the First Duma demand
Kadets:
- Land reform with compensation for landowners
- Progressive income tax
- Health insurance for workers at employees expense
- Election of factory inspectors by workers
Trudoviks
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Socialisation of land, where it was taken out of private ownership with no compensation and then divided
- Federal structure of government with full national self-determination for the non-Russian people
What led to the dissolution of the First Duma
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Duma issued an illegal proclamation appealing for the people’s support for agrarian reform
- Kadets went to Finland and issued the Vyborg Manifesto calling on the people to show passive resistance and refuse to pay taxes. They were ignored and arrested, and imprisoned losing most of their able leaders
What happened to the Second Duma
stubborn and short-lived as Stolypin hoped to get support for his agrarian reforms but the new assemblies shifted to the extreme left
What led to the dissolution of the Second Duma
a supposed Social Democrat plan to kill the Tsar dissolved the second Duma
What ensured cooperation with the 3rd Duma
The right-wing composition with the Octobrists in alliance with the Kadets formed a majority in the centre
What was Stolypin willing to do to acheive his economic claims
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cooperate with the moderate centre and left of centre parties to achieve his economic aims
- established good relations with Guchkov, leader of the Octobrists and President of the Duma
What did Guchkov say about Stolypin in 1907
‘ if we are now witnessing the last convulsions of the revolution and it is undoubtedly coming to an end, then it is to this man (Stolypin) we owe it.’
Why did cooperation stumble in 1910
cooperation stumbled when Stolypin encountered landlord opposition to the proposed reform of local government
What did Stolypin convince Nicholas to do in order ot get his reforms through
- discontinue the 2 chambers for 3 days so that the measure could be passed as an emergency decree; a blatant misuse of the constitution
What effect did Stolypin’s misuse of the constitution do to hiss relations with the Duma
The Octobrists split and the majority no longer supported Stolypin who was also no longer supported by Nicholas for putting him in a difficult position
What other reforms did the Third Duma acheive
- Introduction in June 1912 of accident and health insurance for workers consisting of a ‘hospital fund; financed mainly by employers and employees paying only 2-3% of their wages
- Restoration of the office of the justice of peace whose judicial powers had been transferred to the land commandments
Who replaced Stolypin after his assassination in 1911
Nicholas appointed conservative ministers who lacked the imagination to deal with a challenging situation
What groups was the autocracy reliant on after 1912
After 1912 it was isolated and reliant on extreme right-wing groups like the Black Hundreds or the Union of the Russian People along with the army. Nicholas didn’t recognise the need to increase his appeal
Autocracy lost traditional supporters, the landed nobility as well as the entrepreneurs and the intelligentsia
What Church Reform did the 4th Duma propose
- 4th Duma continued to reform Orthodox Church by reducing state control, broadening education and providing priests with a regular salary
- Nicholas delayed further reform, by 1914 was still linked to the state
How did enrolment in secondary and higher education respectively grow from 1900-14
- Enrolment in secondary education quadrupled and in higher education tripled from 1900 to 1914
How much did the budget for educational reform grow from 1900-13
In 1913 the education budget was 400% larger than it had been in 1900
How was Russia still behind the west in education
it still had only 5.2% of kids in primary in 1910 compared to Britain’s 14.9%
How did the Zemstvo manage its budget
- They concentrated their budget on education (30%) and health (20%)
- Cities borrowed heavily to finance provision of facilities- by 1914 the average deficit of a Russian city was twice its annual budget
How did the relationship between the Zemstvo and Government change after 1905
alarmed by 1905 revolution became more conservative by 1912 and were prepared to improve relations
What annual growth rate did Russia have from 1894-1913
more than 8% per annum but had a bad base
How did FDI grow from 1895-1914
FDI grew from 280 million in 1895 to 2000 million in 1914
What did Witte introduce to strengthen the currency and improve confidence
a rouble backed by gold
What role did the State play in industry by the 1900s
By 1900’s the State controlled 70% of Russia’s railways and was buying almost 2/3s of all Russia’s metallurgical production
From 1903-13 how much of the government income was from its industrial investments
In the years 1903-13 the government received more than 25% of its income from its industrial investments
How did the railways provide a vast economic stimulus
- The railways opened up the Russia’s interior and allowed more extensive exploitation of Russia’s raw materials such as linking grain-growing areas to the Black Sea ports
- Lowered costs and permitted the development of new industries along the length of the expanding railway network
