Collapse of Autocracy 1894-1917 Flashcards
Which tsar reigned in this period?
Nicholas II
Which wars were fought in this period?
Russo-Japanese War
Great War (WW1)
What were the major opposition groups during Nicholas II’s reign?
Social Democrats (Mensheviks and Bolsheviks)
Social Revolutionaries
Kadets
Octoberists
Liberals
What did Father Gapon call the tsar after Bloody Sunday?
Nicholas Romanov, murderer of souls
How many Russian metallurgy workers died every year?
11% of them
What was Bloody Sunday?
The spark that caused the 1905 revolution.
Popular priest, Father Gapon rallied 150,000 unarmed workers from Putilov Iron Works to give the tsar a petition asking for liberalisation. Soldiers then proceeded to fire upon the protestors killing 200.
Turned many against the tsar.
Who was Sergei Witte?
Finance minister and PM under Nicholas II
Increased foreign investment
Rapid industrialisation
Caused the construction of thousands of km of railways
Levied indirect taxes which hurt peasants
Overall modernised the country economically, but made the life of the average Russian worse
Who was Pyotr Stolypin?
Interior minister and PM under Nicholas II
Brought about massive land reforms
Very reformist slavophile
Helped to give peasants independence
Abolished redemption dues
Curbed the power of the duma
Assassinated by SRs in 1911
What was the problem with Russia’s large amount of railway construction?
Most of it went to the Trans-Siberian railway (Moscow to Vladivostok), so it only connected a couple of cities.
Who was Grigori Rasputin?
Siberian monk who became good friends with the royal family after curing Tsarevich Alexei’s haemophilia. Tarnished the imperial family’s reputation among both boyars and the public.
What did Alexander III say about his son (the future Tsar Nicholas II)?
Nikki is a good boy, but he has a poet’s soul
What major ideologies were spreading across Europe at this point, which posed a threat to the tsarist regime?
Liberalism
Socialism / Marxism
What was the Russo-Japanese War?
A war in 1904-5 between Russia and Japan
Ministers such as Plehve demanded the war to give Russia a patriotic win and stave off revolution
Disasterous loss for Russia
Battle of Tsushima:
Russian navy lost decisively against the British trained Japanese
Battle of Mukden:
Possibly largest battle before WW1, army lost to the Prussian trained army
Surrender of Port Arthur (Dailan) and South Sakhalin to Japan. Very humiliating
Unbelievable that a “great European power” such as Russia could lose against an Asian nation.
What was the key difference between Social Democrats (SDs) and Social Revolutionaries (SRs)
SDs appealed mainly to urban proletariat while SRs appealed more to rural peasantry. Marxists.
SDs were marxist while SRs were more “moderate”. Peasant communitarianism.
How did industrialisation lead to revolution?
Industrialisation -> peasants move to urban areas -> poor treatment & more literate and educated population -> increased interest in marxism -> October Revolution
Why were many revolutionaries Jewish?
Jewish people persecuted -> Jewish people don’t like government -> Jewish people join opposition groups
(eg Leon Trotsky)
What were the Black Hundreds?
A group of ultranationalist, tsarist, conservative militias that rose up after 1905 revolution
What was the Lena Goldfields Incident?
1912
Goldminers in Siberia started striking due to poor conditions and were fired upon by the military. 270 killed. Widely publicated by opposition groups.
Who led the Provisional Government after February Revolution?
Alexander Kerensky, a socialist liberal in the SRs
How did Lenin arrive in Russia?
Germany shipped him off to destabilise the country in WW1
What is a duma?
A parliament with less powers than the tsar
Who signed Brest-Litovsk?
The Bolsheviks
What were the three promises the Bolsheviks made?
Peace, land and bread
Why didn’t the army stop the 1917 revolutions?
They had also lost faith in the government after mismanagement of WW1
What role did soldiers play in radicalisation?
Many soldiers returned from the front-lines to their villages or cities and spread anti-government rhetoric radicalising the population against the government
What was Lenin’s background?
He came from an upper-middle class family, his father was a high ranking school inspector, with the equivolent rank to a major-general
What were the major causes of increased opposition to tsarism?
Increased education
Establishment of a middle class
Wars (Crimean and R-J)
Spread of lib. and Marx. ideas across Europe
Poor living standards (working and taxes)
Famine of 1891-2
Urbanisation (proletarianisation)
.
What did Nicholas II do in 1915 in response to the war not going well?
Declared himself commander-in-chief and went to the frontlines, while leaving his German wife as regent. Did not help, as imcompetence in the officer corps was a major problem that this only made worse.
Why were working conditions so bad in factories?
A lack of government regulation on working conditions
Land-owners sold their estate to buy factories making the same boyars still in charge
What was the difference between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks when they split in 1903?
Mensheviks thought that there wasn’t a large enough proletariat for Russia to become a Marxist state, so urbanisation and industrialisation must occur before revolution.
Bolsheviks thought that revolution should be now, and that if enough zealous ideologues could get behind the revolution they could drive the revolution past any road-blocks
What was the difference between coal outputs between 1890 and 1900?
6m tonnes -> 16m tonnes
Why did the middle-class call for reform?
They wanted a place to influence government since they couldn’t vote, they often became liberals but most opposition groups were staffed by the middle-class (SDs had Lenin, Narodnikis had urban students etc.)
What was the Potëmkin?
A mutiny in June during the 1905 revolution wherein the most modern Russian battleship, the Potëmkin, mutinied due to bad conditions and problems with rations.
The battleship fled to Romania. This was in the backdrop of naval failures in the Russo-Japanese War (Tsushima)
Who were the Raskol?
Raskol / Old Beleivers were a sect of Orthodox Christians who rejected reforms made in the 16th century to the church. They were seen as heretical and were often persecuted.
What was the Union of the Russian People?
A far-right nationalist party affiliated with the Black Hundreds. 300,000 members. Dissolved during 1917 revolutions. Labelled as proto-fascist.
What were the causes of the February Revolution?
-Nicholas, Alexandra and Rasputin
-Political system
-Russification
-Growth of middle class
-Revolutionary parties
-Peasantry and proletariat
-Failings in WW1
How did the royals cause the February Revolution?
N2’s ignorance and indecisiveness
N2 becoming c-in-c
Alexandra was German
Rasputin alienated boyars and hurt reputation of royal family
How did the political system cause the February Revolution?
Autocratic, duma had no real control
Failure to reform (Fundamental Laws)
Middle class liberals wanted to express themselves
How did Russification cause the February Revolution?
Want for autonomy among minorities
Russia going into WW1 to protect ‘slav brothers’ alienated non-slavs in the empire
Antisemitism caused large Jewish presence in opposition groups
How did revolutionary parties cause the February Revolution?
Had relatively little roll in the spontaneous Feb Rev
Spreading of propaganda
Attracted talent away from government and towards opposition groups
How did the peasantry and the proletariat cause the February Revolution?
Proletariat growing, bad conditions caused radicalisation
Taxed heavily (Witte’s indirect taxes)
Strike action and peasant revolts
‘Land hunger’ after emancipation
Wealth inequality
1,400,000 strikes in the first half of 1917
How did WW1 cause the February Revolution?
Rank and file comprised of disafected peasants
Mutiny of Petrograd garrison
Army refused to fire on protestors
Generals frustrated with government
What was the Putilov Strike and subsequent events?
Spark that set off Feb Rev
Food prices have quadrupled but wages had not increased, causing 150,000 to strike.
The strikers were joined by other protestors.
Army was told to fire on protestors, but instead joined them.
How did Nicholas II end the 1905 revolution?
The October Manifesto, a declaration that the government would establish a duma and enshrine civil rights. Written by Witte, Nicholas begrudgingly agreed to it.
After the storm had settled, Nicholas pubished the Fundamental Laws in April, stating he would have veto power and ability to dissolve the duma. Undermined October manifesto
What caused the 1905 revolution?
-Failure to address demands for reform
-Failure to address needs of growing proletariat
-Oppressiveness of regime
-War against Japan
-Reaction to protestors (Bloody Sunday)
How many dumas were there?
Four
How much land was held by boyars?
50%
Stolypin’s Reforms
Gave peasants independence from mir
Unions legalised
11.5h work day
Abolished redemption dues
Electoral Law
How many strikes were there in 1912, 13 and 14?
1912 - 2,000
1913 - 24,000
1914 - Over 1m
What was the Romanov Tercentenary?
The 300 year anniversary of the Romanov dynasty in 1913, mass celebrations. Nicholas surprised at his popularity after the dissent
Who represented liberals in the Duma?
Constitutional Democrats (Kadets)
How many assassinations did the Social Revolutionaries conduct?
2,000
What were the early losses of Russia in WW1?
Battle of Masurian Lakes
Battle of Tannenberg (300,000 killed)
What was the Brusilov Offensive?
A major offensive on the Eastern Front, same time as Somme. Miserable failure, massive losses, Nicholas blamed as he was C-in-C
What were the casulaties of WW1?
2 million
Describe the 1st Duma
The Duma of National Hope:
May - July 1906
Boycotted by Bolsheviks & SRs
Critical of tsar
Dominated by liberals
Dissolved after they called for massive reforms and for minsters to resign
Describe the 2nd Duma
Duma of National Anger:
Feb - June 1907
SDs and SRs joined, so radical left gained much influence
Extremely critical of tsar
Stolypin could only pass laws through emergency powers
Peasant franchise limited because of Stolypin
Describe the 3rd Duma
Duma of Lords and Lackeys:
1907-12
Submissive to tsar, but event this was confrontational
Result of increased weighting of boyar votes
Agreed to 88% of government proposals
Why were the foreign investments in Russia not useful?
The profits would go to France, not Russia.
What was the Year of the Red Cockerel?
1903, many peasant jacqueries occured, with manors being burned. (Red Cockerel refers to the flames of the manors)
Strands of Russian liberalism?
-Upper class intellectual reformists (Leo Tolstoy, Nikolai Milyutin)
-‘The Third Type’, ideologues, constitutionalists (Kadets)
What happened at N2’s coronation?
Crowds gathered on Khodynka Field, attracted by the promise of free food. There was a crush and 1400 were killed.
St Petersburg students and Cossacks
1901
13 students killed
1500 imprisoned in the Peter and Paul Fortress
Increase in strikes 1894-04?
17,000 -> 90,000
Foreign investment growth
280m roubles in 1895 -> 2bn roubles in 1914
Railways by 1905
60,000km (40,000km were owned by the state)
In what time period did the number of factory workers double?
1887 - 1908
Russian oil production increase
Trebling between 1885 and 1913
Industrial growth rate before WW1
8.5%
Why was land reform needed?
Peasants still used wooden ploughs and medieval methods
British farms were 4x more efficient
Redemption dues tied peasants to their mirs
When were redemption dues abolished?
1907
How effective was Stolypin’s land reforms?
Positives:
-Siberia became a major agricultural region after 3.5m peasants moved there
-Russia became the world’s leading cereal exporter
-56m tonnes of grain in 1900 -> 90m in 1914
Negatives:
-By 1914 only 10% of land was transferred to private ownership
-Less than 1% of population were kulaks
Urban population increase
Quadrupled between 1867 and 1917 (50 years)
How many houses had running water in St Petersburg at the turn of the century?
40%
What % of children were in full time education in 1914?
55%
Literacy rate in 1914?
40%
Increase in state spending on education under N2
Up 16x
Who was Prince Lvov?
Liberal boyar, kadet, First Chairman of ProvGov, leader of Zemgor
How many SRs were executed?
2400 1904-1909
How much did SD membership fall between 1906 and 1912 in Ukraine?
From 20000 to 200.
Zemgor
Union of zemstvas and cities during WW1, chaired by Prince Lvov, sidelined by N2 so became liberal agitator
How armed was the Russian army in WW1?
2 rifles for every 3 soldiers
How many soldiers deserted in 1916?
1.5 million
What was the level of salt inflation compared to pre-war levels?
480%
WW1: Cost of living increase by 1916?
300%
How many Russians fought in WW1, and how many died?
15m
8m casulaties
How many did Stolypin execute after 1905 Rev?
3000 1906-09
.
180m in 1890 -> 670m in 1990
What was Stolypin’s Coup?
After the 2nd Duma was too uppity for the establishment; it was dissolved, illegally arrested SD politicians, and weighed the Duma votes towards boyars in 1907. Orchestrated by PM Pyotr Stolypin.
N2 quote from his coronation
I am not yet ready to be Tsar. I know nothing of the business of ruling.
Police chief in Feb Rev
Shalfeev, pulled off of his horse and shot
What sparked the Feb Rev?
250,000 strong International Womens Day march
What role did the Fourth Duma play in the Feb Rev
Tried to seize power from the Tsar
Established Provisional Government headed by Prince Lvov
Shared power with the Petrograd Soviet
Peasant-born population of St Petersburg
75% of St Petersburg residents were born peasants in 1914
.
.
What percentage of primary school children were in education?
44% in 1911
How many weekly newspapers were in circulation?
1700 by 1914
What percentage of uni students were women in late Tsarist Russia?
45%
Circle of liberals under N2
Beseda - Undergound, aristocratic, liberal, persecuted by govt
Face of moderate Marxism
Pyotr Struve - Opposed violent revolution, formed Union of Liberation, founded Kadets, fought for the Whites
Internal Minister of N2
Vyacheslav von Plehve - Reactionary, founder of Okhrana, killed by SRs in 1904
First Marxist assassination
Min of Education Bogolepov by disgruntled student
1901
When were trade unions legalised?
October Manifesto
Trade Unions shut down after legalisation
500 between 1905-09
What was the Progressive Bloc?
Union of Kadets, Octobrists and Progressives in Fourth Duma, called for Tsar to devolve power to an elected assembly after 1915
Why did monarchists accept the FebReb?
Prince Mikhail abdicated to the ProvGov, giving it legitimacy, and meaning that the civil service, bureaucracy, army etc followed
How was the ProvGov received by the poor?
They thought it was self-appointed, bourgeois and tainted by associations with the old autocracy
PetSov was appointed by soviets making it more democratic
What were the July Days?
16-20 July, mass demonstrations of workers and soldiers on the streets. Led to reorganisation of ProvGov, and Kerensky taking charge
Were the ProvGov or PetSov democratic?
ProvGov promised elections at a later date and was comprised of a cross-section of the intelligentsia (Kadets, SRs and Progressives)
PetSov was elected by the soviets of Petrograd, dominated by radical socialist intellectuals, 1/6 of PetSov members were workers
What was Dual Power?
Powersharing agreement between ProvGov and PetSov arranged by Kerensy (only member of both assemblies).
PetSov could not call for land redistribution or nationalisation so long as the ProvGov:
-Gives amnesty to political prisoners
-Basic civil liberties
-Abolition of legal disabilities based on class, religion or nationality
-A Consitutent Assembly
The ProvGov told deserting soldiers to return to the front and be disciplined while the PetSov told the proletariat to stand up and revolt.
ProvGov wanted an all-out push to win the war (realised in Kerensky Offensive), while the PetSov called for peace
Kornilov Affiar
Kornilov ordered 6 regiments to march on Petrograd, unhappy with the power of the PetSov, and the introduction of more socialists (eg Chernov) to the ProvGov cabinet.
Kerensky initially supported Kornilov but got cold feet so released imprisoned Bolsheviks, and armed them to help defeat the putsch
Why had support for the ProvGov fallen by Summer
Didn’t end war - Kerensy Offensive failed
Prices were 750% of 1914 levels by October
They gave factory owners the right to dismiss striking workers
Didn’t redistribute land
What did the April Theses demand?
All power to the soviets
End of war
Redistribution of land
What were the two main Bolshevik slogans in 1917?
All power to the Soviets
Peace, Bread, Land
When did Bolsheviks gain a majority in the PetSov?
September
Who opposed the timing of the OctRev
Zinoviev and Kamenev
Military Revolutionary Committee
Led by Trotsky. Preparation for OctRev. Controlled 200,000 Red Guardsmen
How many soldiers did Trotsky say took part in the OctRev?
25,000-30,000
How many votes went to the Bolsheviks in the Constituent Assembly elections? (November)
24% (SRs got 53%)
Bolshevik party membership by April vs October 1917
26,000 -> 200,000
(Lenin had returned, Trotsky joined and people stopped liking ProvGov)
Who did Lenin form a coalition with?
Left SRs, they walked out over Brest-Litovsk
SR membership in 1917?
1,000,000
What were the main tenets of Order No. 1?
Soldiers only to obey PetSov, and only to obey ProvGov if PetSov agrees with them
Weapons to be controlled by soliders unions not officers
Soldiers given representation at PetSov
How did Russian growth during the Great Spurt compare to other European economies?
Growth was slower tham in France, Germany, UK, Austria and Italy
What did the chief of staff say of Russian logisitcs in WW1
45,000 rounds a day needed, 13,000 supplied
