Collapse of the Russian Empire, 1894-1917 Flashcards
Who served as tutor for both Alexander III and Nicholas II
Pobedonostsev
2 points of the famine 1891-92
Caused by drought in Volga region in 1891
Half a million dead by end of 1892
When did the SDs split?
1903, second party congress
When did the liberals split, and what factions formed?
In 1905, into Kadets and Octobrists
Who was the finance minister upon Nicholas’ accession and early years
Sergei Witte
2 points about worker militancy in 1890s
Peak for strikes was in 1899 and included 100,000 workers
Caused by resentment of working and living conditions
How did the 1900 recession lead to peasant revolts
As landlords were withdrawing land for themselves or charging more exploitative rent rates, peasant revolts began in 1902
When was the Russo-Japanese war and what was its result for Russia
1904-05, led to August’s Treaty of Portsmouth whereby Russia ceded control of Korea and Port Authur
What happened in Bloody Sunday
7 January 1905, a sack of four workers at an engineering works called for a general strike of 100,000
Sunday 9, Father Gapon organised a march to the Winter Palace campaigning for increased worker rights with 150,000 men, women and children
However as they neared they were fired on by troops , figures put 130 fatalities and 300 wounded
2 consequences of the bloody sunday massacre
By end of the January, 400,000 people were out on strike
4 Feb, Nicholas’ uncle Grand Duke Sergei was killed
How many gov officials were killed during 1905
3,600
How did the peasants contribute to the 1905 revolution
In June and July, mood of revolt spread to the countryside, as peasants began seizing noble property and burning their houses
At end of July, the All-Russian Peasant Union formed near Moscow
How did the nationalities contribute to the 1905 revolution (2 points)
In Caucasus, officials were attacked and 10,000 troops sent to Georgia
Troops shot 93 Poles who took part in demonstration sparked by Bloody Sunday
3 points of the Potemkin mutiny
14 June 1905, crew of battleship Potemkin mutinied over poor conditions
Sailed to Odessa, provoking huge crowds and nearly 2,000 citizens were killed by troops
Surrendered the ship in a Romanian port
Why was 13 October 1905 significant?
Formation of the St Petersburg Soviet
3 points of the October Manifesto
Witte informed tsar that he had to reform or repress - 17 October he agreed to the October Manifesto
This conceded, civil liberties and an elected parliament (duma)
St Petersburg Soviet called off the general strike
2 consequences of the October Manifesto
Liberals moved in tsar’s favour
Explosion of violence at end of October, as tsar’s supporters - Black Hundreds - marched the streets killing leftists - over 3,000 Jews were murdered
3 reasons why the tsar survived 1905
The army remained ultimately loyal - Cossacks had not been touched by mutiny
The October Manifesto split the liberals and socialists , thus the socialists were left isolated
Revolutionary parties were not ready and did not play a central role
2 points regarding regime regaining control after the 1905 revolution
3 December Okhrana arrested hundreds of St Petersburg Soviet’s deputies
Summer of 1906 peasants were hanged in their hundreds - ‘Stolypin’s neckie’
How did Lenin describe the 1905 revoltuion
As a ‘dress rehearsal’ for 1917
When did Nicholas announce the Fundamental laws and what did they entail
April 1906, stating the tsar ‘possesses the initial in all legislative matters… ratifies the laws’ and could pass laws without duma approval in exceptional circumstances
2 reasons why the October Manifesto was a disapointment to the liberals
Tsar created a second chamber - the State Council - which would have equal power to the duma and would have half its members chosen by him
Elections of duma weighed toward upper class - 2,000 nobles represented by one deputy, whereas 90,000 workers got one deputy
Which party boycotted the first duma
Bolsheviks
2 points of the first duma
April 1906 and dissolved two months later, cursing it 'all Witte's doing' due to lack of respect 200 Kadets (majority) travelled to Findland, issuing the Vyborg Manifesto urging Russians not to pay taxes - gov response was to weaken Kadets by closing down their offices and dismissing members from gov
2 points of the second duma
Met Feb 1907, dissolved three months later (tsar discovered SD plot to assassinate him)
Majority was the Trudoviks (labourists), filled with disagreements between left and right, with left provocation of government ministers
3 points of the third duma
Convened November 1907 and ended June 1912
Dominated by Octobrists, who Stolypin was able to work with, thus this duma was more conservative, with some support for gov’s agrarian reforms
Main achievements were restoration of JPs in the stead of Land Captains, health insurance for workers and Stolypin’s land reforms
2 points of the fourth duma
Dominated this time by rightists, only began November 1912 and ended 1914
A ‘Progressive Bloc’ was formed which gave Nicholas a real chance to work with the people, yet he neglected it and suspended the duma
Assess how far the constitutional experiment was working by 1914
After Stolypin’s death in 1911 the experiment grounded to a halt
Nicholas never trusted the idea of a democratic government - he had a chance in Stolypin to bring positive reforms yet he never supported him fully and always looked for reasons to close down sessions
When and how did Stolypin die
Assassinated Sept 1911
How many strikers were there by July 1914
1.5 million
Assess how revolutionary Russia was in 1914, on the eve of war
Workers were becoming more militant - July saw a general strike with barricades and street fighting
1914 the army remained loyal and the peasants were relatively quiet (good harvests)
2 points how revolutionary parties had been weakened after 1905
SRs were in disarray due to Okhrana infiltration - head of their terrorism wing was exposed as an agent
Four out of five of Bolshevik’s St Petersburg committee in 1909 were agents, whilst leaders like Lenin were isolated abroad
What occurred in summer 1916
The Russians recovered as General Brusilov launched an offensive, crushing over half of the Austrian army
2 reasons why Russia did not endure well in the war
Poor leadership - many officers appointed due to loyalty to tsarism
Transport system was poor, soldiers often went without rifles and had to scavenge them
2 points regarding the home front during the war
Between 1914-16, prices of food and fuel quadrupled whilst wages only doubled
By 1916 Petrograd was receiving merely one-third of the food it required due to poor transport and peasant reluctance
What was the progressive bloc
The progressive elements of the duma who wanted to be fully involved with the war effort
When did the tsar take direct control of the army and what was the main consequence of this
August 1915, he became personally responsible for the war and could not pass blame to generals
What started the February Revolution
An IWD march on 23 Feb 1917 turned violent as women, many whom had been waiting 24 hours in bread queues, joined with engineering workers.
Demands for bread turned into demands for the end of the tsar
Why was the weekend of 25-26 1917 February a turning point
Soldiers turned to the people’s side, killing their officers
When did the tsar abdicate
2 March 1917
When did the duma form its special committee and what did it determine
27 February; tsar could not be involved in any form of government
