Demography of Russia, Tsarist Regime, & Long-term problems

Question 1

Ethnic make-up of Russia

Answer 1

Ethnically diverse - 170 ethnic gps. majority Great Russians 44.3%, Ukrainians 18%, Poles 6%
Different cultures, languages + movements for political indep

Question 2

Social Class Composition

Answer 2

Nobility = 1% h/w owned 25% of land, Middle class = small but growing increasing in cities & beginning to play role in local govt, Urban workers = new class, small with vry poor sol, Peasants = 80% of population - emancipated in 1861, most poor and illiterate, Kulaks = rich peasants

Question 3

Population growth Figures

Answer 3

Rapidly expanding:
1815 = 40mil
1914 = 165mil -> 4x pop growth

Question 4

Growth in numbers living in towns/cities

Answer 4

St Petersburg = 1897 -> 1.26mil, 1914 -> 2.22mil
Moscow = 1897 -> 1.17mil, 1914 -> 1.76mil

Question 5

Pillars of tsarist control

Answer 5

Tsar - autocratic, unlimited rule
Bodies of govt - advisory ie Imperial council, Committee of ministers, Supreme Court
The Bureaucracy - 14 levels = inefficiency/undeserved privilege
Police - Okhrana + Cossaks
Orthodox Church - under state control since 1721 + Tsar’s authority gained through God
Army - 45% of annual govt spending/conscription used as punishment

Question 6

Key facts about Nich

Answer 6

Tsar Nicholas II: thought of himself as “not prepared to be Tsar”/ not a reformer - uphold autocratic rule
- @ coronation promise of food and beer -> stampede = 100000 in attendance and 1389 died

Question 7

Witte’s economic reforms - aims

Answer 7

Sought to drive modernisation through industrialisation/thought that Ru. needed ‘state capitalism’

Question 8

Witte’s economic reforms - policies

Answer 8

Invested in railways,
Limited imports by increasing tariffs,
Increased taxes and interest rates,
Foreign experts 4 advice,
Loans and investment from abroad

Question 9

Witte’s economic reforms - results

Answer 9

Establish heavy industry: 60mil investment @ 1890 -> 430mil @1900
Extend railway system: amount of track tripled
Russia’s GDP growth = 96.8% btw 1898 and 1913 (84.2% Germany)

Question 10

Witte’s economic reforms - consequences

Answer 10

Ru. in debt + dependent on foreign investment - 30% came from abroad
Increased taxes for peasants to 15% + focus had been on developing industry rather than farming practices
Overcrowding + horrible working conditions @ cities (12-16 hr work days)
1908-14 inflation = 40%
Exploited workers/increase in strikes 552 in 1902

Question 11

Problems with agriculture

Answer 11

1901 - poor harvest
Rent + grain tax increase (5-15% increase) + poverty -> masses of hungry peasants walked hundreds of miles to find work
1902-03 peasant revolt - extensive destruction of properties/1903-4 = ‘Year of the Red Cockerel’ peasants seized a great amount of land

Question 12

Russia’s Industry

Answer 12

Financed industrialisation by taxing peasants
Workers forced to work 11 1/2 hr days
Fines for being late, making mistakes or absences
Lowest-paid workers in Euro
Trade unions banned
Strikes were illegal