DEVELOPMENTS IN CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION Flashcards
When did the pressure to change begin to accelerate?
During the disastrous Russo-Japanese War.
What did the Duma and Fundamental Laws do to the new government’s structure after 1905?
The Tsar, followed by the Council of Ministers, The State Council, The Duma and the Senate.
Why did NII disband the first Duma?
Claimed the actions of the lower chamber were illegal.
How long did the first Duma last?
42 days.
What happened in the period between the closing of the first Duma and the opening of the second?
The trial and imprisonment of key Kadet and Labourist Party members who signed the Vyborg Manifesto.
What was the Second Duma greatly affected by? Why was it eventually dissolved?
Affected by Stolypin’s policies. It was dissolved after a Social Democrat member of the Duma was framed for attempting to arrange an army mutiny.
How many reforms did the third Duma pass?
2,200 of 2,500
How did Stolypin attempt to dismantle the Duma?
By manipulating Article 87 to create an even greater bias towards autocracy.
What did the fourth Duma’s rule coincide with?
Brutal repression of civil disorder, such as the Lena Goldfields Massacre of 1912.
What was the consequence of the Duma system?
Very little difference made to the underlying nature of the Russian state.
What had formed by 1915?
A ‘Progressive Bloc’ of Duma representatives who demanded a National Government to take charge of the war effort.
What did NII do in August 1915?
Neglected duties in Russia to go and become Commander in Chief of the Russian army in August 1915.
What did Lenin publish in April 1917?
His April theses, in which he condemned the PG for being bourgeois.
What were the July Days a sign of?
Early Bolshevik insurrection.
What happened after the July Days? How did the Bolsheviks strengthen their position?
Leading Bolsheviks were imprisoned or exiled. However, Kerensky strengthened them by involving them in the resolution of the Kornilov affair.
What had occurred by 8th September 1917?
The Bolsheviks were in control of the Petrograd Soviet.
What happened when the Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets met on 25th October 1917?
Right-wing SRs and Mensheviks, who favoured a coalition government, walked out of the congress in protest.
What were the results of the elections to the Constituent Assembly in November 1917?
Bolsheviks only won 175 seats, while the SRs won 370.
What did Lenin do in reaction to the results of the November 1917 elections? What did he claim?
Dissolved the Constituent Assembly at gunpoint, claiming that it was ‘elected on the old register’.
What was established in January 1918?
The Russian Soviet federative Socialist Republic.
What did Sokolnikov sign on the 3rd March 1918?
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk which ceded a huge portion of territory and Russian reparations of 3 billion roubles.
How did the Bolshevik government contradict ideology?
It should have constituted a major break with the tsarist past, since genuine soviet rule would have revolved around freedoms and liberties.
What were the three elements to the new Bolshevik structure of government?
- The All-Russian Congress of Soviets and the Central Executive Committee.
- The Council of People’s Commissars (Sovnarkom).
- The Cheka.
What was the Politburo?
Small, elite group of Bolsheviks responsible for formulating policy.
What was the Orgburo?
Office that organised party affairs.
What was the Ogburo?
Responsible for maintaining order and dealing with opposition.
What did the Bolsheviks promote the party as?
One that was working to create an egalitarian society based on democratic centralism.
How many members were there of the Bolshevik party in 1928? How many had there been in 1921?
One million in 1928.
730,000 in 1921.
What did many members find new careers and opportunities in?
The Nomenklatura.
How had the party become very hierarchical under Stalin?
Early 1930s, nearly 10% of the party was made up of apparatchiki.
What did Stalin’s constitution of 1936 suggest?
That there would be more freedom for the people of the USSR.
What were the three elements of the USSR’s structure post 1936?
- Supreme Soviet of the USSR
- Soviet of the Union
- Soviet of Nationalities
How was the Communist party domination made clear in Article 126 of the Stalin Constitution?
Stated that the party was the ‘nucleus of all the public and state organisations of the working people’.
Who did AIII replace Loris-Melikov with as Interior Minister? What did this replacement demonstrate?
Nikolai Ignatiev, to strengthen the state and increase social support for Tsarism.
