Dumas

Question 1

What was abolished on 24 November 1905?

Answer 1

Censorship

Question 2

How much of the urban working population was ineligible to vote?

Answer 2

Over 60%

Question 3

When were the Fundamental Laws of 1906 passed?

Answer 3

23 April 1906, to reiterate the Tsar’s power

Question 4

What was contained in article 87 of the Fundamental Laws?

Answer 4

When the duma was not in session or under ‘exceptional circumstances’ the tsar held the power to legislate on his own providing the decision received approval from the duma within two months.

Question 5

How did the Tsar transform the legislative body of Russia?

Answer 5

Upgraded the State Council of Imperial Russian to work in conjunction with Duma, created a 198 member upper chamber (one half appointed by the tsar) a largely conservative body.

Question 6

When did the first elections for the Duma begin?

Answer 6

February 1906

Question 7

How did the law change on 4 March 1906?

Answer 7

Unions and political parties are made legal

Question 8

When did the First Duma open and when did it end?

Answer 8

27 April 1906 - July 1906

Question 9

Who was the largest political party in the First Duma?

Answer 9

Kadets (37% of seats)

Question 10

Who did the Kadets in the first Duma make a coalition with and what were their aims?

Answer 10

Peasants. Freedom to strike, abolition of capital punishment, ministerial responsibility handed to the duma, universal and direct voting, free universal education, land redistribution for peasants and reorganisation of the tax system.

Question 11

How did the Kadets towards the end of the Duma provoke violence? How did the government respond?

Answer 11

200 deputies staged an appeal to encourage people from paying taxes, and refusing orders to enlist. Violence broke out, the government appointed Pyotr Stolypin as prime minister.

Question 12

When was the Second Duma?

Answer 12

February - June 1907

Question 13

How was the Second Duma politically different from the first and what consequences did this have?

Answer 13

More radical as SRs and SDs participated in the elections. More ideologically divided with monarchists and SRs.

Question 14

Why did the Tsar want to dissolve the Second Duma and how did he achieve this?

Answer 14

Duma criticised the administration of the military, would not support Stolypin’s land reforms. A Social Democratic was arrested on the charge of wanting to overthrow the regime, which led to the dissolution of the duma in 3 June 1907.

Question 15

When was the Third Duma?

Answer 15

November 1907 - June 1912

Question 16

What did Stolypin do on 3 June 1907?

Answer 16

Changed the electoral system so that voting was suspended in poorer districts; violated the constitution.

Question 17

How many people were eligible to vote in the elections after Stolypin’s reform?

Answer 17

1 in 6 males

Question 18

How was the Third Duma politically different to the others?

Answer 18

More conservative and the first to serve a full five year term.

Question 19

When was the Fourth Duma?

Answer 19

November 1912 - August 1914

Question 20

How was the Fourth Duma characterised politically?

Answer 20

Most conservative duma, responded to radical protests with repression.

Question 21

What occurred in the Lena Goldfields in Siberia in 1912?

Answer 21

Miners demanded better pay + condition and were killed by government workers (symbolic of the tsars increasingly reactionary methods). 500 miners were killed.

Question 22

What was the result of the Lena Goldfields massacre?

Answer 22

Three million workers staged 9000 strikes in the year following the massacre.

Question 23

Why did the Fourth Duma end?

Answer 23

Outbreak of WWII

Question 24

What was Pyotr Stolypin’s guiding principle?

Answer 24

Suppression first and then, and only then, reform

Question 25

What were the reforms Stolypin issued in November 1906 when the Duma was out of session?

Answer 25

Land reforms to transform peasants into a class of independent conservative land owners. Replaced village communes with private ownership.

Question 26

When were land taxes halted by Stolypin?

Answer 26

1 January 1907

Question 27

What was a negative effect of Stolypins land reforms? What was a positive impact?

Answer 27

Increased the amount of peasants moving to the city for work. For those who the reforms benefitted, they were pacified and their living standards were raised.

Question 28

What were military tribunals and when were they introduced by Stolypin?

Answer 28

Processed cases without investigation or delay; introduced in 1906.

Question 29

How many people were executed by military tribunals and ordinary courts between August 1906 and April 1907?

Answer 29

1144 people by military tribunals.

2000 by ordinary courts

Question 30

When was Stolypin assassinated?

Answer 30

1 September 1911