February Revolution 1917 (section 2) Flashcards
What was frustrating middle class liberals?
Lack of political rights
What was frustrating the peasantry?
Land, hunger and conscription
What was frustrating the working class?
Appalling living conditions
How did Russia hope to win the war?
By sheer manpower
Where did Russia experience heavy defeats?
Battles of tannenburg and masurian lakes
Who was day-to-day control left to?
Rasputin and the tsarina
Who lead the feb revolution?
Members of Russian upper classes
Who did the tsar refuse to work with
Union of zemstvas and municipal councils
Why were the progressive bloc formed?
To prevent revolution so the tsar could focus on the war
What did tsars rejection of this mean?
That he rejected his last chance to make concessions
How much had inflation increased by 1917?
By 200%
Why did strikes begin in the end of 1916
The rise in living standards resulted in labour unrest
How many people protested to commemorate Bloody Sunday?
140,000
Who was ordered to restore order?
General Khablov
Why could martial law not be proclaimed or printed?
Due to breakdown of ordinary life
Who formed the provisional committee?
Group of 12 old Duma members
Who called for the tsar to stand down?
Kerensky and an SR
Who formed the Petrograd soviet?
Soldiers sailors and worker deputies
What did the Petrograd soviet and provisional committee form into?
De Facto government
What happened on tsars return to Petrograd?
His train was intercepted and diverted as a result of troop mutinies
Who advised the tsar to abdicate
The stavska
Who did the star try to pass his leadership to?
His brother
What did the provisional committee rename itself?
Provisional government (PG)
Who claimed the the nation were unwilling to fight for the regime?
Trotsky
What did Lenin believe to be an essential precondition for a true revolution?
The ruling classes unwillingness to survive
What was a military success under Brusilov?
The offensive that killed or wounded half a million Austrian troops
What was the feel of the army by 1916?
Pessimism and defeatism
Why did peasants begin to desert?
I’ll-equipped and underfed
What did research show about Russian armies in 1917
That they were NOT on the verge of collapse
What had the strains of war producers in all armies?
Mutinies
Why was the Duma recalled?
Due to the poor military showing
What did the success of the zemgor show?
That there was a possible alternative to tsarism
Who formed the progressive bloc?
Around 230 Duma members of octobrists kadets and progressists
What did the bloc try to do?
Persuade Nicholas into making concessions
What did the tsar fail to realise?
That the progressive bloc were trying to help him
How many different ministers were there between 1915-16
16
Who was Rasputin?
A self proclaimed holy man from Russian streppes who was notorious for sexual depravity
What did wives of courtiers claim about Rasputin?
That they had slept with him
What did this cause those in court to feel about him?
They came to deeply despise him
What did Rasputin enjoy?
Royal favour
Why was Rasputin invited to court?
Due to the tsarinas belief that he had the ability to heal her son
What made the tsarina unpopular at the outbreak of war?
Her German nationality
Why did people find it difficult to defend the system?
Because Nicholas allowed the nation to fall under the influence of a monk and a German woman
How did the tsarina attempt to make Russia her adapted country?
By converting to the Orthodox Church and adopting Russian customs and conventions
Why did aristocratic conspirators murder Rasputin?
Due to spite and restoring the monarchy
How did Rasputin demonstrate the administrative skills Russia needed?
By reorganising the armies medical supply
How did the government choose chaos and disorganisation?
They insisted that organising the country would organise the revolution
What made the February revolution different?
The range of opposition and the speed of protest-revolution
Who started a strike on February 18th?
Putilov steel workers
Who were they joined by?
Other workers
What rumour caused these workers to join the strike?
A rumour of a reduction in bread supply
Why were attempts to disperse the protests unsuccessful?
The police had a growing sympathy for workers
What happened on national women’s day?
Women joined the protest in demand of food and the end of war
Why did khabalov argue that the situation was uncontrollable?
Because the militia and police were either fighting each other it joining the demonstrations
What did the soviet declare?
That it would wipe out the whole system and create a constituent assembly
How did the remaining ministers abandon their responsibilities?
By using the present of an electricity failure
How did rodzianko think the Russian monarchy could be saved?
If the tsar abdicated
What did Nicholas believe his personal presence would do?
Calm the capital
When was the tsars abdication?
2nd March but officially announced on the 4th
