From revolution to war 1904-1915 Flashcards
1
Q
Who was Peter Stolypin
A
- Born into an aristocrat family
- His experience with the peasants led his to believe that in
order to improve their conditions and make them more
productive, they needed both encouragement and stern
political control - His uncompromising political stance, mixed with a strong
sense of economic realism, offered a way out of the
constitutional crisis that threatened to destroy imperial Russia
2
Q
What economic reforms did Stolypin progress
A
- Stolypin started from the conviction that industrial progress by
itself could not solve Russia’s most pressing need - how to feed
the nation’s rapidly growing population - One of the reasons why the peasants had joined the Revolution in
1905 was their fear that the government was about to repossess
the land of the mortgage holders who had defaulted on their
payments - Stolypin came to understand this fear and bought off the peasants
by announcing the outstanding the repayments would be
cancelled - Stolypin planned to further build on this successful treatment
between 1906-7.
- Special Land Bank was established to provide funds for the
independent peasants to buy their land - Farmers were also urged to abandon the inefficient strip system
and replace
3
Q
What difficulties confronted Stolypin
A
- Stolypin had little real chance of reforming agriculture since the
Russian peasantry was resistant to change and he had so little
times to alter things. - Most peasants were reluctant to leave the security of the
commune for the uncertainty of individual farming - By 1913, the governments own Ministry of Agriculture had lost
confidence in the policy
4
Q
How did the economic outlook of industry change in this period
A
- Witte was no longer a minister after 1906
- Few workers gained from the industrial and financial expansion
- Weak trade unions and and minimal legal protection left the
workforce at the mercy of employers - Little of the greater amount of money (state revenue increased
from 2 billion roubles in 1908 to 4 billion in 1914) in circulation
reached the workers - Inflation rate rose by 40% between 1908 and 1914, while the
average industrial wage only rose from 245 to 264 roubles - The large number of strikes pre-1914 showed the scale of
dissatisfaction with conditions
5
Q
Explain the significance of Stolypin and Witte - what problems did the tsarist system itself create
A
- Witte was mainly concerned with industry, while Stolypin was
concerned with agriculture - The economic policies of Witte and Stolypin and the introduction
of the duma were important advances but they were not enough
to alter the reactionary character of the tsarist system, which
remained hostile to reform - It was this that undermined the work of enlightened ministers
such as Stolypin and Witte
6
Q
What were the electoral laws laid down which came out of the October Manifesto
A
- All male citizens over 25 had the right to vote
- Women and military servicemen were debarred from
voting - Votes were not equal since the constituents differed in
size
7
Q
How did the fundamental laws weaken the Duma before its first assembly
A
- Passed in April 1906
- edict from the tsar which confirmed the October
manifesto but also the asserting the Tsar’s power over
the Duma - this included:
1.the right to rule independently of the Duma when it
was not in session.- The right to dissolve (close) the Duma at any point.
power to change the electoral system. - Power to appoint ministers he wanted to the
Council. - Sole commander of the army and navy, giving him
military power to crush any uprising
- The right to dissolve (close) the Duma at any point.
With the Fundamental Laws, the Tsar regained his position as supreme leader.
8
Q
What occurred in the first second third and fourth duma
A
- First Duma established in May 1906. It consisted mainly
of Kadets and SRs. Hence, it demanded further political
reform, including land reform and the release of political
prisoners. This was denied by the tsar and resulted in
scattered violence across the country. - Second Duma established in February 1907. Many
Kadets were involved in the Vyborg appeal, which
criticised the governments and demanded the non-
payment of taxes. In response, these Kadets were made
ineligible to vote. They were filled with SDs and SRs who
were strongly radical and anti-government. Lasted 5
months and was dissolved when members began
promoting revolutionary organisation within the army. - Third Duma established in November 1907. This was
more cooperative, and enabled Stolypin to persue his
land reforms. It also used a Committee system to make
important proposals for modernising the armed services.
Among the bills it approved were social-reform
measures including setting up schools for children of the
poor and national insurance for industrial workers - Fourth Duma established in November 1912, and
compromised mainly of Octoberists and socialists. This
made decision making increasingly difficult and they
found it impossible to unite in order to make progress. It
was suspended in 1915.
9
Q
How did Stolypin repress rebellious peasants and workers
A
- The crushing of the Vyborg group, which had
demanded the people to defy their government by
refusing to pay taxes and disobeying conscription
orders, was only a prelude to Stolypins fierce policy of
repression - Stolypin proclaimed martial law, and a network of
military courts, with sweeping powers, was used to quell
disturbances wherever they occurred. - Between 1906 and 1911, there were over 2500
executions in Russia
10
Q
Why did the tsar not make any attempt to remove the duma altogether
A
- Foreign Policy - the tsar was keen to project an image of
Russia as a democratic nation. He was advised by his
ministers, who were at the time in trade talks with France
and Britain, that Russia’s new commercial allies were
greatly impressed by his creation of a representative
national parliament - The duma had been rendered docile by the
governments doctoring of the electoral system. Stolypin
introduced new laws that restricted the vote to
propertied classes and peasants and industrial workers
lost the franchise. The consequence was that the third
and fourth dumas were heavily dominated by right wing
parties rather than radicals which meant any criticisms of
tsardom were now more muted
11
Q
How did the political scene change between 1911 and 1914
A
- initially during the great spurt, the peasants who had left
the land to work in the urban areas were prepared to
accept the grim factory conditions because of the higher
wages - However, recurrent recessions caused widespread
unemployment and authorities found themselves facing
large number of rootless workers who had their
expectations of a better life dashed by harsh economic
realities - Between 1911 and 1914 there were 2120 strikes
- However, after the assassination of Stolypin in 1911,
various ministers of ineptitude only continued to follow a
policy of further repression - these actions were both the
cause and effect of a dramatic increase in public
disorder
12
Q
What was the Lena Goldfields incident of 1912
A
- In Siberia
- Demands from the miners for better pay and conditions
were resisted by the employers, who appealed to the
police to arrest the strike leaders as criminals - When the police moved into Lena, the strikers closed
ranks and the situation rapidly deteriorated - Resulted in troops firing on and injuring a large number
of miners
13
Q
What was the General Strike of 1914
A
- Even the modern liberal parties began to despair the
governments dealing effectively with the problems that
confronted Russia - Octobrist leader, Alexander Guchkov, told his party in
1913 that their attempts to achieve a peaceful transition
from the old condemned system to a new order had
failed - Tsarist government was driving the people closer to
revolution - in July 1914, a general strike paralysed St Petersburg
- Barricades were erected by the strikers which the police
tried to break down; violence then followed between the
two sides as they clashed - This was finally settled by Russia’s entry into the war that
month
