from revolution to war Flashcards
what was stolypin land reform
introduced measures - wager on the strong- to restore peasants sense of security
farmers urged to abandon insufficient strip system and replace it with fenced fields
a special land bank was established to provide funds for independent peasants to buy their land
difficulties of land reform
land reform takes time to implement - he was assassinated in 1911 and war in 1914 prevented the land reform from being successful
peasantry were resistant to change - resulted in 2 million peasants leaving villages leaving some areas short of rural labour
russias political situation in 1914
russia was relatively stable
creation of the duma - worked together with stolypin on land reform proved it could be cooperative
more radical political groups still lacked support
economic situation in 1914
economy had grown at an annual rate of 3.5% although this was sluggish compared with European rivals
low levels of productivity in industry, this went hand in hand with lack of investment in technology
agriculture production had increased under stolypin land reforms
social situation in 1914
population of russia increased from 125 million to 166 million.
put pressure on jobs and food
in 1914 there were over 1000 towns but only 200 had piped water and 38 sewage system disease continued to spread and killed 100,000 people a year
was rising inflation
lena goldfields strike was considered a great threat who had been provoked by poor working condition
nicholas strengths in 1914
tsardom emerged stronger from the 1905 revolution
tsars troops remained loyal and suppressed internal troubles
- october manifesto had not redistribute power - evident in the fundamental laws
- revolutionary parties were not considered to be a capable of amounting any successful assault on tsarist regime
impact of war on russia
nicholas became wholly committed to war
socialist parties abandoned their policies and committed themselves to the national war effort
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what was russias problems during the war - inflation
strain for russian economy to bear
- inflation - government spending rose from 4 million to 30 million roubles and the gold standard was abandoned which allowed them to print more money
between 1914 and 1916 average earnings doubled and food prices quadrupled
what was russias problems during the war - food and transport
increased agriculture production enabled peasants to charge high price and make profits
but inflation made it unprofitable so peasants stopped selling grain
grain was requisitioned for the war effort
army had first claim on food
the railways could not meet the demands from war, the signalling system broke down leaving trains blocking the lines
by 1916 in moscow and petrograd were receiving only one third of their food and fuel requirements
what was russias problems during the war - living conditions
disruption of food made living conditions increasingly difficult
rising price of food meant people could not afford food
russian government introduced anti drinking measures to control disorder added taxes on vodka. this caused social unrest and so was repealed but it meant government were no longer receiving tax revenue
what was russias problems during the war - army
total number of troop was not as much as germany and france
its crippling weakness was what denied them of having a military advantage
problem was poor administration - failed to supply troops with what they needed
lack of direction and organisation by the government left russias soldiers desperately short of food, ammunition and medical supplies
how effective was nicholas as war leader
in august 1915 nicholas made himself commander in chief meaning he was in direct control of the armed services. intention was to rally support around him but just made him to blame for military defeats
tsar was not a commander - he had to rely wholly on his generals
he had nothing original to offer. he did not know enough about military matters
he appointed military commanders based on social standing and not military effectiveness
why did progressive bloc form
dumas were denied a voice so over 200 duma members formed a progressive bloc which they initially tried to persuade tsar into making concessions
what was the role of Rasputin
he was a self ordained holy man who was welcomed to the palace by the tsarina to help her son alexei who suffered from haemophilia. rasputin spoke to him calmly and stroked him until he relaxed, this lessened alexeis pain and so rasputin was regularly at the palace
since tsar was away at military headquarters rasputin and alexandra effectively became government of russia
course of events of february revolution
full scale strike occurred on 18 feb by employees of putilov steel works
during next 5 days workers were joined on the streets by growing number of workers
also was international womens day this brought thousands of women to the streets
