How did the tsar survive from 1894-1905? Flashcards
What was the political scene in Russia in this period? how did it compare to Europe?
- Russia had barely advanced in political thinking
compared to its European neighbours - By the beginning of the 20th century all major Western
European countries had some sort of a representative
government, yet Russia remained outside the
mainstream of European political thought, - There had been no extension of political rights in over a
century - It remained Illegal to oppose tsar, no free press, no legal
rights for other political parties - Liberal ideas were seeping into Russia and could not be
prevented, political reform was growing in support and
people were being pushed into extremism
What was the economic scene?
- Economic development was very slow
- Russia’s low number of urban workers showed Russia
was far behind its European counterparts, still yet to
enter major industrial growth - The Urals regions produced considerable amounts of
iron, and the chief western cities, including Moscow and
St Petersberg has extensive textile factories - The underdeveloped transport system meant the
country struggled to expand its industry - The in-effective banking system meant it was impossible
to raise capital and thus investment and borrowing was
very sluggish and poor - Furthermore the agrarian economy had failed to develop
,the land in Russia was a source of national weakness
rather than strength - much of Russia lay too far north to
enjoy a climate or a soil suitable for crop-growing or
cattle-rearing
What was the social issues in Russia during this period?
- Enormous peasant population (82%)
- small working class (4%)
- moderate upper class(12%)
- Ruling class(0.5%) had total control
- Such a large peasant population, whom the vast majority
were uneducated and illiterate meant there was little chance of modern development within the country
How did Sergei Witte’s entrance into government encourage the development of the Russian economy?
Witte brought new energy to the government - he believed that modernisation in Russia could only be achieved through state capitalism
He was impressed by he results of industrial revolutions in Western Europe and the USA and argued that Russia could successfully modernise by planning along the same lines
As a result, Witte committed himself to a number of economic reforms
Witte negotiated large loans, investments from abroad and encouraged the inflow of foreign capital.
Protective tariffs were also set up as a means of protecting Russia’s young domestic industries, such as steel production . He put the currency at gold standard - to create financial stability.
How was the Russian army used to ensure that the peasants remained in check?
- Common methods were to recruit the peasants into the
Russian armed services - Conscription was regularly used as a form of
punishment for law-breakers - Ordinary Russians dreaded this sentence, it was
brutalising and often resulted in death due to the poor
conditions - Special military camps had been set up in remoter
regions of the empire which operated as penal colonies
rather than as training establishments - The rigours of service life had accounted for the deaths
of over a million soliders in peacetime during the reign
of Nicholas I (1825-1855)
How did the Okhrana ensure that political parties remained at bay?
- The Okhrana frequently infiltrated, raided arrested and imprisoned any political group considered revolutionary or anti-government.
This forced many of the political groups underground and prevented them from gaining any real power over this period.
What was Russification
- Severely enforced method of restricting the influence of
the non-Russian national minorities within the empire
by emphasising the superiority of all things Russian - Russian was declared to be the first language; this
meant that all legal proceedings such as trials, and all
administration had to be conducted in Russian - The aim was to impose Russian ways and values on all
the peoples within the nation - Discrimination against non-Russians, which had
previously been a hidden feature of Russian public life,
became more open and vindictive in the 1890s - 600 new measures were introduced, imposing heavy
social, political and economic restrictions on the Jewish
population - forced into ghettos
How did Sergei Witte use this ‘gained’ economic capital as a result of his economic reforms to develop the Russian railway? -
- Much of the foreign capital that Witte was successful in
raising was directly invested into railways - He believed that the modernisation of the Russian
economy ultimately depended on developing an
effective railway system - Trans-Siberian railway, which was constructed between
1861-1916 and was intended to connect the remote
regions of the central and eastern empire with the
industrial west - the line stretched for from Moscow to
Vladivostok - - it was important for encouraging the migration of
workers to areas where they were most needed
How important were Wittes economic reforms?
- Wittes economic reforms allowed Russia to enjoy real
economic growth between 1894 and 1905 - at which
point its industrial output compared favourably with
other European nations - However, Witte was not entirely successful -
- He made Russia too dependent on foreign loans and
investments
2. In giving priority to heavy industry, he neglected vital
areas such as light engineering- He paid no attention to Russia’s agricultural needs
- He made Russia too dependent on foreign loans and
What were the three major ways Nicholas II kept his position in power between 1894 and 1905
- Okrhana was used to keep political extremists at bay
- Threats of army conscription kept the peasants in check
- Sergei Witte’s economic reforms rapidly developed
the Russian economy - created economic and social
stability
