how significant were problems faced by Nicholas II in 1894

Question 1

how should the essay answer be split

Answer 1

political, economic and social problems

Question 2

what was the political priority of Nicholas II

Answer 2

to preserve autocracy

Question 3

why was the political system inadequate in russia

Answer 3

there were pressures of rapid industrialisation and urbanisation

Question 4

what needed to be done to address the problem of industrialisation

Answer 4

by developing professional roles like doctors, lawyers and engineers

Question 5

why was the development of professional roles a problem for the tsar

Answer 5

they would form a civil society and demand autonomy which directly challenged autocracy

Question 6

what was the main political problem faced by the tsar

Answer 6

his unwillingness to reform as a result of maintaining the autocratic rule

Question 7

how did the tsar attempt to reform

Answer 7

by establishing the Department of Agriculture in 1894

Question 8

why did the Department of Agriculture fail

Answer 8

it failed to deal with the problems of poverty and unrest leading to peasant rioting

Question 9

why was there a rise in opposition to Tsardom

Answer 9

due to the repressive measures of the prior tsar Alexander III

Question 10

what were Russian people concerned about

Answer 10

the centralised control of police under the minister of the interior and the replacement of the justices of peace with land captains, a reduction in peasant representation in the zemstva and an increase in censorship

Question 11

what was the zemstva

Answer 11

an elective body of local government

Question 12

what were land captains

Answer 12

a way to impose control over rural russia and reduce the power of the zemstva

Question 13

which political groups proved the biggest problem in 1905

Answer 13

liberal and socialist groups who demanded reform

Question 14

what was the problem with productivity

Answer 14

it was low in comparison to other countries

Question 15

what was believed about free enterprise

Answer 15

that western economic modernisation was linked to free-market thinking and this should be adopted into Russia

Question 16

why was Russia never in control of the rate industrialisation could occur

Answer 16

as a result of Russia’s reliance on foreign investments - there was always the worry that their financial aid would end

Question 17

why was the exportation of grain an issue

Answer 17

peasant productivity was low resulting in the famine of 1891-2 (also a social problem)

Question 18

what percentage of the population were peasants

Answer 18

80 - meaning they posed the largest threat to the monarchy

Question 19

why was their unrest amongst the peasants

Answer 19

they opposed their poor living standards

Question 20

what was the intention of the peasants land bank

Answer 20

to allow peasants with funds with low interest rates to buy better quality land

Question 21

why did the land bank fail

Answer 21

the better quality land was reserved for landowners making land distribution unfair

Question 22

what was the impact of the 1891 famine

Answer 22

350,000 deaths linked to the monarchy

Question 23

were social issues confined to the rural areas of Russia

Answer 23

no, there were social issues amongst the urban areas too

Question 24

how much had the industrial workforce grown

Answer 24

from 1.4 million to 3 million

Question 25

what was the problem with the new class of industrial workers

Answer 25

they had political awareness of poor working and living conditions - they found a voice to challenge the tsar through socialist groups

Question 26

what was the result of poor living standards

Answer 26

spread of diseases