Ideology & System of Government Part II (1855-1964) Flashcards
Name three components of the Tsarist Government between 1855-1905
The Tsar
The Council of Ministers
The Committee of Ministers
The Senate
The October Manifesto was issued after Bloody Sunday & at end of 1905 Revolution - What was it?
The October Manifesto was a measure of change to appease the liberals.
It granted them a Duma - a parliamentary body
What was the Fundamental Laws of 1906?
This was the Tsar ensuring that the Tsar upheld ‘Autocracy, Orthodoxy & Traditionalism’
It was a way to dilute and ensure the Duma were limited and autocracy was strengthened
How many Dumas existed between 1906-1917
Four
Give one example of how the Tsar limited the power of the Dumas
The First Duma (1906) was disbanded over their push for wide reaching land reform.
The Second Duma (1907) was also disbanded because it had elected officials that were not willing to bend to the Tsar
The Fourth Duma (Progressive Block 1912-1917) were disbanded when they wanted from 1916 to have more of a say and representation in leading World War I
Give one example why the Third Duma (1907-1912) achieved some success under Nicholas II
Major reforms were enacted for the army & navy.
State run insurances were put in place
(Despite a reduction in Duma members from the non Russian parts of the Empire)
The provisional government which ruled between February 1917-October 1917 were a temporary government - They state they were only governing until Russia did what?
Constituent Elections (Elections to vote in the next legitimate and representative leader/government)
The Bolsheviks failed to win a majority in the November Constituent Elections - What did Lenin immediately do once the results were in?
He allowed the assembly to sit down for a day and closed it down.
What ‘S’ was Lenin’s first government when taking power?
Sovnarkom
What were the two ‘Decrees’ that Lenin issued after the October Revolution of 1917
Decree on Land - Land was to be stripped from Landowners and given to peasants. This would be done by the local village soviets.
Decree on Workers - Lenin promised to cut the working day to eight hours and set up a sickness scheme for workers.
Give one reason why the new Sovnarkom (Lenin 1917) appear ‘democratic’
The Village soviets elected representatives for District Soviets who in turn elected representatives for provincial soviets who elected members to the Sovnarkom.
Yet this was not democratic in reality!
Explain why the new Sovnarkom (Lenin 1917) was not democratic at all.
It was dominated by the Bolsheviks (Mensheviks, Kadets and SR’s were included for a short period before they were removed.
The Sovnarkom should have been run like a ‘Council of elected ministers’ was side-lined and instead the Politburo dominated.
What was the Politburo of 1917?
This was the de-factor Leninist government side-lining the Sovnarkom in its first year.
It contained a small number of Lenin Loyalists (handful of men) who oversaw the running of the party but also the country as a whole.
Name two individuals that were part of Lenin’s Politburo
Kamenev, Zinoviev, Stalin, Trotsky
What was Democratic Centralism within Lenin’s period of rule?
Under the Bolsheviks the people agreed to be led by a cadre (small elite). This would see the education and structures put in place by a small handful of men within the party.
Power would be ‘devolved’ at local level and concentrated in the hands of the top
