Late Imperial Russia Flashcards

1
Q

In 1897 how many Russians were there compared to Ukrainians?

A

55m to 22m

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2
Q

What three bodies was the Tsars absolute rule exercised through?

A

1) The Imperial Council - a group of honorary advisors directly responsible to the Tsar
2) The Cabinet of Ministers - ran the various government departments
3) The Senate - supervised the operation of the law
= only really able to give advice

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3
Q

What did the Tsars method of power show?

A

How little Russia had advanced politically compared with other European nations
= by 20th century all major-European states had some sort of democratic or representative gov

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4
Q

How did political parties/groups live in Tsarist Russia?

A

Underground

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5
Q

What did denial of free speech tend to cause?

A

Political activists to turn to extremism

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6
Q

What was the Okhrana?

A

The Tsarist secret police

- hunted down subversives who challenged the tsarist regime

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7
Q

How did the Orthodox church support the tsarist system?

A

Became a deeply conservative body, opposed to political change and determined to preserve the tsarist system

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8
Q

In 1897 what percentage of Russia was upper class, working class and peasants?

A
  • U/C = 12%
  • W/C = 4%
  • Peasants = 82%
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9
Q

How was Russian not entirely without industry?

A
  • Urals provided iron
  • Moscow and St P. had textile factories
  • Most villages had smelting works
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10
Q

Why had Russians financial system prevented industrial growth?

A

It had not yet mastered the art of borrowing and investment = discouraged entrepreneurialism

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11
Q

Why was the amount of peasants a problem?

A

There was not enough fertile land to go round

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12
Q

How did the governing elite view peasants?

A

With a mixture of fear and contempt = ‘the dark masses’

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13
Q

Why did the Tsars not want to raise the education level?

A

Were worried that this may prove to be extremely dangerous, socially and politically

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14
Q

How much was spent on military?

A

45% of the governments annual expenditure

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15
Q

How much was spent on education?

A

4% of the governments annual expenditure

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16
Q

How was there a corrupt bureaucracy?

A

Due to nepotism and incompetence = main reasons for Russia’s backwardness

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17
Q

What did Alexander Herzen write about the tsarist system?

A

That is was run by a bureaucratic class that, for all its incompetence, still possessed the power to control the lives of the Russian masses

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18
Q

What was a major barrier for reform?

A

Disagreement within the government elite over Russia’s trie character as a nation - differences between ‘Westerners’ and ‘Slavophiles’

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19
Q

What were the significant periods of reform in Russia often due to?

A

National crisis or humiliation

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20
Q

What did the Zemstvos provide?

A

A form of representative government, although very limited, which offered some hope to those who longed for an extension to political rights

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21
Q

How did Alexander II relax censorship?

A

Relaxed controls over the press and universities

= encouraged the development of an intelligentsia

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22
Q

What was Alexander II’s intention for reform?

A

To introduce it from above to prevent revolution from below

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23
Q

What caused the intelligentsia to turn to revolution?

A

The reaction of AIII and NII = felt betrayed + despaired tsardom as a force for change

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24
Q

What was The Statue of State Security 1881?

A
  • Special gov. controlled courts outside the existing legal system set up
  • Judges etc who were sympathetic to liberal ideas were removed
  • Power of Okhrana extended
  • Censorship tightened
25
Q

What did The University Statue 1887 do?

A

Brought the universities under strict government control

26
Q

What was The Zemstva Act 1890?

A

Decreased the independence of local councils and empowered government officials to interfere in their decision making

27
Q

Why was Nicholas opposed to change?

A

Reform had a bad name and is education had made him suspicious of it

28
Q

Who was Pobedonostsev?

A

Chief minister in the government from 1881-1905 and was the Procurator of the Synod
- deep distaste for all forms of democracy

29
Q

What was Russification?

A

A severely enforced policy of restricting the influence of the non-Russian national minorities within the empire by emphasising the superiority of all things Russian

30
Q

What nationalities suffered the most?

A

Baltic Germans, Finns, Poles, Ukrainians and Armenians

= state interference in their education, religion and culture became widespread and systematic

31
Q

How were the Jews repressed?

A

Measures introduced, imposing heavy social, political and economic restrictions on them
- most lived in ‘ghettos’ + were scapegoated for Russia’s problems

32
Q

How did the tight controls Nicholas introduce not lessen opposition?

A

Opposition actually became more organised

- policies of reaction caused political and national groups to become frustrated by coercion and incompetence

33
Q

Why was Russification ill-judged?

A
  • At a critical stage of development cohesion and unity were needed
  • Russia chose to treat half its population as inferiors or potential enemies
34
Q

What was a major reason for the ‘great spurt’?

A
  • Increase in the output of coal in Ukraine and oil in the Caucasus
  • Sudden acceleration was the result of private enterprise = sustained by government policy
35
Q

Why was economic expansion attractive to the Tsar?

A

It was a means of improving the strength of the Russian armed forces

36
Q

How did Witte raise capital?

A

Negotiated large loans and investments from abroad, while imposing heavy taxes and high interest rates at home

37
Q

Why did Witte set up protective tariffs?

A

As a means of safe guarding Russia’s domestic industries such as steel production

38
Q

Why was currency put on the gold standard?

A

Hope was that this would crete finical stability and so encouraged international investment in Russia

39
Q

How many miles of railway were there in 1881 compared to 1913?

A
1881 = 13,000
1913 = 44,000
40
Q

When was the Trans-Siberian Railway created?

A

1891-1902

41
Q

What are the figures of coal output in 1890 compared to 1916?

A
1890 = 6m tons
1916 = 34m tons
42
Q

What are 3 drawbacks of Witte’s reforms?

A
  • Russia became too dependent on foreign loans
  • Neglected vital light engineering areas such as machine tool production
  • Paid no attention to agriculture
43
Q

Why did peasants who had left the country side to work in the city initially accept their grim conditions?

A

Due to the higher wages they received but when the boom turned to recession there was widespread unemployment

44
Q

What was the overall increase in industrial output from 1908-1914?

A

8.5%

45
Q

Why did few workers gain from the industrial and financial expansion?

A

Weak TUs and minimal legal protection left the workforce very much at the mercy of the employers
- Little of the money in circulation reached their pockets

46
Q

How did inflation and wages rise?

A

Inflation rose 40% between 1908-1914 but the average wage rose from 245 to 264 roubles a month

47
Q

By 1914 how much of the population were peasants?

A

4/5

48
Q

What are the two main groups opposed to Nicholas?

A

Revolutionaries and reformers (liberals)

49
Q

What were the 3 major forces within the revolutionaries?

A

The Populists, SRs and SDs

50
Q

What was the view of the Populists?

A

Regarded the future of Russia as being in the hands of the peasants

51
Q

Who made up the Populists?

A

M/c, u/c and students = no real success, not supported by peasants

52
Q

What did the Populists turn to?

A

Terrorism as a means of achieving their aims = People’s Will

53
Q

Where did the SRs come from?

A

The Populist movement

54
Q

What assassinations were the SRs responsible for?

A

1901-1905 over 2000 assassinations, including Grand Dule Sergei

55
Q

What were the Left SRs and Right SRs?

A
Left = terrorists 
Right = willing to work with other parties
56
Q

Who did the SRs receive growing support from after 1906?

A

The professional classes, TUS and the All-Russian Union of Peasants

57
Q

When were political parties allowed?

A

1905-1921

58
Q

Who were the Octoberists?

A

Moderates who were basically loyal to the tsar

  • believed in the maintenance of the Russian empire
  • regard the manifesto and the duma as major constitutional advances
59
Q

What was the Kadets view?

A

Wanted Russia to develop as a constitutional monarchy in which the powers of the Tsar would be restricted by a democratically elected constituent assembly