Late Imperial Russia Flashcards
In 1897 how many Russians were there compared to Ukrainians?
55m to 22m
What three bodies was the Tsars absolute rule exercised through?
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
What did the Tsars method of power show?
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
How did political parties/groups live in Tsarist Russia?
Underground
What did denial of free speech tend to cause?
Political activists to turn to extremism
What was the Okhrana?
The Tsarist secret police
- hunted down subversives who challenged the tsarist regime
How did the Orthodox church support the tsarist system?
Became a deeply conservative body, opposed to political change and determined to preserve the tsarist system
In 1897 what percentage of Russia was upper class, working class and peasants?
- U/C = 12%
- W/C = 4%
- Peasants = 82%
How was Russian not entirely without industry?
- Urals provided iron
- Moscow and St P. had textile factories
- Most villages had smelting works
Why had Russians financial system prevented industrial growth?
It had not yet mastered the art of borrowing and investment = discouraged entrepreneurialism
Why was the amount of peasants a problem?
There was not enough fertile land to go round
How did the governing elite view peasants?
With a mixture of fear and contempt = ‘the dark masses’
Why did the Tsars not want to raise the education level?
Were worried that this may prove to be extremely dangerous, socially and politically
How much was spent on military?
45% of the governments annual expenditure
How much was spent on education?
4% of the governments annual expenditure
How was there a corrupt bureaucracy?
Due to nepotism and incompetence = main reasons for Russia’s backwardness
What did Alexander Herzen write about the tsarist system?
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
What was a major barrier for reform?
Disagreement within the government elite over Russia’s trie character as a nation - differences between ‘Westerners’ and ‘Slavophiles’
What were the significant periods of reform in Russia often due to?
National crisis or humiliation
What did the Zemstvos provide?
A form of representative government, although very limited, which offered some hope to those who longed for an extension to political rights
How did Alexander II relax censorship?
Relaxed controls over the press and universities
= encouraged the development of an intelligentsia
What was Alexander II’s intention for reform?
To introduce it from above to prevent revolution from below
What caused the intelligentsia to turn to revolution?
The reaction of AIII and NII = felt betrayed + despaired tsardom as a force for change