N11 Flashcards
Nicholas II problems preventing his success
- Unprepared to be tsar , not ready
- Wife seen as arrogant/uncaring german ( was shy,withdrew) = hated, criticised for having no son
- Working class = very poor, radicals
- War – Japan and russia- Nicholas starts it,confiden/arrogant,easy victory -waste of russias resources and humiliating defeat – catalyst for other problems=pressure
- 1904,male heir BUT has haemophilia
- Dream of close/loving family – adoring father,loving husband, family man
- Protests-freedom of speech,workers rights,demand to see tsar guards
- attack, 1000 dead – bloody Sunday Jan 1905 – triggered revolution
Descriptions of Nicholas
-no confident, panicky,unfit for job
-Educated man but not practical suited
-caring man, idolised as father figure, good relationship with his people
- traditional, old-fashioned
-non-confrontatoinal
-admires his father
Nicholas as a ruler
- overwhelmed to live up to fathers rep
- strong religious convictions
- narrowminded and prejudiced , anti-semitic
- had a bad start – Khodynka may 1896 = 1400 killed, 600 injured in a crush for free food/beer – when to ball that evening – careless
- gained loyalty and respect but lacked training and experience
- indecisive ,poor leadership
- strong principle of autocracy
The tsarina
Had strong dislike for court, was perceives as cold and alouf, regarded as an outsider,disliked by Russians. Strongwilled and obstinate, believed tsar appointed by god, adamant he should keep his powers,not share them. Great and not always helpful influence on him.
The famine 1891-92 = !
just before Nicholas came to the throne, draught had caused starvation and famine. Cholera,typhus struck = half mill killed. Gov did nothing, public had to help. Zemstva was first to organise, others joined. People remember gov didn’t help, zemstvo did!!
Witte’s Great Spurt =
rapid increase in industry/production, peasants flood to town for work = urbanised, then radicalised
Urban number growth =
become militant, resented working conditions, treatment = massive strikes. 30000 spinners and weavers 1896+7 = arrival of proletariat
Emergence of new rev groups –
‘social democrats’ = workers encouraged to strike action
1899- 100000 workers involved in peak strike
Students
= protest afainst gov restrictions on uni = huge dmeonstrations
In 1891 – police beat students with whips, arrested leaders. Middle classes horrified = students raicalised. Thousands joined socialist revolutionaries
International economic downturn after 1900
= deep depression caused in russia. Falling wages and unemployment workers. = peasnats revolts were already angry due to tax and high rents
First wave of peasant revolt =
1902, landlord withdrew land needed to feed a family . revolts in 1902 & 1903. Growing internal disorder . govs answer = repression
Zubatov programme = police supervised trade unions
= 1901, 3 unions in Moscow, to connive workers lives could be improved within the system. Submitted demand to employers, pressured into making concessions. Spread rapidly south and west. Gov feared – harm economy and politicise workers . 1903 = strike by unions turned into general strike, zubatov was dismissed.
Bolsheviks =
aim of communist russia,radical ideas of Marxism, instigate proletariat revolution, occur as quickly as possible . limited to small group of dedicated revolutionaries
Mensheviks =
aim of communist russia, radical ideas of Marxism,occur naturally , instigate proletariat revolution,broad group-anyone can join, follow Marxist theory , let it happen
Social revolutionaries =
russia future with the people, give peasants land ownership , don’t compensate owners. Different factipns within the party b. carried out political assassination 1901-5 . murdered tsars uncle
Octobrists =
October manifesto is best settlement, parliamentary democract, few liberals,nobles and uppr class + zemstvos. Want to work with the tsar
Kadets =
push Nicholas for more changes than within October manifesto . oct manifesto = beg not end . educated middle class support. Challenge Nicholas but still in ruke of law
Opposition strength to tsarist regime
A11s assassination =
security stepped up, tsar in castle of Gatchina – ended populist movement although some met in secret
Self education circles conttibued underground + contact with radicals
Opposition strength to tsarist regime
George Plekhanoov =
George Plekhanoov = emancipation of labour froup in 1883 – translated and arranged Marxists tracts smuggled into Russia , demonstrate Marxism applicable to Russia
Plekhanov – argued Russian revolutionaries had to accept inevitability of marxs stages of development . revolutionaries should concentrate among Russian workers in citirs not peasnats
Opposition strength to tsarist regime
students
1886 students tried to reform peoples will , made bombs , were arrested. Months later 5 were hanged
Opposition strength to tsarist regime
After peak of 1881 -
slavophile attractions diminished in 1890s, moved towards industrialisation , socialism began to take root. Some attracted by Marxist theory, drawn to socialism others= liberal stance. Famine = turning point in development of opposition
Russian society polarised by great famine = increased opposition organised against gov. zemstvo expanded activites= revival of rural economy
OVERALL opposition strength to tsarist regime
BUT OVERALL = little chances of success against tsarist regime. Industrialisation sped up. Marxist discussion spread, illegal trade unions. Small beginnings of changes in thinking that had long term importance = little chances of success against tsarist regime. Industrialisation sped up. Marxist discussion spread, illegal trade unions. Small beginnings of changes in thinking that had long term importance
Khodynka Field 1896
400000, free food and rink to celebrate new tsar . 18th
Announced tsar on the way = people got excited , pushed forward in crowd surge
=deaths, people crushed,falling in ditches estimate 1400
Authorities carried on with celebrations
Seen as bad omen
Russia ‘on the brink’ by 1904
Targeted assasinations – senior gov ministers e.g Plehve the minister of interior assassinated by Azhev in 1904
Political violence spreading
High food prices, famine = economic problems
Uni disturbances = protests
Putilov engineering works 100,000 on strike in early ‘05
Bloody Sunday
9 jan 1905 at st Petersburg
Discontent winter, cut electricity,good shortages, 20000 urban/factory workers concession. Marched to winter palace. Wanted higher pay but loved tsar. Sang patriotic hymns, were peaceful, brought petition for tsar to sign asking for help
‘ let everyone be equal and free’
March passed a designated point = soldiers were nervous = opened fire. Led by Father Gapon – murdered year later by SRs
Fatal betrayal by tsar = 200? Dead
Gov response = arrestes and executions
TRIGGER FOR 1905 REV
Russo-japenese war 1904-05
Russo-Japanese war 1904-05
1904 = surprise attack on Port Arther, Manchuria = lots of damage
Sent Baltic fleet to the rescue , 18000 miles
Were underequipped, undertrained peasants
Mrch 1905 – 89000 soldiers killed in battle of Mukden with japenese
14 May 1905 – Tsushima = worst naval fleet in history
- lost 8 battleships and 4 cruises
- 4000 dead . 7000 prisoners
Japan only lost 3 torpedo boats
= humiliating defeat
Middle of 1905 = forced to sign peace treaty in Sep
Liberals ‘ union of unions’ make demands – parl gov and universal suffrage = widespread unrest throughout russia
Discontent spread thru forces = protests against bad conditions and treatment . black sea fllet, Odessa – battleship Potemkin = mutiny by crew
causes for revolution
Short term = industrial and urban
Long term = Russian autocracy
Long term = agriculture and peasants
Aggravating factor = growth of radical groups
Short term + aggravating + catalyst = russo-japenese war
Trigger factor = bloody Sunday
Oct manifesto
30 oct – published . did little to stop violence BUT meaningful comprise , got liberals on side and regained control = saves him
overview
-disturbances and disorder throughout year but October = greatest danger, confronted with liberal agitation, strikes and peasant disorder
-opposition struggled – spontaneous – tried to direct protest and channel it but limited success
Why did tsarism survive
- Witte, governed to recover and used repressive methods well
- Army as a whole remained loyal to regime, obeyed orders to suppress soviet and uprising
- Oct manifesto, gave breathing space to regime, split opposition to regime, octobrists who agreed. Kadets still opposed it
- Opposition weak = unable to control protest and exploit it, didn’t co-ordinate efforts. Liberals wanted end to autocracy but alarmed by working class militancy and danger of russia slipping into anarchy. Co-op between middle and working class = limited. Strikes = financial hardship, lost pay, so couldn’t be sustained
Duma –
members elected in parliament as a legislative power – two chambers, lower decided by indirect voting, upper by the tsar + zemstvo
Fundamental laws 23 April 1906
– five days before the first duma, reasserted nicholas autocratic power and claimed his right to : veto legislation, rule by decree in case on emergency, appoint/dismiss gov ministers, dissolve dumas whenever etc..
Kadets
Kadets – constitutional democrats, led by Pavel Milyukov, central liberal party – favouring constitution monarchy with parl gov. full civil rights, redistributon of large private estates
First duma in 1906 = 182 ( most popular)
4th duma in 1912-17 = 53
Octrobrists
– led by Aleksandr Guchkov. Moderate conservative party, accepted oct manifesto
First duma = 17
4th duma = 95
The first duma – Duma of National Hopes
May – July 1906
Boycotted by Bolshevik, SRs and right wing russia
Liberal – 1/3 peasantry
Overhwelimingly radical , strongly critical of tsar= wittes resignation
Replaced by Ivan Goremykin ( old-fashioned conservative)
Passed an ‘ address to throne’ requested political amnesty ( abolition of state council transfer responsibility to duma, seizure of lands of gentry without compensation, abandonment of emergency laws, abolition of detah penalty, reform civil service
Nicholas orders Goremykns demands – inadmissible
Duma passes vote of no confidence in gov, demands resignation of tsar ministers
10 weeks later duma = dissolved and goremykin replaced as PM by Stolypin
Vyborg
= 200 delegates travelled to town to issue appeal to citizens to refuse to pay taxes or do military service in protest. Authorities stepped in – imprisoned leaders and disenfranchised those who signed the appeal
Second duma – duma of national anger
Feb – June 1907
Even more oppositional- extrene keft wing due ot Bolsheviks
Stolypin struggled to find support for agrarian reform programme – passed under tsars emergency powers
Duma refused to sign – spread story of plot to assainte tsar and dissolved duma , arrested and exiled more delegates
Introduced illegal emergency powers to later franchise
Peasants and workers decreased, representation of gentry increased
Third duma – duma of lords and lackeys
Nov 1907 – June 1912
More submissive duma , agreed 2200 of 2500 proposals
Shows unpopularity of tsarist regume that proved confrontational still
Disputes over nabal staff, propsals to extend primary education
1911- had to be suspened twice
1912- clear duma system wasn’t working
Stolypins role
PM 1906-11
Tried to muzzle dumas, make less confrontational, major land reformer
Assassinated 1911 – new PM = kokovtsov (1911-14)
Stolypins use of court martials – dealt with politicsl crimes. Convicted and executed 3000 people
Fourth duma
Nov 1912-17
Very docile, not huge part in gov of russia
‘ thank god we don’t have a parliament ‘ shows attitude towards dumas
PM = Vladimir Kokovstov
Rasputin
Arrives 1903 to st petersrbug
Claims spiritual powers
Invited to court + healed aleksi = tsarina relies on gim,trusts. Taints the royal family = gossip of affairs
Russian empire in WWI
Russia enemies
- Germany and Austria Hungary
- Start off strong against Austria Hungary but loses against Germany at Battle of Tannenberg – 50000 dead
Key events
- Battle of Tannenberg major defeat
- Battle of the Masurian Lakes majr defeat
- Long retreat then by aut 1915 forced out of poland Lithuania latvia
- Germany takes over Poland and takes warsaw ( aug 1915)
- Revocers during winter1915-16
- Russia succeeds attack = try agon = battle where russia loses again
- 1916 summer offensive by brusilov, over half Austrians killed or captured
- But germand reinforced, moved back
facts - Russias involvement tin wwI
By end of 1914 – 1.8 million had been killed wounded or taken prisoner
New breeed of officers emerged, questioned hwy they were at war
Nicholas as supreme head of military = catalyst
Appointes bursilov – who was no respect for tsar himself – fights for Russia not for tsar
1916 summer offensive, begins wells captured 900 officers, 40,000
BUT in winter 1916 wht was lost captured back – german counter attack
100,000s = P of W camps = retreat + army question tsar, and duma and suprme command
Problems form russias involvement
- 100,000s = P of W camps = retreat + army question tsar, and duma and suprme command
- queues for broad, shortages for everything , food, clothes, petrol
Autumn 1916 – two mutinies , tsar + family = isolated
By beginning 1917
a peasant =
struggling with wartime inflation, tired and angry toward tsar and war, hoarding grain, conscripted into army, woman elderly or child (left from war)
beg 1917 a soldier =
a soldier = demoralised, captured or in prisoner of war camp, brave valiant, poorly equipped or injured
beg 1917 a worker +
a worker = on strike, poor conditons,coldlack of fuek paraffin queuing, thinking of protesting/revolution, wnating war to end
Evidence war outbreak = popular
Huge crowds cheered, 6 mill enlisted in first four months, less peasant and work resentment = unity = defending motherland more important
Military setbacks and problems first year of war
Had to retreat by 1915 summer from Latvia to ukriane, poorly equipped inexoerineced soldiers incomoenet officers, food shortages and inflation back home
Members of duma response to war problems =
Members of duma response to war problems = demand concessions but Nicholas response= reject and suspends duma, says he will personally take charge
Milyukovs speech nov 1916
= summarised political problems facing russia – aingled out Rasputin and tsarina ‘ shady perosnalities’ suggesting people surrouindg tsar were damaging monarchy
Dec 1916 – prince Yusupov
, angry at rasputins influence, poisoned the shot then thrown into canal, died by dorwning added to mystique but still too late to save the monarchy
Petrograd events Feb 1917
23 feb spontaneous protest from women = all sick og war and everything else want bread and freedom
Left factories, joined ofrces with worker strikes, began food shortages – bakeris and butchers
Women queuing 40 hours for shops sometimes not even getting any at the end
‘ was rotting from within’
Nicholas response = REPRESSIon , send his troops in
Signifigance of war
STRESSES AND STRAINS OF WAR = TOO MUCH FOR RUSSIA
Very significant
Created immense social disruption
Monarchy on its way down
15mill fought 2 mill dead
Further isolated Nicholas
Why did he abdicate 1917 feb/march
Demonstartions of feb 1917 – sick of war, bred queues, misery = spontaneous and violent
¼ million on streets of Petrograd
Troops called to open fire – 200 dead , 2000 die before uprising over. Soldiers unhappy start to refuse to shoot crowds of protestors (army disintegrated ) relate more to crowds, majority lower classes
= open mutiny against the tsar + officers murdered
Nicholas reaction to growing crisis
Nicholas reaction to growing crisis
Disinterested , detached from reality of situation
Advice from duma leader = make concessions BUT was treated with contempt
Nicholas tries to dissolve duma
Nicholas tries to dissolve duma = parliamentarisnd ignored, sent delegation to reason with him
Attitude = ‘ hoarty disdain’ = feel empowered wont go quietly
27 feb rodzianko sends last telegram
Nicholas finally succumbs
Nicholas finally succumbs
Train back to cpitsl stuck in Pskov
2nd march – reach tsar and tell him they wont support him and ot abdicate
Abdicated in favour of Michael = refusal = no more tsars
‘ pitiful excuse for tsar’ signed abdication in pencil , sneered at
Dual power emerged in tauride palace :
Provisional government ( duma) – Prince Lvov = prime minister
Wasn’t elected, jad no legal power but want proper democracy
Petrograd soviet – represent smaller soviets(workers,sailors,soldiers)
Agree to work with gov
Base for radicals
Western historians =
Western historians =
Tsarist regime making progress
Industrial and agricultural growth
Countryside quiet
Political progress
Wwi = stresses and strains that couldn’t be dealt with = main cause
Other historians – revisionists =
Other historians – revisionists =
Underlying weaknesses in tsarist regime structure
Couldn’t cope with provlems from industrialisation and modernisation
Majority peasants in poverty
Demands and aspirations of workers not met
Tsra still hostile to political demands, stuck to outdated autocracy
Conflict between society becoming more educated
War exposed all these structural insituuonal weaknesses , couldn’t cope iwht stresses abd strains
Tsar was too blame for rev
- Weak, obstinate, lacked interest in world around ihm
- Didn’t willingly support witte or stolypins reforms
- Refused to cooperate with dumas
- Went to front 1915
- Resisted all forms change pre-1905
- Never committed to oct manifesto
- Failed to relaise serious o fisutation in 1904
- Appointed incompetents to run gov after stolypins death
- Supported Rasputin
- Rejcted prosals of progressive bloc
tsar wasn’t too blame for rev
- Ill prepared
- Oct manifesto forced on him
- Work of progressives exposed his weaknesses
- Growth opposition = more radical propsals for change
- Defat and loss at war = dmage morLE
- Economic disruption
- Ocurence strikes and militancy in cities
- Problems by industrialsiation and moderinsation
- Hostility to stolypins reforms from all sides
- Lack improvement living an dworking conditions for working classes
More reasons for collapse
Feb 1905 – grand duke sergi killed
3 march – consultative assembly announced could discuss preliminary discussion of legislation
aftermath of war
- Duma , still only power of discussion = rejection
- Revolts broke out atleast 3000 that year
- 20 oct general strike rapidly spread
- 26 oct st Petersburg soviet formed by striking owrkers to organise future actions, Trotsky as leader
