Nic II /Late Imperial Russia Flashcards
What was the one major rail route through Russia (and when was it built)?
The Trans Siberian Railway, finished in July 1904 and took more than 25 years
What was the Capital of Russia during this period (unit one)?
St. Petersburg
What is autocracy?
Absolute and unquestionable power.
How long had the Romanovs held the throne for in 1849?
300 years
What percentage of the population were the peasants?
82%
By who and when was Serfdom abolished?
Alexander II abolished Serfdom in 1861
What was Russification?
Supression of the other cultures in Russia to be replaced with more “Russian” ideas. Antisemitism prevalent.
When and what was the Potemkin Mutiny?
1905: mutiny over food and conditions on the ship, killing 8/17 of the officers on the ship, leading the the death of 2000 civilians in Odessa as ordered by the Tsar.
What is fatalism?
The belief that all events are predetermined and therefore inevitable.
When and what was the October manifesto?
1906: promised to guarantee civil liberties (freedom of speech/press/assembly), to establish a broad franchise, and create a legislative body (Duma).
When was the Russo Japanese war (and who won)?
February 1904 - September 1905, won by Japan
When and what was Bloody Sunday?
January 1905: massacre of peaceful demonstrators in St. Petersburg, 200 people killed, instigating a short revolution.
What happened in the 1905 revolution?
Strikes spread across the country, Grand Duke Sergei assassinated, general strike in October.
What were Redemption Payments?
Payments peasants had to make to keep their land.
What effects did industrialization have on the 1905 revolution?
Worsened living conditions, higher death rate and more disease, economic funds go to the machinery and not the people, backward agriculture, peasants expected to produce surplus grain.
How did economic problems contribute to the 1905 revolution?
Famine in the early 1900s, taxes, emancipation of the Serfs, ports and land weren’t bringing profit, Trans Siberian railway was not completed so goods couldn’t be transported, Factory work had low wages.
How did the Tsar contribute to the 1905 revolution?
Fatalism, lack of communication with the people, Bloody Sunday, heavy taxation, Russo Japanese war, lack of leadership.
How did social issues contribute to the 1905 revolution?
Strikes, social imbalance in classes, lack of trust in armed forces following Bloody Sunday, rise in disease, lower morale, 11.5 hour working day, overcrowding due to high population, low life expectancy (30 years), poor harvests.
When was Lenin forced into exile?
1907
How much were revolutionary groups reduced by in 1910
90%
What did Stolypin do?
Handed out 1114 death sentences between Oct 1906 - May 1907, closes 600 trade unions and 1000 newspapers. Political assassinations fell from 1,200 (1907) to 365 (1908). 5 million peasants emigrated to Siberia to cultivate land, 1/6 returned.
Why did the Tsar survive 1905?
Opposition was divided, October manifesto appeased the people, repression with violence using the army, the army remained loyal, aims were against the system not the Tsar himself.
What were the fundamental laws of 1906?
Nicholas II is the sole commander of the army and navy, he has the right to dissolve the Duma at any point, the right to rule independently from the Duma when it wasn’t in session, the power to appoint ministers he wanted to the council and to change the electoral system.
Evidence of political opposition leading to the 1905 revolution?
Social Revolutionaries made 2000 political assassinations leading up to 1905