Nicholas II Flashcards
how did the Russian economy grow throughout Nicholas II’s reign?
- from 1892 to 1914, the economy grew at a rate of 8% per year
- by 1914, Russia had 62,000km of railway which was the second longest in the world
- by 1914, Russia was fifth biggest industrial power
what were the effects of the Russo-Japanese war?
- 90,000 killed at Mukden alone
- was viewed as a humiliating defeat and a massive failure
- the discontent with Tsar contributed to the riots of 1905 and the fact that the army were in the far east made them harder to put down
what was bloody sunday?
this was one of the peaceful protests for reform, but ended up being fired upon by imperial guards. whether Nicholas actually personally ordered this is unknown but it ended with over a hundred peaceful protesters dead and instigated further protests which turned into the 1905 revolution
how was the revolution ended?
-Nicholas agreed to the October manifesto which appeased the moderate liberals but not the revolutionary socialists. although this split up the factions and the revolution was then easily ended
what did the october manifesto promise?
- it promised the first ever elected national assembly known as the duma
- promised freedom of speech and assembly
- the removal of censorship which resulted in the spreading of Marxist idead
how did the fundamental laws reverse the promises of the october manifesto?
4 days before the first duma met the tsar announced the new laws which made it so:
-he had the right to exercise ‘supreme
autocratic power’
-initiate legislation and approve laws
-summon and dissolve the duma
-rule by decree in an emergency or when a
duma was not in session
how did the Tsar deal with the duma’s
- he dissolved the first one after they passed a vote of no confidence
- he dissolved the second one as most of his proposals were opposed. leading radicals were exiled as well
- the third and fourth dumas were filled with more supporters of the tsar
what were stolypin’s reforms?
- the abolishment of the mir system in 1906
- scrapping of redemption payments in 1907 and peasants becoming free to leave their villages
- a new peasant land bank which made it easier for peasants to set up their own farms
what were the results of stolypin’s reforms
- they were enforced very autocratically, anyone who opposed were subject to ‘stolypin’s necktie’
- it led to the emergance of a kulak class although the nobility still held 50% of the land
- in 1911, the SRs were able to assassinate stolypin, although, this led to over 2000 SRs being excuted
what were the living conditions like during his reign?
- living conditions were poor in the cities with around 40% of rented houses in Petrograd having no running water or sewage system
- cost of living rose by 300% in Petrograd
what were the successes of stolypin’s reforms?
- peasant ownership of land increased by 30% from 1905 to 1915
- increased production of grain led to russia becoming the world’s leading cereal exporter in 1909
how did working conditions and rights improve?
- working day was reduced to 10 hours in 1914
- a factory inspectorate was set up in 1903
- legislation of trade unions in 1905
- the banning of employment of children under 12 in 1892
what was the impact of ww1?
- cost of living in petrograd rose 300%
- food was sent to front line so food shortages in cities
- battle of tannenberg left 300,000 russian soldiers dead or wounded
- Tsar was even more hated especially because he took over as commander in chief despite lack of experience. he was blamed for the failed Brusilov offensive of 1916
- Zemstvo lost authority
- Soldiers were disenchanted and undersupplied, and thus spread revolutionary ideas on the front line
how did urbanisation lead to increased opposition?
- the middle class jobs of managers, traders and doctors and lawyers etc became more prominent. these people began to play a larger role in the Zemstva and were opposed to the tsar due to their lack of representation in the duma despite being a large part of the Zemstva
- Urban population rose x4 between 1867 to 1917, leading to overcrowding and the easier spread of radical ideas
- in 1914, 10% of the population were factory workers, meaning Marxist ideas would have resinated with a lot of the population
what were the rural conditions like during Nicholas’ reign?
- a number of famines - 1891-92 (350,000 dead)
- there was a population increase, which increased the pressure on the already low grain output which was a 1/3 of britain’s
