Nicholas II (1894-1904) Flashcards
Did Nicholas II have a unified policy-making body like a cabinet
No.
Each minister reported to the tsar their field of responsibility only - preventing strategic coherence.
“The goverment could pull in two opposite directions without meaning to”
Give an example of contradictory policies
Whilst the ministry of finance energetically fostered industrialisation, other ministries were pursuing conservative social policies which ignored or impeded economic change
What did Pobedonostev call plans for a national representative democracy and who was he
Nicholas’ tutor
“senseless dreams”
What did Nicholas II say in 1904 when calls for a national assembly (Duma) were even louder
“I will never agree to the representative form of goverment because i consider it harmful to the people whom God has entrusted to me”.
Give 3 ways in which Nicholas responded to reformist calls with repression
Mounted Cossacks (riot police) were used more frequently to break up gatherings and protests in unis and factories
Police were also used to break up zemstva meetings when discussions were deemed too ‘liberal’
The Okhrana’s powers were increased by a new ‘internal passport’ system in Russia, where every Russian had to register their home address and visitors to towns had 3 days to register presence or face punishment
In 1882 the Okhrana had secretly opened around………..letters a year in Russia, but by 1904 it was steaming open over………letters a year
40,000
100,000
What is significant about the growth of the Okhrana network of ‘agent provocateurs’
Spies placed undercover in revolutionary groups, student groups and unions.
They participated in radicalism to a bizarre degree, before turning in their co-conspirators for money
They ran a radical printing press, provided weapons to radicals and even participated in assassinations of goverment members (including tsar’s uncle)
This shady kind of morality only served to undermine what remained of the Tsardom staus as the divine protectorate of all Russians
Give a mistake by the Okhrana
Organised police controlled unions in Moscow - ended in 1903 when one of these ‘loyal’ unions took part in a general strike
revived later with father Gapon permitted to open the assembly of St Petersburg Factory Workers - would prove a potent force in the capital
What russification scheme occurred in Finland and what was the effect
1899 - Finland’s constitution was abolished which led to mass protest and the Russian governor of Finland being assassinated by a Finish terrorist in 1904
Give an example of Nicholas accelerating his father’s campaign of forced conversion to Orthodoxy in Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia and Poland
Helped stoke further nationalist resentment in those areas
FUnded extreme Pan-Slavic and anti-Sematic radical groups and publishers (Black Hundreds)
In 1902 - Okhrana secretly funded the Russian publication of ‘Protocols of the Elders of Zion’ - used to justify anti-Semitism
What happened in Kishinev Bessarabia in 1903
Worst anti-semitic pogrom with no state resistance
In two days 47 jews were murdered, 400 wounded, 700 shops burnt
In 1903 the mir lost their………………..powers and peasants were given greater freedom to visit…………..for work with mir…………..abolished
Tax-collecting
Cities
Passports
Give an example of little alleviation of Peasant suffering
Little real impact on peasant living condition and no truly radical reforms of peasant life took place until after 1905
The growing number of peasant riots, attacks on landlord and arson of manor houses (1897-04) were greeted with violent state repression, particularly hangings
The tsar was keen to follow the…………….tradition and by the end of the first decade was confident that Russia was ready to compete as a…………………they also had faith in popular…………appeal of a military victory to quell popular interest
Expansionist
‘Great Power’
Patriotic
What state was Russia in when Nicholas became Tsar
The heritage left behind was in good running order.
The industrialisation drive was reaching its peak
The Trans-Siberian railway project was pushing ahead
The revolutionaries were in hiding
The EMpire was at peace
Why was the appearance of stability at the start an illusion
The industrial program was impoverishing the peasants and depressing the conditions of key factory workers
Under the nagging, bullying pressure of Alexander’s russification policy, bitter resentments against central rule had built up among non-Russian people, forming half the population
What did the Liberals want
Tsardom reformed into a constitutional monarchy.
They were centred around the Zemstva where calls for change continued despite repression from Okhrana and Land Captains
Primary liberal demand was for some kind of national assembly, relaxing of censorship and mass education
Give two liberal organisations
National Congress of Zemstva presidents - promptly banned in 1897
Group of radical liberals formed the ‘Union of Liberation Party’ in Berlin - printed the influential newspaper ‘Liberation’
Give two examples of liberal power over the tsar
1904 - felt confident enough to relocate the Union of Liberation to St Petersburg and dodged the law against political meetings by holding ‘banquets’ where liberal policies were openly discussed
Goverment knew where the zemstva presidents were but felt unable to arrest them for fear of sparking a mass uprising
What resulted from liberal banquets
Eleven Theses Petition - called for a constitutional monarchy and was discussed at more banquets nationwide
What are Marxists
Small secret societies that shared illegal readings and worked to infiltrate and educate the working class in ost cities
Give examples of Marxist strengths
Helped organise strikes and were involved in the massive textile worker’s strikes in St. Petersburg in 1896-7
In 1898 these groups united into the Russian Social Democratic Labour party (but only 9 delegates attended and 5 were arrested)
1900 - opened an illegal newspaper ‘the Spark’ to promote their view that the urban proletariat was the only force capable of reforming Russia
Gives examples of Marxist being mainly weak
Group split in two in 1903 which weakened the movement into Mensheviks and Bolsheviks
Marxists of limited significance - largely due to Okhrna’s very successful monitoring and infiltration of the group
Lenin was either in exile, imprisoned or overseas between 1897-05
What was New Populism - (Social revelotuionaries)
Wanted to:
Radicalise the peasantry - by stimulating unrest
Educate + radicalise workers - best placed to start a revolution
Weaken tsarist regime through assassinations
Give evidence of success for new Populists
In the central heartland of Russia + Ukraine where land was most scarce and peasants were most trapped by nobility - they had success in peasant membership and stirring violence
Successfully secured proletariat membership and agitating strikes in the Baku oil region and Polish industrial regions
Combat Section killed Minister of Interior (Phleve) and Education
