Nicholas II 1894-1917 Flashcards
How much did strike action increase between 1894-1914?
17,000 to 90,000
What did the Russian social hierarchy look like by the time Nicholas II came to power?
Landed elite (business owners, mostly nobles), middle class (bankers, doctors, teachers, etc.), urban working class, peasantry
What was the size of the middle class by 1897?
Over 1 million
What percentage of the population did the urban working class make up by 1900?
3 million or 2.5% of the total population
What were Nicholas’s reasons for going to war against Japan in 1904?
Conflict over expansion into China - dispute over ownership of Port Arthur, commercial opportunities in far east, Pacific control, glory
What was Plehve (Minister for Internal Affairs)’s quote regarding going to war against Japan?
“A short swift victorious war to stem the tide of revolution”
What was St Petersburg’s population growth between 1881-1914?
900,000 in 1881, 1.3m in 1897, 2.2m in 1914
What was Moscow’s population growth between 1881-1914?
750,000 in 1881, 1.2m in 1897, 1.8m in 1914
What were urban workers in the 1890s subject to?
Over 11 hour days, disciplined/fined for small infractions, accidents causing death/serious injury were common and wages generally low
What proportion of deaths in St Petersburg were caused by infections disease by 1911?
1/3
What effect did urbanisation have on family structure?
Fewer townspeople married and they tended to marry older, had fewer children as wages were too low to support a family, women in cities tended to remain single
What was the pay of Russian workers in comparison to those in Western Europe?
Less than 1/3
What was the literacy rate among workers in 1914?
64%, compared to 40% in the general population
When were redemption payments finally ended?
1907
How many more primary schools were there in 1911 when compared to 1878?
4x more in 1911
How many migrant workers were there in Russia by 1900?
9 million
How much did the number of doctors increase between 1897-1914?
From 17,000 to 28,000
What happened at Khodynka Field during the celebrations for Nicholas II’s coronation?
1400 were killed and 600 injured in a crush for free food/beer - Nicholas still attended ball with French ambassador that night
What scathing comment did an unknown cabinet minister make regarding Nicholas’s leadership skills?
“Unfit to run a village post office”
How did Witte’s industrialisation and modernisation policies threaten the autocracy?
Millions migrating to cities created social tension, many workers concentrated in large complexes/factories so easy to organise strikes, increased literacy/education meant challenge to autocracy, growing middle class wanted a government
How many textile workers went on strike in St Petersburg in 1896/97?
30,000
What legislation was passed for factory workers in the 1890s?
Work day limited to 11 1/2 hours
How many workers went on strike in 1899 and how did the autocracy deal with this?
100,000 were striking, only dealt with through arrests, imprisonment, exile and execution
What was Zubatov (head of Moscow Okhrana)’s strategy for combatting urban militancy?
Repression alone couldn’t combat militancy, had to improve workers lives - achieved through trade unions and self-help organisations
When and why was Zubatov dismissed?
Dismissed in 1903 after a general strike in Odessa
What were the main beliefs of the Tsar’s liberal opposition?
Civil rights, individual freedoms, free elections, parliamentary democracy, self-determination for national minorities, zemstva extended
What methods did liberal opposition use?
Reform over violence, political channels through zemstva, newspaper articles, meetings/banquets
What was the liberal opposition’s support base?
Middle-class intelligentsia - lawyers, doctors, teachers, etc.
What did the Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) believe in?
Peasant-led popular uprising leading to overthrow of Tsar, land taken from landlords and divided amongst peasants
What were the SRs methods?
Violence and terrorism, including assasination of government officials
What was the SRs support base?
Traditionally peasants, however by 1905 industrial workers made up 50% of membership
What is meant by socialism in terms of Tsarist opposition?
Broad term representing left-wing opposition - Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, SRs and some Oktoberists. Believed in ownership of means of production (“for the people by the people”)
What is meant by Marxism in terms of Tsarist opposition?
Direct influence from Marxist works like Das Kapital and the Communist Manifesto (Bolsheviks/Mensheviks)
What were the key differences between Bolshevism and Menshevism?
Mensheviks were generally peaceful and believed bourgeois revolution had to happen before communist revolution as stated in Marxist stage theory, whilst Bolshevism necessitated terror and skipped from Tsarism to dictatorship of proletariat
What was the political situation in Russia like by 1903?
Volatile - famine in Central Volga in 1898/99, 1900 international recession caused depression, peasant revolts in 1902/03
How did the Russo-Japanese War politically impact Russia?
The humiliation in the war made the autocracy look increasingly incompetent
When was Bloody Sunday and what happened?
On 9 Jan 1905, 150,000 men, women and children peacefully protested in front of the Winter Palace - cavalry opened fire, 130 were killed and 300 seriously wounded
What was Figes quote on the impact of Bloody Sunday on Tsarist authority?
“In one vital moment the popular myth of a good Tsar which had sustained the regime through the centuries was suddenly destroyed”
How many workers were striking by the end of January 1905?
Over 400,000
Where were the leaders of the main socialist parties during the events of 1905?
Exiled in Europe
What happened to the Russian Baltic Fleet?
Sailed all around Africa and Asia to get to Japan, taking 6 months, before being destroyed in under an hour by the Japanese navy
What was the Union of Unions?
An umbrella body of liberal political reform (lawyers, engineers etc.) which requested universal suffrage
What was the peasantry’s reaction to the events of 1905?
Began to revolt in June/July - seized land, grain, animals and timber, burned landlord’s houses, refused to pay rent and tax. Set up All-Russian Peasant Union near Moscow
What were the national minorities’ reaction to the events of 1905?
Demanded autonomy, a democratic government and an end to Russification. Poland and Finland demanded independence - Russian troops shot 93 Poles who took part in demonstrations inspired by Bloody Sunday
What was the significance of the battleship Potemkin?
First mutiny in the armed forces
What were the main conditions of the Treaty of Portsmouth?
Recognition of Japan’s control of Korea and Port Arthur, had to pay 300 million roubles in compensation to Japan
How many workers took part in the general strike of September/October 1905?
2 million
What hardships resulted from the general strike of September/October 1905?
Food/medical supplies ran short, unburied bodies piled up, significant increase in crime
What was significant about the formation of the St Petersburg soviet in 1905?
For the first time, the urban workers became an organised force
What were the main concessions of the October Manifesto?
Elected duma, freedom of speech/conscience, end of press censorship, freedom of association, end of unwarranted arrests
What did the cruelty inflicted on Jews in October 1905 consist of?
3,000 killed in last 2 weeks alone, houses/businesses burned, rape and looting
Which two major liberal political parties were formed following the October Manifesto?
Kadets and Oktoberists
How did the Tsarist regime regain control in late 1905?
Okhrana arrested soviet leaders, ended redemption payments to regain peasant support, as many as 15,000 people state executed by April 1906 (“Stolypin’s necktie”)
What were some of the reasons the Tsar was able to survive the 1905 revolution?
Army remained loyal, repression was effective in re-asserting control, opposition wasn’t co-ordinated, October Manifesto appeased liberals, middle classes put off by violence, revolutionary parties had limited input, French loan in 1906
What takeaways did Lenin draw from the events of 1905?
Bourgeoisie and liberal parties were weak opposition, peasantry had revolutionary potential, nationalist movements could undermine empire
What takeaways did Tsar Nicholas II draw from the events of 1905?
Could survive mutinies as long as army stayed loyal, liberals had no appetite for revolution
How did the events of 1905 influence the 1917 revolution?
People lost respect and admiration for Tsar and autocracy, workers were more inclined for social revolution, increased peasant resentment
What were the key elements of the Fundamental Laws and when were they passed?
Passed in April 1906, the Fundamental Laws meant Nicholas had to ratify everything passed in the Duma, he could bypass the Duma to pass laws in ‘exceptional circumstances’ and there would be a second chamber with equal power that would be fully appointed by the Tsar
How was the electoral system for the Dumas unfair?
Extremely weighted towards upper classes - e.g., 2,000 landowners were represented by 1 deputy whilst 90,000 workers were represented by 1 deputy
Who were the largest party in the first Duma and what effect did they have?
The Kadets were the largest party with 182 seats - attacked Tsar on issues of election freedoms and free speech
Why did the Tsar dissolve the first Duma?
Offended at the ‘lack of respect’, the Tsar dissolved the Duma saying “Curse the Duma. It is all Witte’s doing”
What did the Kadets do following the dissolution of the first Duma?
Published the Vyborg Manifesto urging Russian citizens not to pay tax - in response the govt closed down Kadets offices, dismissed party members from govt service and arrested and disbarred many rebellious deputies from re-election
What percentage of those eligible in St Petersburg turned out to vote in elections for the second Duma?
Over 70%
Who were the largest parties in the second Duma?
Trudoviks with 104 deputies, ahead of the weakened Kadets with 91
Who were the Trudoviks?
Loose grouping of deputies representing the peasantry, main aim was agrarian reform
What was the second Duma dubbed?
“The Duma of national anger”
Why was the second Duma dissolved?
Left and right wing deputies provoked each other, left attacked ministers and didn’t let them talk, Tsar alleged there was a SD (Bolshevik/Menshevik) plot to kill him
What was Stolypin’s coup?
Stolypin changed the electoral system so that peasants and workers were virtually excluded and non-Russian national influence was reduced - vote restricted to upper and propertied classes
Who were the leading parties in the third Duma?
Oktoberists (154 seats) and Rightists (147 seats)
What were the main achievements of the third Duma?
Stolypin’s land reforms, compulsory primary schools for 8-11 year olds, improvement in army/navy, Justices of the Peace replacing Land Captains, sick pay for workers
How did the third Duma differ from the first two?
More co-operation between government and Duma however wasn’t completely co-operative and relations broke down by 1911
Did the fourth Duma make progress and why was it dissolved?
Made progress especially in education however war intervened
What happened to Stolypin after the third Duma was dissolved?
Assassinated in September 1911
What was the ‘Progressive Bloc’
A group formed out of the Fourth Duma that gave the Tsar a chance to work with the people during wartime, however the Tsar saw it as an attack and rejected it
Was the Constitutional Experiment in Russia successful?
Showed some progress was being made from autocracy however Nicholas was never willing to work with or listen to the Duma and always looked for ways to undermine it
How much did strike action in Russia increase between 1911-1914?
100,000 workers striking in 1911 compared to 1,500,000 striking in Jan-Jun 1914
Were there signs of political stability in Russia in 1914?
Villages quiet with good harvests, army was loyal pre-war, liberal opposition weak and divided, govt repression post-1905 decimated revolutionary parties
What was the public’s initial reaction to the outbreak of WW1?
Nicholas rode a wave of popular support from the people
How many Russians were killed or taken prisoner between May-Dec 1915?
1 million killed with a further million taken prisoner
Why was the Russian military’s leadership ineffective in WW1?
Mostly appointed due to loyalty to the Tsar rather than military expertise
Were there any successes in the Russian war effort?
Advances made against Austria, helped Allied victory through two front war, by 1916 1000% growth in artillery/rifle production
What problems did Russian soldiers face in WW1?
No command structure or war plan, lack of supplies/equipment, extremely harsh conditions in cold, rain and dirt, tens of thousands deserted
What impact did the war have on Russians at home?
8 million casualties, railway system collapsed, food(e.g. grain) diverted to war effort causing famine
How much was inflation between 1914-16 in comparison to wage increases?
Prices for food and fuel quadrupled while wages only doubled
How much did Petrograd (St Petersburg) suffer from shortages?
Only 1/3 of food and fuel required was being produced
What did increased German occupation of Russian territory cause?
Migration from Russians back into Russian occupied territory - overcrowding and decrease in living standards
What happened to government approval when it became clear the war was being lost?
Confidence evaporated as incompetence shown, zemstva and other bodies formed their own bodies to provide medical care and hospitals for wounded soldiers
What is total war?
A war which is not restricted to the war front and where the economy and lives of citizens are bound up in prosecuting the war
What mistake did the Tsar make in August 1915 and what consequences did it have on his authority?
Took direct control of war effort - meant he became personally responsible for failings and was away from Petrograd for long periods leaving the unpopular Tsarina and Rasputin in charge
What was the situation in Russia by the end of 1916?
Support for Tsar was disintegrating from all classes and groups in Russia
What were the short-term triggers for the February revolution?
Bread rationing, International Women’s Day strikes, troops opened fire turning peaceful protest violent, soldiers mutinied to side of people
What was Nicholas’s response to the revolution in Petrograd?
Suspended Duma and sent troops to restore control
What was the death toll of the February revolution?
1,500
What are the two contrasting viewpoints from historians on the causes of the February revolution?
Some argue Russia was making progress by 1914 and the revolution was short-term and caused by the war, while others argue the war was just a short term cause and the weaknesses had been on show for decades
