Nicholas II Flashcards
Impact of the Russo-Japanese war
humiliation, worry about Russia’s world status, social unrest- caused more investment in industry and governmental reforms e.g. October Manifesto
Causes of unrest
Growth of the intelligentsia, students increasingly angry at being repressed, spread of higher education, rapidly growing population, 1892, 1898 and 1901 famines, growth=slums, Witte taxed peasants and kept industrial workers’ wages low, taxes raised, 1902 economic slump, poor harvests 1900 and 1902.
How many people were involved on Bloody Sunday?
150,000, led by Father Gapon
What was the bloody Sunday protester’s aim?
Go to the winter palace and ask for the tsar’s help (their ‘little father’)- peaceful
How many troops were used on Bloody Sunday?
12,000
Provisions of the October Manifesto
creation of a legislative Duma. Granted basic rights to the people but didn’t guarantee the government would function more democratically
Provisions of the Fundamental Laws
Gave power back to the tsar
Stolypin slogan
‘suppression first and then, only then, reform’
name of Stolypin’s main policy and what did it involve?
Wager on the Strong- peasants could buy unused land, peasants could make their land into smallholdings, encouraged peasants to move to cities
End of Stolypin
Assassinated- could never fully implement his policy
What happened at Lena Goldfields?
1912 strike due to appalling conditions, troops fired on unarmed demonstrators, killing 200 and wounding 400- increased social unrest.
Impact of the First World War on Russia
Severe inflation 1916, price of food and fuel quadrupled, fuel and food shortages as railways weren’t being used to transport these things, made worse by the winter 1916-17 as railways froze. Russian casualties for the whole war were 8 million
What happened to railways during the war?
War put too much pressure on them- e.g. port ‘Archangel’ sank into the ground under the weight of supplies.
Cost of the war
3 billion roubles v 1.5 billion in peace time
Level of inflation during war
prices up 400% by 1917 from the start of the war
Main consequence of the First World War
Nicholas forced to abdicate, mainly by the Progressive Bloc
What marked the development of a more coherent workers’ opposition movement?
strike of the St. Petersburg textile workers in 1896
Successes of Witte’s great spurt
coal production doubled, iron and steel increased seven-fold, average annual increase in industrial production of 7.5%
Stolypin welfare reforms
primary schools doubled 1905-14
Failures of Witte’s Great Spurt
neglected other parts of industry, although railways expanded this was very costly and still didn’t compare to other parts of Europe- Russia had 11 times less railway track than Germany and by 1913 coal production was 10% of that produced by Britain. Trans-Siberian railway was rushed and poorly constructed= failed in WWI
Russo-Finnish relations
Given full autonomy in 1905 but this was reneged by Stolypin the same year
