NofG- reform, attitudes to poli change and extent of poli change

Question 1

Extent of economic reform- Tsars

Answer 1

Okay extent
+promoting railway construction
+Peasant land bank, salt and tax abolition
+ Witte’s great spurt modernised and industrialised russia greatly (Russia on gold standard, coal prod double, iron and steel sevenfold)
+Stolypin wager on the strong- peasant land bank and peasants allowed to consolidate land into strongholdings. -However, led to Kulaks and 2 mil leaving villages- short of rural labour workforce

Question 2

Extent of economic reform- Communists

Answer 2

Better extent
-Treaty of Brest-Livostk
+Nationalisation through supreme economic council
+War Communism -> NEP
+5 year plans
However, VLS limited in longterm impact under Khrushchev

Question 3

Extent of land reform- Tsars

Answer 3

less than commu
\+Emancipation of serfs
\+-Peasant and Noble Land Banks
-Land captains
\+Redemption payments scrapped under Stolypin

Question 4

Extent of land reform-Communists

Answer 4

more reform than tsars
VLS- st success, lt failure
Decree on land issues by bolsheviks
Collectivisation
De-kulakisation

Question 5

Extent of social reforms- tsars

Answer 5

+Military, judicial and education reform due to crimean war
+Education- inspectors in 1877, 23k primary in 1880 to 81k in 1914, ‘new code’ in 1865 doubled secondary students
-Education Stolypin banned all non academic uni meetings, Alexander III took away uni autonomy
-Housing remained consistently poor- izbas
+Better working conditions w e of serfs, gov support for those willing to migrate to siberia (stolypin), creation of Kulak class (stolypin)
-Vyshnegradsky grain exports=famine
+Kulak Living conditions
-Despite stolypin and siberia, land shortage still existed

Question 6

Extent of social reforms- communists

Answer 6

-Structural change due to communists ideological reform- majority of society were workers
-Commu gov still hierarchal despite reforms
+Khrushchev doubled housing stock
+Special housing blocks under Stalin
-These were poor quality
-Bad Kulak living conditions
-War communism bad for kulaks and famine in 1921
+NEP stopped famine and
-1-3mil kulak families deported between 1928-30
-Massive famine due to collectivisation reforms

Question 7

Extent of poli reform- Tsars

Answer 7

+Zemstva and Duma due to 1905 rev

+PG- constituent assembly

Question 8

Extent of poli reform- Communists

Answer 8

-SRs won constituent assembly vote, Bolsheviks overrode
+Dramatic poli changes in structure, ideology and control with Bolsheviks
+De-stalinisation

Question 9

Impact of reform on peasants

Answer 9

Generally abused and neglected, hardest hit by famines. NO longer part of outdated serfdom from 1861

Question 10

Impact of reform on workers

Answer 10

Exploited, in theory highly valuable to the Bolsheviks (dict of proletariat).
Improvements after 1917- shortening of hours (inc Stalin due to 5 year plan success, workers’ insurance system and bonus schemes
Overall though, treated similarly to peasants as became dictatorship

Question 11

Tsar attitude to political change

Answer 11

• Desire to maintain autocracy

- Elements of democracy through Zemstva and Duma (both had their limitations)

Question 12

PG attitude to political change

Answer 12

Positive- aiming to set up constituent assembly

Political change of a liberal nature- release of political. prisoners and formation of alliance with petrograd soviet

Question 13

Communist attitude to political change

Answer 13

Initially revolutionary- tsar abdicated, pg challenged, constituent assembly disbanded.
Used political system to consolidate power
Centralised power under Stalin (despite ‘freedoms’ of 1936 constitution)
Stalin implemented totalitarianism and extreme repression- one party state and ban on faction in 1921, purges and terror and great terror under stalin.
Khrushchev much more willing for political change- destalinisation and shifting authority to party.
However, did end up solo ruler and passed Malenkov and beria- how dissimilar to Lenin and Stalin?

Question 14

The extent of political change- continuity

Answer 14

All Tsars and Communists ruled as autocrats
PG appointed from the fourth Duma
Bolsheviks disbanded constituent assembly
Khrushchev still sole ruler despite authority ‘shifting to the party’?
Dictatorship of the proletariat- workers still treated with neglect peasants faced

Question 15

The extent of political change- change

Answer 15

Alexander II- The liberator?
Alexander III- the reactionary?
Nicholas II- both?
PG adopted liberal principles, succeeded in establishing constituent assembly.
Communists introduced Marxism-Leninism
Dictatorship of the proletariat
Marxism-Leninism-Stalinism then to totalitarianism
De-stalinisation towards democratic centralism