Opposition Flashcards
Polish revolt 1863- Alexander II
Polish revolt 1863- nationalists were afraid their new prime minister was a Tsarist lapdog and would compromise with the Tsar, revolt failed to gain support from majority off the population - led to Milyutin plan which meant that any autonomy Poland had was gone and strong Russification was implemented
Russo-Polish war 1920- Lenin
Lenin tried to take back Poland during civil war, however Russia forces were halted outside Warsaw before being forced to retreat. An armistice was eventually signed granting Poland independence
WW2 conferences- Polish relations
Stalin demanded that the new Russo-polish frontier should be established along the so called curzon line and that the whole of Poland had to be governed by soviet-backed Lublin-style regime.
Russo-Finnish relations under the Tsars
Tsars before Nicholas II took a fairly liberal stance on Finland, conceding to demands for a separate Finnish parliament. however under Nicholas II Finland was fully Russified, its separate army was disbanded and Russian became the main language - Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that helped it achieve lasting independence.
Russo-Finnish relations under communist rule
After ww2 Finland refused a request from Stalin to allow the Soviet Union to set up military bases on Finnish territory. This angered Stalin and resulted in his order to bomb the Finnish capital.
The Baltic Provinces (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania)
Baltic states were relatively stable and prosperous due to their large supplies of raw materials, this attracted the Soviet leaders. Many Russians emigrated to the Baltic states for better pay and so naturally Russification occurred. The baltic states were never strong enough to gain full independence
Ukrainians
Alexander II and Alexander III both attempted to Russify Ukraine but again as with Poland the treaty of Brest-Litovsk granted Ukraine full independence. However this was very short lived as they were taken over by the red army in the civil war. Stalins collectivisation programme was massively opposed, after WW2 many Ukrainians were accused of being German collaborators and were executed or deported
The Caucasians
Divided along religious lines. These divisions coupled together with high levels of illiteracy made Russification even easier. nevertheless populist movements arose to fight against repression. in particular the Dashnaks and the Georgian Mensheviks who proved to be very antagonistic towards Nicholas II. The Dashnaks organised their own self-defence militias to be used against intrusions by Russian officials
The Jews
Alexander II allowed for members of the Pale to migrate to other regions. Alexander III clamped down on this and during the period leading up to WW1 Jews were persecuted. Jewish people never really posed much of an active threat to Russian leaders it was the perceived threat that resulted in them being treated so badly. by WW2 a ban was opposed on the Jewish religion and Jewish institutions were closed.
Peasants
Post emancipation edict caused unrest as little freedom was actually given, poor land was given by the gov, and forced to pay redemption payments.
Kulaks- horded grain in speculation of a price increase and to act against Stalins Collectivisation policy, Stalin later eliminated them as a class
Land captains-land captains became hated for frequently mistreating and flogging the peasants in their charge and were “widely reviled” as the “personification of autocracy in the localities”.
Workers
Bloody Sunday march 1905
1898 the SD’s wanted better pay
July days-Revolution during which workers and soldiers of Petrograd staged armed demonstrations against the Provisional Government that resulted in a temporary decline of Bolshevik influence and in the formation of a new Provisional Government the Bolsheviks violently opposed the Provisional Government and desired a more rapid transition to Communism.
Hungary Uprising 1956
The Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People’s Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by the government’s subordination to the Soviet Union (USSR).[nb 2] The uprising lasted 12 days before being crushed by Soviet tanks and troops on November 4, 1956. Thousands were killed and wounded and nearly a quarter-million Hungarians fled the country.[4][5]
