opposition to nicholas ii 1894-1905

Question 1

what pressures were applied by political threats to nicholas ii

Answer 1

pressured him to make reforms that reduced his autocratic powers

Question 2

what were the objectives of the liberals (westerners)

Answer 2

demanded that russia should be governed in the same fashion as western democracies

supported by the emergence of zemstva and demanded greater freedom and justice for all russians

demanded fairer land distribution for peasants, improved industrial worker conditions and a representative constituent assembly

Question 3

what were the objectives of the kadets

Answer 3

after the 1905 revolution, they demanded a constitutional monarchy. this was led by Paul Milyukov.

Question 4

what were the objectives of the octobrists

Answer 4

wanted to change the systems of government

displayed unloyalty to the tsar but supported his october manifesto

Question 5

was the liberal movement a threat

Answer 5

no. it involved a small proportion of the population, had no organised political party and limited ways to express their concerns

had little support from peasants so limited influence on policies

Question 6

who were the populists and what were their objectives

Answer 6

they were revolutionaries who emerged in the 1870s

argued that agricultural communes and workshops would provide a base for the russian economy to develop without resorting to capitalism

Question 7

were the populists successfull / threatening

Answer 7

were not threatening in 1894 as they failed to mobilise large scale support

their method of preaching to peasants had little success in rural communities

it was important as it marked a shift in attempts to represent the interests of people in urban areas of russia

Question 8

who were the socialist revolutionaries and what were their objectives

Answer 8

they developed from the populist movement. formed in 1901 and led by Chernov

they focused on improving living conditions for the poorest in society especially the growing urban working class

Question 9

who were the socialist revolutionaries and what were their objectives

Answer 9

they developed from the populist movement. formed in 1901 and led by Chernov

they focused on improving living conditions for the poorest in society especially the growing urban working class

Question 10

what threat did the socialist revolutionaries pose

Answer 10

they split into a radical left and moderate right

the left were responsible for over 2000 political killings

the right worked with other parties to gather support after 1905 revolution

despite divisons, they had the most support of opposition and were the biggest threat before the 1917 october revolution

Question 11

who were the social democrats (marxists)

Answer 11

based their ideology on Karl Marx, who believed the working class could be educated to overthrow Russian Autocracy by revolution

the party was founded in 1898 with the objective to encourage consciousness of the working class

Question 12

what were the methods / objectives of the SD

Answer 12

focused on practical concerns such as lowering working hours and improving pay rates. the main instigators were Lenin and Martov

Lenin produced ‘What is to be Done?’ in 1901, which outlined the idea that a complete overthrow of the tsar could be achieved if they were led by a politically educated elite

Question 13

what impact did lenin’s pamphlet have on the Social Democratic Party

Answer 13

it had minimal impact in the short term. Lenin’s view caused a division in the SD, forming the Mensheviks and Bolsheviks.
Mensheviks wanted political/economic/social change.
Bolsheviks argued that workers were capable of becoming sufficiently politically educated to form a revolution

Question 14

how much of a threat were the Bolsheviks?

Answer 14

they used terrorism and robbery to acheive funding (bank robbery)

the estimated numbers were 5-10 thousand which was not a threat to the authorities

overall, they were not viewed as a major threat

Question 15

who were the national minorities

Answer 15

russian empire consisted of great russia and the national minorities, who were other countries that did not originate from russia

loyalists: finns, baltics, armenians
rebels: poles, ukranians, tartars

Question 16

how much of a threat were the Polish to Tsar Nicholas II

Answer 16

industrialisation in 1890s emerged an interst in marxism and socialism. worker’s political parties were formed. nationalism also re-emerged

nicholas allowing this political activity indicated they were a minor threat to him, and that he trusted polish politicians.

Question 17

how much of a threat were the ukranians

Answer 17

nationalism was not as strong as in poland but they still looked to build a separate cultural identity, reflected through their literature and arts.

nicholas continued russification as a response

Question 18

what was russification

Answer 18

process of merging all european nationalities into one nationalisty of russian.

it was a key tsarist policy after 1991, the tsars believed it would lead to a stronger and united empire

Question 19

who were the caucasians and what objectives did they have

Answer 19

lived in the caucasious area of russia. lacked education and were illiterate so it made russification easy

they opposed nicholas ii’s repressive measures by organising self-defence military units to combat intrusion by russian officials

they posed a significant and continuous threat to the tsar’s authority

Question 20

who were the finns and what were their objectives

Answer 20

in 1865, finland was integrated into the russian empire which provoked much opposition. after the 1905 revolution/ riots they were granted full autonomy

however this was revoked by stolypin later that year.

tsar’s neglection of their demands for freedom brewed opposition

Question 21

what were the balkan’s objectives and how much of a threat were they

Answer 21

native russians migratic to baltic provinces, so naturally there was russian economic influence. this made russification inevitable and easy

this sparked a rise in nationalism which created pressure on nicholas ii but not enough to grant independence

Question 22

how much of a threat were the jews and what were their ideologies

Answer 22

posed direct opposition to nicholas ii, who continued anti-semitic traditions after his predecessor

accused of being revolutionaries as some were affiliated with the SDs