POLITICAL Flashcards
Politcal under Alexander II?
1855 Alexander II becomes Tsar
Autocratic empire, covered 1/6th of land. Highly religious – Orthodoxy. Strict hierarchy that served Tsar. Highly bureaucratic. 1.5 million in army. Huge
censorship. Millions in Serfdom and a desire amongst elites to continue with traditional, outdated system.
1856 Russia is defeated in the Crimean War
Defeated by French and British. Alarm bells for reform for new Tsar. 1856 signs Treaty of Paris, humiliation for Russia. Desire to match more
modernised West without undermining Autocracy. Scared of Liberal ideas. Recognises need to reform.
1861 Emancipation of the Serfs
51 million are freed. “Abolish serfdom from above, before it abolishes itself from below”49 years of redemption payments. 2 years of temporary
obligation before “freedom” Can’t leave mir. Given bad quality land. 1861 private serfs freed. 1866 state serfs freed. Less than 1% become Kulaks.
1863 Polish Revolt
200,000 rebel against AII. Crushed and beginning of Russification. aimed to end russian occupation of parts of poland and regaining indepdence. contined until all were captured by russian forces in 1864
1864-75 Alexander II’s domestic reforms
Military – 1864-5 – Punishments less severe, conscription for all classes
Local Government – 1864-70 – Zemstvas set up, influence in schools, roads, jail, controlled by Nobility
Judiciary – 1864 – Innocent until guilty, Judges were appointed by Tsar, but Juries set up
Education – 1863-4 – Zemstvas control schools
More primary and secondary education, open to all classes and genders
Censorship 1858-70 – More access, 1020 books published in 1855 – 10,691 in 1894
1866-81 Alexander II’s reactionary years
Attempted assassination in 1866 fails but scares AII
Police, Law and control – Show trials to scare, searches and arrests grew, less freedoms
Education – New liberal subjects replaced with maths and Latin, church regain authority over schools
Lloris-Melikov– never signed, would have created a constitution, was accepted by AII on 13th March, but he was assassinated the same day
Politcal under Alexander III?
1881-94 Alexander III and reaction
150 peoples will members arrested
Local government – 1889 land captains, smaller electorate for zemstvos, peasants had less vote
Policing – Okhrana replaces 3rd Section in 1881, spies for spies
Judicial – closed courts
Education – lowest classes only access primary, no bigger groups than 5 at Unis
1882 - tolstoy made interior minister which manages interal affairs
1888 - fracne investment made to russia due to vyshenegradsky finance minister 1887-92, then witte from 1892-1903
Censorship– 1881-82
all publications have to be approved, russification impacted what was taught and allowed in arts
Some reforms – poll tax removed, some redemption fees abolished, peasants land banks set up
1881-94 Russification under Alexander III
Over 100 different ethnicities in Empire, desire to impose a national ideology, language, money, culture enforce in empire. Religion particularly
pushed. Massive anti-Semitism. Forced to live in pale of settlement. Pogroms against Jews in 1881-1884. More opposition to Tsars from Jewish
background e.g. Trotsky. 1882 created pale of settlement. 1885 polish national bank closed down. 1892 finnish diet reformed restricitng politcal diversity
Reforms under Alexander III
1883 - Peasants’ Land Bank established to facilitate land purchase.
1885 - prohibited night time employment of women and children
1885 - established nobles land bank, abolition of poll tax
1886 - workers had to be employed according to factory boards
1892 - employment of children under 12 and women not allowed to work in mines anymore.
1894-1905 Growing discontent under Nicholas II
1896 – Khodynka field massacre 1,400 died. 1902-1907 so much unrest in empire it was called years of red cockerel for all the fires and disturbances.
More urbanisation but awful living conditions, and land from emancipation having to be divided amongst generations caused huge anger and desire
for change. Huge strikes17,000 in 1894 and 90,000 in 1904. Unions still illegal and people want more change. Russo Japanese war humiliation
1940-1905 – first European nation to lose to an Asian nation.
1905 The 1905 Revolution
Bloody Sunday – Jan 1905.
100-200 killed after marching with a petition. 150,000 on strike. Sparked revolution throughout empire. Grand Duke Sergei
assassinated. Year of strikes, violence, riots and chaos. Only ended with October Manifesto, just enough promises to satisfy liberals but not radicals,
thus divides opposition and it falls apart. Battleship Potemkin revolution – sailors kill officers, but they are killed by Tsarist troops when they land.
Local supporters and civilians killed too around 2000 dead.
1906-1914 The era of the Dumas
Fundamental laws April 1906 – can veto laws, can dissolve Dumas
May – July – 1t Duma – National Hope – too radical so dismissed
Feb – June 1907 – 2nd Duma – National Anger – too radical, even more than 1st as Bolsheviks and SRs stand, changes law (illegally) to get vote
weighted to Nobility Nov 1907 – Jun 1912 – 3rd – Lords and Lackeys – agreed to 2200 out of 2500 proposals as more submissive, still was suspended twice
1912-1917 – 4th – Last Duma – Stolypin as Prime minister ignored the Duma and people began to demand more of a Government.
1914 Russia enters WW1
Initial excitement and outpouring of patriotism. Quickly turns bad at the battle of Tannenberg when 300,000 casualties experienced. War not
improving, so in 1915 Nicholas makes himself Commander in Chief of Army, despite having no experience. Left German wife and Rasputin in charge.
War not improving and all fully blamed on Nicholas. Gov’t in chaos in Petrograd. Huge losses and economy in chaos. Brusilov offensive fails in 1916.
Rasputin killed in December 1916, but too little too late. Ignores calls from Progressive Bloc (liberals in Duma) offer Nicholas the chance to be a
Constitutional Monarch but he rejects this.
1917 The February Revolution
Huge strikes start in February. IWD march joined by people going on strike about bread prices. Late February consecutive days of strikes with over
250,000. City at complete standstill and major works completely failing. Tsar orders troops to fire on protestors but they refuse and join the strikes
28th Feb – Tsar has lost control. Completely spontaneous revolution with no help/input from revolutionary groups. March 2nd Tsar abdicates ending
304 years of Romanov rule.
Politcal under PG/Lenin?
1917 The October Revolution
Provisional Gov’t formed and takes over in March 1917. Seen as too Tsarist and not too different from Tsars..
Petrograd Soviet also emerges as rival
body of left wingers and workers – have army support. Both groups dither and as neither have full control many issues are not dealt with quickly. War is continued as allies pressure PG. Land is not redistributed, food is still scarce. Living conditions still awful.
April – Lenin rearrives
declares his Thesis, to attack PG. Returns after exile from russia to germany. the Germans helped Lenin, a Bolshevik leader and skilled political operative, to return to Russia. The Germans wanted to cause unrest in Russia, and thought Lenin’s return would cause this.
June offensive 1917 - war minster Kerensky launched a new offensive to push the austrians back, which lasted 3 days in - war fails - angering people. 400,000 dead & 170,000 deserted.
The Provisional Government blamed the Bolsheviks for the riots; they leaked a letter which seemed to show that Lenin was a German spy, employed to disrupt the Russian war effort
Leading Bolsheviks, including Trotsky, were arrested
Lenin escaped to Finland
The Soviet newspaper denounced the Bolsheviks
16-20 July - riots and chaos, but Bolsheviks survive.
beginning of july Prince Lvovresigned and Kerensky became Prime Minister. He appointed General Kornilov as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces. Kornilov reinstated strict discipline in the army and broke up the soldiers’ soviets
In February 1917, the Bolshevik Party had 10,000 members; by the beginning of July, it had 75,000
August 1917 – Kornilov affair
- As the German army advanced towards Russia, people in Petrograd began to panic and there were rumours that the Bolsheviks were going to try to seize power
- Kornilov began marching his troops towards Petrograd
- Kerensky claimed he had asked Kornilov to bring troops to restore order
- he worried Kornilov was planning to remove the Provisional Government and become a military dictator
- Kerensky handed out weapons to workers to defend Petrograd against Kornilov’s troops
- Kerensky also released many Bolsheviks from prison and gave them weapons - among those released was Trotsky, who directed the Bolshevik Red Guard
- Railway workers prevented Kornilov from reaching Petrograd and he surrendered
1917 Consolidation of Bolshevik Power
October- December
Decrees on Peace, Workers Control, Nationality, Land in 1917 Constituent assembly votes SRs into power in Jan 1918, Bolsheviks furious, so scrap results and used Red Guard to force other parties out. Other parties walk out in anger and leave Bolsheviks the power. Attacks against Burzhui begin. Checka set up. Kadets, and Mensheviks and other parties are
arrested.
1917- 1922 The Bolsheviks Early Years
Sovnarkom established – new Government. Other parties banned, censorship introduced. 1918 Constitution: All power rested with All-Russian
Congress of Soviets made of elected deputies from across Russia. The Central Executive committee would act as a President with no one leader. In
reality highly undemocratic, the Sovnarkom was chosen by the Bolsheviks/Central Committee. The congress rarely met and the real power was the
party.
Civil War 1918-1922
stablish control by defeating whites. War brought more centralisation. Politburo set up in 1919 with 9 men who in reality
ruled above the Central Committee including Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin. Decreed local soviets must only contain Bolsheviks. Stalin made General
Secretary 1922. Other countries in empire allowed more autonomy 1917, but by 1922 this was limited and a revolt in Georgia is crushed. In 1922 the
USSR is established means little change in reality.
1924 The death of Lenin
1921 ban on factions
key to leadership struggle
Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev, (triumvirate) block Trotsky, but Lenin is still alive so not used Ban on them. Lenin dies in 1924 and Stalin gives Trotsky
wrong funeral date. Lenin’s final testament is never published as it insults all, but helps Stalin most. Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev (United
opposition) were seen as too left and removed from Party in 1926 as Stalin worked with Bukharin.
Jan 1928 Stalin moves left to attack Bukharin
wins back over ex-Trotsky supporters. Defeats him over NEP which was only temporary and Stalin knows this. Bukharin removed from Politburo in Nov 1929.
Dec 1929, Stalin is undisputed leader, not fully a dictatorship yet though.
Politcal under Stalin?
1928-41 Stalin becomes leader of the USSR and the Stalinist Dictatorship
Highly centralised state, authoritarian one party state. 1936 constitution “Most democratic in world” actually showed Communists had ultimate
power. Nomenklatura – luxuries and perks for top member of loyal officials , concentrated power to a slim few. No longer needed Party Congresses
by mid 1930s, so stopped calling and ruled just by Politburo. General Secretary role let him fill party with sycophants. Huge purges to removed
opposition. Kirov affair 1934 to shows power. Suicide of wife in 1932 sparks more paranoia. 1937-38 Great Terror/Yezovschina. Glorifed in
propaganda and cities named after him.
1941 The USSR enters WW2
Nazi soviet pact 1939. Too trysting of Hitler. Ignored British intelligence. Not seen for nearly 2 weeks at start of war. Increasingly gave power over to Generals. Terror tactics still used. Not one step back policy. Speeches helped to solidify morale. Membership of party opened up and 3.6 million
joined to help belief in Communist system.
1945-53 High Stalinism
Back to future – Zhukov demoted to Odessa, glorified as war hero, demoted and played key rivals off against each other. Beria in charge of secret police. More yes men included in party, photo editing, NO party congress between 1939 and 1952. Part membership limited to 7m of people that Stalin trusted and accepted. Part was a chain of command rather than a genuine party.
Politcal under Krushchev?
1953-64 De-Stalinisation
Won power by attacking Malenkov and Beria being too aggressive. 56 he denounced Stalin in, no questions and didn’t criticise his own role.
Decentralised power, democratic within party, membership grew from 7m to 11m, limits on length officials could serve
1964 The fall of Khrushchev
Cultural dissidents – publishing censorship loosened – art, poetry and magazines attack him more. Dr Zhivago famous book/film criticising regime.
Hardliners – Molotov, and Malenkov hated his secret speech, tried to oust in 57, K won by using Central Committee (masses) to overrule Presidium
(smaller elite group). Zhukov exiled to put army in place.
Ousted due to failures in Agriculture, Too soft on west, Too flamboyant, too decentralised – replaced with hardliner Brezhnev
