Political authority Flashcards
What was Nicholas II’s character as a ruler?
1) He was very indecisive
2) Nicholas was unable to impose authority successfully despite his strong belief in
autocracy
3) He was easily influenced by his advisors
4) Nicholas had very inconsistent political view on reform
What early economic opposition was there to Nicholas II?
1) Movement to the cities concentrated workers in complexes and factories, making
strikes easier to organise
How did the workforce become militarised under Nicholas II between 1894-1905?
1) The literacy rate of the workforce was 57% in 1897, allowing workers to read
political literature and begin to articulate their views
2) 1896: Textile workers in St. Petersburg organised a strike of 30,000
3) Demands remained economic, and forced the government to introduce legislation
like limiting the working day to 11 1/2 hours
What economic and social problems did Nicholas II face?
1) 1898-9: Famine in the Central Volga
2) 1899: special factory police force established
3) 1900: an international recession hit all areas of the economy
4) Workers returned to villages to stir up countryside revolts about taxes and high
rents. In 1902, widespread peasant violence began in the Poltova province
How did Okhrana activity increase under Nicholas II?
1) Rebellious students were expelled from university, exiled or drafted
2) 1901: Cossacks charged into a crowd of students, killing 13 and imprisoning
1,500
What occurred in the countryside in the early 1900s?
1) 1903-5 were nicknamed the Years of the red cockerel
2) Peasant attacks on country estates became more common. In 1902, there were
80 attacks in one province
3) There was rapid population growth, which lead to a land shortage. In 1855, the
population was around 70 million, but had grown to 126 million by 1897
What occurred in the cities in the early 1900s?
1) Industrial strikes increased greatly in number: 1894: 17,000; 1904: 90,000
2) Unskilled workers generally smashed machinery and attacked foremen
3) Skilled workers were sympathetic to the Social Revolutionary (SR) and Social
Democrat (SD) cause
4) 1902: public meetings were banned after unrest in factories grew
Why did the Russo-Japanese War break out?
1) 1895: Sino-Japanese war
2) 1896: Russia extended the Trans-Siberian Railway to Port Arthur
3) 1904: Japan placed Port Arthur under siege
What was the Russo-Japanese War?
1) April 1904: Russian army was defeated along the Yalu River
2) March 1905: Russian army was defeated at Mukden
3) May: Almost all Baltic fleets sunk at Tsushima after a 7-month voyage
What were the consequences of the Russo-Japanese War?
1) First time in modern history an Eastern power had defeated a European one
2) Renewed demands from the zemstvo for a national assembly
3) Crisis of confidence in the Tsarist regime
What was Bloody Sunday?
1) 3-8 Jan 1905: 120,000 workers in St. Petersburg went on strike
2) 9 Jan 1905: Father Gapon conducted a peaceful march to the Winter Palace to
petition the Tsar
3) 12,000 troops were used to break up the protestors, killing 130 and wounding
over 400
What was the immediate impact of Bloody Sunday?
1) Strikes of over 400,000 in January in St. Petersburg. All influential revolutionary
leaders were in exile, meaning it was probably spontaneous
2) 3,600 government officials were killed
What occurred in February 1905?
1) 4th Jan 1905: Grand Duke Sergei, the Tsar’s uncle, was assassinated with an SR
bomb
2) Nicholas met with worker’s representatives
3) Proposals for an elected consultative assembly were drafted
What was the impact of the Potemkin battleship?
1) June 1905: the battleship Potemkin mutinied
2) The Potemkin sailed to Odessa, where troops killed 2,000 citizens greeting it
3) The Potemkin was forced to surrender in a Romanian port
4) The Tsar realised he was losing control of the army, and entered negotiations to
end the Russo-Japanese War
How was the St. Petersburg soviet formed?
1) September 1905: A peaceful strike of 2 million St. Petersburg workers lead to the
formation of the SP soviet
What was the October Manifesto?
1) Civic freedom was granted
2) A state Duma was created with universal suffrage
In what ways did the October Manifesto not quell the population?
1) The climax of rural disturbances of 1905 was in November
2) During the last 10 weeks of 1905, there were 200 rebellions in the armed forces
3) 600 anti-Jewish pogroms occurred
4) Street warfare continued until the end of December in Moscow
5) 3rd Dec: leaders of St. Petersburg soviet were arrested
How did Nicholas survive 1905?
1) The events of 1905 were unorganised
2) Most of the army remained loyal to the Tsar
3) The traditional peasant loyalty was still intact
4) The Tsar established a national assembly in the October Manifesto
What were the Fundamental Laws?
1) Passed in April 1906
2) All legislation had to receive the approval of the Tsar
3) Article 87: in emergencies the Tsar could make laws without consulting the Duma
4) A State Council was created, with half the members chosen by the Tsar
How did the state gain control after 1905?
1) By 1906 almost all provinces were placed under martial law
2) August 1906: field courts set up to deliver swift verdicts. Closed in April 1906,
when over 1,000 people had been executed
3) 1908-9: Stolypin used ordinary courts to sentence 3,600 people to death
What was the First Duma?
1) April 1906 (after Fundamental Laws were passed)
2) Dominated by liberals who demanded an increase in power and tried to abolish
the state council
3) Dissolved after two months
What occurred in the lead up to the Second Duma?
1) The Kadet Party offices were closed after an appeal was launched to encourage
the Russian people to defy their government
2) Stolypin introduced Martial Law, which continued until 1911
What was the Second Duma?
1) February–June 1907
2) Revolutionary leftist parties (SR, SD) joined, as the Kadets were weakened
3) Stolypin’s land reforms were blocked and had to be passed using emergency
powers
4) The Duma refused to ratify the land reforms and was dissolved
What occurred in the lead up to the Third Duma?
1) Stolypin reduced the peasant vote even further, leaving 1/6 males able to vote
