political parties

Question 1

who were the octobrists?

Answer 1

russian political party with socially conservative but constitutionally liberal views
created in november 1905

Question 2

when was the octobrist party set up?

Answer 2

existed from 1905 to 1917 when they were made illegal by the bolshevik party

Question 3

why was the octobrist party set up?

Answer 3

set up after tsar nicholas issues his october manifesto to support the implementation of the changes the october manifesto

Question 4

what were the views of the octobrist part?

Answer 4

they believed in a limited constitutional monarchy in which the state duma passed laws but the tsar kept his authority
initially supported stolypins economic policies but became more critical because of his repressive policies

Question 5

what was the role of the octobrist party in the duma?

Answer 5

octobrist became the largest group in the third duma because stolypin changed the voting laws in 1907
they supported russia’s entry into the first world war in 1914
joined the progressive bloc in 1915 with the kadets or constitutional democratic party which wanted more representative leadership and reform
held several positions in the government during the first world war and the dual power of the provisional government and the petrograd soviet in 1917

Question 6

what was the socialist revolutionary party?

Answer 6

russian political party that wanted to end the tsarist regime
some of its members were happy to use violence

Question 7

when was the socialist revolutionary part important?

Answer 7

created in 1902 and made illegal by the bolsheviks in 1917

Question 8

what did the socialist revolutionary party believe?

Answer 8

believed in land reform so there would be no private ownership of land
it would be held by the communes

Question 9

what tactics did the socialist revolutionary party use?

Answer 9

often committed political assassinations and used terrorist tactics

Question 10

what was the trudovik party?

Answer 10

russian political party created in 1906 when the socialist revolutionary party refused to take part in the first duma

Question 11

when was the trudovik party created?

Answer 11

in 1906 and was very important during the first and second dumas of russia because they won many seats
they were made illegal by the bolsheviks in 1917

Question 12

why was the trudovik party created?

Answer 12

some members of the socialist revolutionary party created a new party (the trudoviks) because they opposed the party’s decision to not participate in the first duma

Question 13

what were the views of the trudovik party?

Answer 13

main belief was in land reform
it thought all land ownership should be in the hands of peasants
they supported the provisional government

Question 14

who were the kadets?

Answer 14

russian political party established in 1906 that had liberal beliefs

Question 15

when was the kadet party important ?

Answer 15

created in 1906 and made illegal by the bolsheviks in 1917
they were very important in the first duma as they were the largest party

Question 16

what did the kadet party believe?

Answer 16

they wanted a constitutional monarchy similar to britain
universal free and equal suffrage
land reform to favour the peasants but which compensated the land lords

Question 17

who were the social democratic party?

Answer 17

created in 1898 and followed Karl Max’s ideas about communist revolution

Question 18

when was the social democratic party important?

Answer 18

important from its creator in 1898 until it split into 2 separate parties in 1903

Question 19

what did the social democratic party believe?

Answer 19

believed in communism and the need for a revolution in russia to overthrow the tsarist regime

Question 20

why did the social democratic party split?

Answer 20

split in 1903 because there was a disagreement about how to achieve a communist revolution
mensheviks believed the revolution would only happen after russia industrialised and created a large working class ( would take a long time )
bolsheviks believed that the revolution in russia could happen more quickly if a small group of dedicated revolutionaries led the revolution and set up a dictatorship of the proletariat on behalf of the workers

Question 21

who were the bolsheviks ?

Answer 21

founded by vladimir lenin and alexander bogdanov when the social democratic party split into two
the bolsheviks and the mensheviks

Question 22

when was the bolshevik party formed?

Answer 22

1903

Question 23

how many members did the bolshevik party have?

Answer 23

at the beginning of 1917, 23000

Question 24

what did the bolshevik party believe in?

Answer 24

in creating a communist society in which all private ownership of property, land and businesses would be abolished to benefit the workers
the party should be run by a small dedicated group of revolutionaries
russia was not ready for a communist revolution
bolsheviks would create a “dictatorship of the proletariat” and rule on the workers behalf
they refused to work with other political parties

Question 25

how were the beliefs of the bolshevik party different to those of the mensheviks?

Answer 25

mensheviks were willing to work with other left wing parties to bring about democracy but the bolsheviks were not
bolsheviks believed in forcing a revolution whereas the mensheviks believed in a more democratic approach to gaining power
mensheviks believed a liberal capitalist society would be stepping stone to communism whereas the bolsheviks believed a small group leading a revolution by force was the way to achieve it

Question 26

who were the mensheviks ?

Answer 26

founded by julius martov when the social democratic party split into two
bolsheviks and mensheviks

Question 27

when were the mensheviks created?

Answer 27

1903

Question 28

what were the menshevik beliefs?

Answer 28

in creating a communist society
communist revolution would only happen after russia industrialised to create a large working class
the party should be democratic
should work with other political parties to achieve a liberal capitalist society as the first step towards a communist revolution
gained support of the working class by promoting policies such as 8 hour working days

Question 29

what was the role of the mensheviks in the 1905 revolution?

Answer 29

encouraged workers to set up councils or soviets
were crucial to the set up of the petrograd soviet
played an active role in the state dumas which were established by tsar nicholas in response to the 1905 revolution

Question 30

what happened to the mensheviks?

Answer 30

bolsheviks suppressed the mensheviks along with all other political parties and many mensheviks went into exile