Pre-revolution Russia Flashcards

1
Q

What dynasty was Tsar Nicholas II from

A

Romanov dynasty

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2
Q

Who was Nicholas’s father?

A

Tsar Alexander III

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3
Q

Tsar Nicholas II was…

A

Convinced of his divine right to rule

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4
Q

Why did Tsar Nicholas keep his ministers weak

A

Keen to keep his ministers weak to preserve his own authority

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5
Q

What role did Nicholas take in WW1

A

Commander-in-Chief of the Russian army and Navy

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6
Q

Why did Nicholas take up role of Commander-in-Chief

A

He had a firm trust in divine mercy to win Russia

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7
Q

What year was Bloody Sunday

A

1905

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8
Q

What caused the protest of Bloody Sunday

A

Russia’s defeat to Japan

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9
Q

What happened in Bloody Sunday

A

The Tsars personal guard shot unarmed protesters in St. Petersburg

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10
Q

What was the result of Bloody Sunday

A

The 1905 Revolution

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11
Q

What was the 1905 revolution

A
A wave of political and social unrest throughout Russian empire 
-
Workers went on strikes 
-
Military mutinies
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12
Q

What caused the Tsar to set up the state Duma

A

The 1905 revolution

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13
Q

Why did the Duma have no ability to restrict Tsars power

A

Tsar could dissolve the Duma at any time

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14
Q

Who was Rasputin

A

A ‘Holy man’ who was able to ease Aleksei’s haemophilia

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15
Q

What happened in 1913

A
Last year of peace before WW1
-
Violent strikes in cities
-
300 years of Romanov rule
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16
Q

What sparked WW1?

A

Assassination of Arch Duke Franz Ferdinand

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17
Q

The war as between Austria and Serbia, why did Russia fight?

A

Serbia was also Slavic (sense of pan-Slavism)

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18
Q

Why did St. Petersburg’s name get changed

A

Changed to Slavonic Petrograd as St. Petersburg was Germanic

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19
Q

Why was going to war initially popular

A

Anti-Germanic sentiment

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20
Q

When and where did the battle of Tannenberg take place

A

August, 1914

21
Q

How many Russians were killed or injured in the battle of Tannenberg?

A

300,000

22
Q

What military defeat caused Russia into a temporary retreat from East Prussia

A

Battle at Masurian Lakes

23
Q

What was the main problem that faced the Russian army

A

Unable to provide men with adequate warm clothing or weaponry

24
Q

How many in every 3 soldiers had a weapon

A

2 out of every 3

25
Q

How many shells were the artillery able to fire a day

A

2-3

26
Q

What was the Bursilov offensive

A

An attempt to push west from Ukraine and break through Astro-Hungarian lines

27
Q

What year was the Brusilov offensive?

A

1916

28
Q

How many desertions happened in 1916

A

1.5 million

29
Q

When did the Tsar take up position of Commander in Chief

A

September 1915

30
Q

What were the military zones (set up in 1914)

A

Places where civilian authority was suspended and military assumed command

31
Q

Which group opposed military zones and why

A

believed civilians needed to play major role in the war

32
Q

What did Zemstava set up?

A

Union of Zemstava, to provide medical facilities

33
Q

What did factory owners and business men set up?

A

To help coordinate production

34
Q

What was the progressive bloc

A

Consisted of over half the state Duma

35
Q

What did the progressive bloc ask for

A

And that the Tsar changed his ministers

36
Q

How did Nicholas respond to the progressive bloc

A

He refused their demands

37
Q

Why was assuming position of Commander in chief a bad idea

A

New position made him appear more responsible for military failures

38
Q

Why did the railway system collapse in war time?

A

Railway locomotive productions halved between 1913-1916

39
Q

Why was there massive inflation by 1917

A

As there was no money coming in from export massive inflation occurred

40
Q

Why was inflation such a problem for the Russian people?

A

Prices rose much faster than wages

41
Q

Why was there a drop in food supplies

A

Millions of Farmers from countryside had been conscripted into the army

42
Q

Why were peasants hoarding grain

A

Because money was virtually worthless so was better to keep grain than to sell at low price

43
Q

What effect did grain hoarding have in the cities

A

Produced even further food shortages

44
Q

What did industrial capacity drop

A

Poland and other parts of western Russia were overrun with Germans

45
Q

Why was Russian trade brought to a standstill?

A

Naval blockades of the Baltic and Black sea ports

46
Q

Why did unemployment soar

A

Non-military factories were forced to close

47
Q

What was a result of the non-military factories closing and the general discontent?

A

And 145,000 in Petrograd

48
Q

What was the catalyst of the discontent to revolution

A

Freezing winter of 1917

49
Q

Which founding member of the progressive bloc suggested a military coup to army officers

A

Guchkov