Russia Flashcards
How long had the Romanovs been ruling Russia?
400 years
What was the Russian parliament called?
The duma
In 1917 what % of the population were peasants?
80%
What was a kulak?
A richer peasant
Why were workers unhappy?
Poor living conditions and low pay
What did left wing groups want to challenge?
The power of the tsar and the rich
What did moderate groups want Russia to be?
A democracy like France / Britain / USA
What did right wing groups oppose?
Social change
What did Social Democrats believe revolution would do?
Overthrow capitalism and create a fair communist society
Which 2 groups did the Social Democrats split into?
Mensheviks and Bolsheviks
Effects of WWI on Russia: Military Defeats
After early advances, Russian forces were defeated by the Germans. By 1917…
Large areas of the Russian empire in the west were lost
The German army overran all of… and most of…
All of Russian Poland and Lithuania and most of Latvia
Effects of WWI on Russia: Economic Effects
The government printed too much money - what effects did this have?
Led to inflation and increased cost of living
Over ____ million roubles were spent on the war, causing ___ to go up
17,000
Taxes
The government’s overall spending increased by __ times between 1913 and 1916. Russia fell into ___ as the government borrowed huge amounts of money from ____ ____
8
Debt
Other countries
Effects of WWI on Russia: Social Effects
The army took control of railways and roads and took large amounts of food to feed the army. What were the consequences of this?
Railway system virtually collapsed
Food supply to cities suffered
Moscow had received ___ wagons of grain per month but now received ___
2200
Less than 700
Why was there a shortage of manpower on farms?
Over 15 million peasants fought in the Russian army
Why was it bad that the military seized horses?
Horses were used for ploughing, leading to further food shortages
Effects of WWI on Russia: Political Effects
The tsar didn’t listen to…
The duma - they became a centre of opposition to his government
Why was it such a bad idea for the tsar to become commander-in-chief of the army?
He had no experience of warfare
He had little impact on the war (did as his generals suggested) but was blamed for military failures
He was away from the capital and helpless to stop the unrest
If the army had been successful it wouldn’t have mattered - but the army’s failures meant the tsar lost more respect
Triggers for revolt:
Over the winter if 1916-17 ____ ____ and unrest among ____ caused tensions to increase in Petrograd
The final trigger was _____ _____ day in February
Food shortages
Workers
International Women’s
Short term causes: strikes
Strikes about ___ and ___ conditions led to a mood of ___ in Petrograd
Working
Living
Protest
Short term causes: tsar’s absence
The tsar was at the army headquarters at ___ and was unaware of the situation in ___. He issued orders to stop the unrest immediately
Mogilev
Petrograd
Trigger events: mutiny in the army
Soldiers opened fire on protesters and killed 40 of them. The next day the same regiment decided it would no longer…
Obey orders to use force against the crowds
Other regiments began ___ orders and giving ___ to the crowds. The police stopped trying to keep order and soldiers sent from the Petrograd ____ began joining the demonstrators
Refusing
Weapons
Garrison
By the evening of 28th February the revolutionary crowds were taking over all of the…
And had seized all…
Railway stations in the city
Artillery supplies to the garrison
What were the long term causes of revolution?
WWI and its effects
Tsar’s poor leadership
Peasant and worker discontent
Political opposition to tsar’s rule
What happened with the weather in late February and what was the effect of this?
The temperature was unseasonably warm and this allowed more people to come onto the streets and protest
What did the duma ask the tsar to do?
Create a cabinet that reflected the different parties represented in the duma
Let the duma stay in session
One group of duma members refused to stop meeting - members of the ___ party and other ____ who hoped to ___ Russia.
They formed a group called what?
Kadet
Liberals
Reform
The Duma Committee
Tsar Nicholas was on his way to Petrograd but the route was blocked by…
Mutinous troops
The tsar was diverted to Pskov where high ranking ___ ___ and members of the ___ met him and suggested that he ____
Army officers
Duma
Abdicate
The members of the duma formed themselves into…
A Provisional Government
Define soviet
A committee of elected members representing workers, soldiers and peasants
Across Petrograd, workers and soldiers elected representatives to the new what?
Petrograd Soviet
Why did the PG want to continue fighting the war?
They needed the support of their allies and the army generals
A treaty would be harsh
The Petrograd Soviet controlled what?
The railway system and the postal and telegraph service
The PS set up groups to organise what kind of supplies?
Food supplies
The PS had its own newspaper called what?
Izvestya (Russian for News)
What was the Central Executive Committee?
A committee that was set up that claimed to represent all of the workers’ and soldiers’ soviets in Russia
Who was Alexander Kerensky?
Member of PG and PS
Within PG became Minister of War
What were Kerensky’s crucial mistakes?
Continuing with the war - angered ordinary soldiers, lost support of officers by reducing their authority
His actions to weaken old ruling groups lost him support of conservatives
Failed to take tough action against Bolsheviks, who would eventually overthrow him
What were the failures of the PG?
Lack of control over military (order no 1)
Failure to hold election
Failure to meet peasant demands
June Offensive
What was Order Number 1 and what effect did it have on the PG?
A statement published by PS saying that the orders of PG would only be carried out if they didn’t conflict with orders of PS, and that discipline in military would be done by councils of ordinary soldiers, not officers
Undermined PG’s authority
Why did the PG lack legitimacy?
They hadn’t been voted in - they were originally part of duma which was elected under tsarist system by small % of population. They didn’t represent the wider population
What was the main thing peasants wanted?
Land
What 3 reasons did the PG have for not wanting to let peasants seize land?
- Thought it should wait till after election for huge changes
- Feared that if land was redistributed, many soldiers would return home from the front lines so they wouldn’t miss out
- Afraid of Russia falling apart in disorganised violence and disorder
Since peasants were not allowed to seize land, what did they do?
Seized land anyway
The war was very unpopular, but in June 1917 the PG ordered a new attack. What was the result of this?
Russian soldiers refused to advance
200,000 Russian casualties
Army driven backwards as Germans advanced into Ukraine (part of Russia at time)
Who was General Kornilov?
Recently been made commander-in-chief of Russian army by Kerensky, with orders to restore discipline in army
What were Kornilov’s aims in revolting?
To create a strong government
To defeat the revolutionary groups in Petrograd
Why did the Kornilov Revolt fail?
Soldiers were no longer following orders
Petrograd workers acted to defend their revolution
How did the Kornilov Revolt impact the PG?
Kerensky accused of sympathising with and assisting Kornilov
Distrust between soldiers and officers increased
Surge of support for Bolsheviks as they were seen as only group prepared to defend PS from Kornilov, and they had never supported PG
Workers formed armed units (Red Guards) to protect PS from Kornilov’s troops - most of the men in these groups were Bolsheviks or B supporters, giving the Bs a military advantage over PG
How many members did the Bolsheviks have in early 1917?
23,000
Where was Lenin during the February Revolution?
In exile in Switzerland
By April 1917, the membership of the Bolsheviks had risen to…
75,000
What did Lenin call for in the April Theses?
Rejection of PG
All power to pass to soviets
Workers to enjoy Russia’s wealth
End to the war
Taking of land from rich landowners
What slogan summarised Lenin’s demands?
Bread, peace, land
What were the Bolshevik leaders’ reactions to Lenin’s return?
Shocked at what he said - felt he was out of touch with what was going on
In June 1917 what met in Petrograd?
An All-Russian Congress of Soviets
At the All-Russian Congress of Soviets there were ___ representatives of which only ___ were Bolshevik
800
105
Many ordinary ___,__ and ___ were even more radical than the revolutionary parties’ leaders
Workers, soldiers and sailors
The Bolsheviks were helped by money secretly provided by…
Germany
The Bolsheviks set up 41 what across Russia by June 1917?
Newspapers
By July 1917 there were about ____ Red Guards in Petrograd
10,000
In July 1917, in protest against the ___ ____, army units in Petrograd…
June Offensive
Refused to go to the front
During the July Days, army units were supported by ___ ___ and sailors from the ____ naval base
Factory workers
Kronstadt
On 3rd July the workers, soldiers and sailors marched to the Tauride Palace and demanded…
That the Petrograd Soviet take power
The Bolsheviks were blamed for organising the July Days - what were the results of this?
Lenin went into hiding in Finland
Leading Bolsheviks including Kamenev and Trotsky were arrested
By Sept 1917 the PG was in trouble; what threats were facing it?
Weakened by Kornilov revolt
Support for Bs rising in factories, army and navy
Army discipline collapsed
Peasants seizing land
“Factory committees” of workers controlled most factories
Trotsky had been elected as…
Chairman of the PS
As Trotsky was chairman of the PS he had control of its MRC - what did this stand for?
Military Revolutionary Committee
The MRC had control over…
All soldiers in Petrograd
It was Trotsky who…
But this wouldn’t have been possible without…
Organised the seizure of power
Lenin
On the night of 24-25th October, ___ ___ occupied key positions in the city
Red Guards
Mensheviks and SRs protested that the Bs were seizing power without…
The agreement of the other revolutionary groups
On 25th October Red Guards and Kronstadt sailors…
Advanced on the Winter Palace where the PG had its headquarters
The attack on the Winter Palace was signalled by…
Blank shots from a naval vessel, the Aurora
The Winter Palace was defended by…
Officer cadets and a women’s battalion
The palace fell to the Bs with hardly a fight; some PG ministers were ____ but Kerensky escaped and later ____
Arrested
Fled from Russia
What were the four reasons for Bolshevik success in the October Revolution?
PG lacked support and was weakened by continuing war and by Kornilov revolt
Slogans such as Bread, Peace, Land summed up popular mood and appealed to working classes
Lenin was strong leader and Trotsky skilled organiser, also had financial help from Germans
Bs were more in tune with demands of lower classes in 1917 than other revolutionary parties
What was the first decree passed by the Bolsheviks?
Decree on Peace
What did the Decree on Peace call for?
All countries in the war to begin peace negotiations
Aim to create peace “without annexations and indemnities”
