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