Russia Flashcards
Discontent of Peasants (pre 1905)
- 1861 serfs freed but with debt
- Aristocracy made up 1% but had 25% of land
- 1890’s famines (word famine banned from press)
Discontent of National Minorities
- Russification - policy of making non russians act like them
- 56% of population was not ethnically Russian
- Baltic Germans, Armenians, Ukrainians
Failures of Nicholas II
- Not interested in ruling
- Not intelligent
- “Nicholas was not fit to run a post office” a cabinet minister
Police state (Pre 1905)
- Censorship - no public opposition to Tsar
- Exile common punishment
- Okhrana punished revolutionaries
Social Democrats
- Founded 1898
- Split in two in 1903
- Bolsheviks (Wanted a small, secret party that could take over at the correct time)
- Mensheviks (Believed in an open party that woukd grow until it could revolt)
1905 Revolution
Short Term Triggers
Russo Japanese War
* 1904
* Battle of Tsushima May 1904 (Russian fleet crushed, 5,000 dead)
* Unexpected loss
Bloody Sunday
* 22nd January 1905
* 100 protestors killed
* Led by father Gapon
* Led to strikes nationally
Potemkin Mutiny
- 14th June 1905
- 800 sailors killed officers
- Ship landed in Odessa, where troops killed 2,000 striking workers
- Failed to spread to the rest of the Black Fleet
1905 general rebellions
- Peasant rebellions (destroyed 3,000 manors)
- Strikes in cities (January 1905, 400,000 workers on strike)
- Summer 1905 harvest failed again
October Manifesto
- 17th October
- Created the Duma
- Freedom of speech, assembly and worship
- Allowed political parties
- Legalised trade unions
- However did not improve living conditions
Stolypins repression
- Elected PM in 1906
- 60,000 opponents to regime hung (“Stolypins necktie”)
- Forced to carry internal passports
- Increased Okhrana threat
Fundamental Laws
- 1906
- Gave Nicholas huge control over Dumas
- Could dissolve Dumas
- Tsar could pass any laws while Duma not in session
- Tsar could veto any Duma legislation
Stolypins Land Reform
Goals
- Attempt to modernise farming and create “Kulak” peasants who owned land
- Land Bank to help own land
- End old fashioned methods of strip farming in Russia
- “Wager on the strong”
Stolypins Land Reforms
Success
- 3.5 million peasants moved to Siberia
- But only 10% left communes by 1914
- Kulaks were hated
- Those who left Mir = “stolypins seperators”
Lena Goldfields strike
- 1912
- Striking Workers in Siberia over being told to eat rotten horse meat, 14 hour day, poor conditions
- Clashed with troops led to 200 deaths
KF of Dumas
Success
- Stolypin worked with third Duma to pass Land Reforms
- 1908 Law on universal education
- Attempts to modernise Orthodox church
KF of Dumas
Failures
- Third Duma electoral system changed so only 1/6 of peasants could vote
- Dissolved very quickly (e.g 1st Duma in 10 weeks)
- No real reform
Economic effects of WW1
Loss of trade:
* Areas captured included economic areas e.g mining regions of poland
* Germany blocked Russias access to Europe
* All imports had to go through Vladivostok
Lack of workers in factories
* 15 million men fought in war
* 1915, over 500 factories had to close
Social impact of WW1
Food shortages in cities
* Not enough peasants to farm
* Railway was inefficient
* Meat price rose 300%
* Flour price rose 200%
Conditions in the countryside
* Less food due to lack of farmers
* Army seized horses for transport
* Large amounts of food was sent to army
Military impact WW1
Early defeats
* August 1914 Battle of Tannenberg destruction of 2nd Army
* End of 1915 Russia lost 2 million men
Nicholas in command
* Sept 1915 Nicholas took personal control of the Army
* Ministers advised against this due to lack of military experience
* Accepted personal blame for losses
Political impact of WW1
Dumas
* Fourth Duma suspended in August 1914
* 1915 progressive bloc formed
Running the Country
* Domestic policy left to Tsarina and Rasputin
* Rasputin was bribed to appoint ministers
* So many changes disorganisation followed
Influence of Rasputin
Pre-1914
* Could allegedly heal Alexie haemophilia
* Rumours around affair with Tsarina
* PM stolypin was acquiring evidence against him, killed 1911
Influence during WW1
* Influence over domestic policy after 1915
* Assassinated by aristocrats in 1917
Events in Petrograd
Strikes and demonstrations
* Jan - 140k workers go on strike
* Feb - gov announced bread would be rationed from 1 March
* 250k people marched
Army Mutiny
* Feb - soldiers forced to fire on protestors
* Soldiers of Pavlovsky regiment refused orders
* Full scale mutiny - captured weapons stores and stole 40k rifles
Abdication of Tsar
Attempted travel to Petrograd
* Ordered General Ludovich to take troops to capital
* Nicholas decided to travel to Petrograd (only got to Ptosk)
* Not allowed to enter as believed his troops would join mutiny
Abdication
* Senior officers and Duma told Nicholas to abdicate
* Agreed to allow his brother Michael to become Tsar
* Strikers hated the idea of a new Tsar
* Michael declined offer ending 300 years of Romanov rule
Army Mutiny
Causes
* Tsar based in Mogilev
* 25th Feb ordered police and soldiers to end strikes
* 26th Feb soldiers opened fire and killed 50 people
Events
* 150k soldiers mutinied
* Pavlovsky regiment refused orders
* Stole 40k rifles from stor
PG positives
- They ended capital punishment
- They ended press censorship
- They released all political prisoners
- They disbanded the Okhrana
PG negatives (overview)
- Sharing power with Petrograd Soviet
- Continuing with war
- No clear aims
Sharing power with Petrograd Soviet
PG negatives
- March-October 1917 “dual power”
- PS more popular with Russians (elected, Order 1, control of army)
- PS not blamed for mistakes
- Lenin had majority by September
Continuing with war
PG negatives
- June Offensive (disaster)
- War was highly unpopular
- PG felt it was too big to decide themselves
- PG wanted to appease Britain and France
April Theses
Points:
* An immediate end to the war as it was a capitalist war
* Nationalisation of industry
* Land for peasants - nationalisation of land
* All power in Russia must be given to the Soviets
* End all cooperation with the Provisional Government and any party helping them
Simple slogan: “Peace, bread, land”
Lenin arrived in Petrograd 3rd April
Reasons for growth of Bolshevik support
- Made use of problems (Food shortage, war, delayed elections, land)
- Propaganda (widespread by June)
- Military (10,000 red guards)
July Days
Reasons:
* June Offensive
* Food shortages
* Bolshevik Propaganda
Bolsheviks eventually joined the riots
5th July Kerensky sent troops to disperse
Important Bolsheviks (Trotsky) arrested
Lenin flees to Finland
Kornilov Revolt
- September 1917
- Kornilov wanted martial law and military dictatorship
- Bolsheviks defended city with 25,000 men
- Trotsky sent agitators to make troops desert
Kornilov revolt effects
- Start of 1917 Bolsheviks 24,000 members
- Octover 1917 Bolsheviks 340,000 members
- Bolshevils heroes
- Army collapsed
- 40,000 red guards now armed due to defense from revolt
Bolshevik Takeover Stages
- Lenin returns to Russia
- Military revolution commitee
- Kerensky tries to stop Bolsheviks
- Bolsheviks seize control
- All Russian congress of Soviets
Step 1
Lenin Returns to Russia
- Mid-october Lenin returns in disguise
- Convinced Bolsheviks to revolt
- Helped by Trotsky
Step 2
Military Revolution Commitee
- Kerensky tries to send all Bolshevik units out of Petrograd
- In response PS set up MRC
- 21st October Petrograd regiment pledged allegiance to MRC
Step 3
Kerensky tries to stop Bolsheviks
- Kerensky ordered crackdown (no newspaper, no river crossings)
- Trotsky responded by ordering seizure of roads, army HQ and post office by the MRC
Step 4
Bolsheviks take control
- Night of 25-26th October
- Seized state bank and winter palace
- Propaganda shows as struggle but was really peaceful
- Only 5 red guards hurt
Step 5
All Russian Congress of Soviets
- October meeting heard of revolution
- Almost all left in protest until only Bolsheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries left
- Trotsky said the leavers “belonged to the dustbin of history”
Bolshevik Strengths
- Key individuals (Lenin and Trotsky)
- Did not join the PG, not blamed for problems
- Weapons and military support
Communist Government 1917
- 15 Bolsheviks
- 1922 became USSR (Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia and Transcaucasus)
- Lenine made the Cheka under Dzerzhisky
- 1918 alone executed 50k opponents of Bolsheviks
Consolidation
Lenin’s Decrees
- Peace - all countries should seek peace, called for armistic with Germany (Unrealistic)
- Land - Nov 1917 owning land made illegal, gave 500m acres to peasants
- Nationalities - ethnic minorities free, meant to prevent revolt
- Workers’ rights - 8 hour day and max 48hour week, pensions, unemployment insurance
Consolidation
Other measures
- Food supply to cities prioritised
- Church - Decree of Freedom of Conscience took away church’s priviledge, lost all land and power
- Women - Women declared = to men, divorce and abortion legalised
- Censorship - Non Bolshevik papers banned and cheka repressed protestors
Constituent assembly: Elections and results
- Nov 1917 elections held for Constituent assembly
- Forced into it by Railway Workers threatining to strike
- SRs much more popular
- 175 Bolsheviks and 410 SRs
Consituent Assembly: Response
- Met in Jan 1918
- CPC (15 Bolsheviks) proposed that CA passed all their decrees
- This was rejected by majority of 100
- Lenin sent in the red guard and dissolved the Assembly
- Ban on all opposition parties
- No more democratic elections until 1991
BL
Terms of Brest-Litovsk
- Dec 1917
- Russia lost: Ukraine, Poland, Baltic territories, Caucauses and Finland
- Russia had to pay 300million gold rubles
BL
Effects of Brest Litovsk
- 62million people lost (1/6 of pop)
- 27% of farmland
- 26% of railways
- 74% of iron and coal ore
BL
Response to Brest Litovsk
- Seen as shameful
- Food shortages worsened
- July 1918 1mil people left Petrograd and workers reduced 60%
- Major cause of Civil War
Causes of Civil War
Opposition within Russia
* Political opposition such as SRs
* Anger at Brest-Litovsk
* These became the whites
* Wanted a western style government
Opposition abroad
* Allies were angry about Brest-Litovsk
* Worried about communism spreading
* Japan sent 70,000 troops to Siberia
* Britain sent £100 million to whites
Division among whites
Reasons for red victory
- Made up of several groups on several fronts with no clear goal
- Wrangel, Denikin, Yudenich, Kolchack each wanted personal control
- Mutual mistrust
- Reds were a tightly unified force
Reds controlled central area
Reasons for red victory
- Central area had more railways, population, industry, weapons etc.
- Red army was 5.4 million men (1921) from central russia
- Whites never had more than 250,000 together
- 2.2m rifles from Tsarist stores, 12,000 field guns
Trotskys military genuis
Reasons for red victory
- Brilliant organiser
- Used 50,000 former Tsarist officers
- Harsh military discipline
- Used an armoured train for mobile leadership
Effects on Peasants
War Communism
- Grain requisitioning
- Peasants refused to grow excess as it was taken (Production was 37% of what it was in 1913)
- Famine of 1921 (No storages of grain)
- US sent 1m tonnes of grain and 300 aid workers
- 5 million died
Effects on workers
War Communism
- Black market supplied 70% of food
- 70% of Petrograds population fled, 50% of Moscow
- 4:3:2:1 Rationing
- Many anti-communists fled Russia
- Strikes = execution
Opps to war communism
Kronstadt Revolt
- Sailors previously called “reddest of the red” turned against Bolshies
- February 1921 mutiny on Petrpavlovsk which spread to whole naval base
- 15,000 mutinied
Kronstadt Revolt effects
- Put down with 50,000 soldiers
- Majority of rebels killed or exiled
- 800 fled to Finland
- Made Lenin realise War Communism was not working
- Led to NEP March 1921
Reasons for war communism
State Control of Industry
- Industry 60% of 1913
- 40% of industrial areas lost in B-L
- 1919 workers can be moved sectors
- 1920 anyone of age could be made to work for state
Reasons for war communism
Food shortages
- Peasants only had enough to feed themselves
- 1918 state collecting less than 1m tonnes of grain
- by 1920 6m (still too little)
Tambov Uprising
- Peasants in Tambov rebelled and killed requisitioning squads
- 50,000 troops sent
- Other rebellions cost reds 250k men
Causes
Economic Reasons
- Famine in the Volga region killed 5mil and affected 20mil
- Hopes that NEP would restart economy
- Element of private ownership would provide incentive for small bussiness
- Needed food supply for cities and to increase farm production
Causes
Political Crisis
- Bolsheviks could not blame Whites for suffering
- 1920, 75% of Petrograd factories striking
- Tambov uprising and Krostandt revolt
NEP
Key Points
- 10th party congress March 1921
- Free market, no requisition squads
- Factories with <20 workers privatised
- Experts, 1920-25 20k experts brought from US and Canada
- Money
- Traders introduced called Nepmen
Impacts of NEP
Economy
- Increased production but only to pre-WW1 levels
- Few industries reached 1913 production
- Grain from 50 to 72 mil tonnes but still not back to 80mil in 1913
- By 1925 Russias imports 9x higher than 1921-22
- Pig iron production in tonnes: 1913 (4 mil), 1921 (0.1 mil), 1925 (1mil)
Impact of NEP
Peasants
- NEP was based on prodnalog, a grain tax
- Taxed grain in 1922 was 1/2 of volume taken in requisitioning in 1920
- Redistribution meant that by 1927 there were 25m peasant holdings and many earned decent livings
- 1928, 5.5m households still used sokha (strip farming)
Impact of NEP
Scissor Crisis
- 1923 food production meant prices in cities declined
- Low industrial production meant high prices of goods
- Peasants refused to sell grain as they could not buy goods
- Trotsky called it the scissor crisis as food production went down and industry prices went up
Opposition to NEP
Ideological
- Emergence of Kulaks and Nepmen highly unpopular
- Steps taken in 1925 to curb their profits
- Old bolsheviks felt it was a betrayal - Kamenev “New Exploitation of the Proletariate”
- Lenin had to ban all inter-party groups
Impact of NEP
Modernising Russia
- Lenin aimed to have a working light bulb in every Russian household
- 1921, 50% of Russian trains off tracks due to damage and lack of workers
- 1923, rail system carried 45% more passengers and 59% more goods
- 1927 number of passengers and goods passed 1913 levels
Was Lenin a good leader?
For
- Personal - He was modest, a powerful speaker, decisive and a superb organiser and planner
- He was decisive and was clear in shaping the Communist government
- Without him, there would not have been a revolution in 1917. He persuaded other Bolsheviks to seize power
- It was largely due to Lenin that the Communists were able to stay in power after 1917 e.g. abandoning War Communism and introducing the NEP
- He began to allow more freedoms after 1921. Arguments made for him having to use the Cheka to stop chaos.
Was Lenin a good leader?
Against
- He seized power with a small group which led to a dictatorship
- He would not share power with other socialists which made the Civil War worse
- He was ruthless and used methods of terror to stay in charge. Tens of thousands were murdered by the Cheka
- He stopped other people expressing their opinions. A ban on political parties, no elections, only Communist newspapers and religion was banned
- He made the Communist Party an organisation for carrying out orders. Members could not disagree with each other
- He was prepared to see millions of Russians suffer for his ideals e.g. the peasants
