Russia 1914-1924 Flashcards
What’s the name given to a Country ruled by only one leader?
Autocracy
Who is the ruler of Russia in 1914?
Tsar Nicholas II
By 1914 how long had Tsar Nicholas II been on the throne for?
20 years
Under what circumstances did Tsar Nicholas believe that he had the right to rule Russia and what did this mean?
Divine right on behalf of God and therefore no one has the right to challenge him
How long had the Romanovs ruled Russia for?
300 years
Who is Nicholas married to?
Alexandra who was a German princess
Who are the children Nicholas and Alexandra had?
They had four daughters however they were desperate to have a son who would succeed the throne
What did their son Alexis have?
A blood disease known as haemophilia so he could easily bleed to death
Which church supported Nicholas’ claim that he was all-powerful due to God?
Russian Orthodox Church
When was the Duma elected?
1905
What was the problem with the Duma?
It had a little power and was heavily dominated by the educated upper and middle classes
What could Nicholas do to the Duma?
He could dismiss it whenever he wished he was not forced to take any notice of what it wanted
Who are Nicholas’s secret police?
Okhrana
Was the censorship? If so, what was censored?
Yes, newspapers and books
What happened in 1915?
Nicholas made himself commander-in-chief of Russian armies
When did Rasputin die?
1916
When did Lenin die?
1924
When did Nicholas abdicate?
1917
What happened after Nicholas abdicated?
Provisional government took over
When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
march 1918
When was the end of the Russian Civil War?
1921
When was the start of the Russian Civil War?
1918
What significant event happened to Nicholas and his family in 1918?
The execution of the royal family
What happened to Lenin in 1923?
Was significantly ill after a stroke
When did the Bolsheviks under Lenin seize control?
October November 1917
What was the Duma?
A representative assembly, or Parliament, first set up in 1905
When was Nicholas’ unpopularity?
1914 to 1917
What were the effects of the war?
Food shortages and high casualties
Where were the early defeats of the war in 1914?
Masurian Lakes and Tannenberg
What decision did Nicholas take in the war and when was this?
In 1915 he decided to take control of the arm isn’t as his poor decision-making meant that defeats continued
Who did Nicholas leave on charge while he was in the war?
The Tsarina
Why was the Tsarina unpopular?
Was German – rumours of her being a spy
Who was Rasputin?
He was a Russian peasant who was a monk believed to be able to cure Alexis of his haemophilia
Why was Rasputin disliked
People believe that Rasputin was having an affair with the Tsarina
What was wrong with Nicholas and his wife being in charge of Russia
They were completely out of touch with reality and people’s needs
When did the weather reach -35°C?
During the crisis of February March 1917
What did the crisis of February March 1917 end in?
February March Revolution
What were the rumours of during February March 1917?
Food rationing
What did the room is the food rationing lead to?
Women going on strike
Why did the strikes grow?
Due to food shortages and general discontent
What did the army units do during February - March 1917?
Some use of violence against strikers but then the army start to mutiny and refuse to stop the strikes in Petrograd
Who was the provisional government made up from?
The Duma
What did the provisional government do after the February March Revolution?
Took control and established the Petrograd Soviet
Why was Nicholas called to return back after February March 1917?
Just sort out the riots but is train is stopped by mutinying soldiers
What happened when the Tsar was told to abdicate?
He did and this is the revolution
When was the causes of the failure of the provisional government?
March to October 1917
What did the Petrograd Soviet pass?
Order number one – this meant the provisional government does not have much control of the workers of soldiers in Petrograd
What did the provisional government do in the war?
They continue the war and tried to go on the offensive in June which was a disaster
How did the provisional government upset the peasants?
I did not sort out the land problem
What did the provisional government do with the conditions in the cities?
They were unable to improve conditions
Why was the provisional government weak with decision-making?
They are indecisive and lacked support
What did the provisional government losing support of the armies in the cities like Petrograd mean?
They had no one to protect them in October
How did Lenin gain support for the Bolsheviks?
April thesis “peace, bread, land”
What did the April thesis do?
Gained popularity
What did the Kornilov Revolt do?
Armed the Bolsheviks with weapons
What did control of the Petrograd Soviet mean for the Bolsheviks?
Give them support of the workers and the army units to take over
What did Trotsky do?
Expertly plan the revolution and it goes like clockwork
When was the October revolution?
October November 1917
What did Lenin and Trotsky create to plan the uprising?
Military revolutionary committee with the support of soldiers loyal to the Petrograd Soviet
What happened on 6 November during the October revolution?
They seize power stations, railways, banks and bridges
Happened on 7 November during the October revolution?
The storm is the winter palace which was the provisional government headquarters and met little opposition which was only defended by young cadets and a women’s battalion this meant the provisional government surrendered
What happened between October 1917 and August 1918?
The Bolshevik actions gained support and control
What is three laws did Lenin make which help the Bolsheviks again popularity?
Land: he took all the ones in the rich and began to give it to the peasants, workers: he introduced an eight hour day for workers, factories: he gave control of the factories to the Soviets
What did Lenin create to take control of decisions?
Dictatorship
What did Lenin do to the leaders of the other parties?
arrested them
Who were Lenin’s secret police?
Cheka
What did the Cheka do?
Arrested people who did not like the Bolsheviks and many were executed
Who were the red army?
The red guards became the red Army and were also used to control Russia
What happened with the constituent assembly?
Lenin allowed people to vote for constituent assembly which met in 1918
How many seats did the Bolsheviks get at the constituent assembly?
175 out of 707 so Lenin shut it down
By what year was only the Communist party allowed?
1921
When did the Bolsheviks end the war?
The bolsheviks ended the war in 1918- treaty of Brest-Litovsk
How many men win the Russian army fighting in the war?
Over 6 million men
Why did the war fail?
The minister of war, Sukhominlov was told 4.6 million rifles had to do 6.4 million men so they were only allowed 10 bullets each per day
When would the battles of Tannenberg and masurian lakes?
August and September 1914
How many men died during the battles of tannenberg and masurian lakes?
Over 1 million
How many Russian railway engineers were there in 1914 compared to 1917?
20000 to 9000
How many wagons of grain were reaching Moscow per year?
22000 in 1913 to 700 in 1917
What was Rasputin also referred to as?
The ‘Mad Monk’
Why did the people object to the Bolsheviks?
They wanted democracy not dictatorship
Like the Kadets who wanted the Constituent Assembly back
Who wanted the Tsar back aiding towards the civil war?
The landowners who didn’t want their land divided among the peasants
Why did the USA Britain and France help fight against the Bolsheviks?
They did not like communism and wanted Russia back in the war against Germany
What was the Czech Legion?
50,000 soldiers had been captured by the Russians in the First World War they had made friends with the Bolsheviks and then change their mind and join the whites
How were the white armies set out around Russia?
They are spread out and could not work together
Who led the whites?
They’re not one single leader and they were many different groups who often did not like each other
Name 4 white leaders
Wrangel
Denikin
Kolchak
Yudenich
How were the Red troops set out in Russia?
They kept their force together around Moscow and Petrograd and let the individual White armies come to them
Who controlled the railways during the civil war?
Reds
Where did the white armies get other soldiers and weapons from?
Britain
France
USA
How did the aid from foreign powers make the Whites look?
Weak; like they were puppets
How was Trotsky good for the Red victory?
He was a skilful organised and motivator- he formed and led the red army which was a disciplined and feared fighting force
What were the red army fighting for?
They were fighting to the death either way so fought ruthlessly and wanted a communist revolution
Who killed the Tsar and his family?
Bolsheviks
What was the “red terror”?
Policy held by the Cheka to install fear into people by beating, hanging, shooting and burning those who helped the whites
What were the white generals like?
Some were brutal and ruled their territories with terror
Often the white generals were rich nobles which encouraged Russians to support the reds
When was war communism?
1918-1921
What was war communism?
A brutal economic policy to keep the red army going
What did war communism mean for the peasants?
Took all the surplus off them- 5 million starved to death
Stopped producing as much produce as there was no point
What happened to industry during war communism?
All industry with over 10 workers was controlled by the Bolsheviks
Production fell
What happened to peasants who held back food during war communism?
Harsh punishments
What did war communism lead to?
A rebellion lead by sailors at Kronstadt
When was the rebellion at Kronstadt?
1921
What did the rebellion at Kronstadt lead to?
Lenin ending war communism
When was the New Economic Policy?
1921-1928
How did the New economic policy compare to war communism?
It was less harsh
What was the New Economic policy?
A step back from communist ideas to gain popularity
How was industry controlled under the New Economic policy?
Major industry was still controlled but most was allowed to be owned privately
Instead they paid tax but could make a profit
How did the New Economic policy affect peasants?
They could sell their surplus but pay a 10% tax
How did production change under the New Economic policy?
It returned to how it had been before the war
How popular was the New Economic policy?
Mute more popular with the people than war communism, however was disliked by some bolsheviks as it wasn’t very communist
How much did prices in the cities rise by during the war?
Up to 700%
What happened on the 8th march?
It was international women’s day and 90000 people were on strike in Petrograd
On which date did the Tsar abdicate?
15th march 1917
What did the treaty of Brest-litovsk state?
Russia lost 26% of its population, 27% of farmland, 74% of iron ore and coal
The Ukraine, Russia’s main our Economic of grain, was also lost
How did electricity vary during war communism?
In 1913 - 1945 kWh
In 1921 - 520 kWh
How did coal production change under war communism?
1913- 29
1921- 9
1926- 27
