Russia 1914-1924 Flashcards
1
Q
What’s the name given to a Country ruled by only one leader?
A
Autocracy
2
Q
Who is the ruler of Russia in 1914?
A
Tsar Nicholas II
3
Q
By 1914 how long had Tsar Nicholas II been on the throne for?
A
20 years
4
Q
Under what circumstances did Tsar Nicholas believe that he had the right to rule Russia and what did this mean?
A
Divine right on behalf of God and therefore no one has the right to challenge him
5
Q
How long had the Romanovs ruled Russia for?
A
300 years
6
Q
Who is Nicholas married to?
A
Alexandra who was a German princess
7
Q
Who are the children Nicholas and Alexandra had?
A
They had four daughters however they were desperate to have a son who would succeed the throne
8
Q
What did their son Alexis have?
A
A blood disease known as haemophilia so he could easily bleed to death
9
Q
Which church supported Nicholas’ claim that he was all-powerful due to God?
A
Russian Orthodox Church
10
Q
When was the Duma elected?
A
1905
11
Q
What was the problem with the Duma?
A
It had a little power and was heavily dominated by the educated upper and middle classes
12
Q
What could Nicholas do to the Duma?
A
He could dismiss it whenever he wished he was not forced to take any notice of what it wanted
13
Q
Who are Nicholas’s secret police?
A
Okhrana
14
Q
Was the censorship? If so, what was censored?
A
Yes, newspapers and books
15
Q
What happened in 1915?
A
Nicholas made himself commander-in-chief of Russian armies
16
Q
When did Rasputin die?
A
1916
17
Q
When did Lenin die?
A
1924
18
Q
When did Nicholas abdicate?
A
1917
19
Q
What happened after Nicholas abdicated?
A
Provisional government took over
20
Q
When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
A
march 1918
21
Q
When was the end of the Russian Civil War?
A
1921
22
Q
When was the start of the Russian Civil War?
A
1918
23
Q
What significant event happened to Nicholas and his family in 1918?
A
The execution of the royal family
24
Q
What happened to Lenin in 1923?
A
Was significantly ill after a stroke
25
When did the Bolsheviks under Lenin seize control?
October November 1917
26
What was the Duma?
A representative assembly, or Parliament, first set up in 1905
27
When was Nicholas' unpopularity?
1914 to 1917
28
What were the effects of the war?
Food shortages and high casualties
29
Where were the early defeats of the war in 1914?
Masurian Lakes and Tannenberg
30
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
31
Who did Nicholas leave on charge while he was in the war?
The Tsarina
32
Why was the Tsarina unpopular?
Was German – rumours of her being a spy
33
Who was Rasputin?
He was a Russian peasant who was a monk believed to be able to cure Alexis of his haemophilia
34
Why was Rasputin disliked
People believe that Rasputin was having an affair with the Tsarina
35
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
36
When did the weather reach -35°C?
During the crisis of February March 1917
37
What did the crisis of February March 1917 end in?
February March Revolution
38
What were the rumours of during February March 1917?
Food rationing
39
What did the room is the food rationing lead to?
Women going on strike
40
Why did the strikes grow?
Due to food shortages and general discontent
41
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
42
Who was the provisional government made up from?
The Duma
43
What did the provisional government do after the February March Revolution?
Took control and established the Petrograd Soviet
44
Why was Nicholas called to return back after February March 1917?
Just sort out the riots but is train is stopped by mutinying soldiers
45
What happened when the Tsar was told to abdicate?
He did and this is the revolution
46
When was the causes of the failure of the provisional government?
March to October 1917
47
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
48
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
49
How did the provisional government upset the peasants?
I did not sort out the land problem
50
What did the provisional government do with the conditions in the cities?
They were unable to improve conditions
51
Why was the provisional government weak with decision-making?
They are indecisive and lacked support
52
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
53
How did Lenin gain support for the Bolsheviks?
April thesis "peace, bread, land"
54
What did the April thesis do?
Gained popularity
55
What did the Kornilov Revolt do?
Armed the Bolsheviks with weapons
56
What did control of the Petrograd Soviet mean for the Bolsheviks?
Give them support of the workers and the army units to take over
57
What did Trotsky do?
Expertly plan the revolution and it goes like clockwork
58
When was the October revolution?
October November 1917
59
What did Lenin and Trotsky create to plan the uprising?
Military revolutionary committee with the support of soldiers loyal to the Petrograd Soviet
60
What happened on 6 November during the October revolution?
They seize power stations, railways, banks and bridges
61
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
62
What happened between October 1917 and August 1918?
The Bolshevik actions gained support and control
63
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
64
What did Lenin create to take control of decisions?
Dictatorship
65
What did Lenin do to the leaders of the other parties?
arrested them
66
Who were Lenin's secret police?
Cheka
67
What did the Cheka do?
Arrested people who did not like the Bolsheviks and many were executed
68
Who were the red army?
The red guards became the red Army and were also used to control Russia
69
What happened with the constituent assembly?
Lenin allowed people to vote for constituent assembly which met in 1918
70
How many seats did the Bolsheviks get at the constituent assembly?
175 out of 707 so Lenin shut it down
71
By what year was only the Communist party allowed?
1921
72
When did the Bolsheviks end the war?
The bolsheviks ended the war in 1918- treaty of Brest-Litovsk
73
How many men win the Russian army fighting in the war?
Over 6 million men
74
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
75
When would the battles of Tannenberg and masurian lakes?
August and September 1914
76
How many men died during the battles of tannenberg and masurian lakes?
Over 1 million
77
How many Russian railway engineers were there in 1914 compared to 1917?
20000 to 9000
78
How many wagons of grain were reaching Moscow per year?
22000 in 1913 to 700 in 1917
79
What was Rasputin also referred to as?
The 'Mad Monk'
80
Why did the people object to the Bolsheviks?
They wanted democracy not dictatorship
| Like the Kadets who wanted the Constituent Assembly back
81
Who wanted the Tsar back aiding towards the civil war?
The landowners who didn't want their land divided among the peasants
82
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
83
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
84
How were the white armies set out around Russia?
They are spread out and could not work together
85
Who led the whites?
They're not one single leader and they were many different groups who often did not like each other
86
Name 4 white leaders
Wrangel
Denikin
Kolchak
Yudenich
87
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
88
Who controlled the railways during the civil war?
Reds
89
Where did the white armies get other soldiers and weapons from?
Britain
France
USA
90
How did the aid from foreign powers make the Whites look?
Weak; like they were puppets
91
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
92
What were the red army fighting for?
They were fighting to the death either way so fought ruthlessly and wanted a communist revolution
93
Who killed the Tsar and his family?
Bolsheviks
94
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
95
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
96
When was war communism?
1918-1921
97
What was war communism?
A brutal economic policy to keep the red army going
98
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
99
What happened to industry during war communism?
All industry with over 10 workers was controlled by the Bolsheviks
Production fell
100
What happened to peasants who held back food during war communism?
Harsh punishments
101
What did war communism lead to?
A rebellion lead by sailors at Kronstadt
102
When was the rebellion at Kronstadt?
1921
103
What did the rebellion at Kronstadt lead to?
Lenin ending war communism
104
When was the New Economic Policy?
1921-1928
105
How did the New economic policy compare to war communism?
It was less harsh
106
What was the New Economic policy?
A step back from communist ideas to gain popularity
107
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
108
How did the New Economic policy affect peasants?
They could sell their surplus but pay a 10% tax
109
How did production change under the New Economic policy?
It returned to how it had been before the war
110
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
111
How much did prices in the cities rise by during the war?
Up to 700%
112
What happened on the 8th march?
It was international women's day and 90000 people were on strike in Petrograd
113
On which date did the Tsar abdicate?
15th march 1917
114
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
115
How did electricity vary during war communism?
In 1913 - 1945 kWh
| In 1921 - 520 kWh
116
How did coal production change under war communism?
1913- 29
1921- 9
1926- 27
