Russia - 2 Features Flashcards
Tsarist Rule in Russia
ran by autocratic system
- ministers chosen by tsar
- army and police swore loyalty
- only one ruler of the romanov family: saw their power as sacred
- no opposition or other political parties, absolute power
- 300 year romanov family rule
General discontent
- 85% peasants
- 44% of the country was russian
- country put russia as priority over other nationalities
- forced to adapt to culture, speak russian, wear their clothing, follow their customs
- Disease and poor working conditions
Political Parties
had different aims for revolution
- SRs did this by assassinating important government ministers
- Boshleviks believed revolution should happen when the time is right
- Menshleviks believed revolution will happen, when Russia is industrialised
were illegal
- Russia ran by autocracy so no opposition or political parties were allowed to be formed
- members were arrested by the Okhrana
- formed secret names to hide from the police
Russo Japanese War
caused by conflict over Manchuria
- Russia wanted Manchuria because they had a port that didn’t freeze over, crucial for trading
- precious raw materials like coal and silver to help industrialized
- Japan wanted Manchuria for expansion
- hhence war started
Russia was defeated
- old fashioned military tactics on sea and on land
- Port Arthur was lost to Japan
- 5000 killed 5000 captured
Bloody Sunday
caused by petition from workers
- 150000 workers carried a petition
- 8h work day
- right to trade unions,
- constitution to guarantee workers rights
- marched to Winter Palace led by Father Gapon, to deliver this to the tsar
was a massacre of protesters
- protesters shouted insult about failures of war
- after 2 warning rounds, troops fired into the crowd
Mounted Cossacks attacked the crowd with whips and swords
-100 killed
1905 Revolution
protests in countryside and cities
- peasant riots
- burnt down landlord houses (3000), killed landlords
- took over land and made communes
- workers
- general strike with 400 000 workers
- joined with liberal middle class
- railway did not function
failed to overthrow the tsar
- middle class called off the general strike, and numbers reduced
- tsar survived and retook the power
- repression: extreme force to stop peasant unrest, arrested political parties, 1000 killed at an attempt revolution by SDs
Potemkin Mutiny
sailors rebelled against their officers
- threw executive officer into the water
- shot others, locked them up
- a socialist committee formed on the Potemkin
- quartermaster Matyushenko took over as chairperson
- meat was full of maggots
- initally loyal / unhappy with how officers had total control
failed to spread within the rest of the Black Sea Fleet
- sailed around Black Sea to avoid recapture
- 1000 killed at riots and protest brought and end through violence
- sunk the ship at Port of Constanta so it couldn’t be found and recaptured
- sailors given asylum
St Petersburg Soviet
it was an important development for revolution, set the idea of resistance
- organised the general strike after it begun
- set up in multiple cities, united the workers
shut down by the Tsar
- used force in December 1905
- leaders arrested after they called for more strikes and argued that they should be armed to defend themselves
Stolypin’s policy of repression
successful in shutting down protests in city
- newspaper and trade unions shut down
- used extreme force and the army to stop any protests
- SD revolution ended up killing 1000
- St Petersburg Soviet leaders arrested
- those arrested would have unfair trials and exiled to Siberia/ executed
failed to stop peasant unrest
- soldiers rode out to villages in countrysides to stop peasant riots
- peasant unrest continued till 1907
- very spread out and spontaneous, difficult
October Manifesto
increased civil rights for Russian people
- right to form trade unions
- political parties
- freedom of speech
- freedom of religion
- a duma to be formed, with elected representatives to form a parliament to propose new laws and policies
Stop rioting within the liberal middle class / achieved its aims
- general strike called off
- wide spread celebrations
- did not truly solve enough specifically but completely squashed discontent
- workers conditions still sucked
Stolypin’s land reform
created to stop peasant riots
- wager on the strong
- make country side ‘safe’
- proposed for peasants to leave communes and set up their own individual farms
- use modern farming methods, keep all the profit from selling their crops
- move to Siberia for more land
- become rich and not protest
failed to achieve its aims
- only 14% of peasants who took up his offer actually set up their enclosed individual farms
- acted as if they were part of a commune
- animals grazed each other’s land
- strips of land belonging to a peasant would be scattered amongst land of other peasants
- 3.5 million moved
- more application than they could handle
Dumas
allowed Russian people to express their views
- different political parties would take part in elections and represent the people
- made of Kadets Trudoviks SRs
- any law would have to be passed and approved by the duma
- government actions supervised
had limited power
- fundamental laws of russia could only be changed by the Tsar
- the Tsar had control over the army
- laws passed could be vetoed by the Tsar
- actions of Duma could be blocked by the State Council, which was chosen by Tsar
- could be dissolved anytime
Duma 1
first elected parliament for Russia
Kadets and Trudoviks participated in the elections
branch of SR + liberal party
had elections to choose representatives
left wing parties did not take part
short lived
Kadets called for State Council to be abolished, Trudoviks supported this
taking land from landlords: would anger the upper class
Stolypin saw this as a threat to tsarism and autocracy
dissolved in December, lasted 10 weeks
Duma 2
extremely left wing
elections took place to form a parliament
SRs and SDs took part in the elections, were very popular
over 202 seats were socialists, who wanted revolution
short lived
the duma called to abolish tsarism
seen as even more radical than Duma 1 by Stolypin, saw this as a threat to autocracy
said it was not representative and made to discredit the tsar as an excuse to dissolve it in June 1907
Duma 3 / 4
change in election rules
elections were rigged so that conservatives who was elected instead of SRs and SDs
Octoborists, middle ground liberals took up over 287 of the seats
supported the tsar
supported and passed all the tsar’s policies
any opposition eg criticism and speeches were too insignificant because outnumbered
no need to shut it down, lasted its full 5 year term
(fourth duma was right wing nationalists)
Lena Goldfields Strike
caused by discontent of miners
forced to eat rotten horsemeat
mass protests
marched to their managers to deliver a list of their demands, such as better working conditions
went on strike, did not work,
with the help of Bolsheviks
massacre happened
200-500 killed
troops fired into the crowd to stop the unrest and put the miners back under control by fear and oppression
hundreds wounded
leaders of strike arrested