russia and the soviet union 1905-24 Flashcards
who were the Romanov’s
the family that had ruled russia for 300 years by 1905
who was tsar in 1905
tsar nicholas II
was nicholas II suited to being tsar
no, he was devoted to his family, but weak, indecisive and no attention to detail with no strong ideas of his own
what is an autocrat
a ruler who has absolute power over a country
what is the divine right of kings
the idea that the tsar had a divine right to rule russia, their position and power had been given to them by God and should only be passed through the family
why did russian people not criticise the tsar in 1905
they did not want to be arrested for opposition to the tsar, or to be thought of as not loyal
why were peasants discontent in 1905
they wanted more land, they were overtaxed and in desperate poverty.
why were industrial workers discontent in 1905
terrible working and living conditions, low pay, unemployment
why were radicals discontent in 1905
they wanted the peasants or workers to take power for themselves
why were other nationalities discontent in 1905
parts of the empire wanted to be independent and free from russian oppression
why were the middle classes discontent in 1905
they wanted a say in how russia was governed
why were the police state discontent in 1905
no one could feel free because the police were always watching
how much of the russian population were peasants
around 85%
when did russia start industrialising
1890’s
what were working and living conditions in the early 1910’s like
dangerous long hours low pay strict discipline housing shortages led to very poor living conditions for workers with widespread disease
what was most of russia’s middle class political beliefs
liberals
what did the middle class want to replace the tsarist regime with in 1905
a constitution that guaranteed rights to everyone, under a fair legal system
a census in 1897 recorded how many people in the russian empuire and how many of them were russian?
it recorded 125 million people,
44% russian
what was russification
the pressure to speak russian and adopt russian culture
when was the tsars grandfather (Alexander II) assassinated
1881
what does SR stand for
socialist revolutionaries
liberal definition
a person who believes in freedom from too much control by the state. freedom of speech and the right to vote are important to liberal values
radicals definition (adj)
having ideas that are very new and different, and against what most people think or believe
constitution definition
a written document that sets out how a country is governed
socialist definition
a person who thinks the state should own important industries and share the wealth created by these industries among everyone
what is the RSDP
russian social democratic party
when was the RSDP formed
1898
what did the RSDP follow
the ideas of Karl Marx
who was Karl Marx
a german revolutionary socialist
what were the two groups comprising the RSDP
the mensheviks and the bolsheviks
who was the bolsheviks lead by
Vladimir Ulyanov / Lenin
what was the Okhrana
the tsar’s secret division of the police force
when was the russo-japanese war
1904-1905
what part of china did russia want control over that lead to the russo-japanese war
manchuria
why did russia want control over manchuria
it had valuable resources like coal and silver and a port that did NOT freeze over in winter unlike russian ports
why did japan defeat russia in 1905
russia had old fashioned military tactics on land and at sea and so were easily beaten
when was bloody sunday
sunday 9th january 1905
where was bloody sunday
st petersberg
what was bloody sunday
a large crowd of protestors bringing a petition to the tsar
who led bloody sunday
father gapon
who did bloody sunday consist of
factory workers and their families
how many people signed the petition brought to the tsar on bloody sunday
150,000 people
what did the bloody sunday petition campaign for
an 8 hour working day
the right to organise trade unions
a constitution to guarantee the above rights and other freedoms in law
was the protest march of bloody sunday peaceful
yes
what did the protestors shout at soldiers on bloody sunday
abuse including insults about military failures in manchuria
how did the soldiers respond to the abuse shouted at them by protestors on bloody sunday
they fired two rounds of warning shots,
the regimes elite troops charged into. the crowd, attacking with their whips and then with swords,
soldiers fired into the crowd
how many protestors were killed and wounded on bloody sunday
200 killed
hundreds injured.
what did russian sailors face
tough discipline and tough conditions
quartermaster def
a loweranking officer with responsibility for steering the ship and signalling other ships
executive officer def
the second - in command after the captain
quartermaster of the battleship potemkin
a socalist called matyushenko
what was the black sea fleet
the main part of russias navy
when did the potemkins cooks report that the meat was full of maggots
14th june 1905
what did the potemkins executive officer threaten to do to men who didnt eat the meat
shoot them.
what set off the potemkin mutiny
one of the leading mutineers did not eat the meat and was shot
what happened at the potemkin mutiny
sailors grabbed the officers who shot the mutineer and threw him in the water and then shot him. the sailors then attacked the rest of the officers, killing and locking them up. a socalist peoples commitee took control.
where did the mutineers sail the battleship potemkin
odessa
what did nicohlas ii do about the demonstrations in odesa
ordered army to stop them whcih they did by shooting over 1000 citizens
what happened to the mutineers of the battleship potmekin
they failed to spread themutiny around the rest of the black sea fleet and they were forced to sail around the black sea avoiding recapture adnd looking for supplies. they were given asylum after sinking the ship.
peasant riots in response in the 1905 revolution
rioting against landlords
3000 manor houses burnt down
communes
industrial worker responses in the 1905 revolution
400,000 strikes in january 1905
general strike 20th september to 5th october 1905
who participated in the general strike in 20th sept to 20th oct 1905
important industry workers, like railway. it was then linked with the middle classes who wanted political reform
what was the st petersberg soviet
sept-dec 1905.
council of workers to help organise the general strike. shut down by government
showed potential resistance and what the people could do
what was in the october manifesto
new civil rights: freedom of speech, religion, right to form political parties and right to form trade unions
duma
new laws would have to be approved by elected reps of the people
were people happy at the october manifestio
delighted liberal mdidle classes but did nothing for the working classes or peasants or soldiers.
repression in 1905
workers and peasants strike kept under control by loyal army
extreme violence used by government
attempts at demonstrations caused casulties by tsarist troops
newspapers and trade unions closed
trials and executions and banishments
this unrest continued until 1905
why did nicohlas ii survive the 1905 revolution
concessions: october manifesto
disunited opposition
the military stayed loyal to the tsar
delegate def
someone who has been elected to vote or take decisions for a group or representatives
veto def
the right to reject a decision made by parliment, like a decision for a new law
dissolve def
when a parliment is dissolved, it mean that parliment is ended and a new one has to be elected
powers of the tsar over the first duma (first russian state duma)
the state council could block anything passed by the duma. members chosen by the tsar (BIAS)
tsar had authority over armed services, foreign policy, veto anything, could dissolve duma, and when duma wasnt there could pass anything
only tsar could change the fundamental laws
when were the fundamental laws
april 1906
when was the october manifesto
october 1905
first duma time
april to july 1905
second duma time
februrary to june 1907
third duma time
november 1907 to june 1912
fourth duma time
november 1912 to februrary 1917
political orinetation of the union of the russian people
ultra-conservatives
political orientation of the russian social democratic party
extreme left wing
political orientation of the constitutional democrats (Kadets) and the octobrists
middle ground
kadets were slightly more…
liberal
octobrists were slightly more…
conservative
first duma
dominated by kadets and trudoviks.
very radical
10 weeks before it was dissolved which increased liberal opposition
second duma
222 SR’s
showed revolutionary parties how their aims would not be met through elections
third and fourth dumas
more conservative deputies to be elected
liberals shocked at the massive majority of conservatives. showed the unwillingness of the gov to give up any power
third duma lasted full term
fourth duma contained even more right wing nationalist parties
stolypins land reforms/wager on the strong
let indiviual peasant leave the commune and set up their own farms. then russia would be a country of indiviual farmult farms and less profit sharing means farmers migh t use more modern farming methods.
did the wager on the strong work
it encouraged peasant migration to siberia. in 12 years, 3.5 million peasants moved to siberia.
farmers stll treated it like they were in a commune
what caused the lena goldfields strike
terrible working conditions for gold miners
rotten horsemeat was the food
this led to a strike which spread through the goldfields.
stike workers arrested this turned into a mass protest of workers.
how many killed in lena goldfields massacre
200-500 and hundreds more wounded
did the lena goldfields strke increase the number of strikes
yes there were nearly 2000 more after
ally def
a country that agrees to help another country
mobilisation def
gathering together, organising and equipping an army and moving it towards the enemy
when serbia and austrian tensions grew in the first world war who did russia support
serbia
when serbia and austrian tensions grew in the first world war who did germany support
austria
short term effect of world war one in russia
public felt patriotic and taxes were raised (with support of duma) to pay for the war. tsar popularity increased. russias army largest in the wart in 1914
what led to the growing discontent at the first world war in russia
germany used efficent railway system and won tannenberg. russia lost 122,000 men and huge amounts of supplies. more defeats.
long term effect of world war one in russia
sadness at loss of so many russian men. not enough weapons and supplies for army. soldiers didnt have warm clothes or enough food. voluntary organisations set up to help get food to them.
when did nicohlas ii decide to take control of the russian army and navy
1915
should nicholas ii have taken control fo the military
no he had no experience and any downfalls meant he was blamed entirely.
economic effects of ww1
17 billion roubles
prohibition - no more money coming in, so national debt increased
coal mining industries under german territory
military demanded a ban on frain exports so they could use it.
not enough labour as everyone at war
social effects of world war one
not enough food
inflation increased faster than wages
gender imbalance
number of jobs fell sharply as factories lost their markets.
why was the fourth duma suspended in august 1914
so the government could concentrate on winning the war
how was the progressive bloc formed
members of the duma demanded the tsar’s failing government should be replaced by duma deputies in a ministry of national confidence. the tsar refused so around half the duma deputies formed the progressive bloc
when did the duma resume after being suspended for the war
november 1916
regent def
the person appointed to govern the country because the ruler is away, ill or too young to rule
why did the tsarina contribute to the february revolution in 1917
she was dedicated to autocracy and refused to deal with the duma
she was german
she became obssessed with rasputin
who was rasputin
a siberian peasant-monk with “mystic healing powers”.
who was prince alexis
the tsar and tsarina’s son
what disease did prince alexis have
haemophilia
why did rasputin make the royal family look bad
there were rumours of him and the tsarina having an affair
it made it look like the tsarina was intentionally trying to lose the war
gave the appearance that he was the real ruler of the russian empire
when was rasputin murdered
december 1916
what religion were most russians at the time
orthodox christians
when was the international womens day protests
23 February 1917
when do troops open fire on protestors in 1917
26 February 1917
when does the petrograd soviet issue order number one
27 Februrary 1917
when did tsar nicohlas ii abdicate
2 March 1917
when is the provisional government established
2 March 1917
why was there a shortage of food and fuel in 1917
the severe winter of 1916-17
what were the series of protests in early 1917 for
to protest against the tsars rule
long term causes of the februaray revolution
the tsar had given up very little of his autocratic powers in practice,
and the fear of revolution had made russia even more of a police state than before.
industrial workers had terrible working conditions
peasants struggled in conditions of terrible poverty
many nationalities wanted independence from the tsar
short term causes of the februrary revolution
contempt for tsarina the army's mutiny against the tsar's rule unusually mild winter weather demonstrations in support of the duma the international womens day protests industral unrest strikes announcement of bread rationing food shortages in petrograd the tsar being away from petrograd
why were there food shortges 1916-17
railway transport focussed on getting supplies to the front
why did peasants sell less grain 1916-17
there was less to buy with the money they made
were people angry at the failures of the army 1916-17
unsuccessful leadership of russian armies, blamed directly on tsar
what were the international womens day protests 1917 against
food shortages.
on international womens day 1917 who did the strikers join
industrial workers striking
how many people marched through the streets of petrograd between the 23rd and 25th of februrary
250,000
how could protestors gather outside in 1916-17
unusually mild winter weather.
why did tsar nicohlas ii leave on 22 feb 1917
to return to army headquarters in mogilev.
what did the tsar order on the 25th februrary 1917
the police and soldeiers to enter petrograd and end the unrest
why was the tsars order on 25th feb 1917 important
the army had to decide whether to join the protests or stick with the tsar
how many people died on the 26th feb 1917
- some called it a second bloody sunday
which regiment were shocked that the petrograd regiment had shot 50 troops
the pavlovsky regiment. they refused to obey orders to fire on demonstators. this was a mutiny
when did the army join the protestors in 1917
27-28 feb
what did the army and protestors break into
petrograds main weapon store. they took over 40,000 rifiles and 30,000 revolvers
how many protestors were there combined in feb 1917
150,000 soldiers + 250,000 mutineers = 400,000
what WAS the tsars plans on hearing the reports of the mutiny in petrograd on the 27th February
he ordered general Ivanov to take the troops to the capital and enforce order. he also decided to travel to petrograd himself (unadvised to do so). however some of Ivanov’s troops were showing signs of mutiny and so the army leaders were worried that bringing more troops to petrograd would result in a larger mutiny - revolution, so russia would not be able to fight in the war.
who came to pskov on the 2nd march
senior army officers and members of the duma
why did senior army officers and members of the duma come to pskov on the 2nd march
to urge nicohlas ii to abdicate
what happened when tsar nicohlas ii abdicated
michael refused the throne and russia became a republic in spring 1917.
who led the PG first
prince lvov
give three parties formed at the power vaccuum in 1917
petrograd soviet of workers’ and soldiers’ deputies
provisional committee (12 duma deputies)
provisional gov
what was the idea/plan for the PG
it would run russia until democratic elections could take place for a constiutent assembly within 6 months.
eight principles of the PG
political prisoners or exiles to be freed or allowed to return
freedom of speech, press and to hold meetings
no class, religious or nationality discrimination
preparations for the election of the constituent assembly to write a constution
all police organisations to be replaced by an elected people’s militia
local governments to be elected
military units that took part in the revolution should not be disbanded or sent to the front to fight.
off duty soldiers to have the same rights as civilians.
weaknesses and challenges of the PG
dual control
order number one of petrograd soviet
no one elected PG unlike PS and made up of duma deputied elected under tsarism
what was dual control
where the PG had to share power with the petrograd soviet
what was the petrograd soviets order number one
they had the final say on military matters.
