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