Russia AOS1 Quotes

Question 1

W.H. Chamberlain on the Significant of the Tsar & Tsarina

Answer 1

“The characters of the Tsar and Tsarina accelerated and made inevitable the doom of the Romanov dynasty.”

Question 2

Tsar Nicholas Upon Coming to Power

Answer 2

“I know nothing of the business of ruling”

Question 3

Sheila Fitzpatrick on Stolypin’s Reforms

Answer 3

“If the Stolypin reforms had worked…the Russian proletariat would have lost an important revolutionary ally.”

Question 4

Mikhail Rodzinko on Rasputin

Answer 4

“The appearance in the royal court of Grigory Rasputin…mark the beginning of the decay of Russian society and the loss of prestige for the throne and for the person of the Tsar himself.”

Question 5

Alan Wood on Rasputin

Answer 5

“The scandal with had surrounded Rasputin’s name was merely a symptom, not a cause, of the acute malaise which inflicted an incompetent and unpopular regime now deep in the throes of a devastating war.”

Question 6

Kerensky on Being Prime Minister

Answer 6

“I want to take the middle road, but no one will help me”

Question 7

Martin McCauley on Kerensky

Answer 7

“Kerensky single-handedly had dicredited the SRs and the Provisional Government. The masses wanted a complete change and Lenin was there to act on this aspiration.”

Question 8

Michael Lynch on Lenin & Trotsky’s Role in the October Revolution

Answer 8

“If Lenin was undeniably the inspiration behind the October Revolution, Trotsky was indisputably the executive figure who organised the actual rising.”

Question 9

Saying Among Russian Government Officials

Answer 9

“The most powerful man in Russia is he who last spoke to the Tsar.”

Question 10

Steve Smith on Why the Tsarist Regime Failed

Answer 10

“The collapse of the autocracy was rooted in a crisis of modernisation”

Question 11

David Lilly on Why the Tsarist Regime Failed

Answer 11

“The tsarist regimes…failed to address adequately Russia’s massive agricultural problems that ultimately helped lead to the government’s downfall.”

Question 12

Vyacheslav Plehve (Minister of the Interior) on the Russo-Japanese War

Answer 12

“A little victorious war to stem the tide of revolution.”

Question 13

Le Matin Newspaper on Bloody Sunday

Answer 13

“Soldiers aim at the people’s heads”

Question 14

A Russian Commander During the Russo-Japanese War

Answer 14

“The Japanese are beating us with machine guns, but never mind: we’ll beat them with icons.”

Question 15

Father Gapon During Bloody Sunday

Answer 15

“There is no god any longer. There is no Tsar.”

Question 16

Steve Smith on the Significance of Bloody Sunday

Answer 16

“Bloody Sunday…had a traumatic impact on the country, setting off months of strikes, rebellions, demonstrations, and political organising.”

Question 17

The October Manifesto (17th October 1905)

Answer 17

“Grant the population the essential foundations of civil freedom…no law shall take effect without confirmation by the State Duma”

Question 18

Tsar Nicholas on the Duma

Answer 18

“I created the Duma, not to be directed by it, but to be advised.”

Question 19

The Fundamental Laws (23rd April 1906)

Answer 19

“The All-Russian Emperor possesses the supreme autocratic power.”

Question 20

Sheila Fitzpatrick on the Fundamental Laws

Answer 20

“The closest Russia came to a constitution”

Question 21

Pavel Miliukov Speech 14th November 1916

Answer 21

“WHAT IS IT, STUPIDITY OR TREASON?”

Question 22

Tom Ryan on the Duma

Answer 22

“The Duma would provide a valuable forum for civic debates, and offer a critical voice on the issues of the day.”

Question 23

Tsar Nicholas on the Duma

Answer 23

“Curse the Duma. It’s all Witte’s fault.”

Question 24

Grand Duke Nikolai (Commander in Chief) During WW1

Answer 24

“I have no rifles, no shells, no boots!”

Question 25

Richard Pipes on the Cause of the February Revolution

Answer 25

“The immediate cause of the Revolution of 1917 would be a collapse of Russia’s fragile political structure under the strains of a war of attrition.”

Question 26

Orlando Figes on the February Revolution

Answer 26

“Russia overnight was effectively transformed into ‘the freest country in the world’.”

Question 27

Tsarina Alexandra to Nicholas During February Revolution

Answer 27

“This is a hooligan movement…if the weather were very cold they would probably all stay home.”

Question 28

Mikhail Rodzianko to Tsar 26th February 1917

Answer 28

“The situation is serious. The capital is in a state of anarchy.”

Question 29

Provisional Government Notice 2nd March 1917

Answer 29

“Citizens! The Provisional Committee…has at present scored…success over the dark forces of the old regime.”

Question 30

Worker Protest Banners April 1917 Petrograd

Answer 30

“Down with Miliukov and Guchkov!” “Down with the Imperialist War!” “Down with the Provisional Government!”

Question 31

Soviet Order No.1 (1st March 1917)

Answer 31

“Orders from [the Provisional Government] may be executed only in cases where they do not contradict the orders…of the Soviet.”

Question 32

April Thesis (4th April 1917)

Answer 32

“No support for the Provisional Government; the utter falsity of all its promises should be made clear.”

Question 33

Alexander Rabinowitch on Lenin’s Contributions to the Revolution

Answer 33

“Tailoring the Bolshevik programme so that it would reflect popular aspirations was one of Lenin’s most important contributions.”

Question 34

Menshevik Alexander Bogdanov on April Thesis

Answer 34

“This is the ravings of a madman!”

Question 35

Tom Ryan on the July Days

Answer 35

“The July Days were a disaster for the Bolsheviks”

Question 36

Lenin During the July Days

Answer 36

“We will see what happens, now one can’t tell anything!”

Question 37

General Kornilov During Affair

Answer 37

“It’s time to hang the German supporters and spies, with Lenin at their head.”

Question 38

Lenin 15th September 1917 on Gaining Majority in Soviets

Answer 38

“The Bolsheviks, having obtained a majority in the soviets…can and must take power.”

Question 39

Trotsky Address to Second All Russian Congress of Soviets (26th October 1917)

Answer 39

“Go back where you ought to go: into the dustbin of history!”
“Then we will go!” - Yuri Martov (Menshevik)