Russia chapter 2 Flashcards
What happened in 1914?
Russia went into WW1 on the side of France and Britain.
This initially increased the Tsar’s popularity as many Russians felt patriotic and proud of their country.
Why did the Tsar quickly become unpopular as the start of the war progressed?
Early defeats made people realise that believe in your country wasn’t enough.
How many died at the Battle of Tannenberg?
August 1914, 122,000 Russians were lost
How many Russian soldiers had died by the end of 1915?
2 million men were lost.
Russia was in retreat.
What did people blame the Tsarist government for in the war?
- There were not enough weapons and supplies for the army (1/3 of the army had no rifles)
- Soldiers did not have warm uniforms or boots for the winter
- They did not have enough to eat.
What did the Tsar do to try and rectify the WW1 problem in 1915?
- He appointed himself commander-in-chief of the Russian forces despite having no military experience.
- This was a mistake as it meant all defeats would be directly blamed on him.
What were the effects the war had on Russia both economically and socially?
- The war cost Russia 17 billion roubles and caused shortages and hardships.
- The printing of money led to inflation and price increases whilst savings lost all value.
- The government banned vodka which reduced its tax income.
- The Germans captured Russia’s most important economic area.
- There wasn’t enough food being produced for both the army and people.
- The Duma became increasingly more critical of Tsarist rule.
What happened because 15 million peasants and workers were sent to fight?
- There were not enough workers in Russia.
- Factories closed and crops were not harvested.
- There were twice as many women in the countryside as there were men.
- In the first 3 months of the war 150,000 workers were sent home.
What happened in the Government as a result of the war?
Some members of the Duma formed a group called the Progressive Bloc which was very critical of the Tsarist government.
Who did the Tsar leave in charge of the country while he was away at the front and why was this decision not liked?
The Tsarina
* She was not liked because she was German and came under the influence of Rasputin.
* This weakened the authority of the royal family and offended the nobles who considered it their right to advise.
Who was Rasputin?
A peasant monk who had mystic healing powers. He met the Tsarina when he seemed to help her son Alexis who had haemophilia. The Tsarina became dependent on him and his advice.
Why did the Russian people disapprove of Rasputin?
- Rasputin believed in sinning and the repenting so there were many rumors that he had too much alcohol and sex with lots of women.
- In 1916 he was murdered.
What made the conditions in the country even worse and provoked another revolution?
A severe winter in 1916/17 caused further food shortages. With the tsar away at war, there were a series of revolts against his rule.
What happened on the 23th of February 1917?
International Women’s Day.
Thousands of women marched in protest about bread rationing. Between 23 and 25 Feb 250,000 people marched through Petrograd.
What happened on the 25th of February 1917?
- The Tsar ordered the police and soldiers to end the unrest.
- Some opened fire on the protesters killing 50 people.
- This became known as the Second Bloody Sunday.
What happened on the 26th of February 1917?
- The Pavlovsky soldiers mutinied and refused to fire on the protesters.
- More soldiers joined and they broke into weapons stores and prisons. The number reached 150,000.
- This made the downfall of the Tsar almost certain as the police were unable to deal with both the military and people protesting in Petrograd.
Who became increasingly powerful as the huge number of soldiers declared their support for the revolution?
The Petrograd Soviet
What happened on the 2nd of March 1917?
- The Tsar abdicated.
- He did this on the advice of his senior army officers but on the condition that his brother, Grand Duke Michael, would take over.
- This was very unpopular with the revolutionaries who threatened civil war.
- Michael refused and Russia became a republic.
After the Tsars abdication, who set out to govern Russia
- A Provisional Government under the leadership of Prince Lvov.
- It said it would do so only until democratic elections were held for a Constituent Assembly which would hopefully be in 6 months’ time.
What were some of the first things the Provisional government did?
It set out 8 principles of their government
These introduced:
* Important civil rights for the people and banned discrimination.
* It also released political prisoners or allowed them to return to Russia.
