Russia essay plans Flashcards
Role of the Tsar
Contention - A/t immense pressure on Russia, downfall of monarchy was b/c of TN2’s poor leadership during WWI → alienated his lib supporters + fostered contempt towards T regime
BP1 - demands of war + modernisation led to collapse of monarchy
“Although Nicholas II may not have been an outstanding emperor, it was the general situation and not his personality that enfeebled the regime’s reaction to assaults made upon it” (Service)
“The danger Russia faced… would probably have destroyed any man who sat on the throne” (Lieven)
TN2 assumed power in 1896 of rapidly changing/industrially weak country
P pop inc 76% 1897-1914
Coal prod = 5% of Brit → had to import ¼ of coal needs
118mil rubles land redemption arrears by end of TN2’s 10th yr
Years of Red Cockrel → chaos in countryside
1900-06 recession → strikes req mil intervention = 19 in 1883 → 522 in 1902
- Gr Mil Program launched 1911 but X finished (as was TS Railway) when WWI broke out in 1914 → supply chain breakdowns e.g. by 1916 only ⅓ of food/fuel needed was arriving in M + P
BP2 - lack of response to big issues alienated lib supporters
“The obstinate refusal of the tsarist regime to concede reforms turned what should have been a political problem inton a revolutionary crisis” (Figes)
“Liberals were patriots who objected to the tsarist regime not because it was fighting an unjust war, but because it was uncommitted to winning it” (McMeekin)
UoZ + UoT offer help w transport of war supplies/care for wounded → Nic X support + hinder w regulations
WIC ask for war contracts → supply war effort → Nic reject support
Prog Bloc (Aug 1915) = 262/422 d4 deps call for admin/pol reforms (install competent cabinet) → avert rev
Aug 1915 after Gr Retreat TN2 appt himself CinC of army → Rod warn this will “appear a confession of hopelessness that chaos has invaded the admin”
→ Lvov + Rod openly discussing poss of constit monarchy in Jan 1917
BP3 - T’s behaviour damaged rep of monarchy
“Nicholas II fell not because he was hated but because he was held in contempt”
“no political criticism can harm the prestige of Tsars so effectually as the personal weakness, vice, or debasement of the members of the royal house” (Tyrkov)
Appt himself CinC → responsible for R’s failings in WWI
Alex = Ger → R pop resented T’s allowance of ‘enemy’ w/in palace
R + Alex leadership → Min Leapfrog = 4 PMs/Mins for Justice/Edu + 3 Mins for Transp/FA/War in 18mo period b/c of bribery → impression that TN2 had abandoned Russia + created chaos
Rumours of Alex + R affair → emasc TN2 = undermine T’s claim to power as God-ordained patriarch/”Little Father”
Role of 1905
Contention - A/t 1905 X lead to maj change/immediate rev, TN2’s promise to reform created framework to measure his later incompetancy
BP1 - 1905 damaged view of TN2
BS (“like a peaceful protest”) → 200 killed/800 wounded but newspaper @ time reported up to 2000
“Little Father” → “Bloody Nicholas”
Brit MP Ramsay Macdonald says TN2 = “blood-stained creature”
OM = “a fraud on the ppl, a trick of the T” (SRs)
BP2 - autocracy was still strong after 1905
“Although there were a few broken ribs, Tsarism came out of the experience of 1905 alive and strong” (Trostky)
“A constitution is given, but autocracy remains. Everything is given, and nothing is given.” (Trotsky)
Strategy = “Suppression first, then, and only the, reform” (Stolypin)
S declare martial law 1906
“S’s necktie” = 2193 ppl exec 1906-08 (dir response to 1905)
- #1 “The All-Russian Emperor possesses supreme autocratic power”
- #87 Tsar can dissolve Duma + rule by exec decree in “exceptional circumstances” that are decided by T
BP3 - reforms were meaningless → underlying tensions that eventually explode into rev = unresolved
“In the end, Russia gained nothing more than a breathing spell” (Pipes)
“The political outcome of the 1905 Revolution was ambiguous and in some ways unsatisfactory to all involved” (Fitzpatrick)
Lim suffrage in D1/D2:
- only men w >200ha land → vote dir
- peasants → indir vote (elect so to vote on their behalf)
- >60% WC = excluded
- soldiers + women = excluded
- D1 only last 73 days/D2 103 days → by time of WWII’s outbreak Rod lament his govt can’t legislate
- OM only addressed issues of male sufferage, civ liberties + dumas → demands to be allowed to form TUs/wage regulation = unresolved → Lena GF Massacre 1912
- 1912-14 3mil strikers in 9000 strikes
Role of World War I
Contention - WWI = ulti test of T regime + its ability to address major crises → its failure to do so (b/c TN2’s stupid pol decisions) acc devt of rev
BP1 - WWI exacerbated existing flaws of T system + cond for WC/peasants → difficult for T regime to respond to challenges posed by war
“While the collapse of tsarism was not inevitable, it was made likely by deep-seated cultural and political flaws that prevented the tsarist regime from adjusting to the economic and cultural growth of the country” (Pipes)
WC’s poverty inc their symp to radical ideals (Harcave)
P pop inc 76% 1897-1914 → poor living cond → 11hr work days, 15 per room etc, poorest ind workers in Eur
Army = ‘peasantry in uniform’ → 5mil die → resent monarchy
Horrors of trench warfare combo w/ rev agitators @ warfront → spread radical ideas to countryside → opp to grain req
TS Rail X finished by 1914 → X transp grain → by 1916 only ⅓ needed food/fuel arriving in M + P
BP2 - War environ created sense of urgency around grievances w/ T regime → acc devt of rev by creating unrest
Rev caused by “the incompatibility of the tsarist state with the demands of modern civilisation” → “War accelerated the development of revolutionary crises” (Hill)
“liberals were patriots who objected to the tsarist regime not because it was fighting an unjust war, but because it was uncommitted to winning it” (McMeekin)
UoZ + UoT offer help w transport of war supplies/care for wounded → Nic X support + hinder w regulations
WIC ask for war contracts → supply war effort → Nic reject support
Prog Bloc (Aug 1915) = 262/422 d4 deps call for admin/pol reforms (install competent cabinet) → avert rev
Dec 1916 Rasp death → TN2 neglect duties as CinC + play puzzles instead
BP3 - TN2’s decision to go to warfront was death-knell for monarchy b/c essentially abandoned Russia in time of need → resentment + suspicion from libs/pub op alike
“But the point of rumours is not their truth or untruth: it was their power to mobilise the angry public against the monarchy” (Figes)
R’s behaviour = “symptom of the fatal disease affecting the tsarist regime” (Lynch)
Aug 1915 after Gr Retreat TN2 appt himself CinC of army → Rod warn this will “appear a confession of hopelessness that chaos has invaded the admin”
Alex = Ger → R pop resented T’s allowance of ‘enemy’ w/in palace (also appt Ger-obsessed Stürmer as Min of Interior)
R + Alex leadership → Min Leapfrog = 4 PMs/Mins for Justice/Edu + 3 Mins for Transp/FA/War in 18mo period b/c of bribery → impression that TN2 had abandoned Russia
“It is now in chaos” (Grand Duke Nikolai)
Instigators/causes of the February Revolution
Contention - A/t monarchy was in dire state by 1917, it was loss of faith from nobility/lib supporters that monarchy had any willingness to govern that enabled its collapse. H/e this is separate from mass uprising that sparked power change - this was b/c of war
BP1 - monarchy was weak b/c TN2’s poor leadership
“liberals were patriots who objected to the tsarist regime not because it was fighting an unjust war, but because it was uncommitted to winning it” (McMeekin)
UoZ + UoT offer help w transport of war supplies/care for wounded → Nic X support + hinder w regulations
WIC ask for war contracts → supply war effort → Nic reject support
Prog Bloc (Aug 1915) = 262/422 d4 deps call for admin/pol reforms (install competent cabinet) → avert rev
Dec 1916 Rasp death → TN2 neglect duties as CinC + play puzzles instead
BP2 - monarchy lost support from libs/nobility b/c Alex + Rasp
”Rasputin’s proximity to the Tsar’s family proved fatal to the dynasty, for no political criticism can harm the prestige of Tsars so effectually as the personal weakness, vice, or debasement of the members of the royal house.” (Tyrkov)
R’s behaviour = “symptom of the fatal disease affecting the tsarist regime” (Lynch)
- Min LF
- Sturmer + Protopopov
- rumours of Alex + Rasp affair
BP3 - mass demos sparked monarchy’s collapse but did orchestrate revolution
“The masses neither needed nor desired a revolution; the only group interested in it was the intelligentsia” (Pipes)
WRONG b/c combo - “the autocracy collapsed in the face of popular demonstrations and the withdrawal of elite support for the regime” (Fitzpatrick)
Mass demos had rev intentions rooted in T regime’s failure to deliver basic demands
Women’s march 23 Feb 1917 demand bread + end to aut rule
End of monarchy became key demand of mass demos in following days
P garrison mutinied but X the one to set up alt govt
Intellegensia/libs = ones who made Feb a rev b/c for above reasons, already had pol alt worked out e.g. Lvov + Rod openly discuss poss of constit monarchy in Jan 1917
1 Mar 1917 Lvov, Rod + Mil set up PC
2 Mar 1917 nobility force TN2’s abdication
Role of Lenin and his ideas
Contention - A/t L was rarely logistically relevant, his slogans + adamancy that Bol remain untarnished by assoc w/ PG ensured Bol’s survival/pol relevancy until time was right
BP1 - L was stubborn in his ideology → jeapordised Bol success on multi occasions
“Lenin’s presence stiffened Bolshevik resolve but did produce absolute unity” (Lynch)
Apr 3 arrive at P’s Finland station → announce his intent to stage 2nd rev = unexpected + met w/ resistance from party
Fled Russia after July crisis → only returned again in Oct (meanwhile Tr = Chairman of P Sov + leading figure in RG)
10 Oct 1917 L decide Bol would stage insurrection late Oct → Zinoviev + Kamanev disagree publicly in newspaper → expose plan to Ker
BP2 - BUT L’s ability to shape Bol pol platform to demands of support base = invaluable
“Tailoring the Bolshevik programme so that it would reflect popular aspirations was one of Lenin’s most important contributions to the revolution” (Rabinowitch)
“Lenin’s programme manifestly reflected and articulated the increasingly radical temper of the party rank-and-file and militant workers and troops” (Wood)
April Theses
Denounces PG’s commitment to ‘predatory imp war’
Slogans = “PBL!” + “All Power to the Soviets!” + “Turn the Imperialist War into a CW!”
→ appeal to W + S after Miliukov note expose PG X committed to ‘rev defencism’ → in pursuit of imp goals @ cost of mils of R lives → chant slogans
Shaped view of June Off b/c 40K deaths in first few weeks = ‘predatory imp war’
→ sparked July Crisis b/c 1st Mach Gun Reg sent to front → 50K chant Bol slogans
BP3 - L’s commitment to Bol party formation as ‘prof rev’ preserved their rep thru failures of PG
“The Bolsheviks’ strength was that they were the only party uncompromised by association with the bourgeois February regime” (Fitzpatrick)
Bol = “a political alternative for the disappointed and disenchanted” (Wade)
AT denounced ‘cap nat’ of PG + urged Bol to assert themselves forcefully using agit + prop to spread ideas
June Off → Bol presence on front lines → return to peasant comms + create chaos b/c radicalised
Korn Affair prove right-wing bias of PG = Bol come to rescue = maj prop win → maj party in M + P Sovs by mid sep 1915 → prov force necessary to overthrow regime in Oct
Role of the Provisional Government
Contention - a/t situation was difficult + sov limited its power to action changes demanded by increasingly radical urban pop, it was its active ineptitude that led to revolution
BP1 - PG’s power was limited by the Sov
“The soviets subverted the authority of the administration without assuming responsibility for the consequences” (Pipes)
Not true b/c it was Sov that cleaned of mess of Apr Crisis b/c ban pub demos for 2 days
RATHER it was fact that “The Soviet had power without authority, the Provisional Government had authority without power” (Kerensky)
1 Mar 1917 Sov issue Sov Order #1 → Sov law overrides PG law
Essentially “the PG exists only so long as it is permitted by the Soviets” (Guchkov)
July Crisis 50K demand Sov take power but refuse → PG survives/’exists’
Bol gain maj in M + P sovs mid-sep 1917 → beginning of the end for the PG
Oct 23 Ker miliatarise city but MRC seized back w/in 24 hrs → left the door open for rev
BP2 - PG was doomed by circumstance
“An impossible and paradoxical situation” (Lynch)
Temporary nature → “No popular mandate and little popular support” (Taylor)
X elected → had to wait for CA elections to make address PBL
BUT did make some reforms that pos impact ppl (in early days though, so quickly overshadowed by later mistakes)
- Mutinous soldiers pardoned
- Recog TUs
- 8hr work day
- Okhrana + cap punishment = abolished
- T police replaced w/ ppl’s militia
- Intro freedom speech/assembly/press
- Announce univ suffrage for CA elections
BP3 - PG was inept
“It simply carried on the old system” (Taylor)
→ Bol became “pol alt for the disappointed and disenchanted” (Wade)
15 Mar 1917 PG adopt official stance of Rev Def BUT Mil’s note + June Off → 40K dead in opening weeks → July Crisis
July 1917 Ker appt Korn = ex-T mil general → wanted to reintro cap punishment + restore R to former imperial glory → stage coup late Aug → formation of RG = “The army that rose against Kornilov was the army to-be of October” (Trotsky)
t/f Bol able to stage insurrection w/in 5 hrs even when Kr sailors showed up late + only 3000 ppl storm WP
Nature of October 1917
Contention - a/t pop support for Bol grew after KA + eventually made OR inevitable, the ‘revolution’ itself was X mass uprising but instead a coup
BP1 - Bol’s pop support had increased
“The Bolsheviks were simply much more in tune with popular feeling than either the constitutionally-minded liberal politicians or the moderate socialists” (Wood)
“Bol became the pol alt for disappt and disenchanted” (Wade)
July 1917 Ker appt Korn = ex-T mil general → wanted to reintro cap punishment + restore R to former imperial glory → stage coup late Aug → formation of RG = “The army that rose against Kornilov was the army to-be of October” (Trotsky) + Bol = maj party in M + P Sovs by mid-sep 1917
July Crisis 2000 Kr sailors show up @ Bol HQ eager to stage rev → L tells them no
BP2 - revolution was inevitable b/c of PG’s weakness
“By October 1917, the Bolsheviks were pushing against an already open door” (Lynch)
“The Bolsheviks did not seize power, it fell into their hands” (Lynch)
7 Oct 1917 3CG declared w/ Bol members (immediately walk out) but shows PG’s desperation b/c Bol able to do whatever
23 Oct 1917 Ker miliatarise P but MRC seize back w/in 24 hrs
Bol able to stage insurrection w/in 5 hrs even when Kr sailors showed up late + only 3000 ppl storm WP
BP3 - but Oct rev ≠ mass uprising, instead a insurrection - the masses had no pol dir but most hostile to Bol
OR = “classic coup d’etat… with a show of mass participation, but hardly any mass involvement” (Pipes)
X national level → control over M took 1wk + Cossak regions resisted for multi weeks
2nd All-R Congress of the Sov Mensch + right/mod SRs denounce Bol ‘coup’ + walk out
Mass strikes amongst civ servants in protest of coup e.g. destroy/hide key docs + St Bank emp deny Bol access to st funds until forced by RG on 20 Nov
Wine riots gave appearance of mass uprising but destroyed valuable resources for new Bol govt e.g. raided st weapon reserves + destroyed docs
