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Russia in early 1917 Flashcards

1
Q

Which family ruled Russia for 300 years?

A

Romanov family

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2
Q

Who was the Tsar in 1917 Russia

A

Tsar Nicholas II

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3
Q

What was Tsar Nicholas’s secret police force called and what was it used for?

A

Okhrana
To maintain power

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4
Q

What was the Russian parliament called?

A

The Duma

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5
Q

What other name was Tsar Nicholas often called?

A

‘Little Father’

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6
Q

By 1917 which 5 groups where discontented with the way that Russia was governed by the Tsarist regime and what did they want

A
  • peasant - wanted more land
  • workers - wanted better conditions
  • liberals - wanted more political freedom
  • nationalists - wanted independence form the empire
  • radicals - wanted to overthrow the regime, revolution
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7
Q

Which 4 groups where supportive of the Tsarist regime in 1917

A
  • the army
  • the Okrana
  • Conservatives
  • the Church
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8
Q

in 1917 what percentage of the Russian population were peasants/

A

80%

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9
Q

When was the revolution that overthrew Tsar Nicholas II

A

February 1917

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10
Q

Describe the community and farming methods of the peasants in 1917

A

Community
- very backwards
Farming Methods
- modern farming equipment unknown :
- still used horse-drawn ploughs

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11
Q

Describe the living conditions of peasants in 1917

A
  • Houses lacked running water and flushing toilets
  • Many homes: animals + humans shared house
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12
Q

Were peasants able to read and state which groups?

A

Most Illiterate - especially women, older people

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13
Q

Reasons for Discontent:
Explain why peasants resented landowners and what events show this.

A
  • peasants believed the answer to poverty was more land
  • wanted land of landowners redistributed amongst peasants
  • 1905 - peasant unrest swept through rural Russia:
  • peasants burning down landowners houses + taking their land
  • brutal repression by army to end unrest
  • WW1: over 15 millions peasant men recruited –> horses that peasants relied on for farm workd were taken by the army
  • army requisitioned crops
  • Made peasants a dangerously violent group in society, who at times of difficulty to unhappiness turn to violence
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14
Q

How did the event of the First World War make situations for Russian peasants even more difficult?

A
  • over 15 million peasant men where recruited for Russian army —> huge loss of manpower
  • many horses seized by military to haul guns + waggons —> massive impact on farms where horses used for ploughing
  • harder to get chemical fertilisers —> industry focused on making explosives + weapons
  • All contributed to decline in food production in towns + countryside
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15
Q

What happened to the availability of food due to the effects of war in 1916 and what was it caused by?

A
  • food shortages grew worse- army took control of railways+ roads , took large amounts of food to feed army
  • Russian railway system virtually collapsed under pressure of moving huge amounts of soldiers
  • food supply to town + cities suffered
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16
Q

Why was the food shortage particularly bad in Petrograd. Give statistic examples

A
  • Petrograd was far from food-producing areas
  • also struggling to cope with many refugees from affected war areas
  • Jan 1916: daily bread ration = 1.2kg —> early 1917: decreased to 0.8kg*
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17
Q

Example of food shortages in Moscow due to WW1

A
  • before 1914= 2,200 Waggons of grain a month arrived in Moscow
  • Feb 1917 = fallen to fewer than 700
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18
Q

What were the living and working conditions for town workers in cities?

A
  • living in overcrowded barracks and slums
  • houses built badly - many Russian cities had grown so quickly in yrs before WW1
  • Working conditions unsafe + long hours + harsh factory rules
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19
Q

Between which 2 years did Petrograd triple in size

A

1881 and 1917

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20
Q

What did the tsars police make difficult for the workers to do and what actions did they carry out and what was the consequence?

A
  • difficult to form trade unions to campaign for better wages + conditions
  • solidierst often sent to end strikes or put down unrest amongst workers
  • Consequence : strikes about par and conditions could easily turn into confrontation between workers and tsar’s government
21
Q

What was the percentage of people who lived in town away from great cities of Petrograd, Moscow and eastern Ukraine and why?

A

Less than 20% - as most of the country had almost no industry

22
Q

What was the name of one of the large factories which worked on steel where many Russian workers where employed at?

A

Putilov Steelworks in Petrograd

23
Q

What would happen to workers of they went on strike?

A
  • factory owners would sack them
  • call the police
  • army break up strike by force
24
Q

Did the workers cause a big effect on the country if they protested?

A

No
- only cause huge disruption in the city

25
How did the First World War cause more problems for workers and give examples?
- economic problems = **factories closed** - **food prices rose** --> making life gard in cities - **inflation** - **prices rise faster than wages** : Between **1914 and 1917** - **wages decrease** by **200%** but **fuel rose** by **400%**
26
What did the left wing groups want for Russia?
- want to **challenge the power of the Tsar and the rich**
27
Which groups were left wing groups?
- Radicals - Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) - Social Democrats - Bolsheviks / Mensheviks
28
What did the Left SRs within the Socialist Revolutionaries want?
**Support revolution** and **assassination of political enemies**
29
What did the Social Democrats want?
Revolution to **overthrow capitalism** and create a **fairer communist society**
30
What was the difference between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks
**Bolsheviks** - believed they could **lead** the workers in revolution and help create **communism** on **their behalf**, **Not democratic**: Leader - Lenin **Mensheviks** - believe that Russia is **not ready** for revolution --> **not yet industrialised** - **democratic**
31
What did right wing groups believe in?
Defenders of the traditional Russian political system and way of life
32
Which groups where right wing?
- Nationalists - Conservatives
33
What did the Nationalists believe in?
Protect Russian Empire
34
What did the conservatives believe in?
- **opposed to social change** - wanted to **defend** the **status of nobles and wealthier groups** in society
35
What social democrats believed in which german writers ideas?
Karl Marx
36
What happened to the Bolshevik leaders in 1917 and why?
Exile They were **against Russian’s involvement in WW1** - accused as **traitors working for Germany**
37
Where was Lenin exiled to in 1917?
Switzerland
38
Which were the 3 economic effects the war had on Russia. State the action of the government and what economic problems this caused.
1. **Printed too much money** (rouble notes) - made paper money worth less —> lead to **inflations + increased cost of living** 2. Between *1914 and 1917*, spent **over 17,000 million roubles** on war - **taxes increased** to pay for **government spending** —> hard impact on ordinary people 3. **Government** overall **spending increased by 8x** between *1913 and 1916* - Russia fell into **debt** as gov. **borrowed huge amounts** from other countries
39
What were the ecomonic impacts of WW1in Russia
- Germany **blocked Russia’s trade routes** —> **factories starved of raw materials** and **economic activity dropped** —> **Taxes increased** to help pay for **cost of war** - Gov needed more money —> arranged **loanes from allies** —> increasing Russia’s **national debt** - Gov **printed more money** to pay for the war —> **inflation** pushed prices twice as fast as wages
40
What we the social effects the war had on peasants and what did it lead to?
- The **conscription** of **15 million** peasant men+ **horses** to fight —> *food production dropped* - **army requisitioned** peasant **crops + horses** and prioritising the **railway** for **army** - factors combined = **less food** for city + countryside populations —> **hunger + suffering**
41
What was the social effect the war had on refugees and what problems it caused?
- around **6 million** refugees fled **german occupation** in the west —> government **struggled** to find enough **housing + food** —> **national tensions increased**
42
When did the tsar become commander-in-chief of the Russian armed forces?
August 1915
43
What did the tsar’s advisers advise him about becoming the commander of the army?
- huge risk —> he had **no practical experience of warfare** or **commanding armies** in combat
44
Did the tsar impact the actual running of the war?
No, Little impact, usually did as generals suggested
45
How was the tsar position impacted after he became commander of the army? And how it it effect him in the future?
**dramatically weakened** —> as commander-in-chief he was **personally blamed for army’s defeats** —> **lost him respect + support** - *Revolt in early 1917*: virtually **nobody supported him** —> he was in isolated position
46
How was the Tsar’s departure from Petrograd impact the future on the monarchy, support and position.
- *Feb Revolution1917*(overthrowing the monarchy): Tsar was not there to there to take charge —> situations **out of control** before he could return —> may have turned out differently - **isolated** from **real centre of danger** : own soldiers and people uprise in Petrograd
47
What were the political effects of the war?
- the **Duma** (Russian Parliament ) **supported** the **war at first**, but as crisis deepened, Duma deputies **criticised** the **failure** of the **tsar's ministers** - **1915**: Duma requested tsar to **replace his ministers** with new ones **supported by the Duma** - Tsar **refused** to share power with Duma —> Duma became **centre of opposition** to the tsar’s government
48
State 2 reasons for Russia’s military defeats in WW1.
- *1914*: army was **poorly led** and **badly equipped** —> - **German generals** able to move their **well-equipped + well-trained men** around on their **efficient railway network**, then **strike** at Russia where they were most vulnerable By 1917, large areas of the western Russia empire had been lost to Germany

History GCSE (34 decks)

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