Russia in early 1917 Flashcards
Which family ruled Russia for 300 years?
Romanov family
Who was the Tsar in 1917 Russia
Tsar Nicholas II
What was Tsar Nicholas’s secret police force called and what was it used for?
Okhrana
To maintain power
What was the Russian parliament called?
The Duma
What other name was Tsar Nicholas often called?
‘Little Father’
By 1917 which 5 groups where discontented with the way that Russia was governed by the Tsarist regime and what did they want
- 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
Which 4 groups where supportive of the Tsarist regime in 1917
- the army
- the Okrana
- Conservatives
- the Church
in 1917 what percentage of the Russian population were peasants/
80%
When was the revolution that overthrew Tsar Nicholas II
February 1917
Describe the community and farming methods of the peasants in 1917
Community
- very backwards
Farming Methods
- modern farming equipment unknown :
- still used horse-drawn ploughs
Describe the living conditions of peasants in 1917
- Houses lacked running water and flushing toilets
- Many homes: animals + humans shared house
Were peasants able to read and state which groups?
Most Illiterate - especially women, older people
Reasons for Discontent:
Explain why peasants resented landowners and what events show this.
- 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
How did the event of the First World War make situations for Russian peasants even more difficult?
- 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
What happened to the availability of food due to the effects of war in 1916 and what was it caused by?
- 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
Why was the food shortage particularly bad in Petrograd. Give statistic examples
- 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*
Example of food shortages in Moscow due to WW1
- before 1914= 2,200 Waggons of grain a month arrived in Moscow
- Feb 1917 = fallen to fewer than 700
What were the living and working conditions for town workers in cities?
- 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
Between which 2 years did Petrograd triple in size
1881 and 1917
What did the tsars police make difficult for the workers to do and what actions did they carry out and what was the consequence?
- 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
What was the percentage of people who lived in town away from great cities of Petrograd, Moscow and eastern Ukraine and why?
Less than 20% - as most of the country had almost no industry
What was the name of one of the large factories which worked on steel where many Russian workers where employed at?
Putilov Steelworks in Petrograd
What would happen to workers of they went on strike?
- factory owners would sack them
- call the police
- army break up strike by force
Did the workers cause a big effect on the country if they protested?
No
- only cause huge disruption in the city
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%
What did the left wing groups want for Russia?
- want to challenge the power of the Tsar and the rich
Which groups were left wing groups?
- Radicals
- Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs)
- Social Democrats - Bolsheviks / Mensheviks
What did the Left SRs within the Socialist Revolutionaries want?
Support revolution and assassination of political enemies
What did the Social Democrats want?
Revolution to overthrow capitalism and create a fairer communist society
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
What did right wing groups believe in?
Defenders of the traditional Russian political system and way of life
Which groups where right wing?
- Nationalists
- Conservatives
What did the Nationalists believe in?
Protect Russian Empire
What did the conservatives believe in?
- opposed to social change
- wanted to defend the status of nobles and wealthier groups in society
What social democrats believed in which german writers ideas?
Karl Marx
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
Where was Lenin exiled to in 1917?
Switzerland
Which were the 3 economic effects the war had on Russia. State the action of the government and what economic problems this caused.
- Printed too much money (rouble notes) - made paper money worth less —> lead to inflations + increased cost of living
- Between 1914 and 1917, spent over 17,000 million roubles on war - taxes increased to pay for government spending —> hard impact on ordinary people
- Government overall spending increased by 8x between 1913 and 1916 - Russia fell into debt as gov. borrowed huge amounts from other countries
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
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
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
When did the tsar become commander-in-chief of the Russian armed forces?
August 1915
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
Did the tsar impact the actual running of the war?
No, Little impact, usually did as generals suggested
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
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
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
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
