russia key topic 1

Question 1

how many ethnic groups was russia made up of?

Answer 1

more than 20 different ethnic groups, for 6 people out of 10. these became known as subject nationalities

Question 2

what was the governmental structure at the time of the tsar?

Answer 2

an autocracy. where all the power was in control of the tsar due to the belief it was his divine right to rule.

Question 3

what was the religion do the majority of Russia?

Answer 3

70% orthodox church

Question 4

what was the Tsars secret police called?

Answer 4

the okhrana

Question 5

who was tsar in 1894 and why was he a weak leader?

Answer 5

tsar Nicholas II. he was not a strong character and was reluctant to be tsar possibly due to witnessing his grandfathers assassination whist tsar. however he strongly believed in autocracy. his son had haemophilia and was likely to die young as the only heir.

Question 6

why were there economic problems within Russia in early 1900’s?

Answer 6

due to 85% of the population living in the countryside. but russian agriculture was poor, only 5% of the land was used for farming.

Question 7

what was the industrial development like in Russia?

Answer 7

the country was very rich in oil and minerals but industrialisation did not happen until the end of.the 19th century. the manufacturing output was low at the beginning of the 20th century but after the outbreak of war in 1914 Russia experienced rapid growth due to an increase of coal in The Ukraine and an increase in oil in The Caucasius

Question 8

what was the social problems in Russia?

Answer 8

Russian society was divided into various classes and groups.
the aristocracy- made up of 1% of the population but owned almost 25% of the land
the middle class - growing middle class by 1914
the peasants - the biggest and poorest group. life was very hard due to poor conditions and a narrow diet. average life expectancy of less than 40 years
town workers - known as proletariats were the most rapidly increasing group due to peasants flocking to towns and cities to work in industry. earned low wages and worked long hours

Question 9

what was Bloody sunday?

Answer 9

in 1905 a peaceful march lead by father Gapon of 200,000 people around the tsars winter palace for better working conditions. however the soldiers panicked and began firing into the crowd killing hundreds and wounding thousands.

Question 10

what did bloody sunday lead to?

Answer 10

bloody sunday along with the loss of the loss of the Jap-Russo war sparked a revolution in 1905. there were strikes and a mutiny in the navy. this lead to the tsar issuing the October manifesto which promised freedom of speech, an end of censorship and a national parliament (duma)

Question 11

who became prime minister after the 1905 revolution?

Answer 11

Peter Stolypin who introduced reforms to agriculture and education. he also executed 3,000 who were accused of opposing the tsar. the gallows were know as ‘Stolypins necktie’

Question 12

why did the Duma’s not work?

Answer 12

after the first election of the duma in 1906 Nicholas declared that he had the power to dissolve it between 1906-14 there were four different dumas which showed that Nicholas had gone against the October manifesto and refused to share power. stimulating opposition from many political groups

Question 13

who was Rasputin?

Answer 13

Gregory Rasputin was trusted by the Tsar and his wife die to his ability to control the illness of the tsars son. he was given power by the tsar.

Question 14

what political groups were a threat to the tsar?

Answer 14

the social democrats - 1903 the party split into mensheviks and bolsheviks
the social revolutionary’s (SR’s)
the octoberists
the constitutional democratic party (cadets)

Question 15

what was the result of Russia losses in war?

Answer 15

casualties, frequent defeats and poor equipment lowered the morale of soldiers. they soon lost respect for their officers and desertion was common. the discontent spread to the people of Russia

Question 16

what were the economic and social effects of war?

Answer 16

inflation increased. less food was produced because of shortages of labour and horses, this in turn increases food prices. industry was also affected by a lack of workers leading to shortages of coal iron and steel. some factories had to close leading to higher unemployment and poverty. all this was worsened by food shortages and Petrograd having the worst winder in its history.

Question 17

what were the political effects of war?

Answer 17

the tsar took command of the war and moved to the fronts leaving his wife in control. Alexandria refused to take advice from the middle class members of he dumas. during the war people began to hate anything German, they changed the name of the capital St Petersburg to Petrograd due to it sounding too German. Alexandria was german and it was rumoured that she was a german spy. she also began to turn to Rasputin who replaced people in the duma with his friends who were incompetent.

Question 18

when did the tsar abdicate?

Answer 18

1917 support for the tsar continued to diminish. the tsar tried to pass on the throne to his brother Grand Duke Micheal who declined. strikes became an everyday occurrence in Petrograd in 1917 resulting in huge number of people on the streets. the situation only worsened when the soldiers at the Petrograd garrison mutinied

Question 19

when was the february revolution?

Answer 19

1917 the revolution was due to the long term discontent and the growth of opposition as well as the impact of war along with more immediate reasons in he winter of 1916-17

Question 20

who followed Nicholas after his abdication?

Answer 20

the provisional government which was set up to govern until elections for a constituent assembly could be held and a permanent government established. the prime minister was Prince Lvov

Question 21

what reforms did the Provisional government make?

Answer 21

• freedom of religion
• freedom of speech
• recognition of trade unions
• introduction of an 8 hour day for industrial workers
• promise of an elected parliament
• abolishment of secret police
• amnesty for political prisoners

Question 22

what problems did the provisional government initially face?

Answer 22

• it was not a truly elected body and did not represent the people of Russia
• soldiers were deserting
• there were defeats in war
• peasants were looting the property of the landlords and seizing their land
• soldiers and workers were setting up elected councils of workers, known as soviets, in towns and cities
• people wanted an end to food shortages
• some of the subject nationalities were hoping that there might be a chance of independence

Question 23

what were the two authorities in Petrograd in 1917?

Answer 23

the provisional government and the Petrograd soviet which was mostly made up of mensheviks and socialist revolutionary’s. initially they worked together until the soviet came under the influence of the bolsheviks who attached the provisional government about continuing the war

Question 24

what was issued by the Petrograd soviet in march 1917?

Answer 24

the soviet order number one. this dictated that the orders of the provisional government were only binding if approved by the soviet. this significantly weakened the new governments authority

Question 25

why did the decision to continue war in 1917 fail for the provisional government?

Answer 25

Alexander Kerensky, the minister for war visited the troops and convinced them to support a new June offensive in hope it would drive the Germans out of Russia. the offensive resulted in 60,000 fatalities and even more desertions increase unpopularity for the provisional government. the Germans send exiled revolutionaries back to Russia to stir up rebellion. this included Lenin who began the call to overthrow the provisional government.

Question 26

what were the July days?

Answer 26

despite the vote of confidence in June 1917, by July the provisional government was still experiencing problems. the war was not going well and the growing power of the soviet and strength of opposition were key concerns. the disintegration of the Austrian front caused many soldiers to flood back to russia causing chaos in Petrograd. from July 3-6 soldiers and some Bolsheviks tried to overthrow the provisional government. these were known as the July days. the riots were only resolved when Kerensky was able to move troops to quash the rebels. about 400 were killed.

Question 27

who was prime minister in July 1917?

Answer 27

Kerensky

Question 28

what was the Kornilov revolt?

Answer 28

General Kornilov, the new Commander-in-chief of the Russia army, threatened to seize power of Petrograd. Germans had advanced far into Russia and began to threaten Petrograd. there was a flood of people in the city heightening the sense of crisis. Kornilov stated that if they were going to beat Germany there needed to be stability at home. Kornilov did not agree with the Petrograd soviets wish to end the war and marched on Petrograd to save the provisional government. Kerensky condemned Kornilov and Petrograd was placed under martial law. as Kornilov approached Kerensky allowed the Bolshevik red guard to arm and they persuaded many of Kornilovs troops to desert.

Question 29

what was the significance of the Kornilov revolt?

Answer 29

the army lost its commander-in-chief and moral sank even lower. more officers were murdered and desertions reached an even higher level. Kerensky’s government looked rather weak and the Bolsheviks who secured the Petrograd soviet was strengthened and in the ascendancy. many of their members were armed and the prisoners from July were freed. they began to sense it was their time approaching and Lenin began to make plans to return from his exile. Lenin stated that the provisional government was “ripe for the picking”

Question 30

where did Lenin arrive in Russia?

Answer 30

he arrived in the Finland station in 1917

Question 31

what did Lenin release upon his return?

Answer 31

he wanted a workers revolution which he established in his April thesis. this causes the Bolsheviks to grow from 24,000 to 100,000 by April and 340,000 in October.

Question 32

what did Kerensky do to try to prevent the revolution?

Answer 32

he closed down the Bolshevik papers (Pravda and Izvestiya) and attempts were made to round up leading Bolsheviks. this forced the Bolsheviks into power, Lenin ordered the start of the revolution - October 24

Question 33

what was Lenin’s famous tagline?

Answer 33

“peace, bread, land”

Question 34

what happened in the Bolshevik Revolution?

Answer 34

the Bolsheviks captured key buildings, such as telegraph offices and railway stations and road blocks were set up surrounding the winter palace where the provisional government was.

Question 35

what was the government Lenin formed in 1917?

Answer 35

the council of people’s commissars and it contained Lenin as the head of the government
Trotsky as the commissar of foreign affairs
Stalin as the commissar for nationalities

Question 36

what was the role of Trotsky?

Answer 36

he was elected leader of the Petrograd soviet. he was the dominant member of the 3 man military revolutionary committee of the soviet, this provided useful for his secret preparations.