Russia - Topic 1 Flashcards
The rule of Nicholas II
What was Russia’s government like before 1905
-no constitution of what the tsar could and could not do
-no parliament
-no legal safeguards protecting rights of citezins
-governed by minister appointed by the tsar
what is autocracy
only the tsar having ultimate power
what was the tsar’s belief of ruling Russia
had right of absolute power from the will of God
what were the weaknesses of the tsar before 1905
niave - believed his people were devoted to him
indecisive
what does orthodoxy means in regard to the russian orthodox church
religion of the tsar and orthodox church that was firmly under state control preaching for the rule of the tsar
what was nationality
domination of the tsar’s empire by russia, believing to have entitlement to control it
what was russification and how did it oppress nationalities
imposing russian language, culture, and ideas
in poland teaching and using russian in courts was made compulsory, orthodox church given money to support this
anti-semitism in russia
nearly 5 million jews in russia forced to live in demarcated zones along russias western border
what were pogroms
organised attacks on communities with governments having chance to be involved
what was the okhrana
tsarist secret police force ro destroy revolutionary activity and oppress the people
how effective was the okhrana
in 1900- 2,500 fulltime agents in st petersburg
what were the outbreaks of peasent unrest like
frequwnt but localised
not explicitly anti gov even tho gov policies were partly to blame
what was the main cause of peasent unrest
poverty and desperation
what were the main reasons for peasent poverty
poor soil
short growing season in north
black eath region in the south was climatic but erratic
why did strip farming cause peasent poverty
every 10-15 years strips were reallocated between households to ensure fairness
-time was wasted moving strips
-some land wasted due to it being left uncivilised
-changes meant no strong want to improve land
consequences of workers unrest
typically strikes
often brutal affairs
army called to dea; with strikes almost 300 times in 1901 increased to 500 in 02
why were workers so willing to strike
grim living conditions
working conditions
low pay and long hours
housed in overcrowded slums
no health and safety
who did the middle class consist of
industrialists
business men
educated professionals - doctors and lawyers
what were the typical political beliefs of the middle - class
hostile to the tsar due to liberal ideals
intelligensia were strongly liberal
business men and industrialists tended to be more moderate
what were the beliefs of liberalists
ending autocracy through transfering power to democratically elected institutions
basic rights and freedoms
economic system based on private enterprise
what did liberals prefer
non - violent methods
what were the foundations of socilaist revolutionaries (SR’s)
1860’s - mainly middle-class idealists aiming to form a political alliance with the peasentry to overthrow tsarism and build a democratic order on the basis of the mir
what was the mir
villages were effectively self governed
village affairs were the responsibility of the mir
all male assembly made up of a villiages household
who were the founders of the SR’s
Victor Chernov
Mikhail Gots
Grigory Gershuni
Catherine Breshovkaya
what were the aims of the SR’s
win peasent support
what were the ideas of the SR’s
-russia should be taken down a path of socilalism
-wanted russia to remian largely peasentry
- chernov argued socilism had to be peasent based
what were the methods of the SR’s
-violence seen as a political weapon, ready to overthrow tsarims with force
what did mainstream SR’s think to the use of violence
recognised little chance of a bloodless revolution and accepted violence would have to be used
what did other SR’s think to the use of violence
prepared to use violence prior to revolution to raise the SR’s profile and spread fear and alarm to governing classes
what was the SR combat organisation
formed in 1902, wanted assasination of gov ministers and officials using fire arms or dynamite
why did the SR combat organisation cause division
moderates who rejected the campaign split from the SR’s and established the popular socialist party
why did militants break from the SR’s
advocated attacks also on landowners and capitalists and formed the SR maximalists
what happened to the SR’s in 1908
head of the combat organisation, Azef was unmasked as a okhrana spy, the campaign was suspended but the SR’s didnt renounce the use of violence as a politcial weapon
what were the foundations of the Socialist Democrats
Marxists theory
who were the SD’s leaders
-Lenin
-Martov
what were the ideas of the SD’s
Marx’s theory of stages - feudalism, capitalism and communism on the transitions two revolutions
what were the revolution of Marx’s stages that inspired the SD’s
bourgeosis revolution marking feudalism to capitalism
proleteriat revolution saw the destruction of capitalism and saw the cummunist era
why was there disagreement in the SD’s
some argued the proleteriat revolution was far away, others didnt agree
what did the disagreement of the SD’slead to
a split in 1903
what did Lenin believe
Russia was capitalist seeing a proleteriat revolution in the near future wanting the RSDLP (SD) to concentrate on being ready to sieze the revolutionary moment
what did Lenin’s opponents to the near revolution do
favoured a short term focus on promoting development of trade unions and were open to co-operating with non- marxists
who of the RSDLP leaders won the congress in 1903
Lenin, his folowers became known as the Bolsheiks and Martov’s became known as Mensheviks
the bolsheviks were more felxible adopting marxist ideas to suit their purposes
what were the social factors of limited impact of oppression groups before 1905
Russias working class was small- Bolsheviks, Mensheviks and SR’s pinned their hopes on
russias peasentry (>80%) was scattered and hard to organise
low literacy levels - 21% able to read
leaders of socialist groups were upper/ middle class intellectuals not easy to win confidence of peasentry and working class
how did repression cause limited impact of opposition groups before 1905
opposition groups before 1905 were illegal
restricted freedom of speech
okhrana was cold blooded
cut revolutionary leaders of from their leaders - imprisionment or exile
army
how did division within opposition groups cause limited impact of opposition before 1905
liberals and socialists wanted to ovethrow tsarism and disliked political violence
socilaists wanted to overthrow capitalism aswel and wanted to use violence
barrier of SR’s and Marxists working with socilaists
divisions limited effectiveness
why did Russia go to war with Japan
Nicholas sought to extend southern east europe and gain Manchuria by exploiting the weakness of the chinese empire
what happened in 1904 between Russia and Japan
Japan attacked without warning and russia then went to war under prepared and over confident
why was the Russian army over confident in the war against Japan
Tsar and advisors seen Japan as racial inferiors who could easily be defeated
what were the humiliating reverses that russia suffered in the war against japan
Japan laid siege to Port Arthur early in the war
in Feb 1905 Russian land forces lost a hard fought major battle at Mukden
Russias defeat at the naval battle in Tsushima in May 1905, tsar ordered the baltic fleet to sail round the world to battle with the Japanese, only 52 warships escaped sinking or capture
how did the russo japanese war end
by the treaty of portmouth in sep 1905
russia agreed to abandon port authur and ambitions for Manchuria
what were the effects of Russias defeat
affected the domestic political situation
liberals were angered by mishandiling of war and hostility towards regime intensified
why was the League of liberations campaign set up
launched in 1904 to assert their opinions of the military failure making the regime seem vulnerable
how did the russo japanese war effect the economy
economic life was disrupted
unemployment and food prices rose, deepening work class discontent
what happened in January 1905
(Bloody Sunday)
around 150,000, unarmed demonstrators gathered in st petersburg with intention of converging on the tsars winter palace
what happened to the demonstrators of bloody sunday before they could reach the winter palace
intercepted and fired upon by Russian army units
around 200 killed and 800 wounded
why were most of the demonstrators of bloody sunday industrial workers
they planned to present a petition to the tsar focused on working conditions
what did the petition demonstrators planned to present to the tsar consist of
legislation of trade unions
higher wages
8 hour working days
pleas for free speech and political reform
who was the organiser of Bloody Sunday
father Gapon
an advocate for workers rights
authorities believd he and his followers presented no serious threat to the regime
what happened in the weeks following bloody sunday
a massive wave of protests swept across Russia
nearly half a million workers on strike
strikes led by students led to closure of universities for a remainder of the year
what did liberals do following the events of Bloody Sunday
outraged and bombarded the government with petitions demnading political reform
why was bloody sunday significant
triggered the revolution
peace demonstrators being shot down added shock value
