Russia - WW1 events and Bols Flashcards
Extent to which of NO social progress in Russia by 1914
Think of lower classes
- peasents declared unfit for military service
- ## Still widespread poverty despite Stolypin’s reforms
What was the Brusilov Offensive?
1st World War
- A Russian attempt to break Austro-Hungarian lines, however, this failed.
- Germany’s larger railway network helped as they could move their troops faster than the Russians.
What happened in Aug 1914?
WW1
Tannenburg would see 70k Russian troops killed, and 100k captured.
(Commander Samsonov shot himself due to humiliation!)
Some impacts of WW1 on Russia / events
Think about economy and militarily
- (1914) 2 rifles for every 3 troops.
- (By 1915) Transportation crisis for troops, and munition crisis.
- (1916) 1.5m desertions
- (Jan 1917) 30k strikes in Moscow + 145k in Petrograd
- (By 1917) Inflation at 200%.
- Short-lived successes.
- (1914-1918) War spending goes from 1,500m roubles to 14,500m roubles.
Feb 1917 events…
- 100k workers strike from 58 Petrograd factories.
- Strikes escalate and essentially go out of hand.
- A mutiny within the Volynskii
- Nicholas II leaves his military headquaters.
What was the Dual Power?
(1917)
- This entailed the PG and PS working together.
- PG led by Prince Lvov and the PS consisted of workers and peasents, consisted of Kadets and Octobrists.
- PG had liberals and influential elites
- PS had mass of workers, peasents and soldiers (only 7 of the first 42 committee members were workers themselves)
- PG derived from 1st Duma.
- PG promises involed basic civil liberties + right to strike and organise trade union + right to a constituent assembly
- (Mar-Jul 1917) Districts affected by peasent disturbances rose from 34 to 125
What was the April Theses?
(Apr 1917)
- Lenin delivered a speech that demanded power should be transferred to the soviets, and thhe should be brought to an end.
- ‘Peace, land and bread’.
Lenin returned to Russia on a sealed train paid for by the Germans.
What were the July Days?
- Due to problems with the economy etc, many workers went on strike, and this increased Bols threat due to their participation, uniting the PG and PS.
- 586 factories closed and 100k jobs lost.
- Bols arrested, and Lenin is chased out of Russia into Finland.
- Grain prices from (Feb-Jun 1917).
Kerensky replaces Prince Lvov as Prime Minister.
What was the Kornilov affair?
(Aug 1917)
- Jailed Bolsheviks released, and mass protests took place in favour of the PG.
- Bols crush the Kornilov coup, and support increases for them.
(Sep 1917) Bols win election
Dual Power successes:
(With additional information)
- Okhrana disbanded
- Tsar on house arrest, and died in July.
- Freedom of speech
- PG led by Prince Lvov.
- It was agreed that land issues were to be a problem.
(Jul 1918) Tsar and his family shot
What were some of the tsar’s mistakes during and in the lead up to WW1?
- (Jul 1914) Civilian authority suspended during the setup of military zones.
- (Jun 1915) The Tsar banned direct influence from thr All-Russian Union of Zemstva.
Evidence of increased Bols support after the Kornilov Coup…
- PG incompetence to govern displayed.
- Kerensky relied on Bols to crush the coup, and Lenin wants revolution, with Trotsky becoming chairman of the Petrograd Soviet in (Sep 1917).
- Trotsky’s ‘Military Revolutionary Committee’ had 66 members.
Trostky, Kamenev and Zinoviev wanted to wait for elections.
Pros and cons of Bolshevik revoltuion on 25th Oct 1917?
+ 200k supporters
+ Country in anarchy
- No democratic legitimacy
- Was not very dramatic.
What was the Sovnarkom?
‘Soviet of the people’s Commissars
- They issued decrees.
- A one-party executive body.
- Lenin was Chairman, Stalin took charge of nationalities, Trotsky controlled foreign affairs, and Rykov for Internal Affairs.
- Kamenev edits Pravda.
- Zinoviev was party organiser.
Sovnarkom activities….
- Banks nationalised
- Religion dismantled
- Military decree removed from class-ranks
- Private land ownership outlawed
- Workers permitted to supervise bosses
- Wanted to end the war!
Rulings via decrees!
What was the Cheka?
(Dec 1917)
- Led by Dzerzhinsky
- (1918) 50k executions, and 200k exections (by 1924).
- Long-leather coats
- (By 1921) 143k agents.
Some of Oct 1917 Lenin issues:
- Internal divisions in Bols party.
- Lenin wanted to be sole ruler.
- Policies may need to be modified for population.
When was serfdom abolished?
1861
How many desertions were there during Mar 1917 to May 1917?
WW1
195k
Some details of the Bols revolution…
(1917)
(7th Oct 1917) Lenin secretly returns to Russia.
- Bols take control of the Central Committee.
- (10th Oct 1917) Lenin speaks all night and Trotsky agrees takeover!
Details and background of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
(Mar 1918) Russia withdrawal
- Ukraine occupied by German troops, (Russia’s main food supply).
- Bukharin and his supporters beleived territorial losses would tank Russia’s economy.
- Left SRs resign from Sovnarkon, and right SRs build up forces to oppose Bols in Donbas.
- Russia lost 1/6 of population.
- Russia lose 74% of iron ore + coal supplies.
- Russia lose 26% of their railway.
Why did the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk take so long?
(Plus details)
- Due to harsh German demands, e.g. wanting the Baltic states.
- Trotsky wanted to truce rather than sign a treaty.
- Lenin threatened to resign if the treaty was not signed.
- This signing saw support of the Bols/govt. plummet.
The Milyukov Note?
- Gave the idea that Russia should stay in the war.
- This would keep the German army divided.
Economic development of Russia to 1914…
- (1895-1914) Foreign investment roose from 280m roubles to 2000m roubles
- (1903-1913) Govt. received 1/4 income from industrial investments
- State controlled 70% of Russia’s railways
- (By 1905) Russia had 59,616km of railways -> 66% state owned
- (By 1913) Russia had 2nd largest railway network worldwide with 62.2k km, however, U.S had 411k km, big margin
- State allowed some private plots
Economic development of Russia to 1914 (Nicholas II)…
(Heavy industry)
- (By 1913) Donbas region was supplying 87% of Russia’s coal + Krivoi Rog produced 74% of all Russian pig iron
- (By 1914) Russia was world’s 4th largest producer of coal, pig iron and steel.
- (1885-1913) Russian oil production rose from 153m puds to 570m puds -> Russia perhaps self-sufficient
- Trans-Siberian railway was 7k km long -> Helped agriculture
(Trans-Siberian railway from 1891 to 1902, additions in 1914)
Social developments of Russia up to 1914 (Nicholas II)…
- (1897-1913) Russia populace rose from 93.4m to 121.7m
- (1900-1914) Moscow populace rose from 1.25m to 1.75m + St Petersburg populace rose from 1.25m to 2.2m
- (1900-1913) No. of factory workers 3x from 2m to 6m
- (By 1914) 3/4 populace peasents by birth + Normal factory working hours reduced to 10 hrs + Just 55% children in full-time education
- (1905-1914) 85% rise in primary school education + Govt. promoted development of technical schools and universities
- (1912) Accident and sickness insurance for workers, perhaps not peasents + (1914) 3574 stoppage
Developments in working and living conditions in the countryside…
- (1896) Govt. schemes sponsored emigration to new agricultural settlements -> However just 3.5m out of 97m
- Still backward farming methods + varying living standards in parts of Baltic northern Caucasus.
Social developments of Russia up to 1914 (Nicholas II)…
(Cultural change and other things)
- (Dec 1908) First All-Russian Congress of Women had 1035 delegates -> Campaigned for a female franchise.
- (By 1911) 6.5m children 8-11 years in primary education
- (By 1914) 69k uni students (45% women)
- (By 1914) 1767 newspapers being published weekly
- (1913) Tercentenary
- (1897-1914) No. of doctors rose from 17k to 28k
- (1906-1914) No. of total graduate teachers 2x to over 20k.
Rasputin things…
- Speculation that Rasputin was having political influence
- Rumours that Nicholas II’s German wife Alexandra was deliberately sabotagin Russian war effort.
- Fourth Duma’s president Rodzianko warned others of Rasputin’s influence
- (After Sep 1915) Some of the changes in ministers put down to Rasputin
(Dec 1916) Rasputin killed by Purishkevich
What were gulags?
- Used during tsarist regime.
- For criminals and political opponents.
- (Summer 1918) Tsar dies and Bols. experiment with labour camps.
- (By 1923) 200 prisoners on Solovski Islands.
