Russian history

Question 1

when did Nicholas II become tsar?

Answer 1

1894

Question 2

what was Nicholas II like?

Answer 2

weak and unready for leadership. Deeply religious and showed little interest in national affairs. Firmly committed to autocracy and opposed democracy

Question 3

who was Nicholas II’s father?

Answer 3

Alexander II, Tsar 1881-1894

Question 4

who was Nicholas II’s tutor?

Answer 4

Pobedonostev

Question 5

why did the geography of Russia make it difficult to govern?

Answer 5

• much of the land was uninhabited
• northern part is frozen most of the year
• east there is deserts
• south there is endless forests

Question 6

what was Russia’s population like in 1917?

Answer 6

• 185 million people, less than half was Russian
• majority of population peasants
• lots were poor, illiterate and uneducated
• nobility made up 1% but owned 25% of land

Question 7

who were the kulaks?

Answer 7

richer peasants who owned their own land outside the village commune- more supportive farmers for the tsar

Question 8

how did the tsar deal with crime?

Answer 8

strict surveillance maintained. Political meeting forbidden and the Okhrana (tsarist secret police) had unlimited powers

Question 9

history of the Bolshevik party?

Answer 9

Bolsheviks were initially part of the Social Democrat party (founded 1898), until their split from the Mensheviks in 1903. Both based theories on Marxism