Shitstory

Question 1

How was Russia politically governed in 1905?

Answer 1

• Russia was an autocracy with all the power in the hands of the Tsar.
• The Tsar believed that he had a divine right to rule that is, he had been chosen by God.
• This meant he could do whatever he liked without having to consult people
• There was no parliament to represent the people’s views.
• The Tsar had a council of ministers which governed certain departments, however they couldn’t make important decisions
• Strikes were forbidden and media was censored for the people

Question 2

How did the Tsar influence his people in 1905?

Answer 2

• Books and newspapers were censored
• Okhrana were the secret police that dealt with internal security
• Support of the orthodox church

Question 3

What problems did Russia experience due to its rapidly industrialised state?

Answer 3

• Many peasants moved to the towns and cities to work in industry. this brought problems with living standards

Question 4

What was the societal system like in Russia during 1905?

Answer 4

• The aristocracy made up just over one per cent of the population however they owned a quarter of all the land. they lived very lavish lifestyles.
• The peasants were the biggest and poorest group, life was harsh. they made up 80% of the population, had a life expectancy of 40!
• The middle class at the time was very underdeveloped.
• all taxation came from the peasants and factory workers

Question 5

During the 1800s and early 1900s, what problems did Russia face economically?

Answer 5

• Late to the industrial revolution
• low manufacturing output
• failing banking system
• small amount of agriculture produce, methods were medieval, famine was common
• few infrastructure, poor development
• too dependant on poor agriculture
• Count Sergei Vitte, who was minister finance from 1893 to 1903, set himself to modernise the Russian economy, he increased the annual coal output by 30 million tonnes from 1890.

Question 6

What caused the 1905/6 Revolution?

Answer 6

• National groups like Poles and Finns, demanded their independence [social]
• Jews demanded their Civil Rights [Social]
• Loss with Japan enraged population [military]
• The massacre of Bloody Sunday lowered the respect of the Tsar
• Middle class liberals demanded that the Tsar share his power with the people and pushed for reform [political]
• Peasants hit badly by famines in previous years, some famines caused almost 2 million people to die of starvation

Question 7

What were the consequences of the 1905/6 revolution?

Answer 7

• Political parties were now allowed
• Nicholas II issued the October manifesto, this promised freedom of speech, an end to censorship and a national parliament (duma)
• Nicholas appointed Stolypin as Prime minister, he introduced some reforms, however anyone opposed to the Tsar was dealt with harshly via execution.
  Stolypin hangs 1800! became known as stolypins necktie
• This was all a facade of reform

Question 8

What were the events of the 1905/6 revolution?

Answer 8

• In the countryside in june and july, peasant riots became widespread. land was seized and landowner households were looted and burned.
• Bloody Sunday, was a peaceful March by around 200,000 people walked to the Tsar’s winter palace, however soldier’s panicked, and fired shots into the crowds, killing hundreds
• assassination of grand duke
• 400,000 went on strike in spring 1905
• Workers council was formed in St Petersburg

Question 9

Why did the Revolution of 1905/06 fail?

Answer 9

• Japan released Prisoners of war to aid the Tsar
• Most of the Armed Forces stayed loyal
• October Manifesto divided opposition
• The workers strikes and the peasants uprisings were not co-ordinated.
• Loyalty of the troops was crucial

Question 10

Political Opposition to the Tsar in 1914: Who were the Social Revolutionaries?

Answer 10

• The SR’s as they were known, believed in a revolution of the peasants and to get rid of the Tsar.
• They wanted to share all land among the peasants so that it could be farmed in small peasant communities.
• terrorist activities of the SR led to deaths of thousands of governmental officials
• led by Alexander Kerensky
• motto “land and liberty”

Question 11

Political Opposition to the Tsar in 1914: Who were the Social democrats/Marxists?

Answer 11

• The party followed the teachings of Karl Marx and believed the workers (proletariats) would one day stage a revolution and remove the Tsar.
• Aimed to establish a Communist state
• In 1903, the party was split into two, Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks. The Mensheviks believed that the party should have a mass membership and were prepared for slow change.
• The Bolsheviks believed that a small elite party should organise the revolution.
• Vladimir Lenin led the Bolsheviks, Mensheviks were led by Julius Martov and Leon Trotsky.

Question 12

Political Opposition to the Tsar in 1914: Who were the Liberals/Octobrists?

Answer 12

• This party was established after the Tsar issued the October manifesto
• Its followers believed that the Tsar would carry out his manifesto promises of limited reform.
• The Octobrists main area of support came from the Middle classes
• Led by Alexander Guckov, wanted Civil Rights, democracy, constitution and freedoms

Question 13

Political Opposition to the Tsar in 1914: Who were the Kadets/Liberals

Answer 13

• Formed in 1905, the kadets were led by Paul Milyukov.
• As Russia developed a Middle Class, the demand for a democratic style of government.
• The Kadets wanted to have a constitutional monarch and an elected parliament - similar to Britain
• The Kadets were more insistent

Question 14

Explain why Russia suffered many defeats in the years 1914-1916.

Answer 14

• Russia received many defeats due the lack of supplies and equipment, sometimes a gun had to be shared between 2/3 soldiers, they were short of bullets and always were in need of supplies
• The incompetent officers moved their armies too quickly into East Prussia, confident of victory, but too far ahead of their supplies
• The leadership of the Tsar made no difference to the war effort. He was blamed for the defeats.
• Poor communication was crucial, they had an outdated telegraph system, their messages could be decoded and counteracted.

Question 15

Explain why the Tsar was so unpopular by by 1905.

Answer 15

The Russian loss with Japan showed the incompetence of the Tsar and his military, Russia was expected to destroy Japan and the opposite had happened, which was incredulously embarrassing for the Tsar

• The massacre on Bloody Sunday acted as a symbolic gesture to the peasants that the Tsar was not willing to aid his people. The Tsar was not concerned for his people, as his soldiers had fired shots into 135,000 demonstrators
• Rasputin’s influence over the Tsar and his wife was widely unpopular amongst Russians, He was known for his mysterious behaviour and was commonly referred to as the “mad monk”
• The 1891 famine and famines in the years to come proved of Russia’s incompetence, starvation was so severe in some parts of the country, people resorted to cannibalism.
• There was no democratic system in place, Russia’s autocratic rule was backwards compared with the political systems of other European countries like Britain. There was a general discontent with the economic system of Russia.

Question 16

1905-1914 Reformation progress arguments:

Answer 16

• Freedom of press was guaranteed in 1905
• There was a Duma elected by the people
• The third Duma managed to change certain aspects of the army and navy and accident insurance for workers
• Peasants were now allowed to buy strips of land from their less enterprising neighbours to make one single land holding.
• Banks were set up for peasants and provided loans for them.
• Production of grain increased
• Industrial boom between 1906 and 1914, production increased by 100%
• Russia became world’s 4th largest producer of coal, pig iron and steel
• Factories became very efficient and began to use mass production methods
• October manifesto
• Stolypin wanted to create wealthy farmers (hence the bank loans for peasants) in a hope they’d be loyal to the Tsar
• 1913 record harvest
• By 1906/07 rioting had calmed.

Question 17

1905-1914 Reformation continuity arguments:

Answer 17

• poor working conditions, low wages (however working did improve minimally)
• violent disturbances continued in the countryside well into 1906
• Stolypin had a reputation of being tough, the hangman’s noose became known as Stolypin’s necktie
• The okhrana, the secret police, were very active and had thousands of informers
• Newspapers appeared with white spaces where material had been censored
• Dumas were dissolved by the Tsar many times between 1906-1914
• 4 million peasants had been told by the government to settle on new lands along the trans-siberian railway. They made long journeys crammed into wagons, but when they arrived they found that the best land was taken by rich land speculators
• poor peasants were forced to sell their land
• military courts were repressive
• unstable political system, the Dumas was continually being established then destabilised
• Duma elections weren’t democratic, they were unfair
• Stolypin’s reform’s needed time
• industrial expansion resulted in more strikes
• Lena Goldfield Massacre of 1912, Hundreds killed because of the strike
• wages were low for workers
• Over reliance on French investment into the economy

Question 18

Describe Russia’s involvement in WWI.

Answer 18

• Russia went into the war with high expectations on the Eastern front.
• September 1914, the German army advanced northwards by rail and defeated the second russian army at the battle of Masurian lakes. 100,000 russians were killed or wounded. the russian steamroller was destroyed
• At the battle of tannenburg, 70,000 soldiers were killed or wounded. 50,000 were taken prisoner. the russian commander, general samsonov, was so ashamed he committed suicide.

Question 19

Describe Russia’s involvement in WWI. [4]

Answer 19

• Russia went into the war with high expectations on the Eastern front.
• September 1914, the German army advanced northwards by rail and defeated the second russian army at the battle of Masurian lakes. 100,000 russians were killed or wounded. the russian steamroller was destroyed
• At the battle of tannenburg, 70,000 soldiers were killed or wounded. 50,000 were taken prisoner. the russian commander, general samsonov, was so ashamed he committed suicide.

Question 20

Explain why Russia’s military campaigns on the Eastern Front were so disasterous. [4]

Answer 20

• The poor leadership of the Russian army lead to the massacres of the soldiers, many troops had a lack of will to fight in battle. Soldiers would desert battles, they sometimes had one gun between three men. Outdated tactics were used, cavalry warfare.
• ## Poor infrastructure was a main cause for Russia’s disasterous performance, the German’s could interpret the Russians telegrams. Furthermore, poor roads and railways meant that supplies couldn’t reach the front line. railways sank!

Question 21

Explain why Russia’s military campaigns on the Eastern Front were so disasterous. [4]

Answer 21

• The poor leadership of the Russian army lead to the massacres of the soldiers, many troops had a lack of will to fight in battle. Soldiers would desert battles, they sometimes had one gun between three men. Outdated tactics were used, cavalry warfare.
• Poor infrastructure was a main cause for Russia’s disasterous performance, the German’s could interpret the Russians telegrams. Furthermore, poor roads and railways meant that supplies couldn’t reach the front line. railways sank!
• the tsar’s personal decision to take control of the russian army meant that any failures of the russian army would be blamed entirely on the Tsar.
• The peasants (who made up most of the soldiers) their image of the tsar was shattered after the war. the tsar was not capable - made no difference to the war effort.

Question 22

Describe what Russia was like in 1905.

Answer 22

• Difficult to govern: owned 1/6th of Earth’s land, population of 125 million, many different nationalities.
• Tsar was an autocrat, he could make any laws he wanted to, no parliament, political opposition was banned, took advice from rich noble ministers
• No political opposition, censorship
• Nobles and M.C: nobles formed 0.1% of population but owned over 25% of land, M.C slowly formed after industrialisation
• peasants, 20% of population, primitive farming techniques, living condition were awful, expectancy of 40
• industrial workers, conditions for industrial workers were poor, many houses had no running water or sewage system workers were employed for long hours and wages were low, trade unions banned