soviet Russia Flashcards
What were the reasons for discontent in early Russia?
- The ‘subject nationalities’
- discontent with the government
- Nicholas II’s weaknesses
- Economic problems
- Industrial development
- social problems
What were ‘subject nationalities’?
non-Russians in early Russia
What was the policy of ‘Russification’?
Where Non-Russians were made to:
- speak Russian
- wear Russian clothes
- follow Russian customs
What was the parliament called under the Tsar’s rule?
the duma
What were the Tsar’s beliefs about his power?
that he had the divine right to rule- God chose him so he can do what he wants without having to consult his people
What percentage of the population were members of the Orthodox church?
about 70%
Why was the government corrupt under the Tsar’s rule?
he had a council of ministers that ran the various government departments but they couldn’t make important decisions. There were thousands of civil servants such as tax collectors who were poorly paid so this encouraged bribery and corruption.
What were some ways that the Tsar suppressed the peoples freedom?
- unions of workers and strikes were forbidden
- newspapers and books were censored
- use of the secret police
What were the secret police called?
The Okhrana
Who was the Russian Tsar?
Nicholas II
Why was the tsar not a strong character?
because he witnessed the assassination of his grandfather- Alexander II
What was the tsar’s wife called?
Tsarina Alexandra
What were Nicholas II’s weak characteristics?
- ignorant of the nature and extent of the opposition to the tsarist rule
- refused to share power
What Nicholas II’s son called and what disease did he have?
Alexis who suffered from an incurable blood disease called haemophilia
What percentage of the population lived in the country side?
85%
What is subsistence farming?
farming by hand off of strip land
What was the result of subsistence farming?
- low food production
- frequent farming
What percentage of land was used for farming?
5%
What restricted Russia’s industrialisation?
- size and undeveloped system of roads and railways
- absence of an effective banking system
What was Russia rich in?
oil and minerals
Why did Russia experience a rapid growth in industry by the outbreak of WW1?
- increase in the output of coal in the Ukraine
- increase in the output of oil in the Caucasus
- deliberate government policy
Who helped modernise Russia’s economy and how?
One of the tsar’s ministers Count Sergei Witte
- invited foreign experts and workers to advise on industrial planning and techniques
What were the consequences of rapid industrial growth?
poor living and working conditions for workers
What was the order of Russian hierarchy?
- monarchy
- nobles
- clergy
- army
- capitalists
- workers
What percentage of the population were the aristocracy and how much land did they own?
- made up just over 1% of the population
- owned almost 1/4 of all land
Why was there a growing middle class in 1914?
due to the development of industry- many made fortunes from government contracts and loans
What are some examples of the middle class?
- bankers
- merchants
- factory owners
What percentage of the population were peasants?
80%
What was the life expectancy of peasants and what did they die from?
- 40 years
- typhus and diphtheria
What was the staple diet for peasants?
- rye bread
- porridge
- cabbage soup
Describe ‘Bloody Sunday’
- Father Gapon lead a peaceful march of around 200,000 people to the winter palace in St Petersburg
- marchers were petitioning for better working conditions
- the Tsar was not in his palace and the soldiers panicked
- they fired on the crowd- killing hundreds and injuring thousands
What led to the 1905 revolution?
- Bloody Sunday
- the defeat of Russia in the war with Japan
What is the October Manifesto?
a manifesto published by the tsar to settle the chaos of the revolution which promised :
- freedom of speech
- to end censorship
- to create a national government
Who did Nicholas appoint as prime minister after the revolution?
Peter Stolypin
What does ‘Stolypin’s necktie’ refer to?
the gallows used for the execution of over 3000 people who opposed the tsar during Stolypin’s time as prime minister
How many different duma’s were there in the years 1906-14?
four
What factors cause a growth of opposition against the Tsar?
- bloody Sunday
- 1905 revolution
- Stolypin’s necktie
- failure of the dumas
- Rasputin
Who tried to help Alexei with his haemophilia and when?
Gregory Rasputin after 1907
What were some allegations surrounding Rasputin?
stories of his hedonistic lifestyle:
- rumours of orgies
- large numbers of women in his presence
How did Rasputin help create opposition against the tsar?
his high position in court alongside the allegations against his name showed critics corruption and incompetence
What political groups were threats to the tsarist regime?
- Social democratic party (late split into the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks)
- The octobrists
- The Social Revolutionaries (SRs)
- The constitutional democratic party (cadets)
What were the beliefs of the social democratic party?
- followed teachings of Karl Marx
- believed that would one day stage a revolution and remove the tsar
- leading to the set up of a communist state
What were the differences in beliefs of the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks?
BOLSHEVIKS:
- believed that a small party elite should organise the revolution
MENSHEVIKS:
- believed the party should have a membership
- prepared for a slow change
Who led the Bolshevik party?
Vladimir Lenin
What were the beliefs of the SRs?
- believed in a revolution of the peasants
- aimed to get rid of the tsar
- wanted to share all land among peasants so that it could be farmed in small peasant communities
-Some believed to use terror to achieve their aims and other were prepared to use constitutional methods
Who led the Menshevik party?
Julius Martov and Leon Trotsky
Who led the SRs?
Alexander Kerensky
What were the beliefs of the Octobrists and the cadets?
OCTOBRISTS:
- believed that the tsar would carry out his manifesto promises of limited reform.
- main area of support came from the middle classes
CADETS:
- wanted a constitutional monarch and an elected parliament though some were prepared to set up a republic
Who were the Cadets led by?
Paul Milyukov
Who were the Octobrists led by?
Alexander Guchkov
What was the theory of Marxism?
- As society changed from feudalism to capitalism, there were struggles between the aristocracy and the middle classes.
- The middle classes were able to take power from the aristocrats and began to exploit the workers in the new industrial world.
- The workers would eventually rebel against the exploitation and set up a socialist state
-Eventually the ideal state will be created- communism were everyone was equal and people worked for the good of the commune or state
What triggered the start of WW1?
the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Serbia on 28th June 1914- who was heir to the Austrian throne
- Austria- Hungary supported by Germany declared war on the Serbs an Russia was the protector of Serbia.
- Russia mobilised it’s military forces to help Serbia, leading to Germany declaring war against Russia in the August.
What were the reasons for Russian defeat in world war one?
- Poor leadership of generals and officers
- Leadership of the tsar
- Lack of infrastructure
- Supplies and equipment/\
How did the Russian defeat effect the military?
- casualties, frequent defeats and poor equipment lowered the morale of soldiers.
- soldiers lost respect for their officers who seemed ineffective
- many soldiers died without weapons or ammunition
- discontent spread to the people of Russia and news of high casualties caused alarm in different parts of the Russian empire
What were the economic and social effects of war?
- inflation increased
- less food production due to shortage of labour and horses
- more peasants were called up to the armed forces so fewer men were left to work on the land
- Russia’s transport system couldn’t cope with increased demand of war as well as providing industry with necessary raw materials- consumer goods became scarce and expensive
- shortages of vital coal iron and steel so many factories closed which led to unemployment and even greater poverty
- wages weren’t going up and workers were being asked to work longer hours
- Petrograd experienced the worst winter in living memory at the end of the war worsening the social and economic climate
What were the political effects of war?
- At first, war seemed to improve the government as it forced the tsar to work with the Dumas- severely weakened position of tsar
- tsar decided to take control of the war and move to the front left the tsarina in control of the country and she refused to take advice from the middle class members of the Duma which became increasingly frustrating
- rumoured that Alexandra was a German spy trying to sabotage the Russian war effort
- Alexandra replaced all ministers from the duma with Rasputin’s friends who were totally incompetent - so many changes that nobody was properly organising food, fuel and other supplies to the cities. The railway system fell into chaos and trainloads of food were left rotting
- news of war got worse- supporter tsar began to decrease among the middle and upper classes
What were some key events in Petrograd that brought about the revolution?
- President of duma informs tsar that he could no longer rely on his closest supporters
- 200,000 workers on strike
- The Soviet issues the newspaper and declare its intention to remove the old system of government
Where did the abdication of the tsar take place?
in a railway carriage 320 kilometres from Petrograd
Who were the ministers in the provisional government?
- Milyukov- Foreign minister and leader of cadets
- Guchkov- war minister and leader of the octobrists
- Kerensky- minister of justice and social revolutionist
What were the provisional government’s reforms?
- freedom of religion
- freedom of speech
- recognition of trade unions
- promise of elected parliament
- introduction of 8 hour day for industrial workers
- abolishment of secret police
- amnesty for political prisoners
What were the problems of the provisional government?
- wasn’t a truly elected body
- there were defeats in the war
- soldiers were deserting
- peasants were looting the property of the landlords and seizing their land
- people wanted to end food shortages
- subject nationalities were hoping for independence
What was soviet order number one?
orders of the provisional government were only binding in regards to military affairs if they were approved by the soviet- weakening the government’s authority
What were some failures of the provisional government?
- defeats in the war- deciding to continue the war which was supported by the soviet and the bolsheviks but led to 60,000 deaths and desertions. Germany sent exiled revolutionaries back to Russia to cause a revolution (Lenin)
- July days- chaos in Petrograd when the soldiers and the Bolsheviks tried to overthrow the provisional government
Describe the Kornilov Revolt
General Kornilov threatened to seize power in Petrograd.
- Kornilov declared if Russia was to defeat Germany, there had to be stability at home
