The condition of Russia before the revolution of February 1917 Flashcards
who was the autocratic Emperor of Russia in 1917?
tsar nicholas II
what dynasty was tsar nicholas II a member of?
romanov
how long had tsar nicholas II been ruling for?
1613-1917
how did tsar nicholas’ grandfather alexander II die?
blown up by a revolutionary bomb
what type of person was alexander II?
reformist
what influenced the way nicholas ruled?
his reformist grandfather being blown up by a revolutionary bomb and the behaviour of his reactionary father.
what was nicholas’ personality like?
shy, awkward in public, found intricate details of political affirs boring, tended to be overly-cautious, extremely stubborn.
what did nicholas feel he needed to do to his ministers and why?
keep them weak to preserve his own authority.
what specifics all helped weaken political authority in russia by early 1917?
his reluctance to innovate combined with perpetual problems of state finance and disorganisation brought by many overlapping institutions of tsarist government.
who was nicholas’ wife and where was she born?
alexandra the german princess
in 1905, who did alexandra introduce nicholas to and why?
rasputin as he was able to ease the pain of their only son, aleksei, who suffered from haemophilia.
how did rasputin affect the tsardom?
his influence over the tsar had extended to interfering in government appointments, particularly after war broke out in 1914. Also, he was known for his womansing which damaged nicholas’ reputation with the very people he relied upon to prop up the autocracy.
which people did nicholas rely on to prop up the autocracy?
politicians inside and outside the court, civil servants, orthodox bishops and army officers.
when did russia find itself embroiled in war?
1914
how was the tsars decsion to go to war first perceived?
popular initially and supported by a wave of anti-german sentiment.
what did the duma vote for before dissolving itself?
war credits
what were war credits?
the rasing of taxes and loans to finance war
why did the duma dissolve itself?
it didnt want ti burden the country with ‘unnecessary politics’ in war time.
what did the capital change its name from and to and why?
from st.petersburg to petrograd as it was too germanic before.
what were some initial successes?
vast army was rapidly assembled, they amazed the germans with the speed at which the russian ‘steam roller’ was able to get to the front.
why was the spirit of national solidarity dapened?
russians began to be defated more and more
what was a notable disastrous defeat in august 1914?
battle of tannenburg in east prussia
how many people were dead or wounded from the battle of tannenburg?
300,000
how many were taken prisoner from the battle of tannenburg?
thousands
what greater success did they have?
in the south against austria-hungary
when it was clear that the war wouldnt end in a quick victory, what reports came through?
reports of military incompetence inflamed the simmering discontent in the russian capital
how many men were mobilised between 1914-1917?
12 million
what type of men were mainly mobilised in the army?
conscripted peasants
how were the russian government unable to provide for their soliders?
they were sent to fight without suitable weaponry and without basic clothing and properly fitting waterproof footwear.
in 1914 how many rifles did the infantry have?
2 rifles for very 3 soldiers
in 1915 what were the russian artillery limited to?
two or three shells per day
what led to fall in moral and desertions by the end of 1916?
loss of experinced officers. heavy casualties and a deteriorating economic and political situation within russia itself.
how many desertions were there by the end of 1916?
1.5 million
what had the tsarist government set up in july 1914?
military zones where all civilian authority was suspeneded and the military assumed command.
what did the zemstva provide?
medical facilities which the state seemed to neglect
who set up a congress of representatives of industry and business and to do what?
factory owners and businessemen to help coordinate production
in june 1915 what did the zemstva form and with who?
formed the zemgor with muncipal dumas
who chaired the zemgor?
prince lvov
what chance ws nicholas given in august 1915?
to institute political reform and save his own position by transferring responsibility for war effort to a civilian government
who made up the ‘progressive bloc’?
over half the fourth duma deputies (kadets, octobrists, progressives)
what did the progressive bloc demand?
‘government of public confidence’ so effectively a constitutional monarchy in which they would have a dominant voice.
what led the tsar to become commander in chief?
defeats in galicia
whe did the tsar become commander in chief?
september 1915
what did people thik fo the tsar becoming commander in chief at first?
overtones of bravery and heroism
what was already a weakness with nicholas being commander in chief?
he had no military experience
what did being commander in chief do to nicholas?
made him appear yet more responsible for war defeats.
what was an outcome of nicholas distacing himself from developments in petrograd?
rasputin meddled in political appointments and policy decisions.
what rumours surrounded the tsardom?
rasputin was having an affair with alexandra who as a german was accused of sabotaging the russain war effort.
who was the president of the fourth duma?
mikhail rodzianko
what did rodzianko warn nicholas of?
about rasputins unpopularity and the damage he was doing to the tsarist cause.
who murdered rasputin and when?
prince yusupov in december 1916
what did alexandra write in a letter to nicholas on 25th february 1917 and what was his response?
“young boys and girls running about screaming that they have no bread” “this will all pass and quieten down”
how did the government pay for the war?
through increasing taxes and raising huge loans at home and abroad
what did damage to industrial and grain exports cause?
massive inflation
what happened to money in 1917?
virtually worthless, prices rose much more steeply than wages
what did millions conscripted into the army cause?
shortage of men in the countryside
why did the supplies of food fall?
shortage of workers in the fields, peasants began to hoard food instead of selling it, the inadequacy of the transport and distribution systems.
what happened to russian trade?
virually standstill
as rationing barely helped out what did this cause?
hunger and famine
what were the railway systems like?
collapsed
what were railways taken over to do?
transport men and goods to the front
what happened to railway locomotive production?
halved between 1913 and 1916 and there were severe fuel shortages
what happened to the food due to the railways?
food that shouldve been taken into the cities left to rot beside the railway sidings for lack of transport while some huge cargoes of grain were sent to the front line at expense of desperate townsfolk.
where and why did unemployment soar?
petrograd and moscow due to non-military factories, deprived of vital supplies, were forced to close.
what specifically financially crippled what little industry survived?
lock outs and strkes
what left thousands living on the brink of starvation?
300% rise in cost of living, rising death rates because of the workers’ insanitary lodgings and the inadequancies of their diets.
what happened in january 1917 due to discontent?
strikes in petrograd and moscow
how many people went on strike in petrograd and moscow in january 1917?
petrograd= 145,000 workers moscow= 30,000 workers
how did most ordinary men and women feel about the tsarist regime by february 1917?
patriotic at heart and many would have claimed their love for the tsar, but their struggle to survive and meet their everyday needs increased their indifference to the fate of their rulers.
where was ordinary peoples anger directed and how was it shown?
at those immediately above them and came in the form of strikes, riots or violence against employers or landlords.
how were conditions in the army in the winter of 1916-17?
appalling as temperatures fell to 35 degress below zero
what did alexsandr guchov talk to senior army officers about in 1916?
possible coup to force the abdication of the tsar
what did milyukov accuse the tsars ministers of?
seeking peace with germany behind the dumas back in november 1916
when lenin was living in switzerland he rejected the majority view and claimed that…
“the war must be turned into a civil war of the proletarian soldiers against their own governments”
who helped stir up discontent in russia?
radical socialist agitators
how many followers did lenin have at the beginning of 1917?
no more than 10,000
