The Decline & Fall of the Romanov Dynasty

Question 1

How long did the Romanov’s rule Russia?

Answer 1

300 years - from 1613-1917

Question 2

Which Tsar attempted to modernise Russia?

Answer 2

Tsar Alexander II

Question 3

What actions did Tsar Alexander II take?

Answer 3

He emancipated the serfs in 1861 and created the Zemstovs (elected local representative governments)

Question 4

How and when did Alexander II die?

Answer 4

He was assassinated in 1881 by the ‘People’s Will’ Movement

Question 5

What actions did Tsar Alexander III take?

Answer 5

Tsar Alexander III adopted a policy of Russification which attempted to destroy all other non-Russian cultures and beliefs - Jews suffered terribly

Question 6

What year did Nicholas II ascend to the throne?

Answer 6

1894

Question 7

What was the population of the Russian Empire in 1894?

Answer 7

122 million

Question 8

What was Russia’s economy based on?

Answer 8

The economy was primarily agrarian

Question 9

How was Tsarist Russia run?

Answer 9

Nicholas II ran Russia as an autocrat, and used the secret police (the Okhrana) to silence his opponents

Question 10

What was the role of Count Sergei Witte?

Answer 10

Between 1892-1903, Witte was Finance Minister to Nicholas II

Question 11

What was Count Sergie Witte responsible for?

Answer 11

He was responsible for the “Great Spurt”, which was a time of economic industrial growth across Russia

He started using foreign investment for industrial projects and began the Trans-Siberian Railway

Question 12

What was the impact of the ‘Great Spurt’?

Answer 12

It led too poor working conditions in unregulated factories, poor peasant farmers moving to the cities, and a new middle class that was educated and demanded participatory government.

Question 13

What were the dates and events of the Russo-Japanese war?

Answer 13

1904-1905

Russia went to war with Japan over disputed territories in Manchuria (the Korean Peninsula)

Question 14

What was the outcome of the Russo-Japanese war?

Answer 14

Russia suffered a humiliating defeat which exposed the weakness and corruption of the Romanov regimen

It was the first time that an Asian nation had defeated a modern European power

Question 15

What sparked the wave of strikes in January 1905?

Answer 15

The 1905 revolution was triggered by a strike in the Putilov steelworks in St Petersburg

The strike was caused by the dismissal of men belonging to the Assembly of Russian Workers, a Union founded by Father George Gapon

Question 16

What was the date of Bloody Sunday?

Answer 16

22 January 1905

Question 17

What occured on Bloody Sunday?

Answer 17

Father Gapon organised a peaceful protest march and petition to present to the Tsar at his winter palace - 150,000 attended

Tsarist troops opened fire on the marchers, killing 92 and wounding hundreds

Question 18

What was the impact of Bloody Sunday?

Answer 18

Attittudes towards the Tsar changed - instead of a benevolent protector, he was now a ruthless killer

Peasant revolts intensified across the nation

Question 19

When was the Union of Unions formed and what did they demand?

Answer 19

May 1905

The Union of Unions demanded civil liberties and the formation of a legislative assembly

Question 20

When was the Mutiny on the Potemkin?

Answer 20

June 1905

Sailors abroad the battleship Potemkin mutinied in the Black Sea

Question 21

What was the October Manifestio and when was it signed?

Answer 21

The October Manifesto granted the Russian people freedom of speech, assembly and union, as well as establishing a State Duma (Legilsative Assembly)

It was signed by Nicholas II on October 30th, 1905, with the encouragement of Prime Minister Sergei Witte

Question 22

What was the impact of the October Manifesto?

Answer 22

The soviets condemned the Manifesto, as it did little to address the everyday needs of the working people

However, the liberal, middle-class elements were willing to settle for the political concessions and no longer supported the Soviet strikes

Question 23

How did Nicholas II respond to protests in the wake of the October Manifesto?

Answer 23

On December 16, 1905, the St Petersburg Soviet was closed and 190 members were arrested

Loyal troops were sent into the countryside to beat and hang revolting peasants

Question 24

What were the Fundamental Laws and when were they created?

Answer 24

On May 2, 1906, Nicolas issued the Fundamental Laws

The laws confirmed the Tsars right to appoint his own ministers and to have complete control over foreign affairs. All laws passed by the Duma would require his approval

Question 25

What happened when the first two elections produced Duma’s critical of the Tsar?

Answer 25

Nicholas II disolved them and changed electoral laws to create a submissive body of landowners

Question 26

Who was Peter Stolypin?

Answer 26

Peter Stolypin was the Russian Prime Minister from 1906-1911

He was responsible for establishing Martial Law with a network of military courts that executed anyone linked to revolution. The noose was used so often that it became known as ‘Stolypin’s Necktie’

He also set up the Land Bank to Support Farmers

Question 27

When did Russia enter the First World War, and what was the impact of this?

Answer 27

Russia declared war on Germany in August 1914

Political differences were put aside in defence of the homeland, and no strikes were recorded in the month of August

Question 28

When did the tide of the war turn for Russia?

Answer 28

In late August 1914, the Germas inflicted a heavy defeat on the Russians in the Battle of Tannenburg

In Spetember, another heavy defeat at the Mansurian Lakes signified the beginning of a three-year German advance into Russia

Question 29

What was the impact of the First World War on Russia?

Answer 29

Russia had suffered 3.5 million casualities by the end of the 1915 summer campaign

The war had a devastating economic impact, and led to massive inflation - the price of bread doubled and meat tripled between 1914-1916

Conscription of countryside men meant that the production of agricultural implements fall by 85%

Question 30

How did the war expose the corruption and incompetence of the Romanovs?

Answer 30

In August 1915, Nicholas appointed himself commander-in-chief of the army, leading to Russia’s military failures being blamed on him

Tsarina Alexandra’s German background, as well as her relationship with the ‘mad monk’ Rasputin (who held considerable sway over the Tsar and his family) were unpopular with the public

Question 31

What caused the riots and demonstrations in February 1917?

Answer 31

During a savage Russian winter, riots and demonstrations broke out over the shortage of bread in Petrograd

Question 32

What happened on February 25th, 1917?

Answer 32

The city of Petrograd came to a standstill as massive crowds marched demanding bread, and calling for the overthrow of the Tsar and the end of the war

Question 33

What happened on February 26th, 1917?

Answer 33

Nicholas II ordered the military to end the disorder, but soldiers refused to fire on the crowds

This led to a full-scale mutiny of the Petrograd garrison, whilst Ministry buildings and government offices were set on fire

Question 34

When did Tsar Nicholas II abdicate?

Answer 34

On the 2nd of March 1917, facing revolution, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne in favour of his brother, Grand Duke Michael, who refused to take it

Power was handed over to the Provisional Government, and Russia became a Republic

Question 35

How long did the Provisional Government last?

Answer 35

The Provisional Government lasted from March 1917 to November 1917, when it was overthrown by the Bolsheviks

Question 36

Who was Vladimir Lenin?

Answer 36

Vladimir Lenin was leader of the Bolsheviks, and later the leader of Russia from 1917-1922

Question 37

Where the Royal Family moved afther their abdication?

Answer 37

The Royal Family were moved to Ekaterinberg

Question 38

When were the Royal Family executed?

Answer 38

At midnight on the 17th of July 1918, the Royal Family were executed by a Bolshevik firing squad, and their bodies were dumped in an abandoned mine