The End Of Romanov Rule (1906-1912) Flashcards
Why were the fundamental laws introduced? And when?
April 1906
An attempt to claw back as much political power as possible after giving the Duma greater political freedoms
What was Article 4 of the fundamental laws?
Article 4 of the Fundamental Laws insisted on the Tsar’s continuing primacy within Russia’s system of government
What areas were declared government activity?
The Fundamental Laws declared a number of important areas of government activity, among them defence and foreign affairs, to be the preserve of the tsar alone and therefore outside the Duma’s jurisdiction
What did Article 87 state?
Article 87 of the Fundamental Laws allowed the tsar to proclaim new laws without Duma approval at times when it was not in session
Gave Nick power to bypass the Duma
What was the Tsar able to do to the Duma?
Dissolve it at any time of his choosing
What was established as a counterweight to the Duma?
Imperial State Council was designed to be a solidly conservative body: half of its members were appointed by the tsar and the other half were nominated by corporate bodies such as the nobility, the Orthodox Church and the zemstva (elected local councils).
The State Council’s law-making powers were the same as those of the Duma which meant that it could block, or veto, anything the Duma did.
What could the Tsar do to ministers?
right to appoint and dismiss government ministers. There was no requirement to seek Duma approval
What was the political makeup of the first Duma? & when was it?
April-June 1906
Trudoviks (radicals) kadets & middle class liberals
How was the government involved with the first Duma? why was it dismissed?
Duma passed resolution calling for full democratisation of Russia, radical land reform involving transfer of the nobility’s estates to the peasantry and amnesty for all political detainees – rejected by government
Duma responded by passing a vote of censure on government calling it to resign, debates over land reforms, despite it being unacceptable to the Tsar was began – gov dissolved Duma
In July 1906, Dismissed by the Tsar after 72 days due to the vyborg manifesto, 200 deputies went to Finland called for people to refuse to pay taxes till Duma was restored
This failed, those who signed the manifesto were arrested and banned from further political activity
What reforms were passed by the first Duma?
Resolution passed against capital punishment and one in favour of famine relief (only 2 out of 391 passed)
When was the second Duma? What was its political makeup?
Feb-June 1907
104 trudoviks
37 SRs
18 Bolsheviks
54 octobrists
Kadet
What reforms were passed by the second Duma?
Land reforms under the guidance of Stolypin
Makeup and dates of the third and fourth Duma?
Third duma - nov 1907-12
Fourth Duma - nov 1912-August 1914
Pro government parties, set up land reforms under Stolypin’s guidance
What reforms were passed under the third and forth Dumas?
Land reforms - Stolypin
Land captains replaced justices of the peace
Universal primary education within 10 years, health & accident insurance programmes
Improvements to the army & navy
Why was there disorder in the countryside?
Land hunger — in the form of rent strikes, land seizures and attacks of Manor House’s
Violence — in 1906, over 1,000 people, many of them government officials died in terrorist attacks
How did Stolypin attempt to combat issues in the countryside?
Proclaimed a state of emergency, gave government officials the he power to imprison people without trial for up to six months and exile trouble makers
When these didn’t work, Stolypin allowed courts of 5 army officers to impose punishments on peasants accused of disorder, what features of this were there?
- cases were heard within 24 hours of an offence being committed
- trials were held in secret
- the accused did not have the right to be represented by a lawyer
- death sentences were carried out within 24 hours of the court reaching its decision
- no appeals against sentences or verdicts were allowed
How many people were sentenced to death under Stolypins measures?
1,000 between 1906-07
What other repressive methods did Stolypin use?
- 1,000 newspapers ceased publication between 1906-12 & 600 trade unions closed between those same years
What actions did Stolypin take against revolutionary groups?
- Actions were taken against Bolshevik, Menshevik & SRs activists throughout the country - over 2,000 arrests in the Black Earth region
- Trotsky exiled to Siberia
What did Stolypin aim to do?
Break up the village commune, do away with open-field strip farming and reconstruct Russian agriculture on the basis of peasants owning their own separate farms
What were key features of Stolypin’s land reforms?
- Every peasant householder could demand that his share of communal land be turned into his own private property
- In villages where there had been no redistribution of strips, a peasant householder could request that his strips be converted into a separate small farm
- the gov. set up local bodies called land organisation commissions to settle any disputes arising out of its land reforms
What was the impact of Stolypin’s land reforms?
- By 1914, only 20% of peasant householders had left the village commune and become legal owners of the farm they farmed
- Half of those who left the commune, 10% of peasant households were owners of separate farms
What had developed by 1900, and who dominated it?
A thriving gold industry dominated by the Lena Gold Mining Company
