The issues that Led to the Revolution

Question 1

Who were The Romanov Tsars?

Answer 1

The Romanov Tsars were autocratic rulers who had unrestricted power over the lives of 130 million Russian people

Question 2

How did the Russian Revolution of 1917 change Russia?

Answer 2

The Russian Revolution of 1917 changed Russia from being an autocracy into the first ever communist state, the union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Question 3

Who ruled Russia?

Answer 3

At the beginning of the 20th century Russia was ruled by a Tsar or emperor who had absolute Power

Question 4

How did Tsar Nicholas run the government?

Answer 4

The last tsar Nicholas the second (1894 to 1917) made the laws himself and appointed all the ministers.

He failed to see that the whole system needed to be reformed and modernised

Question 5

What didn’t the Russian peasants own?

Answer 5

Few owned their own land and so they depended on the landowning Nobles for shelter and food

Question 5

What were most russians?

Answer 5

Most Russians were peasants who lived a life of poverty and hardship working on the land.

Question 5

What was the food situation in Russia?

Answer 5

Farming methods were backward, so levels of production were low, and food shortages were common

Question 6

Why were there frequent uprisings?

Answer 6

There were frequent peasant uprisings usually as a result of famine and these were brutally crushed

Question 7

How was Russia doing in terms of industry?

Answer 7

In industry Russia lagged far behind the rest of Europe in 1900 only 16% of the population worked in factories they were unhappy about low wages and very poor working and living conditions

Question 7

What was the majorty of the population?

Answer 7

The majority of the population was illiterate with only 4% receiving any formal education

Question 8

Who became the leaders of revolutionary movements?

Answer 8

In 1914 some of the few who were educated like lawyers and doctors became the leaders of revolutionary political movement which criticized the injustices and inequalities in Russia

Question 9

Who crushed revolutionary movements?

Answer 9

Revolutionary movements were restlessly crushed by the Okhrana (the secret police)

Question 10

What happned to revolutionary leaders?

Answer 10

Revolutionary leaders were executed imprisoned or sent into exile in Siberia the frozen northern and Eastern regions of Russia

Question 11

Who was the most important of these groups?

Answer 11

The most important of these opposition groups where the Socialist revolutionaries and the Democrats who both followed the theories of Karl Marx

Question 12

Who did most of the peasants support?

Answer 12

Most peasants supported the Socialist revolutionaries because they want to redistribute the land among themselves

Question 13

The Social Democrats who were supported by workers and students, had split into two groups:

Answer 13

The mensheviks (the minority) believed in building the organizations slowly and once they had mass support, they would take power

Question 14

What was the second group called?

Answer 14

The more radical Bolsheviks (the majority) wanted a direct and immediate Revolution to overthrow the Tsarist government

Question 15

Who was the leader of the Bolsheviks?

Answer 15

The leader of the Bolsheviks was Vladimir Lennon who spent many years in exile in London and then Switzerland

Question 16

How many revolutions were there in Russia?

Answer 16

There were three revolutions in Russia one in 1905 and two in 1917

Question 17

Political structure:

Answer 17

Russia was an autocratic state ruled by Emperors called Tsars. Nicholas II began his rule of Russia in 1894

Question 18

What kind of power did the Tsar have and what was his character?

Answer 18

All power was in his hands and he appointed ministers to help him administer the Empire

The Tsar depended on the support of his officials, army and the Nobles to carry out his orders

Nicholas the second was A Kind gentleman who was a weak ruler

Question 19

Sir Nicholas the second and his family became increasingly unpopular because:

Answer 19

The Russian government was incompetent

Nicholas II had married a German Princess Alexandra. The Empress Alexandra was not liked by the Russians who considered her arrogant and aloof

The royal family and Empress Alexandra in particular was under influence of a holy man called Rasputin

Question 20

Social structure:

Answer 20

Wealthy Nobles owned most of the land

They occupied high positions in the army and the administration

The Nobles enjoyed wealth and privilege

Question 21

What did the middle class consist of?

Answer 21

The middle class formed only 3% of the total population and consisted of civil servants, doctors, lawyers and teachers they were educated and comfortably well off

Question 22

Who was the rest of the Russian population and what were their lives like?

Answer 22

85% of the Russian population were peasants who lived in self-governing village communes.

They either owned small plots of land or worked on the Nobles land. Few peasants could read or write, and they lived in poverty