The Land, The People And Tsardom Flashcards
How big was Imperial Russia in 1894
8 million square miles
At its widest how many miles was Russia
From West to East it was 5,000 miles
What are Russia’s principal cities
Moscow and St Petersburg
Why was the size of the Russian Empire misleading?
Because it appeared to be powerful however that was a wide variety of races, language, and religion and Culture
How did the size of Russia affect its power?
Controlling people over a vast territory was a major problem
What did article 1 of the fundamental laws of the Empire issued by Nicholas the first in 1832 say?
“The emperor of all the Russians is an unlimited monarch. God himself ordained that almost bow down to his supreme power”
What were the three official bodies which the tsar exercised his authority?
The Imperial Council, the cabinet of ministers, and the Senate
What was the Imperial Council
group of advisors directly responsible to the tsar
What was the Cabinet of ministers
A group which ran the various government departments
What was the Senate
The person which supervised the operation of law
Give 3 ways Russia presented itself as politically weak and backwards
1) In 1894 it was still a criminal offence to abose the tsar or his government. 2) there was no Parliament. 3) government censorship was imposed on published books and journals
What did Russia’s political backwardness lead to?
The creation of varieties of secret societies dedicated to political REFORM or REVOLUTION such as ‘The People’s will’
What is the Okhrana
It’s the Tsarist secret police who special task was to hunt down rebels who challenged the Tsarist Regime
2 ways the Russian Orthodox church support the Tsarist system
1) its reactionary form (resistant to change). 2) the teaching of the Russian duty to be totally obedient to the Tsar as God’s anointed
How much of the Russian population were the peasants in 1897
82%
How much of the Russian population was The Ruling Class in 1897
0.5%
How much of the Russian population was the working class in 1897 and what did this mean
1) 4%. 2) this meant that there was slow economic development
Name three things that limited Russia’s industrial expansion and what did this lead to
1) The small size of working class (4%) 2)Russia’s undeveloped railway transportation 3) the absence of an effective banking system. This lead to not much entrepreneurialism
Why did the agrarian economy fail to develop even though four-fifths of the population were peasants
1) The majority of land was too far north (cold) to have any climate that is good for crop growing or cattle rearing. 2) Land was too expensive for the ex-serfs to buy.
What was the emancipation Decree of 1861 and what did this mean the ex-serfs could do?
1) It was the reformed that abolished Serfdom - a form of slavery where the landowner had total control of the peasants who lived or worked on his land. 2) serfs can now buy land, but in order to buy it they need to borrow money = large debt.
Why were the 0.5% of The Ruling Class fearful of the ‘dark masses’
The peasants made over 80% of the population. If they became educated then they could punish the Tsar for the large debts and great poverty.
What was one common method used to keep the peasant ‘under the whip’, according to Empress Alexandra
Conscription - the forcing of large number of peasants into the army or navy
How many people were in the Russian army
1 1/2 million men
How much did it cost to maintain the army and navy
45% of the government annual money - largest item of state spending
Why was the bureaucracy aka civil service, being judged as the reason for Russia’s backwardness
Was corrupted, led by nepotism, and incompetence (money grasping elite). The law the government, the police, and the Militia were in their hands. - Herzen
