The recovery of Tsarist power Flashcards
By December 1905, the Tsar was…
in a much stronger position.
When did Lenin return from exile? What did he do?
November 1905 - he urged the St Petersburg Soviet to stage an armed uprising against the Tsar
What did the end of the Russo-Japanese War allow the Tsar’s government to do?
Send the Russian army to crush workers’ protests in the cities.
How many troops were recalled, by Nicholas II, in order to end the Revolution?
100,000
Why were the returning troops, from the Russo-Japanese War, loyal to the Tsar?
Because they had not been exposed to radical propaganda.
How did the Ministry of War give in to the demands of the soldiers in order to win back their loyalty?
1 - Army pay was doubled
2 - Soldiers’ rations were increased
3 - New clothing was issued
4 - Soldiers were given bedding and handkerchiefs which were useful for first aid
- As a result mutinies in the army all but ceased in December
What did the government do in mid-December 1905, in a series of steps against the Soviet?
1 - First, the Okhrana arrested leading figures from the Soviet
2 - Second, it declared martial law
3 - Third, the police and army stormed factories and the meeting place of the Soviet, arresting rebel workers
Although unrest continued into 1906, the suppression of the St Petersburg and Moscow Soviets…
destroyed the last hope of overthrowing the Tsar.
Why did the Tsar survive in 1905?
1 - For most of 1905 protests were uncoordinated
2 - The October Manifesto successfully divided opposition to the Tsar
3 - Concessions to soldiers won the loyalty of the returning army
4 - The workers of St Petersburg and Moscow were overwhelmed by the force of the returning troops
5 - The Tsar had some popular support form the Union of Russian People and the Black Hundreds
By December 1905, it was clear that the Tsar the support of…
the army - therefore he was able to crush rebellions by workers and peasants.
The extent of the Tsar’s victory was clear from the…
Electoral Law of December 1905.
Why didn’t the Electoral Law of 1905 give the liberals what they wanted?
1 - The Duma would be selected by indirect elections
2 - soldiers, women and some workers were not enfranchised
3 - votes were not equal: the electoral system gave more power to the rich
How did the reforms in 1905 place limits on the Tsar’s power?
1 - Political parties and trade unions legalised, which meant allowed for the formation of opposition groups to the Tsar
2 - The New Duma, introduce in 1906, could veto laws proposed by the Tsar, which ended his complete authority over law making in the Russian Empire
3 - Peasant protest and protest in countries such as Poland and Finland continued in 1906 - in this sense the Tsar had not re-established full control over the whole of his Empire
4 - The Tsar had been forced to end his policy of Russification in Finland in order to end the protests of Finnish nationalists
Why would Marxists object to the fact that the 1905 Revolution was a revolution?
- Marxists argued that the key feature of a revolution if that it transfers political and economic power from one class to another
- Clearly the 1905 Revolution failed to do this
- Other historians view a revolution as fundamental and irreversible change - evidently the events of 1905 created some change, but how far it transformed Russia is a matter of considerable debate.
