The revolutions of 1917 Flashcards
Which groups of people were supportive of the tsarist regime (authoritarian rule) by 1917?
- The army
- The Okhrana (secret police)
- Conservatives
- The Church
Which groups of people were discontented with the tsarist regime (authoritarian rule) by 1917, and why?
- Peasants (wanted more land)
- Workers (wanted better conditions)
- Liberals (wanted more political freedom)
- Nationalities (wanted independence from the empire)
- Radicals (wanted overthrow of the regime, revolution)
Explain what the reasons for discontent among the peasants were?
They lived in poverty with rising population making poverty worse + famines a frequent threat
- They believed the answer to their poverty was more land - they wanted the land of the landowner class
- 1905 - Peasant unrest spread through rural Russia - they burnt down landowner houses and took landowner land. Brutal repression used by army to end unrest.
- WW1 - Over 15 million peasant men called up to fight. Horses that peasants relied on were taken away by army, and the army also requisitioned (took) peasant crops.
Explain what the reasons for discontent among the town workers were?
Russia’s industrialisation was concentrated in cities, huge factories employing thousands of workers
- Living + working conditions in cities were terrible: overcrowded homes, unsafe working conditions with long hours and harsh factory rules
- When workers went on strike, factory owners would sack them or call police/ army to break up strike by force.
- 1905 - Industrial workers joined up with middle-class liberals in general strike that had nearly overthrown the tsar.
- WW1 - economic problems meant many factories closed. Food prices also rose, making life very hard in the cities.
Who was Karl Marx?
- German writer
- Died in 1883
- He predicted the workers would lead a revolution to create a communist society where everyone was equal.
What did the Radicals want changed in the tsarist regime?
- Wanted to overthrow tsarist regime + ruling classes.
What did the Liberals want changed in the tsarist regime?
- Wanted more political freedom to prevent revolution.
What did the Conservatives want changed in the tsarist regime?
- Wanted to defend interests of the gentry.
What did the Ultra nationalists want changed in the tsarist regime?
- Wanted to protect the Russian Empire.
What did the Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) want changed in the tsarist regime?
- Wanted a new society based on the peasant commune.
What did the Social Democrats (SDs) want changed in the tsarist regime?
- Were followers of Karl Marx.
- Divided into 2 groups:
Bolsheviks - - Believed they could lead workers in revolution
- And help create communism on their behalf
Mensheviks - - Thought communism in Russia was a long way off as it was not yet industrialised.
What military defeats were there during WW1?
- Russia had world’s largest army in 1914, but it was poorly led + badly equipped
- German generals were able to move their well-trained men around on an efficient railway network, then strike at Russians where they were most vulnerable.
- By 1917, large areas of the western Russian empire had been lost to Germany.
What were the economic effects of WW1?
Extremely expensive war for all major European powers. Russia faced additional economic pressures.
- Germany blocked Russia’s trade routes, factories were starved of raw materials + economic activity dropped. taxes had to rise to help pay for cost of war.
- To raise more money, the government arranged loans from its allies, increasing Russia’s national debt.
- The government printed more money to pay for the war. Inflation pushed up prices twice as fast as wages.
What were the political effects of WW1?
- The Duma (Russian parliament) had supported the war at first but, as the crisis deepened, Duma deputies criticised the failures of the tsar’s ministers.
- 1915 - Duma requested that the tsar replace his ministers with new ones supported by the Duma.
- Tsar refused to share any power with Duma. In response, the Duma became a centre of opposition to the Tsar’s government.
What was the Tsar like as commander-in-chief in WW1?
- August 1915 - tsar decided to take command of Russian armed forces as commander-in-chief.
- His ministers warned him that this was a huge risk. Russian people would blame tsar directly for any further defeats.
- Tsar left Petrograd in September 1915 to move to army headquarters. He left his German wife, Tsarina Alexandra, as his regent - head of state in his absence.
- His actions lost him the respect of the military elite and the nobility - he had no military training and was away at war rather than in the capital.
What were the social effects of WW1?
- Conscription of 15 million peasant men + their horses to fight meant food production dropped. The army also requisitioned peasant crops and horses as well as prioritising the railway for the army. These factors meant there was less food for city populations as well as the countryside, leading to hunger and suffering.
- Around 6 million refugees fled German occupation in the west. The government struggled to find them housing + food. National tensions increased.
- Economic problems meant many factory closures and job losses. Unemployment + food shortages meant growing social unrest.
What were the key dates of strikes and demonstrations in the February revolution (1917)?
Food shortages in Petrograd and Moscow increased social tensions; strikes in bakeries added to the food shortage crisis.
Timeline:
14th Feb: Demonstration in support of Duma
18th Feb: Strike at Putilov Steelworks
Late Feb: Weather became unusually warm, encouraging people to join street protests
23rd Feb: On International Women’s Day, women joined striking workers anti-gov demonstrations; crowds grew larger when gov announced bread rationing might have to begin
23rd - 25th Feb: 250000 people demonstrated in Petrograd - crowds became too big for police to control
What were the key dates of mutiny in the army in the February revolution?
Timeline:
26th Feb: Soldiers ordered to fire on demonstrators; 40 killed
26th Feb evening: Some soldiers were unhappy about what their officers were asking them to do. This mutiny was suppressed.
27th Feb: Some regiments refused to obey orders to shoot
28th Feb: A military report to the tsar declared that Petrograd was out of control
