The Russian economy Flashcards
Russian economy:
Economically Russia lagged far behind Western Europe,
in this regard peasants used old fashioned farming methods and productivity was low
Industries were not as advanced as those in Western Europe
Industrialization in Russia had only begun at the end of the 19th century
Russia lacked infrastructure and there were insufficient roads canals and railways
Life for the Urban workers was extremely harsh because:
They lived in overcrowded slums on the outskirts of the industrial cities
Housing was so scarce that some workers lived in dormitories or in the factory’s
Hours of work were long, and the workers were paid very little.
Why did peasant unrest break out?
They battled to produce enough food to pay taxes as well as feed the families, peasants were frustrated by the conditions under which they lived and wanted change
Peasant unrest broke out in Russia’s central provinces in 1902 because of bad houses the peasants ransacked the landowners stores of grain and seized stretches of land
What were living conditions for the peasants like?
In 1900 the vast majority of peasants lived in extreme poverty most peasants lived on shed land called communions and farmed on small strips of land and increase in population meant that there was less land for each peasant
Social Democrats:
A Revolutionary group called The Social Democrats led by Plekhanov adopted Marx’s ideas.
Social Democrats believed that industry mining and banking should be controlled by the proletariat
Why were political parties forbidden in Russia?
Political parties with forbidden in Russia because Nicholas II was an autocrat who believed that his people must be totally obedience to him anyone involved in political activity was regarded as an enemy
There was a disagreement over party policies at a congress, this disagreement split the social Democrats into two factions:
The Bolsheviks:
led by Lennon wanted a disciplined group of revolutionaries to seize power by force
What did the social revolutionaries believe?
They believed in seizing power by means of Revolution. Plekhanov summed up his parties believe in 1889 saying that the revolutionary movement in Russia can triumph only as the revolutionary movement of the workers
The Mensheviks:
led by Julius Martov believed that changes would happen when the working class had increased in size and capitalism was fully developed in Russia
What would be seized?
Land would be seized from the Nobles and church land would be controlled by the village communities instead of being privately owned
The social revolutionary movement was formed in 1901:
Social revolutionaries believed that since Russia was a largely agricultural country the peasants should be involved in overthrowing the Tsar
How did they weaken the Tsars’ power?
Small secret groups of social revolutionaries assassinated the Tsars officials as a way of weakening the Tsars’ power
Industrialists, merchants and intellectuals formed the Constitutional Democrats in 1905
The political program was as follows:
Get rid of corrupt police and officials
Limit the power of the King so that he becomes a constitutional monarch
Introduce a democratically elected Parliament
Why and what did Tsar Nicholas II ignore in his country?
Nicholas II ignored the growing unrest in his Empire as he believed that God had given him authority. Instead of dealing with the internal problems facing Russia the Tsar focused his attention on foreign affairs.
Tsar Nicholas II had ambitions to extend Russian influence in the Far East so that he could call himself to emperor of the Pacific this caused conflict between Russia and Japan because:
The Chinese Empire was weak and both Russia and Japan to control of Chinese land in the east tension between Russia and Japan increased and then Russia declared war on Japan
