The Tsarist Regime, 1906-1914 Flashcards
State council
Debated laws - had to approve laws before legalised
1/2 members appointed by Tsar
1/2 members elected by Zemstva
Council of ministers
Legalised + approved all legislation
Appointed by Tsar and were controlled by Tsar alone
Led by Prime Minister
State Duma
Debated laws and had to approve before legalised
500 delegates elected every 5 years by men 25+ (indirect suffrage)
When were political parties legalised?
March 1906 (for the elections)
Political parties in 1906; left to right
Social Democratic Workers’ Party
Social Revolutionaries
KadetsOctobrists
Rightists
Social Democratic Workers’ Party made up of..
Bolsheviks (refused to participate in 1st elections)
Mensheviks
Why were the fundamental laws issued?
• To reassert power of Tsarist institution - who controls country?
Assert power over Duma - warning political powers
• restore pride - Tsar never wanted October Manifesto
• reassure conservatives - conservative protection of orthodoxy
When were the fundamental laws issued?
23rd April 1906
Fundamental Laws re asserted that the Tsar…
- supreme administrative power (inc. foreign affairs)
- supreme command over land + sea forces
- right to overturn verdicts in court
- rules by decree when Duma not in session
- declare war/restore peace
- appoint/dismiss gov. ministers
Why did the Dumas fail?
UL: Dumas represent challenge to Tsar’s authority - didn’t want - exploited fundamental errors
MT: represented new political situation- not prepared for challenge
Trigger: can’t make effective decisions - range of parties + views
The First Duma
= “Duma of National Hopes”
• May-June 1906
• + Kadets + Radicals
• demanded radical constitutional change
The Second Duma
= “The Duma of National Anger”
• Stolypin changed voting rules => + Octobrists
• Bolsheviks and SRs participate
• opposed a lot eg. Agrarian reforms (so dissolved by Stolypin)
• measure passed under Article 87 (Tsar’s supreme power)
The Third Duma
= “Duma of Lords and Lackeys”
• November 1907 - June 1912
• + Octobrists + Conservatives => less peasants/workers etc.
• agree with social & agrarian reforms
The Fourth Duma
- November 1912 - 1917
- number of Octobrists decreased -> gap between Conservatives and Socialists => failed cooperation => ignored
- demand more power in 1915 => suspended
What was the new constitutional structure made up of?
State council
Council of ministers
State Duma
Causes of the Agrarian reforms
• UL: to utilise Russia’s land potential - Siberia = undeveloped/populated
• MT: encourage +peasants to move to towns -> boost industrialisation
• Trigger: quell discontent amongst rural population
1903-04 = challenge to Tsar’s authority (peasants rebel)
What were the agrarian reforms?
- Mir system & collective land ownership = abolished Nov 1906
- Land Organisation Commission = established
- Jan 1907 - redemption payments = abolished (+ subsides)
- more state land for purchase
- Peasant Land Bank = established
Successes of the Agrarian reforms
- Peasant ownership of land increased 20% in 1905 - 50% in 1915
- Grain production rose 56mil - 90mil tonnes 1900-14
- 1909 - Russia = world’s leading cereal exporter
- Kulaks
- ~3.5 mil peasants migrate to Siberia
- Peasants to Towns -> + labour force
Failures of the Agrarian reforms
• reforms = v. slow - by 1913: 1.3/5mil applications for land = dealt with
• 1914: only 10% land communal -> private
: 90% peasant holdings on scattered strips
• poor peasants lost land
Economic development 1908-1914 summary
Difficulties of global trade —> recession of 1900 hit Russian industry hard.
Turbulence of 1903-06
Growth and stability in 1908 => industrial boom
Successes of the economic development of 1908-14
- State revenue doubled 2-4 billion roubles 1908-14
- 400,000 industrial workers
- by 1914 = 2nd largest oil producer
Failures of economic development 1908-14
- Russian growth = reliant on foreign loans
- Russian economy grew at slower pace than EU - It(121%),Ru(50%)• main export = grain (30% of industry)
- recovery = delicate - Lena Goldfields massacre (500 killed)
Successes of social development
- 85% increase in primary school provision 1905-14
- 40% increase in literacy rate
- Trade Unions = legalised
- Romanov Tercentary (300 years of Romanov dynasty) HUGE support!
Failures of the social development in Russia
- only 55% children in full time education
- poor living conditions in towns prevailed
- strikes escalated - 1914 = +1 million strikes
- widespread disapproval of Tsar’s ability to be controlled by Rasputin
