The Tsarist Regime

Question 1

Russia 1900:

Huge and diverse

Answer 1

• less than 1/2 the pop were Russian
• 130 mill, most were illiterate
• very little land could be used for farming

Question 2

Russia 1900:

Class divisions

Answer 2

• peasants: 84%, very hard life, starvation and disease, not enough land
• nobility: 1%, owned 1/4 of land
• middle class: very good life
• workers: factories, poor housing and wages

Question 3

Russia 1900:

Massive poverty

Answer 3

• average death was 40
• disease
• relied on harvests

Question 4

Russia 1900:

a backward economy

Answer 4

• Not enough land

- Peasants were left with huge loans when they were allowed to buy land in 1861

Question 5

Russia 1900:

An autocracy

Answer 5

• Nicholas 11, came to the throne in 1894
• had complete power
• had a council of ministers who ran the government
• civil servants
• secret police and soldiers stopped any opposition

Question 6

Russia 1900:

Religion

Answer 6

• The Orthodox church
• surrounded by superstition
• the Tsar was the head of the church ie. God’s representative on Earth

Question 7

Summary Russia 1900

Answer 7

• very big
• ineffective communication
• not enough land
• Russian Orthodox Church
• Autocracy
• disease

Question 8

What was Nicholas 11 like?

Answer 8

• kind but timid
• cruel and merciless
• wasn’t fit to run a country

Question 9

Was he fit to rule Russia?

Answer 9

NO!!!!!

• unoriginal
• boring
• easily distracted

Question 10

Russian Revolution 1905:

Economic problems

Answer 10

• invested a lot of money into improving Russia’s economy
• peasants had to pay heavy taxes
• 1902 there was an industrial slump
• poor harvests
• the peasants were starving

Question 11

Russian Revolution 1905:

The Russo-Japanese war

Answer 11

• 1904
• Prices rose in cities
• shortages of food
• defeated by the Japanese
• there was renewed protest about the Tsar

Question 12

The Spark- Bloody Sunday

Answer 12

• Father Gapon organised a march to deliver a petition to the Tsar
• Sunday 22 January, 200,000 people
• They were met by troops
• Tsar not at the palace so the soldiers guarding it panicked

Question 13

Bloody Sunday- the consequences

Answer 13

-varied numbers of casualties: 100 to thousands

Question 14

What caused the 1905 revolution?

long term problems

Answer 14

• high taxation on peasantry
• unequal class system
• poor leadership
• poor harvests
• agricultural issues

Question 15

What Caused the 1905 revolution?

Catalysts

Answer 15

• enforced industrialisation
• harvest failure
• the Russo-Japanese war

Question 16

What Caused the 1905 revolution?

Bloody Sunday

Answer 16

• 100s killed
• wanted fairer working conditions
• were shot at
• 22nd January 1905

Question 17

How did the Tsar survive the 1905 revolution?

Answer 17

• no organised opposition
• he had an army
• targeted sections of society

Question 18

Summary: causes of the 1905 revolution

Answer 18

• enforced industrialisation
• harvests
• the Russo-Japanese war

Question 19

What did the workers want?

Answer 19

• reduction of the working day to 8 hours
• provide a minimum wage of a rouble per day
• a reduction of taxes
• truth, protection and justice- a voice in society

Question 20

The 1905 Revolution- what happened?

Answer 20

• strikes spread to cities
• defeats of the army led to a mutiny of sailors
• different classes demanded more freedom
• peasant riots
• a peace treaty was signed with the troops
• general strikes
• Soviets were formed in other cities

Question 21

The October Manifesto

Answer 21

• a parliament or Duma elected by the people
• civil rights- e.g. freedom of speech and conscience
• uncensored newspapers and the right to form political parties

Question 22

St Petersborg Soviet of workers’ deputies

Answer 22

A group set up by factory workers in Russia’s major city to coordinate strike action

Question 23

Life after 1905:

Political

Answer 23

• 1906/07 Duma’s wanted more power for the people. The Tsar soon dissolved them
• 1912 Duma- favoured the middle class
• 1912/14 Duma- it achieved little before the war

Question 24

Life after 1905:

Land and industry

Answer 24

• wages stayed low
• 90% of land in the West was run in the old way by 1916
• Industry boomed
• 1914-15: industry increased by 100%
• wealthier peasants were allowed to buy land

Question 25

Life after 1905:

Riots

Answer 25

• 1905:13,995 strikes
• 1910: 222 strikes
• strikes were dealt with by the army and police
• 20,000 people were exiled

Question 26

Life after 1905:

Freedom

Answer 26

• newspapers were often fined for writing articles that offended the government
• newspapers often appeared with white spaces where the government had censored material of which it did not approve

Question 27

WW1

Answer 27

• conscripts, very little training
• Tsar took personal control in 1915
• demand for steel, fuel and explosives
• food and fuel shortages
• inflation
• equipment and tactics were very out of date

Question 28

1917 revolution

Answer 28

• enthusiasm for the war didn’t last long
• ineffective officers
• not enough weapons

Question 29

1917 revolution

effect at home

Answer 29

• food shortages
• high prices of goods
• coal and industrial materials were short
• factories closed which led to unemployment

Question 30

1917 revolution:

turning point

Answer 30

• September 1915
• Nicholas took control of the army
• he was blamed for defeats in the war
• Tsarina was in control of the country
• She could not run the country
• Rasputin

Question 31

1917 revolution

losing support

Answer 31

• support for the Tsar and the Tsarina began to decrease

- the 1916 winter was very bad

Question 32

The 1917 revolution begins

Answer 32

-the situation had become desperate

Question 33

Stolypin: the stick approach

Answer 33

• came down hard on strikes, protestors and revolutionaires

- 20,000 exiled and over 1,000 hanged

Question 34

Stolypin: the carrot

Answer 34

• allowed kulaks to buy land

- production increased significantly

Question 35

When was Stolypin killed?

Answer 35

he was assassinated in 1911