Theme 1 - Growth in Political Opposition prior to 1914 & Revolution of 1905

Question 1

When was the First congress of the Russian Socalist Democratic workers party (SD’s) and what was the outcome

Answer 1

• 1898
• Broken up by the Okrana

Question 2

When do the SD’s break into Menshviks and Bolsheviks and whats the difference between them

Answer 2

• 1903
• Bolsheviks more dictatorial in nature (central committee) as opposed to democracy
• Bolsheviks believed that the Bougoise & proleteriat revolution can occour simultainiously

Question 3

When was Pleve assasinated and by whom

Answer 3

• July 1904
• By the SR’s
• Politcal assasinations had become commonplace

Question 4

When was Pleve given extra powers? What did this let him do?

Answer 4

• 1903
• Given ability to send anyone to Siberia without trail and ability to organise pogroms

Question 5

When is the beggining of the Russo-Japanese war? What caused it

Answer 5

• January 1904
• Japanese attack russian naval base at port arthur

Question 6

When were talks about the formation of a Duma and what was the outcome

Answer 6

• November 1904
• Mirsky (who replaced Pleve) invited Zemstva representatives to St Petersburg to discuss Duma
• Nicholas II sabotaged this and only conceded to an expansion of Zemstva rights

Question 7

When does Russia surrender port arthur

Answer 7

• 30 Dec 1904
• After a Japansese Siege

Question 8

What impact does the failing of the war have

Answer 8

• Increase in discontent amoung many Russians

Question 9

Where do the first strikes happen?

Answer 9

• Putilov Iron works
• 150,000 workers walk out

Question 10

When is bloody sunday? What happens?

Answer 10

• 9 Jan 1905
• Peaceful and loyal (Singing Tsarist anthem) protesters lead by father gapon attempt to present a petiton of Social and politcal greivences to Nicholas.
• 12,000 troops deployed and they fire on the crowd

Question 11

When is Grand duke sergi assasinated, what impact does this have?

Answer 11

• 4th Feb 1905
• Grand duke Sergi assasinated
• Nicholas agrees to meet with representatives
• Then replaced moderates with hardliners e.g Major General Trepov as military governer of St. Petersburg

Question 12

When is the end of the Russo - Japanese war

Answer 12

• August 1905

Question 13

Describe the impact of national minorites on the 1905 revolution

Answer 13

• Disruption more pronounced amoung Non- Russians e.g Poles
• Especially those who wanted independance from the empire
• General strikes inc 400k strong ones in poland
• Caused severe economic disruption

Question 14

What did the Liberals want out of the 1905 revolution

Answer 14

• Lead by Milyokov
• Wanted full political autonomy
• Universal sufferage & democratic elections

Question 15

What did the radicals do in the 1905 revolution

Answer 15

• SR’s conducted political assasinations (Grand Duke Sergi)
• Bolsheviks: Lenin absent; Trotsky wrote academic paper (The Russian Gazette) ~ 500k in circulation & chaired St. Petersburg soviet
• Menshiviks organised strikes
• SR’s posed a serious threat, Bolsheviks and Menshiviks less so

Question 16

When does Nicholas II issue the October Manifesto and what does it contain?

Answer 16

• October 1905
• Some reforms
• Democratic Parliament and Civil liberties

Question 17

When does Nicholas II issue the Fundamental laws and what impact do they have?

Answer 17

• April 23 1906
• Tsar can overturn court verdicts
• Article 87 - Tsar can rule by decree when Duma not in session
• Article 105 - Tsar can dissolve Duma when he wishes

Question 18

Describe the Duma voting system

Answer 18

• Proportional vote: squewed heavily to the landowners and instrialists over workers and peasants

Question 19

Describe what happens in the first Duma

Answer 19

• Overwhelmingly liberal / Radical.
• Address to the Throne demands abolition of state council; transfers ministeral responsibility to the Duma.
• After 10 weeks Nicholas dissolved the Duma

Question 20

What do some 1st Duma delegates do after the closure of the 1st Duma

Answer 20

• Travel to Finland and attempt to persuade people to stop paying taxes
• They were arrested and spent 3 months in Prison

Question 21

When was Stolypin made PM

Answer 21

• July 1906

Question 22

What were the dates of the Second Duma

Answer 22

• Febuary to June 1907

Question 23

Describe the compostion of the second duma & what happens during it

Answer 23

• More radical than the 1st Duma due to increase in the Bolsheviks and Menshiviks
• Stolypin forced to bypass duma to pass legislation
• Duma dissolved quickly and all SD representatives were exiled and voting weight changed to focus more on Gentry

Question 24

What were the dates of the 3rd Duma

Answer 24

• November 1907 to June 1912

Question 25

What was the composition of the 3rd Duma

Answer 25

• Largely pro - Tsar but opposional at times (Symbolic of how unpopular the Tsar was)

Question 26

What was the composition of the 4th Duma

Answer 26

• More docile: lacked any power

Question 27

When did it become clear that the Duma system was not working

Answer 27

• By 1912 it was obvious the duma system was not working
• Had no control over the Tsar

Question 28

When and who said “Thank god we have no Parliament”

Answer 28

• Kokosov (Stolypin’s successor)
• 1914

Question 29

When was Stolypin assasinted? Why was this unfortunate?

Answer 29

• September 1911
• Stolypin assasinated by SR
• Unfortunate as he acted more like a western PM than a Tsarist lacky

Question 30

Was Stolypin repressive

Answer 30

• Yes: he used repression to pacify the people
• “Stolypin’s neckties” - a nickname for the noose

Question 31

When did Stolypin introdruce his agrarian reforms?

Answer 31

• 1906

Question 33

What were the key points in his reforms

Answer 33

• Doubled output
• Cheap loans from Peasant land bank facilitated transfer of lands from nobiltity to peasantry
• Peasant riots decilined in No.

Question 34

Pro’s of Stolypins reforms

Answer 34

• 1915: 50% of peasants owned thier own land up from 20% in 1905

Question 35

Con’s of Stolypins reforms

Answer 35

• 50% of land still in hands of Nobility in 1914
• 1914 90% still farmed in traditional strips

Question 36

Why did Rasputin Emerge

Answer 36

• Abiltiy to “heal” the Hemophiliac Alexi