tsar nicholas II

Question 1

who was tsar nicholas II?

Answer 1

last tsar of russia
part of the romanov royal family that had ruled the nation since 1613

Question 2

when did tsar nicholas rule russia?

Answer 2

1884-1917

Question 3

how did tsar nicholas rule russia?

Answer 3

he was an autocrat who had absolute power to do what he wanted

Question 4

who helped tsar nicholas to rule russia?

Answer 4

aristocracy
okhrana
army
russian orthodox church

Question 5

why was tsar nicholas’ rule of russia problematic?

Answer 5

he had not been prepared
was a poor decision maker
procrastinated when faced with difficult decisions
jealous of his ministers

Question 6

what problems did tsar face as the leader?

Answer 6

ensuring russia was ruled effectively
modernising agriculture to become more productive
ensuring there was enough food

Question 7

what was russification?

Answer 7

policy implemented by the tsars to force non russian minorities to partake in russian culture and language

Question 8

how did tsar nicholas deal with opposition?

Answer 8

used the okhrana to keep watch on suspected revolutionaries
revolutionaries and terrorists were prosecuted in court and either executed or exiled
used the army from bloody sunday in 1905 to crush the protestors
brought some reforms such as the ones in his october manifesto 1905

Question 9

what were the 6 key events during his reign?

Answer 9

russia was humiliated when it was defeated in the russo-japanese war 1904-05
russia did very badly during the first world war
several revolutions against his rule (1905 and feb 1917)
forced to abdicate in march 1917
eventually executed by the bolsheviks during russian civil war

Question 10

how successful was the tsar in ruling russia?

Answer 10

managed to stay in power after the 1905 revolution
some political reforms were brought in after the 1905 revolution
economic development in terms of greater industrialisation (50% increase in ion and steal production before the first world war)

Question 11

how did tsar nicholas fail?

Answer 11

poor military leader
failed to nein in real political reforms to make russia more democratic
failed to improve agriculture so wasn’t enough food for growing population
poor political leader (weak at ruling country)
living and working conditions for workers and peasants did not improve

Question 12

when did tsar nicholas die?

Answer 12

17th july 1918

Question 13

what was the tsarist police state?

Answer 13

how the tsars ruled russia
used police, law, courts and censorship to control the people

Question 14

what was the role of censorship in the tsarist police state?

Answer 14

the tsarist government banned radical ideas from being printed

Question 15

what was the okhranas role in the tsarist police state?

Answer 15

okhrana were the state secret police
spied on people suspected of being revolutionaries or opposed to the regime
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Question 16

how were people who opposed the tsar punished?

Answer 16

people who were accused of opposing the tsarist regime were out in prison, exiled to siberia or executed

Question 17

what political opposition was there to tsar nicholas II?

Answer 17

opposition was growing because he would not allow political reform and did not improve living conditions

Question 18

when was there political opposition to the tsar ?

Answer 18

opposition was growing throughout the 1800s and early 1900s although political parties were illegal until october 1905

Question 19

why was there political opposition to the tsar?

Answer 19

some groups wanted to limit the power of Nicholas II
some wanted radical change to remove nicholas from power
most groups wanted to see reforms brought in to improve the social economic and political conditions in russia

Question 20

why did tsar nicholas face opposition from the social democratic party?

Answer 20

sdp was set up in 1898
he believed in communism and ideas of karl max
wanted a revolution to get rid of nicholas II and the tsarist government
believed in giving power to the workers
wanted to establish a communist state
in 1903 they split into the moderate mensheviks and the more revolutionary bolsheviks

Question 21

why did tsar nicholas face opposition from the socialist revolutionary party?

Answer 21

wanted to end the tsarist regime
some believed in using terrorism to achieve this and assassinated tsar alexander II in 1881
they were responsible for around 2000 assassinations between 1901 and 1905
others believed in working with other political groups to improve working and living conditions

Question 22

why did tsar nicholas II face opposition from the liberals ?

Answer 22

some groups such as the kadets wanted a constitutional government which the tsar remained as the head of state
his power was to be limited by a constitution and there would be a democratically elected government