WARS

Question 1

When was the crimean war

Answer 1

1853

Question 2

What were the key changes to gov structure due to the crimean war?

Answer 2

• The Emancipations of the serfs 1861: freed 23 million serfs, 40% land to nobility
• Alexander II sympathised with this and ‘reformed from above’. Nicholas I had considered the idea but rejected it as it would have led to ‘an even more ruinous evil’

Local gov reform:
- Reduced political role for the nobility at local level
- Zemstvas were created but was also significant in that members of the local gov now had to be elected.
- Element of democracy, although watered down by property qualifications, gave some indication that tsars might be prepared to lessen their autocratic grip

Reform of military:
- Modernisation was key to progress the military, at the start of the war, the Russian army consisted of about 1 million men made up mostly from peasants- harsh discipline was enforced, including the notorious ‘running of the gauntlet’ a punishment which involved running through a tunnel of soldiers who would beat the miscreant with wooden clubs
- From 1862- 1874 a string of military reforms were enacted under the guidance of Dimitrii Milyutin, using the Prussian system as a model- he reduced service in the army to 15 years, modernised training and provided rigorous instruction for offices- more professional army

Question 3

What were the key changes to gov ideology due to the crimean war?

Answer 3

• Zemstvas were created but was also significant in that members of the local gov now had to be elected.
• Element of democracy, although watered down by property qualifications, gave some indication that tsars might be prepared to lessen their autocratic grip

Treaty of Paris, March 1856:
- Weakened the position of Russia, showed how fearful the European powers were of the Great Russian Bear and that military weaknesses could be easily be remedied
- Changed which localities’ national minorities were governed

Question 4

What social effects and changes were made due to the crimean war?

Answer 4

• Casualties:The Crimean was involved far heavier casualties than any other European war fought between 1815 and 1914. Between 650,000 and 750,000 are thought to have died
• The field of education and the Church saw the most other reform- but were unlikely due to the Crimean war

Question 5

How did the crimean war change economy?

Answer 5

• development of the expansion of the rail system, the railways became a priority. Using foreign loans nearly 2 billion roubles were spent on constructing 20,000km of track from 1861 to 1878

Question 6

When was the Russo- Turkish war?

Answer 6

1876-1878

Question 7

Impacts of the Russo-Turkish war

Answer 7

Treaty of San Stefano:
- Russia regain south Bessarabia
- Russia made territorial gains in the Caucasus
- Turkey forced to pay a war indemnity to Russia
- Serbia, Montenegro, and Romania recognised as independent

Congress of Berlin:
- Russia allowed to retain its right to south Bessarabia and Caucasus gains

• Russia gained money and territory, but Russian nationalists were very unhappy at what happened in Berlin.
• For pan-Slavic supporters in particular, the concessions made to Austria-Hungary and Britain were unacceptable- amounting to a loss of world status
• AIII found it hard to deal with unrest that this created.
• Due to conditions resulting from Congress of Berlin, nationalists unhappy with concessions
• Revealed Russian industrial progress (engineering, steam power)- but that weaknesses from crimean still evident

Question 8

When was the Russo- Japanese war?

Answer 8

1904

Question 9

Change to ideology due to Russo-Japanese war

Answer 9

• Introduction of Duma 1905 October Manifesto move towards constitutional monarchy- BUT fundamental laws 1906 allowed Tsar to dissolve Duma and undermined democracy
• Restrictions that were placed by AIII on the zemstvas for voiving too many complaints- lifted by Nii to gain zemstva suport but once again led to demand for reform
• Russia were humiliated, lost access to Asia, revealed weakness of army and navy, thousands of causalties- no longer thought of as Great Russian bear

Question 10

Change to gov structure due to Russo-Japanese war

Answer 10

• Introduced Duma 1905 October Manifesto and delegated some autocratic power away from the Tsar
• Move to better representation
• Duma made up of higher class, wealthier peasants due to property qualification- not truly representative

Question 11

Change to economy due to Russo-Japanese war

Answer 11

• More investment into industry led to rapid urbanisation and mounting public health problems
• Despite expansion f rail network since crimean war, conflict revealed serious communication flaws
• Trans siberian railway still unfinished, and failed to solve logistical problem of getting troops and supplies to front line quickly
• Resulted in more investment in general industry and transport

Question 12

Change to society due to Russo-Japanese war

Answer 12

• Tsar and govt blamed for losing war to country perceived as inferiour- Phleve, minister of interiour assassinated in July 1904
• Poor public health and diseases, poor working and living conditions produced increasingly discontented populace
• Reforms enacted with promise of raising living standards but they appeared to do the reverse
• 1905 Nii issued October manifesto planned for more representative govt using Duma- opposed in Bloody Sunday, cossacks shot and killed 260 people led by Father Gapon, Jan 22 1905

Question 13

When was WW1?

Answer 13

1914-1918

Question 14

How did ww1impact Russian govt?

Answer 14

• Critics of the Tsar were fuelled
• Nicholas II decided to abdicate and was replaced by the PG
• Optimists believe due to the continuation of the war it was made possible for the PG to deal with the burning issues of land reforms, modernisation of industry and a call for a constituent assembly
• PG failed to hold constituent assembly
• War gave an opportunity for revolutionaries to overthrow the govt and instil their own form of rule
• The Bolsheviks took German money to finance their propaganda machine and give payments to worker supporters who otherwise would not have afforded to be full time political activists
• German ceasefire meant Lenin was free to win the civil war and agree a trade deal in 1922 which averted Bolshevik bankruptcy

Question 15

How did ww1impact Russian economy?

Answer 15

• Total cost of the war was around 3 billion roubles, which far exceeded the total Russian expenditure during peace times e.g in 1913 govt expenditure was 1.5 billion roubles
• Cost was met through borrowing, increases of tax, and printing more money
• For most of the war enough money was invested in Russian industry to meet demands of the military. Also meant that Russian workers were fully employed and received a regular and slightly higher income than usual- but inflation offset this as prices increased also
• Prices rose 400% since the start of the war

Question 16

How did ww1impact russian society?

Answer 16

• Peasants suffered greatly, after 1916 food supplies worsened
• During the war the average output of cereals was higher, but a rapidly rising population, food requisitioning by the army, and a fall in the availability of fertilisers meant food shortages
• In Petrograd their bread ration fell 25% in the first 3 months of 1916- leading to social unrest
• Petrograd 8hr bread queues
• War communism- caused dissent and peasants to kill their livestock due to grain requisition by cheka

Question 17

When was the civil war?

Answer 17

1917-1921

Question 18

What were the political impacts of the civil war?

Answer 18

• Defeat in polish campaign brought similar defeat to Bolsheviks as Crimea, Russo-Japanese war to Tsars (once again, defeated by army, on paper inferior)
• Foreign intervention against Bolsheviks put Lenin on offensive. Concept of ’world revolution’ temporarily replaced with desire for peaceful foreign relations.
• Victory achieved through discipline. Civil War influenced dev of Russian gov as leading gov were men who had served in Cheka, red Army as a result emphasis was orderliness, trustworthiness, comradeship and loyalty to the party
• War led to power being more centralised than before revolving around the Politburo and Orgburowith very tight knit party sub committees were the main organs of government

Question 19

What were the economic impacts of the civil war?

Answer 19

• Militaristic approach of gov led to intro of war communism, nationalisation of all enterprises, militarisation of labour (people forced to work to meet needs of war) and food requisitioning to feed
  army. Caused divisions within the party
• NEP introduced to bring stability to government even though it appeared a contradiction of all the communists stood for- opposed by left as it allowed farmers to make profit and sell their surplus grain

Question 20

When was ww2?

Answer 20

1939-1945

Question 20

What were the social impacts of ww2

Answer 20

• Over 27 million Russians killed: 2/3 civilians, 1 million died at Leningrad, 1.1 million casualties at Stalingrad
• During war 5 million POW taken by Germany, 50,000 Russian citizens fought for Germany at Stalingrad. Stalin viewed POW as traitors and if they were able to return home were treated harshly
• 13,000 deserters were shot
• During counter offensive and the march on Berlin, Russian troops raped over 2 million women- Stalin saw no issue

Question 21

What were the economic impacts of ww2?

Answer 21

• Much physical damage caused by German military through shelling and Stalin’s scorched earth policy
• Factories, production plants, mines, dams, roads, bridges and the railway were all badly affected
• During the war many industrial enterprises had to be relocated to Urals, Volga basin and Central Asia to be protected
• Many factories had to be reconverted from munitions to their original function- very costly
• Soviet govt reconstruction meant a 4th 5 year plan: aimed to get the soviet economy back to growth levels achieved immediately before the war
• The first 3 5 year plans consumer goods were neglected
• The 4th 5 year plan aims were achieved very effectively, because: the availability of ‘free; labour (POW), unilateral trade agreements (only favouring Russia), external financial aid (from UN, USA, GB, and Sweden), commitment of the Russian population
• But there were weaknesses in Stalin’s post war strategy: his continuation of ‘gargantuan’ projects e.g Volga-Don Canal, agriculture neglected and exorbitant taxes introduced

Question 22

Political impacts of ww2

Answer 22

• Structure of government: War had little impact on gov structure, Stalin became the chairman of the State defence committee, also took on role of commander of the military- but was successful as took advice from his advisers, until his death Stalin remained political post of Russia
• Politburo: remained roughly the same, 1948 key members were Khrushchev, Zhdanov, Andreyev, Mikoyan, Molotov, Voroshilov, Kaganovitch, Stalin
• Party membership: Number of party members increased from** 3.76 million in 1941 to 5.8 million in 1945**, due to additions from the military who were awarded for gallantry by party membership, 1952 19th party congress called but party member had declined
• NKVD: very active in the war, policed prisons and the deportation of national minorities, particularly harsh on Balkans, Chechens, Karachans and Crimean Tatars- all who were collaborating with Nazis. After conflict, NKVD reverted to purging the party e.g zionoviev and Kamenev and other groups of dissidents. Involvement in resolving of Leningrad affair resulting in 200 supporters of Zhdanov being purged
• Foreign policy and changes to composition of USSR: By joining the grand alliance Stalin believed he placed Russia in a string bargaining position for territorial gains. Main object was to keep the frontiers established under the Nazi-soviet pact. Wartime conferences at Tehran and Yalta confirmed Russia’s claims. Poland forced to concede most of Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to Russia but gained some territory as recompense.
• Most crucial point was that Stalin was allowed to influence the nature of gov to insist they were ruled by communist regimes.
• As red army pushed the German forces back they naturally occupied a string of other Eastern European countries. 1944 Churchill agreed that Russia could maintain these areas as a ‘sphere of influence’ after the war.
• Stalin’s agreement to enter the war against Japan was rewarded with further territorial concessions- given Kurile Islands and South Sakhalin, meant that USSR had gained responsibility for a further 24 million people
• Issue of Post war Germany: Russia had jurisdiction over the Eastern zones

Question 23

Political impacts of the cold war

Answer 23

• little direct impact to structure and function of govt
• Signed austrian sate treaty- russia willing to cooperate with claims for independence
• Khrushchev’s de-stalinisation, secret party speech 20th congress 1956- attempted to crate more peaceful foreign policy- ‘peaceful coexistence’
• 1961 Khrushchev proposed that West should leave berlin, USA refused and wall was built
• heightened international tensions although eased through start of ‘detente’

Question 24

what were the social impacts of the cold war

Answer 24

• Living standards appeared much lower than the west. Russians discontented and was dealt with ruthlessly
• Novocherkassk workers uprising saw 20 killed by army
• Hungary 1956 Khrushchev surpressed using tanks and gaining support from the war saw pact

Question 25

Economic impacts of the cold war

Answer 25

• Space race and nuclear arms race very costly
• Post 1964 high investment in heavy industry detrimented consumer goods