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29 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Why was Russia hard to govern? |
-There were more than 20 different ethnic groups. -Russia's size (100 times bigger than Britain) had as many miles of railway as Britain. -The population was 125 million people. 6 out of ten people saw Russian as a foreign language. |
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Why did many people resent being part of the Russian empire? |
The rulers of Russia carries out a policy of Russification were non-Russians had to wear Russian clothes speak Russian and follow Russian customs. |
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How did the tsar rule? |
-Russia was an autocracy, with all the power in the hands of the tsar, the tsar believed he had the divine right to rule (chosen by god). This meant that he could do whatever he wanted without having to consult his people (no parliament). - The tsar did have a council of ministers that ran various government departments but they were not allowed to make important decisions. -There were thousands of civil servants but they were poorly paid with encouraged bribery and corruption. |
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What laws prevented Russian freedom? |
-unions banned -strikes forbidden -newspapers and books censored -Okhrana used spies and agents to to root out anyone who was against the tsar, and his government. |
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How many people were part of the Russian Orthodox church, and what was is part in the empire? |
-70 percent -The TOC supported the tsar and his way of ruling, it taught the tsar was head of the country an the church, in other words he was god chosen representative on earth. |
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Why was the Russian orthodox church unpopular? |
Large minorities belonged to other churches and religions and resented the power and privileges of the Orthodox church. 9% were Roman Catholic 11% were Muslim The church was very rich compared to the majority of Russian people. |
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What reasons to do with Nicholas's nurture made him rule the way he did? |
-Alexander had a strong influence on shaping the tsars belief on autocratic rule. -His father failed to provide him with much training in the affairs of the state and didn't teach him any economics of politics. -in 1881 when the tsar was 13 he witnessed the death of his grandfather by a revolutionary bomber |
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Why did the tsars personality make him a bad leader? |
He was a family man and more interested in family life than ruling the country itself. -He was ignorant of the nature and extent of his opposition -He and his wife believed they were chosen by god and didn't think anyone had the right to challenge them. |
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How did his family effect his ruling? |
-The Tsar's son Alexei suffered from haemophilia,an incurable blood disease and as such was likely to die young. -The tsars wife was a German born princess, granddaughter of queen Victoria, she was very shy and hated public appearances. |
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What were the peasants like? |
85% of the population were peasants that's 4 out of 5 people. From 1860 to 1897 the peasant population doubled creating more competition and smaller plots. They were the biggest and poorest group and only had a live expectancy of 40. They lived on a diet of rye bread, cabbage soup and porridge. They were resentful of the aristocracy for their extravagant lifestyle, and having to work on their land to own money, since the emancipation of the serfs in 1861. |
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What was agriculture like in Russia? |
Peasants used strip farming which encouraged subsistence farming were only what was needed was farmed using primitive hand tools. This resulted in low food production and frequent famines (extreme scarcity of foods). Extensive tundra forest and desert meant only 5% of land was used for farming. |
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What was Russia's industry like? |
Industrialization did not happen until the end of the 19th century, considering Russia's size and resources its manufacturing output was still very low due to its undeveloped roads and railways and lack of an effective banking system. |
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How did Russia's industry change after the outbreak of WW1? |
a rapid growth due to an increase in the output of coal in Ukraine and an increase in the output of oil in Caucasus, also deliberate government policy. |
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Who was Sergei Witte? |
the minister of finance from 1893 to 1903, he set himself the task of modernizing Russia's economy. He did this by inviting foreign experts and workers to advise on industrial planning and techniques. His reforms did stimulate industrial growth, but this also lead to many social problems especially in living and working conditions. |
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What was the aristocracy like? |
The aristocracy made up 1% of the population but owned 1/4 of the land, many were extremely rich having one home in the cities and another home in the countryside with many servants. |
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What was Russia's middle class like? |
Russia had a middle class whose numbers were increasing due to the development of industry, some were rather wealthy due to government loans and contracts. They were made up of bankers, merchants and factory owners. |
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What were the town workers like? |
This group was rapidly increasing as masses of peasants flocked to towns and cities in hope of a better life in industry. The conditions were terrible living in overcrowded slums, working, long hours, and getting poorly paid. They were forbidden to form trade unions and any protests were brutally crushed by the police or army. They ate cheap black bread, cabbage soup and wheat porridge. |
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What was Bloody Sunday? |
A peaceful and non aggressive march by 200,000 led by a young priest Father Gapon to petition for better working conditions. However the tsar was not in the winter palace and the soldiers panicked and fired on the crowd killing hundred and wounding thousands. "tsar Nicholas has lost the absolutely the affection of the Russian people' |
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What was the 1905 revolution? |
Bloody Sunday together with the defeat of Russia in the war with Japan (1904-05) sparked revolution in Russia. There were strikes and mutiny in the navy . In order to avoid further chaos the tsar issued the October Manifesto promising an end to censorship, freedom of speech, and a national parliament (duma). This revolution was a warning to the Tsar of the need for change and reform, however Nicholas II ignored this warning. |
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Who was Peter Stolypin? |
Peter Stolypin was the prime minister appointed by the Tsar following the 1905 Revolution, although making some good reforms in agriculture in education whenever anyone openly opposed the tsar they were dealt with severely. There were more than 3000 deaths during his time as prime minister and soon the gallows became known as Stolypin necktie. |
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Did the tsar follow through with his manifesto? How did his action not reflect his promises? |
In the years following 1905 Nicholas made sure the duma had little power. After the making of the first duma in 1906, he declared that he could dissolve it at any point and change the way by it was elected whenever he liked. There were four different dumas in the years 1906-14, Nicholas had gone against the promises made in the October Manifesto refusing to share power and continuing to rule like an autocrat, this in turn stimulated more opposition. |
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What was industrial unrest? |
Russia's rapid industrial growth had created poor living and working conditions for industrial workers. This lead to a wave of strikes in the years before 1914. One of the most important strikes was at Lena goldfields were troops shot dead more than 200 strikers and injured several hundred. The events at Lena heralded a new wave of strikers in urban areas across Russia and there was a general strike in St Petersburg in July 1914. |
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Who was Rasputin and what powers did her have? |
After 1907 Nicholas and his wife came to rely on the guidance of a holy man called Gregory Rasputin. -This was because he had the ability to control the life threatening illness of the tsars son Alexei. Alexandra -They called him 'our friend and his position and power in the court grew to such a point were he eventually helped choose government ministers. |
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Why was Rasputin disliked? |
-Stories of his hedonistic lifestyle abounded, such as rumors of orgies and there were always women in his presence.Rasputin was just another piece of ammunition for those who did not like tsarism. These critics saw corruption and incompetence now being added to the list of things Russia faced. |
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Which political parties opposed the tsar and when were they formed? |
The Social Democratic Party- 1901 The Social Revolutionaries- 1901 The Constitutional Democratic Party- 1905 The Octoberists- 1905 |
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What were the Social Democratic Party? |
They followed the teachings of Karl Marx.They believed that one day the workers would stage a revolution and remove the tsar, and soon after set up a communist state. In 1903 the party split into two factions, the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. The Mensheviks beveled in mass party membership and slow change. The Bolsheviks believed in the small party elite organizing a revolution. The Mensheviks were also prepared to work with the more liberal parties and were not in favor of the use of violence the Bolsheviks on the other hand were more hard-line they couldn't wait for capitalism to come first and to gain the confidence of the people they were prepared for the use of violence. |
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What were the SR's? |
The SR's believed in a revolution of the peasants, were land would be shared among the peasants and form small peasant communities.There was a mixture of beliefs as some were prepared to use terror to achieve there goals and others wanted to use more constitutional methods. Terrorist activity by the SR's was responsible for the deaths of thousands of government officials in the years before 1917. Alexander Kerensky eventually lead the SR's |
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Who were the Cadets? |
As a middle class developed in Russia a demand grew for a more democratic style of government. The Cadets believed in the setting up of a elected parliament with a constitutional monarch, some were prepared to set up a republlic. The Cadets were led by Paul Milyukov. |
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Who were the Octoberists? |
The Octoberists believed the tsar would follow through with the promises he made in the October Manifesto of limited reform. The Octoberists main support came from the middle classes. They were led by Alexander Guchkov. |
