The Tsarist Regime Flashcards

1
Q

What was the population of Russia in 1900?

A

130 million

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

How much of the worlds land did Russia cover in 1900?

A

One sixth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

How many times bigger was Russia than Britain in 1900?

A

Over 100

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Which railway connected the east and west of Russia?

A

The Trans-Siberian railway

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What percentage of people in Russia in 1900 spoke Russian as their first language?

A

40%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Who were the Cossacks?

A

Savage warrior who fought on horseback and were loyal to the Tsar

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What was Russification?

A

The policy of making non-Russians speak Russian, wear Russian clothes and follow Russian customs

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What percentage of the Russian population did the peasantry make up in 1900?

A

84%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What percentage of the Russian population did the nobles make up in 1900?

A

1%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

How much of Russian land did the nobles own in 1900?

A

Almost a quarter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

When did Nicholas II become the Tsar?

A

1894

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What family was Nicholas II from?

A

The Romanov dynathy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Describe the structure of Nicholas II’s governance of Russia

A

1) Nicholas II was an autocrat and had absolute power
2) he had a council of ministers who ran the various government departments but ultimately reported to him
3) thousand of civil servants beneath them
4) no parliament to represent the peoples’s views

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What was the name of the secret police under Nicholas II?

A

The Okhrana

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

How did the Tsar use violence to solidify his rule?

A

1) sent dissidents to jail or Siberia

2) Cossacks restored order with great brutality during riots or strikes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What did Nicholas II censor?

A

All newspapers and books

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Who were the Startsky?

A

Holy men who were held on special regard by the Russian people

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Why did peasants refer to the Tsar as their ‘little father’?

A

Because the Orthodox Church preached that he was Gods chosen representative on earth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Why was the fact that Nicholas II was deeply religious make him a poor leader?

A

He was a fatalist (someone who believed that events were due to God) so turned to prayer as opposed to actions in times of crisis

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Give an example of how Nicholas II allowed himself to get overly involved in the tiniest details of governance

A

Personally answered letters from peasants and appointed rural midwives

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Why was the Tsars choice of ministers bad?

A

1) he felt threatened my talented ministers (dismissed Witte 1906)
2) appointed family members and friends to important positions

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Who were the ‘liberals’?

A

The middle class opposition to the Tsar who wanted democracy based on the British model

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

What did the Socialist revolutionaries want?

A

To divide up the large estates of the nobles between the peasants

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

What percentage of Russians were orthodox Christians in 1900?

A

75%

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

How did the socialist revolutionaries try to achieve their aims?

A

Assassinated several important government officials between 1901 and 1905

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

When did the social Democratic Party split in two?

A

1903

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What were the two components that the social democrats split into?

A

The Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

What was the difference between the Mensheviks and the bolsheviks?

A

The Mensheviks wanted slow change whereas the Bolsheviks wanted more violent sudden change

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

How did the Tsar get money for industrialisation prior to the 1905 revolution?

A

1) places heavy taxes on grain and other everyday items

2) kept workers’ wages low

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

When was the industrial slump?

A

1902

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

When were the poor harvests in Russia before the 1905 revolution?

A

1900 and 1902

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

How did the peasants react to food shortage in 1902 and 1903?

A

Outbreaks of violence (e.g. burning landlords’ houses)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

How did the Tsar put down disturbances in the countryside in 1902 and 1903?

A

Used troops

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

When did the Russo-Japanese war start?

A

1904

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

When did Port Arthur fall to Japan?

A

1905

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
36
Q

Who was the priest who organised the march on Bloody Sunday?

A

Father Gapon

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
37
Q

How many people joined the Bloody Sunday March?

A

200,000

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
38
Q

What was the date of Bloody Sunday?

A

22nd January 1905

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
39
Q

Name four things included in the petition on Bloody Sunday

A

1) reduce the working day to 8 hours
2) provide a minimum wage of 1 rouble per day
3) reduce taxes
4) pull out of the Russo-Japanese war

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
40
Q

Why did the soldiers fire in the crowds on Bloody Sunday?

A

The Tsar was not in the winter palace and they panicked

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
41
Q

How many workers were on strike in January 1905?

A

400,000

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
42
Q

When was the Tsar’s uncle (grand duke Sergei) assassinated?

A

February 1905

43
Q

When did sailors of the battleship Potemkin mutiny?

A

June 1905

44
Q

When did the Russo-Japanese war end?

A

September 1905

45
Q

When was the st Petersburg Soviet formed?

A

26th October 1905

46
Q

When did the Tsar issue his October Manifesto?

A

30th October 1905

47
Q

What four things did the October manifesto promise the people?

A

1) a parliament of the duma
2) civil rights such as freedom of speech and conscience
3) uncensored newspapers
4) the right to form political parties

48
Q

When were land redemption payments stopped?

A

November 1905

49
Q

What did the Tsar do in December 1905?

A

1) used troops to close down the St Petersburg Soviet and crush an armed uprising in Moscow
2) sent out troops to take revenge on dissident workers and peasants

50
Q

How many strikers, protestors and revolutionaries did Stolypin exile to Siberia?

A

20,000

51
Q

How did Stolypin reform courts after the 1905 revolution?

A

set up military courts where people could be sentenced and hung on the spot ( so many were executed that the noose became known as ‘Stolypin’s Necktie’)

52
Q

How many nobles were represented by 1 representative in the first Duma?

A

2,000

53
Q

How many workers were represented by one representative in the first Duma?

A

90,000

54
Q

When was the first Duma set up?

A

1906

55
Q

Why were the first two Dumas dissolved within weeks?

A

They were very radical

56
Q

What couldn’t the Duma do?

A

1) pass laws
2) appoint minister
3) control finance
4) resist dissolution by the Tsar

57
Q

How did Stolypin change the way that member were elected to the third Duma?

A

To favour the nobles even more

58
Q

How long did the Third Duma last?

A

1907-1912

59
Q

How did Stolypin reform farming in the countryside?

A

Allowed kulaks (wealthier peasants) to buy neighbouring strips of land to create larger more efficient farms

60
Q

When did Stolypin’s reforms in the countryside lead to record harvests?

A

1913

61
Q

How many peasants did the government encourage to settle on new lands in the Trans Siberian Railway?

A

4 million

62
Q

What happened when peasants arrived at the new land on the Trans-Siberian Raikway?

A

They found the best land had already been taken by rich landowners

63
Q

How much did industrial production in Russia increase by between 1905 and 1914?

A

100%

64
Q

Why were workers dissatisfied in 1914?

A

1) wages were in real terms worth less than 1903 wages
2) cost of food and housing was high
3) living and working conditions remained appalling

65
Q

What was Russia the fourth largest producer of in 1914?

A

Coal, pig iron and steel

66
Q

When was the Lena goldfields strike?

A

1912

67
Q

What was the Lena Goldfields strike protesting?

A

1) low wages

2) 14 hour working day

68
Q

How many were killed when troops broke up the Lena Goldfields strike?

A

170

69
Q

How many strikes were there in 1912 compared to 1905?

A

1912: 2,000
1905: 14,000

70
Q

Who was Rasputin?

A

A starets (holy man) who belonged to the religious sect called the Kylsty

71
Q

What was wrong with the Tsar’s son, Alexis?

A

He was a haemophiliac (his blood did not clot easily)

72
Q

How did the higher levels of Russian Society view Rasputin?

A

As a sex crazed peasant

73
Q

When did Stolypin banish Rasputin from St Petersburg?

A

1911

74
Q

When did Stolypin die?

A

1912

75
Q

What did the Tsar do to articles about Rasputin?

A

Censored them which the press viewed as an attack on their freedom

76
Q

What did Alexis do after a visit from Rasputin in 1907?

A

Began to recover enormously which made the Tsarina believe that Rasputin was sent by god to save her son

77
Q

How many do the officers in the Russian army had military training in WW1?

A

Less than half

78
Q

How many times more heavy machine guns did Germany have compared to Russia in WW1?

A

Ten times more

79
Q

How many soldiers were sharing a rifle in March 1915?

A

25%

80
Q

What percentage of army supply transports in WW1 were delayed by a week of more?

A

75%

81
Q

How many Russians died in the Battle of Tannenberg and Masurian Lakes?

A

170,000 (due to incompetent orders)

82
Q

When was the battle of Tannenberg?

A

August 1914

83
Q

When was the battle of the Masurian Lakes?

A

September 1914

84
Q

How many Russians were killed or taken prisoner in the first year of fighting?

A

Over 1 million

85
Q

How many Russians had been killed or taken prisoner by March 1917?

A

8 million

86
Q

What was the average desertion percentage in the Russian army during WW2?

A

25%

87
Q

Who were Russian soldier in WW1?

A

Conscripts with little training

88
Q

What was the effect of millions of peasants being conscripted into the army?

A

There was a shortage of farm workers so less food was being produced which led to food shortages

89
Q

How much could the average daily wage buy in 1917 compared to 1914?

A

Wage in 1917 could buy a fifth of what it had done in 1914 (prices rising due to shortages)

90
Q

When did Nicholas II take personal control of the army?

A

September 1915

91
Q

Why was the Tar taking personal control of the army in WW1 a mistake?

A

1) Tsar was now blamed for defeats in the war

2) Tsar handed over day to day running do the country to the Tsarina

92
Q

Why did the Russian people mistrust the Tsarina?

A

They believed she was a German spy

93
Q

Who did the Tsarina replace competent ministers with?

A

‘Our men’ (men who did what they were told and were friends of Rasputin)

94
Q

How did the Tsarinas rule worsen the situation in Russia during the war?

A

1) would not cooperate with the Duma
2) replaces able ministers
3) instability of government meant no one was organising food, fuel and other supplies to the city

95
Q

What happened to St Petrograd during the winter of 1916?

A

Railways iced over meeting little food could get there

96
Q

What happened on the 7th March 1917?

A

40,000 workers from the Putilov engineering works went on strike

97
Q

What happened on the 10th March 1917?

A

250,000 workers were demonstrating and industry came to a standstill

98
Q

What happened on the 12th March 1917?

A

Soldiers refused to fire on the crowds

Some regiments shot their own officers and joined the demonstrations

99
Q

What happened on the 15th May 1917?

A

The Tsar abdicated after workers refused to let his train enter the city

100
Q

What signs did protesters brandish during the March 1917 revolution?

A

‘Down with hunger!’

‘Bread for the workers!’

101
Q

What percentage of peasants were kulaks in 1905?

A

15%

102
Q

Describe events leading up to the abdication of the Tsar in 1917

A

1) on 7th March 40,000 workers from the putilov engineering works went on strike
2) on the 8th March thousands of women joined the protests as it was international womens’ day
3) on the 10th March 250,000 workers were demonstrating and industry came to a standstill
4) on the 12th March soldiers refused to fire on crowds and some regiments shot their own officers and joined the demonstration
5) on the 15th of March the Tsar abdicates after workers refuse to let his train into the city

103
Q

What measures did the Duma pass which benefited the people?

A

Matters to do with the army and navy and accident insurance for the workers