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Flashcards in arguements Deck (15)
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1
Q

Tsar liberator…

A

refers to Alexander 2 & whether his policies genuinely granted freedom

Yes;
EMANCIPATION; free 80m
CENSORSHIP RELAXED
EDUCATION; greater uni autonomy
MILITARY; reduced service rate to 6 ys, education & nobles couldn’t escape duty
LEGAL; jury system, money to magistrates to avoid bribery
ZEMSTVA; had elected membership
LORIS-MELIKOV; approved pre death (national zemstva)

No
EMANCIPATION; modernization attempt to encourage migration & agriculture - redemption dues & not domestic serfs; lack of freedom suggests not liberal
ZEMSTVA; just attempt to administer emancipation edict, dominated by nobility, divert reformist nobility attention from central gov, couldn’t discuss political only parochial
1865; repression -reimpose censorship & replace reformists with conservatives

2
Q

A2’s assassination

A

inevitable or not?

Yes
REFORMS; zemstva creates populist movement which People’s will orginated from
REFORMS; dissatisfaction
REPRESSION; trial of fifty & Shuvalov era = strong dislike

No
LORIS-MELIKOV; return to more liberal post death
PEOPLE’S WILL; small group not representative of public op.

3
Q

A2 economy

A

failure or success

success
FREE TRADE ERA; Reutern; foreign expertise (JJ Hughes - responsible for ½ of steel production)
6% growth rate between 1862-1878 - led way for Witte
RAILWAY; 7 fold increase in track
INDUSTRIALIZATION; kick start process - lay groundworker for Great spurt

failure;
FREE TRADE ERA; collapse of rouble post Russo-Turkish war
WEST; comparatively behind
EMANCIPATION; damage to peasant ec. heavy (poor land)
LAND PASSPORTS; restrict travel

4
Q

EMANCIPATION

A

was it caused by Crimea..

War
SERFS; low standard of army (minimal training)
SUPPLIES; poor equipment highlighted slowness of industrialization & inefficiency of economy

alt factor;
MORAL;pressure to abolish from alt sources
PEASANT UNREST; dates back to 1770s
LABOUR DEMANDS; hoped it would encourage migration

5
Q

A2 military reforms

A

failure or success

success
CONSCRIPTION; reduced to 6 yrs, incl. nobles
TRAINING; improved & education boosts literacy rate
EXTERNAL; agricultural efficiency improved as peasants freer to work land

failure
WAR; defeat in Tukish-Russo war & Japanse-Russo war

6
Q

A2 & minorities

A

responsible or neglectful

Responsible
A2 tried to work with the Polish authorities, Wielopolski particularly in coming to a satisfactory solution to land-ownership post Emancipation, and it was the extremist rebels that caused the
Post Polish Revolt it was the Polish nobility, and not the peasants who were most
The Polish rebellion did begin the Russification process, proving Alexander very concerned to maintain order across the Empire.
Other hints of ‘separatism’ post-1864 were not ignored e.g. an official commission was set up in 1876 to investigate separatist activity in Ukraine.
The Tsar acted liberally in allowing the Diet of Finland which afforded him an excellent reputation in the province and also significant loyalty.
He also treated Baltic Germans with respect and allowed more Jewish freedoms.
There was significant expansion into Asia.

Neglectful
The Baltic Germans (Estonians and Latvians) did rise in their nationalism, and there was publication of Estonian literature. The newspaper Sakala published by K. R Jakobson campaigned for social and economic equality between all Estonians. It did express loyalty to the Tsar, however set a precedent for other publications.
Jews were still treated with a strong degree of contempt.
Clear policies on the expansion into central Asia were not forthcoming.
Aspirations for further influence on the Eastern Question were quashed by international diplomacy.

7
Q

A3; reactionary

A

was he a conservative reactionary

Yes
Okhrana & crackdown on opposition; utilise okhrana, execution of people’s will
Land Captains; 1889 strengthen autocracy & undermine A2’s reforms
ban peasants from leaving the Mir; strengthen Mir’s control & restrict movement Statute of State Security; 1881 gave the government more powers to pursue revolutionaries.
Censorship increased; unis’ lose autonomy // raise school fees
Russification; Jews bared from civil service, encourage pogroms

No;
resisted social/political change - didn’t reject all reform; economic policies built on A2’s emancipation
Peasant Land Bank; 1882 - Bunge; cheap loans for purchase of land
Abolish Poll & Salt Tax; 1886, reduce the financial burden
Worker’s rights; Bunge reduces working day to 11.5 hours & bans children under 12
Factory inspectorate; limited scope and powers

8
Q

Witte

A

success or failure

success; great spurt; 
2*coal production, 
7 fold iron & steel, 
PRODUCTION; increase 
NEW TECH; oil & chemical
RAILWAYS; huge increase in track

failure;
RAILWAYS; cost & small vs West,
RELIANCE on foreign loans/expertise,
NEGLECT of engineering, agriculture & textiles in favour of heavy industry,

9
Q

DUMA

A

was it a break from autocracy

Yes
POLITICAL PARTIES; legally established for the 1st time; political debate tolerated & printed in press
SOCIAL PROGRESS; legislation for insurance for workers, universal primary education

No
FUNDAMENTAL LAWS; enforced right to rule by decree & ultimate power
REPRESENTATION; limited by altering of electoral laws

10
Q

STOLYPIN

A

progress?

yes
AGRICULTURE; improvement
INDUSTRY; increased output
REDEMPTION DUES; end helps deflate tension
by 1914 1/3 of peasants had left mir (chance to become kulaks)

no
OVERPOPULATION; fails to address land hunger (leads to urban migration; disatisfied population open to revolt&radicalism)
WEST; still far behind west (at start of WW1 coal production 10% of UKs)
economy collapsed during WW1l indstry failed to meet demands f the armed forces/railway system inefficient/inflation

11
Q

Russo-Japanese War

A

cause of N2’s abdication or?

Yes
HUMILIATION; lost against weak enemy = seen as incompetent & questioned
CATALYST; for unrest –> 1905 rev
SHORT TERM SOCIAL/ECONOMIC; intensified & worsened problems; food shortages, high prices & unemployment (factors which led to Bloody Sunday.

No
DUMA; impact of 1905 weakened by N2 (fundamental laws)
LONG TERM SOCIAL/ECONOMIC; Witte’s industrialization led to greater pressure on workers & peasants (high tax & low wages) causing resentment LONG TERM POLITICAL; N2 refusal to make political concessions towards representative government & less oppressive rule created political opp (middle class liberals & revolutionary socialists)

12
Q

WW1

A

was it the main cause of the 1917 revolution

yes
MILITARY FAILURE; heavy defeats led to disillusion and anger (focused on N2 due tp his assumption of front line troops)
TSARINA & RASPUTIN; put in charge of gov; mocked & weakening high soc. support LIVING CONDITIONS: war caused food/fuel/goods, high prices, inflation and worker unemployment –> urban hostility
MIDDLE CLASS; saw gov. as incompetent; want more rep. gov.
CONSTITUTION; had reformed before post 1905; could have adapted again

no
TSAR; indecisive, weak & not prepared to make concessions; unpopular
POLITICS; refusal to reform creates ‘progressive bloc’. lack of coalition means he is personally culpable
URBAN WORKERS; alienated & disaffected (poor living conditions already) increasing strikes
PEASANTS; land seizures, land hunger; disturbances

13
Q

OCTOBER REVOLUTION

A

were the provisional government doomed from the start

yes
SOVIET POSITION; control over industry & army soviet order no. 1 (control of troops)
WW1; instability prevents from focusing on alt issues - land reform. unable to assert authority;
CIVIL UNREST; continuing land seizures & public unrest (july days)
CENSORSHIP; encourages opposition (release political prisoners, dismantle Okhrana, abolish capital punishment)

no
KORNILOV AFFAIR; Bolsheviks viewed as heroes, armed, highlighted P.G’s instability, Kerensky as weak leader vs Lenin
JULY DAYS; Bolshevik leadership not ready to take power and uprising collapsed
INTERNAL; not tightly disciplined / unified body
WINTER PALACE; kerensky’s decision to move into old W.P infuriated pop

14
Q

Provisional Government mistakes

A

was it P.G failures of Bolshevik skill

failure
KORNILOV AFFAIR; Bolsheviks viewed as heroes, armed, highlighted P.G’s instability, Kerensky as weak leader vs Lenin
REPRESSION; July days & clamp down on land seizures evocative of Tsarism
WINTER PALACE; kerensky’s decision to move into old W.P infuriated pop
8 LIBERAL PRINCIPLES; allowed opposition to form & spread
WW1; continuation in was unpopular & distraction from reform work
JULY DAYS; Bolsheviks not organised enough to take power (fails)
ECONOMY; impact of WW1 & inflation

skill
APRIL THESES; catchy slogans - braead, peace & land
INDEPENDENCE; refusal to align w moderates leaves them as only viable alternatives
PETROGRAD; PG power lay in gov affairs vs Soviet practicle power

15
Q

PG & minorities

A

were minorities the main threat to the Provisional Government

Yes
formation of Rada in Ukrain & Sejm in Finland (campaign for autonomy) creates possibility of imperial disnitegration - these groups stated tey would deal w social & economic issues themseles; tier of unofficial opposition
peasant population of countries like Ukraine aggravated by failure of PG to act on land reforms

no
challenge of legitimacy
land question
urban unrest
WW1
separatism was not ignored by PG; et up committee in Transcaucaus