HL Test Russia Flashcards
(83 cards)
1
Q
Russia pre 1855
A
- Severely economically underdeveloped- Totally reliant on serfdom in 1853- Serfs were also forced to join the military (for a period of 25 years)- secret police, repressed minorities, enforced censorship, limited travel abroad, crushed any hint of rebellion- Russia no longer able to dominate the European markets with its traditional exports of grain and raw materials- feudal social hierarchy that still existed in the 1850s divided the elite (nobles) from the tax-paying peasants- Emphasis on Russian nationalism: westernisers and slavophiles
2
Q
Crimean war (1853-56)
A
- Russians tried to expand to Balkans and caused tension with Britain and France- Nicholas I died and so his son, Alexander II immediately agreed to an armistice thatlead to the Treaty of Paris on 30 March 1856
3
Q
What did the Crimean war show?
A
Showed weakness and backwardness of Russia’s social and economic structure
4
Q
Alexander II’s early reforms
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- permitting less censorship in universities- release of political prisoners- eased restrictions on travel outside Russia
5
Q
Alexander II:Conditions of Serfs
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- 90% of Russia’s population were Serfs- around half privately-owned and the others state-owned- Some historians argue that these peasants were actually better off than agricultural labourers elsewhere in Europe- Most were at the mercy of the landlord’s steward who treated them like animals - Could be separated from their family and sold like cattle- Sexual abuse and exploitation- Suffering starvation, many turned to cheap, home-distilled alcohol
6
Q
Alexander II:Reasons for the emancipation of the serfs
A
Economic: emancipation was needed for the empire’s industrial development.Military: Crimean War had shown the forces needed reorganisation.Intellectuals: argued the need of change on moral grounds. Practical: growing feeling of discontent among peasants themselves provoked uprisings.
7
Q
Alexander II:Emancipation edict
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- read out in churches all over Russia on 19 February 1861- came into force on 5 March- Only applied to privately owned serfs
8
Q
Alexander II:3 stages of emancipation
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1) Freedom: right to marry, own property, run businesses, travel, legal protection.2) Temporary obligation: continued to pay rent and were under landlord’s control until ready to redeem their land. Amount of land had to be negotiated between peasantsand landowners and could vary from one area to another.3) Redemption: began to pay for their land allotments with redemption payments.They lived in farmsteads called mir where they remained until payments were complete. Landowners received the price of land in long-term government bonds.
9
Q
Alexander II:Positive results of the emancipation edict
A
- Some peasants did well out of land allocations- Landowners who used compensation payments to pay off debts increased their wealth.- Russia industry expanded and grain production increased.
10
Q
Alexander II:Negative results of the emancipation edict
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- Peasants who received poor/over-priced land-allocations with high redemptionpayments struggled to survive.- Redemption payments reduced peasants’ purchasing power and so failed to increase consumer demand and stimulate the economy.- Some landlords charged high prices so peasants were forced to continue working for them - Many fell into debt and were forced to sell out to landowners/kulaks- Control of the mir was almost as oppressive as that of the former landowners.- Disputes over land holdings and payments led to continuing peasant unrest.- Selling of land left the nobility off worse than before - resentment of government.
11
Q
Alexander II:Military reforms
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- Tried to raise morale and end some cruel forms of punishment in the Russian army- Reduced military service to 10 years- Established 15 military districts and cadet schools to improve training and discipline - Conscription Act of 1874: nobles no longer exempt, all males aged 20 eligible, men with formal education served shorter terms, those with no education were taught to read.
12
Q
Alexander II:Positive results of military reforms
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- New spirit of professionalism within the better-trained army - Reduced government spending on army from 45% of total expenditure- Increased literacy resulted from army education campaigns
13
Q
Alexander II:Negative results of military reforms
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- Those better off often found substitutes to serve in their place- Officer class remained largely aristocratic and retained old-fashioned values- Russia did not keep pace with the West in terms of producing equipment or ammunition
14
Q
Alexander II:Legal reforms
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- He wanted to replace the slow, inefficient, corrupt system- The adversarial system was introduced in which the accused would be granted a defence lawyer and would take place in front of a Jury- Judges were given proper training and their pay increased to make them less open to corruption
15
Q
Alexander II:Positive results of legal reforms
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- Introduced theory of equality before the law which brought more impartial justice - Courts weakened government, as they allowed critics to speak out
16
Q
Alexander II:Negative results of legal reforms
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- Could not extend to villages; traditional peasant justice continued (slow to spread) - Courts never fully introduced throughout the Russian Empire- Police still had extensive powers (punish without bringing to trial)
17
Q
Alexander II:Cultural and educational reforms
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- Daily newspapers no longer had to be submitted for censorship prior to publication as well as books and academic work- international and domestic policies were discussed for the first time- Culture flourished with the writings of men like Leo Tolstoy- Humanities became just as important as science- Women could attend university but not get a degree- Schools became much freer and were opened to children of all classes and religions- Village schools were no longer controlled by the Church- Zemstva provided funding for these
18
Q
Alexander II:Positives of cultural and educational reforms
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- Educational reforms led to huge increase in number of students going to university - Many people from non-noble backgrounds could afford to go through scholarships - 400,000 children attend primary-school in 1856, over 1 million in 1878
19
Q
Alexander II:Negatives of cultural and educational reforms
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Allowed more critical and independent thinker to emerge through the universities
20
Q
Alexander II:Local government reforms
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- Zemstva councils formed local government to decide matters of policy of all levels- In 1870, dumas were set up to provide municipal self-government.
21
Q
Alexander II:Positives of local government reforms
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- At local level, zemstvos and dumas proved very effective - They promoted public health and welfare, improving hygiene, literacy and mortality- Intellectuals participated in government and enabled peasants to hear reformers’ ideas
22
Q
Alexander II:Negatives of local government reforms
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- Only able to make limited progress on alcoholism, poverty, epidemics and famines- Not universal (none in Siberia; by 1914 they only existed in 43/70 Russian provinces) - Had limited capacity to implement more radical change- Councillors were primarily from the landowning mobility or wealthy urban classes
23
Q
Alexander II:Economic reforms
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- Von Reutern was appointed as minister of finance in 1862- He established budgeting for all government departments and a new system to collect taxes- Published Russia’s first comprehensive budget- Also set-up a state bank, putting the national currency on a stronger footing.
24
Q
Alexander II:Positives of economic reforms
A
- Foreign technical expertise and capital helped modernise and expand older industries - Naptha Extraction Company opened up new potential for coal and oil extraction in 1879
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Alexander II:Church reforms
- The loyalty of believers was seen as vital in upholding the autocracy- Changes were made to allow more capable priests to rise through the Church hierarchy. - However, little was done about clerical poverty or the instability of many rural priests to perform their duties.
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Alexander II:Treatment of minorities
- Far more tolerant of Jews (could go to university)- Allowed Finns greater independence
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Alexander II:Spread of opposition
- Alexander II's reforms were controversial. Not all his ministers agreed - Outsiders were also critical; arguing that most reforms did not go far enough- Growth of education created a larger and more critical student body- Land and Liberty was founded in 1861 and believed there was a genuine alternative to autocracy- The new intelligentsia that emerged proved influential in pressing for further reform and greater individual liberty- In April, Dmitri Karakozov tried to assassinate the tsar- Tolstoy replaced the liberal minister for education- The Third Section of the police became increasingly active, tracking down those to face trial- Chaikovsky Circle of 1871 spread the idea of peasants rebelling against the government- Following further assassination attempts, Alexander declared a state of emergency and divided the country into military-style governorships in 1879
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End of Alexander II
Reform plans were in progress to relieve the agitation of the people. Before these could be implemented, the People's Will was successful in killing the tsar in March 1881.
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Alexander III
- Becomes Tsar in 1881- Alexander was a conservative by nature- suspicion of Western ideas- contrasting Alexander as the repressive opposite of his father, the 'Tsar liberator'
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Alexander III's domestic policies: RepressionEmergency powers
- New secret police, the Okhrana, established.
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Alexander III's domestic policies: RepressionCensorship
Tightened into rigid system; maintained throughout reign.
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Alexander III's domestic policies: RepressionLaw
- Increased government interference in law courts.- Judges' security of tenure ended- JPs abolished
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Alexander III's domestic policies: RepressionLand captains 1989
- New government agent, chosen from gentry by Provincial Governor (supervised by Interior Minister) to control peasants; could overrule mir; replaced Jps' functions.- Greatly resented by peasants.
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Alexander III's domestic policies: Repression Revolutionary groups
- Weakened for a decade. Plot to assassinate tsar led to execution of Lenin's brother and four others in 1887.
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Alexander III's domestic policies: ReactionMinisters
- 1881. Loris-Melikov and D. Milyutin resigned - Reactionary Pobedonostsev had great influence, together with Tolstoy and Katkov
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Alexander III's domestic policies: ReactionZemstva
- Powers further reduced .- 1890 Zemstva Act, 1892 Municipal Government Act; increased power of Interior Minister over zemstva officials and decisions. Intensified bureaucratic control and administrative centralisation. Vote further restricted.- Government officials interfered in elections. - Meetings of zemstva presidents restricted.
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Alexander III's domestic policies: ReactionEducation
-1884. University Statute (1863) replaced; now tighter government control; chief appointments made by Minister of Education.- Stress on religion; barrack-like atmosphere. -Fees quadrupled to restrict entry to secondary and higher education.- Church schools favoured; zemstva schoolsdiscouraged.-1887. Decree to prevent children from humble backgrounds being 'encouraged to abandon the social environment to which they belong.'
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Alexander III's domestic policies: ReactionRussification
- 1881. Series of anti-Jewish programs, tacitly encouraged by the authorities.- Over 600 decrees against Jews, eg prevented from voting in zemstva; entry to education restricted; residence restrictions tightened.- Increased attempts to impose Russian culture on national minorities, (eg Finns, Poles, Ukrainians, Armenians, Tatars), and to deny them their own.
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Alexander III's domestic policies: ReformsSocial
- Poll tax ended - Redemption payments lowered- 1883. Peasants Land Bank to provide cheap loans to buy land.- Factory Legislation - Hours, employment of women and childrenrestricted; inspectorate established.- Despite government restrictions, zemstva continued to improve local areas, especially primary education.
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Alexander III's domestic policies: ReformsEconomic development
- Beginning of major spurt in industrialisation, under Finance Ministers Bunge, Vyshnegradsky, Witte.- Alexander III as a realist prepared to support industrialisation, and Witte's policy.- Economy grew 8% in 1890s.- Agriculture was exploited as source of export earnings; this helped cause a series of famines, especially in 1891.
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Alexander III's foreign policy
- Russia kept out of war. Broadly traditionalist, cautious policy, but changes in Germany eventually forced a radical change of alliance.- 1881. Conclusion of Dreikaiserbund with Austria, Germany; old Holy Alliance system.- 1887. Russia estranged from Austria over Balkans; Dreikaiserbund not renewed; replaced by Reinsurance Treaty with Germany.- 1890. Bismarck dismissed, and Germany did not renew Reinsurance Treaty.- 1891. Loose Russo-French agreement.- 1893. Russia reluctantly accepted formalFrench alliance.- Russia's expansion in Asia slowed .- 1880s onwards. Major naval building programme .
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Nicholas II
- Became Tsar 1894- Didn't want to become Tsar
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Sergei Witte
- Finance minister 1892 - 1903- Goal was to strengthen Russia's economy
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Witte's economic policies
- Government became more active in developing the economy. - Greater emphasis was placed on producing more coal, iron and steel. - Loans were obtained from countries such as France. - Taxes on peasants were increased to fund industrialisation. - The Trans-Siberian Railway was built to exploit Siberia economically. - In 1897 Witte introduced laws to restrict working hours to 11.5 a day for all workers.
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Witte's economic policies:Successes
- Coal and iron production increased. - Between 1897 and 1900 Russia received 144 millionroubles in foreign investment. - By 1903 the Trans-Siberian Railway was almost completed. Railway building across Russia was expanded. - Large factories emerged in important cities such as St Petersburg and Moscow. - Cities grew rapidly. - Resources in Siberia were increasingly exploited. - Economic modernisation allowed Russia to equip their armed forces with more sophisticated weaponry and compete as a world Great Power.
46
Witte's economic policies:Failures
- Living conditions in the cities for the working classes were very poor. - Strikes became more common in Russian cities. - Increased taxes on the peasants caused widespread anger. - Witte's reforms did not result in Russia overtaking countries such as Germany economically. - By 1913 industry contributed only 20 per cent of national income and only 18 per cent of Russians lived in towns. - Russia was in more debt than any other European country. In 1914 Russia owed 8 billion roubles. - The Russian political system did not modernise and educational opportunities remained limited for the majority. - Russia was modernising from a position that was further behind the economies of other countries.
47
Growth of opposition to Nicholas II:Emancipation of labour
- Group formed in 1883 - four exiled ex-Populists met in Geneva to found the first Marxist revolutionary group - They aimed to spread Marxism in Russia and hoped to establish a Marxist-Socialist party that would bring about a proletarian revolution
48
Growth of opposition to Nicholas II:Bolsheviks
- Small, centrally controlled, highly disciplined professional revolutionaries. - Refuse to work with other political parties and Trades Unions - Lead the revolution on behalf of the workers - Bourgeois and proletarian revolutions could happen simultaneously (Marx, stages of history) - Seize power as soon as possible
49
Growth of opposition to Nicholas II:Mensheviks
-Democratic party, open to all - Co-operates with the Trades Unions and other parties - Follow Marx's stages of history proletarian revolution to happen after the bourgeois revolution - Russia not ready for a revolution, role of party to spread propaganda and raise the level of consciousness of the proletariat
50
Growth of opposition to Nicholas II:Social revolutionaries
- The party of the peasant- Main priority land reforms and redistribution to peasants
51
Russo-Japanese War
(1904-1905) War between Russia and Japan over imperial possessions. Japan emerges victorious.
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Causes of 1905 Revolution:Long term causes
- Alienated intelligentsia - Revolutionaries: social revolutionaries and marxists- Peasant unrest due to poverty and lack of land- Worker unrest due to long hours and bad conditions
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Causes of 1905 Revolution:Government policy
- Tsarist regime: weak, repressive, no moves towards constitutional government, denied basic freedoms, no concessions to nationalities- Witte's economic policy: • under Witte's industrialisation policy, urban workers and peasants squeezed very hard by high indirect taxes and low wages • Economic slump after 1900 led to high unemployment and social tension in towns • Poor harvests in 1900 and 1902 led to starvation and violence in countryside
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Causes of 1905 Revolution:Russo-Japanese war
- Defeats on land and at sea shocked Russian public - January 1905 - lost Port Arthur- War caused shortages of food and fuel, high prices unemployment- Huge upsurge of discontent as Tsar's government perceived to be incompetent
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Causes of 1905 Revolution:Bloody Sunday
Sunday 9 January 1905 Tsar's troops fired on peaceful demonstrators
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1905 Revolution
- The revolution that began January 1905 with Bloody Sunday - Soviets had control for a small period showing what the future could be like- Army then came in and took back control- ended with Nicholas II creating the October Manifesto.
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How and why was the Tsar able to survive 1905?
- Loyalty of the army retained- Rebels lacked unity and direction- Concessions granted to liberals and peasants, thus dividing the opposition-
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Consequences of 1905 revolution
- the state-approved violence of Bloody Sunday served as a crucial severing of the bond between the Tsar and his people- a national duma had finally been established, bringing in a brief era of parliamentary government to Russia- St. Petersburg Soviet was established
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Stolypin
- Appointed as chief minister 1907- played an important role in restoring order and crushing opposition after 1905, and also in introducing some reform measures that contributed to relative stability in the years leading up to WW1
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Stolypin:Reactionary counter-terror
- well-prepared to use violence to deal with opposition- Faced with an increase in radical violence in 1907 Stolypin responded by carrying out over 1,000 death sentences- He also put pressure on trade unions and newspapers
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Stolypin:Agricultural reform
- Stolypin was aware that beyond violent repression, reform was essential if the tsardom was to be maintained- Stolypin attempted to get to grips with the deep-rooted problems of Russian agriculture
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Stolypin reforms
- Redemption payments to the mir cancelled, giving peasants free ownership of their land and giving them the option to leave the mir and become individual landholders.- Cheap loans offered by 'Peasants' Bank' to allow more capitalist peasants to buy strips of land from their neighbours and consolidate into larger, more efficient holdings.- Peasants who sold their land could either become wage labourers, move to the new cities or take a government grant to populate uncultivated Siberia.
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Stolypin reforms:Successes
- Agricultural production increased, leading to record harvests in 1913 - though some historians claim this has more to do with the weather than reforms, and output was still low compared to Western standards.- By 1916 24% of households in European Russia owned their own land, and more were in the process of doing so. By 1914 over 1/3 of peasants had left the mir.- Over 1.5 million migrated to Siberia between 1907 and 1909, which helped to broaden the base of Russian agriculture.
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Stolypin reforms:Failures
- Best land was still owned by the Tsar and the gentry - and only 10% of peasants had managed to consolidate their land into a larger farm by 1914.- Reform did not address problem of overpopulation and the 'land hunger' this generated.- The reforms produced a growing class of alienated poor peasants- Stolypin's attempt to construct a middle ground of 'enlightened conservatism' ended up giving him enemies on both sides of the political spectrum, conservative and radical alike
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Why did Russia get involved in WW1?
- Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 turned Russia's attention to the West rather than the East.- In 1907 France, Russia and Britain formed an alliance called the Triple Entente (meaning 'friendship') to deal with the German threat
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Impact of WW1 on Russia:Military failures
- heavy military defeats and huge death tolls led to angry and disillusioned army- Nicholas II worsened the situation by assuming control of the Russian army at the front- making him personally responsible for future military defeats
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Impact of WW1 on Russia:Role of Tsarina and Rasputin
Tsarina and Rasputin: left in charge of the government, these two decreased support for Tsarism further by making such a horrible job in charge: dismissing competent Ministers and replacing them with incompetent ones
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Impact of WW1 on Russia:Failure to make political reforms
- allowing the 'progressive bloc' of discontented liberals a greater role in running the country might have helped ease the pressure on Nicholas II and for Russia to have become a constitutional monarchy- His refusal to compromise on his autocratic principles contributed importantly to his downfall in February 1917.
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Impact of WW1 on Russia:Impact of war on living conditions
- desperate suffering experienced by the Russian people as a result of WW1- War caused huge distress, as there was a shortage of food, fuel and goods, as well as high prices, inflation and worker unemployment
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Factors that led to the February Revolution, 1917
- Political problems (Tsarina and Rasputin)- Economic problems- Impact of WW1- Peasant and worker discontent
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February revolution events
22nd February: Factory lockout on the right bank took place.25th February: Duma was dissolved.27th February: Police Headquarters ransacked. Regiments support the workers. Formation of Soviet.2nd March: The Tsar abdicated his power. The Soviet and Duma leaders formed a Provisional Government for Russia.
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3 main stages from February to October
- Revolution- Counter revolution- Revolution (2)
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Impact of February revolution
- After the abdication Soviets were set up everywhere. - local committees - peasant (parish) committees, factory committees, regimental committees and battleship committees — turned the formerly passive population into radical revolutionaries- Peasants refused to pay rents, workers demanded higher wages and soldiers and sailors refused to obey the authority of officers.
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Provisional Government
The Provisional Government replaced the tsar's government that collapsed during the revolution in March 1917
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Provisional government:Problems
- The Provisional Government had to rule with the Petrograd soviet (dual government)- did not really carry out any major reforms. - Abolished Okhrana and press censorship- This meant Lenin's Bolsheviks could attack the government- tried to continue the war but the attack failed causing people to turn on government and turn to Lenin whose message was 'Peace, bread, land'.
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October revolution short term causes:Social and political problems
- Middle classes: Small number but growing and wanted to be more involved in politics- Land and agriculture: Methods were inefficient and backwards, not enough land to go around, vast expansion of peasant population (overcrowding) - Urban workers and industry: Around 58% were literate able to voice ideas and understand what was happening, wages low and high number of deaths from accidents and work related health issues. The industry production was very low in the start of the 19th century but increased fast and by 1914,
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October revolution short term causes:Economic problems
- Inflation: inflation increased by 400 percent- Crisis in cities : Overcrowded + poor housing + poor living and working conditions led to social tension in Cities- Continued impact of WW1
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4 factors that meant Lenin could seize power and PG was weak
1) PG was not elected by the people, it saw itself as a temporary body, which could not make any binding long-term decisions for Russia.2) In PG there were divisions between socialists + liberals who often blocked each others decisions. 3) The PG had only power over government affairs, real power lay in the hands of the soviets (worker's unions). 4) Government passes legislation that allowed freedom of speech, press as well as the dismantling of the secret police. Meaning political parties could criticise government and advertise freely
79
June offensive
- PG launched an all out offensive on Germany to put the country in a better position in the war (WW1). - ended in disaster and PG was deeply discredited. - Cause increased support for Bolsheviks
80
July days
- spontaneous uprising which consisted of 500 000 soldiers, workers and sailors rebelling in Kronstadt. - They later marched to Petrograd to demand overthrow of PG.- the rebellion was dismantled as PG still retained control of some loyal Russian troops. - Damaged both Bolshevik and PG reputation
81
Kornilov affair
- August 1917, general Kornilov took his army and marched to Petrograd to overthrow PG. - - Unhappy with PG for WW1 and politics- leader of PG armed the Bolsheviks so they could help him. - However, Kornilov's army did not reach Petrograd as some of his soldiers mutinied and railway workers sabotaged the railways. - Caused PG to disintegrate- Bolsheviks continued to gain support
82
Lenin's role:April thesis
"On 16th of April 1917, Lenin held a speech called the April Theses. The speech called for :1)World wide socialist revolution 2) Land reform to peasants 3) immediate end to WW1 4) immediate end to cooperation with PG 5) Urged Soviets to take power.- Used phrases such as "bread
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Role of Trotsky in executing the revolution
- elected Chairman of Petrograd Soviets in 1917 meaning lots of control- used his position as Chairman to claim that the Bolsheviks were seizing power in the name of the Soviets (workers liked this)- It was not until Lenin closed down the new parliament that workers realized that they had been fooled. - played a key role in setting up and organizing the red army, as well as the actual take over of power. - also persuaded Lenin to wait until october to conduct the revolution, when Bolsheviks had firmly established their power in the Soviets. - - Trotsky was as also an excellent orator and helped to inspire the masses.
