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Clara - Russia > Late Imperial Russia > Flashcards

Late Imperial Russia Flashcards

(56 cards)

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1
Q

Describe the extent of Imperial Russia in 1994?

A

In 1894 Imperial Russia covered 8 million square miles (2.5x the size of the USA today). 5000 miles west to east 2000 miles north to south covers 2 continents

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2
Q

How much did the Russian population grow from 1815 to 1914?

A

From 40-160 million

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3
Q

Where was the majority of the Russian population concentrated?

A

In the west

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4
Q

How diverse was the Russian population?

A

Very. A wide variety of races, religions and cultures.

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5
Q

What is the main challenge for any Russian ruler?

A

Control of diverse communities over a vast and often in hospitable terrain.

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6
Q

When was the Romanov dynasty first established?

A

1613.

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7
Q

What type of ruler was the Russian tsar?

A

A hereditary, absolutist ruler.

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8
Q

How was a Tsar’s absolutist rule reinforced?

A

By law and also by tradition.

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9
Q

What did Article 1 of the ‘Fundamental Laws of the Empire’ issued by Nicolas I in 1832 state?

A

‘The Emperor of Russia is an autocratic and unlimited monarch. God himself ordains that all must bow to his supreme power,’

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10
Q

Through which 3 official bodies did the tsar exercise authority?

A

The Imperial Council (group of honorary advisers) The Cabinet of Ministers (ran government departments) The Senate (supervised the law).

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11
Q

Were the Imperial Council, Cabinet of Ministers and Senate elected?

A

No they were appointed by the tsar.

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12
Q

Did the Imperial Council, Cabinet of Ministers and Senate have power to make decisions?

A

No they only gave advice to the tsar.

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13
Q

When did the Romanov dynasty have power in Russia?

A

1613-1917

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14
Q

How many western European countries had some form of democratic or representative rule by the beginning of the 20thC?

A

All major European countries has some form of democratic or representative government

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15
Q

Which tsars had offered most reform and modernisation?

A

Peter I (1682-1725) Catherine II (1762-96) Alexander II (1855-81)

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16
Q

Which tsar permitted the Emancipation of the Serfs in 1861?

A

Alexander II (1855-81)

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17
Q

Was is an offence the oppose the tsar?

A

Yes, and it was still an offence in 1894.

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18
Q

Was there a parliament under the tsars?

A

No

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19
Q

Was it legal to belong to a pollical party under the rule of the tsars?

A

No (they did exist but illegally). This pushed pollical activity ‘underground’.

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20
Q

What was the name of the tsarist secret police?

A

The Okhrana. They raided, arrests and infiltrated pollical activists.

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21
Q

Denial of free speech lead political activists to what type of actions?

A

It lead them towards extremism. There was no middle ground where political views could be publicly expressed.

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22
Q

What happened to Alexander II in 1881?

A

He was blow to bits by a bomb thrown by the terrorist group called “The People’s Will”

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23
Q

Which church in St Petersburg was built to commemorate the assassination of Alexander II?

Study These Flashcards
A

The Church on Split Blood?

24
Q

Which key source of authority supported the tsar’s rule?

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A

The Russian Orthodox Church.

25
Did the Russian Orthodox Church come under the authority of the Pope?
No it had split off from the Roman Catholic Church and was a completely Russian power structure.
26
How would you characterise the Russian Orthodox church in 19thC?
Deeply conservative, opposed to pollical change and determined to preserve the tsarist system in it's absolutist form
27
Was the Russian Orthodox religion serving the needs of the ordinary person?
No - they were serving ruling classes. Example in one Moscow suburb in 1900 a population of 40,000 only had one priest.
28
Did the churches teachings reinforce the authority of the tsar?
Yes they taught people had a duty to be completely obedient to 'God's anointed'
29
Which social group dominated Russian society numerically?
Peasants.
30
What split of social groups did the 1897 census show?
0.5% Ruling class (tsar, court and government) 12% Upper class (nobility, higher clergy, military officers) 1.5% Commercial classes (factory workers, financiers) 4% Working classes (factory workers, small traders) 82% agricultural workers
31
Was the number of urban workers surprisingly low for the time?
Yes, Germany Britain and USA had much higher proportions.
32
What did the low number of urban workers demonstrate?
The slow pace of relative economic development in Russia
33
What key commodity was produced in the Urals?
Iron
34
What industry were Moscow and St Petersburg known for?
Textiles
35
Given Russia's huge size what was one of the most significant barriers to achieving economic growth?
Building transport networks - roads
36
Did Russia have a well developed banking system?
No and so it made it hard to raise large amounts of capital on a large scale that would be needed to fund industry and transport projects
37
Was agriculture efficient?
80% of the population were engaged in the agriculture but the agrarian economy had failed to develop. too much of the land was too far north to support crops or pasture. Arable farming was restricted to the black earth region stretching from the Ukraine to Kazakhstan. Land was too expensive for emancipated serfs to buy. They could only by using a special fund provided by the government causing the purchaser to have a large mortgage.
38
Were peasants well educated?
No they were illiterate and uneducated and known as the 'dark masses'
39
Was there an intention to improve peasants education?
No it was thought that 'safe ignorance' was the best route to preserving the privileges of nobles.
40
How was the army used to keep the peasants in check?
The lower ranks of the army and navy were filled by enforced enlistment from the peasantry.
41
Were law breakers conscripted to the army?
Yes
42
What was the reputation of the Russian army in Europe
It was notorious in Europe for the severity of its discipline and grimness of the conditions its soldiers lived in.
43
How many soldiers died in peacetime during the reign of Nicholas I 1825-55?
More than 1 million.
44
What was the name of the legislation associated with the freedom of serfs in 1861?
The Emancipation Decree of 1861.
45
What percentage of the Russian government's budget was spent on maintaining the army and navy?
45%. By far the largest item if state spending. It was the largest item of state spending. By contrast education accounted for only 4%.
46
How many men were employed by the army in the 19thC?
1.5 million. The Russian ruling class believed that as Russia ruled a large territory they needed a large army?
47
Was the army a meritocracy?
No, only aristocrats were able to enter the higher ranks of the army. Commissions in the army were bought and sold. This weakened it as a fighting force.
48
What campaigns were fought by the Russian army in the 19thC?
The Napoleonic war (finished in 1815) and the Crimean War (1854-56).
49
What did Peter the Great do regarding the civil service?
As part of his measures to modernise Russia he developed a full scale civil service to help maintain control throughout the empire.
50
How was the civil service regarded by the mid 19thC?
As corrupt and nepotistic and one of the principal reasons for Russia's backwardness. Writing in 1868 Alexander Herzen wrote the bureaucracy had become 'a kind of civilian priesthood', a money grabbing elite using its power for its own ends.
51
What characterised all positions of control in Russia in 19thC?
the law, government, police and militia were all on the hands of men who thought firstly of their own advantage.
52
Who was Alexander Herzen?
A leading revolutionary thinker and critic of the Russian government (1812-1870).
53
What are the 4 key factors in tsarist Russia?
The Land - size The Economy - undeveloped The People - social structure Tsarist System - autocratic government, corrupt elite
54
What did 'Westerners' in Russian society believe?
That to remain a great nation Russia would have to adopt the best features of Western European nations.
55
What did 'Slavophiles' in Russian society believe?
That to remain a great nation Russia would have to resist corrupting Western European values and preserve 'holy Russia' glorying in its Slav culture and traditions.
56
Summarise the problems Russia faced in the 19thC:

Clara - Russia (2 decks)

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