russia and its empire, nationalities and satellite states Flashcards
(22 cards)
what were the hopes in poland under the tsars?
- hopes of more freedoms under alex II
- demands for education reform and emancipation reforms for serfs
- some wanted full independence and to reclaim land
- pm wielopolski wanted partial independence
what led to the polish revolt?
- 1962 = nationalists had mass meeting, demonstrations and attempted assassination of pm
- wielopolski retaliated (forced conscription but failed as many fled to woods and created bands of rebels)
- guerilla warfare and had support from land and liberty
why did the polish revolt fail?
rebels failed to gain support from peasants and rebellion put down by russian army with leaders being executed
what reforms did miliyutin put in place to stop another rebellion in poland?
- some polish nobility exiled to siberia and estates went to russian officials
- polish peasants emancipated and given freehold right to lands, paid for by taxes (as compensation)
- rural district councils set up
what was the impact of the miliyutin plan?
- nationalism and autonomy diminished = became “vistula region”of russia
- russian became official language = administration and taught in schools
- catholic church not allowed to communicate to vatican to reduce power
- start of russification process
what was poland like in 1880s-1914?
- key area for industrial development and growing middle class = greater popularity of marxism and socialism (polish socialist party and social democrat party formed)
- nationalism emerged again e.g.national democrats group in 1st and 2nd duma
what was the impact of the first world war on russo-polish relations?
- russia lost control over poland (made official in signing of treaty of brest-litovsk in 1918)
- russo-polish war 1920 = after taking ukraine, red army attempted to take poland (lenin believed workers would welcome communists) = failed and armistice agreed with lenin agreeing to polish independence in 1920
why did issues with germany effect russo-polish relations?
- 1934 = non-aggression pact with poland and germany (russia worried it would mean this would mean invasion from these countries = russia withdrew non-aggression pacts with poland)
- 1934 = russia entered league of nations and anti-cominterm alliance: highlighting divisions in europe, russia and asia
- anti-cominterm alliance = suggested germany may have plans to invade russia = going through europe
- increasing tensions between russia and germany in late 1930s (russia feared it would be left to fight germany alone due to its exclusion from munich peace conference)
- stalin signed nazi-soviet non-aggression pact in 1939 (suggested russia would not interfere if russia invaded poland)
what was the impact of world war 2 on russo-polish war?
- early stages of war = polish government fled to london
- 1943 = germany found mass graves of polish officers and blamed russians = poles in london ordered investigation and russians accused poles of collaborating with germany = broke off relations
- summer 1944 = russian trooped drove back germans but didn’t liberate warsaw
- yalta = britain, usa and russia agreed poland should be led by soviet backed communist regime
- potsdam 1945 extended poland’s western border to beyond ethnic germany
how did stalin enforce soviet influence in poland after the war?
- 1947 = council of state created = dominated by polish workers party (controlled by stalin)
- 1948 = ppr only party that you could vote for
- opposition from those supporting democracy (church or trade unions) arrested
- 1950 = 30,000 workers went on strike and sent to concentration camps
- economic and social reforms similar to russia (e.g. collective farming)
- 1952 = officially renamed the people’s republic of poland
how did relations with poland change under khrushchev?
- secret speech and destalinisation = polish intellectuals and striking workers to request less soviet control = largely allowed this
- gomulka (leader of pwp) released and took leadership over poland
- peasants allowed to set independent smallholdings and catholic church can teach religion in schools
= poland was eastern european country allowed some independence from soviet control after stalin’s death
what did the process of russification consist of?
non-russian regions drawn into empire though:
- administration and organisation of government and economy
- forcing of russian language, religion and culture
- some benefits through economy, transport and communication
when did russification start?
the polish revolt 1863 : miliuytin’s plan of allowing russians officials to claim land, any peasants freed and granted land, all landowners paying tax, councils set up and russian became official language
- criticised for being too liberal (e.g. empowering all classes to zemstva)
what was russification like under alexander III and nicholas II?
continued russification in areas in areas that held little opposition to russia e.g. ukraine, baltic and caucuses - with aim of creating unified empire
what was russification like under the communists?
continued russification, but with aim of creating “federalism” - with each minority group having some autonomy but guided by communists
what was the 1918 constitution?
created the russian soviet federative socialist republic and included kazakhstan, uzbekistan and turkmenia
what was the 1924 constitution?
created the ussr and included ukraine, belorussia and transcausia. each had own government and national flags but governments were answerable to communists ministers sovnarkom
what was the 1936 constitution?
kirghizia and tajikstan added to republic and promised to give all states greater representation in ussr and the right to withdraw. but minorities still faced repression (e.g. churches persecuted and many shut down in ukraine)
to what extent did tsars and communists repress national minorities?
both repressed and used military force to control but communists did it on a much larger scale
e.g. communists would often promise reform and and then use repression to gain obedience - in world war 2 = stalin blamed groups like tartars and volga germans of collaboration with germany and deported many of them
what were russo-finish relations like under alexander II and III?
had relaxed attitude and allowed them a separate parliament (diet) in 1863
what were russo-finish relations like under nicholas II?
- appointed bobrikov as governor general, who fully russified finland, army disbanded and russian main language
- met with opposition and bobrikov assassinated in 1904
- 1905 = was granted full autonomy but quickly reversed by stolypin
- treaty of brest-litovsk gave independence
