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Flashcards in Russia in Revolution 1881-1905 Deck (81)
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1
Q

When did Tsar Alexander II rule?

A

1855-1881

2
Q

In 1861 which reform was passed?

A

The emancipation of the Serfs

3
Q

What happened to Alexander II?

A

Assasinated by the “peoples will”

4
Q

Who became Tsar after Alexander II and when did he rule?

A

Tsar Alexander III, 1881-1894

5
Q

Major policies of 1884?

A
  • Peasant land bank created

- Primary schools placed under church control

6
Q

Land captains-when were they introduced and what did they do?

A

1889

They enforced local law

7
Q

What was Russia’s population in 1881?

A

98 million

8
Q

Political structure of Russia in the 19th C?

A

Tsar-complete political power

Beneath him:
Council of ministers-appointed by tsar
Russian orthodox synod-tsar chose chairman of synod, parliament of state church
Provincial governors-appointed by tsar

9
Q

Who was the most powerful church in Russia under the rule of alexander II?

A

The Russian orthodox church

10
Q

What did Tsar liberator introduce in 1864?

A

Zemstva: the local government units in rural areas

11
Q

What did the Tsars government introduce in 1870?

A

Trial by jury

Elective government was extended to towns and cities

12
Q

When was Alexander II assassinated and by who?

A

13 march 1881 by the ‘People’s will’

13
Q

What was Alexander II’s nickname?

A

Tsar liberator

14
Q

When did Alexander III rule?

A

1881-1894

15
Q

When did major famine occur in Russia?

A

1891, 1892 and 1893

16
Q

When was the ‘people’s will’ group formed?

What kind of group were they?

A

1879

Nilhalists- they knew they wanted to remove the Tsar but didn’t know what their plan was afterwards

17
Q

Who became procurator of the holy synod in 1880?

A

Konstantin pobedonostsev

18
Q

What was the statue of state security?

A

It set up government-controlled courts to try and convict political opponents

19
Q

How was press freedom restricted under Alexander III?

A

1882-1889: 14 major newspapers banned for displaying liberal tendencies

Foreign books and newspapers severely restricted

20
Q

How was education controlled under Alexander III?

A

Uni fees raised to exclude all but the very wealthy

1884: Uni’s came under government control

Zemstva primary schools were put under church control- restrictions introduced so sons of peasants and workers couldn’t go to secondary school

21
Q

How was local political power controlled under Alexander III?

A

1890: land captains made part of local zemstva

Zemstva franchise restricted to allow only landed classes to be elected

Doctors and school teachers not allowed to stand

22
Q

Why did trial by jury cause problems for the Tsar’s government?

A

1878: radical extremist vera zasulich acquitted of shooting the st. petersburg chief of police in broad daylight

23
Q

How did Alexander III’s governemnt later end trial by jury?

A

1890: government exercised right to select juries

24
Q

What policy did Alexander III introduce to bring unity in his large, multi-racial empire?

A

Russification-insisting on the use of only the Russian language in official documents and in schools

25
Q

When was Russian made the official language of the Russian empire?

A

1885

26
Q

What were Pogroms?

A

Attacks on jewish property and jewish civilians

27
Q

Who was Alexander III’s first finance minister?

A

Nikolai Bunge

28
Q

What policies did finance minister bunge introduce in 1882?

A

Introduced laws to reduce peasant tax burden

Established peasant land bank-offered loan facilities to peasants

29
Q

When did Bunge resign?

Who replaced him?

A

Bunge resigned 1887

Replaced by ivan Vyshnegradsky

30
Q

What did Vyshnegradsky do for finacial reform under Alexander III?

A

Introduced financial incentives to peasants to migrate to eastern siberia

French and british loans supporting Russian economic development

31
Q

When did Nicholas II come into power?

A

October 1894, following the death of Alexander III

32
Q

What did Jewish radicals form in 1895?

A

The bund, a left-wing organisation

33
Q

What was the “great spurt” under Witte 1892-1903?

A

A series of economic reforms designed to boot rapid industrialisation

34
Q

Why did Witte introduce the “great spurt”?

A

Russia had a small business class-essential class to development of economy

Most peasants didn’t have complete freedom of movement-limited industrial workforce

Economy lacked sufficient funds for industrial development

35
Q

Under the Witte system, what changed/was introduced?

A

Economic development funded by the government
Much of the economic development was financed from abroad eg Belgium, France, Britain
Heavy taxes on peasants
Construction of Trans-Siberian railway
‘Witte’s gold standard’-roubles could be converted to gold on demand to increase investment

36
Q

Impacts of Witte’s ‘great spurt’?

A

Coal, iron and oil production rose
Industrial growth concentrated in Moscow, st Petersburg, Baku and Ukraine
By 1900, over half industrial workforce employed in factories
Population of st Petersburg doubled to 2 million by 1914
But:
Rapid growth=poor living and working conditions
-> development of social unrest and radical alternatives

37
Q

When was the social democrat party founded?

A

1898

38
Q

When was the social revolutionary party formed?

A

1901

39
Q

When did the social democrats split?

What did they split into?

A

1903

The bolsheviks and Mensheviks

40
Q

What did the social revolutionaries believe?

A

Russia’s future lay with ‘the people’-wanted to give peasants their own land

41
Q

What did the social democrats believe?

A

The teachings of Karl Marx (communism)

42
Q

Where was the 2nd party congress of the social democrats held?
Why?

A

London, 1903

They were forced to live abroad to avoid arrest from the okhrana

43
Q

What did the social democrats split over in 1903?

A

Whether or not they should limit their membership to dedicated revolutionaries

  • Lenin’s party wanted his
  • Future Menshevik faction wanted a broad membership
44
Q

In 1903 at the second party congress of the social democrats how did the voting go concerning membership?

A

Initially against 28-22 for

Then the Jewish bund formed and left so:

against 15:17 for

45
Q

What are the 4 stages towards communism?

A

Feudalism-boosts industrialisation
Capitalism-boosts industrial workers revolution
Socialism-equality and harmony develop under political guidance of industrial working class
Communism-end of all class conflict

46
Q

What groups formed in the development of Russian liberalism?

A

Zemstva- political organisations with elected officials

Union of liberation-1904 formed by Russian liberal exiles

Octobrists-believed 1905 October manifesto provided best settlement for constitutional development

Kadets-believed 1905 October manifesto was the beginning of political reform

47
Q

What was Bloody Sunday?

When was it?

A

Peaceful demonstrators were shot by tsarist troops outside the winter place
9th January 1905

48
Q

What was the Russo-Japanese war?
When was it?
What was the outcome for Russia?

A

A war between Russia and Japan over where Russia wanted to expand its empire
February 1904-September 1905
Disastrous defeat for Russian forces

49
Q

What was the greatest military defeat of the Russo-Japanese war?

A

The battle of Tsushima 27th may 1905

-lost 25 of 35 warships

50
Q

What were the short term clauses of the 1905 revolution?

A

Bloody Sunday-damaged Tsar’s popularity

Russo-Japanese war- humiliating defeat, made Tsar look weak

51
Q

What were the long term causes of the 1905 revolution?

A
Social and economic:
Extreme Poverty and rising population
Harvest failures and famines
Peasant Jacqueries (uprisings)
Poor city living and working conditions

Political:
Demand for political reform
Rise of extremist reformers eg SDs and SRs as well as moderate reformers eg Liberals

52
Q

How did strikes develop during the 1905 revolution?

A

Feb 1905-400,000 strikers after Bloody Sunday
End of 1905 2.7 million had been on strike
General strike 20 September to 30 October
-> Strikers set up soviets to organise strikes
October 1905-railway workers went on strike

53
Q

Where was the first major peasant uprising of he 1905 revolution?

A

Kursk province in February 1905

54
Q

What was the most famous mutiny of the 1905 revolution?

A

The Black Sea fleet in June 1905

-crew of the battleship Potemkin bombarded the Black Sea port of Odessa

55
Q

What was the St Petersburg soviet?

How many members did it have at its peak?

A

An assembly of workers, who organised strikes and ensured that striking workers got food
-At its height, they had over 400 members representing 96 factories

56
Q

When did the St Petersburg soviet come to an end?

A

3rd December 1905 when its leaders were arrested

57
Q

What happened during the armed uprising in Moscow on the 7th December 1905?
What did the end of this rising mark?

A

During the next 9 days, armed workers fought government troops and police
-> 18th December-a thousand were dead so revolutionaries including many bolsheviks surrendered
=end of the revolution

58
Q

When was the October manifesto issued?

A

30th October 1905

59
Q

What were the terms of the October manifesto?

A

An elected national parliament

Freedom of speech, religion and civil rights

60
Q

How did liberals react to the October manifesto?

A

Split into the:
Octobrists-accepted manifesto as ‘the final reform’
Kadets-saw manifesto as beginning of major reform

61
Q

Why did the revolution fail?

A

Loyalty of the armed forces-most forces stayed loyal, mutinies were limited

Revolutionary lack of unity-spontaneous outbreaks meant they could be put down individually

Revolutionaries had different views-liberals wanted to share power whilst SDs wanted Tsar removed completely

Splitting the opposition-October manifesto

62
Q

What were the consequences of the 1905 revolution?

A

October 1905

  • government attempted to reassertion authority with the Black Hundreds (a pro-gov counter-revolutionary terror group)
  • new political gov group formed=’Union of the Russian people’

1906

  • Fundamental law+article 87 gave Tsar the right to govern by decree (ignore parliament)
  • April=first Duma elections (although the Duma only lasted 73 days)
63
Q

What was the “great spurt” under Witte 1892-1903?

A

A series of economic reforms designed to boot rapid industrialisation

64
Q

Why did Witte introduce the “great spurt”?

A

Russia had a small business class-essential class to development of economy

Most peasants didn’t have complete freedom of movement-limited industrial workforce

Economy lacked sufficient funds for industrial development

65
Q

Under the Witte system, what changed/was introduced?

A

Economic development funded by the government
Much of the economic development was financed from abroad eg Belgium, France, Britain
Heavy taxes on peasants
Construction of Trans-Siberian railway
‘Witte’s gold standard’-

66
Q

Impacts of Witte’s ‘great spurt’?

A

Coal, iron and oil production rose
Industrial growth concentrated in Moscow, st Petersburg, Baku and Ukraine
By 1900, over half industrial workforce employed in factories
Population of st Petersburg doubled to 2 million by 1914
But:
Rapid growth=poor living and working conditions
-> development of social unrest and radical alternatives

67
Q

When was the social democrat party founded?

A

1898

68
Q

When was the social revolutionary party formed?

A

1901

69
Q

When did the social democrats split?

What did they split into?

A

1903

The bolsheviks and Mensheviks

70
Q

What did the social revolutionaries believe?

A

Russia’s future lay with ‘the people’-wanted to give peasants their own land

71
Q

What did the social democrats believe?

A

The teachings of Karl Marx (communism)

72
Q

Where was the 2nd party congress of the social democrats held?
Why?

A

London, 1903

They were forced to live abroad to avoid arrest from the okhrana

73
Q

What did the social democrats split over in 1903?

A

Whether or not they should limit their membership to dedicated revolutionaries

  • Lenin’s party wanted his
  • Future Menshevik faction wanted a broad membership
74
Q

In 1903 at the second party congress of the social democrats how did the voting go concerning membership?

A

Initially against 28-22 for

Then the Jewish bund formed and left so:

against 15:17 for

75
Q

What are the 4 stages towards communism?

A

Feudalism-boosts industrialisation
Capitalism-boosts industrial workers revolution
Socialism-equality and harmony develop under political guidance of industrial working class
Communism-end of all class conflict

76
Q

What groups formed in the development of Russian liberalism?

A

Zemstva- political organisations with elected officials

Union of liberation-1904 formed by Russian liberal exiles

Octobrists-believed 1905 October manifesto provided best settlement for constitutional development

Kadets-believed 1905 October manifesto was the beginning of political reform

77
Q

What was Bloody Sunday?

When was it?

A

Peaceful demonstrators were shot by tsarist troops outside the winter place
9th January 1905

78
Q

What was the Russo-Japanese war?
When was it?
What was the outcome for Russia?

A

A war between Russia and Japan over where Russia wanted to expand its empire
February 1904-September 1905
Disastrous defeat for Russian forces

79
Q

What was the greatest military defeat of the Russo-Japanese war?

A

The battle of Tsushima 27th may 1905

-lost 25 of 35 warships

80
Q

What were the short term clauses of the 1905 revolution?

A

Bloody Sunday-damaged Tsar’s popularity

Russo-Japanese war- humiliating defeat, made Tsar look weak

81
Q

What were the long term causes of the 1905 revolution?

A
Social and economic:
Extreme Poverty and rising population
Harvest failures and famines
Peasant Jacqueries (uprisings)
Poor city living and working conditions

Political:
Demand for political reform
Rise of extremist reformers eg SDs and SRs as well as moderate reformers eg Liberals