Russian Revolution Summary Flashcards
(22 cards)
Who was Nicholas II and what were his weaknesses?
Last Tsar of Russia (1894–1917); weak, indecisive, resistant to reform, reliant on autocracy.
What caused the 1905 Revolution?
Russo-Japanese War defeat, Bloody Sunday massacre, poor working conditions, lack of political reform.
What was the October Manifesto?
Promised civil liberties and the Duma; seen as a concession to end 1905 unrest.
How did Nicholas II retain power post-1905?
Fundamental Laws (1906) reaffirmed autocracy; manipulated Duma; relied on army and Okhrana.
Who was Stolypin and what did he do?
Prime Minister (1906–1911); implemented land reforms and harsh repression.
What were Stolypin’s reforms?
Encouraged peasant land ownership and migration to Siberia; aimed for rural stability.
How did repression continue?
Use of military courts, censorship, and Okhrana to crush opposition.
What limited reform progress by 1914?
Resistance from conservatives, slow peasant change, ongoing unrest.
How did WWI affect Russia?
Military defeats, economic collapse, food shortages, and inflation.
Why did the Tsar abdicate in 1917?
Mass strikes, army mutiny, loss of authority; February Revolution forced abdication.
What was the Provisional Government?
Temporary gov. after Tsar; failed to exit WWI or address land reform.
What were the April Theses?
Lenin’s radical program: end war, land to peasants, power to Soviets.
What was the Kornilov Affair?
Attempted military coup; PG armed Bolsheviks who gained credibility.
What happened in the October Revolution?
Bolsheviks seized power in Petrograd with little resistance, ending PG rule.
Who fought in the Civil War?
Reds (Bolsheviks) vs. Whites (opponents); also involved Greens and foreign powers.
Why did the Reds win the Civil War?
Unity, leadership (Trotsky), control of major cities and railways.
What was War Communism?
State control of economy, grain requisitioning, suppression of dissent.
What was the Red Terror?
Cheka-led campaign of arrests, torture, and executions to crush opposition.
What was the NEP?
New Economic Policy (1921); partial return to capitalism to revive economy post-war.
How did Bolsheviks maintain power by 1924?
Suppression of rivals, propaganda, control over state and economy.
What specifically caused 1905 Revolution in regard to peasant life and working life
- Peasants made up 80% of the population so there was widespread impoverishment of hard work, large debt and high taxes
- Nicholas II replaced zemstvos with Land Captains who managed the work of the peasants
- Peasants lost the right to elect local zemstvos and Land Captains influenced zemstvo choice to stay rigid to Tsarist direction.
- Russia’s workers made up 4% of the population and were paid more than the peasants but were treated worse (17 hour days at worse, prone to diseases like typhus in the factories)
- Subjeccted to violence and verbal abuse
