tsardom and communism: 1894-1945

when was tsar nicholas II crowned?

1894

where did crowds flock to see the tsar being crowned?

St Petersburg

police report on the coronation

1200 people were crushed to death

what were the crowd calling nicholas during his coronation?

the “little father of Russia”

how many palaces and servants did Nicholas have?

8 palaces, 15,000 servants

hoow much of the Russian empire spoke Russian as a first language?

40%

subjects loyal to the Tsar

Cossacks

Subjects that hated Russian rule

Finns and Poles

vicious attacks on Jews, sponsored by the government

pogroms

senior minister who introduced policies that led to rapid industrial growth

Sergei Witte

rapid industrial growth 1894

oil and coal production trebled, iron production quadrupled

living conditions in the cities

overcrowding, terrible food, disease, alcoholism

laws on working conditions

only EU power to have no regulations on child labour, hours, safety or education. Trade Unions were illegal

working conditions in cities

low pay, 12-15 hour work days, unguarded machinery, brutal discipline

new class emerging in Russia + examples

capitalists- landowners, industrialists, bankers, traders and business men

previous middle class

shopkeepers, lawyers, uni lecturers

capitalists’ main concerns

• management of the economy

• controlling the workforce

percentage of population that were peasants

80%

where peasants lived

communes

rich peasants

kulaks

life expectancy of a farmer

40

peasant councils and their role

the mir- organised the subdivision of fields

education for peasants

no basic education, very few peasants could read or write

why were most peasants loyal to the tsar?

religious reasons

opposition group that some peasants supported

socialist revolutionaries

peasants main discontent

land: resented the amount of land owned by the aristocracy, the Church, and the Tsar

percentage of population that formed the aristocracy

1.5%

percentage of land the aristocracy owned

25%

local assemblies in the country side

zemstva

were aristocrats loyal to the Tsar?

most were loyal to the Tsar and wanted to keep Russian society as it was

greatest fear of the aristocracy

the peasants would rise up and take their land

name of society Russia was in 1894

autocracy

Nicholas’ faults

• insisted on getting involved in the tiniest details of the government

• poor management of officials

ways the Tsar got involved in small decisions

• personally answered letters from peasants

• appointed provincial midwives

• wrote out instructions for the royal car to be brought around

council of ministers

• refused to chair it and instead insisted on one to one meetings with ministers which encouraged rivalry between them

who did the Tsar appoint as ministers?

appointed family members+ friends from the court to important positions- many of them were incompetent or even corrupt, making huge fortunes from bribes

who could the mir be overruled by?

land captains

who were land captains?

usually minor landlords appointed by the Tsar

who was the zemstva dominated by?

landlords in the countryside and professional people in the towns

what did special emergency laws allow local governers to do?

• order police to arrest suspected opponents of the regime

• ban individuals from serving in the zemstva, courts, etc

• make suspects pay heavy fines

• introduce censorship of books, leaflets or newpapers

special force of police whos job was to concentrate on political opponents of the regime

10,000

the Tsar’s secret police

okhrana

when did Japan make a surprise attack on the Russian naval base?

8th February 1904

why did the Russo-Japanese war happen?

the chinese empire was falling apart and both Russia and Japan wanted parts of it

who won the Russo-Japanese war and when?

Japan- February 1905

what was the treaty the USA organised for the Russo-Japanese war?

the treaty of Portsmouth

what land did Russia lose in the Russo-Japanese war?

Port Arthur and much of Manchuria

effects of the Russo-Japanese war?

• poor living conditions of peasants+workers became worse

• food was short, wages low and prices rising

• fall of Port Arthur led to more strikes and unrest

• many groups wanted to get rid of the Tsar

when was bloody Sunday?

Sunday 22nd January 1905

where did bloody Sunday take place?

the Tsar’s winter palace, in St Petersburg

who led Bloody Sunday

Father Georgie Gapon

why was there a strike on bloody Sunday?

strikers came to hand in a petition asking for changes, eg better working conditions

one of the causes of bloody Sunday

the 1904-5 war straining Russia’s resources

what happened on Bloody Sunday?

troops panicked and opened fire, at least 100 died and several hundred injured

consequences of bloody Sunday

• a wave of strikes and protests in many cities, and peasant rebellions in the countryside

• June 1905: crew of battleship ‘Potemkin’ mutinied in support

• the October Manifesto

how many strikers were there at bloody Sunday?

200,000

what 3 things did the October Manifesto promise?

• the elected parliament (Duma)

• civil rights, eg freedom of speech and conscience

• uncensored newspapers and the right to form political parties

what could the military courts Stoplyn set up do?

could sentence and hang a person on the spot- thousands were executed in this way

were the Okhrana still active after the October Manifesto

yes, they had thousands of informers

travelling after the October Manifesto

everyone had to carry internal passports and travellers had to register with the police outside their home districts

was freedom of press given after the October Manifesto

no, even thought they were promised, newspapers were often fined for writing articles and they frequently appeared with white spaces where material had been censored

when did the first post manifesto duma meet?

April 1906

what could the Duma do when they first met?

it could not pass laws, could not appoint ministers, and could not control finance in important areas such as defence

how did elections into the Duma favour nobles?

one representative for every 2,000 nobles, bot only one for every 90,000 workers

thrid duma dates

1907-1912

forth duma dates

1912-1914 (war interrupted it)

what did Stoplyn allow the peasants to do?

peasants were allowed to buy up strips of land

why did Stoplyn allow peasants to buy strips of land?

he thought peasants would want to improve their own land and use modern methods to produce food+ hoped peasants would become wealthier and more loyal to the Tsar

what percentage of peasants took up Stoplyn’s offer and did his offer work?

15%, production of grain did increase with a record harvest in 1915

what interrupted Stoplyn’s reforms in the country side?

the first world war

what was a negative consequence of Stoplyn’s reforms in the countryside? (allowing peasants to buy land)

many peasants were forced to sell their land and become labourers, without even a small patch of land to support their families

how many peasants were encouraged to settle on new lands along the Trans-Siberian Railway

4 million

what did peasants find when they reached the Trans-Siberian railway? what did they do?

the best land had already been taken up by speculators. over half returned, angry they had been misled and with nothing to go back to

how much did total industrial production increase by under Stoplyn’s reforms?

100%

Under Stoplyn’s reforms, Russia became the world’s 4th largest producer of what?

coal, pig iron, and steel

By 1914, what fraction of factory workers were in factories with over 1,000 workers? what did that mean?

2/5, factories were more efficient but it made it easier to organise strikes

workers strike in 1912

workers in the Lena goldfields

why did workers in the lena goldfields strike?

working conditions, low pay, and a 14 hour work day

how many workers were killed in the Lena goldfield strike?

170

when did the Tsar appoint Peter Stoplyn?

1906

what approach did Stoplyn use?

the carrot and stick approach

how many people were exiled and hung under Stoplyn’s ‘stick’

over 20,000 exiled, over 100 hanged

what percentage of land was still run by inefficient communes in 1916?

90%

when was Stoplyn assassinated?

1911

why was the Tsar about to sack Stoplyn?

he worried Stoplyn was trying to change Russia too much

what plans did Stoplyn put forward that were blocked?

plans for basic education for the people, and regulations for factory workers

who was Stoplyn assassinated by?

conservative monarchists

when was the 300th anniversary of the Romanov’s rule? what were celebrations like?

1913, celebrations were meant to bring the country together but enthusiasm was limited

when did Russia enter the First World War

August 1914

what was the effect of Russia joining the First world war initially?

initially tensions in the country seemed to disappear: the Tsar seemed genuinely popular with his people and there was an instant display of patriotism

what was the effect of joining the First World War on strikes?

Anti'-government strikes and demonstrations were abandoned

who did the peasant soldiers feel they were fighting for?

peasants felt they were fighting to defend their country against the Germans rather than showing any loyalty to the Tsar

where did the Russians face major military defeats early on in the First World War?

Tannenburg and the Masurian Lakes

what was the army in the First World War short of?

rifles, ammunition, artillery, shells, and even boots

when did the Tsar take command of the armed forces?

September 1915

what did it mean for the Tsar when he took control of the army?

people held him personally responsible for the defeats and blunders

how many Russian casualties were there in the First World War?

9.15 million

local governor report in August 1916

the local governor of the village of Grushevka reported the war had killed 13% of their population which left many widows and orphans needing state war pensions they didn’t always receive

how many extra industrial jobs did the war create between 1914 and 1916

3.5 million

negative consequences of the First World war for workers

• worse overcrowding

• fuel and food shortages