tsarist regime (4/6/10)

What happened on Bloody Sunday 1905? [4]

• Father Gapon led a crowd of 50-100k people (including women and children) on a peaceful protest to the winter palace, demanding a max working day of 8 hours, minimum wage of 1 rouble, and freedom of speech and assembly

• However, as the approached they were shot at by mounted Cossacks and around 200 people were killed or injured.

• Tsar lost the respect of the people → ruined the public's perception of the Tsar as a caring father figure.

What changes did Stolypin make to Russian agriculture? [4]

Describe the agricultural reforms introduced by Stolypin. [4]

Describe revolutionary activity in Russia during 1905. [4]

Describe the impact of the First World War on the lives of the Russian people. [4]

What happened on the battleship Potemkin in 1905? [4]

What were the main features of Russian society before the First World War? [4]

• ruling: autocracy by divine right of kings by Tsar Nicholas the 2nd, and his governors

  • no elections

  • governors rule over 117 provinces semi-independently

• people: 80% are peasants, very poor and illiterate

  • backwards agriculture

  • nobility- 1% of population, owned 25% of land

• more peasants moving to cities to be urban workers → growth of a middle class

• 70% belonged to Orthodox church

Describe the reforms of Stolypin [4]

• set up a peasant land bank that loaned money so peasants could leave the mir and buy strips of land and set up farms

• abolished peasant's annual payments for freedom

• set up health insurance schemes for workers and introduced safety inspectors in factories

• 1906 set up field court marshals to crush peasant uprisings

• changed the Duma electoral system in 1907 so only the richest third of Russia could vote and removed voting rights of national minorities

• 'Stolypin's neckties', thousands of peasants hung, 60,000 political detainees executed or exiled, oppressed rebellion

Describe how Stolypin attempted to deal with Russia’s problems. [4]

Describe the impact of the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5) on the Russian people [4]

• blow to national pride - Russia humiliated on the international stage

  • defeat of Russian Baltic fleet at the Battle of Tsushima - it had sailed almost half way around the world, for over six months, only to be destroyed in under an hour.

  • had wanted a ‘short, swift victorious‘ war

  • 14 June 1905 - crew of Battleship Potemkin

    found they were being given raw meat to eat, killed several officers, seized control of the ship.

    Embarrassment for the government and v. concerning, showing cracks in the Tsars protection.

• lost faith in military/officials running the country - seen as incompetent because they couldn’t even defeat a country so small and apparently inferior, as Japan

  • justified the Tsarist opposition’s claims that the autocratic government was irresponsible, incompetent and reckless.

• Tsarist government ordered a 50% increase in military spending so conditions got worse, prices rose and shortages of food and fuel became more common, some industrial factories closed due to lack of materials

- Harsh conditions and low morale for Russian army and navy

Describe the main features of Tsarist rule at the beginning of the 20 century [4]

Absolute power

Ministers and governors

Okhrana

Army

• absolute power

  • no elections

  • could pass laws/remove ministers at will

• connection to Russian Orthodox church (symbiotic relationship)

  • supported his power

  • taught that it was a sin to oppose the will of the Tsar, and should call him ‘Little Father‘

• secret police

  • The Okhrana was responsible for preventing criticism of the Tsar and arrested any critics

  • imprisoned, killed or exiled opposition

  • Censorship for newspapers, books and in education

• 117 provinces ruled by governors

  • Ministers and governors taken from wealthy landowning aristocracy

What actions did Stolypin take to increase stability in Russia? [4]

Agricultural reforms:

- set up a land bank that loaned money so peasants could leave the commune and buy strips of land and set up farms

- abolished peasant's annual payments for freedom

- introduced Kulaks (wealthy peasants) who relied on government policy for their wealth

- financially incentivised peasants to move to Siberia

Industrial reforms:

- introduced health insurance schemes

- introduced safety inspectors in factories

Social reforms

- changed the Duma electoral system in 1907 so only the richest third of Russia could vote

- removed voting rights of national minorities

- introduced 'Russification' where national groups, such as Poles, were forced to speak Russian and accept Russian customs

- 1906 set up field court marshals to crush peasant uprisings

- 'Stolypin's neckties', thousands of peasants hung, 60,000 political detainees executed or exiled, oppressed rebellion

- Regulations, internal passports

- Okhrana (secret police) still very active

- Newspapers fined/ censored for anti-Tsarist articles despite freedom of press

Describe the structure of Russian society in the countryside in the early twentieth century. [4]

• 80% of the population were peasants

• wealthy landowners

  • peasants (emancipated as serfs in 1860, but essentially still in debt slavery as they had to pay for their freedom in yearly instalments)

• each family allocated a strip of land - the mir (were not allowed to leave without permission. Else; could be flogged/ imprisoned without trial.)

• agriculture was backward with little use of modern technology - subsistence farmers who mainly used traditional methods of farming because they had little to no education or opportunity to modernise.

  • frequent famines and starvation and crop failures

Describe what happened in Russia in March 1917. [4]

• as news of the introduction of bread rationing hit the streets towards the end of February 1917, scuffles over remaining bread stocks turned into riots.

• international women’s day march, men convinced to join, turned into an unplanned general strike as most of the major factories shut down and many shops and restaurants closed their doors

• over half of Petrograd’s workforce on strike in a few days

• 66,000 soldiers mutiny and join the protesters

• mutiny of the Petrograd garrison and army refused to fire on protesters

• Tsar’s train was stopped on his way to Petrograd by striking rail workers

• he abdicated in favour of his brother, who declined

Many workers were striking because of bad pay and extreme hunger and cold
March 8th was International Women's day, the women's march encouraged more striking leading to half the workforce being on strike
The Tsar ordered an end to the disturbances which causes troops to fire on crowds, killing 40
Soldiers mutiny, refusing to fire on crowds while the Duma set up a provisional government
The Tsar tries to return from the frontlines to Petrograd but abdicates on the train on the way in favour for his brother who refuses the throne and ends the Romanov dynasty

What was life like for Russian peasants by 1905? [4]

• frequent famine

• poorly paid

• terrible living conditions

• poor sanitation and lack of electricity/modern systems like plumbing

• poor communication and transport

SEE PREVIOUS

What was the policy of Russification? [4]

• Russian forced to be taught in school, forced to speak it and adopt Russian customs and habits

• Russia took over areas with cultural identities: Russian officials brought in to run regional governments (e.g. Latvia, Poland, Finland)

• sometimes (e.g. in Poland) was forbidden to teach children Polish

• Russian Orthodox Christianity was promoted - other religious buildings were closed

• For 6 people out of 10, Russian was a foreign language

• ethnic cleansing - famine in early 1930s killed over 40% of ethnic Kazaks, so that they became a minority in their own homeland

Explain why the Tsar was able to survive the 1905 Revolution [6]

MILITARY SUPPORT

• Mutiny on battleship Potemkin did not spread to the rest of the army

  • Treaty of Portsmouth with Japan September 1905 released troops who remained loyal to the Tsar as he promised them better pay and conditions.

  • Thus, able to put down unrest/ resistance in cities especially Moscow and St Petersburg and the countryside where thousands were put to death.

OCTOBER MANIFESTO - divided the opposition

Promised: a parliament of Duma elected by the people, civil rights (freedom of speech/ press) and the right to form political parties and trade unions

• liberals/some workers were happy

  • felt some change had been made

• and indeed was a significant change for a regime that hadn’t changed so much since its beginning in 1613

• because the revolution was not organised, there wasn't a common aim so everyone had different wants

Describe Russia’s economic problems at the beginning of the twentieth century. [4]

• peasants are 80% and contribute very little to economy

• war (R-J war)

What were the main features of the Duma system introduced after 1905? [4]

Describe the role of the Okhrana in maintaining Tsarist control. [4]

What were the main opposition groups to the Tsarist regime before 1917?

Describe the working conditions in Russian factories before the First World War. [4]

Describe how Russia's transport system developed under Witte. [4]

What reforms did Witte introduce to modernise the Russian economy? [4]

Describe the events of the Lena Goldfields massacre. [4]

Why was defeat in the war against Japan important for Russia in 1905?

POLITICAL

• Humiliating defeats highlighted Tsar's incompetence:

LAND: decisive defeat at Mukden in February 1905

SEA: Naval defeat at Tsushima strait in under an hour after having sailed for 18,000 miles May 1905

• Suggested Russia no longer a dominant nation (expected to defeat the Japanese easily)

• humiliated on international stage. sets the scene for more discontent

• justified the Tsarist opposition’s claims that the autocratic government was irresponsible, incompetent and reckless.

ECONOMIC

• 50% increase in military spending in a period of extreme poverty, pressure on workers and heightened discontent because of poverty

• economic slump - (post-war) mass unemployment, fuel crisis

• conditions got worse, prices rose and shortages of food and goods became more common, industrial factories closed due to lack of material

• Industrial strikes and protests against the government as blamed problems on them

  Led to 1905 revolution

Why was the October Manifesto introduced?

written by Sergei Witte

ISOLATE THE RADICALS

- October Manifesto 30th October 1905

- Promised a parliament of Duma elected by the people

- Isolated the radicals by accommodating the liberals who believed they had won a democratic government.

• by granting limited political reforms, they could split the revolutionary movement between those who accepted these concessions and those who demanded more radical change.

• and thereby weakening the opposition/preventing total revolution

STOP THE GENERAL STRIKE

• Russia is paralysed, need to get industry/economy going again before a complete collapse

• before the situation deteriorated beyond the government's control.

• avoid Potential bankruptcy of the state

Why did the Revolution of 1905 occur?

SHORT TERM CAUSES

- Economic problems

~ Rising taxes, low wages

~ Rapid industrialisation meant appalling working conditions

~ Industrial slump in 1902 caused thousands of workers to lose their jobs and a paralysed economy

~ Strikes and demonstrations between 1902-03

~ Led to resentment of the Tsar and his government

Defeat in Russo-Japanese war Feb 1904 - Sept 1905

~ Tsar thought a short, successful war would stop people criticising government, turned out to be difficult

~ Humiliating defeats: LAND - decisive defeat at Mukden SEA - defeat at Tsushima strait in under an hour after having sailed for 18,000 miles

~ Russia was no longer a dominant world power and its army and navy were not up to modern military standards

~ 50% increase in military spending so conditions got worse, prices rose and shortages of food and goods became more common

~ industrial factories closed due to lack of materials

~ January 1905 Port Arthur falls to the Japanese, humiliating

~ Tsar blamed for humiliating defeat by Japan (seen as inferior), lost support

TRIGGER Bloody Sunday

~ Massacre killed an estimated 200 peaceful marchers who wanted to present the Tsar with a petition asking for a minimum wage of one rouble a day and a minimum working day of 8 hours

Because of the Russo-Japanese war Russia was humiliated in the war with Japan as it was expected that it would be a swift victory but Japan destroyed its Pacific and Baltic fleets This caused discontent as the govt was revealed to be incompetent and weak Also as a result, prices increased because of the food shortage and unemployment increased

Bloody Sunday In January 1905, 200,000 workers marched to the Winter Palace to ask the Tsar for better working conditions, an end to the war and a parliament Soldiers fired on the crowd and killed 500 This increased support for revolutionaries as the Tsar was now seen in a bad light It also set off a wave of riots, strikes and murders which started the revolution

Why was Rasputin hated by many Russians? [6]

PERSONAL REPUTATION

• illiterate Siberian peasant monk with alleged magical powers

• Unpopular with royal family members who considered him a drunk and womanizer

• Unkempt appearance (long uncombed hair) not fitting for court, scruffy

• Rumours about inappropriate relationship with Tsarina Alexandra

• Pornographic cartoons and letters circulated implying an illicit relationship

POLITICAL INFLUENCE (bad)

• Gained exceptional influence over Tsarina while Tsar was at war front

• Influenced appointments to government positions:

  • Tsarina appointed incompetent ministers based on his recommendations

  • Created "ministerial leapfrog" (4 ministers in 3 years)

  • Competent officials were dismissed (e.g., War Minister Polivanov)

• Tsarina refused to cooperate with the Duma due to his influence

• Appointment of Sturmer (German name) as Prime Minister caused public outrage

• rumours that they were conniving together for Germany to destabilise mother Russia

Impact on Government

• Created chronic instability in central government

• Seen as proof of Tsar's weakness and inability to rule effectively

• Undermined public confidence in the monarchy

• Tsarina portrayed as "German spy" working with Rasputin to betray Russia

• Contributed to rapid loss of support for the Tsar by end of 1916

Why was Stolypin important in the years after the 1905 Revolution?

• keeping the tsar in power

• improvements to agriculture

AGRICULTURALLY

- set up a land bank that loaned money so peasants could leave the commune and buy strips of land and set up farms

- abolished peasant's annual payments for freedom

- introduced Kulaks (wealthy peasants) who relied on government policy for their wealth

- financially incentivised peasants to move to Siberia

SOCIALLY

- changed the Duma electoral system in 1907 so only the richest third of Russia could vote

- removed voting rights of national minorities

- introduced 'Russification' where national groups, such as Poles, were forced to speak Russian and accept Russian customs

- 1906 set up field court marshals to crush peasant uprisings

- 'Stolypin's neckties', thousands of peasants hung, 60,000 political detainees executed or exiled, oppressed rebellion

- Regulations, internal passports

- Okhrana (secret police) still very active

- Newspapers fined/ censored for anti-Tsarist articles despite freedom of press

- introduced health insurance schemes

Why were nationalist minorities (e.g. Poles, Finns) dissatisfied under Tsarist rule? [6]

Why did the Dumas fail to bring about real change in Russia? [6]

Why was Rasputin able to become a powerful figure in the Tsarist regime? [6]

Alexei's Hemophilia and the Tsarina's Dependency

• The Tsar's son and heir, Alexei, suffered from hemophilia, a potentially fatal blood condition

• When conventional doctors failed to stop Alexei's bleeding episodes, Rasputin apparently succeeded

• He began to visit the palace more often, and he told the Tsarina that he could help her son.

• The Tsarina believed Rasputin had God-given healing powers after he helped Alexei recover

• Alexandra was deeply religious and became increasingly dependent on Rasputin

• She viewed him as divinely sent, giving him unique access to the royal family

• This personal connection to the Tsarina gave Rasputin extraordinary influence at court

Political Opportunity During World War I

• When Nicholas II left to command troops during WWI, a power vacuum was created

• Alexandra effectively ruled in the Tsar's absence, influenced by Rasputin

• Rasputin gained control over government appointments and dismissals

• He influenced the "ministerial leapfrog" (4 ministers in 3 years), creating political instability

• The Tsar refused to listen to warnings about Rasputin from ministers and family members

• The war crisis weakened normal checks on power, allowing Rasputin's influence to grow unchecked

How far was the influence of Rasputin the reason why Tsarist rule ended in 1917? Explain your answer. [10]

no - tsar took control of army in August 1915

• all Russia’s terrible losses, e.g. Brusilov Offensive in 1916 (which Russia won but at so many losses - between 500,000 and 1,000,000)

• reflected directly back on the Tsar

• people become very angry, ready to start a revolution

• angry at casualties + angry at Tsar

no - long term social struggles, exacerbated by the war

• entered WW1 in July 1914, State debt increased so massively they were forced to abandon the gold standard to pay wages and buy machinery. Ruble = imflation

• Railways that were barely able to cope with freight traffic normally, were overwhelmed by the milotary’s transport needs - bottlenecks in moscow, signalling system collapsed, trains left abandoned due to engine failure - perfectly represent russian society atm

• The winter of 1916–17 was severe.  Food shortages got worse – there was a famine in the cities:

  • people queued for 24 hours outisde shops in Petrograd

• The war took 15 million men from the farms and trains had to be used for the war (so they could not bring food to the cities) so there were food shortages and food prices rose, all of which created anger and unrest in Petrograd.

yes - rasputin and rumours with the Tsarina

• explicit propaganda paint Rapsutin and Tsarina as having an affair, erodes trust in government

• R&T play ‘ministerial leapfrog‘, appointing and dismissing ministers regularly e.g. Four different Prime Minsters in just over a year, lack of stability in government

• Tsarina - german, already untrustworthy

• no sympahty for embarrassing Tsarist regime anymore

How far would you agree that the Tsar was firmly in control of Russia at the start of 1914? Explain your answer. [10]

yes - stolypin

• set up field court marshals in 1906 to crush peasant uprisings and for fast executions (within 24hrs of sentencing)

• prisons overflowed with political prisoners

• stolypin’s neckties, carriages

• nearly 60,000 political detainees were executed or sent into exile/forced labour in Stolypin carriages (15,000 executed, 45,000 deported)

• in some few regions, living standards among peasants rose leading up to 1914

• militancy more in cities, rather than countryside

yes - frundamental laws (duma)

• fundamental laws - issued 1906

  • Duma has little to no power

    • State Council with ½ members chosen by Tsar

    • only if both chambers agree to a proposal can it go forward

    • Tsar anyway has final say — power to pass laws without consulting Duma/to reject them

• when Second Duma (duma of national anger) would not do what Stolypin wanted, he drastically favoured the electoral system to favour the upper classes

• also allowed himself to pass emergency measure when the Duma wasn’t sitting

no - resistance

• so in theory Tsar has complete power

• but (as evidence by massive numbers of political detainees - there were large numbers of resistance fighters)

• Stolypin’s reforms had other consequences → resentful peasants became industrial urban workers - all together, rife for discontent to spread

• April 1912 Lena Goldfields massacre - workers were striking about long working days and poor conditions - over 200 people were killed by army, lead to further strike action

• By 1914 the Bolshevik paper, the Pravda, had reached a national circulation of 40,000 copies

• strikes grew between 1912 and 1914

conclusion

- in theory, yes (the tsar indirectly via stolypin and fundamental laws)

- not firmly in control, happened to be a few years of relative peace, doesn’t mean he was in control

tired people after revolution and oppressive measures

policies sowed further resentment

tenuous control

How far was the collapse of the army the most important reason why Tsarist rule ended in 1917? Explain your answer. [10]

How far was the First World War responsible for the collapse of Tsarist rule? Explain your answer. [10]

yes - tsar took control, directly his fault

yes - terrible conditions at home

• Economy - before the war - Germany is Russia's biggest exporting market, lose the biggest exporting partnership

• as Russia enters war they introduce prohivition - but the tax revenue from vodka accounts for up to a third of state income, so they reduce income at the time when they need it most/need to invest in mobilization for war

• resources are diverted to the front to feed the men/supply the soldiers - so food supplies at home/domestic front are scare - civil tensions rise

• abandoned gold standard 1914 - inflation

• The winter of 1916–17 was severe.  Food shortages got worse – there was a famine in the cities:

  • people queued for 24 hours outisde shops in Petrograd

yes - Russian army under pressure - didn’t protect the Tsar

• In 1916 (just a few months before the revolution), Russia was placed under huge pressure to perform in the war.

  • French had been hit hard by German invasion of Verdun, and British at Somme.

  • Receiving loans from the two countries, Russia had no choice but to step in and spend more money and men

  • Russia suffered massive losses at Brusilov Offensive (upwards of 500,000)

  • moral was desperately low - 1916, more than 1.5 million soldiers declared deserted or missing

• so garrison in Petrograd with young men about to be sent to the front lines refused to fire on crowds (allowing size of revolution to grow until unstoppable)

yes - literally forced to abdicate

• the senior officers that surround the tsar become concerned that mutiny in the capital could be transmitted to troops in the fighting army

• that the front lines would just disintegrate, that russia would be entirely defeated

• generals want to conserve dignity, military generals persuade tsar to abdicate

no - long-term lack of change, existing problems exacerbated by the war

conclusion

• Tsar places himself at forefront of blame for failings of the war

• yes

The Tsar was forced to abdicate in March 1917 because he lost the support of the army. How far do you agree? Explain your answer. [10]

yes - ministers

yes - troops in petrograd refused to shoot

no - rasputin because he left to the front

How well did the Tsarist regime govern Russia between 1906 and 1914? Explain your answer. [10]

‘The reaction of the Tsarist regime to the 1905 Revolution was repression.’ How far do you agree with this statement? Explain your answer. [10]

yes - stolypin’s neckties, carriages

no - make change (or pretend to)