Russia - Thematic, Wars and Revolutions

A-Level OCR History 'Russia and it's Rulers' Topic

When was the Crimean War? (cw)

1853 - 1856.

Which ruler was in charge during the Crimean War? (cw)

Alexander II

How many Russians died in the Crimean War in comparison to the opposition? (cw)

450,000 Russians died, in comparison to a combined total of 120,000.

In the Charge of the Light Brigade, how many more men did Russia have? (cw)

Six times more men than their opposition - and still lost.

What did the Crimean War reveal? (cw)

That russia was backwards and under developed.

When was the Treaty of Paris signed? (cw)

1856.

What did the Treaty of Paris do? (cw)

Russia lost Wallachia and Moldana, Russia to renounce their claim to protect orthodox Christians and had to demilitarize the black sea.

What did the Crimean war mean for Russia? (cw)

It showed just how weak and backwards Russia was, and how bad the system was compared to other countries in Europe and Asia.

When was the Russo-Turkish War? (rtw)

1877 - 1878.

Which ruler was in charge during the Russo-Turkish War? (rtw)

Alexander II.

How many Turks did the Ottomans murder? (rtw)

30,000 - 100,000.

Why did Russia join the Russo-Turkish War? (rtw)

They saw itself as the defender of these Slavic people - Russia joined the war in 1877.

Who was the army general on the danube front? (rtw)

Alexander III.

Who won the Russo-Turkish war? (rtw)

Russia won.

What treaty did Russia sign, when did they sign, and what did they gain from it? (rtw)

The Treaty of San Stefano, in 1878, and they received land and war payments from turkey.

What did the Russo-Turkish War mean for Russia?

Not much, although the Russians were happy and patriotic, and Russia received land and money from this.

When was the Russo-Japanese War? (rjw)

1904 - 1905.

Why did the Russo-Japanese War start? (rjw)

Russia wanted a warm water port, and wanted an easy war to win to gain support for NII. (Which they thought they could do since Japan was small - obviously, they were wrong).

Where did Japan launch a surprise attack, shocking Russia? (rjw)

Port Arthur, which Japan drove Russia out of in March and lay siege on it, and Port Arthur surrendered.

How many Russian soldiers died in the Battle of Mukden? (rjw)

90,000 of 350,000.

Who won the Russo-Japanese War? (rjw)

Japan.

What did this defeat mean for Russia? (rjw)

This defeat sparked the 1905 Revolution.

What did the Russo-Japanese war mean for Russia? (rjw)

The Russo-Japanese War brought the 1905 revolution and a vessel for the hatred of NII to be brought to life.

When was the 1905 revolution? (1905rev)

Jan - Oct 1905.

How many people marched peacefully? (1905rev)

500,000, led by a priest, asking for mild reforms. They were so respectful they sang religious hymns and help photos of the Tsar.

How many people then died in the Bloody Sunday? (1905rev)

around 200 died.

What did Bloody Sunday cause? (1905rev)

St. Petersberg was paralyzed by a strike, illegal trade unions were set up, sailors mutinied.

What did NII do to appease the people? (1905rev)

He published the October manifesto, which announced the state duma, giving the people some form of democracy (even though this doesn't really happen all that well) and halved redemption payments.

What ended the 1905 revolution? (1905rev)

In December, the St. Petersberg soviets were arrested, crushed and 5,000 were killed.

What did the 1905 revolution mean for Russia? (1905rev)

The 1905 revolution sparked the beginning of a long issue of opposing NII, which would eventually lead to the fall of the Romanov dynasty.

When was WW1? (WW1)

1914 - 1918.

Which ruler was in charge during WW1? (WW1)

Nicholas II, then Provisional Government, then Lenin.

Why did Russia join WW1? (WW1)

To support Serbia.

Who controlled the army? (WW1)

Nicholas II did, which undermined him and created an even bigger path for hatred of him as he was now responsible for any war failures also.

Was Russia well preparared for this war? (WW1)

No, men were sent to war without rifles.

How many Russians died in WW1? (WW1)

1.5 million.

How was the Russian economy during the War? (WW1)

The war was costing 5x the regular yearly costs, inflation hit 400% and alcohol sale was banned, which was 30% of govt. revenue.

What was the Naroch Offensive? (WW1)

In March 1916, this offensive failed and killed 100,000 men.

What did WW1 mean for Russia? (WW1)

WW1, while at the beginning people were patriotic and optimistic, then brought the morale down, causing famine and a lack of resources as all resources were going to the war.

When was the February Revolution? (febrev)

February 1917.

Why did the February Revolution happen? (febrev)

As in ww1, 1.7 million men die, morale had collapsed, and inflation was at 400%

How did the February Revolution start? (febrev)

On the 23rd of February, people broke into shops desperate for food, and protests begun. the army couldn't respond because any shots fired just caused riots within the crowd.

How did this Revolution lead to the fall of NII? (febrev)

The army mutinied so NII had no protection, 60,000 soldiers mutinied, and with no troops or support, NII had to abdicate.

How did this lead to the end of the Romanov dynasty? (febrev)

NII's brother did not want to take the throne unless the people asked him to, and his son was too young and ill to rule.

What did the February Revolution mean for Russia? (febrev)

This was the end of autocracy in Russia, and for the first time a revolution in Russia had been successful.

When was the October Revolution? (octrev)

October 1917 (last stupid question).

Why did the October Revolution occur? (octrev)

The people weren't happy with the PG, they hadn't ended the war and further tried to push the summer offensive and failed miserably, and the soviets/workers became outraged, and turned to the bolsheviks for help.

How did the October Revolution happen? (octrev)

The red guard seized printing houses and therefore communication. Kerensky in the PG had previously needed help from the Bolsheviks so released them from prison and armed them, a choice that now doomed the PG, and the Bolsheviks, with the support of the army and workers stormed the winter palace with little to no resistance.

What happened to the PG? (octrev)

Any remaining PG members were imprisoned by the Bolsheviks.

What did the October revolution mean for Russia? (octrev)

Russia was now under 'communist' rule, which is a drastic difference from the (almost) full autocracy they had been under just 9 months prior.

When was the Russian civil war? (civwar)

1917 - 1922.

Why did the Civil War start? (civwar)

The civil war started due to rising opposition to the Bolshevik rule that had recently took over - there was an attempted assassination on Lenin, when he then started the red terror and beginning of the red army.

How many people were in Lenin's Red Army? (civwar)

5 million soldiers, whereas the white army only had 500,000. the red army was well managed and disciplined by trotsky.

What opposition did this war present? (civwar)

Kerensky marched on Petrograd trying to seize power, the Cossacks seized the Kremlin in Moscow.

Who won this war? (civwar)

The Red Army won due to propaganda, red terror, size of army and war skills.

How many Ukrainians died? (civwar)

5 million in ukraine died of starvation and famine, some resorted to cannabalism.

How did Lenin control the war effort? (civwar)

Lenin introduced war communism, and hung 100 kulaks who didn't adhere to it.

Who won the war? (civwar)

Lenin/Bolsheviks/Red Army.

What did the civil war mean for Russia? (civwar)

This war consolidated Lenin and the Bolsheviks power. by the end, communists had a hold on the whole country.

When was WWII? (WWII)

1939-1945.

Why was Russia unprepared for the war in the beginning? (WWII)

The Red Army and the air force was unprepared and undermanned after Stalin’s purges.

How was industry affected or influenced by the war? (WWII)

3500 new factories, all industry in the south was evacuated.

What were the turning points in the war for Russia? (WWII)

* The Battle of Stalingrad, ended with German surrender after 2 months of civilians being trapped.
* The Battle of Kursk, the largest set piece battle in historu, Russia had 4x as many tanks as Germany.
* Operation Bagration: in 63 days, the German army was pushed out of the USSR.