Modern History
Call Kai
Learn
Practice Test
Spaced Repetition
Match
Flashcards
Knowt Play1/174
Earn XP
Description and Tags
The decline and fall of the Romanovs
Name | Mastery | Learn | Test | Matching | Spaced | Call with Kai | Chat |
|---|
No analytics yet
Send a link to your students to track their progress
175 Terms
Q: Who were the Romanovs?
A: The dynasty that ruled Russia from 1613–1917, for approximately 304 years.
Q: When did the Romanov dynasty begin?
A: 1613, when Michael Romanov became Tsar.
Q: When did the Romanov dynasty end?
A: 1917, when Nicholas II abdicated.
Q: What was the geographical extent of the Russian Empire in 1900?
A: It stretched across Europe and Asia, covering about ⅙ of the Earth's land surface and spanning 11 time zones.
Q: What was Kievan Rus?
A: An early Russian state established in the 9th century, associated with Viking settlers from Scandinavia.
Q: What happened to Kievan Rus in the 1230s?
A: It was overrun by Mongol invaders, who established the Golden Horde in southern Russia.
Q: Who ended the power of the Golden Horde?
A: Ivan III (Ivan the Great).
Q: What did Ivan III achieve?
A: He brought territories under Moscow's control and helped create what became known collectively as Russia.
Q: What did Peter the Great achieve territorially?
A: In 1721, Russia gained territories including modern Estonia and Latvia, giving Russia a naval presence on the Baltic Sea.
Q: What territories did Russia gain during the 18th–19th centuries?
A: Crimea, Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, parts of Poland, Central Asia, Caucasus territories and eventually areas extending into the Far East.
Q: How diverse was the Russian Empire?
A: About 50% of the population was Russian, while the other half included groups such as Poles, Finns and Ukrainians.
Q: What was Russification?
A: A policy designed to promote Russian language, culture and identity throughout the Empire, often suppressing non-Russian national identities.
Q: How did Russification affect minorities?
A: Non-Russian groups faced restrictions including Russian-language education, censorship of non-Russian publications and limitations on cultural expression.
Q: Why did geography encourage autocracy in Russia?
A: The Empire was enormous and geographically diverse, so rulers believed a strong, centralised authoritarian government was necessary to maintain control.
Q: What was the basic social hierarchy of Tsarist Russia?
A: Tsar → Nobility → Professionals/working class → Peasants.
Q: What was the major weakness of Russian agriculture?
A: It was inefficient and technologically backward, with primitive farming methods and low yields.
Q: What helped Russian industrialisation in the late 19th century?
A: Foreign investment, natural resources, the growing industrial workforce and government protectionism.
Q: What was the effect of the emancipation of the serfs on industrialisation?
A: It contributed to a flow of peasants into towns, providing a growing industrial labour force.
Q: What is a Tsar?
A: The absolute ruler/emperor of Russia.
Q: What is tsarism?
A: A system of one-person rule in which the Tsar possessed extensive, essentially unlimited political power.
Q: What is autocracy?
A: A system of government in which one ruler holds supreme power without constitutional limitations.
Q: What were the THREE principles underpinning Tsarist rule?
A:
Autocracy
Nationality
Orthodoxy
Q: What did Autocracy mean?
A: The Tsar believed he was appointed by God and therefore possessed supreme authority over Russia.
Q: What did Nationality mean?
A: The belief that Russian culture, values and identity should dominate throughout the Empire.
Q: What did Orthodoxy mean?
A: The Russian Orthodox Church supported the divine right of the Tsar and encouraged obedience to him.
Q: What were the four main pillars that implemented Tsarist power?
A:
Government
Bureaucracy
Police
Church
Q: What was the Imperial Council?
A: The Tsar's personal advisers who were directly answerable to him.
Q: What was the Cabinet of Ministers?
A: Government ministers responsible for specific departments.
Q: What was the Senate?
A: The body that transformed the Tsar's ideas into state laws.
Q: What was the Okhrana?
A: The Tsar's secret police, responsible for surveillance and suppressing opponents of tsarism.
Q: Who were the Cossacks?
A: A loyal military force used by the Tsar to maintain law and order and suppress unrest.
Q: What was proizvol?
A: The arbitrary nature of autocratic rule, where officials interpreted the Tsar's laws according to their own judgement.
Q: What were the major weaknesses of the Tsarist bureaucracy?
A: Inefficiency, privilege, corruption, bribery and arbitrary decision-making.
Q: Who was Peter the Great?
A: Tsar from 1682–1725 who attempted to Westernise Russia, strengthened central government and built St Petersburg as a "window to the West."
Q: Who was Catherine the Great?
A: Tsarina from 1762–1796 who encouraged Enlightenment ideas and helped develop the intelligentsia.
Q: Who were the Westernisers?
A: Russians who wanted Russia to adopt Western European ideas and practices.
Q: Who were the Slavophiles?
A: Russians who believed Russia should preserve and promote its traditional Russian culture and values.
Q: Who was Nicholas I?
A: Tsar from 1825–1855 who strongly supported autocracy, censorship and secret police.
Q: Who was Alexander II?
A: Tsar from 1855–1881, known as the Tsar-Liberator because he abolished serfdom in 1861.
Q: What was the Edict of Emancipation?
A: Alexander II's 1861 reform abolishing serfdom and freeing millions of peasants.
Q: What was a mir?
A: A village commune responsible for land and property redistribution among peasants.
Q: What were zemstvos?
A: Elected local councils dealing with areas such as education, healthcare, roads and agriculture.
Q: Why did Alexander II's reforms contribute to later opposition?
A: They raised expectations for political change, but the regime later restricted reform.
Q: Who assassinated Alexander II?
A: Members of the revolutionary group People's Will in 1881.
Q: What was the "Reaction"?
A: The period of conservative repression introduced after Alexander II's assassination under Alexander III.
Q: Who was Alexander III?
A: Tsar from 1881–1894 who strengthened autocracy, repressed revolutionary movements and opposed political reform.
Q: When did Nicholas II become Tsar?
A: 1894, at age 26.
Q: Who was Nicholas II's father?
A: Alexander III.
Q: Who was Nicholas II's wife?
A: Alexandra, a German princess and granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
Q: Who was Tsarevich Alexei?
A: Nicholas and Alexandra's son, whose haemophilia influenced the royal family's decisions and contributed to their reliance on Rasputin.
Q: What was Nicholas II's attitude towards autocracy?
A: He strongly believed in it and stated that he would follow his father's commitment to autocratic rule.
Q: What were Nicholas II's major weaknesses as ruler?
A: He was indecisive, politically inexperienced, isolated from ordinary Russians and unwilling to meaningfully reform the system.
Q: Why was Nicholas II poorly suited to autocratic rule?
A: Autocracy required a strong and decisive leader, but Nicholas was weak, indecisive and lacking political knowledge.
Q: What were the duties of the Tsar?
A:
Sole legislative authority
Commander of the armed forces
Head of state
Head of government
Supreme authority over Church affairs
Q: What was the fundamental problem with Russian society?
A: Society was based on privilege by birth rather than merit or usefulness.
Q: What was the ruling class?
A: The Tsar, royal family and government, making up about 0.5% of the population.
Q: Who were the gentry/nobility?
A: The privileged upper class, including hereditary landowners, wealthy merchants, church leaders and senior officials.
Q: What was the intelligentsia?
A: Educated intellectuals including writers, artists, thinkers and professionals, many of whom became critics of tsarism.
Q: What was the proletariat?
A: The industrial working class, particularly factory workers.
Q: What were the major problems facing peasants?
A:
Land shortages
Overcrowding
Primitive agriculture
Poverty
Poor-quality land
Redemption payments
Famine
Q: What were redemption payments?
A: Payments peasants had to make for the land they received following emancipation.
Q: Why did emancipation not solve the peasant problem?
A: Many peasants received small, poor-quality plots, remained indebted and continued to live in poverty.
Q: What were the major problems faced by industrial workers?
A: Low wages, long hours, unsafe conditions, insecure employment and overcrowded housing.
Q: Why did opposition to Tsarism develop?
A: Three major reasons:
Injustices of the Tsarist system
Dissatisfaction with reforms
Lack of peaceful alternatives for political protest
Q: What is socialism?
A: A broad political/economic ideology seeking to reduce exploitation and economic inequality.
Q: What is Marxism?
A: A theory of historical development and class struggle that influenced communism and Bolshevism.
Q: What is communism?
A: The Marxist ideal of a classless, moneyless and stateless society.
Q: What is Bolshevism?
A: A revolutionary form of Marxism associated with Lenin, advocating a disciplined revolutionary party and seizure of power.
Q: Who were the Populists/Narodniks?
A: A major revolutionary movement of the 1870s seeking a peasant-based socialist society without Russia first passing through capitalism.
Q: What was "Going to the People"?
A: Populist intellectuals travelling to the countryside to educate peasants and encourage revolutionary ideas.
Q: What was People's Will?
A: A radical revolutionary group that used violence and was responsible for the assassination of Alexander II in 1881.
Q: What was the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SRs)?
A: A major revolutionary group that promoted peasant-based socialism and was popular in rural areas.
Q: Who was Alexander Kerensky?
A: A member of the Socialist Revolutionary Party who later became leader of the Provisional Government in 1917.
Q: Who were the Nihilists?
A: Radicals who believed existing society needed to be destroyed before it could be rebuilt.
Q: Who were the Anarchists?
A: Revolutionaries who believed there should be no government, with society organised into small communities.
Q: What was the Social Democratic Party/RSDLP?
A: A Russian Marxist political organisation established in 1898, which later split into the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks.
Q: When did the RSDLP split?
A: 1903, at its Second Congress in London.
Q: Who led the Bolsheviks?
A: Vladimir Lenin.
Q: Who led the Mensheviks?
A: Julius Martov.
Q: What did the Bolsheviks want?
A: A small, disciplined, centralised party of professional revolutionaries that would lead an immediate revolution.
Q: What did the Mensheviks want?
A: A larger, more open socialist party and a more gradual path toward socialism.
Q: What was the major difference between Bolsheviks and Mensheviks?
Bolsheviks | Mensheviks |
|---|---|
Lenin | Martov |
Small disciplined party | Larger open party |
Immediate revolution | Gradual change |
Russia could bypass capitalism | Capitalism necessary first |
Seize political power | Cooperate with democratic/socialist groups |
Q: What were the THREE major concerns of Russian foreign policy?
A:
European balance of power
Imperial expansion
Obtaining a warm-water port
Q: What was the Eastern Question?
A: The European diplomatic problem surrounding the decline of the Ottoman Empire and competition over its territories, particularly the Near East/Balkans.
Q: What was Pan-Slavism?
A: The belief in a cultural, religious and racial brotherhood between Slavic peoples, which Russia used to justify involvement in the Balkans.
Q: Why did Russia want a warm-water port?
A: The Baltic Sea froze for parts of the year, restricting Russia's navy, so Russia wanted reliable access to warmer seas.
Q: What was the Crimean War?
A: 1853–56 conflict in which Russia fought the Ottoman Empire and was opposed by Britain and France.
Q: What did Russia's defeat in the Crimean War reveal?
A: Russia's military, technological and economic backwardness compared with Western powers.
Q: What was the Treaty of Paris (1856)?
A: The treaty ending the Crimean War and restricting Russian power in the Black Sea region.
Q: What was the Congress of Berlin (1878)?
A: A conference organised by Bismarck that revised the Treaty of San Stefano and limited Russian gains in the Balkans.
Q: What was the Triple Entente?
A: Russia + Britain + France.
Q: What was the Triple Alliance?
A: Germany + Austria-Hungary + Italy.
Q: When was the Russo-Japanese War?
A: 1904–1905.
Q: Why did Russia and Japan go to war?
A: Both wanted influence and territory in Manchuria and East Asia, producing growing rivalry.
Q: What was the immediate catalyst of the Russo-Japanese War?
A: Russia's refusal to withdraw its troops from northern China after the Boxer Rebellion, partly to protect its Trans-Siberian Railway.
Q: What happened at the Battle of Tsushima?
A: On 27 May 1905, the Russian Baltic Fleet was decisively defeated by Japan.
Q: Why was Russia's defeat significant?
A: It was a humiliating military disaster that damaged confidence in Nicholas II and helped spark the 1905 Revolution.
Q: What was Bloody Sunday?
A: The January 1905 massacre of peaceful protesters marching towards the Winter Palace to present a petition to the Tsar.
Q: Who organised the Bloody Sunday march?
A: Father Georgy Gapon, an Orthodox priest and leader of the Assembly of Russian Factory and Mill Workers.
Q: What did the protesters want?
A: They wanted to present a petition requesting political, social and economic reforms.