Key Events and Figures in Tsarist Russia and Revolution

Autocracy

The Tsar had absolute power.

Percentage of peasants before the revolution

Around 80%.

Role of the Okhrana

Secret police used to suppress dissent.

Economic condition of Russia pre-1905

Backward agrarian economy, industrialisation without reform.

Count Witte

Finance Minister who pushed industrialisation and railway expansion.

Nicholas II's stance on giving up power

"I am not prepared to be a Tsar who hands out constitutions."

Russo-Japanese War

1904-1905.

Outcome of the Russo-Japanese War

Humiliating defeat for Russia, loss of Port Arthur.

Bloody Sunday

Peaceful protesters shot by the Tsar's guards in 1905.

Father Gapon's statement after Bloody Sunday

"There is no Tsar."

Effect of Bloody Sunday on the monarchy

Destroyed the image of the Tsar as the 'Little Father.'

Purpose of the October Manifesto (1905)

To promise civil liberties and establish the Duma.

Number of Dumas

Four (1906-1917).

Ineffectiveness of the Dumas

The Tsar had veto power and dissolved them frequently.

Nicholas II's statement about the Duma

"I created the Duma, not to be directed by it, but to be advised."

When Russia entered WWI

August 1914.

Impact of WWI on Russia's economy

Caused inflation, food shortages, and transport collapse.

Tsar's decision in 1915

Took personal command of the army.

Result of the Tsar's leadership during WWI

Military defeats blamed directly on him.

Number of Russians died in WWI

Approximately 1.7 million.

Figes' statement about the Tsar's leadership

"The Tsar foolishly added to his own isolation."

When the February Revolution occurred

23-28 February 1917 (Julian calendar).

What sparked the February Revolution

Food shortages, military mutinies, and mass protests.

Role of the Petrograd garrison

Mutinied and joined protesters, tipping the balance.

When Nicholas II abdicated

2 March 1917.

Trotsky's statement about the Tsar's fall

"The country had so radically vomited up the monarchy."

Leader of the Provisional Government in mid-1917

Alexander Kerensky.

Alexander Kerensky

Dual Authority

Power shared between the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet.

Order No. 1

Gave soldiers authority to obey Soviet orders over the government.

Provisional Government support loss

Failed to exit WWI, redistribute land, or solve economic issues.

Fitzpatrick's view on Provisional Government

"Too weak to govern, but too strong to fall."

Lenin's return to Russia

3 April 1917.

April Theses

Lenin's radical demands: "Peace, Bread, Land" and "All power to the Soviets."

Marxist-Leninism

Ideology adapted by Lenin, featuring a vanguard party leading the revolution.

Lenin's stance in April Theses

"No support for the Provisional Government!"

July Days

Spontaneous uprising; Bolsheviks blamed and suppressed.

Result of July Days for Lenin

He fled to Finland; Bolsheviks were discredited temporarily.

Kornilov Affair

General Kornilov's failed coup attempt against the Provisional Government.

Benefit of Kornilov Affair for Bolsheviks

Kerensky armed them to defend Petrograd, increasing their influence.

October Revolution date

24-25 October 1917 (Julian calendar).

Bolsheviks' actions in October Revolution

Seized key locations and stormed the Winter Palace.

Trotsky's description of takeover

"Power was lying in the streets, and we picked it up."

Lenin's declaration after the revolution

"We shall now proceed to construct the socialist order."

Marxism

A theory that class struggle leads to proletarian revolution.

Revolutionary Populism

Belief that peasants, not workers, could lead revolution.

Nationalism's role in Russia

Non-Russian groups demanded autonomy from the empire.

Tsarina Alexandra

German-born wife of Nicholas II, deeply unpopular.

Rasputin's significance

Influenced royal family; seen as a symbol of corruption.

Pyotr Stolypin

Reformer PM who used repression ("Stolypin's necktie") and land reform.

Trotsky

Bolshevik leader, organised the Red Guard and October seizure of power.

Trotsky on the revolution

"If neither Lenin nor I had been present... the October Revolution would not have taken place."