Russia 1914-24: Tsar Nicholas II

Created by: ebough
Created on: 08-04-14 15:42

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Russia 1914-24: Tsar Nicholas II
- Why was Russia so hard to govern?
  - Social Problems
    - only nobles had a say in how it was run
    - the class system led to an unfair and unequal governing
  - Type of Government
    - only Russians were appointed officials
    - The size of Russia led to poor links in government
  - Geographic + Ethnic Issues
    - Size of country
    - Nicholas II hated Jews
    - Extreme weather = harvest failures
- Opposition to the Tsar
  - Liberals
    - Freedom of speech and elections
      - NO chance of dictatorship
    - Anyone can reach power
      - (through manipulation)
  - The Kadets
    - Introduces equal rights and limits power of Tsar
    - Main support from middle-class which is a small group
  - Social Revolutionaries
    - wanted to return the land to who worked on it
      - strongly supported by peasants
    - They reinforced their opinions through violence
  - Mensheviks
    - They supported working class
    - They were willing to work with other groups
    - Wantedto cause turmoil in Russia
      - Revolution
  - Bolsheviks
    - They supported the working class and were very committed and dedicated
      - They didn't need to wait for the middle-class to revolt
    - A small party with weak leadership in foreign countries
- Revolution 1905
  - Short term causes
    - workers left hungry
    - war caused shortages of necessities
      - prices for many things rose
    - many working class left unemployed
      - factories were closed due to lack of materials
    - country left humiliated after defeats by Japanese
  - Long term causes
    - dissatisfied with government
    - living & working conditions for peasants and working class were awful
    - to fund industrialisation the government taxed peasants
    - Working class wages kept low
    - peasants left starving (poor harvests)
    - government forced their opinion through violence
  - Trigger
    - BLOODYSUNDAY
      - Father Gapon decided to organise a march to deliver a petition to the Tsar
        the petition was asking the tsar for help
      - Around 200,000 people marched towards the palace
      - they were met by troops, who began to shoot people down
  - Why did people join the revolution? (examples)
    - Middle class liberal
      - Politics
        an elected government, freedom of speech and a right to form political parties
    - Peasant woman
      - More equality
        Land given back, revenge on the land owners and more money
    - a Pole
      - Freedom
        independence and quality and freedom of speech
    - Engineering worker
      - things to improve
        8 hour day, better working conditions and higher wages
- Rasputin
  - Tsar & Tsarina
    - Rasputin became largely involved in the war
  - How was he viewed?
    - Many people have mixed views on Rasputin.
      - The majority despise this man and believe he is corrupting the authority in the country
  - HIM
    - He is said to have organised gatherings (orgies)
      - Theses attracted many high society women
    - He was also linked with seduction and affairs with nobles
    - Grigori Rasputin, born in Siberia on 22nd January 1869, is a famous Starets.
- The Tsar looses power
  - Effect of War 1914-17
    - On the soldiers
      - Blamed the inefficient and insensitive officers
      - Losses mounted rapidly
        over 1 million soldiers were killed, injured or taken prisoner by the end of 1914
      - saw friends, family and comrades brutally slaughtered
      - supplies were running short
        boots (clothing)
        
        weapons and ammunition
    - On the people at home
      - food shortages becoming an increasing problem
        the little food that there was couldn't reach the cities
        (railway was being used by the army)
      - Farms left unattended due to the male peasants joining the army
      - Unemployment and poverty began to rise rapidly
      - Industrial materials were short due to the closing of factories
      - Prices of goods began to rise
        wages barely altered
        
        people were cold and hungry
  - Personal control of army
    - Tsar decided to take over the running of the war
      - he went to the front himself
    - he was now named for Russian defeats
    - he left the Tsarina in charge of temporarily running the country
      - many people opposed this decision
        she was distrusted due to her German background
        
        her close link with Rasputin left her in a bad position with the Russian people
  - Loosing support
    - increasing bad new from war
      - people became impatient and desperate
    - reputation and support of the Tsar and Tsarina began to get worse
      - all classes began to loose support for them
    - the middle-class & higher classes despised the Royal family
      - connection to Rasputin
    - people blamed him for shortages and collapsing of the country
  - Revolution
    - By 1917 the situation was much worse
      - serious mood of discontent
    - the workers wanted political changes, food & food
    - 40,000 workers went on strike for higher wages
      - Women and others joined in
      - they also demanded food, fuel, better conditions and a new government
    - the Tsar used force to silence them
  - Army taking sides
    - were ordered to shoot strikers
      - they refused
    - they joined in the strike and some shot their officers
  - Abdication
    - 15th March 1917
    - railway workers refused to let his train into Petrograd
    - in favour of his brother Michael

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Russia 1914-24: Tsar Nicholas II

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