Summary of the events of Russia 1905-41, including important facts and statistics.
Excellent revision supplement - achieved a 9 at GCSE!
Notes made using the textbook OCR GCSE Modern World History by Ben Walsh.
Includes Depth Study 1 to 4, covering questions:
- Why did the Tsar's regime collapse...
Tsar Nicholas II crowned in 1894
Originally very popular - crowds flocked to St Peterburg to cheer (so many people that 1,200
people were crushed to death)
Married to Alexandra of Hesse
Regularly rejected requests for reform
Kind, loving family man but did not really understand the Russian people’s views
The Tsar’s empire
Russia was a vast empire rather than a single country (about 22,400,000 km2)
Only 40% of the citizens spoke Russian as their first language
Some national groups e.g. Poles and Finns hated Russian rule
Racial prejudice against Jews e.g. pogroms (vicious attacks sponsored by the government)
Huge variation in geography - tundra, coniferous etc
Peasants and the countryside
About 80% of Russia’s population were peasants who lived in communes
Kulaks - propserous peasants farmers
Dreadful living and working conditions
Famine and starvation were common
Life expectancy only about 40 years
Infertile lands
Land was in very short supply because the population was growing rapidly (increased by
50% between 1860 and 1897)
Strip farming methods still used - very backwards
Each family was allotted a strip of land
Mir (peasant councils_ organised subdivision of fields
No basic education
Very few literate Russias
However many peasants were very loyal to Tsar, partly because they were all religious and
the Orthodox Church reinforced the Tsar’s rule and support
The aristocracy
Vast estates, town and country houses, elegant lifestyles
Made up about 1.5% of society
Owned about 25% of the total land
Often acted as local officials for the Tsar’s government
Dominated the local assmeblies in countryside (zemstva)
Most were loyal to the Tsar and wanted to keep Russian society as it was
, New industries, cities and the working class
Tsars had been keen to see Rusia become an industrial power
Sergei Witte (senior minister) introduced policies that led to rapid industrial growth
Oil and coal production trebled
Iron production quadrupled
Some peasants left the land to work in these newly developing industries, however their
living conditions hardly improved
The greatest concentrations of these workers were in the capital St Peterburg and Moscow.
The population doubled between 1890 and 1914.
Overcrowding, terrible food, disease, alcoholism
Atrocious working conditions
Unlike every other European power, there were no government regulations on child laour,
hours, safety or education
Trade unions were illegal
Low pay
12 - 15 hour days
Unguarded machinery
Brutal discipline
The middle classes
Capitalists (a new class division) started to grow as a result of industrialisation
Landowners, industrialists, bankers, traders, businessmen
Increased the size of Russia’s middle class
Main concerns: management of economy, controlling their workforce
Clashes between workers and capitalists played an important role in Russia’s history up to
1917
The Tsar and his government
Autocratic (absolute power)
Divine right (given by God)
Russian Church supported him
’I… will uphold the principle of autocracy as firmly and as unflinchingly as my late
unforgettable father’ - Tsar Nicholass II’s coronation speech
Nicholas II tended to avoid making important decisions e.g. did not delegate day-to-day tasks
- major problem in such a large country. He personally answered letters from peasants
Managed his officials poorly
Felt threatened by able and talented ministes e.g. Count Witte (who was dismissed)
Refused to chair the Council of Ministers because he disliked confrontation)
Encouraged rivalry between ministers - caused chaos, as government departments refused to
cooperate with each other
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