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Summary Nicholas II - Russia and its Rulers OCR A-Level History
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Revision notes on Nicholas II for the Russia and its Rulers OCR A-Level History course - achieved A*
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What was the impact of the Russo-Japanese War?- 19/10/21Nicholas II:
Born 1868 (stricter part of Alexander II’s rule) - became coronated May 1896
Went on his ‘eastward journey’ in 1890-91 to gain an understanding of the
world and his empire. He visited the Taj Mahal in India. Got a dragon tattoo in
Japan. Also received a 9cm scar on his forehead after a Japanese policeman
attack him with a sword
In 1891 he presided over the inauguration ceremony for the Trans-Siberian
railway at Vladivostok
Visited the UK in 1893 and witnessed a debate in the House of Commons
Married his wife Alexandra a few weeks after his father Alexander III died in
1894. He was a devoted husband
On the eve of his coronation in 1896 Nicholas criticised the Tver Address
(demand from the zemstva leaders for a national parliament) as a ‘senseless
dream’ declaring that ‘i want everybody to know that i will devote all my
strength to maintain the principle of absolute autocracy, as firmly and as
strongly as did my late lamented father’
Appeared uncaring when he attended his coronation ball hours after the
‘Khodynka Tragedy’ - a rumour passed through the celebrating crowd that the
caterers were running out of alcohol, the stampede that was caused killed 12
people. Nicholas didn’t go to show empathy he went to the ball of his
coronation
Nominated for a the Nobel Peace Prize after initiating the 1899 Hague
Convention on the conduct of war - sets out an agreement on certain methods
of warfare that were not deemed acceptable e.g. targeting civilians and that
you can’t bomb anyone from a balloon
Unlike his father, Nicholas obsessed over the details of government
administration e.g. he held interviews for his chauffeur rather than leaving the
decision to his officials. He couldn’t identify what was important
How does the Figes extract contrast with the Russian cartoon?
Cartoon shows the Russian navy is bigger and stronger than the Japanese
one
Figes extract - Russian military poorly equipped with modern weaponry,
logistical problems in running a war from 6,000 miles away
Incompetence of the High Command which stuck rigidly to the military
doctorned of the 18th century and wasted thousands of lives by ordering
hopeless bayonet charges against well-entrenched artillery positions
Admiral Alexeev (Commander in Chief) - knew almost nothing of the
command of war, afraid of horses so inspected cavalry on foot. His promotion
of the Grand Duke Alexis who he rescued from the French police after the
Grand Duke had been involved in a drunken brawl in the Marseille brothel. He
offered himself up for arrest claiming that their names had been confused.
Thought they had arrived off the coast of Japan and were hitting Japanese
torpedo boats but they were hitting English fishing trawlers in the North Sea
Tsar sent troops icons to boost morale, which they then used to shoot at the
Japanese who were attacking them with machine guns
,Russo-Japanese War
Causes of the War:
1894 Japan fought a limited war against China which they won and were
‘rewarded’ by obtaining land around Port Arthur together with war indemnity.
Russia, and other great powers, were worried that Japan might expand further
to threaten their own economic interest in the east
Using diplomacy, the Great Powers were able to persuade Japan to return
Port Arthur to the Chinese - but situation was complicated by the facts that
Russia gave money to China to pay off its war debts and that China was
compliant in allowing Russia to construct the Chinese Eastern Railway across
Manchuria (therefore expanding Russian influence on the area)
Russia was able to negotiate a 25 year lease of Port Arthur from China and
turned it into a naval base, which was joined to the railway via a branch link.
Japan obviously felt threatened by all this influence of the Great Powers
increasingly started to impinge on Japan’s own sphere of interest - in
particular Port Arthur was strategically placed and gave the Russians great
scope for controlling the sea between China and Japan
Chinese grew angry at the incursions of the Great Powers into their territory
and unrest led to Boxer Rebellion (7 week siege of foreign embassies in
Peking) - as Russian started to support western europeans during this time
and with the help of the navy based at Port Arthur a mini-war between Russia
and China broke out (who were easily defeated) but then Japanese
intervened and Russia backed down from insisting on too severe a peace
treaty, infact they agreed to withdraw forced from Manchuria in 1903
Russia and Japan continued to reveal an interest in occupying and controlling
Korea - could have been that Japan willing to work a trade-off that would have
allowed Russia to stay in Manchuria whilst Japan took over Korea, but not
clear exactly what Russian gov wanted
Some ministers seemed to be pushing for an outright war with Japan to settle
disagreements once and for all, others worried about to costs and lack of
preparedness - ‘ A little victorious war to stem the revolution’ - Vyacheslav
Plehve Interior minister (wanted to create a distraction), Foreign minister and
war minister were unsure and Witte was unsure
Japanese attempts at diplomacy over the Korean issue were rebuffed by the
St Petersburg administration
Partly as a result in 1902 Japan formulated an alliance with Britain, French
are an ally so unlikely to side with Russia in war between Britain and Russia
were to break out
Short term - Russia rengaded on its promise to withdraw troops from
manchuria which angered the Japanese,
Feb 1903 Japan retaliated by launching a night attack on the pacific squadron
at Port Arthur, resulting in damage of 3 Russian ships and negative effect on
russian morale.
Japan then set up a blockade and blocked Port Arthur
Preparation were made by both parties for a major sea battle
Overall - Competition between Chinese, Japanese and Russia for Port Arthur
, Events:
Battle of Yalu - Japanese confront Russia in Southern Manchuria 3:1 to Japan
and Russia were beaten, big shock to the tsar and other Great Powers
Siege of Port Arthur continued - isolating about 60,000 Russian troops, in
December 1905 the port eventually surrendered
May 1905 - Rozhestvensky’s Baltic Squadron - on its way to relieve Port
Arthur, came up against Admiral Togo’s fleet at Tsushima Straits - another
defeat for Russia and emphasised the technological superiority of the
Japanese navy
1905 - final straw for Russia came with the humiliating defeat at Mukden -
prompted peace talks and the signing of a Treaty of Portsmouth August 1905
(Russia was forced to withdraw from Port Arthur, south Sakhalin and South
Manchuria and Russian leaders had to acknowledge Japanese sovereignty in
Korea)
Consequences of the war:
Similarly to Crimean war led to doubt expressed about the ability of the tsar to
maintain Russia’s world status and concerns about the effectiveness of
autocracy in general
Conflict was followed by significant reform (much like after Crimea) - the
Russo-Japanese seemed to spark for more social unrest in the Russian
homeland
Revealed military leaders lacked knowledge, understanding and skill in
dealing with an enemy that on paper was vastly inferior
Russian public associated military incompetence with the tsar himself which
fuelled discontent at home rather than get rid of it (one of the key aims of the
war)
Some historians believe the social unrest in 1905 was tantamount to a
revolution
Thus Nicholas II (reluctantly) introduced an element of democracy to Russia
setting up the Duma - the hope was the people would be convinced the tsar
was becoming more accountable for his actions and those of his advisers - it
is unlikely this would have happened without war considered ‘Autocracy
Orthodoxy and Nationality’ - reinforced by the fact that the powers of the
Duma were greatly diminished just shortly after
The war also revealed serious communication and transport weakness -
trans-siberian railway also not finished and was failing to solve the logistical
problem of getting troops and supplies to war zones quickly and efficiently
Resulted in further investment in transport infrastructure and industry in
general - ironically this led to fast urbanisation and mounting public health
problems - poor working and living conditions created discontent, reformes
promised raising of living standards but they appeared to do the reverse
At the head of all of this are the decision makers and the autocratic rule that
wasn’t working
Similarities and differences with the Crimean War:
Similarities:
Russia lost to enemies that on paper they should have defeated
Made the people critical of the leaders
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