In 1894, Nikolas III became the new czar of Russia; he was...
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In 1894, Nikolas III became the new czar of Russia; he was the grandson of Czar Alexander, who had just died. Russia’s new czar Nikolas stayed true to Russia’s tradition form of rule, which was autocracy (or absolutism), a form of government in which he had total power. Anyone who questioned the absolute authority of the czar, worshiped outside the Russian Orthodox Church, or spoke a language other than Russian was labeled as a threat to society and was to be jailed or killed. To get rid of any people trying to start a revolution to overthrow him as czar, Nikolas III used harsh measures. He censored all written materials in Russia, from choosing what books would be available in libraries to reading citizens’ private mail. Nikolas had secret police carefully watch high schools and universities to make sure teachers were teaching their students to love the czar and support absolutism. Teachers also had to send detailed reports on every student who said something negative about the czar or seemed different from others. All prisoners were sent to Siberia, which is the northeastern region of Russia covered by snow year-round. There, prisoners worked all day in labor camps called gulags. Their tasks included many laborious jobs and ranged from mining coal to breaking giant rocks into gravel.
Transcript of In 1894, Nikolas III became the new czar of Russia; he was...
In1894,NikolasIIIbecamethenewczarofRussia;hewasthegrandsonofCzarAlexander,whohadjustdied.Russia’snewczarNikolasstayedtruetoRussia’straditionformofrule,whichwasautocracy(orabsolutism),aformofgovernmentinwhichhehadtotalpower.Anyonewhoquestionedtheabsoluteauthorityoftheczar,worshipedoutsidetheRussian
OrthodoxChurch,orspokealanguageotherthanRussianwaslabeledasathreattosocietyandwastobejailedorkilled.
Togetridofanypeopletryingtostartarevolutiontooverthrowhimasczar,NikolasIIIusedharshmeasures.HecensoredallwrittenmaterialsinRussia,fromchoosingwhatbookswouldbeavailableinlibrariestoreadingcitizens’privatemail.Nikolashadsecretpolicecarefullywatchhighschoolsanduniversitiestomakesureteacherswereteachingtheirstudentstolovetheczarandsupportabsolutism.Teachersalsohadtosenddetailedreportsoneverystudentwhosaidsomethingnegativeabouttheczarorseemeddifferentfromothers.AllprisonersweresenttoSiberia,whichis
thenortheasternregionofRussiacoveredbysnowyear-round.There,prisonersworkedalldayinlaborcampscalledgulags.Theirtasksincludedmanylaboriousjobsandrangedfromminingcoaltobreakinggiantrocksintogravel.
TheIndustrialRevolutioncametoRussiamuchlaterthanEurope.WhenindustrializationfinallycametoRussiainthe1860’s,itdrasticallychangedRussia’seconomy.Thenumberoffactoriesmorethandoubledbetween1863and1900,andsodidthenumberofRussiansworkinginthosefactories.Still,RussialaggedbehindthenationsofWesternEuropeintermsofindustryandtechnology,soRussia’sleader,CzarNicholas,launchedaprogramtomovethecountryforward.
TheCzar’splanwastorapidlyincreaseindustrializationinRussiabycreatingmorefactoriesandmoremines;thisupsetthepeopleofRussia.
Thegrowthoffactoriesbroughtnewproblems,suchastorturousworkingconditions,miserablylowwages,andchildlabor.Totrytoimprovetheirlives,theseunhappyworkersorganizedstrikes,whichwouldbeshut-downandthestrikerswouldbejailedbythegovernment.Asaresult,severalrevolutionarymovementsbegantogrowandcompeteforpower.MoreRussianswantingarevolutionfollowedtheideasofKarlMarx.These“MarxistRevolutionaries”believedthattheworkingclassshouldoverthrowtheczar.InRussia,thetermfortheworking-classpoorwas“proletariat”;theproletariatsthenfelttheywouldrulethecountryoncetheczarwasoutofpower.
Between1904and1917,Russiafacedaseriesofmilitarycrises.TheseeventsshowedthatRussia’sleader,CzarNikolas,wasaweakruler;theselossespreparedthewayforarevolutioninRussia.
IntheRussian-JapaneseWarInthelate1800s,RussiaandJapancompetedforcontrolofKoreaandManchuria(whichispartofChina).Thetwonationssignedaseriesofagreementsovertheterritories,whichoutlinedhowRussiaandJapanweretosharethelands.Shortlyafterthesepapersweresigned,RussiabroketheiragreementandtriedtotakeJapan’sterritoriesinChina;thiscausedtoJapanretaliatebyattackingtheRussiansinFebruary1904.TheRussianarmywasnomatchfortheJapanese,andRussiasoonlost.
Thefinalblowcamein1914,whenCzarNikolasmadethedecisiontodragRussiaintoWorldWarI.Russiawasunpreparedtohandlethemilitaryandeconomiccostsofthiskindofall-outwar.Russiahadweakgeneralslackingmilitarystrategy,poorlytrainedtroops,andtheirweaponswerenomatchfortheGermanarmy.GermanmachinegunsmoweddownadvancingRussiansbythethousands,andtheRussiansfacedlossafterloss.Beforeayearhadpassed,morethan4millionRussiansoldiershadbeenkilled,wounded,ortakenprisoner.AsintheRusso-JapaneseWar,Russia’sinvolvementinWorldWarIrevealedtheweaknessesoftheCzar’sabilitytoruleandhismilitaryleadership.
OnJanuary22,1905,about200,000RussianfactoryworkersandtheirfamiliesapproachedthepalaceofRussia’sleader,CzarNikolas.Withthem,theycarriedapetitionaskingforbetterworkingconditions,morepersonalfreedom,andanewformofgovernmentwhichwouldallowcitizenstoelectcertainleaders.TheprotestorsreceivedtheiranswerfromtheCzarwhenhisgeneralsorderedsoldierstofiregunshotsintothecrowd.Morethan1,000Russiancitizenswerewoundedandseveralhundredweremurdered.
ThiseventwentdowninRussia’shistoryas“BloodySunday.”
BloodySundaycausedawaveofstrikesandviolencethatspreadacrossthecountry.Inordertostoptheviolence,theCzarpromisedmorefreedomin1905.CzarNikolasapprovedthecreationofthe“Duma,”whichwasRussia’sfirstparliament.TheczarcopiedtheBritishmodelofparliament,whichissimilartoAmerica’sCongress;theParliamentisthebranchofgovernmentwiththemostpowerbecauseitisinchargeofpassinglawsandoverseeingelections.Russia’sfirstDuma(parliament)metinMay1906.Itsleaderswereelectedbycitizens,andthereforetheyrepresentedthepeople’swishes.TheDumawantedRussiatochangeitsgovernmentfromabsolutismwithaczar,toademocraticgovernment,modeledafterBritain’sgovernment.AngeredbywhattheDumawantedandunwillingtosharehispower,theczarfiredallmembersoftheDumaaftertenonlyweeks,anddidnotestablishanother.
Russia’sDuma;noticetheCzar’sphotoatthe
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Allanswersmustbeincompletesentences.
TheCzar’sRuleofRussia
1. Whywastheczar’sstyleofruleoutdatedandunpopularamongcitizensinRussia?
2. Whatisagulag?
a. Whatthreethingscouldcauseapersontobesenttoagulag?
3. ListtwowaysthatCzarNikolaswouldkeepaneyeonhiscitizens.
CitizensUpsetOverIndustrialization
4. WhydidfactoriesandfactoryworkersmorethandoubleinRussiainthelate1800’s?
5. WhywerecitizensunhappyaboutalloftheindustrializationinRussia?
6. WhoweretherevolutionariesofRussia?(Whatjobsdidtheyhold,whodidtheyfollow,and
whatdidtheywant?)
MilitaryLosses
7. WhatwasthecauseoftheRussian-JapaneseWar?
a. Whowon?
8. WhydidRussianotstandachanceinWW1againstGermany?
9. WhatdidtheRussian-JapaneseWarandWW1revealtothecitizensofRussia?
BloodySunday
10. WhatcausedBloodySunday?
11. Specifically,howdidtheczargettheviolencetostopafterBloodySunday?
12. WhatdidtheDumawant?WhywastheDumafired?
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Reader:_________________________
Scribe:__________________________
“Finders”:_____________________________
1. WhatformofgovernmentdidRussiahaveundertheczar?a. Absolutism/Autocracy b.Democracy c.Monarchy
2. WhichofthefollowingisNOTawayCzarNikolaskeptcontrolofRussiancitizens?a. Secretpolicewouldspyonthepeopleb. Teachersweremonitored,andsowerestudentsc. People’st.v.’swereactuallycamerasintotheirhomesd. AllcitizenshadtospeakRussianandattendtheRussianOrthodoxChurch
3. WhatcametoRussiainthelate1800’s?a. Electricity b.Industrialization c.Imperialists
4. Whywerecitizensunhappyintheirfactoryjobs?a. Theywantedtoworklongerhoursbutwereunabletob. Theyweremakingitemsthatwentagainsttheirreligionc. Theywerepaidlowwagesandhadterribleworkingconditions
5. Whatisthenameforworking-classcitizensinRussia?a. Capitalists b.Marxists c.Proletariat d.Bourgeoisie
6. Whodidtherevolutionaries(peoplewhosupportarevolution)ofRussiafollow?a. KarlMarx b.AdamSmith c.CzarNikolas
7. WhatdidthelossesagainstJapanandGermanyshowthepeople?a. Thelossesshowedthepeoplethatmorecitizensneededtojointhemilitaryb. Thelossesshowedthepeoplethattaxesshouldbehighersosoldierscouldgetpaid
morec. ThelossesshowedthepeoplethatCzarNikolaswasaweakleader
8. Whogatheredoutsidetheczar’spalaceonBloodySunday?a. Germans b.Russianfactoryworkers c.theDuma
9. WhyisBloodySundaygivenitsname?a. BloodySundaygotitsnamebecauseitiswhenCzarNikolasdiedinhispalaceby
revolutionariesb. BloodySundaygotitsnamebecauseitiswhenCzarNikolastoldhisgeneralstofireon
hisownpeoplec. BloodySundaygotitsnamebecausetherewasaharvestmoonduringtheprotest,
whichcausedthemoontolooklikeblood10. WhichofthefollowingbestdescribestheDuma?
a. TheDumaweretheczar’ssecretpoliceusedtospyonthepeopleb. TheDumawasthenamegiventotheworking-classmembersofsocietyc. TheDumawasthemanwhoreplacedCzarNikolasd. TheDumawastheelectedmembersofRussia’sgovernment
11. WhathappenedtotheDuma?a. AllmembersoftheDumagotfiredbecausetheczardidnotwanttosharepowerb. TheDumaraisedthetaxesandcausedthecitizenstorevoltc. TheDumadeclaredwaronGermanyanddrugRussiaintoWW1
4ReasonsforRevolution:Czar’sRule,Industrialization,MilitaryLosses,BloodySunday/Duma
12. Outofthe4causesoftheRussianRevolutionwediscussedtoday,whichdoyouthinkhadtheBIGGESTIMPACTinstaringtherevolutionandwhy?
13. Outofthe4causesoftheRussianRevolutionwediscussedtoday,whichdoyouthinkhadtheSMALLESTIMPACTinstaringtherevolutionandwhy?
IndividualReflectionQuestions Name_________________________________
