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Y219: Russia 1894–1941

The rule of Tsar Nicholas II: Nicholas II, Russia in 1894 and the opposition

  • 3 things to know
  • Unit group 2

Overview

Recall questions on Nicholas II’s character, Russia’s political, economic and rural problems in 1894, liberals, the populist tradition, the Marxist split of 1903 and the national minorities.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

How were the national minorities of the empire treated, and with what result?

Key term

What were Russia's main economic problems in 1894?

Who and when

How did the Marxist opposition split in 1903?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What sort of ruler was Nicholas II by character and ability?

    Model answer

    He was conscientious and devoted to his family but narrow-minded, poorly prepared and unable to delegate, he chose ministers for loyalty rather than talent, and he dismissed hopes of a share in government as senseless dreams, insisting he would uphold autocracy as firmly as his father.

  2. 2

    Describe the political problems of Russia in 1894.

    Model answer

    There was no national parliament and no legal political parties, the tsar governed through an unaccountable bureaucracy, the press was censored and the secret police pursued dissent, so no lawful outlet for grievance existed.

  3. 3

    What were Russia's main economic problems in 1894?

    Model answer

    Industry was young and concentrated in a few centres, agriculture was backward and low-yielding, the country depended on foreign loans and investment, and government revenue rested heavily on taxing a poor peasantry.

  4. 4

    Why was the countryside such a source of instability?

    Model answer

    Land hunger, redemption payments, communal farming that discouraged improvement and a rapidly growing rural population left millions of peasants poor and resentful of the nobles' estates.

  5. 5

    What did Russian liberals want, and where was their strength?

    Model answer

    They wanted a constitution, an elected parliament and civil liberties rather than revolution, and drew their support from professionals and the elected local councils, later forming parties such as the Kadets and Octobrists.

  6. 6

    What did the populist tradition contribute to opposition, and what party grew from it?

    Model answer

    It looked to the peasantry as the basis of a Russian socialism and to the seizure of noble land; it produced the Socialist Revolutionaries, who combined a land programme with political assassination.

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