Russia, 1861-1905

1. List the general goals of the:

a. socialists- Hoped to create a classless society that would end the suffering of the peasants in the lower class. Taking the "means of production" also was a desired goal in which the people had their goods regulated by the state or government. More pro-peasant than pro-nobility.



b. liberal reformers- They believed that western constitutional practices would solve Russia's problems of injustice in the past.



2. List three characteristics of serfs' lives.
Three characteristics of serf's lives were that they were almost as lowly as slaves in some cases, working for the nobility for a place to stay and eat. They were also very mercilessly exploited and had no rights or freedoms, and were most commonly uneducated laborers. Usually the interest of the entire family came before the individual and they lived without communication to the outside world.

3. List four reforms of Tsar Alexander II.
His first reform was to get rid of serfdom in Russia by liberating the surfs and selling them allotments with 49 year mortgages. His second reform was introducing trial by jury and relaxed censorship laws. He also elected assemblies to fix issues such as  road maintenance, primary education, taxation and irrigation. His forth reform was setting up state-run industries in order to close the gap of industrial revolution between Russia and the West, along with modernizing transportation. 

4. Why did the populists go "to the people" in 1873-1874? 
The populists "went to the people (peasants)" in 1873-1874 because they desired to make a personal connection with the peasants so they could gain supporters of their revolutionary cause.


5. List two consequences of the famine of 1891.
The famine struck 36 million peasants who lived in the Russian empire. This, made the peasants bitter towards the government because the tsar encouraged people to export their grain instead of feeding it to their families. People were hungry and dying, and then political tensions were running high on top of it all.


6. Why was Karl Marx important to Russian intellectuals?
Karl Marx was important to Russian intellectuals because they failed at going "to the people" to persuade them to change, so they thought that complete transformation of their society would be better for Russia,especially in the time of a famine (it explained the famine). They liked how Marx explained the social world systematically and straight forward and a classless society with equality sounded like a good idea to peasants, through education and learning they would understand. It also appealed to intellectuals because it's European ideals would make Russia as successful as the rest of Europe.


7. What were the Goals and Methods of the following political groups in early twentieth century Russia? (see page 8 of the reading)
a. Liberal Democrats
Suggested reforming into a Western European system of government, and valued individual liberties and saw the role of the state as protecting the rights of the citizens.



b. Socialist Revolutionaries
Worked to gather support from the peasants and lower class because their ideals appealed more to them, the uneducated and poor to encourage a revolutionary change. But the Socialist Revolutionaries were more extreme than regular socialists, they wanted to replace the monarchy with a democratic republic and socialize all land and put it in communes. They brought violence to the government and assassinated many people to get the point across. 


c. Social Democrats
Racialists that believed in Marxism. Lenin was a leader of this group and believed that a successful revolution depended on revolutionary intellectuals building a stronger sense of working-class moral among workers. Goal was to lead the workers (key to Russia's success) to lead a revolution.

8. How did Bloody Sunday change people's attitudes toward the Tsar?
After the Tsar's troops murdered 200 innocent people for peacefully protesting, people started to not think that the tsar was a godly benefactor, but more as an evil tyrant.


9. List four reforms in Tsar Nicholas's October Manifesto. 
A couple of reforms included in the October Manifesto is the expansion of civil liberties, a limited monarchy, a legislature elected by universal suffrage, and legalization of trade unions and political parties.