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Welcome Class of 2011
Welcome
This blog is intended as a resource and means of communication for students studying the VCE Revolutions course. I wish you well in your studies and hope that you find this site not only useful, but also fun.
Many Thanks
Mr G.
Many Thanks
Mr G.
Useful links
Wider Reading
- A People's Tragedy by Orlando Figes
- China: From Empire to People's Republic 1900-49 by Michael Lynch
- China: Revolutionary Leadership by John Wood & Andrew McManus
- Spirit of Change: China in Revolution by Margot Morcombe & Mark Fielding
- The People's Republic of China since 1949 by Michael Lynch
44 comments:
hey history lovers!
can i just say that the countdown to the exam makes me want to jump.
marxism forever.
love anastasia
ps. the blog. ROCK.
09 09 09 O9
Thanks for the positive vibes!
Please choose a 'Russian' name as your posting ID
Thanks
Before 1905, Russia was an extremely difficult empire to govern due to its immense size, limited and poor communication, and it's ploy to make Russian society more cultured, which evidently, all contributed to preventing Russia from advancing.
Russia's substantial land mass made communication between neighbouring countries and other cities virtually impossible as there was insufficient facilities that allowed people having contact with outside cities. This prevented civilians from knowing vital information, and made governing Russia exceptionally challenging.
By introducing the Russification policy into society, Russia, as well as non-Russian parts of the empire, were forced to abide by Russian customs and were required to only use Russian language in schools, offices, and law courts. This was seen as an unjust attack on national minorities, where their way of life was jeopardised. These factors ultimately lead to an extreme resent towards Russian control, making the task of governing such an immense empire very difficult.
ps. am I the only one that does my virtual homework?!
Eryn.
No your not the only one, its early days yet.
A very good answer, but not sure what you mean by 'It's ploy to make Russian society more cultured'?
frankly, I don't know what it means either, I think I was trying to say something along the lines of "Russia’s plan or attempt at making it’s empire and those surrounding it conform to the Russian way of life"
Due to various factors the Empire of Russia had become increasingly hard to govern by 1905. The first factor being the sheer size of the country being that it is sprawled across 2 continents, the vast expanse of the land made travel and communications extraordinarily difficult. This was compounded by the fact that the rail system was highly underdeveloped and there were few paved roads outside of the major cities. The task of gaining entry into remote areas of Russia were made even more arduous by its climate with much of Northern Russia being unreachable for the winter.
While lack of communication between government and people was a major weakness in the tsar's regime his ongoing policy of Russification was even more deterimental to the unity of the nation. Despite races other than pure Russian making up 45% of the population they were largely ignored and at many times deliberately preyed upon. Although it is unrealistic that the tsar could keep all the minorities satisfied his policy of Russification had much to do with the discontent felt during his reign leading up to the 1905 revolution.
A well structured response.
Remember that you can use the terms 'firstly... 'secondly... thirdly... etc. when listing your 3 or 4 points. Either way it's okay but sometimes it helps you and the reader when structuring your answer.
Before 1905 several factors made Russia an increadibly difficult country to govern.
For a start it's sheer size -nearly one-sixth of the world's land mass- meant communication and travel were difficult and complicated. It could take weeks for messages to travel across the empire and at least a week to travel from Vladivostok to Moscow via the Trans-Siberian Railway.
Also the huge number of national groups and languages meant that Russia wasn't a completely unified country. only about 50% of the population was "Russian". The process of "Russification"- forcing minorities to conform to Russian customs- also caused resentment in these racial minorities.
A combination of these things- along with others- made Russia hard to administer effectively and lead to tensions throughout the Empire.
As the Russian Proverb described, "Russia is not a State, but a World." And it is for that very reason that governing the Russian empire was such an onerous and complex task.
To begin with, tsarist Russia in the early 20th century occupied a vast territory, approximately one sixth of the world's total land mass. Major areas, especially west of the Ural mountains, were uninhabited or sparsely populated. Thus, the communication system was inevitably unreliable and profoundly inefficient. With few paved roads outside major cities, burdensome weather conditions, and limited railway, administering Russia sufficiently and consistently was virtually impossible.
Secondly, the Russian empire, having been built up over many centuries, and acquired many neighbouring countries during that time, contained a large number of different national groups. The variance of culture, religion, and language was indeed significant.
The Russian government fought to maintain control over the diversity by introducting Russification. The policy forced non-Russians to employ Russian dress, language, and customs, completely ridding them of their own traditions and culture. Many of the national minorities resented the Russians attempts to dominate them, and saw russification as a direct attack on their way of life and certainly a form of discrimination. Therefore, during the early 19th century, Russia experienced much social unrest as national groups fought for more autonomy. This sense of resentment and mistrust amongst Russian society made the empire extremely difficult to reign.
To reiterate, the enormity of Russia's territory, the lack of efficient correspondence and the Tsar's decision to impose russification were all contributing factors, fabricating an empire so very difficult to rule.
Some of the answers you guys are posting are probably a little long however, your doing a great job! I like the use of a quote in the introductory sentence Felix. Well done.
Anna Karenina's answer is probably just about the right amount for an exam type answer to this question.
Imperial Russia spanned across two continents, engulfing smaller nations such as Poland over various centuries until its Empire spread from the East, across the Siberian wasteland to the edges of Western Europe. An empire so large required significant management to keep it together, which previous Tsars failed to supply.
However, this sheer size of Imperial Russia was to the detriment of other areas in desperate need of reform such as communication throughout the Empire. The lack of substantial communication meant that edicts from the Tsar did not reach their destination for weeks. Also the methods of transportation contributed to the poor communication throughout Russia as many people used the rivers or the Trans-Siberian Railway as many of the roads were inaccessible for many months of the year. This communication problem also ensured that many technological advances in industry were not introduced in Russia until much later than its European counterparts, making Russia be left behind and remaining a more medieval society.
Despite this, the other difficulty in governing Russia was the diverse nature of its people. To combat this, a policy of Russification was implemented to "make people more Russian" and to unite the people, thereby making it easier for the Tsar to rule. Russification forced the conquered nations to adopt "Russian" characteristics such as the language, food, heritage etc., which backfired as many people became angry at losing their national identity and rebelled.
Imperial Russia was simply to large to properly govern. Like the fall of Rome, the fall of Imperial Russia was expected, particularly without reform and without social changes to balance the power. The lack of proper transportation, effective communication and the unity of the Russian people ensured that Russia remained virtually impossible to rule efficiently.
I changed my name by the way^^
haha i think mine is waaayyy too long
Russia, most famed for her unruly revolutions during the early twentieth century, had in fact been a difficult country to govern since long before these uprisings took place. Although there are several reasons for this, the most conspicuous factors include the insufficient communication, gargantuan landmass, and diversity of population to be found within Russia. Lack of sufficient communication across the country, including medieval methods of horseback delivery instead of modern transportation, meant that large regions remained alienated from the rest of the country; the sheer size of Russia did not make the implementation of new means of communication any easier. Far-flung communities and newly conquered regions were thus unable to acquire a sense of patiotism and instead clung stubbornly to their traditional cultures, ranging from nomadic desert-dwellers to superstitious peasants. As such, the Tsar found it incredibly challenging to reach out - both literally and spiritually, as was needed for dutiful obedience - to Russia's array of disjointed communities.
Imperial Russia before 1905 was difficult to govern for a number of reasons.
Firstly, Russia's enormous landmass made communication difficult. The underdeveloped transportation system meant national policies and other government changes could not be administered efficiently.
Secondly, the population was sprawled across the entire Russian territory. The remoteness of towns and villages developed a sense of political apathy among the peasants, who constituted more than 90% of the population. It was difficult to have them actively participate in government affairs.
Thirdly, there were frequent social unrests among the general public before 1905. For example, the cholera riot in Russia from 1830-1831 was a direct response to the anti-cholera measures undertaken by the Tsarist government. The general discontent and lack of unity made governing challenging.
Overall, a number of factors have created obstacles for the administration of Imperial Russia before 1905.
I think mine is just about the right length. The structure is correct, i believe?
Although from the outside, Tsarist Russia in 1905, one of the last absolute monarchies in Europe, seemed grand and regal, in reality; it was extremely difficult to govern for many reasons. Firstly, Russia crossed two continents, both Asia and Europe, covering one sixth of the earth’s landmass. Outside the major cities, travel was very difficult, with few paved roads and not enough railways, also making communication across Russia hard. Russia was not only vast in terms of landmass, but also in terms of its population. While about half of the people were Russian, the rest were a diverse group of nationalities. Many minority groups resented Russian control, but once the policy of Russification was enforced during the second part of the nineteenth century, it led to many protests and uprisings from those who wanted self government in their parts of Russia. A combination of these factors made Russia extremely difficult to govern, and eventually, led to the downfall of Tsar Nicolas II.
heeeeeeeeey babezz
the revolution was indeed an imense part of the historical fractions of society that impacted on the lives of many young plebs today
Prior to 1914, Russia was a difficult country to govern due to several underlying factors. All equal in their contribution to the arduous task of running a country as vast as Russia.
Firstly, the great size of Russia, spanning across two continents; Europe and Asia, made governing quite difficult. Of the world’s total land mass, Russia covered approximately one sixth, and due to this enormous coverage, large parts were often uninhabited or had a very sparse population. This made communications very poor. Outside the major cities, there were very few paved roads, most were hard packed earth which turned to mud at the first sign of rain, making it impossible to travel along them.
Secondly, as Russia was a great empire, it consisted of a large number of different national groups. These national groups gave way to diversity in relation to culture, religion and language. It ranged from sophisticated European Russians living in St Petersburg, to nomadic Muslim people. This made Russia a difficult place to govern, as due to the vast number of national groups, it was hard to please the likes of all diverse cultures and religions.
Thirdly, in the second part of the nineteenth century, russification was introduced as the size and diversity of the empire made it extremely difficult to govern. However, the national minorities saw russification as a fundamental attack on their way of life, and found it extremely unfair. To make governing ever more difficult, there were a number of uprisings and protests from those groups that were against the policy of russification.
In conclusion, through the contribution of the above factors, Russia was a very difficult country to govern prior to 1914.
Russia experienced significant political instability in the year leadin up to 1905 due to an accumulation of factors. Russia was a vast empire that emcompassed approximately 1/6 of the earth's total land mass. As a result of such a large empire, communication was slow and thus the majority of Russia was isolated from the going-ons of ST. Petesburg and other urban cities.
In addition to the mass size of Russia, with an estimated 118.6 million in 1897, the diversity among the population was phenominal. 'The history of all hithertoexisting society is the history of class struggles', and is evident during the Tsar's attempts quenched "un-russia" qualities from the people within Russia. He attempted to destroys all aspects of independent national identity in hopes the governing a similar body that followed the same language, religion and beliefs would be easier in comparison to a body filled with diversity. However, the Tsar's attempts were in vain as it further furled the revolutionary enviroment that was brewing within the nation against the autocracy as protests became more common.
The Russian people consisted of numerous nationalities, many of which had their own set of values and languages. This catalysed many problems for the Tsar as education, in particular, suffered severely as students could not understand their 'Russian teachings'.
Overall, it was the addition of the enormity of the empire, in which its population was increasingly illiterate, that ensured that difficulties in governing the nation. Russification played a major role in the hardships tha arose for the Tsar.
Russia was a difficult country to govern before 1905 due to its vast size, economical and political structure.
Under the tsarist regime, the tsar had many subordinates stationed beneath him. The many faceted inferior ranks caused numerous communication problems and subsequently, actions were not carried out immediately, further adding to the muddled organisation of the Tsar's government.
Russia's sheer size implicated aspects such as her ability to communicate. Russia was not as well industrialised as her european counterparts and did not have a sufficient mode of transport that could suffice the her unruly terrain. In turn, she could not trade efficiently with foreigners and was not privy to current affairs regarding her neighbours. It also effected the speed of which her army could mobilise, leaving her open to invasion and unable to
quell rebells quickly.
Undoubtedly, these factors contributed to the troubles the Tsar's administration were confronted with while governing the state. Having an under-developed, ineffective way to communicate with people impacted greatly upon the Tsar's ability to monitor his enemies, thus limiting his control and adding instability to his autocratic rule.
Many physical, economic, and social factors made Russia a difficult country to govern before 1914. Some examples of this are: poor communications, geographic location and the attempted “Russification” of Russia.
One of the main contributions to the difficulties in Russia was its sheer size. The empire crossed two continents and was two and a half times the size of the USA. Similarly, the country had been building up slowly over the centuries, and as a result, the vast majority of the population lived in the west of Russia. The lack of adequate communication and transport exacerbated the problem, and ultimately aided in Russia’s ungovernability.
The major means of transportation in Russia at the time was by train. Even though Britain was one hundredth the size of Russia, it had the same amount of railroads and track. To add to these problems, the only journey by train from the east to the west took more than one week of continuous travel.
Another factor determining Russia’s troubles was its ethnic diversity. There were 22.4 million Ukrainians and 5.8 million Belorussian's (amongst other nationalities) living in Russia at the time. This, along with the fact that these ethnic minorities had been forbidden to speak in their own language or to dress in their national costume, made them resentful of Russian control.
Yes Vania, perfect length and structure. However, your concluding sentence is really saying very little. Try ending with a quote which sums up or backs up what you have just said or something like;
'Combined, these factors made Russia virtually ungovernable and greatly assisted in leading to a revolutionary situation by 1905.'
In the years previous to 1905 the Imperial Russian Empire was a tremendously difficult region to govern for a variety of reasons; including its immense size, poor communications and large variety of national groups.
Firstly the enormous size of Russia made it a constant battle to control, with Russia spanning two continents and covering 1/6th of the world’s land mass. The sheer size combined with the majority of Russia being sparsely populated, saw “regular” governance impossible, with many areas left to their own devices.
Secondly the communications system of Russia at the time could only be described as poor and seriously outdated, with few paved roads outside the city (all of these were hard packed dirt) and rivers still used for longer journeys. This along with with
Russia’s minute railway system considering the size of the state saw the meagre communications system become a major factor in the governance struggle.
Finally the large number of different national groups within Russia meant it was extremely difficult to govern all with the same methods. There were over 100 different nationalities along with many different cultures and religions. This in conjunction with the resentment towards the policy of Russification and therefore the state (created by Alexander III) made governing different groups virtually impossible.
These factors combined to create a Russia which was vast, poorly equipped and segregated which made the task of governing immense and problematical.
my layout came out funny :(
is there any way to delete and post again?
Congrats. an excellent answer Tatiana. The format does not matter. Don't stress!
Before 1905 Russia was a extremely difficult country to run, due to the sheer size of it, the differing national groups and the policy of Russification.
At the turn of the 20th century Russia covered one sixth of the world's total land mass, with the majority of the population living in the major cities of Russia. Due to the sheer size of the country as well as poor communication and transportation systems, government officials rarely made contact with rural peasants. Thus leaving the peasants feeling isolated and cut off from the Tsar and his government.
Also at this time, the Russian empire had a growing number of different national groups, exposing the Russian people to a number of diverse languages and cultures, which the Russian government did not like. So much so that the government introduced the Russification policy, whereby all national groups had to live by the Russian way of life. Seeing this new policy as discrimination against them, many national minorities protested against the government in the hope of acheiving more automony.
Therefore the Russian government faced a extremely difficult task in governing their country during the early 20th century. This was mostly thanks to the size of Russia isolating the peasants from the rest of the country and the Russification policy that angered the national minorities.
its 10.54 and I'm tired. i hope this is ok. not sure about the size, i think its a bit long
lack of communication and the separation amongst the people, Russification, and the enormous variety within Russian in terms of ethnicity were all factors that considerably contributed to the Government's instability.
the Russian landmass spans over two continents. The shier size of the state would demonstrate a need for exceptional management establishing an impossible task for most of the absolutist leaders. Although communication had its vital improvements, such as the introduction of the railways and postal services the conditions were still far from desirable for effective national governing.
Implementation of Russification was widely considered as a process of changing one's ethnic self-label from a non-Russian ethnonym to Russian. As a result many viewed this process as discriminatory against non-Russians.
The diversity of cultures,ethnicities,language and religion attributed to Russia's inability to successfully unify as a common state. And thus, govern with the requirements of all those to be accounted for considered.
Consequently, the combination of this factors illustrates the incontrovertible difficulty that the russian autocracy were presented when attempting to effectively govern such a disorganized, diverse and highly isolated state.
Russia was an extremely difficult country to govern prior to 1905. This was due to geographical factors, the diversity of the Russian people and the government policy of Russification.
At the time Russia was a huge and under developed country with communication services that were inadequate for such an enormous country with a widespread population. It was particularly difficult to travel across Russia as their railway system was extremely limited. The roads were also packed dirt and turned to mud when it rained. These geographical factors made Russia difficult to rule.
Russia also housed a vast multitude of culturally different people. There were many different religions, cultures and languages practiced throughout Russia. Many of the national groups did not feel allegiance towards the Tsar and sought more autonomy in their parts of Russia.
The Tsar’s strict regime of Russification outraged many of the national groups, who were forced to adopt the Russian culture in all aspects of their lives. The forced oppression of many of the Russian citizens caused much unrest and protesting.
All these factors combined made Russia an tremendously difficult country to govern
The Russian empire before 1905 was becoming increasingly difficult to govern. This was due to many factors, mainly the size and inefficient communications systems of the empire and tensions within the numerous national groups throughout the country which was due in large part to the policy of russification, which was seen as a fundamental attack on the lifestyles of the various national groups of Russia.
Russia, an empire crossing two continents, had an extremely ineffective communication system, due in large part to its immense size. Spanning over 6400km from west to east, and over 300km from north to south, the Russian empire had a larger land mass than any country at the time. Large, uninhabitable areas, with insufficient dirt roads which became impassable during winter, and a lack of an extensive railway system, left the government of Russia with little ability to receive and send information across the country, meaning they would have difficulty maintaining control and consistency across the entire country.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, due to stretching over such a vast land mass, the empire had gradually become composed of a large number of varying ethnic groups. These national groups were as varied as the terrain of their country, diversifying in culture, religion and language. Russians made up 50% of the population, whereas the rest of the population ranged from civilised Europeans to nomadic Muslims. This extreme variation between the population of Russia became problematic when the policy of russification was introduced. Seen as a direct attack by the tsarist government on these national groups, russification which was aimed at quelling any ethnic individuality between the national groups in Russia, forcing them to use the Russian language, wear Russian clothes and adopt Russian customs in spite of their own, was seen as repression by the government resulting in its increased unpopularity. This ill-fated policy resulted in protests from these groups, approximately half of Russia, who were seeking autonomy in government.
The subsequent unrest from the Russian people due to the russification policy affecting the various ethnic groups, as well as the communication difficulties caused by Russia’s excessive size, are all factors that made Russia extremely difficult to govern before 1905.
ok mine is waaaaaay too long
sorry tsar
please dont exhile me to siberia.
Before 1905, many aspects of Russia made it a difficult place to govern. Some of these include the startling size of Russia, the difficulty of communications, the vast array of national groups living in Russia and the Russification policy that was imposed in the second half of the 19th century.
From East to West, Russia measured over 6400km and from North to South over 3000km, It measured one sixth of the worlds total land mass. Understandably communications accross this area were poor. Most of the roads were hard-packed earth which turned to mud in heavy rain and beacame impassible in winter. A journey by train from Moscow to Vladivostok took more than a week of continuous travel. Clearly the difficulties with the overall size of Russia made it a very hard place to govern before 1905.
Russia contained more than twenty national groups which consisted of Ukrainian, Polish, Jewish, German, Latvian and many more. This obviously created a language barrier between them, many of them followed different customs. Russias population ranged from upper class European Russians to nomadic Muslims in the desert areas of the south. This obviously added to the difficulty of governing Russia as the different range of classes made it a complicated task treat everyone the same and reach out to the 'nation'.
The policy of Russification that was imposed quite strongly during the latter half of the 19th century. This possible aided Russia in the troubles of governing their country. The policy involved making non-Russians use the Russian language, wear Russian style clothes and adopt Russian customs. The Russian language was used in schools, law courts and regional governments which possibly made Russia easier to govern.
Russia was an extremely difficult place to govern before 1905 because of the vast size of the country, the difficulties that arose with communications, the large number of national groups and the policy of Russification.
Great answers. Yes, some are waaaaayyy too long but not that bad.
This is a first try at paragraph answers and we will be practicing these relentlessly over the coming months.
Not only will you get better and keeping them short but your structure language and speed will also improve.
Well done everyone an excellent start!
Due to its enormous size, ethical diversity and implementation of the Russification Policy, Russia was difficult to govern in the years prior to 1905.
In 1900, the Russian empire had expanded to almost 17 million square kilometres, one sixth of the world’s landmass. This vast and often sparsely populated area made communication across Russia very poor and transport significantly limited.
As the empire expanded in the 19th century, so did the national diversity of its people. By 1897, Russia consisted of around 19 major nationalities and the Russians themselves formed just half the population. This ethical diversity made governing exceedingly difficult as many of the national minorities opposed Russian control.
An example of this was the policy of Russification. This policy denoted the influence of Russian language, politics and culture on racial minorities. Furthermore, it was Russians nationals who were appointed administrative positions in government and national institutions. Many of the people not of Russian ancestry saw this as an attack on their prerogatives and also discrimination against them. This inturn resulted in a number of protests and uprisings against the Russian government.
do you like green eggs and ham?
Russia before 1905 was an extremely difficult country to govern, due to its size, national groups, and the policy of Russification adopted by the Russian government.
The vast size of Russia made it a difficult country to govern. The diverse population spoke many different languages and the limited rail system meant that transmitting messages between different cities was extremely difficult, with many roads impassable in the cold winter months, meaning that laws and decrees passed by the government could not be administered effectively
Furthermore, the Russian population was more than 75% peasants, most of whom were poor illiterate and uneducated. Farming methods were ineffectual and there was not enough arable land to go around, meaning that production of commodities was stunted and difficult to grow in order to keep up with the more advanced European nations.
Lastly, the Tsar's policy of Russification, which forced minorities to conform to Russian traditions, meant that many cultural groups were ignored or even openly discriminated against, causing much resentment among many racial groups.
A combination of all these factors led to the general resentment of the Russian Government and the eventual downfall of Tsar Nicholas
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