Texte exposé "Russia in 1914"/"La situation de la Russie en 1914"

Résumé du document

Le texte d'un exposé en anglais portant sur la situation de la Russie avant la première guerre mondiale en 1914.

Extraits

[...] Several of these groups wanted a regional autonomy and this was one of the causes of a political conflict. Peasants represent 80% of the population. At this time the capital was Petrograd (which is now St Petersburg). The Russian Enigma At the turn of the twentieth century, Russia was an enigma for most Europeans. They knew about it, marvelled at its size and feared at its military power but few got there and reliable information about it were rare. From the outside, Russia looked like an imperial superpower. [...]

[...] The territory of Russia covers about one-sixth of the planet's surface. Russian military power was feared in much of Europe, largely because of the millions of men that Russian leaders could put into operation. The Russian Empire boasted an army of 1.5 million men in peacetime, the largest in Europe. Triple Entente At that time, Russia and Austria-Hungary were in dispute over the Balkan region. Russia had formed a particularly close relationship with one of these nations, Serbia. The Russian government considered Germany as the main threat to its territory. [...]

[...] Petersburg began a march to present their demands to the Tsar, the army fired on the demonstrators. This massacre of Red Sunday provokes general indignation. The accumulation of military defeats against Japan since 1904 has accelerated the process of challenging the autocracy in Russia. The revolution was led by liberal and leftist groups and unhappy industrial workers. Nicholas clung to the throne by backing down, publishing a manifesto that promised liberal civil rights and a democratically elected Duma (parliament). But the Duma is disappointing and in October 1905, strikes paralyzed the country, while several family members and tsar advisers were killed by political assassins. [...]

[...] While the Industrial Revolution had a profound impact on nations like Britain, France and Germany, Russia's economy stayed almost entirely agrarian until the middle of the 19th century. Investors, attracted by government deals, cheap labour and tax breaks, eagerly pumped money into Russia to construct factories and new mines. Industrialization has also created a series of new problems in Russia, including urban growth, social disruption, the demand for workers' rights and political agitation. Farmers who were moved to cities to work in newly opened factories found themselves in long work days (often up to 15 hours) in deplorable and dangerous conditions. [...]

[...] Russian Rearmament In 1913 the tsar set up a "great army program". This program included an increase in the size of the Russian army of nearly 500,000 men and 11,800 additional officers. The Russian army consisted of 115 infantry divisions and 38 cavalry divisions. There were 25 million men of combat age. However, the poor conditions of the Russian roads made think to Germans that they were able to deal with the Russian threat. The 1905 Revolution A serious crisis broke out in Russia from 1902-1903, during which hostility to the autocratic regime of Nicholas II developed in all social classes. [...]