Lecture on Warfare
How times change!!
Aims
• To establish key events over the time period.
• To explain the role of war and how it impacts
upon Russia.
• To draw broad comparisons between the wars
and the consequences.
REMEMBER: YOU NEED TO HOVER
OVER THE PERIOD TO MAKE
SYNTHETIC COMPARISONS
Crimean War
• Crimean War involved
Britain, France and Russia.
• Fought between 1853 –
1856.
• Was fought to establish
Russian sphere of influence
over the Balkan region and
fend off interest from
Ottoman Empire.
• Widely seen as a debacle
from all sides.
Causes of Crimean War
Long Term
Short Term
• Russia always seen as
“policeman of Europe” –
stopped uprisings and
rebellions.
• Ottoman Empire seen as “Sick
Man of Europe” – Russia
expected European powers to
stay out of conflicts between
them.
• Napoleon III wanted France to
be seen as protector of
Orthodox Christians.
• Conflict began over the role of
Russia as protector of
Orthodox Christians in the
Ottoman [Turkish] Empire.
• 1853 Russian forces moved
into land that had belonged to
Turkey, France and Britain
feared expansion.
• After the Russians destroyed
the Turkish fleet at Sinope in
the Black Sea in November
1853, Britain and France
joined the war against Russia.
Consequences of Crimean War
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Social Consequences
Peasants still annoyed, 647
protests in first 4 months of
Emancipation.
Population increased.
More demand for change,
calls for 2nd Emancipation.
Gentry declined and lost
1/3 of land.
Political Consequences
• Discredited “Nicholas system”
– required change. 700,000
Russians died.
• Ascension of Al II more
interested in change, Tsar
Liberator.
• Gentry given representation in
Zemstvo - elected.
• Liberalism increased.
• Many gentry clung to Tsar
more, feared revolt.
• Legal reforms introduced, old
abuses of peasants lessened.
Yet more consequences
Economic
• Allowed start of capitalist
economy with peasants freed
from serfdom.
• Encouraged growth in banking
and railways.
• HOWEVER – easy to
exaggerate, peasants still had
redemption payments , mir
restricted flow into towns and
most farms still struggled to be
self sufficient.
• Symbolic change!
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Military
Serf armies still backward.
Too large and hard to
control.
Poor provisions, i.e.
armaments, clothing.
Used to stop unrest on way
to front.
Military reformed, trained
peasant reserve army
possible.
Military Changes
• Dimitri Milyutin reorganised conscription,
dropped from 25 years to 6 with 9 in reserve.
• Conscription extended to all.
• Military colonies ended and better training for
officers introduced.
• New military code.
• NOT ENOUGH…
Emancipation – Change or Turning
Point?
Views of Alexander II
• “With the possible exception of Khrushchev,
no ruler brought so much relief to so many of
his people as did Alexander II” – Westwood.
• “Nothing Alexander did altered or was
intended to alter, the fundamental political
fact of a God-created autocracy” –
Stephenson
Crimean War – Change or
Turning Point?
Russo-Turkish War
• Fought 1877-1878
between Russia and
Ottoman Empire.
• Long term causes:
– Russia wanted revenge
from Crimean War.
– Pan-Slavic argument.
– Ottoman Empire verged
on bankruptcy, caused
great unrest in Balkan
regions, i.e. Bulgaria,
Serbia, Montenegro.
Short term causes
• 1876 Bulgarians began to
revolt, conflicting reports
of casualties.
• Ottoman army was weak,
so irregular troops used.
• 15,000 massacred,
including 5,000 in Batak.
• Caused widespread anger
in Europe.
Russo-Turkish War
• Large losses on both
sides. Russia relied on
Bulgarian troops to assist.
• Forced to accept truce
offered by Ottomans as
Britain intervened. San
Stefano Treaty.
• Russians accused of
atrocities against Muslims
and Jews.
• Damaged international
reputation.
Consequences of Russo-Turkish War
• Treaty of San Stefano saw
large gains for Bulgaria,
which was now a client
state of Russia.
• Ottoman Empire
recognised the autonomy
of Bulgaria and the
independence of
Montenegro, Serbia and
Romania.
• Britain feared the
expansion of Russian
control and sphere of
influence.
• Congress of Berlin lost the
gains from San Stefano –
humiliation for Russia.
• Russians had expected
“something colossal”.
• Increased tensions
between AustriaGermany and Russia.
Congress of Berlin (1881): Bismarck between Gyula
Andrássy and Pyotr Shuvalov, on the left Alajos Károlyi,
Alexander Gorchakov and Benjamin Disraeli
“The reign of Alexander II which began
with bright promise, and changed to
dreary stagnation, ended in tragedy. The
Tsar-Liberator was a victim of the
unsolved conflict between social reform
and the dogma of political autocracy”
Seton Watson
To what extent do you agree?
Russo-Turkish War – Turning
Point or Change?
Russo-Japanese War
1904-1905 Russia vs. Japan
Long term causes
• Nicholas II was a weak
man. Struggled to maintain
control.
• 1881 Emergency Decrees
kept – unpopular.
• Peasant discontent
continued – land hunger.
• Rival ambitions over Korea
and Manchuria in China.
• Russia needed warm water
port, Port Arthur.
Short term causes
• Minister of Interior Phleve
– Russia needed a “short
victorious war to stem the
tide of Revolution”.
• Japanese negotiations
with Russia failed.
• Japan attacked Far East
Russian Fleet without
notification. Tsar seen to
have been taken by
surprise.
Consequences
Social Consequences
• Nicholas II seen to underestimate
Japan – “infantile monkey”.
• Military humiliation led to
increasing criticism of Nicholas –
stagnation.
• January 1905 strikes led to Bloody
Sunday, 100,000 protest in St.
Petersburg, troops opened fire,
several hundred died.
• Tsar not in the city but blamed for
opening fire on his own people.
• Unrest in countryside eventually
calmed by army – General Trepov
“Cartridges must not be spared”.
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Political Consequences
Political pressure put on
Nicholas II, Zemstvos
demanded change.
Nicholas’s uncle Grand Duke
Sergei assassinated (not the
meerkat).
1905 Duma set up, too little too
late.
St. Petersburg soviet became
more important.
Witte appointed PM and
Liberals formed Octobrists to
support government.
Yet more consequences
•
•
•
•
Military Consequences
Morale very low after 1905,
added to by poor pay and
conditions.
Troops rebelled on TransSiberian railway.
Several mutinies – naval
mutiny on Potemkin
Warship in June.
Still generally loyal.
Economic Consequences
• Tsar agreed to end redemption
payments for serfs – some
agricultural improvements.
• Economic depression 19021906.
• Stolypin’s agrarian reforms
helped create a new consumer
based domestic market.
• Still uncertain growth and
industrialisation.
• Foreign investment still high
and possibly led to WWI.
“Give the state twenty years of quiet
at home and abroad, and you will
not recognise the Russia of that day”
– Stolypin 1909
To what extent do you agree?
Russo-Japanese War – Change or
Turning Point?
World War I – Final Nail or
beginning of the end?
Causes
Long Term
• Russia needed allies as Prussia
(Germany) grew stronger.
• Allied with France and
eventually Britain = Triple
Entente.
• Was embarrassed by the
Balkan Wars 1912-13, Europe
saw Russia as politically and
militarily impotent.
• Arms race and colonisation
made Europe increasingly
unstable.
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•
•
•
Short Term
Balkan states began to
agitate for independence.
Russia saw Bulgaria as a
prime Slavic state.
Serbia another interest for
Russia, had to protect it
against Austrian aggression
after assassination of Franz
Ferdinand.
I say don’t you know [this],
you say you don’t know
[this] I say…take me out!
Initial
consequences
• 8 million casualties,
1.7m dead and
2.4m captured.
• Hardship at home.
• Tsar Nicholas II
blamed for defeat
along with his wife
and Rasputin.
Optimists Argument (Don’t worry,
be happy)
• Optimists argue that Russian autocracy would have
coped with calls for change, if WWI had not
occurred.
• It needed something dramatic, i.e. WWI, for Russia
to change as Russians would inevitably blame the
leadership for failures in the War.
• Optimists argue Tsars would have continued
development, i.e. Duma, but would have retained
authority.
• Military failures led to economic hardships that
impacted on lives of Russians on Home Front.
Failures/Consequences
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•
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Military
Heavy defeats at
Tannenburg and Masurian
Lakes, lost 2x as many
troops as Germans.
Ammunition not able to be
sent to Front, logistical
inadequacies.
Food rotted in stockpiles in
Archangel.
Criticism of Tsar for leaving
Petrograd.
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Economic and Social
Cost of war was huge, 3bn
roubles.
Workers received higher
income and kept in work,
but inflation went rampant.
High population, food
requisitioning and rations
hurt populace.
Optimists argue it was these
conditions that contributed
to unrest.
Cchhaannggeess 2
Political changes
• The military weaknesses
and economic problems
caused criticism of Nic II.
• Abdication result of
progressive bloc, family and
military advisors.
• Stephen Lee – “A turning
point – which actually
turned twice”.
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•
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Pessimists - booo
WWI strengthened existing
progressive bloc.
Working classes opposed
autocracy – started with GS.
Political parties also grew
up.
Pro-Bolshevik stance.
Russian Revolution - 1917
Causes
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Long Term
Weakness of Nic. II and
unpopularity.
Build up of opposition
groups, including
Bolsheviks.
Weakness of Prov. Gov. and
sense of lack of validity.
Bolshevik promise of
Dictatorship of the
Proletariat would give way
to stateless society.
Short Term
• Lenin’s sense of
opportunism.
• Prov. Gov. announcement of
elections to be held hurried
Lenin’s actions.
• Kerensky allowed Bolsheviks
Dual Authority, thus
weakening own position in
eyes of the people.
Civil War Key FACTS!! WE NEED
FACTS!!
• Began Nov. 1917, Kerensky and General Krasnov attempt to retake
power.
• April 1918 General Kornilov’s army defeated and foreign powers
intervene (British marines).
• Czech Legion revolts in May, becomes focus for anti-Red Army
forces.
• July 1918 Tsar and family executed by Cheka.
• August 1918 Trotsky begins executing deserters.
• December 1918-1920 – Whites vs. Reds, began to see Nationalist
movements, particularly in Ukraine and Poland.
• By 1921 peasant armies roamed Russia aiming for freedoms from
Bolsheviks.
Impact of Civil War
• Bolsheviks take having defeated all comers,
established power.
• Lenin retained Comintern but also focussed on
peaceful international relations.
• Introduced War Communism and NEP as economic
actions.
• War Communism and Cheka did cause divisions in
Party.
• Power more centralised under Politburo and
Orgburo.
World War II
We never surrender
the gains of October!
World War II - Causes
Long Term
• Russia feared German
expansion, despite Treaty of
Berlin and non-aggression
pact with Poland in Jan
1934.
• Russia into LON as Germany
and Japan pulled.
• Spanish Civil War added to
fear, Fascism vs.
Communism, Russia feared
to provoke Germany overly.
Yet more Long Term!!
• By 1936 Germany had antiComintern pact with Japan
and Italy.
• 1938 Anschluss of Austria
added to fear.
• Stalin felt appeasement
pointless, signed Nazi Soviet
Pact in 1939.
– Would have given Soviet
influence over Poland,
Balkans and Finland.
Short Term…
• 1939 invasion of Poland signalled start of Western
WWI, but for Russia still neutral.
• Russia did build up troops in East.
• Finland refused to allow Soviet troops to be
stationed there, led to Finnish War Nov. 1939-March
1940 – lost 50,000 men and showed weakness.
• Stalin did predict that Hitler would move after
Denmark to “beat our brains in” – but still refused to
believe reports of German attacks. Idiot.
Consequences of WWII…
Social Impact
• Huge cost in human lives, 27m
dead, 1.1m in siege of
Leningrad.
• Shortage of labour.
• 50,000minimum deserters
shot, showed failure of
propaganda?
• 2m+ women raped during
WWII.
• Treatment of prisoners
harmed Russian relations with
other countries post-WWII.
Economic Impact
• Huge cost of war and
rebuilding after WWII.
• Factories destroyed,
agriculture on hold, railways
damaged.
• 1946-50 5Yr Plan, neglected
consumer goods but forced
labour of prisoners helped
plan succeed.
• Many projects flopped,
including Volga-Don Canal.
• Famine also occurred 1947.
Political Impact and NKVD
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WWII has very little impact on
leadership, Stalin catapulted to demiGod status.
Became Supreme Commander of the
Military.
Politburo remained largely the same,
mostly same personnel since 1938, i.e.
Voroshilov, Kaganovich, Molotov and
Khrushchev.
Party membership increased from
3.76m in 1941 to 5.8m in 1945.
NKVD:
• Had been used to crack down on
dissent and desertion.
• Reverted to purging party post WWII.
• Leningrad affair saw 200 supporters of
A.A. Zhdanov killed.
• Repression lessened with Khrushchev.
COLD WAR – FINALLY!!
1947-1964
“Protracted state of tension between countries
falling short of actual warfare”
Long Term Causes
• Ideological differences
between Russia and USA.
– Stalin claimed WWI due to
“monopoly of capitalism”.
• Russia under Stalin
appeared invincible.
• USA perhaps misread
Russian gains in the East,
i.e. Poland, as expansion.
Probably just as much for an
economic market.
Short Term Causes
• Fear of Russia, China and
North Korea joining forces.
• Spy network in Canada.
• Kennan “long telegram” –
warned of dangers of Russia,
prepared for “deadly struggle
for total destruction of enemy
power” – taken seriously in
USA.
• Churchill’s Iron Curtain speech
in 1946 – antagonistic.
Early Actions
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1946 Truman Doctrine laid out America’s
belief in support for “free peoples” –
Russia saw it as a threat, even though it
was directed at Greece.
Marshall Plan rejected by Russia, saw it as
spread of capitalism – lot of paranoid.
Cominform set up in 1947, meant to be
able to co-ordinate development,
disbanded in 1956!
1949 NATO formed, anti-Communist.
1950 Korean War.
1952 and 1953 1st H-Bombs dropped by
USA and Russia – arms race.
1956 Hungarian Revolution – spurred by
destalinisation and sense of new
freedoms, crushed Nov. 1956.
1957 Sputnik launched – space race on!
1962-1963 – Cuban Missile Crisis, build up
of tensions around Cuba culminating in
building and dismantling of Soviet missile
bases.
Consequential Consequences
• Led to containment policy
around Russia.
• De-stalinisation introduced
to meliorate external
opinions.
• Nuclear and space race very
expensive so civilian life
suffered.
• Increasing levels of
opposition in “new Russia”.
• Did show Russia was willing
to make a point, but did not
want WWIII.
Nikita Khrushchev repudiated the trials in a speech to
the Twentieth Congress of the Russian Communist
Party:
"The commission has become acquainted with a large
quantity of materials in the NKVD archives and with other
documents and has established many facts pertaining to the
fabrication of cases against Communists, to glaring abuses of
Socialist legality which resulted in the death of innocent
people. It became apparent that many party, Government and
economic activists who were branded in 1937-38 as ‘enemies,’
were actually never enemies, spies, wreckers, etc., but were
always honest Communists.
They were only so stigmatized and often, no longer able to
bear barbaric tortures, they charged themselves (at the order
of the investigative judges – falsifiers) with all kinds of grave
and unlikely crimes.
And that, ladies and gentlemen,
in 48 slides and 15 billion hours,
is the end of Russian Warfare.
What have we learnt? Chill out and
don’t fight.