1914 What was Russia like in 1881? • 82% of the population were illiterate peasant farmers. • No technology was used on farms – subsistence farming. • Largest standing army in Europe. • No political parties and the press was heavily censored. • Fierce loyalty to the Tsar – often enforced by brutal secret police. • Royalty owned most of the land – Tsar’s estate was larger than some countries. • 1861 – Tsar Alexander II freed serfs but peasants still
12 History 91230 The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand By Erin Jaggard Introduction The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28th June, 1914 is often regarded as the event that triggered the First World War. This simple “cause and effect” formula does not do justice to what is a far more a complex story. While the assassination certainly helped to set in train a series of reactions by various governments that led to the outbreak of the war, the story neither begins
12 History 91230 The Assassination of Franz Ferdinand By Erin Jaggard Introduction The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28th June, 1914 is often regarded as the event that triggered the First World War. This simple “cause and effect” formula does not do justice to what is a far more a complex story. While the assassination certainly helped to set in train a series of reactions by various governments that led to the outbreak of the war, the story neither begins or ends
between the Balkan League and Turkey began. His plans included occupation of the Sanjak of Novi Bazar, a strip of land separating Serbia and Montenegro, in hopes of keeping the two Slavic countries from combining into one common border. However, Foreign Minister Leopold von Berchtold craved peace and rejected Conrad’s