1.2) Alexander II Reform and Reaction Flashcards
How was Russia ruled in 1850?
- Alexander II was king
- He was autocratic
- He inherited a Russia with lots of problems, industry and economy ineffective, Russia just lost Crimean War
What was wrong with Russia?
Due to poor laws and ruling from Tsar
- Used repression and the** secret police **to control
- No available workforce 80% of SERFS owned privately
- Tsar controls religion
- Peasants have no political rights
- Russian economy completely dependent on agricultural output
What is the Emancipation of the Serfs?
In 1861 Alexander II freed the Serfs (enslaved population). They were no longer slaves and were given rights. Millions were freed.
What were some causes of the emancipation of the Serfs?
- Russia wanted to modernise its industry but workforce were all privately owned and trapped
- There were 1467 peasant revolts since 1800 which cost the Tsar a lot of money
- Russia wanted to progress as it was very poor
- The Army were uneducated and ineffective. Russia wanted to win wars so had to educate army
The army has just lost the Crimean War also
Positive effects from the emancipation of the Serfs
Serfs were given rights, freedom, they could marry anyone they want and could own a house. Serfs could also travel freely so labour pools built up
Negative effects of the emancipation of the serfs
- Serfs lost lots of land, and when they asked the nobels they were given small and hard to farm land
- Serfs farmed for survival (subsistent) beforehand, and 20% less land was farmed afterwards, increasing the chance of starvation
- Serfs had to pay redemption taxes for 49 years, which were difficult to pay as farming generated little profit
- Mir (village elders) controlles commune of peasants so they couldn’t leave
What were the consequences of the emancipation of the serfs?
- 647 peasant riots in 4 months
- Land shortage became an increasing problem
- Peasants given no incentive
- Nobels struggled, by 1905 nobels owned 40% less land than before
- Many intellectuals criticised the Tsar
- 7 assassination attempts on Alexander II
Give 4 reforms of Alexander II
- Emancipated the serfs
- All conservative university profesors were replaced with liberal ones, and the state exempted the poor from having to pay university fees, (In moscow 2/3 were exempt)
- 1863 new regulations in schools that allowed private schools, but enforced a curriculum with religion, reading, and writing in Russian only
- 1865 cencorship was relaxed and gave guidlines on what should be published
Name some problems with Alexander II’s reforms
- Freed serfs had little land so couldn’t contribute to workforce. Redemption payments also exceeded life span of a peasant (30yrs)
- Allowed revolutionary ideas to spread and oppose the Tsar regime
- Russification meant other cultures suffered and had no heritage
- The more educated peasants became the more they realised they were being treated awfully
When did Alexander II die and how?
1881 March 1st
assassinated by a terrorist group called the People’s Will
Who took over from Alexander II?
His son Nicholas I
What did the Decembrist Revolt of 1825 show Nicholas I?
Autocracy could not continue to ignore demands for reform
What did defeat in the Crimean War show Russia?
That serfdom was ineffective and they were behind their european counterparts
Why did emancipating the serfs not really help the economy?
- Peasants lost 4.2% of their pre-emancipation agricultural holdings
- Ukraine lost 30.8% of their former land
- There was not enough arable land to go around, little profit
What were the judicial reforms?
A committee of jurists was set up in 1861 to identify problems with law and courts, controlled by Tsar
