Alexander II Flashcards
what happened in the Crimean war?
started with a Turkish attack on Russia in 1853, then a response from Russia was the sinking of the Turkish fleet, over 4000 Turks were killed
when did Britain and France declare war on Russia?
March 1854
what happened in the Crimean war?
Britain and France invaded Crimea, but were slow so it allowed Russian forces to regroup
Battle of Alma September 1954
the siege of Sevastopol was long and drawn out over the winter
treaty of Paris March 1856
what were the terms of the treaty of paris?
Russia was prohibited from maintaining a fleet in the Black Sea
remove all naval bases along the Black sea coastline
what was the result of the crimean war?
Russia lost against the Turks, Britain and France
Russia was in a weak position
but the harsh terms of the treaty showed how fearful the European powers were
what were the aims of Alexander’s domestic reform?
legal position of serfs
local government
army
education
censorship
justice
economy
what was the nature of his government?
autocratic, so he had final decisions over policy
government was dominated by the nobility and the tsar did not need consent to pass laws
all organs of the government were accountable to the tsar
what was the zemstva?
an elected council, representatives were mostly nobles, it allowed all classes to take part in the election and vote
created in 1864
they could impose taxes on property and businesses
demands from the Liberal nobles who wanted greater representation in government
improvement public services
what was the Duma?
1870 town and cities of certain size should have their own elected town council
organised like the zemstva
when was the emancipation of the serf?
1861
why was the emancipation of the serf seen to be the most important reform?
affected so many people in Russia, most of the reforms later could not happen without the serfs being emancipated first
it was key to modernising Russia and the economy allowing for free movement of labour from country side to towns
what was the emancipation of the serfs?
serfs to be released from ties to lands, able to marry, travel, enjoy legal rights
landlords would receive compensation for loss of land in form of government bonds
peasants required to pay redemption payments
what was the reform of local government?
started with the zemstva in 1864, improvements to public services, but nobles would always dominate
Alexander restricted powers so they were not harmful organs as to what central government organs were
Dumas in 1870
what were the reforms to the judiciary system?
landowners wanted protection from emancipated population
emancipated wanted change to be made to the corrupt secretive system of local judiciary.
serfs had little chance of obtaining justice as they were usually presumed to be guilty
system heavily criticised from intellectuals for inequality.
