Alexander II Depth Study Flashcards
(73 cards)
1
Q
What is Russification?
A
A policy put in the last 1800s enforcing Russian culture on vast numbers of ethnic minorities that lived in the Russian empire
2
Q
When was the emancipation of the serfs?
A
1861
3
Q
Terms of the emancipation of the serfs?
A
- the right of bondage was forever abolished
- serfs were to retrieve land from the estates of nobility 1/3 of the land
- peasants paid redemption payments, paying for their own freedom 20 % upfront and 40 annual payments for 48 years
4
Q
How free were the serfs actually after the emancipation?
A
- still under control of nobility
- the only real freedoms they had was their choice to marry and trade
- still had to pay to live on peoples land
5
Q
Aspects of emancipation that the peasants saw as actually beneficial
A
- able to marry who they want
- able to trade freely
- the mir
6
Q
What was a ‘Mir’?
A
A self governing community of peasant households that elected its own officials
7
Q
Who did Russification impact?
A
Poles
Ukrainians
(Polish and Ukrainian language was banned from official governing areas)
Jewish
8
Q
What impact did the emancipation of the serfs have on the economy?
A
Went from economy based on agriculture to industrialisation
- able to move for labour- urban areas
- can become w/c (factory worker)
9
Q
What was Russias economy like in 1855?
A
- overwhelmingly agricultural
-largely serf based - inefficient - 30% of income was tax on vodka
- 45% of expenditure is army and fleet
10
Q
What were Russian political ideas in 1855?
A
There were close links between patriotism, church and government
(Orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality)
11
Q
What was russias social structure in 1855?
A
- absolute monarchy
- 1/2 peasants were serfs
- judicial system had no independence from government
12
Q
Why did people follow/ obey in Russia?
A
Autocracy was justified through the divine right to rule- ideological legitimation
People followed out of fear to be a good Christian because of close links with church and government
13
Q
Evidence for prominent anti semitism
A
- Jews were kept in 15 provinces out of 46 (Russification)
14
Q
What lessons did the government learn from the Crimean war?
A
- the military needed reform- a set army
- needed to improve serf morale- make them more free
- needed to modernise economy
15
Q
What were the fundamental laws of 1832
A
- basic laws that reinforced the ideology underpinning tsarist rule
- emphasised that the tsar is the one and only
- still in place under Alexanders rule
16
Q
Military consequences of the Crimean war
A
- modernised training was introduced, provided rigorous instruction for officers
- reduced service in the army to 15 years
- modernisation of military happened during emancipation of serfs so they had less of an obligation
17
Q
Social consequences of the Crimean war
A
Emancipation of the serfs in 1861 to improve morale
- 3000-4000 deaths per day
18
Q
Economic consequences of the Crimean war
A
- Expansion of the railway system
- russias economic and social infrastructure was outdated
-emancipation of serfs allowed for greater entrepreneurialism in agriculture
19
Q
Political consequences of the Crimean war
A
- zemstva appeared, local gov now had to be elected
- reduced political role of the nobility at local level
- Alexander’s main aim was to preserve autocracy
20
Q
What was the zemstva?
A
An institution of local democratic self government created in 1864 in the Russian countryside designed to replace the authoritarian of noble landlords after the emancipation of serfdom
Introduced a democracy on a local level
21
Q
What were some alternative causes of reforms following the Crimean war?
A
- industrialisation and need for modernisation
- fear of revolution from below
Peasant uprisings rose from 141 in 1850-54 to 180 from 1859-61 - preservation of autocracy
22
Q
What was the committee of ministers?
A
Had a responsibility for a particular aspect of the administration of Russian affairs such as:, war, finance, procurator of the holy synod, interior
Powers were limited as members rarely consulted eachother
23
Q
What was the role of the council of ministers?
A
- chaired by the tsar
- consisted of officials nominated by tsar
- main task was to discuss draft legislation but couldn’t actually make them
24
Q
What was the role of the imperial council?
A
- gave the tsar advice on legal and financial matters
- tsar didn’t have to listen to them
25
What was the third section?
- a secret police
- they could arrest who ever they wanted if they disagreed
- in charge of state security, censorship and surveillance
26
To what extent did any institutions limit the tsars power?
- they didn’t limit his power at all
- he didn’t have to listen to anyone
27
What were the weaknesses of autocratic Russian government?
- only one person in charge
- lack of coordination
-solely depended not on tsars competency
28
What was the zemstva act 1864
Established a new local government institution
- the zemstva
- only 43/70 provinces had a zemstva
29
What was the municipal statute 1870?
Aimed to improve economies of cities and to attract big financial and commercial bourgeoise to municipal administration
This replaced previous estate Dumas with municipal institutions of local self government drawn from all the estates
30
What were the judicial reforms of 1864?
A new system of courts open to all citizens, including former serfs was established.
These were still separated. From the executive branch
This also meant that freed serfs had legal standing for the first time ever
31
What were the press laws of 1865?
Allowed the discussion of government policy in the press
32
Who were the intelligensia?
Group disagreeing with autocratic values, the intellectual elite of Russia
-**may 1862** pamphlet distribution until st Petersburg fires
- they were so disconnected from power structures that they did anything they wanted. “Ludicrous extremes”
33
Who were the Narodniks?
A group of students going against the tsar
- believed that peasants were not ready for an uprising
- founded secret press
- distributed pamphlets
They later retired in **1877** and formed a new organisation called land and liberty
34
Prominent actions of the Narodniks
**1874**- several thousand students descend on the countryside on the first major ‘movement to the people’- little success (800 arrested)
**1876**- tried again but instead dressed up as officials or teachers to try gain respect and attention of peasants - failed again
35
Who was Vera Zaulich and why was she important?
**25 January 1878** Vera shot general Trepov because he ordered a student to be flogged for refusing to salute
- vera was a member of land and liberty
**april 1878** she was acquitted against all evidence
36
When were all of Alexander’s assassination attempts?
**1866**- intelligensia
-as a result most prominent figures were exiled
**1867**- intelligensia
- tsar began to retreat from public life
**April 1879**
- land and liberty then split into 2 groups
**Dec 1879**- the peoples will
- 3 unsuccessful bombs
**Feb 1880**- the peoples will
- general loris became head of commission
**13 march 1881**- successful attempt
37
Why was land and liberty important
- Vera Zaulich was a member
- they issued a pamphlet titled ‘a death for a death’ as a response to the killing of General Mezentsen Chead of the third section which as a result political prisoners went on hunger strike
- split into the black partition group and the peoples will
38
What was Narodnya Volya (the peoples will)?
A group of opposition thet favoured terrorist methods led by Mikhailov
39
What were the main groups/people of opposition?
Intelligentsia
Narodniks
Vera Zaulich
The peoples will
40
What happened with Narodnya Volyas attempt on Alexanders life in December 1879?
Three separate bombs were exploded but missed the Tsar
First- tsar took an alternate route
Second- failed to explode
Third- exploded but under the wrong
41
What happened with Narodnya Volyas attempt on Alexanders life in February 1880?
An explosion hit the winter palace
The tsar escaped again
But 40 Finnish soldiers died
42
How did Narodnya Volya come to an end
By the end of 1880 a member of Narodnya volya had been captured and tricked into revealing many secrets
- this was followed by many arrests
- terrorist organisation was reduced to very few
43
The events of Alexander II assassination
13 march 1881
- tsar had finally signed the proposal for constitutional change after refusing loris
- he then went to the Sunday parade
- as he returned to the palace a bomb was thrown at his carriage and he was left unharmed
- he then descended from his carriage and was hit by another bomb that slowly killed him
44
How was opposition repressed?
The secret police:third section
The army
Propaganda
Censorship
Exile
45
What were censorship laws like under Alexander II?
- There was a committee responsible for the censorship of censors
- Newspaper articles could not include the word serf
-Under these conditions such as Dostovesky and Tolstoy used fiction as a way to discuss social issues as well as to inform public opinion
46
Why did the Third Section target liberal and nationalist ideas in particular?
In 1855 the Third section of the Imperial Chancellery had turned Russia into a police state
Nationals and liberal idea threatened not only the Tsars power but also theirs
47
What is meant by autocracy?
- the Russian system of government
- tsar had no limit to his power
- Tsar was chosen by God
48
What is meant by orthodoxy?
- Church supported Russian monarchy and in return received state protection
-orthodoxy taught its following to accept that everything was Gods will
-Orthodox: church became a symbol of isolation and backwardness of Russia
49
What is meant by nationality?
-altogether there were around 170 different ethnic groups, Russians and Slavs were under half of the total population
- Russification was then introduced
50
What was did Loris Melikov do?
- abolished the third section
- replaced dimitri Tolstoy at the ministry of education
- called a National Assembly which was a step away from autocracy
-Tsar gave his approval to the ‘peoples will’
- wanted to augments zemstva powers and strengthen their tax base
- creation of supreme comission
51
What was the nature of government during Alexander’s rule?
- tsar had ultimate power
- orthodox divine right to rule
52
How did conscription change in 1874?
It went from a mandatory 25 years to 15 years
Conscription was extended to everyone not just peasants
53
Why was the army bad?
-long conscription
- no industry to provide modern equipment
- no pay meant low morale and no motivation to fight
54
How many serfs were there during Alexander’s rule?
-80% of the population
- 51 million by 1856
55
What percentage of the population were nobility?
1.1%
56
Evidence of peasants being unhappy after the emancipation
- 4 months after the emancipation there were 647 riots
- 499 of those riots involved police
57
Why were the St Petersburg zemstva exiled in 1865?
Because they suggested there was a need for change so they were quickly exiled to Siberia and replaced
58
What were the problems with the judicial system?
- judges were still under the influence of the tsar
- there was a lack of lawyers
- there was a different court system for peasants
- government officials were controlled by specific rules
59
What was the only good thing about the judicial system?
After the trial of Vera Zaulich, open trials were introduced allowing for influence to be opened
60
What did the education reform 1862 lead to?
Primary and secondary school was extended
Power under minister of education not church
- increase in number of primary schools from 8000 in 1856 to 23,000 in 1880 meaning more people were educated growing up, increasing literate population.
61
Evidence for railway expansion
1862: 2194 miles of railway
1878: 13,979 miles of railway
This was a major reason for doubling of industrial output
Allowed Russia to cushion itself against the European economic depression 1873-82
62
Effects of the railway expansion
- lowered the divide in costs of things city to city
- st Petersburg rye dropped in cost by 66% in 1870s
- gave the empire greater coherence and immediately stimulated internal trade
- stimulation of urbanisation and further industrialisation
63
What was the polish revolt of 1863
Large scale rebellion
Resulted in 35,000 poles exiled to Siberia
Led to growth in nationalist feeling and decline in radicalism
64
What happened in June 1862 in St Petersburg?
A series of fires that destroyed over 2000 shops
- rumoured to be cause by poles or radicals
65
How did Tolstoy improve education through reforms?
- tightened the entrance requirements to universities
- 1871- mandatory for all university applicants had to have attended to gimnazium with a classical curriculum
66
What was the treatment of the Finns like?
- treated especially well
- the use of their own language was made compulsory in local administration
- they have their own constitution
- this was because the produced a lot of money
67
What was treatment of poles and Ukrainians like?
Ukrainian and Polish was banned in local administration
More and more of their things were being replaced by Russian things.
More and more poles were replaces with Russians in the ranks of administrators
68
What was the economic motive for Russian expansionism?
- Russia built the railway to transport goods such as raw material, oil and raw cotton as well as for strategic defence
- expansion towards Baltic Sea to promote economic and cultural ties with west
69
Positive consequences of the polish revolt of 1863
- polish peasants were emancipated
- reformed taxation systems which meant that aristocrats had less power
70
Effects of industrial production on the economy
- economy benefitted from increase in railway building and from the policy of low tariffs as it allowed importation of raw materials
- railways linked agricultural production to towns to the ports of Black Sea
71
Effects of State accounts on economy
- Reutern abolished the inefficient system of tax farming, financiers could ‘farm’ taxes in whatever quality they saw fit
- vodka tax was replaced,
- a state bank was founded in 1860, didn’t really help w the stability of the rouble
72
Effects of railway construction on the economy
- 1.8 billion roubles in loans for railway construction 1861-72 as it was govs top political and economic priority
- reutern secured foreign monies and investment through a variety of novel approaches (monopoly concessions, taxation exemptions, issuing gov bonds)
- illustrated the importance of attracting foreign investment capital
73
Who was reutern?
A finance minister who set out to reduce state expenditures
