DEPTH STUDIES: How far were Alex II's reforms due to the Crimean War?

Question 1

Why is the Crimean War said to have led to the Emancipation of the Serfs 1861?

Answer 1

• War showed that serfdom under a strict autocratic rule didn’t fit with modern warfare.
• Army recruited serfs who did not have the same standard of training as British and French armies.
• Serfs were inclined to revolt.
• Soldiers had been poorly supplied - production of bamrmanets and uniforms was inadequate - reflection of the Russian economy.

Question 2

Argument that the reason for the abolition of serfdom did not come from the Crimean War:

Answer 2

• Pressure to abolish serfdom as it was seen as slavery and immoral.
• Growing peasant unrest could be dated back to the 1770’s.
• Population growth put pressures on a farming system that was geared to provide subsistence farming and not surplus. (Famines became more frequent).

Question 3

Argument that Alex II’s military reforms were ineffective:

Answer 3

• New training regimes were compromised by the poor levels of education of recruits.
• 1877 - Russian army fails to defeat the Turkish troops - by 1905 they had been defeated by Japan.
• Reforms happened slowly.

Question 4

Why is it perhaps harsh to criticise Alex II’s military reforms?

Answer 4

• His reforms in the long term did prove to be successful.
• Economic cost of supporting an ineffective standing army was reduced.
• Agricultural efficiency was reduced.
• Soldiers were better trained in the long run and literacy rates improved.