The Autocracy Of Alexander II and alexander III

Question 1

What shook the emperors confidence in 1866

How did this continue?

Answer 1

An attempted association

• 1866 a former student of Nobel status, shot but missed.
• the following year a polish immigrant attempted to blow up his carriage but hit the house instead.
• 1879 a former student fired at him 5 times
• 1879 a bomb attempted to blow up the cart Alexander II was travelling in but was planted on the wrong train.

Question 2

Who was blamed for the problems of the nineteenth century

Answer 2

Blamed on Alexander II failure to set up institutions of civil society or rule of law. Suggesting that the attempt to repair the autocracy was a threat to the whole system.

Question 3

What did the reactionaries fear

What was Alexander II therefore persuaded to do?

Answer 3

The spread of western ideas through the liberal universities and freed press and argued that the ethnic minorities with their different religions were diluting the Russian strength.

• encouraged to replace liberal ministers with conservative ones. Eg- Tolstoy replaced Golovin as minster for education

Question 4

What did Tolstoy believe

What happened as a result

Answer 4

Believed that the autocracy needed tight control over education was essential to irradiate western liberal ideas and growing criticism of the autocracy.

The zemstva power over education was reduced, the church regained its authority over rural schools and the higher Gimnzii schools were ordered to follow traditional classic curriculum and abandoned teaching natural science. From 1871 only students from Gimnziya schools could go to university

Question 5

What happened in university’s to prevent liberal- western ideas

Answer 5

More liberal courses were replaced by traditional curriculum. Subjects that encouraged critical thinking like literature were forced out whilst maths was encouraged.
Censorship was tightened and there was strict control over student activity and organisations.

Question 6

What was set up to increase tsarist control in education

Answer 6

Teacher training colleagues

Question 7

How was police, law and controlled tightened

Answer 7

Shuvalov encouraged the third section and stepped up the persecution of other ethnic minorities and religious minorities.

Pahlen encouraged the judiciary system to make an example of those accused of political agitations. Also opened show trails to deter others from revolutionary activity

Searchers and arrests increased and new governor generals were established in 1879 with emergency powers with emergency powers to exile political offenders.

Question 8

Give an example of one show trail, how was this not helpful for the autocracy ?

Answer 8

Trail of 193 in 1877-78
A sympathetic jury acquitted 153/193 defendants and gave only light sentences to the rest, while the defence lawyer passionate speeches were reported to the press, giving publicity to the revolutionary ideas.

Question 9

Why was Russia in a political crisis in the late 1870s

Answer 9

• the army was bogged down in the Russo Turkish war 1877-78
• famine swept the countryside
• industrial recession began
• further attempts on the tsars life

Question 10

Who was Mikhail Loris-Melikov

What did he do?

What did he create?

How was this ironic?

Answer 10

Appointed minister of internal affairs

• released political prisoners
• removed salt tax
• lifted restriction and activities of the zemstva
• abolished the third section and transferred powers to the police
• special section was created known as the okhrana

He created a report for the tsar to sign with some of the demands of the zemstva debating some state decrees, this was known as the loris-constitution’.
The tsar signed the report 13 march 1881 and called for a meeting with the council of minsters to discuss the document ….. the same day the tsar was killed by a bomb.

• ironic as the tsar was about to change for he zemstva but now there were back to square one with a new tsar.

Question 11

Who assassinated the tsar

Answer 11

A revolutionary group known as the people’s will

Question 12

How was Alexander III as tsar

Answer 12

Tutored by Pobedonostev, Alexander III had been brought up with a very strong sense of commitment who believed in himself. Relied heavily on conservatives

Question 13

How did Alexander III reign begin

What was abandoned ?

Answer 13

With the hanging of those involved in his fathers assassination

• the loris- melikov proposal and reforming ministry such as Dmitry Milyutin resigned.

Question 14

What was created in 1889 which was a reactionary policy to the zemstva

Answer 14

Land captains were introduced, they had the power to override elections to the zemstva and village assemblies. They were responsible for law and enforcement and government in the countryside and could ignore the normal judiciary process and overturn court judgements.

1890- Zemstva began under control of the central government. This challenged there efforts always from politics but to social services.

1892- the electorate of the zemstva was reduced to the owners of property above a certain value.

Question 15

What were the changes in policing

Answer 15

Number of police was increased
Recruit of spies
The okhrana - responsible for security and investigation. They checked on activity in factories, unis and the army.
Police agents could search, arrest, detain, question and imprison anyone who had committed a crime.

Question 16

How was the judiciary system changed

Answer 16

1885- gave the minster of Justice greater control in dismissing judges
1887- the ministry was granted power to hold closed court sessions (trail held in secret were no reporting was allowed )
1889- ministry was responsible fore the appointment of town judges.
1889- the volosts court system were controlled by the land captains in the countryside.

Question 17

How were there changes in education

Answer 17

Closed university’s for women
University life was closely supervised with students forbidden to gather in a group larger than 5.
Children from lower classes were restricted to primary education which was in the hands of the Orthodox Church.
21% of the population was literate by eighteen ninety seven.

Question 18

How was there changes in censorship

Answer 18

Tolstoy 1882 established a government committee which issued temporary regulations. These allowed newspapers to be closed down and a life ban on editors and publishers. Censors became more active, all literacy publications had to be officially approved and liberals and reading rooms were restricted on the books they were allowed to stock.
Russification was enforced in theatre, art and culture.

Question 19

Hat positive reforms were made

Answer 19

In 1881 a law reduced redemption fees.
1855- poll tax was abolished and the introduction of inheritance helped to shift the burden of taxation
- right to appeal to higher courts