Trying to preserve autocracy 1855-94 Flashcards
(101 cards)
1
Q
What was the composition of the Russian population in 1855?
A
- 11:1 village to town dwellers
- 85% illiterate peasants, either privately or state-owned serfs
- Most serfs belonged to village communes (mirs), and paid their master for the land in rent or labour
2
Q
What is autocracy?
A
The system of government in Russia, where there are no constraints on the power of the ruler - absolute power
3
Q
What are the bourgeoise?
A
The owners of capital, industrialists, manufacturers, wealthy merchants and wealthy middle classes
4
Q
What are the intelligentsia?
A
An educated and more enlightened section of Russian society
5
Q
What are the proletariat?
A
Industrial working class
6
Q
What are serfs?
A
Peasants bound to the estates of nobles
7
Q
What roles did the tsar have in 1855?
A
- An autocratic leader
- Head of the Russian Orthodox Church
- His edicts were law and he chose his own advisors
8
Q
Who became Tsar at the beginning of the course and when, and what war was happening?
A
Alexander II, March 1855, the Crimean War
9
Q
What is the Mir?
A
A peasant commune
10
Q
What were the Kulaks?
A
A prosperous landed peasant, who bought land off poorer peasants
11
Q
What did Westernisers believe?
A
Believed that Russia should adopt certain Western values, such as laws, and develop institutions similar to those in Western Europe
12
Q
What did Slavophiles believe?
A
Wanted to preserve Slav culture and the autocratic system of government
They saw Western values and institutions as unsuited to Russia
13
Q
What were 3 key battles of the Crimean War?
A
Battle of Balaclava (1854)
Battle of Inkerman (1855)
Siege of Sebastapol (major naval base) (1855)
14
Q
Who did Russia fight against in the Crimean War?
A
- Britain
- France
- Turkey / Ottoman Empire
15
Q
What issues did Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War highlight?
A
- Russia’s reliance on serf armies (where harshly treated conscripts served for 25 years)
- The country’s economic backwardness - lack of railways and outdated weaponry
16
Q
What were the impacts of the Crimean War?
A
Despite spending 45% of it’s annual expenditure on the army, Russia suffered incompetent officers, humiliation and an increase in serf uprisings
17
Q
What was Alexander II’s views on emancipation and who agreed with him?
A
He believed in serf emancipation to curb tensions and stimulate the economy.
Grand Duke Constantine (brother), Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna (aunt) and Nicholas and Dmitryi Milyutin (enlightened bureaucrats) agreed
18
Q
What were some political motives for reform in 1855?
A
- A growing serf population and inadequate systems meant declining incomes - many nobles were forced to mortgage their land and even their serfs for loan security
- Younger nobles had become enlightened, started being critical of the regime
19
Q
What were some economic motives for reform in 1855?
A
- Serfdom kept peasants in mirs, led to an immobile workforce, keeping internal demand for goods low
- Traditional practices of the mir prevented the chance of new agricultural methods developing, and rural poverty left many serfs unable to pay taxes
- By 1859, state faced 54 million rouble debt
20
Q
What were some moral and intellectual motives for reform in 1855
A
- Westernisers believed Russia should abandon serfdom, following the West, while Slavophiles favoured reform but wanted to keep the traditional peasant society
- Some intellectuals presented the ‘moral case’ against treating people like animals
21
Q
Who led the commission to deliver emancipation and how many people were in it
A
- Nicholas Milyutin
- Contained 38 people
22
Q
When was the emancipation of the serfs proclaimed?
A
In Alexander’s Edict of 1861
The Proclamation of the Abolition of Serfdom
23
Q
Which serfs did the Edict apply to?
A
Only applied to privately-owned serfs, state serfs gained freedom in 1866
24
Q
What are redemption payments?
A
Payments made by peasants to the government to redeem the land they had been allocated in emancipation
25
What are the Zemstva?
Elected district and provincial councils at rural level
26
What were the 3 terms of the Edict of Emancipation that affected the serfs?
- Serfs were declared 'free', could marry freely, own property, set up businesses and travel
- Serfs were given their own allotment and cottage
- Serfs were required to make 49 annual 'redemption payments' for the land they received, and couldn't leave until they were paid
27
What were 2 terms of the Edict of Emancipation that affected the landlords?
- Landlords were granted government bonds as compensation
- Landlords were allowed to retain meadows, pasture, woodland and personal land
28
What were 2 terms of the Edict of Emancipation that affected the Mir?
- The Mir was responsible for collection of taxes (including redemption payments)
- The Mir supervise the farming of allocated land
29
What was the significance of the terms of the Edict of Emancipation for the serfs?
- Those prepared to sell their land could move to an industrialising city and obtain wages
- Peasants could buy up land, increase output and make money from surplus grain
30
What was the significance of the terms of the Edict of Emancipation for the landlords?
- Landlords could use compensation to redeem debts and invest in industrial enterprises
- Some could only just pay off their debts and were forced to sell their remaining land
31
What were the reasons that Russia needed further reform following emancipation
- Both peasants and landlords had issues with areas of emancipation - there were 647 peasant riots in 4 months following the decree
- Russia relied on serfdom to function, there were many issues that needed resolution
32
What were some military reforms in 1874, following emancipation?
- Conscription for over 20 year olds was compulsory for all classes
- Length of service went from 25 to 15 years (with 9 years in reserve)
- Abolition of corporal punishment and army service being used as a punishment
- Military colleges introduced to train officers
- Modern weaponry introduced
33
How successful were the military reforms in 1864?
- Army was made smaller but better-trained and cost less for the government
- Officers were still mostly aristocrats and upper classes 'bought' their way out of conscription
- Victory in Turkey (1877-78) took longer than expected
34
What were some local government reforms in 1864 and 1870, following emancipation?
- Zemstva were established at district and provincial levels (1864)
- Zemstva were elected, giving a vote to nobles, townspeople, Church and peasants (weighted to nobility)
- Zemstva given the power to improve public services
35
How successful were the local government reforms in 1864?
- Zemstva offered some representative government at local level
- Peasants had little influence, still dominated by nobles and 'professionals'
- Made significant welfare and education improvements
- Had no control over taxation, and law and order
36
What were some judicial reforms in 1864, following emancipation?
- A single system of local, provincial and national courts was established
- Criminal cases were before barristers and a jury
- All classes were judged equal before the law and proceedings were public
- Judges training and pay improved
37
How successful were the judicial reforms in 1864?
- A fairer, less corrupt system was created
- The jury system could undermine government control - the case of Vera Zasulich, who was acquitted of terrorism, although guilty, leading to special courts for political crimes from 1878 onwards
38
What were some educational reforms in 1864, following emancipation?
- The Zemstva took responsibility for primary education (replacing the Church)
- Free primary education was made available to all
- Universities were made self-governing in 1863 and began offering broader and more liberal courses
39
How successful were the educational reforms in 1864?
- Between 1856 and 1880, the number of primary school and university students tripled, and the number of children in primary education more than doubled
- Secondary education was still fee-paying so was limited to the better off
- More radical students joined opposition movements committed to violence
40
Who was the minister who oversaw these educational reforms?
Alexander Golovnin, a very liberal minded minister, who believed improving numeracy and literacy was vital for Russia's modernisation
41
What was the reaction to Alexander II's reforms in the 1860s?
- Spread of more radical books due to relaxation of censorship
- Growth of more independent, radical student organisations due to educational changes
- Promotion of legal careers
42
What were 2 opposition groups in the 1860s?
- Young Russia (1862) - student organisation, hostile to Tsar and Church. Likely responsible for a series of fires in St Petersburg in 1862
- The Organisation (1863) - Set up by students at Moscow University to coordinate revolutionary activities
43
What caused a period of 'reaction' from Alexander II?
Assassination attempts in 1866 and 1867
44
Who were 2 reactionary ministers that Alexander II appointed, and what did they believe?
- Dimitry Tolstoy and Peter Shuvalov
- Argued that westernising changes were weakening Russia
45
What were some reactionary policies in education?
- Church regained authority of schools from Zemstva
- Secondary schools removed scientific curriculums
- Subjects encouraging critical thought (literature + history) banned in university
- Student Organisations banned
46
What were some reactionary policies in the police and law courts under Alexander II?
- The work of the Third Section (secret police) was increased
- Until 1878, political offenders could face show trials
47
What were some results of educational reactionary reforms?
- Religious control was reasserted
- Curriculum was restricted
- Female education declined
48
What were some results of the reactionary reforms to police and law courts?
- Critics and opponents thrived underground
- 'Show trials' were abandoned after sympathetic juries acquitted the accused (Vera Zasulich)
49
What was the Loris-Melikov constitution?
A planned but unimplemented attempt at political reform, suggested by Count Loris-Melikov in 1881
50
What was Count Loris-Melikov's role?
Appointed Minister of the Interior in 1880 to investigate the spread of revolutionary activity
51
What events prompted Alexander II to establish the commission under Loris-Melikov?
- The Russo-Turkish war (1877-78)
- Famine (1879-80)
- The beginnings of an industrial recession
- Assassination attempts in 1879 and 1880
52
What did the Loris-Melikov constitution lead to?
- Release of political prisoners
- Relaxation of censorship
- Lifting of restrictions on Zemstva
- Abolition of the Third Section (replaced by Okhrana)
53
What were radical thinkers at the time aiming to do?
To influence young and educated Russians to adopt socialist ideas
54
Who was Nikolai Chernyshevsky?
- Editor of a radical journal - 'The Contemporary'
- Author of a book - 'What is to be done?'
Both of these spread the view that peasants had to be made leaders of a revolutionary change
55
Who was Alexander Herzen?
Editor of the journal - 'The Bell', which advocated a new peasant-based societal structure
56
Who was Mikail Bakunin?
Socialist who suggested private ownership should be replaced with collective ownership and income should be based on hours worked
57
When was the Communist Manifesto released in Russia?
- 1869, translated by Bakunin
58
What did Marx believe?
A 'final struggle' between the proletariat and bourgeoise would, after a short 'dictatorship of the proletariat', lead to a perfect, equal society
59
What were the Narodniks?
The Narodniks (Populists) were a 19th-century Russian revolutionary movement of mainly middle-class intellectuals
Believed that socialism could be achieved through the peasantry, bypassing capitalism
60
Describe the Narodnik's first plan
- 1874, Peter Lavrov encouraged 2000 young people, mainly students to 'go to the people'
- They tried to dress like peasants to gain acceptance and the spread socialist ideas
61
Why did the Narodnik's first plan fail?
- Ignorance, loyalty to the Church and the Tsar and fear that Narodniks were secret police agents led to peasants rejecting them
62
How many Narodnik's were arrested due to peasants turning them in to the police?
1600
63
Describe the Narodnik's second plan
1876, a second Narodnik movement was attempted, but, again failed with many arrests
64
What group did the remaining Narodniks establish in 1877?
Land and Liberty
65
What were Land and Liberty's aims?
Similar to the Narodniks, but with a commitment to assassination
66
What did Land and Liberty do?
- The assassination of General Mezemstev (head of the Third Section) 1878
- Several attempts on the Tsar's life
67
What groups did Land and Liberty split into in 1879?
- The Black Partition (peaceful)
- The People's Will (violent)
68
Describe The Black Partition
- Led by Plekhanov
- Worked peacefully among peasants
- Spread radical ideas among students and workers
- Weakened by arrests in 1880-81 and was broken up
- Plekhanov later became a Marxist
69
Describe The People's Will
- Led by Mikailov
- Larger than The Black Partition
- Advocated violence and assassination (particularly of the tsar)
70
Describe the Tsar's assassination
- March 1881
- The People's Will assassinated Alexander II with a bomb as he was travelling to the Winter Palace
71
What did the spread of opposition highlight?
- Government failures and assassinations suggested Tsarist regime lacked authority
- Demands for 'reform from below' had grown
72
When did Alexander III take the throne?
27th May 1881
73
Who was Alexander III key advisor and what did he encourage?
- The reactionary Konstantin Pobedonostev, procurator of the Holy Synod
- He encouraged the Tsar to abandon his father's reforms and reassert autocracy
74
What was one of Alexander III's first acts as Tsar?
- Arrested 150 members of the People's Will and publicly hanged those responsible for his father's assassination
75
How did Alexander III increase control?
- Increased the police's powers
- Made the Department of Police (which supervised the Okhrana), responsible to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to monitor activities
- Used spies and counter-spies
76
When were closed court sessions reintroduced and what were they?
- 1885
- Where trials were held in secret, without juries
77
What were Land Captains and when were they introduced?
- 1889
- They replaced local magistrates and had the power to override Zemstva elections and decisions
78
What was Russification?
Aimed to strengthen Russian nationalism by suppressing minority languages, cultures, and religions to enforce loyalty to the Tsar and promote Russian identity across the empire.
79
Who was a key driver of Russification?
Pobedonostev - pushed the idea of 'Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationality'
80
What were some key aspects of Russification?
- Russia was to be declared the official first language of the empire - trials and local government conducted in Russian
- Public office was closed to those who didn't speak Russian fluently
Resistance to Russification was suppressed, often by military
81
What nationalities suffered most from Russification?
- The Polish, the Finnish, the Baltic Germans and the Ukrainians
82
How many Jewish people were in Russia in 1881?
5 million, mostly in Western Russia
83
What were pogroms?
An attack on Jewish people - often accompanied with arson, rape and looting
84
When did anti- Jewish pogroms break out in Russia?
Between 1881-84, to which there was little response by the police
85
Who were some Jewish people who were driven to revolutionary groups?
- Leon Trotsky
- Julius Martov
86
What was the Pale of Settlement?
The Pale of Settlement was a region in western Imperial Russia where over 5 million Jews were confined, banned from living in most other parts of the empire
87
Who were the key finance ministers from 1862-1903?
Mikhail von Reutern 1862-78
Ivan Vyshnegradsky 1887-92
Sergei Witte 1892-1903
88
What economic reforms did von Reutern introduce?
- Tax-farming was abolished
- Tariffs on trade were lowered and trade treaties renegotiated
- Credit facilities were made available through establishment of banks
89
What were some strengths of von Reutern's reforms?
- Cotton industry and mining both expanded
- Improvement in agriculture
90
What were some limitations of von Reutern's reforms?
- Transport and labour mobility remained limited
- Growth was slow
- Russian currency was unstable
91
What was Vyshnegradsky's main aim?
To build up Russian industry to catch up to the west
92
What were some of Vyshnegradsky's reforms?
- Increase import tariffs by as much as 30% in order to boost home production
- Increase grain exports by forcing peasants to sell to the state
- Increase loans from abroad (France 1888)
93
What were the results of Vyshnegradsky's reforms?
- Grain exports increased by 18% from 1881-91, by 1892, the budget was in surplus
- The Great Famine (1891-1892) following a bad harvest led to Vyshnegradsky being dismissed
94
What was Vyshnegradsky quoted as saying?
"We ourselves shall not eat, but we shall export"
95
How many people died in the Great Famine?
350,000
96
What change did emancipation have in agricultural practice?
Little change:
- Peasants had too little land
- Peasants still owed to taxes, grain requisition, redemption payments
97
What were some of Witte's reforms?
- Sought additional loans from abroad
- Increased investment in mining, oil and banking
- Achieved huge expansion of the rail network
98
How much land did peasants have on average by 1894?
4 hectares
99
How were the landowners affected by agricultural changes?
- The biggest landowners were still noblemen
- Many landowners sold off some land to pay debts
100
How were the peasants affected by agricultural changes?
- The kulaks bought up land, sometimes with loans from the Peasants' Land Bank
- The poorest peasants became landless labourers
- Many peasants were found to be unfit for military service
101
What was the average life expectancy amongst peasants in Russia by 1894
28, compared to 45 in England
