Wider reforms Flashcards
(40 cards)
Why did Alexander II reform?
Personal
Political-legacy of Crimean war
Moral
Economic
Fear of opposition
Avoid revolution from below
What were the aims of Alexander II’s reforms?
Preserve autocracy
Modernise, “catch up with the west”
Make himself more popular
Better to have a revolution from above, to avoid revolution from below
strengthen Russia
What were Alexander II’s personal reasons behind reforms?
recognised that some improvement was necessary to preserve his autocratic system of gov
he was aware that the Russian state was weak
to show he is listening & prepared to bring changes
better to abolish from above, then wait for below
fear of opposition
Put it on landowners so he couldn’t be blamed
What were the political reasons behind reforms?
-Crimean War revealed the weakness & corruption of leadership of the army
-impossible to reform the army while emancipation survived
-loss made Russia realise they needed to industrialise to be on same level as other countries & highlighted serfdom was not working-it failed to provide the quality of soldier Russia needed
-loss exposed poor food production, inadequacy of Russia’s communications & inefficiency of Russia’s army (lost its superiority over the French + English armies, big shock)
-loss made it ideal for Alexander to introduce major reforms, now few had reasons to object it
What were the moral reasons behind reform?
various groups had expressed concern about welfare of peasants under reform, eg 1842 Nicholas I declared to Council of State that serfdom was “evil” (gradual transition)
morally wrong for landowners to own human beings like possessions–> corrupted them
What were the economic reasons behind reform?
-Serfdom seen as economically inefficient
-free wage labour more productive than forced labour
-the benefits of free wage labour had been demonstrated in Siberia
-serfdom was blamed for the rising debt contracted by nobles to finance their extravagant lifestyles
-by 1855 the gov was 54 million roubles in debt
-the State was suffering from a decline in its revenues from the taxes paid by peasants
-nobles & the state increased their demand for grain, caused famine among peasantry
What did the army consist of?
Peasants
Dangerous for revolution from below
What were the general reasons for reform?
Peasant disturbances had increased, led to rumours that serfs expected a liberator
by 1859, the country faced a prospect of a peasant war- worrying for rural nobles, provincial governors & gendarmes
What other reforms did Alexander II make?
Administrative reforms
Judicial reforms/ political
Military reforms
Educational reforms
Economic reforms
Censorship
What administrative reforms did Alexander II make?
Introduced a new system of local gov, the zemstva, gave peasants some representation but not as much as landowners
more democratic
What was the Zemstva?
elected rural councils
What did the Zemstva do?
They were given limited powers to approve local community projects eg roads, prisons, public health, poor relief, education & industrial construction
What was the Zemstva a huge step towards?
Liberalising the Empire
What were the successes of the Zemstva?
Their ‘good work’ in the fields of education, public health and local economies
Who did the Zemstva represent?
the peasants, townspeople and gentry
What did the Zemstvas and Dumas provide?
new opportunities for local political participation in ways that hadn’t been possible previously
Why was a problem with the Zemstva?
It had a number of weaknesses that limited their effectiveness
What were the Zemstva’s weaknesses?
Dominated by the gentry
Didn’t control the police
Their decisions could be overruled by the Provisional Governor
Permanently short of money
What did the Zemstva being short of money mean?
It limited their practical options and the voting system was heavily weighted towards local landowners, made it easy for the conservative nobility’s interests to dominate assemblies
What was the failure of the Zemstva evident in?
The new judicial system of 1864
Why do some historians argue that Alexander introduced the Zemstva?
Because he was forced to introduce an element of democracy at local level but then regretted it because liberal members began to challenge his policies
What judicial reforms did Alexander II introduce?
Introduced a modern western-style system, aimed to be “equal for all our subjects”
Juries introduced
Judges to be better paid to avoid bribery
Courts open to public & press coverage
new lower cases, volost, to replace serf owner as local magistrate
What were the positive impacts of the judicial reforms?
System of justice considered good, fair & less corrupt this made major contribution to the modernisation of Russia
System very liberal, offered Russians chance of fair trial
helped promote a climate based on rule of law
What were the negative impacts of the judicial reforms?
political cases were removed + secret police could still arrest people (revolutionaries)
there was a shortage of trained lawyers in the early years & they were still influenced by the gov who controlled their promotion prospects
trial by jury not universally enforced
apart from peasantry, other groups remained outside the new system eg priests, gov, revolutionaries
