2) Alexander II, 'Tsar Reformer' Flashcards
Motives for emancipation of the serfs
- Defeat in Crimean War ⬆️ social unrest. Tsar couldn’t rely on peasant-based army to stop peasant uprisings👨🏼🌾⚔️.
- Crimean War showed need for better, smaller army, so needed to release some serfs. Dmitry Milyutin argued ‘free’ population would provide labour needed to improve army.
- Economic progress hindered by serfdom. Workers needed for industrialisation, but serfs tied to land.
- Serfdom unethical.
Terms of Emancipation Edict 1861
✅Serfs free to marry👰🏻.
✅Free to own property + set up businesses ❌ no money + education to do this.
❌Transition period 2 years, ‘obligated peasants’. Relations between nobles + serfs same while land allocations arranged.
✅In 1881, 85% ex-serfs owners of own allotments ❌ restrictions to amount of land peasants could buy.
❌Peasants farming 20% less land than before emancipation. Not enough land to feed their families so can’t make profit through selling produce.
❌Freed serfs had to pay ‘redemption dues’ annually for 49 years @ 6% interest to compensate landowners. Mir collects redemption dues so peasants can’t leave mir until redemptions fully paid 💰.
❌State serfs had to wait until 1866 before emancipated ✅ given land double size of privately owned serfs.
❌Household serfs given no land.
Positive results of emancipation
- State peasants became prosperous ‘kulaks’, buying extra land + hiring labourers to export surplus grain to make profit💵.
- Peasants had free status, 51m surfs freed🗽.
- Some peasants managed to leave mir + ⬆️ living standards working in cities🏭.
- Landowners made money from redemption dues + selling their land for over its market value. Some used this to get out of debt💸.
- Some landowners made profits through investment in industrial enterprises💰.
Negative results of emancipation
- Land in mir divided between all male peasants, so holdings grew smaller as pop ⬆️.
- Allotments small + mir system traditional, so little opportunity to try new farming methods.
- Internal passports + redemption payments tied peasants to mir.
- Peasants still needed nobles’ land to make living.
- Peasants felt emancipation hadn’t freed everyone equally ➡️ 1,000+ peasant disturbances (army often used to restore order)⚔️.
- Peasants fell into arrears (debts).
- Steady ⬇️ in noble landownership. 1861-1905 rural nobility lost up to 1% land per year.
- Landowners resented their loss of influence.
Domestic reforms: Local government reforms
Nobles wanted more say in local govt.
✅Elected local councils (zemstva) created:
✅Elected through ‘electoral colleges’ (townspeople, Church, peasants) = representation ❌separate college for nobles, so voting favoured nobility🗳.
✅Composed of men who knew locals + their needs.
✅Power to improve public services, healthcare🩺, education + infrastructure ❌ no control over taxes.
✅1870 elected town councils (dumas) set up.
❌Provincial governors responsible for law + order👩🏻⚖️, could overturn zemstvo decisions.
❌Only 43/70 provinces implemented provincial assembly.
Domestic reforms: Judiciary reforms
✅New justice system based on West - fairer, less corrupt. Helped establish rule of law in R👩🏻⚖️.
✅Principle of equality before law⚖️, accused innocent till proven + could hire lawyer.
❌Judges appointed by Tsar ✅ given better pay + training (less open to bribes).
✅From 1863 volost courts in mirs to deal with emancipated peasants + minor offences w/peasants electing a literate peasant judge for 3 years.
❌Peasantry in volost courts treated different to those of higher status⚖️.
✅Local Justices of the Peace elected every 3 years by zemstva, independent from political control.
✅Courts opened to public + could be reported🗞 ❌ could inspire revolts.
❌Political crimes tried by special procedures, arbitrary arrest⛓.
❌Nobles has to wait until 1864 to benefit from legal reforms.
❌Church courts not affected by reforms.
Domestic reforms: Education reforms
Emancipated serfs needed basic education to look after their property🧮.
Reforms under Golovnin (Minister for Education) 1862-67:
✅1863 unis freedom to govern themselves.
✅Responsibility for schools transferred from Church to zemstva.
✅Primary + secondary education extended, no. schools ⬆️ from 8,000 ➡️ 23,000.
✅1870 schools open to all regardless of class + sex👩🏻🏫.
✅No. of those attending schools + unis ⬆️.
❌Schools fee-paying💵, voluntary to attend + hard to access🚞 (lack of infrastructure + size of R).
❌Unis’ independence ⬆️ radical thinkers, so 1866 govt control reasserted.
Domestic reforms: Military reforms
✅Dmitry Milyutin’s reorganisation of army ⬆️ efficiency + ⬇️ govt expenditure💰.
✅Conscription compulsory for ALL classes from age 21 ❌ richer people often found substitutes to serve for them.
✅Length of service ⬇️ from 25 ➡️ 15 years ❌ service ⬇️ more for educated classes (6 years action, 9 years reserve)⚖️.
✅Military punishments less severe (no more flogging).
✅Military colonies (bad living conditions) abandoned🏚.
✅Better provisioning + medical care🩺.
✅Military Colleges to provide better training for aspiring officers ❌ many illiterate peasants couldn’t benefit (needed at home to farm or too far away).
❌Officers remained mainly aristocrats, so still peasant-based army.
✅Modern weaponry (steamships) + railway constructed (transport)🚞.
✅Army ⬆️ as fewer men tried to desert.
❌Victory in war against Turkey (1877-78) longer than expected, R defeated on land + sea in Russo-Japanese War + defeated again against Germany in WW1.
Domestic reforms: Censorship reforms
✅1855 Censorship Committee abolished, press under control of Ministry of Internal Affairs who passed more relaxed censorship rules 1865.
✅Govt approved foreign docs could be sold in R🗂.
✅Over 30 years, no. books published ⬆️ from 2,000 ➡️ 10,000📚.
✅Press could comment on govt policy 1st time + could try to overrule Ministry’s ban on their publication in court📰.
❌Liberal literature clamped down 1866 after assassination attempt on AII - by end of his reign, press lost much freedom.
❌Ministry of Internal Affairs can fine publishers if they print something they don’t approve of.
❌Military + Church still control own publications.
Domestic reforms: Economic reforms
Reforms aimed to restore R prestige + international respect.
✅Tax farming abolished.
✅Ministries set budgets 1 year in advance.
✅Liberal trade policies ⬇️ tariffs (taxes on goods).
✅Foreign investment encouraged, govt guaranteed annual dividend.
✅1862 established smaller banks, 1869 saving banks🏦.
✅Govt gave subsidies to companies ➡️ railway building x20🚂.
❌R economy still comparatively weak.
❌No fundamental tax reform - 66% govt revenue from indirect taxation💰.
❌1/3 govt expenditure on repayment of debts.
❌Wild variation in rouble value.
