6 - Alexander III, Russification And The Treatment Of Ethnic Minorities And Jews Flashcards
Who succeeded Alexander II? When was he crowned?
Alexander III
May 1881
Who was Alexander III advised by? Who was he?
Konstantin Pobedonostev
Procurator of the Holy Synod
What did Pobedonostev encourage the Tsar to reassert?
Autocracy
What did Alexander III publicly announce?
“I am the sole ruler, as only absolute power can safeguard Russia”
What group had 150 people arrested and hanged? Why?
People’s Will
Assassinated Alexander II
What happened to the powers of the police? What department was made to supervise the Okhrana?
They increased
Department of Police
Who were the Department of Police made responsible to? Why?
Ministry of Internal Affairs
So activities could be monitored
Who were also widely used? Who watched these people?
Spies
Secret spies
What land rule was put in place in 1882? What could police agents do?
Any area could be deemed “subversion”
Arrest, imprison and exile on suspicion
What judicial courts were reintroduced in 1885?
Closed courts
What did Alexander III introduce in 1889? Who were they appointed by?
Land Captains
Nobility
Who did Land Captains replace? Who could they override?
Magistrates
Zemstva
What 2 things could Land Captains overturn?
Local court judgements and flogging of peasants
What vote was reduced in 1890?
Zemstva peasant vote
Who were removed from office?
Outspoken Liberals
Whose creed did Alexander III adopt? What did this mean?
Pobedonostev’s “Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationality”
Russification
What is Russification?
Enforcement of Russian language and culture on ethnic minorities
What was declared as the first language? What did this mean for the judicial system?
Russian
Trials and local government had to be conducted in Russian
What was closed to non-fluent Russian speakers?
Public office
What Church was adherence encouraged for? How many Lutherans converted?
Orthodox
37,000
What Catholic buildings were closed down? What were non-Orthodox churches not allowed to do?
Monasteries
Build new places of worship
Who suppressed Russification resistance?
The military
What 4 nationalities suffered the most?
Poles, Finns, Baltic Germans and Ukrainians
What was the intention of Russification? What did it intensify? What did it cause?
To “unite” the country
National feelings for non-Russians
Opposition groups
Which religion suffered most from Russification? How many were living in Russia?
Jews
5 million
What was ingrained in Russian society? What broke out between 1881-84?
Anti-semitism
Jewish pogroms
What did authorities not do a lot of? What happened to many Jews? What happened to some Jewish property?
Curb anti-semitic violence
Raped or murdered
Destroyed
What was passed during Alexander III’s reign to restrict Jews? Where were Jews forced to live?
Laws
Ghettos
What happened to many Jews? Who were 2 key figures who joined revolutionary groups?
Emigrated or expelled
Leon Trotsky and Julius Martov
What does Historian Martin Sixsmith say about Alexander III’s intentions towards Russification?
“Alexander III wanted to unify the country by turning an empire into a nation”
What does Historian Orlando Figes say about Russification’s central aim?
“It had always been a central aim to assimilate non-Russian peoples”
What does Historian John Gooding say about Jews?
“Jews were seen as a particular problem”
