Alexander II Flashcards
Local government (terms)
Elected government Assemblies (mairie/council)
To avoid crimes/uprisings and make sure taxes were paid government needed control over the freed serfs
Introduced in 1864
Local Government (success)
Local council where people could be elected
Middle class were represented,
People could express their opinion
Powerful voice in Russian life
Local Government (failure)
Voting process worked in favour of the nobles
1866- 74% of delegates were nobles
Anti tsarist meeting place
Not funded properly
Power was limited
Gave the government a powerful means of control
Introduced too slowly
Military Reforms (terms)
Loss of Crimean war in 1861 (low moral in the army)
Took place between 1836 and 1875
Organised by Minister for War general Milyutin
Similar to navy
Administration reorganised
Military Reforms (success)
Conscription open to all classes 25 down to 6 years of service Better trained officers Education for soldiers Promotion of non-noble soldiers
Military Reforms (failure)
Reforms were slowed by corruption
Legal Reforms (terms)
System more closely resembled Western system
Legal Reforms (success)
Cases heard in open courts in front of jury
Judiciary became independent of government
Lawyers got legal training
Allowed defense councils
Judges better trained & paid to avoid bribery
Legal flogging cut down
Legal Reforms (failure)
Police & secret police acted outside of the law
Government officials could not be put on trial without approval from government
Military courts dealt with certain crimes
Peasants tried outside this new system
Shortage of trained lawyers meant reforms were slow
Government still had a lot of influence over judges
Education and Censorship (terms)
Only 3%in higher education
Illiteracy high
3500 people out of 60 million went to only 6 universities
Education and Censorship (success)
People from poor families had access to education
Censorship relaxed
Growing demand for newspapers and books
Primary and secondary education extended
Education and Censorship (failure)
For the tsar it leads to opposition
Education still not for everybody
Harshened censorship again after his assassination attempt
Emancipation (terms)
Serfs are given the right to marry, own property, run businesses, travel, and have legal protection.
Emancipation (success)
Peasant serfs given cottages and a plot of land
Freedom
Creation of Kulaks
Some moved to cities to get work
Emancipation (failure)
Redemption payments: pay 6% interest for 49 years
Only household serfs freed
No security
Some not emancipated until it was mandatory in 1881 (15%)
Not allowed to leave until payed back redemption tax
Land was overvalued (90% too much)
Many peasants struggled to survive
Land could be taken away or reallocated by the mir
Many had debts and were forced to sell
Mir very powerful, could ban people to Siberia, flog them, Travel only allowed by the mir
Lost 20% of land
By 1878, only 50% could produce surplus to sell
Landowners invested money into businesses, paying off debt
Resent tsarist government (lost a third of their land and social influence).
647 riots (Bezdna massacre)
