Alexander II

Question 1

what was the situation like in Russia by 1855? give some facts

Answer 1

• around 85% of the population were illiterate
• the ratio of village to town dwellers was around 11:1
• over a third of population were serfs

Question 2

what were some of the motives

Answer 2

• serfs were not allowed to move to cities, thus restricting urbanisation
• there was a lack of demand for goods in the economy
• the west had recently outlawed slavery, and it seemed backwards for Russia to carry it on.

Question 3

what were the drawbacks of the emancipation edict?

Answer 3

• there were 647 peasant riots in just 4 months
• Peasants rights weren’t actually respected
• Serfs were still effectively tied to their owners due to the 49 years of expensive redemption payments
• serfs lost their protection

Question 4

what were the topics of reform Alexander II enacted?

Answer 4

• Military reforms
• Local government reforms
• Judiciary reforms
• Education reforms

Question 5

what were in his military reforms (1874)?

Answer 5

• Conscription was made compulsory for everyone over the age of 20
• Length of service reduced from 25 to 15 years
• Modern weaponry introduced

Question 6

what were the Local government reforms?

Answer 6

-Introduction of the Zemstva which provided local representation. although, they were mostly dominated by nobility and they didnt have control over taxation or law and order.

Question 7

what were the judicial reforms?

Answer 7

• Increased the pay for judges to reduce corruption
• all classes were judged before the law
• each proceeding was public
• criminal cases were heard before a jury

Question 8

what were the educational reforms? what were the successes?

Answer 8

• free primary education for all
• new vocational schools were established
• Universities made self-governing and independent
• the effects were as follows from 1856 to 1880;
• N.o primary schools increased x3
• x2 more children were educated at. primary level
• x3 more university students

Question 9

how did these reforms increase the level of opposition?

Answer 9

• independent Unis led to an increase in radicalised students
• the relaxation of censorship laws led to the greater spread of new ideas such as Marx’s ‘Das Kapital’

Question 10

post assassination attempts, how did the education reforms change?

Answer 10

• Primary school control handed back to Church
• Student organisations banned
• Secondary schools remove sciences

Question 11

how did these judicial reforms change post assassination attempt?

Answer 11

• 1878 - political crimes were tried in secret in military courts
• 1879 - governor generals were given emergency powers

Question 12

what is an example of opposition failing during Alexander’s reign?

Answer 12

-lavrov encouraged around 2,000 people to dress like peasants and try to get peasant support. this was known as the Narodnik movements but they failed

Question 13

what is an example of opposition succeeding?

Answer 13

the peoples will successfully assassinated Alexander II

Question 14

what were the effects of the Russo-Turkish war?

Answer 14

• treaty of berlin was humiliating for Russia as showed that the western powers were superior to russia and could force russia to accept a less rewarding treaty even though russia won
• the Tsar’s decision to have a new conference for negotiations led to Russia having to accept terms such as Austria being able to govern bosnia. this angered many russian nationalists
• the war brought an financial crisis and the crash of the reuble which, along with bad harvests in the three years following, led to further unrest