ALEXANDER II 1855-1881 Flashcards
Why was Russia backwards politically?
- Autocracy
- No opposition
- Nobles in control
- Secret police
- Conscripted army
Why was Russia backwards economically?
- Harsh winters affected farming
- Backwards farming methods
- Undeveloped banking- industry
- No consumer demand
- Poor communications
Why was Russia backwards socially?
- 50 million serfs- 82%
- 800,000 industrial workers
- No demand to develop
- Social hierarchy
- Mostly Russian orthodox
- 3500 people in uni
When did Alexander II become Tsar?
1855
When was the Crimean War?
1853-1856
What areas was Russia fighting over in the Crimean War?
The Balkans and the Black Sea
When was the Battle of Sinope?
1853
Which battle in the Crimean War did the Russians initially win?
The Battle of Sinope
When did Britain and France declare war on Russia?
March 1854
When was the Battle of Sevastopol ?
Sep 1854
Which battle did the Russians suffer defeats?
The Battle of Sevastopol 1854
When did the Russian fortress fall at Sevastopol ?
1856
What was the impact of the Crimean War?
- Revealed disunity of Europe
- 1856 Peace of Paris took some of Russia’s naval bases in the Black Sea
- Highlighted backwardness of her agrarian society
What was a state serf?
Lived on the Tsar’s lands- generally had more freedom
Reasons for freeing the serfs
- War highlighted Russia’s military inadequacy
- Need for modernised infrastructure
- Provoked peasant uprisings
Influence of Alexander II’s personal views on Emancipation Act
Found cruelties of serfdom offensive
Liberally educated
Economic considerations of freeing the serfs
- Russia needed to keep up with the West
2. Serfdom was a handicap to Russian industrialisation
Political considerations of freeing the serfs
- Didn’t want autocracy threatened
2. Did not benefit nobility as it held them back eg business ventures
Moral and intellectual influences of freeing the serfs
Growing group of educated people
When was the Emancipation Act?
3rd March 1861
What ideology did Tsars believe in?
Autocracy, orthodoxy, nationality
Which war prompted Alexander to free the serfs?
Crimean
What was the date of the Emancipation Act?
3 Mar 1861
How long did the serfs have to pay redemption payments?
49 years
What was the name of the village commune that took some control from landowners after the Emancipation Act?
The Mir
Which case (1878) led Alexander to stop open courts?
Vera Zasulich
What kind of courts were peasant courts?
Volost
How many miles of railway did Russia have by 1881?
14,009
How much was conscription reduced to ?
25 years to 6
What year was a state bank set up?
1860
What year was the Municipal bank set up?
1862
By how much did the number of schools increase to?
8000 in 1856 to 25,000 in 1878
When were zemstva introduced?
1864
When were dumas introduced?
1870
Why did the Tsar intensify the backlash against reform after 1866?
Assassination attempt by Karakosov
Who was appointed head of the Third Section in 1866?
Count Peter Shuvalov
Who was appointed Minister of Education in 1866?
Count Dmitri Tolstoy
3 stages of Emancipation
- Transition period (2-9)
- Redemption payment (49)
- Freedom
Nobility response to the Emancipation Act
- Redemption money swallowed by existing debt
- 1861-1905 land in noblemen’s possession fell by 41%
Peasant response to the Emancipation Act
- 647 peasant riots in the 4 months following publication
- Now had less land than before
- Legislation written from a theoretical point of view
- Worse off- redemption payments
Judicial reforms under Alexander II 1861-1881
Paid judges better so less corruption
Open courts
Introduction of juries
Military reforms 1861-1881
More humane training of soldiers
Reduced length of sentence from 6y +9 (used to be 25)
Economic reforms 1861-1881
Foreign investment increase
Industrial workforce went from 860,000 to 1.32 million by 1887
Railway networks grew from 2,200 to 14,200
Local government reforms 1861-1881
1864 zemstra introduced
1870 dumas set up
Political impact of the Russo-Turkish War
Russia gained land in Bessarabia
Social impact of the Russo-Turkish War
Increase in opposition- minorities unhappy
Political impact of the Crimean war (2)
Lost lands in Maldovia
Reforms in local government- emancipation
Economic impact of the Crimean War
Highlighted economic and industrial backwardness- got foreign loans to build 20,000 km of track
Education reforms
Introduced a ‘new code’- secondary school students doubled
Peasant living standards under the Tsars
Bad- Izba (wooden hut)
AII use of secret police
Initially used the Third Section to exile opponents
Replaced with Okrahna in 1880- targeted specific groups
Role of Okrahna under AII
Targeted specific individuals
How effective was the Okrahna under AII?
Not that effective- multiple assassination attempts
Zemstva
Local councils set up by AII in 1864
Zemstvo
Local council
Zemgor
Union of Zemstva
Gave medical supplies to the army during WW1
Imperial Chancellery
- Personal Secretariat
- Legal advisers
- Third Section
The Senate
Supreme court in Tsarist Russia
Committee of Ministers
Ministers who advised the Tsar
Land Captains
Set up to keep law and order in the countryside
The Third Element
Teachers, lawyers and doctors who dominated the zemstva
Trial by jury removed for political crimes in….
1869
When were universities banned from teaching subjects that required critical thinking?
1817
University reform
1863 became self governing
Peasant riots post emancipation
647
Three sections of the Imperial Chancellery
Legal advisers
Secretariat
The Third Section
Number of children in secondary schools under AII
Doubled 1855-65
What percentage of Russia were serfs 1885?
82%
Reutern reforms- railways
Increased sevenfold
Industrial output
Doubled
1855 __% of people living in rural areas
90%
Light industry under Alexander II
Ludwig Loop from Manchester helped develop the textile industry
