Alexander II, 1855-1881 Flashcards
What name is often given to Alexander II?
The ‘tsar liberator’
What liberal influences surrounded Alexander?
Grand Duke Konstantin (brother)
Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna (aunt)
What was a catalyst for military reform?
The Crimean War. Reform pioneered by Dmitry Milyutin.
Famous quote regarding emancipation
‘better to abolish serfdom from above than for the time when it starts to abolish it from below’
When was emancipation for private serfs?
1861
When were state serfs emancipated?
1866 and on better terms
Problems with emancipation
Serfs had 20% less land than before
They had to pay redemption dues for 49 years at 6% interest
Inefficient farming techniques continued
Restricted travel
Unrest
How many riots were there in the first four months after emancipation?
647
Military service was cut from …. years to …. and …. in the reserves
From 25 to 15, 10 in reserves
What was made compulsory for all classes?
Military service
What were the local councils called?
Zemstva
When were Dumas set up?
1870
What power did the zemstva have?
Improve public services, develop industry and crisis relief.
No control over state and local taxes, and could be overruled by provincial governors
What were the peasant courts called?
Volost
What was introduced in 1864 for judicial reform?
Juries and barristers, better pay and training for judges, courts open to public
Why did the government introduce special political courts?
Sympathetic juries.
Show trials of 1877-78:
Trial of the 50, Trial of the 193, Vera Zasulich
Two types of school after education reforms
Gimnazii (classical) and ‘modern’
From when could women attend secondary school?
1870
Who took over responsibility for schooling?
The zemstva took over from the church
How many were acquitted in the Trials of 193?
153 of 193 aquitted
What did Loris Melikov propose and when?
The Loris-Melikov constitution in 1880
What replaced the Third Section?
The Okhrana
When was Alexander’s first assassination attempt?
1866
Who was appointed Minister of Education in 1866?
What did he change?
Dmitry Tolstoy
Reduced zemstva powers, reinstalled church authority, only gimnazii students go to uni, tightened censorship
When was the Polish Rebellion?
1863
What concessions did Alexander II make with regards to Russification?
1864 and 1875, Latvians and Estonians allowed to revert to Lutheranism
Allowed Finn’s own diet (parliament)
Example of reactionary Russification
1876 prohibition of Ukrainian language in publications and performances
How many Jews were there in Russia?
Where were they mostly confined to?
Around 5 million
Pale of Settlement in west of Russia
What caused Alexander II to revoke concessions for Jews?
The Polish Revolt 1863
Moderate liberal opposition as split into …. and …..
Westernisers and slavophiles
How many shops were destroyed in fires in St Petersburg? When were they?
1862, 2000 shops destroyed
What did Alexander Herzen call on people to do in 1869?
Go to the people
What did Bakunin and Nechaev write?
Catechism of a revolutionary
Who was a key figure in narodnyism?
Pyotr Lavrov
How many went to the people in 1874?
How many were arrested?
When did they try again?
2000
1600 arrested
1876
When was Land and Liberty set up and what did it continue?
1877, the populist tradition
When did Land and Liberty split?
What two groups appeared?
1879
Black Repartition (peaceful)
The People’s Will (violent)
Who was leader of Black Repartition?
Why did it get weakened?
Plekhanov, turned to Marxism
Arrests in 1880-1881
Who was leader of The People’s Will?
When did they aim to assassinate tsar and when did they achieve that aim?
Mikhailov
1879, achieved in 1881
Who was the reforming finance minister under Alexander II?
Von Reutern (1862-78)
What was annual growth under Von Reutern?
How many km of railway built?
Annual growth of 6%
20,000 km of railway
Why was the economy still weak?
1/3 of expenditure on debt
Rouble unstable
2/3 government revenue on tax, and emancipation, kept peasantry poor and limited domestic market.
