alexander II (1855-1881) Flashcards
the reign of Alexander II: 1855-1881
How many conscripted Serfs in 1855.
1.5 million.
Name of the Tsar’s personal regiment.
The Cossacks.
When was the Crimean War.
1853-1856.
Why did Tsar Nicholas I send troops into Ottoman Moldavia.
As protector of Christians and Slavs, as Ottomans stretched into the Balkans.
Who else helped the Russians in the Crimean War.
French and British.
When did Nicholas I die and Alexander II take over.
1855.
The Treaty of Paris (1856)
Prevented Russian warships using the Black sea.
Why did the Crimean War end.
Sebastopol fell.
Results of the Crimean War.
- Exposed outdated transport, weaponry and technology.
- The poor leadership and administration.
- The Intelligensia looked towards the West for inspiration for improvement.
When was the Emancipation Edict.
1861.
Alexander II’s liberal influences.
Duke Konstantin, Elane Pavlovna and the Milyutn Brothers.
Why did Alexander II advocate for emancipation.
- Travelled the Russian countryside.
- Had multiple liberal influences.
- The Milyutin Brothers argued for reform after the Crimean War.
- Peasant riots started to spark in the 40s.
Alexander II’s early liberating acts.
- Releasing political prisoners and Decembrists.
- Relaxed censorship controls and travel.
- Cancelled tax debts.
A central argument for the emancipation.
For change to come about “from above, rather than from below.”
Issue in application of the emancipation edict.
Applied only to privately owned serfs in 1861, then to state owned serfs in 1866.
Conditions of the emancipation edict.
- Freedom and an allotment of land.
- Had redemption payments for 49 years.
- Mirs had control.
- Volosts formed to oversee mirs.
Positives of the emancipation.
- Kulaks grew.
- Some could leave to cities for work.
- Landowners payed of debts or invested with compensation.
- More individuals gained personal land.
Negatives of the emancipation.
- Technological and method backwardness persisted.
- Redemption payments made travel near-impossible.
- Resentment of kulaks caused violent outbreaks.
- Landowners resented the Tsar.
When was the military reform introduced.
1874.
Military reforms.
- Conscription made compulsory for all classes.
- Compulsory service length reduced from 25 years to 15 years and 10 in reserves.
- Military colonies abolished,
- New command structure.
- Mass army education introduced.
- Medical care improved.
When were local government reforms introduced.
1864-1870.
Local government reforms.
Zemstva formed, then the duma in 1870.
Powers of the Zemstva.
Improve roads, schools, public health, prisons, and develop industrial projects or administer relief.
Judiciary Reforms (1864).
- System of local provincial and nation courts established.
- Accused could employ a lawyer.
- Judges were appointed by the Tsar.
- Courts were open to public and could be freely reported.
Negatives of the judiciary reforms.
- Ecclesiatical and military courts exempt.
- Peasants in volost courts treated poorly.
Education Reforms (1863).
- Universities could govern themselves.
- Responsibility of education transferred from Church to zemstva.
- Modern secondary schools established.
- School open to all classes and sex.
Censorship Reforms (1858).
- Censorship over press, books and newspapers relaxed.
- Publishers restrictions reduced.
- Foregin publications permitted.
- Commentery on government policy permitted.
How many books published by 1894.
1836.
What happened in 1866 to cause Alexander II’s reactionary reforms.
Attempted assassination, plus the death of his son and wife causing more closeness with his mistress so a distance from leftist leaning associates.
Reactionary reforms.
- Liberal ministers replaced with conservative ones, for example Dimtry Tolstoy replaced Golovin.
- Church regained authority over education.
- University courses made more traditional.
- Persecution of minorities encouraged.
- Political offenders could be exiled.
- Show trials introduced.
- Police rights strengthened.
When was the Russo-Turkish War.
1877-1878.
When did major famine and industrial recession begin.
1879-1880.
Loris-Melikov report (1880).
Reccomended election of nobles, zemstva members and duma members to be included in the drafting of state decrees.
When Alexander II assassinated.
1881, the morning he would sign Loris-Melikov’s liberalising constitution.
When did Alexander II send military to Poland and why.
In 1863, to crush the rebellion of the 200,000 fighting for independence.
When was Ukranian language in performances and publications prohibited.
1876.
What were Alexanders concession policies to the Latvians and Estonians.
In 1864 and 1975 allowing them to be Lutheran instead of Orthodox.
Westernizers.
Wanted to mimic more Western forms of government and political approaches.
Slavophiles.
Wanted to take a more traditionally Russian path toward reformation.
When was ‘The Communist Manifesto’ published in Russia.
1872.
The Tchasikovksy Circle.
Intellectuals led by Nikolai Tchaikovsky, congregating from 1868, to distribute revolutionary literature. Membership was under 100 people, concentrated in major cities.
Narodnysim.
Idea of going out to the people, in this context meaning to go to the countryside to spread Westernizer ideas.
The Narodniks.
A group of 2000 people sent out by Pyotr Lavrov in 1874 to encourage resentment towards the Tsar, but were met with a lot of hostility from peasants and arrests of the narodniks.
‘Land and Liberty’.
Founded in 1877, carrying out political assassination and spreading anti-Tsarist sentiment
The two divisions of the ‘Land and Liberty’.
The Black Repartition, dissolved in 1881, and The Peoples Will.
Succeses of the Peoples Will.
- A spy in the Third Section.
- Assassination of Alexander II.
Who was Alexander II’s Minister of Finance.
Mikhail von Reutern.
Mikhail von Reutern’s economy reforms.
- State, municipal and savings banks.
- Trade promoted with import duties reduced.
- Tax farming abolished.
When did oil extraction begin.
1871.
When was an ironworks factory opened.
1872.
When did naptha extraction begin.
1879.
Weaknesses in the economy under Alexander II.
- 1/3 of all government expenditure spent on debts.
- Rouble experienced random variations in value.
- 66% of government revenue came from indirect tax.
- Domestic market was small.
