Alexander II - 1855-1881 Flashcards
The Russian empire was….the size of the earth
1/6
Give some different nainaloties that lived within Russia
Poles - repeated rebellions Ukrainians - bread basket of the empire Baltic People - most stable + prosperous Finns - self rule +most indpipendant Jews - sunjected to violent attacks
1850, Russia’s cotton weaving industry was only…% of Britians
Iron output only …% of Britain’s
3
10
Why did Russia’s Share of the world’s iron market fall by two-thirds from 1830-50
- SERFDOM, prevented the free movemnt of labour, supressed wages so there was no incentive to invenst i mechanisation and impoversiahed people so there was no demand for consumer goods
- Banking system was corrupt and unstable
- No commercial middle class in Russia + tiny intelligensia
- Tsar’s failed to invest in any kind of transport infastructure, RUssia had 9% of the railway that Britian had
How long did a serf spend in the army 1850
25 years conscription
What was the problem with the Russian army
Incomptent and ill-educated officers
Less industrialised than Western armies
Less modern equipment,clothing and transport
Ill dispiclined and poorly trained, beset with mutiny
What is autocracy
Type of goverment with one person woth complete power, above the law with no parliment or judicary system to controll them
What was the council of ministers
Chaired by the Tsar, all officials nominated by him
Give some pro’s for the vast size of the Russian empire
- Vast resources such as Iron in Siberia and oil in Ukraine
- Illustrates Russia’s might and power
- Hard to invade
- Trade, bodering lots of countries
Give some cons for the vast size of the Russian empire
- Lacked managment and goverment as too big to help everyone
- Most land was inhosbitibale
- Little railways to utilise the land mass
Why did they want controll of Poland
Act as a deffenisve wall to Germany
Give 3 para’s for Russia had more weaknesses than strengths
SOCIAL
- Serfdom (poverty)
- Autocracy - divide betwen crown and state
- No one to represent their needs
However it prevented a rebellion throigh lack of travell + autocracy only way to govern such a large empire
ECONOMY
- Reliance on serfdom inhibited a middle class
- Lack of infastructure + investments
- Lack of development
- Landowners in debt
- Poll tax + army
However the economy benefited from the surplus of natural resources in Russia’s vast landscape - insignificant as Russia was unable to exploit these resources due to lack of infastructure
RELIGION + NATINOLALITY
- Large variations of religions
- Tsar can’t rely on religious propoganda to get whole country to support him
- Lack of natinality across the empire (Polish rebellions)
- Strains the economy
However by having so many different natinolaties, it illustrates the sheer size of the empire conveying power and benefiting from differnt countries (foodf from Ukraine)
What percentage of Russia was urbinised 1855
5%
What was Marx’s communist manifesto
1869 - by radicals in exile
Some Russian students and intelligentsia were attracted by Marx’s critique of economic inequality and the ruling class
But Communism didn’t seem wholly relevant to Russia
Give 3 oppositions through literature and when they were created
Marx’s Communist Manifesto (1869)
What is to be Done? (1863)
The Bell (1857)
What was ‘What is to be done”
Chernyshevsky wroye the novel whilst in prison and the censors reeased it by mistake
Was a sensation - it’s mix of populism, socilism and romanticism of reveloutinary violence made it a sacred text for would-be reveloutineries
he was then promptly sent to Siberia
What was ‘The Bell
Populist monthly newspaper - secretly distributed around Russia
By 1900 only 24% of the country was literate so not wholly relevant to the serf majority
When was the Polish reveloution and what happened
January 1863
Debate over serf emancapation stirred up natinol sentiment in both the peasnats and the nobles and when the goverment prposed conscripting Poles into the Russian army, a rebbelion sparked
Took over a year to crush.
Leaders executed
Rebels eciled to SIberia (80,000)
Warsaw uni, all teachings in Russian
Polans ceased to officially exist
Was the 2nd Land and Libert attempt a success
Yes
Sought to win over peasnats by living among them as well as contacting urban workers
Populist’s most effective organisation - 200 highly commited radicals planned to use sabbotage, violence and infiltration of wrker’s groups to destabalise Russia
Much more disiplined and organised than any other group
What protest occured in 1862
Student radicles set a series of fires in St Petersburg
Alexander sacked the minister of education who tries heavily to repress the unis in response to the fires
Give 4 acts of terrorism from 1878
1878 - Two men who had assasinated the head of the 3rd section were both aquitted by sympathetic juries which was a victory for the opposition’s course
1881 - Alexander killed by a bomb thrown by a memn=ber of the People’s will
Head of 3rd section assasinated by newly formed Land and Liberty
The People’s will’s primary aim was to kill the Tsar and became the most highly centralised and organised underground organisation that RUssia had ever seen
What was the zemstva
1864 - Local councils elected with a certain proportion from each social group (Nobles were over-represented taking 41% seats)
Had considerable powers - could raise tax and responsible for infrastructure, schools, poor relief and hospitals
Strengthened local administration and development in Russia. 1914 - running half the schools in the country
Problem with the zemstva
Rarely acted in the intrst of the peasntry due to the over repesantation of the nobility
What were the Dumas
Like the zemstva's but in the cities. Their rela signifigance, like the zemstava, was as talking shops for the new urban and middle class to discuss political ideas "seeds of liberalsim threatining autocracy"
Give some positive changes in education from the emancipation
Uni’s had far more freedom to conduct their own teaching and research - even permiting women and offerning scolarships
Uni attendants increased dramatically, including non-noble students
Uni = hotbed for political ideas
In 1865, only…children attended primary school, by 1878, over a …………….were
400,000
Million
Give some positive changes in the judicial system from the emancipation
- Jury system intoduced - chosen by zemstva
- Judges no longer decided guilt or innocence, just the sentence
- Defendant’s given the right to attend their own trial
- Presumption of innocnce was introduced
- Judges given proper traning and pay to reduce corruption
- Trials were open to the public
This gave Russia, in princaple, one of the most modern judical systems in Europe
Give some negative changes in the judicial system from the emancipation
Secret police could still arrest try and punish peole in total secret - corruptible + cruel
Trial by jury never reached Poland
Give some positive changes in the military from the emancipation
- Military colonies were serfs had to live for 25 years were closed
- Military cadet schools and colleges opened to imprve officer training
- Length of military service reduced to 10 years
- Some of the savings were spent on improved rifles, warships and other technology
- Lead to the rapid expansion of railways
- Medical lessons from Crimean war were implimented
What was the most signifigant military change 1874
Nationwide conscription with no consideration for social class
Service reduced to 6 years
All militery conscripts were taught to read
Peasnt’s no longer saw the army as a prison scentence but as a way to educate themselves - improved education + literacy in Russia
Allientated and weakened the nobility
Give some positive changes in the economy from the emancipation
Von Reutern replaed corrupt tax farms with a centeral bureaucray. The improved revenue helped him to finance other activities
State Bank in 1860- netweok of saving banks in 1869
Able to loan railway companies money
1855 - 570 miles of track, by 1880, there were 14,000 miles
What is populism
The belief that the power to change Russia lay with the people (peasantry)
How did the life of nobles change 1861 (Pros)
Over represented in zemstva
Some nobels profited - spring board to gretaer welath
Modernised their farms
Got lucky with increasing rail netwrok
Became grain magnets
How did the life of nobles change 1861 (Cons)
Most were unlucky and were too - indebted, short on labour and issolated to cash in
By 1905, 40% of their land had been sold off
LOST
exemption from conscription
dommince in eductaion
more well educated people rivaling their careers
1860 - 81% army officers were noble born. 1900 = 12%
Give some pros for the new middle class
Various developments increased the size of Russia’s non-noble social groups
Civil service increased by 400,000 by 1900 becoming more proffesinol and effective
More oppertunities to train as docters, lawyers and scientists
Small buisnesses grew rapidly
Moscow reached 1 million people
By 1880,…………teachers were working for the zemstva
15,000
Give some cons for the clergy
Cost of priest traininh increased
Reforms made it easier for son of clergy to leave the proffesion (35% of them did)
Lead to a shortage of candidites for parish roles
Give some negative impacts of emancapation for serfs
Nobles overcharged the sefs for their land
Destabilised the counrtyside
Nobles retained the best land (forests and medows)
Peasants recives 20% less land than they farmed before
Average peasnt farm almost halved in size form 1860-0
46% of redemption payments were in arrears
How many riots after the first year of mancapation
1,889 rural riots and 849 in 1862
What were the mirs
Village councils - reduced peasant freedom
issued passports
Gave floggings
ENsured that Russia was economicaly backwards
Resisted new farming methods (long narrow strips)
Give an example of Russia’s degraded army
Britain could reach a Russian town faster by boat than the Russian army could
Crimean war - only…the army had a rifle
Half
SOme Russian cannons dated from 1799!
Crimean war, what was the problem with the officers
Most had not been through elite training schools and were badly eductaed, drunk and secured promotions through family connections
Crimean war -how did lack of free press hinder the Russian army
In Britian, military errors were exposed leading to harsh criticsm and led to improvements
Crimean War - problem with having a serf army
Teribly trained Neglectfull of their equipment Prone to ill disiplicne Half-starved Poor physical condition
Give some examples of a turning point against emancipation in 1866
- The appointed new head of 3rd Section
- Restricted liberal subjects (science + history)
- 3rd Section became more active (150,000 Russians sent into exile)
- All extra curricular student activities banned
- Reduced zemstva’s control over schools
- 1878, political crimes dealt in military courts in secret
What percentage of the population were nobles
2%
What percentage of the taxes did the serfs have to pay before emancipation
90%
