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A level History - Russia > Alexander II - 1855-1881 > Flashcards

Alexander II - 1855-1881 Flashcards

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1
Q

The Russian empire was….the size of the earth

A

1/6

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2
Q

Give some different nainaloties that lived within Russia

A 
Poles - repeated rebellions 
Ukrainians - bread basket of the empire 
Baltic People - most stable + prosperous 
Finns - self rule +most indpipendant 
Jews - sunjected to violent attacks
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3
Q

1850, Russia’s cotton weaving industry was only…% of Britians
Iron output only …% of Britain’s

A

3

10

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4
Q

Why did Russia’s Share of the world’s iron market fall by two-thirds from 1830-50

A
  • 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
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5
Q

How long did a serf spend in the army 1850

A

25 years conscription

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6
Q

What was the problem with the Russian army

A

Incomptent and ill-educated officers
Less industrialised than Western armies
Less modern equipment,clothing and transport
Ill dispiclined and poorly trained, beset with mutiny

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7
Q

What is autocracy

A

Type of goverment with one person woth complete power, above the law with no parliment or judicary system to controll them

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8
Q

What was the council of ministers

A

Chaired by the Tsar, all officials nominated by him

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9
Q

Give some pro’s for the vast size of the Russian empire

A
  • 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
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10
Q

Give some cons for the vast size of the Russian empire

A
  • Lacked managment and goverment as too big to help everyone
  • Most land was inhosbitibale
  • Little railways to utilise the land mass
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11
Q

Why did they want controll of Poland

A

Act as a deffenisve wall to Germany

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12
Q

Give 3 para’s for Russia had more weaknesses than strengths

A

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)

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13
Q

What percentage of Russia was urbinised 1855

A

5%

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14
Q

What was Marx’s communist manifesto

A

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

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15
Q

Give 3 oppositions through literature and when they were created

A

Marx’s Communist Manifesto (1869)
What is to be Done? (1863)
The Bell (1857)

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16
Q

What was ‘What is to be done”

A

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

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17
Q

What was ‘The Bell

A

Populist monthly newspaper - secretly distributed around Russia

By 1900 only 24% of the country was literate so not wholly relevant to the serf majority

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18
Q

When was the Polish reveloution and what happened

A

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

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19
Q

Was the 2nd Land and Libert attempt a success

A

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

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20
Q

What protest occured in 1862

A

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

21
Q

Give 4 acts of terrorism from 1878

A

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

22
Q

What was the zemstva

A

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

23
Q

Problem with the zemstva

A

Rarely acted in the intrst of the peasntry due to the over repesantation of the nobility

24
Q

What were the Dumas

A 
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"
25
Q

Give some positive changes in education from the emancipation

A

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

26
Q

In 1865, only…children attended primary school, by 1878, over a …………….were

A

400,000

Million

27
Q

Give some positive changes in the judicial system from the emancipation

A
  • 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

28
Q

Give some negative changes in the judicial system from the emancipation

A

Secret police could still arrest try and punish peole in total secret - corruptible + cruel

Trial by jury never reached Poland

29
Q

Give some positive changes in the military from the emancipation

A
  • 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
30
Q

What was the most signifigant military change 1874

A

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

31
Q

Give some positive changes in the economy from the emancipation

A

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

32
Q

What is populism

A

The belief that the power to change Russia lay with the people (peasantry)

33
Q

How did the life of nobles change 1861 (Pros)

A

Over represented in zemstva

Some nobels profited - spring board to gretaer welath
Modernised their farms
Got lucky with increasing rail netwrok
Became grain magnets

34
Q

How did the life of nobles change 1861 (Cons)

A

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%

35
Q

Give some pros for the new middle class

A

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

36
Q

By 1880,…………teachers were working for the zemstva

A

15,000

37
Q

Give some cons for the clergy

A

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

38
Q

Give some negative impacts of emancapation for serfs

A

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

39
Q

How many riots after the first year of mancapation

A

1,889 rural riots and 849 in 1862

40
Q

What were the mirs

A

Village councils - reduced peasant freedom

issued passports
Gave floggings
ENsured that Russia was economicaly backwards
Resisted new farming methods (long narrow strips)

41
Q

Give an example of Russia’s degraded army

A

Britain could reach a Russian town faster by boat than the Russian army could

42
Q

Crimean war - only…the army had a rifle

A

Half

SOme Russian cannons dated from 1799!

43
Q

Crimean war, what was the problem with the officers

A

Most had not been through elite training schools and were badly eductaed, drunk and secured promotions through family connections

44
Q

Crimean war -how did lack of free press hinder the Russian army

A

In Britian, military errors were exposed leading to harsh criticsm and led to improvements

45
Q

Crimean War - problem with having a serf army

A 
Teribly trained
Neglectfull of their equipment 
Prone to ill disiplicne 
Half-starved 
Poor physical condition
46
Q

Give some examples of a turning point against emancipation in 1866

A
  • 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
47
Q

What percentage of the population were nobles

A

2%

48
Q

What percentage of the taxes did the serfs have to pay before emancipation

A

90%

A level History - Russia (12 decks)

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