Alexander II

Question 1

Give details on educational reforms

Answer 1

1863

• Promotion of private schools
• Setting up of inspection system
• More places were available
• No. of pupils attending secondary schools doubled from 1855 to 1865
• Universities given more autonomy
• Overhaul of the curriculum
• Schools run by Zemstva

Question 2

When was he in power?

Answer 2

1855-1881

Question 3

When was the Crimean war?

Answer 3

1853-1856

Question 4

What was he nicknamed as?

Answer 4

‘Tsar Liberator’

Question 5

When did he emancipate the serfs?

Answer 5

1861

Question 6

List some of his characteristics

Answer 6

• Knew languages, studied a modern curriculum
• Well travelled-toured Siberia and met political exiles
• Convinced a liberal rule was necessary

Question 7

Why did he emancipate the serfs?

Answer 7

• Increase productivity
• Reduce peasant revolts
• ‘Better to abolish serfdom from above’

Question 8

What were the key terms of serf emancipation?

Answer 8

• Serf to inherit land they worked
• Serfs would pay ‘redemption dues’ over a period of 49 years to buy land
• Free to marry without interference
• Could use the law courts
• Domestic serfs didn’t receive land under terms
• Landowners given compensation for lost land.

Question 9

What happened in 1866?

Answer 9

First attempt to assassinate Tsar

Question 10

When was the ‘Trial of 50’ and what did it show?

Answer 10

1877

• A trial of his political opponents
• That he was willing to carry on tradition of autocracy with a firm hand

Question 11

When was he assassinated?

Answer 11

1881

Question 12

When was the Zemstva introduced and what did it do?

Answer 12

1864

• Regional councils.
• Set up to express the view of rural people at local level.
• Members elected by property qualification.

Question 13

How was the justice system reformed?

Answer 13

• Jury system introduced

- Hierarchy of courts to deal with different cases more appropriately

Question 14

What changes did he make in terms of censorship?

Answer 14

1865

• New guidelines issued for publishers/ writers
• Greater freedom for individual expression

Question 15

What were the details of military reforms?

Answer 15

• 1862-1874
• Better training of officers
• More humane treatment of troops
• Reduced period of service (25 to 15 years)
• Army became more professional

Question 16

Give details on his attempts to modernise Russia

Answer 16

• 1862-1881
• Mikhail Reutern appointed Minister of Finance to attract foreign investment/technical expertise
• From 1862 to 1878 there was a sevenfold increase in amount of railway track
• Iron, coal, textiles expanded rapidly

Question 17

What was the reaction to emancipation?

Answer 17

• Peasants resented paying for land they thought was rightfully theirs
• Peasants complained about restrictions of the mir (commune)
• Nobles complained redemption payments weren’t enough to compensate them
• Land settlement was very unsatisfactory: poor quality, small areas.