Alexander II- depth study

Question 1

Q1. How far were Alexanders reforms due to the Crimean war?

Question 2

What was Alexander II’s main aim?

Answer 2

Preserve autocracy- reform from above rather than below to preserve his divine rule

Question 3

How far was the Crimean war responsible for his reforms?

Answer 3

-Despite army of 700,000, Russian army suffered crushing loss- undermined Russia’s ‘invincability’
-Revealed poor structure of the Russian army
-Army comprised of poorly-trained serfs
-Soldiers had failed to be given suitable equipment /machinery showing how Russia had failed to modernise
-Seen as a ‘golden moment’ to convince the nation that reform was needed to improve the military

Question 4

How far was the pressure to abolish serfdom responsible for his reforms?

Answer 4

-Slavery was seen as an immoral institution
-Serfdom became recognised as a form of slavery

Question 5

How far was increasing peasant unrest in Russia responsible for his reforms?

Answer 5

-Between 1826 and 1854 there had been 712 peasant revolts
-Alexander believed that granting measures of freedom may lessen the political and social threat towards tsarist rule

Question 6

How far was the need to industrialise responsible for his reforms?

Answer 6

-Imperial Russia remained socially and economically backwards compared to western civilisation
-A significant population growth put pressure on an already strained farming system- famines became more frequent
-Russia lacked railway construction and technological improvements
-Russia would only be able to reform at the ending of serfdom

Question 7

JUDGEMENT- What was the main cause of Alexander’s reforms?

Answer 7

-Crimean war = highlighted publicly to the majority of Russia how economically and socially backwards it remained
however:
-Fundamental changes began when serfs began to demand greater change, as a result of intelligentsia who argued for the liberalisation of Russia

Question 8

Q2. To what extent did reforms made by Alexander improve the status of Russian peasants?

Question 9

What were the terms of the Emancipation Edict?

Answer 9

1861
-Serfs were made legally free of their landlords
-Ex-serfs allowed various rights e.g. to own land, to marry freely, to set-up businesses

Question 10

What was the significance of the Edict?

Answer 10

-Gave serfs (limited) freedoms for the first time in Russia’s history

Question 11

What evidence supports the notion that Alexander deserves the title of ‘Tsar Liberator’?

Answer 11

-Peasants were given new basic rights e.g. greater freedom to live independent lives
-Creation of Zemstva (local assemblies)- had successes in education, public health and local economies
-Emergence of the Kulaks i.e. wealthy peasants show some success of emancipation
-Peasants able to emigrate e.g. to Germany

Question 12

What evidence challenges the notion that Alexander deserves the title of ‘Tsar Liberator’?

Answer 12

-Redemption payments- serfs had to help pay for the compensation to landowners over a 49 year period at 6% interest. Land ownership was only confirmed after the last payment so many serfs never owned land
-Poor quality of land given to serfs i.e. hard to yield crops on
-The Mir (village commune) controlled the serfs and ensured they were still tied to the land e.g. any serf wanting to travel more than 20 miles needed an internal passport
-Zemstva were dominated by nobility- limiting democracy introduced

Question 13

JUDGEMENT- Does Alexander II deserve the title of Tsar liberator?

Answer 13

-No
-Despite some concessions being granted e.g. freedom to vote, in reality peasants were not free or truly liberalised as the Mir still ensured they remained tied to the village, along with redemption payments

Question 14

Q3. How ‘liberal’ was Russian government from 1855-1881?

Question 15

How succesful were the military reforms?

Answer 15

-Priority for Alexander
-Miliutin (War minister)- improve efficiency of Russian army
-Reduction in army service reduced to 15 years= improve moral
-Corporal punishment abolished= improve moral
-Establishment of Gymnasia- produce well-rounded, established officers

Question 16

How succesful were the education reforms?

Answer 16

-Notoriously poor quality- improvements were made by the Zemstva
-500+ Sunday schools established to teach peasants basic reading, writing, and history HOWEVER they were shut down by the third section for promoting sedition
-Women were allowed to attend University
-Forward-thinking professors taught subjects such as philosophy and law
-However, overall there was a lack of willingness to promote education amongst the peasantry- not liberal OR forward thinking

Question 17

How successful were the economic reforms?

Answer 17

-Reutern= finance minister- wanted to stimulate the Russian economy
-All ministries were to set budgets a year in advance= comparisons between past budgets and projections
-Abolition of tax-farming
-Railway construction, made available through foreign loans, improved the promotion of exports

Question 18

How successful were the Judicial reforms?

Answer 18

-Five tiers of court added in 1864, modelled off Western court systems
-Judges pay was increased to make them less likely to accept bribes
-Introduction of juries to make trial fairer
-HOWEVER, Volost courts dealt exclusively with peasants, widening the gap between serfs and the nobility

Question 19

How successful were the Local government reforms?

Answer 19

-Volosti courts= grouped together Mirs to provide judicial units HOWEVER they widened the gap between the serfs and the privileged
-Zemstva= demonstrated a step towards representative government

Question 20

How successful were the censorship reforms?

Answer 20

-1855= abolished censorship committee
-1865= periodicals allowed to freely print
-‘Spirit of reform’

Question 21

What were the main groups of opposition?

Answer 21

1. Populists
   -Revolution and reform must come from the peasants
   -The Populists believed that it was their task to educate the peasants about revolution
   -‘Going to the People movement’= thousands of populists traveled to peasant villages to educate and inform them BUT failed to gain any peasant support
2. People’s will
   -Small branch of the populist group
   -Used terrorism to promote revolution
   -Assassinated the Tsar in 1881
3. Peasants
   -Emancipation Edict hadn’t gone far enough
   -1861= 647 peasant riots in the first 4 months of the year

Question 22

Q4. How far were issues relating to the Empire and National Minorities neglected by Alexander II?

Question 23

What evidence suggests that issues were neglected by Alexander II?

Answer 23

-Following the 1863 Polish revolt the level of nationalism in Poland diminished, Russian became the official language of Poland and the Catholic Church’s authority was also diminished
-In Ukraine, virtually all publications in Ukrainian were banned in 1863 and all books in Ukrainian were removed from schools in 1876, with only the Russian language to be used in schools (Russification)
-Jews remained oppressed, still experiencing discrimination and prejudice

Question 24

What evidence suggests that issues were not neglected by Alexander II?

Answer 24

-Alexander did show a conciliatory approach to Poland after the revolt e.g. set up a new medical school in Warsaw
-Polish serfs received more favourable terms of the emancipation edict than Russians e.g. no redemption payments
-In Finland, a new currency was introduced, as well as a new diet (parliament)
-Liberal policy towards the Baltic Germans continued in the face of rising nationalism
-Significant expansion into Asia e.g. The 1875 Treaty of Saint Petersburg
-Some Jews e.g. doctors and merchants were allowed to live outside of ‘The Pale’

Question 25

JUDGEMENT: Did Alexander neglect issues relating to the empire and national minorities?

Answer 25

-Yes
-Despite some concessions to the Jews and countries such as Finland, the amount of change brought about was minimal, and instead the policy of Russification was established (particularly in Poland) which would be strengthened over the next decade