Alexander III

Question 1

what were some of Alexander III’s reactionary policies?

Answer 1

• he arrested 150 members of peoples will and hanged those responsible for his fathers death
• 1885 - closed court sessions re-introduced
• 1889 - introduced land captains who were appointed by nobility (autocracy on local scale)
• 1890 - peasant vote to the Zemstva was reduced and Liberal members of the judiciary were removed from office

Question 2

what was Pobedonostev’s creed?

Answer 2

“orthodoxy, autocracy, nationality”

Question 3

what were some of his russification policies?

Answer 3

• Russian was to be official first language of the empire
• public office was denied to those who could not speak russian
• Catholic monasteries were closed down

Question 4

what were the anti-semitic events?

Answer 4

• from 1881-1884, around 200 anti jewish (pogroms) broke out

- 1882 - may laws - harsher restrictions on jews

Question 5

what were some of Alexander III’s economic policies?

Answer 5

• Bunge helped introduce the peasant land bank in 1883 which enabled peasants to buy land. this helped lead to the emergence of kulak class
• he also introduced measures to restrict child labour
• Vyshnegradsky increased the number of loans coming from abroad e.g., france in 1888
• he also forced peasants to sell grain to the state for them to export - resulted in grain exports rising by around 20% although peasants suffered from high taxation