Alexander III Flashcards
What was AIII first policy?
Alexander’s first action was to abandon the Loris-Melikov proposals for constitutional reform
AIII wrote on the front page of the draft: ‘Thank God the whole crazy project has been rejected
Public didn’t mind this
What political reforms were made under AIII?
In May, Loris-Melikov and two other reforming ministers, Alexander Abaza and Milyutin resigned in protest
A year later, an extreme conservative was brought in (Tolstoy)
Toltstoy has sevred as over procurator of the Holy Synod between 1865 - 1880
RW Journalist Mikhail Katkov, editor of the Moscow News from 1863 - 1967 was another powerful figure
He also gave his full support to the government’s ultra conservative policies
What did Alexander III do regarding Education?
High schools could not allow admissions for all social classes; Grammar schools were restricted only for the elite.
Universities were not able to hire their own professors and legislation was passed to create new syllabi for the school.
History was not allowed to be taught unless given prior permission by the Minister of Education.
Alexander III applied this repressive policy of education while Alexander II strived for modernization of Russia and its assets as he promoted a policy of universal education.
Number of elementary schools increased, but they were put under the control of the Church
There were fewer pupils in elementary schools in 1895 than there had been in 1882
but from 1897–>1904
Population that could read and write went from 21 –> 27%
1884 - univerisites deprived of their independence
1887 fees were raised
Legislation in 1886 barred the f’s from uni
What did Alexander III regarding Russification?
Russian was the only language taught in schools throughout the Empire.
All ethnic minorities at a whole were discriminated, such as Jews, Ukrainians, Polish and Belarusians.
Anti-Semitic policies such as restriction of what occupations the Jews could work in and their settlement in “posh” areas.
The policy of promoting Russian ethnicity and suppressing other ethnicities was shared by both Tsars, but Alexander III pushed his father’s policies to a further level due to his belief that it was the ethnic minorities who were responsible for Alexander II’s death.
What did Alexander III do Economically?
Alexander III learnt from the Crimean war that Russia was needed to be modernised.
The creation of more railways because an important customer of the iron and steel industries, accounting for 60% of total production by 1890s.
The contrasted large amounts of railways was to help speed up travel around Russia which would in turn help trade and the army.
The cotton textile industry also benefited from the coming of the railways, in opening up new areas for the cultivation of raw cotton.
Similarly Alexander III had the same aims in improving the economy radically.
Alexander III established land banks in 1883 and this provided cheap credit for peasants to buy land.
For the very first time Russia’s budget achieved a surplus. Between 1881 - 85 the labour legislation was introduced to improve working conditions for women and children with factory inspections
Repression AIII?
August 1881 - Statue on Measures for the preservation of Political Order an Social Tranquility, sometimes referred to as ‘exceptional measures’ set out to eradicate the ‘vile sedition disgracing the Russian land’
The statue declared that any area of the empire where trouble was suspected could be designated an area of ‘extraordinary security’
It would then have a commander in chief appointed to it, to root out the troublemakers and ensure loyalty to their regime
These commanders-in-chief would have full power to search proeprty and arrest, interrogate, imprison and exile suspects
The ‘untrustworthy’ would have no right to legal representation
This ‘temporary’ mesaure was initially supposed to last three years but in practice it was repeatedly renewed and was still in place in 1917
Police AIII?
Department of the police was put in hands of Vyacheslav Konstantinovich von Plheve 1881-1884
March 1882 - Statue on Police Surveillance
permitted the police to conduct searches and monitor exile’s correspondence as well to recruti spies, and counter spies and universities
How did AIII re-establish noble Influence?
Land Captains controlled by the Minister of Internal Affairs
They were picked from heredITARY NOBLES
1890 - THE CONSTITUION OF THE ZEMSTVA WAS CHANGED TO GIVE THE NOBLES 57% OF THE PLACES AVAILABLE
1892 - Property Qualification for voters to the municipal dumas was also raised
In St Petersburg, the electrorate was reduced by 2/3s as a result
What did the Land Captains do?
They were made responsible for enforcing governments in those area
They were given powers to root out sefition and could also override elections to the zemstva and village assemblies and overturn the decisions of the local councils
Duma influence on politics low but on social and community work particularly in health
What did Richard Charques say about Land Captains?
‘No single act of government in the reign of A III stirred the Russian peasant to more bitter resentment’
Charques
What did Charques and Lutsky say about Land Captains?
created a state of ‘semi serfdom’ in the countryside
It did this by re-instating the dominance of the nobillity and removing some of the autonomy the peasants had enjoyed since the emancipation
Counter Arguments to A III’s abillity to suppress the locals?
He did not abolish the Zemstvas and dumas created by AII
That said, he reduced their influcned by adjusting their membership to give more weight to the nobility
Judicial Changes under AIII?
AIII’s reign saw the partial reversal of such reforms towars fairer trials
By a decree of 1885, the minister of justice was given greater control over the dismissal of judges whose decisions he disliked
1887 - ‘Closed Court Sessions’ made Legal where the ‘dignity of state power was in question’
Judges needed more property and higher educational qualifications to serve on juries
1889 - Local Magistrates disappeared and the central ministry of justice took control of the appointment of town judges
Meanwhile, the land captains assumed judicial powers in the countryside
What did A III do to Jewish Communities?
1736 - Jews mainly confined to area known as ‘the Pale of Settlement’
Slogans such as ‘Russia for the Russians’ and ‘Beat the Yids - Save Russia’ were used to encourage attacks on Jewish communities
1881 first progrom initiated –> Homes se ton fire, wimen raped and Jews murdered
1882 - attacks had spread through Kirovi and Kiev
1882 - ‘May Laws’ further reduced Jew’s rights, even in the Pale of settlement
Jews were not allowed to purchase immovable property forcing them to live in ghetto’s
What happened to the Jews in 1891? AIII?
Jewish Artisans were forboidden to live in Moscow and over 17 k were forcibly deported druing the bitter winter of 1891-92