Alexander III 1881-94

Question 1

What was Alexander III’s manifesto dedicated to restoring autocracy called and when was it issued?

Answer 1

Manifesto of Unshakeable Autocracy, April 1881

Question 2

What were Land Captains and when were they introduced?

Answer 2

Introduced in 1889 - nobles recruited to oversee peasant communes

Question 3

What could land captains do?

Answer 3

Override zemstva/duma, overturn courts, (until 1904) could order public flogging of peasants for minor offences

Question 4

What was Alexander III’s views on nationalism?

Answer 4

Russification, pogrom (purge) of national groups

Question 5

What was the Okhrana?

Answer 5

The Okhrana was a secret police that could declare any citizen under surveillance

Question 6

When was the Okhrana founded?

Answer 6

1881

Question 7

What education reforms did Alexander III bring in?

Answer 7

Uni courses for women closed, church given more control, fees increased to exclude children from lower classes

Question 8

What was the University Statute and when was it passed?

Answer 8

Passed in 1884 - implemented strict controls on unis, reduced autonomy and student freedom, all uni staff appointed by Minister of Education

Question 9

What was the Statute of State Security and when was it passed?

Answer 9

Passed in 1881 - meant the govt ‘in emergency’ could prohibit gatherings of more than 12, prosecute anyone for political crimes, introduce emergency police rule, set up special courts outside legal system and close schools, unis and newspapers

Question 10

What was the Zemstva act and when was it passed?

Answer 10

Passed in 1890 - reduced Zemstva’s independence. Provincial governors could veto and amend decisions

Question 11

What was the Municipal Government Act and when was it passed?

Answer 11

Passed in 1892 - reduced municipal council independence

Question 12

What % of people in larger cities were eligible to vote in the 1890s?

Answer 12

In Moscow and St Petersburg, only 0.7% were eligible to vote

Question 13

What legal reforms did Alexander III pass?

Answer 13

Minister of Justice could hold private trials, crimes against the state could be held in special courts with no jury, judges appointed directly from Ministry of Justice

Question 14

How many arrests did Alexander III make following his father’s death in 1881?

Answer 14

10,000

Question 15

How did Alexander III dismantle revolutionary groups?

Answer 15

Okhrana recruited thousands of agents to end them (e.g. cab drivers), most post offices had rooms where mail was read, thousands were arrested and exiled

Question 16

What % of Russian Empire citizens spoke Russian in 1897?

Answer 16

55.6%

Question 17

Who was Pobedonostsev?

Answer 17

Tutor to Alexander III and Nicholas II and later Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod (head of Orthodox Church)

Question 18

What was Pobedonostsev’s religious policy?

Answer 18

Forced conversion to Orthodoxy - churches built all across empire, asserted control over previously autonomous churches

Question 19

How many Muslims in the Russian Empire were converted to Orthodoxy?

Answer 19

100,000

Question 20

What did Russification mean for other nationalities in the empire?

Answer 20

Forced to adopt Russian language, culture, customs and religion - loss of national identity

Question 21

What changes were made in non-Russian parts of the empire in Alexander III’s reign?

Answer 21

Russian officials were brought in to run regional governments in areas such as Poland, Latvia and Finland

Question 22

Where was the Russian language now enforced to be used in the nationalities?

Answer 22

Schools, courts and regional government

Question 23

What effects did Russification have?

Answer 23

Infuriated minorities - unfair and attack on national/cultural heritage. Caused a number of uprisings which were all suppressed

Question 24

What was Russification’s effect on Poland?

Answer 24

Led many Poles into revolutionary groups - took advantage in 1905

Question 25

What was Russification’s impact on Jews?

Answer 25

Forced to move to Pale of Settlement, not allowed to own property/land, couldn’t hold office, denied votes, forced to sell up businesses

Question 26

What were pogroms?

Answer 26

Armed groups broke into Jewish homes and killed, raped, robbed and destroyed property

Question 27

What was the police’s action on pogroms?

Answer 27

Turned a blind eye or were even involved themselves

Question 28

What was Alexander III’s overall legacy?

Answer 28

Strengthened autocracy, brought years of relative peace, strengthened traditional elites, antagonised social and ethnic groups, only method of upholding regime was repression

Question 29

By 1882 how many nobles owned businesses in Moscow?

Answer 29

Over 700