Alexander III Flashcards
After Alexander II was assassinated, he issued the…
Temporary Regulations
He was a reactionary and inflexible, meaning he was…
Against reform
The temporary regulations gave provincial governors and officials the power to…
Imprison people without trial
Ban public meetings
Exile thousands of offender to Siberia
Also set up the…
Okhrana
The okhrana restricted the…
Press and monitored revolutionary and socialist groups
Was heavily influenced by…
Pobedonostev
After Alexander II’s assassination the government’s more…
Liberal ministers were sacked
The new tsar relied on his former tutor…
Pobedonostev for advice
Pobodonostev believed that it was the Tsar’s duty to rule according to
3 principles:
Nationality
Autocracy
Orthodoxy
For nationality, promoted a policy of…
Russification
Russification meant that:
- Russian = official language
- Rights of Russian majority before minority
- No distinguishing between minority groups loyal to Tsarism (Finns) and those who opposed it (Poles)
Russification led to an…
Increase in opposition to tsarism from many different sections of society
Autocracy led to…
Elected justices of the peace being replaced by Land Captains 1889
Land captains could…
- Overrule the zemstva
* Charge peasant farmers with minor offences
Peasants felt that the Land Captains treated them as badly as they had been…
During the years of serfdom
In 1890 the Tsar restricted the right to vote for the zemstva…
in the countryside
In 1892 the right to vote for the Dumas in the towns was…
Restricted in a similar way, giving the landed gentry even more power
Orthodoxy meant the rights and privileges of the Russian Orthodox Church were…
… championed above those of other beliefs
Who suffered the most under Russification?
The Jews
The Jews suffered from…
Loss of rights
Violence
Jewish loss of rights meant that they weren’t allowed to…
Become doctors or lawyers
Very few were admitted to uni
Jews came under violence from…
Pogroms, which increased under Russification because they were encouraged by the government
The Jews responded in 2 important ways:
Left the country
Formed a radical organisation (BUND) which worked with the opposition parties in the years before 1917
What did Alexander III’s reign do?
Provided firm leadership, clear direction
Brought back strong autocratic power (underpinned by the Church, aristocracy & army)
Found difficult to tackle the problems emerging in his rapidly industrialising country
