Alexander III Counter-reforms + Russification

Question 1

When was Alexander III crowned?

Answer 1

27th May 1881

Question 2

Who did Alexander III receive a lot of influence from?

Answer 2

His tutor Pobedonostev who instilled into him autocracy, Orthodoxy and nationalism.
Said that all govt. opposition should be crushed and taught Alex to be anti-Semitic

Question 3

Who was Alexander III married to?

Answer 3

On his brother Nicholas’ death bed he insisted he married his wife Princess Dagmar and then converted her to Orthodoxy and had 5 kids together

Question 4

What was Alexander’s reaction to his father’s death?

Answer 4

V. angry and arrested 150 members of People’s Will and publicly hanged those who killed his dad and saw that changing constitution was a bad idea so tightened everything

Question 5

What did Alexander III declare in his Accession Manifesto?

Answer 5

He sad to have ‘full faith in the justice and strength of the autocracy’

Question 6

What was Alexander III’s reign know as?

Answer 6

The age of counter-reform

Question 7

Alexander III and change in judicial system

Answer 7

Land Captains est. appointed from nobility who replaced local magistrates and had power to override zemstva elections and decisions
Zemstva now under govt. control

Question 8

Alexander III and change in policing

Answer 8

Increased powers of police, made Department of Police which supervised Okhrana (often intercepted and read mail) and spies were often used

Question 9

Alexander III and change in education

Answer 9

Unis closed to women, students cant gather in groups >5
Lower class kids cant have prim education + prim education so in hands of church

Question 10

What happened to rebellion during Alexander III’s reign?

Answer 10

It was forced underground because autocracy was stabilised.

Question 11

What was Alexander III’s view on westernisation?

Answer 11

He greatly opposed it, he wore clothes until they were threadbare, chose to live in renovated peasants quarter of palace and loved simplicity of Russian life

Question 12

Alexander III and change in censorship

Answer 12

Tolstoy est. govt. committee ‘82 issuing newspapers to be closed
All literary publications had to be approved + libraries restricted in stock they were allowed

Question 13

What was Russification?

Answer 13

The enforcing of Russian language on the culture of the other ethnic minorities in the empire
Intended to unite the country but actually drove many to join opposition groups

Question 14

What was included within Alexander III’s Russification?

Answer 14

Russian declared official first language so trials had to be held in Russian
Public office closed to non-Russian speakers
Catholic monasteries closed down
Resistance to Russification was suppressed by military
Polish banks closed down

Question 15

Who were the Ministry of the Interior and what did they have the power to do?

Answer 15

They were handed the power of the Zemstva and had to give their permission if taxes were to be raised by the zemstva
Also had power to removed land captains

Question 16

Alexander III and the church

Answer 16

Used to extend powers of the tsar
Catholic monasteries were closed down
Members of non-Orthodox churches weren’t allowed to build new places of worship
The Holy Synod preached obedience
Church regained control of primary education

Question 17

Pobedonestsev and the church

Answer 17

Was the Procurator of the Holy Synod and was the most important figure
Made sure than info gathered in confession was often sent to the police and use as evidence

Question 18

How was Russia made up in terms of minorities?

Answer 18

100 different ethnic groups

5 million jews, mostly loving in western Russia

Question 19

What was a pogrom?

Answer 19

An attacks on Jews

Question 20

Impact of Russification on Baltic Germans

Answer 20

Had special protection under Alex II but were now subject to aggressive Russification
German University ‘Russified’ as well as state officers, elementary schools, police force and judicial system

Question 21

Why was orthodoxy on the rise?

Answer 21

Because laws benefited those of Orthodox faith
There were forced mass baptisms, converting Asian Heathens and Muslims to Orthodoxy
Any attempt to convert member of Orthodox faith to another religion was punished by exile to Siberia

Question 22

Resistance to Russification

Answer 22

June ‘88 332 cases of mass disturbances but troubles swiftly curbed, in 51 cases military employed
Resentment from wealthy Finns, Poles + Baltic Germans who petitioned for more liberties
Published secret local language books, some ethnic schools survived

Question 23

What did the supporters of Russification believe?

Answer 23

That they ere acting in the greater good of Russia and that it was necessary to unite Russia to improve administration and allow modernisation

Question 24

Summary of the wide view of Russification

Answer 24

Was a misguided policy that had opposite to intended affect, drove some of the wealthier citizens to emigrate and persuaded many to join opposition groups

Question 25

Alexander III and anti-Semitism

Answer 25

Many pogroms broke out and authorities did little to stop them, many raped + murdered
Alex passed many laws to restrict movement of Jews who were forced to live in ghettoes
Many emigrated or were expelled and ppl turned to revolutionary groups e.g Trotsky

Question 26

When were 2/3 of Moscow’s Jewish population expelled?

Answer 26

1891

Question 27

When and what happened with the worst wave of anti-semitic pogroms?

Answer 27

1903, began in Kishinev and in 2 days, 47 Jews were murdered, 400 wounded, 700 houses burned down and 600 shops were destroyed

Question 28

What was the Pale of Settlement?

Answer 28

Region in south-west European Russia created in 1791 which is were most Jews were confined to
Jewish properties burnt, many rapes and murders

Question 29

What initially encouraged anti-Semitism in Russia?

Answer 29

Under Alex II anti-semitism existed in poorer parts of society due to teachings of Orthodox church
But Alex II had allowed Jews to settle elsewhere until Polish revolt frightened him into withdrawing concessions and reducing participation of Jews in town govt.
This encouraged anti-Semitism

Question 30

What was Pobedonostev’s view on Jews?

Answer 30

He believed that’ one third should emigrate, one third should die and one third such assimilate’

Question 31

What was a reason for Alex III’s anti-Semitic views?

Answer 31

The right wing Russian press encouraged the belief that Jews had orchestrated the assassination of his father and that there was a real fear of Jewish involvement in growing opposition movements
Also Pobedonostev

Question 32

May Laws of 1882

Answer 32

Jews forbidden to settle outside cities and towns of less than 10,000 ppl
Any Jewish contracts regarding property outside cities and towns will be of no effect
Jews forbidden to do business on Sundays and Christian holidays

Question 33

Impact of anti-semitism on Jews

Answer 33

Many Jews left country after pogroms
Grand Duke Alexandrovich forced 20,000 jews from Moscow during passover
Drove loads towards revolutionary groups, particularly Marxist socialist organisations e.g Trotsky

Question 34

Extent and impact of Alex III’s counter-reform

Answer 34

Reversed most trends made by his father but not all
May 1881, law reduced redemption fees
May 1885 poll tax abolished and inheritance tax introduced 1883 establishment of the Peasants’ Land Bank under Bunge

Question 35

What impact did the 1891-1892 famine have on opposition?

Answer 35

Zemstva largely responsible for relief work and increased conviction and showed that tsarist regime needed to change, emphasised by Orlando Figes who said the famine was a turning point in opposition and there were renewed calls by zemstva for national body

Question 36

What happened to populism once Alex III came to power?

Answer 36

Security was stepped up after People’s Will assassinated Alex II which effectively ended populist movement

Question 37

What was Marxism?

Answer 37

Based on political and economic theories of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels and involved theory that govt. would control all resources and means of production to ensure equality
Believed in no class system and everyone should be rewarded in correlation to amount of work they did

Question 38

Emancipation of Labour

Answer 38

1883, first Marxist group in Tsarist Russia, and made effort to translate Marx and Engels’ work into Russian for public to read, inspiring many to turn to Marxism as a way to change Russia

Question 39

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party

Answer 39

1895 was program based on theories of Marx and Engels
Was illegal for most of its existence
Formed to unite various revolutionary organisations of Russian Empire into one party in 1898
Later split to Bolsheviks and Mensheviks

Question 40

Bolsheviks

Answer 40

1903, founded by Lenin and Bogdanov
Mainly consisted of workers who considered themselves the leaders of the revolutionary working class of Russia

Question 41

Who was the Mensheviks’ leader?

Answer 41

Martov

Question 42

What were the aims of Marxism?

Answer 42

First was to progress Bourgeois movement (get rid of feudal system) and to bring rights of lower classes to light
Demanded a democracy and ultimately wanted to mould Russia into a socialist republic as they saw capitalism as greedy and wrong

Question 43

What tactics did Marxists use?

Answer 43

Propaganda amongst workers (mainly a Bolshevik scheme) where ppl were told that living conditions would improve if wealth was distributed fairly
Used clandestine cell system which allowed terrorist groups to avoid detection