Alexander III, the 'Great Reactionary' Flashcards
Who was known as the ‘Black Tsar’?
Konstantin Pobedonostsev
When was the ‘Manifesto of Unshakeable Autocracy’ written?
1881
Who was Mikhail Katkov?
An influential right-wing journalist who edited the Moscow News until his death in 1887.
He was much liked by Alexander III.
Name 2 changes in local government under Alexander III.
• Land captains introduced (1889)
• Changed election arrangements for the zemstva, reducing peasant vote (1890)
• In towns, electorate was reduced to owners of certain valued properties (1892)
When were Land Captains introduced?
1889
Who was Vyacheslav Konstantinovich von Plehve?
Director of the Okhrana (1881-84)
Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs (1884-99)
State Secretary for Finland (1899-1902)
Minister for Internal Affairs (1902-04)
Who led the Okhrana from 1884?
Pyotr Durnovo
Name 2 key roles in the Okhrana.
• Spies
• Counter-spies
• Agent provocateurs
When was Alexander III’s Statute of Police Surveillance?
1882
What were closed court sessions?
A trial held in secret where no observers were permitted and where no reporting was allowed.
When were closed court sessions allowed?
1887
When was Delyanov’s University Charter?
1884
What were problems that autocracy faced in education?
• Liberal/radical ideas spreading
• Student protests
• Mixing of lower and upper/middle classes
When did Tolstoy establish a government committee to issue ‘temporary regulations’?
1882
When was the poll tax abolished?
1885
What was Russification?
Enforcing the Russian language and culture, to everyone in the Russian Empire.
How many ethnic groups were there in Russia?
100+
What were pogroms?
An old Russian word meaning ‘round up’ or ‘lynching’, connoted to Jewish killings in Russian empire after 1881
What is chauvinism?
Exaggerated belief in national superiority and glory
When was the Pale of Settlement created, and what was it?
1791, A region in the south and west parts of European Russia, out of the 5 million Jews in Russia, most of them were confined to this area.
When were the Jewish pogroms at their worst?
1881-84
When were the May Laws introduced?
1882
What was the proletariat?
Urban working class
Who began the spread of communism?
Karl Marx
When was the Great Famine?
1891-92
Who wrote Das Kapital?
Karl Marx
Who was regarded as the ‘Father of Russian Communism’?
Georgei Plekhanov
Who was the Minister of Finance from 1862-78?
Mikhail von Reutern
Who was Minister of Finance from 1887-92?
Ivan Vyshnegradsky
Who was Minister of Finance from 1992?
Sergei Witte
How did Tsar Alexander III die?
Liver failure
What was the foreign investment of roubles in 1890?
215 million
When was the Great Famine?
1891-92
How many people died during the Great Famine?
350,000
When was the Peasant Land Bank introduced?
1883
When was the Nobles Land Bank introduced?
1885
What percentage of the population were literate by 1897?
21%
What was introduced in the University Charter of 1884?
Made appointments of professors to be based on religious, moral and patriotic orientation.
How many cases of mass disturbance were there, in June 1888?
332
43 of these were in 9 of 12 central provinces.
