Attempts at reform

Question 1

Who was Alexander II?

Answer 1

1- Reigned 1855–1881
2- Wished to reform but could not change the basic political framework
3- Supported by liberal family members
4- Had personally witnessed Russia’s problems as tsarevich

Question 2

What were the political reasons for reform in 1855?

Answer 2

1- The intelligentsia had become disloyal and began asserting pressure for reform
2- Repression was becoming more difficult to maintain
3- After the Crimean War, peasant murders of landowners increased

Question 3

What were the economic reasons for reform in 1855?

Answer 3

1) Serfdom prevented the movement of workers to urban factories
2) The serf’s low disposable income reduced market demand
3) Low agricultural innovation

Question 4

What was the Emancipation of the Serfs?

Answer 4

1) 1861: all private serfs freed, with a transitional period of 2 years allowed to allot
land. There were over 1,000 riots, one including 10,000 peasants
2) Redemption fees would be paid over a period of 49 years

Question 5

What were the consequences of the Emancipation of the Serfs for the Mir?

Answer 5

1) Peasants now had to apply for passports through the Mir
2) Peasants were tied to the Mir until the 49-year redemption payments had been
made
3) Redemption payments were collected by commune, not individual, so the
Commune had a vested interest in retaining its members

Question 6

What were the positive consequences of the Emancipation of the Serfs for the serfs?

Answer 6

1) A new class of rich land-owning peasants, kulaks, emerged
2) Conscription to the army was abolished

Question 7

What were the negative consequences of the Emancipation of the Serfs for the serfs?

Answer 7

1) The serfs lost a guaranteed standard of living and protection from their landlord
2) Some serfs were unable to make enough money working their land, and were
forced to find work under their previous landlord, for less compensation than they
were given before the Emancipation
3) 75% of the serf population was given less land than was needed to survive
4) If farmers increased their profits, they ended up paying a larger share of the Mir’s
debts

Question 8

What were the consequences of the Emancipation of the Serfs for the nobles?

Answer 8

1) 50% of the government compensation for loss of serfs was used to pay off debts
2) The nobles ensured they were left with the best land through their position in the
Mir
3) The price of the land the nobles sold to the government was sometimes inflated
to +90%
4) By 1905, 1/3 noble-owned land from 1861 had been sold

Question 9

What were the wider issues with the Emancipation of the Serfs?

Answer 9

1) The inefficient strip farming technique was retained
2) Redemption payments were so high that most peasants couldn’t afford to buy
extra land
3) Agricultural productivity did not increase. By 1900, it had fallen to 25% of the
British level

Question 10

Why was the state so cautious when emancipating the serfs?

Answer 10

1) The government depended on the nobility for local administration, and didn’t want
to anger them with an unfavourable settlement
2) Rural public order was maintained through feudal ties, which were severed when
the serfs were freed

Question 11

What were Alexander II’s education reforms?

Answer 11

The Education Edict provided universal primary education, but little was done to
put it into effect

Question 12

How did the population become more educated?

Answer 12

1) 1865: the relaxation of censorship allowed for a growth in universities
2) 1870: Women were allowed to attend secondary schools for non-vocational
education

Question 13

What were the consequences of Alexander II’s education reforms?

Answer 13

1) 1856–1878: the number of primary schools increased from 8,000 to 25,000
2) Students became more radical and left leaning

Question 14

What were Alexander II’s 1864 government reforms?

Answer 14

1) Set up local elected councils (zemstvo), with a noble-heavy composition (district:
40%; provincial: 70%)
2) Zemstvo decisions could be overturned by provincial governors

Question 15

What was the impact of the creation of the zemstva?

Answer 15

1) Created the ‘third element’ – engineers, lawyers, doctors – who were employed by
the zemstvo
2) Close contact with the peasantry radicalised zemstvo members
3) Zemstvo members began to petition for more say in the government in the 1870s

Question 16

What were Alexander II’s judicial reforms?

Answer 16

1) Judges were paid high salaries and given fixed tenure
2) Appeal courts were set up
3) Trial by jury was introduced for criminal cases
4) JPs were created to hear minor cases, especially in village courts
5) Independent courts represented independent authority, which mean the regime
could no longer act arbitrarily

Question 17

What was the effect of Alexander II’s judicial reforms?

Answer 17

1) Juries were sympathetic to revolutionaries
2) The government found it more difficult to control the judiciary than the zemstvo
(subdued in the 1880s, when their ability to levy taxes was reduced)
3) 1878: Vera Zasulich was accused of attempting to murder the St. Petersburg
police chief. Even after admitting to the crime, the jury acquitted her as they felt
her act was ‘politically justified’

Question 18

What were the issues with Alexander II’s 1864 judicial reforms?

Answer 18

1877–1878: The ‘Trial of 193’ was meant to prosecute revolutionaries, but a
sympathetic jury meant 153 were acquitted and the rest were given light
sentences

Question 19

How were the Alexander II’s 1864 judicial reforms limited?

Answer 19

1) Trial by jury was not established in Poland, the western provinces and the
Caucasus region
2) Ecclesiastical and military courts were excluded from the reforms

Question 20

What occurred to censorship in the 1860s?

Answer 20

1) Censorship was relaxed but not removed, for newspapers and books
2) Ministry of Interior could still withdraw ‘dangerous’ publications
3) Court proceedings could be openly printed in the press

Question 21

What were Alexander II’s military reforms?

Answer 21

1) Universal conscription was introduced, but the length of service was reduced
2) Modern equipment was introduced
3) Promotion became more open

Question 22

What were the issues with Alexander II’s military reforms?

Answer 22

1) The nobility still held high positions0
2) The army was still heavily reliant on uneducated peasant conscripts
3) There was a significant reduction in government expenditure
4) The Russo-Turkish war in 1877–1878 and Russo-Japanese war in 1904–1905
both ended in defeats
5) New weaponry was introduced slowly. The breech-loading rifle took 20 years to
penetrate the lower ranks of the army

Question 23

What were the issues with Alexander II’s industrialisation attempts?

Answer 23

1) Low migration to cities meant that the expansion of industry was very limited
2) The length of the railway was quadrupled to 22,000km, a development rate well
below that of Britain
3) Low tariff duties on import goods did not benefit domestic industry