Autocracy of Alexander II and Alexander III Flashcards
1
Q
when was Alexander II’s first assassination attempt?
A
1866
- by Dmitry Karakozov
2
Q
when did Alexander II’s son die?
A
1965
the heir to the throne
3
Q
quote showing how Alexander III was committed to reaction/preservation of autocracy
A
‘’we are summoned to reaffirm that power and to preserve it for the benefit of the people from any encroachment upon it”
4
Q
reactionary attitude
A
- implies actions and policies that are backward looking in an attempt to restore the past; those who suport reaction are known as reactionaries
5
Q
when was alexander ii assassinated?
A
- 13 march 1881
6
Q
Alexander assassination attempts
A
1866 = dmitry karakosov shot
1867 = polish immigrant antoni berezowski shot (hit horse and cavalryman instead)
1879 = aleksandr soloviev fired 5 times
1879 = bomb planted on the wrong train
1880 = mine in winter palace by a revolutionary
1881 = successfully blew up carriage and then the Tsar
7
Q
who was alexander’s mistress?
A
- after son died in 1865, and wife had tuberculosis so withdrew from public viewing
- Catherine Mikhailovna Dolgorukova
8
Q
result of alexander ii confining more in his mistress
A
- became less inclined to resist the reactionary conservatives who believes tsar’s reforms had gone too far
- many believed he had weakened the props on which the imperial monarchy relied, the church and the nobility too
9
Q
which ministers Alexander ii replace? what. year?
A
- 1866
- tolstoy replaced golovnin for minister of education
- timashev replaced valuev for minster of internal affairs
- shuvlaov for head of the third section
- pehlen as minister of justice
10
Q
who was count dmitry tolstoy
A
- over procurator of the holy synod 1865
- minister of education 1866 to 1880
- 1882 - 1889 minster of internal affairs and chief of the gendarmerie
- elected president of the st petersburg academy of sciences in 1882 and wrote a number of books on russian history
11
Q
what was tolstoys intention behind controlling education?
A
- to eradicate western liberal ideas and growing criticism of the autocracy
12
Q
reactionary changes 1866-1881
A
- zemstva power over education was reduced
- church regained authority over rural schools
- new modern schools could no longer send students to university
- liberal uni courses were replaced with national curriculum
- ethnic minorities were prosecuted
- judicial system allowed political agitators to be prosecuted, tried (show trials) and exiled
13
Q
positive reforming signs and changes 1866-1881
A
- more state teacher-training colleges set up (mainly to increase tsarist authority over education)
- military reforms made army more efficient
- ‘loris-melikov’ constitution included elected representatives in debating some state decrees
14
Q
show trial
A
a trial that took place in front of the public, usually for ‘propaganda’ purposes
15
Q
example of show trials
A
- ‘trial of 193’. sympathetic jury acquitted 153 of 193 defendants and gave only light sentences to the rest
- while defence lawyer’s passionate speeches were reported in the press, this gave publicity to the revolutionaries ideas
16
Q
loris-melikov constitution
A
- russia was in political crisis = army was bogged down in the russo-turkish war (1877-1878), famine swept the countryside in 1879 -1880. industrial recession began
- thought wider unrest could be curbed by widening democratic consultation
it: - abolished the third section, transferring regular powers to the police
- okharana created, became just as oppressive however
- produce a report: recommended the inclusion of elected representatives of the nobility, zemstva and town govs in debating drafts of some state decrees
- proposals became known as the ‘loris-melikov constitution’, however not actually a constitution
17
Q
what did mikhail loris-melikov do?
A
- liberalised russia
- released political prisoners, relaxed censorship, removed the salt-tax, lifted restrictions and activities on the zemstva
18
Q
who signed the loris-melikov constitution?
A
- alexander II
- killed by a bomb the next day
19
Q
what did alexander iii firmly believe in?
A
- absolutism (an oligarchy)
- nationalism
- anti-semitism
20
Q
what did alexander iii do first as tsar?
A
- publicly hung the conspirators that were involved in his father’s death
- passed the manifesto of unshakeable autocracy, law on exceptional measures
21
Q
what did the laws of exceptional measures allow for?
A
- declared that if necessary, ‘a commander in chief could be appointed to take control of a locality, using military police courts and arbitrary powers of imprisonment’
22
Q
who was alexander iii tutored by?
A
konstantin pobedonostev
23
Q
who was konstantin pobdonostev?
A
- tutored alexander iii
- named ‘the black tsar’
- wrote alexander’s. accession manifesto on ‘unshakeable autocracy’
- over-procurator of the holy synod from 1880
- absolutism, nationalism and anti-semitism
24
Q
where did alexander iii live and why?
A
- refused to live in winter palace out of fear of revolution/assassination
- lived in a fortified fortress in gatchina
25
when and how did alexander iii die?
- kidney ailment
- 1894
26
who did alexander iii marry?
- empress maria feodorovna
- born princess of denmark
- adopted orthodox religion and a new name in 1865
- tried to oppose nicholas ii marriage to german princess
27
did alexander iii abandon the loris-melikov proposals?
- yes
- dmitry milyutin resigned also
28
who was mikhail katkov
- influential right-wing journalist
- edited moscow news from 1863 until his death in 1887
- had considerable power over literate public
- favoured by alexander iii because of conservative views
- opposed to polish nationalism
29
what was the land captain
- state-appointed position
- created 1889
- power to override zemstva elections and decisions
- responsible for law enforcement and government in the countryside
- could ignore normal judicial process, by overturning court judgements
30
second local government change under iii
- 1890
- reduced peasant vote in the zemstva
- placed zemstva in central government control
31
what was the effect of the second act of local government change under iii?
- channelled efforts away from political discussion in the zemstva towards the social services, including education, health, local trasnport and engineering projects
32
what arrangement was made for towns in 1892?
- electorate reduced to owners of property above a certain value
- mayor and members of town councils became state employees, subject to central government direction
33
particuliarism
concern for the immediate locality and an area of personal interest
34
changes in policing under iii
- police led by plehve, then durnovo (okhrana)
- police numbers increased
- drive to recruit spies and counter spies and agent provocateurs
- okhrana set up
35
1882 statute on police surveillance
- an area of empire could be deemed an ‘area of subversion’
- police agents could search, arrest, detain, question, imprison or exile not only those who had committed crimes but any hwo were likely to commit crimes or peopel who were related to people who had committed crimes
- gave them tremendous power over lives, especially as they then had no right to legal representation
36
okhrana
- took responsibility for ‘security and investigation’
- intercepted and read mail
- checked on activities of army, state, factories, universities
- would detain and torture suspects
- would execute
- main subjects were communists, trade unionists and socialists
37
changes to the judical system under iii
- 1885 decree: gave minister of justice greater control (could dismiss judges)
- 1887 ministry could hold closed court sessions
- 1887 property and education qualifications needed for jurors was raised
- 1889 volost courts under control of land captains in the countryside and judges in the towns
- 1889 ministry could appoint town judges
38
closed court session
- trial held in secret to which no observers were permitted and where no reporting was allowed
39
agents provocateurs
- spies who would pose as revolutionaries in order to incriminate others
40
who was plehve?
- committed to upholding autocratic principles
- secretly organised jewish pogroms
- said to have encouraged war on japan 1904
- assassinated by SRs in 1904
- close minister to alexander iii
41
changes to education under iii
- university charter 1884
- closed unis for women and abolished separate uni courts
- students forbidden from gathering in groups of more than five
- children from lowest classes restricted to primary education
42
who were changes in education overseen by?
- delyanov
43
university charter 1884
- appointment of chancellors, deans and professors subject to approval of education ministry
- based on ‘religious, moral and patriotic orientation’ rather than academia
44
what percentage of the population was literate by 1897?
21%
45
when was the first consensus
1897
46
changes in censorship
- tolstoy established gov committee 1882 - issued ‘temporary regulations’
- allowed newspapers to be closed down and a life ban placed on editors and publishers
- censors became more active
- reading rooms restricted on the books they could stock
47
positive reforming signs and changes 1881 - 1894
- redemption fees reduced and arrears cancelled in provinces
- poll tax abolished
- inheritance tax introduced - made taxation fairer
- right of appeal to higher courts
- peasants land bank established 1883
48
what changes were made to redemption payments
- 1881 law reduced redemption fees payable
49
