Chapter 1 Flashcards
The Russian autocracy in 1855
What does autocracy mean?
Autocracy - no limits on a ruler’s power, the Tsars would be considered autocrats
What other roles did the Tsar have?
As well as the Tsar, he was also the head of the Russian Orthodox Church and was considered God on earth
What was the Holy Synod?
It was established in 1721 and was a group of bishops that formed the ruling body of the Orthodox Church
What were the main advisory bodies of the Tsar?
The Imperial Council of Chancellery, consisting of 35-60 nobles, the Council of Ministers and the Senate (basically redundant)
How were the nobles obligated to the Tsar?
They were expected to keep order on their estates and may serve as a provincial governor
What was the bureaucracy?
Paid noble officials, selected from a ‘table of ranks’ that controlled all state positions
What were the most serious problems of the bureaucracy?
Riddled with internal corruption, incompetence and no social mobility
What was the size and nature of the Tsar’s army?
1.5 million conscripted serfs who were forced into service for 25 years
What were the elite regiments of soldiers from the Ukraine and Southern Russia known as?
Cossacks
How was Russia considered a police state?
Police prevented freedom of speech, press and travel, political meetings and strikes were forbidden and censorship existed at every level
What was the secret state network known as under Nicholas I?
The Third Section
What was Russia’s ration of village to town dwellers, and what was Britain’s?
11:1 and 2:1
Why was Russia economically backwards?
Territory was inhospitable, size and climate was difficult, resources such as coal and oil remained untapped, relied on a serf-based economy
Why did serfs struggle in the Russian economy?
They starved in the winter, mirs meant they worked in scattered strips, little incentive to become wage-earners
What were the two different types of serfs?
Privately-owned serfs (obroks) which were around 30% and those providing labour (barshchina) which were around 70%
What were the problems of the landowning elite?
Generally reliant on the serfs, uninterested in their estates, and suffered due to the increasingly competitive nature of Western economies
What did the land-owning elite consist of?
Clergy, nobility, civil service, army, naval officers and the royal court
Why did the divisions between the serfs and the elites seem so stark?
There was a lack of a middle class in Russia in 1855
How did legal barriers limit social mobility?
Serfs paid dues to their masters and also paid direct and indirect taxes to the government
What were the three largest ethnic groups within the Russian Empire?
Russians (55.6 million) Ukrainians (22.4 million) and Polish (7.9 million)
How did Nicholas I provoke the British and French into joining the Crimean War?
He sank a squadron of the Turkish Black Sea Fleet, which made the two countries anxious to protect their own interests
What was Russia’s numerous flaws during the Crimean War?
Outdated technology, poor transport, inadequate leadership and lack of morale within troops
What was the impact of the Crimean War for Russia?
Trade was disrupted, peasant uprisings escalated and renewed cries from the Russian intelligentsia
What did the Treaty of Paris (1856) do?
It prevented Russian warships from using the Black Sea in times of peace
