Chapter 1 - S1 Flashcards
The state of Russia and the Tsar
Russia - autocracy
Tsar = emperor + ‘god on earth’
Tsars imperial edicts were law
the church
Tsar was head of the Russian Orthodox Church
Church + state closely entwined
Over procurator of the holy synod (1721) - govt minister appointed to run church affairs
advisers and ministers
Chosen by Tsar himself
The nobility
Kept order on their estates
May serve as provincial governors or in special committees appointed by Tsar
The Bureaucracy
Civil servants that were paid noble officials - each held a ‘rank’
14 levels (or ranks) 1 being ministers of the council
Through this bureaucracy orders were passed down from the central govt to provinces and to districts and towns.
Riddled by corruption and incompetence
The Army
Included around 1.5 million conscripted serfs, each forced into service for 25 yrs
Military absorbed 45% govt annual expenditure
Higher ranks were prestigious posts for noble officials
Cossacks - elite regiments, had special privileges + acted as bodyguards to Tsar
The police
Russia was a police state - freedom of speech,press and travel were prevented
Political meetings + strikes forbidden
Censorship enforced
Secret state security network run by ‘third section’ - agents had unlimited power to carry out raids, arrests etc
Serfs in Russia
Over 50% of population were serf - classified as ‘property’ of their owners
Over half were privately owned - the rest were ‘state serfs’ who paid taxes and rent
Most worked the land in village communes (Mirs)
Most were illiterate, deeply religious and hostile to change.
Political developments
19th century - liberal ideas were spreading from the west + many intellectuals were arguing for a civil society based on rule of law
Tsar (Nicholas I) - sought to maintain autocracy + distance Russia from west
Economic situation
1855 - Britain, France + Germany industrially advanced - Russian economy was predominately rural
Party because of inhospitable territory + climate
Main reason = serf based economy - limited the forces that drive change
Economic situation: Wage earners
Serfs were poor
Most only just managed to survive off what they grew + starvation was common in winter
Little opportunity for serfs to develop into ‘wage earners’
Economic situation: Internal market demand
markets existed but few goods were ‘purchased’, instead they were exchanged
In some areas, market forces were developing as peasants sought wage work in towns
Mostly, money was irrelevant + there was no internal demand
Economic situation: Entrepreneurs
The small landowning elite could obtain what they needed by demanding more service + feudal dues from their serfs
Many landowners were in debt but money was of little use to them so little incentive to seek alternative ways of making it
Social context:
Russia divided between land owning elite (non-productive class) + serf majority (productive class)
non productive class was Around 10% of population + owned 75% of land
productive class provided around 90% of imperial finance
There was no middle class but small number of professionals (intelligentsia)
What was the cause of the Crimean war
1853 - 56
Crimean war was brought about by Nicholas I’s attempt to increase Russian influence in the Balkans + Turks declared war in October 1853
