chapter 1: S1 Flashcards
Outline Russia as an ‘autocracy’
- Autocracy = no limits on a ruler’s power
- Tsar was Emperor and Autocrat of all Russia
- Tsar’s imperial edicts were law
Outline the state of the army during this time
- Consisted of 1.5 million conscripted serfs
- Each serf was forced into service for 25 years + made to live in a ‘military colony’
- Elite regiments of ‘mounted Cossacks’ acted as bodyguards to the Tsar and police reinforcements
- Military absorbed 45% of the government’s annual expenditure
What aspects made Russia a ‘police state’ during this time?
- Freedom of speech, press and travel banned
- Censorship enforced
How was the church involved in politics during this time?
- Church and state closely entwined
- Church believed the Tsar was ‘God on Earth’
- Over-Procurator of the Holy Synod (1721) - appointed by the Tsar to run church affairs
How was political power distributed during this time?
- Tsar was supported by the church, advisers, ministers, nobility, bureaucracy, police, and the army
- Bureaucracy consisted of paid noble officials ranked in 14 levels (1 being the highest - Council of Ministers)
- Bureaucracy was corrupt, with orders passed down through ranks
- Nobility kept order on their estates
What were the ‘political developments’ during this time?
- Russian intellectuals were arguing for a civil society based on the rule of law
- Liberal ideas spreading from the west
- However, Nicholas stuck to a path of repression + sought to maintain autocracy
How was Russia divided socially during this time?
- Divided by landowning elite and serf majority
- No middle class but smaller no. of professionals (intelligentsia)
What was the ‘landowning elite’?
- Non-productive class consisting of clergy, nobility, etc.
- Made up 10% of the population but owned 75% of the land
- Exempt from paying taxes
What was the ‘serf majority’?
- Productive class consisting of manufacturers, merchants, peasants, etc.
- Provided around 90% of imperial finance
Outline the economic situation in Russia in 1855
- Economy still predominantly rural due to terrain and serf-based system limiting change
- 11:1 village-to-town dwellers (compared to Britain’s 2:1)
- Britain, Belgium, and France were all industrially advanced in 1855
Outline ‘wage earners,’ ‘internal market demand,’ and ‘entrepreneurs’ as important aspects of the economy during this time
- Wage earners: Serfs were poor, barely surviving on what they grew, starvation was common, communal farming patterns
- Internal market demand: Markets existed, but few goods were purchased—mostly exchanged, making money irrelevant for most people
- Entrepreneurs: Small landowning elite obtained what they needed from their serfs through service and feudal dues; many landowners were in debt, but money was still largely irrelevant
What was the outcome of the Crimean War?
- Revealed Russia’s military and administrative inadequacies
- Trade disrupted, peasant uprisings escalated, russia’s failure provided a ‘wake up call’
List the inadequacies of Russia highlighted by the Crimean War
- Outdated technology
- Poor transport
- Inadequate leadership
- Problems with a conscripted army
Outline the ‘Treaty of Paris’
- 1856
- Added final humiliation for Russia
- Prevented Russian warships from using black sea in times of peace
Give a brief overview of the timeline for the Crimean War
- Nicholas I attempted to increase Russian influence in the Balkans
- Turks declared war in October 1853
- Britain and France, protecting their trading interests, entered the war in defense of Turkey
- Russia suffered defeats at Balaclava (Oct 1854) and Inkerman (Nov 1854)
