Chapter 21

Question 1

Holy Alliance

Answer 1

Alliance among Russia, Prussia, and Austria in defense of religion and the established order; formed at Congress of Vienna by the most conservative monarchies of Europe.

Question 2

Decembrist uprising

Answer 2

Political revolt in Russia in 1825; led by middle-level army officers who advocated reforms; put down by Tsar Nicholas I.

Question 3

Crimean War

Answer 3

Fought between 1854 and 1856; began as Russian attempt to Attack Ottoman Empire; Russia opposed by France and Britain as well; resulted in Russian defeat in the face of Western industrial technology; led to Russian reforms under Tsar Alexander II

Question 4

Emancipation of the serfs

Answer 4

Tsar Alexander II ended rigorous serfdom in Russia in 1861; serfs obtained no political rights; were required to stay in villages until they could repay aristocracy for land

Question 5

Zemstvos

Answer 5

Local political councils created as part of reforms of Tsar Alexander II (1860s); gave some Russians, particularly middle-class professionals, some experience in government; councils had no impact on national policy

Question 6

Trans-Siberian railroad

Answer 6

Constructed in 1870s to connect European Russia with the Pacific; largely completed by the end of the 1880s; brought Russia into a more active Asian role

Question 7

Sergei Witte (vit-uh)
(1849-1915)

Answer 7

Russian minister of finance from 1892 to 1903; economic modernizer responsible for high tariffs, improved banking system; encouraged Western investors to build factories in Russia