Government Flashcards
How did Alexander II change central government?
Replaced the imperial chancellory with the committee of minsters, 13 men responsible for the administration of Russian affairs. It was inefficient as they did not communicate with each other, leading to contradictory policies being followed.
What did Alexander set up in 1864?
The zemstva, Russia’s first elected local councils. They had no say in government and oversaw local issues such as the maintenance of roads. Set up Dumas in 1870 as town equivalents.
What other reforms did Alexander introduce in 1864?
Legal reforms as after emancipation, land owners could no longer simply impose local justice. Set up open courts, better pay for judges, defense lawyers for the accused.
How did Alexander II renege on legal reforms?
Set up a separate department of the senate to try political cases in private in 1878, but also replaced the third section with the softer okhrana.
What did Alexander II set out to do as a leader?
He embraced change and realized he needed to bring modernization and reform from the top before it was forced through from the bottom. He wanted Russia to be modernized and respected by the west and for his people to have better lives, but had no intention of reducing his autocratic powers and became more reactionary after an assassination attempt in 1866.
What impacted Alexander III’s attitude to his rule?
The assassination of his father, which he blamed on his reforms. His rule is seen as reactionary as he put an end to many of his father’s reform and modeled his rule around pobedenostev’s teachings of orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality.
What passed in 1881?
Statute of state security, increased the power of the secret police, allowing them to arrest, question and imprison anyone they suspected might commit a crime. Set up new courts for political offenders outside of the legal system and dismissed liberal judges.
What did Alexander III introduce in 1889?
Land captains to oversee the countryside and ensure peasant revolts were put down before they could pose any major threat- they were hugely unpopular.
What passed in 1890?
Zemstva act, greatly decreased the power of the zemstva, decreased peasant representation, introduced provisional governors to oversee proceedings and allowed land captains to overrule any zemstva decision.
What was at the center of Alexander III’s rule?
Russification, he saw the breakdown of the multi ethnic Ottoman Empire and was concerned by the formation of the new German empire.
What was done under Russification?
Russian was made the official language of the whole empire, administration, education and government. Conversion to the Eastern Orthodox religion was encouraged and the ban on Ukrainian books was continued.
Which group did Alexander III hate and why?
The Jews, he blamed them for the ignatiev memorandum which had gotten Russia involved in the Russo Turkish war and thought they were behind his father’s assassination.
What did Alexander introduce against the Jews?
1882 may laws banned Jews from military, medical and governmental jobs, they were forced to keep their shops open on the sabbath, were banned from voting and were confined to the Pale of Settlement.
What else was done against Jews under Alexander III?
Pogroms were stirred up by groups such as the holy league, 1881 Kiev pogrom saw 25 deaths and 250 rapes, in 1891 10,000 Jews were evicted from Moscow.
How did Nicholas II approach his rule?
Pledged to rule as his ‘late lamented father’ had, told zemstva delegates thar their hopes of a representative body were ‘senseless dreams.’ However, by 1905 his reign was in turmoil with peasants unrest, worker strikes and the war in japan.
What did the unrest caused by Bloody Sunday culminate in?
The creation of the St. Petersburg soviet in October 1905, it called for a general strike and the country was left paralyzed, the tsar had no choice but to make concessions.
What was promised under the October manifesto?
The creation of the duma, it banned the tsar from ruling by decree, gave people civil liberties and rights and promised the ending of redemption payments.
How did the different groups react to the manifesto?
The Octoberists wanted to work with the tsar, the Kadets saw it as an important steppingstone to farther reforms and the radical left wing groups rejected it.
What passed in 1906?
The fundamental laws, they reasserted the tsar’s autocratic power, allowed him to rule by decree and dismiss the duma at will. Each successive duma had less power and by 1914 they were completely unrepresentative of the Russian people.
What happened during the first duma April-July 1906?
Concerned with land reform and dominated by radical whom Nicholas accused of illegal acts, allowing him to dissolve the duma.
What happened between the first and second duma?
Stolypin set up a speeded up trial system for radicals in the form of field court martials and Stolypin’s neckties.
What happened during the second duma February-June 1907?
Was dominated by SRs and rightists whom the tsar continued to mistrust over land reforms. An SD was framed for organizing an army mutiny and it was dissolved.
What happened during the third duma 1907-1912?
Dominated by tsarist supporters, was the most successful duma and introduced JPs, insurance schemes for workers and abolished land captains.
What happened to the forth duma 1912-1917?
It coincided with the Lena goldfields massacre and was instrumental in pressuring the tsar to abdicate. After war was declared in 1914, the socialists walked out of the duma and the remaining delegates formed the progressive bloc.
