History Alexander II reforms and emancipation

Question 1

Issues with the old judicial system

Answer 1

• Huge variety of courts between which cases could be transferred therefore took a very long time
• Most judges had had no legal training and many were illiterate - enormous power in the hands of the court secretaries especially as evidence was written
• Police had great power to levy fines and they also were amenable to bribes

Question 2

Main features of the judicial reforms

Answer 2

• Simplified fewer courts - each province was to have its own court
• Judges paid a good salary - could not be removed from office which means more independence as they were able to provide verdicts that may displease the government
• Civil and criminal courts were open to the public and proceedings were recorded
• Introduction of defence lawyers (advocates) helped professionalise the courts

Question 3

Consequences of the judicial reforms

Answer 3

• Russians could get a fairer trial than before and there was a greater access to justice especially for the lower classes.
• The defendant had much more protection since court proceedings were public
• Less corruption or attempts by the police to pervert the course of justice
• Reforms challenged the political authority of the autocracy in a number of ways
• The idea of the rule of law transpired - the regime could no longer act in the arbitrary way it was accustomed to
• New freedom for lawyers meant the courtroom could become a space for challenges to the government

Question 4

Limitations to the judicial reforms

Answer 4

• The independent courts for peasants meant that as a class they were largely outside the mainstream judicial system, emphasising their lower status
• Some courts remained outside the system including church courts
• Government officials could not be tried in the system
• The bureaucracy did still intervene so trail by jury could not be guaranteed

Question 5

Main education reforms

Answer 5

• In the first decade of Alexander’s reign the number of pupils roughly doubled. Between 1856-1878 the number of primary schools increased from 8,000 to nearly 25,000
• Universities regained the right to govern themselves, choose their own professors and design their courses
• From 1865 - 1899 student numbers grew from around 4,000 to 16,000

Question 6

Consequences of education reforms

Answer 6

• More literate peasant population who took on new aspirations. Ability to read exposes peasants to new modern ideas from the west
• Higher education fostered an independent spirit and critical mind
• Students began to play a more significant part in society
• Created a new liberal culture
• Universities became secularised
• More people can think of ideas and publish them - students in academia can form more modernised ideas based on literature they can access

Question 7

Limitations to education reforms

Answer 7

• Reform had resulted in people questioning the political authority of the regime
• Women still couldn’t get degrees (could gain the knowledge)

Question 8

Key features of local government reforms

Answer 8

• The government introduced a measure of self-government at provincial and district level (Zemstva)
• Zemstva elected by nobles, town dwellers and peasants - democracy for a range of classes

Question 9

Consequences of local government reform

Answer 9

• The Zemstva brought improvement to the areas in which they operated (only in some areas suggesting improvement was not widespread) - hospitals and roads were built
• Members of the professional third element began to make demands for social reform and improvements in living conditions
• measure of self government introduced idea of democracy which challenges the autocracy - long term impact

Question 10

Limitations of local government reforms

Answer 10

• Zemstva only introduced in a limited number of provinces and they were slow to get going
• Zemstva dominated by the nobility who did not take their responsibilities seriously and took advantage of the situation to run affairs in their own interest
• Peasants resented paying the Zemstva tax which was proportionately higher on their land than an private estate

Question 11

How did censorship change under Alexander I

Answer 11

• Newspapers, books and periodicals no longer had to submit to prior censorship
• Newspapers could discuss government policy and editors were given more freedoms
• Huge growth in literature so public opinion started to take shape

Question 12

Consequences of censorship

Answer 12

• Led to a huge growth in the number of books and periodicals published - In 1855 104 periodicals published and by 1865 230 published
• Some journals were overtly radical and critical of the regime
• Obscurity can be interpreated in differeny ways

Question 13

Why were the military reforms introduced and when

Answer 13

1861-1881
- Russias defeat in the crimean war provided a strong impetus for military reform, Russia had to modernise it’s army.
- Expensive to maintain an army so large, in the 1860s the army reckoned to take up one third of the governments income

Question 14

Main changes of the military reforms

Answer 14

• Universal conscription was introduced: all social classes liable for military service age 21
• The standard length of military service was reduced to 15 years. From 1862 to 1870 the reserve increased from 210,000 to over 550,000.
• Officer training was radically improved - military colleges were established admitting recruits that were none nobles. Education was requires for admission
• Modern rifles and artillery were introduced but this was a slow process and technological progress in weaponry were superseded before they were fully introduced

Question 15

Consequences of the military reforms

Answer 15

• Resulted in a smaller and more professional army which was to some extent less brutal and class-ridden
• There was a significant saving in government expenditure as the standing army was smaller

Question 16

Limitations of the military reforms

Answer 16

• Reforms opposed by the nobility who did not want their children to mix with the lower classes. Merchants also objected as they didn’t want their sons to do compulsory military service
• The army still relied mainly on peasant conscripts who were uneducated and illiterate. Reduced the effectiveness of their training
• Still a high proportion of the nobility among officers and when Alexander III became Tsar he restricted entry to officer training mainly to the nobility.

Question 17

Supporting evidence for the success of the emancipation of the serfs

Answer 17

• Kulaks (better off peasants) buy up extra lands
• Others sold up and moved cities
• Government compensate nobles
• Encouraged industrial investment from some nobles
• Noble debt reduced in some areas
• Peasants have access to system of justice
• Net increase in productivity by 20% by 1900
• to an extent liberated as they now had the ability to own land

Question 18

Opposing evidence for the success of the emancipation of the serfs

Answer 18

• 15% peasants “temporarily obligated” to landlords by 1881
• Nobles often divide up land keeping best for selves
• Student protests
• Value of land inflated in areas outside western provinces
• Population growth doubled vs land received (in some areas as much as 25% less by 1976)
• Serfs still under the authority of the Mir
• Perhaps only designed to give the illusion of freedom

Question 19

What date were the serfs emancipated

Answer 19

An editing commission was created in 1859 to create the legislation. This resulted in the emancipation statutes of 19 February 1861

Question 20

How were the Mir effected by the emancipation

Answer 20

• The powers of the Mir were strengthened
• If the peasants left the area, the land would revert to the Mir; the peasant could not sell it
• Issued internal passports allowing peasants to travel - peasants tied to village and still oppressed

Question 21

How was land distributed after the emancipation

Answer 21

• Most peasants received slightly less land than they had worked before
• Supply of affordable, good quality land was limited, many peasants received strips of land difficult to obtain which yielded little food or profit
• Peasants did not own the land that they were working on and now had to pay for it over 49 years - caused deep resentment

Question 22

How did the nobles react to the emancipation

Answer 22

• Nobles felt they had not been compensated for the loss of their rights over the serfs
• Nobles were losing power, status and influence
• Emancipation stirred up a lot of criticism of the regime from the gentry
• Some nobles wanted the gentry to discuss change and create a committee to make a change
• Money paid to nobles went to pay off existing debts and mortgages
• From 1862-1905 nobles landholdings fell from 87million to 50million desyatina

Question 23

How did radical intelligensia react to the emancipation

Answer 23

• Reacted badly to the terms as they feel the emancipation had protected the nobles and betrayed the peasants
• Led to growth of opposition to the regime

Question 24

Who were the intelligentsia and what were their beliefs

Answer 24

The intelligentsia were a group of intellectuals who felt that Russia was backward in comparison to the west and did not agree with the autocratic values of the state. Although they were inspired by the west they were also critical of its materialistic aspects of life and thus degrading the quality of life

Question 25

What is economic modernisation

Answer 25

In may ways the central rationale for the emancipation. The key aim was to create a class economically innovative peasants. Resulting increased productivity would generate food for the cities to support industrialisation.