Opposition Flashcards
Why did opposition grow under Alexander II?
because of his reforms:
upset both liberals + conservatives
led to ‘crisis of rising expectations’
Individuals influenced by growing flood of radical ideas + freer political atmosphere (educated opposition)
Alexander became reactionary & used repression from 1866-1881
Why did Alexander II’s reforms upset both conservatives and liberals?
Conservatives resented loss of influence
Liberals wanted reform to go further
How did reforms lead to a ‘crisis of rising expectations’?
reforms raised hopes that Alexander couldn’t fulfil as it undermined autocracy
this angered reformers & encouraged the growth of radical extremism against the state
What repressive policies did Alexander use between 1866 and 1881?
Greater censorship
Less freedom of the press
Secret Police given greater powers to arrest & clamp down on radicals
Replaced liberal reforming ministers in his gov with conservative ministers who opposed further reform
What does the Narodniks mean?
to the people
What does the Narodnaya Volya mean?
the People’s Will
What was the Populist movement?
The Narodniks and the Narodnaya Volya
What was the aim of the Populists?
to achieve their ideal of a perfect society based on the peasant and village commune
What did the Populists do between 1873 and 1874?
2000-3000 educated Populists decided to ‘Go to the People’, visited peasant villages to educated them to rise up in rebellion against the Tsar & establish a Populist state
How did the Peasants view the Populists?
With deep suspicion, they either beat them up or reported them to the police
Populism failed
Why did division appear in the populist ranks?
some decided that revolution would not come from peasants, turned their ideas to that of Karl Marx
some wanted more extreme
End of populism
What were the two groups after the division of populism?
Black Partition and the People’s Will
Who were the Black Partition?
Led by Plekhanov
centred their activities on the condition of the peasantry whose interests they aimed to advance through political reform & mass agitation rather than violence
What did the People’s Will believe in?
Political terrorism
Directed all their attention on the assassination of the tsar, successfully achieved on 1st March 1881
How did Populism succeed?
Succeeded in promoting a political awareness in many people
its ideology + actions influenced later generations of revolutionaries eg the Socialist Revolutionaries
