Political Authority In Action/ Russification Flashcards
Nationalities in Russian empire
-Slavs was 2/3.
-The remainder were from lots of different regions and nationalities.
-Over 100 different ethnic groups in russia.
Problem the ethnic differences in russia caused
-Russia wanted russification, a national ideology and a chauvinistic mindset.
-Most ethnic groups wanted to assert their own identities- finish pressure group set up publishing language newspapers, Ukrainian brotherhood wanted own identity.
-Polish rebellion in 1830 and again in 63
Polish backlash of 1863
-200K+ Polish rebels created an underground national gov and waged a guérilla warefare against imperial russia.
-Alexander II sent his brother Konstantin and they were crushed by 64.
Alexander IIs positive tolerance towards minorities
-More concerned with keeping autocratic control than being racially superior.
-Did use a lot of concessions eg 1864 and 75 decrees allowing Latvians and Estonians to revert to lutheraniasm.
-Did not want racial persecution.
-Gave fins own parliament (diet)
Alexander II négative tolérance towards minorités
-Ministers at the end of Alexander IIs reign prohibited Ukrainian language in publishing in 76.
-Ministers wanted to reinforce the tsarist regime and national ideology .
Russification
-policy formed by Alexander III.
-Merging all of the empire into a shared union w a shared identity.
Russification in Poland and Finland (80s)
-Finnish gov reorganised (diet) to weaken it
-Russian language demanded
-, Russian coinage replaced local currency.
-Polish national bank closed
-most teaching except polish had to be in Russian incl literature.
Russification on Baltic Germans
-previously protected by tsars.
-Russian or be used in all state offices, judicial systems, police force and schools.
-German university of Dorpar Russified.
Russification in other provinces
-Ukrainian language limited and theatres closed.
-Military conscription extended to more provinces.
-Conscripts dispersed around empire to provoke a collectiveness.
-Suppression of eastern uprisings in Tashkent and Armenia in the late 80s.
Impact of russification on religion
-laws made so being of the Orthodox Church is beneficial.
-37k baltics converted for these laws.
-Polish catholic monestaries closed down and non catholics encouraged to settle in the area to disperse catholic influence.
-Russian orthodox missionaries went to Asia to convert ‘heatens and Muslims’ in mass baptism.
-Non orthodox post 83 were banned from building new worship areas and wearing religious dress or spreading propaganda.
-Any trying to convert away from orthodox could be exiled to Siberia
Opposition to russification
-In June 1888 there were 332 cases of disturbance- 51 of which military was employed.
-More wealthy Germans and Finns petitioned for their liberties and secretly published books with some ethnic schools surviving.
Agreement towards russification
-many felt russia needed a nationalist union to allow for strength and modernisation.
-Europe was feeling very nationalistic post napoleon
Négative impact of russification
-intensified nationalism between the subjugated groups in the Russian empire.
-Drove wealthy citizens eg Baltic Germans and Finnish to emigrate and turned many against the tsar.
Background to Jews in russia
-confined since the 1700s to a western area known as the pale of settlement.
-About five million in the empire.
-Widely disliked for their distinctive ethnic and religious background against the Orthodox Church, and also their personal wealth that aggirvated the poor.
AlexanderII on Jews
-allowed wealthy to settle outside the pale of settlement but retracted this after the polish revolt and lessened Jewish participation in town governments and zemstva
Alexander III on Jews
-employed and encouraged ministers with strict inflammatory antisemetic slogans.
-He felt that they went against the Orthodox Church and thus himself and equally felt they were responsible for the persecution of Jesus.
-He also worried that they had encouraged his fathers assassination and were involved in revolutionary movements
Cause of the Jewish pogroms
-immediate cause unknown but likely due to years of antisemetic slogans and the fact that areas of the pale were so densely populated with Jews.
-May have been to exterminated competition in business for railway contractss.
-Highly probable it was encouraged and even started by the okhrana as well as pobedonostsev who supported the organisation orchestrating the attacks.
Jewish pogroms 1881-84
-spread from April 1881 in Yelizavetgard in Ukraine around Ukraine and then to areas such as Kiev.
-Made many Jews flee and 16 major cities were targeted.
-Property burnt, business destroyed and incidents of rape and murder.
May laws 1882
-Jews cannot settle in small towns
- all property owned by Jews outside of cities will be terminated
-Jews cannot work on Sundays or any Christian holidays in order to get better profits.
-These effectively condemned Jews to ghettos in cities.
Impact of anti semetism in the 80s
-many Jews left or were expelled from the country. Foreign and settled outside the pale Jews were deported.
-In 92 10k and a latter 20k Jews were expelled from Moscow where they had settled legally.
-Remaining Jews driven towards revolutionary groups in particular Marxist/socialist organisations and so many communist leaders eg Trotsky and Martov were Jewish.
Key anti semetic legislations
- 1882- may laws
- 1887- number of Jews at schools and unis regulated and kept low
- 1892- Jews unable to participate in elections or be elected to town durmas
- 1894- Jews cannot adopt a more Christian name
