Political Authority In Action/ Russification

Question 1

Nationalities in Russian empire

Answer 1

-Slavs was 2/3.
-The remainder were from lots of different regions and nationalities.
-Over 100 different ethnic groups in russia.

Question 2

Problem the ethnic differences in russia caused

Answer 2

-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

Question 3

Polish backlash of 1863

Answer 3

-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.

Question 4

Alexander IIs positive tolerance towards minorities

Answer 4

-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)

Question 5

Alexander II négative tolérance towards minorités

Answer 5

-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 .

Question 6

Russification

Answer 6

-policy formed by Alexander III.
-Merging all of the empire into a shared union w a shared identity.

Question 7

Russification in Poland and Finland (80s)

Answer 7

-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.

Question 8

Russification on Baltic Germans

Answer 8

-previously protected by tsars.
-Russian or be used in all state offices, judicial systems, police force and schools.
-German university of Dorpar Russified.

Question 9

Russification in other provinces

Answer 9

-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.

Question 10

Impact of russification on religion

Answer 10

-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

Question 11

Opposition to russification

Answer 11

-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.

Question 12

Agreement towards russification

Answer 12

-many felt russia needed a nationalist union to allow for strength and modernisation.
-Europe was feeling very nationalistic post napoleon

Question 13

Négative impact of russification

Answer 13

-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.

Question 14

Background to Jews in russia

Answer 14

-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.

Question 15

AlexanderII on Jews

Answer 15

-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

Question 16

Alexander III on Jews

Answer 16

-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

Question 17

Cause of the Jewish pogroms

Answer 17

-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.

Question 18

Jewish pogroms 1881-84

Answer 18

-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.

Question 19

May laws 1882

Answer 19

-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.

Question 20

Impact of anti semetism in the 80s

Answer 20

-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.

Question 21

Key anti semetic legislations

Answer 21

• 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