Russia Flashcards
What were the pressures to reform in Russia after 1855?
Moral case
Fear of revolt
Crimean war
What impact did the Crimean war have on Russia?
- the pressure to reform
- economic pressures
- political pressures
- moral and intellectual pressures
When was the enlightenment?
18th century
Westernisers
Look at the western countries (Britain, USA and Germany) and try and copy them
Slavophile
Do it there own way
Tsarist autocracy
What was Russia like in 1855 in terms of politics?
- Autocracy government- (like Britain in 1215)
- In only 28% of people could read and write
- Only country in Europe without a parliament in 1900s
- Tsar from the Boyar class (ministers)
What was Russia like in 1855 in terms of economy?
- Russia mainly exported agricultural goods, including timber, coal, gold and other precious metals Weather dependant - had potential- raw materials -poor - wasn’t developing
What was Russia like in 1855 in terms of social?
- police state which prevented freedom of speech
- can’t question the Tsar
- controlled by the church especially as people were uneducated (about 500 years behind Britain)
What problems did the Crimean war highlight in Russia? (Factors)
Image Death toll Technology Communication Transport Set up of the army/ leadership Peasant based army
Image (highlighted factors of the crimean war to Russia)
Russia was convinced that they were the best and had the best army as they were the biggest country
What problems did this cause
Meant that Russia didn’t try as hard as they could have done as they thought that they were the best
Death toll (highlighted factors of the crimean war to Russia)
450,015 Russians died in the Crimean war
Nicholas I died March 1855
Most of the Russian army were made of serfs
Peasant based (highlighted factors of the crimean war to Russia)
This caused riots (over 300) because during the Crimean war they had been forced to produce more
Technology (highlighted factors of the crimean war to Russia)
Had an inadequate communication system
Lack of railways
Main export was agriculture when places like UK were industrialising
Needed upgrading and modernising
Communication (highlighted factors of the crimean war to Russia)
Poor as they had inadequate communication systems
Transport (highlighted factors of the crimean war to Russia)
They had a lack of railway systems
Set the up of the army (highlighted factors of the crimean war to Russia)
Army was controlled by the Tsar Mainly peasants ( serfs) made up the army
Problems
Meant that the army had to follow the governments instructions
Alexander II ‘s problems
Must reform to catch the West
Must keep landowner and nobility to happy
Not too much reform as we must maintain the Tsarist state
What is serfdom
A labourer of the land (local village communes called Mirs)
Very similar to villeins in Freudal England
Either paid rent to the landowner or paid with their labour
Could be conscripted into the army
Emancipation ukase- 1861
Serfs released firm ownership to become free men
Each serf family entitled to keep its cottage and land
Landlords would receive compensation form the government in bonds for loss of land
The moral case
Members of the royal family considered that serfdom was morally and ethically wrong.
Radical intelligentsia was growing and opposed to serfdom
Novels didn’t accept as they though abolition of serfdom would be damaging to the Russian state
Pressure
People started to disagree with their democracy which could lead to uprising
Fear of revolt
Peasants revolts had been increasing since the 1840s
Most of the army was made up of peasants which made it more worrying
Significant spike in disturbances between 1857 and 1859
Pressure
More and more uprisings caused the government to get worried as they wouldn’t be able to handle a major uprising
Economy
The main reason why Russia wasn’t developing was because of serfdom
Adam Smith- free labour is more productive than forced labour
Other factors- poor transport links
Pressure
Russia needed to modernise and get rid of serfdom
Serfdom made up most of the population
Needed to industrialise- cost money
Crimean war
Russia needed a smaller well trained army with a reserve like in European countries
Had to be in the army for 25 years of 15 for those with good character
Lead to 1000s of free serfs- risky proposition
Question of how long the serfs would remain loyal
Pressure
Russia needed to improve the lives of serfs to stop them revolting
Russians lost in a humiliating fashion
