The nature of autocratic rule: the Tsarist principles of autocracy, nationality and Orthodoxy Flashcards
When did Nicholas II become the Tsar of Russia?
1894.
Nicholas II’s rule was particularly…
reactionary and oppresive.
Who was the Tsar assisted by?
Cabinet, the Senate and the State Council.
The Tsar’s power was not constrained by any constitutional checks. Therefore:
- The Tsar’s power was not limited by law
- Russian subjects had no right to free speech or a fair trial because these rights would effectively limit the Tsar’s power
What were the consequences of Autocracy?
- Corruption - government officials claimed to be representatives of the Tsar, and therefore acted as if they had absolute power
- Limited civil society - Nicholas II’s government outlawed some groups such as trade unions, and persecuted religious groups which could have played a role in generating civil society
- The Tsar’s isolation - Tsar refused to recognise Russia’s problems, and his advisers were unwilling to contradict him - as a result he had little understanding of the poverty in Russia, or of the government’s corruption
Between 1894 and 1905, what did the Tsar use to control the Russian Empire?
Russification - meant the aggressive promotion of Russian culture and the forceful suppression of other national cultures.
What was Russification in response to?
The development of nationalist feelings in various parts of the Empire, which the Tsar believed threatened the unity of the Empire.
Where, in the 19th century, had there been considerable growth of nationalism?
The Ukraine, Finland, Georgia, and Poland.
In what forms did Russification take?
- The imposition of Russian as the official language of government and the justice system in the government of the Baltic states
- The promotion of Russian culture through primary schools
- The suppression of non-Russian cultures
- Establishing Russian-language universities such as Iur’ev University in Estonia
What were the consequences of Russification?
- It was counterproductive, as it led to a backlash among groups who had been loyal to the Empire
- Indeed, cultural persecution turned the Finns, the Armenians and the people of the Baltic against the Tsar
Nationalism in which countries became a powerful anti-government force, which would later feed into the 1905 Revolution?
Poland and the Baltic states.
What sometimes resulted from anti-Polish, anti-Finnish and anti-Semitic feeling in Russia?
Violence against minority communities living in Russia.
On which country did Russification have a major impact on? How?
Finland - in 1899 General Nicholas Bobrikov, the governor general of Finland, abolished the Finnish legal system and replaced it with Russian law
- He also effectively abolished the Finnish parliament and the Finnish army.
