The Russian Autocracy 1855

Question 1

How was Russia run in 1855

Answer 1

• it was an AUTOCRACY run by the tsar who had unlimited god given respect

Question 2

What sections supported the tsar

Answer 2

• the church
• advisers and ministers
• the nobility
• the law
• the bureaucracy
• the army
• the police

Question 3

How did the church support the tsar

Answer 3

• the tsar was seen as gods incarnate on earth and so could completely control the Russia Orthodox Church
• Russia was his god given land and the people his children, they were forced to be absolutely devout to him
• he appointed a spiritual guide- the patriarch of Moscow- and the over-procurator of the holy synod himself so all high figures in the church were up to him and intertwined w the gov

Question 4

What were the two other large positions in the church

Answer 4

• the patriarch of Moscow- the spiritual guide
• the over-procurator of the holy synod- a gov minister running church affairs

Question 5

How did the law support the tsar

Answer 5

• he gave EDICTS (laws) that couldn’t be contested

Question 6

How did advisors + ministers support the tsar

Answer 6

• he chose them and they all came from the nobility
• they couldn’t dictate his decisions

Question 7

How did the nobility support the tsar

Answer 7

• the provincial nobles in non government roles kept order and loyalty in their provincial estates and land
• they often served in special committees, as governors and reporters for order

Question 8

How did the bureaucracy support the tsar

Answer 8

• all civil servants were paid nobles who held a ‘rank’ on the government
• all orders were passed down the ranks to the provinces and districts
• it was corrupt and incompetent however

Question 9

How was the army set up/ helped the tsar and the autocracy

Answer 9

• it included 1.5 million conscripted serfs who had to serve for 25 years
• the higher positions were reserved for nobles
• there were elite regiments of mounted Cossacks who acted as special aid for the tsar

Question 10

How was the army financially burdenous

Answer 10

• it absorbed about 45% of the govs annual spending

Question 11

How did the police help the tsar/ autocracy

Answer 11

• the police state meant heavy censorship, travel and speech freedom and strikes was banned
• the ‘third section’ of the imperial council were sevret agents who could act freely to stop any anti tsarist behaviour

Question 12

How large were the serf population

Answer 12

• 50% of Russia were serfs
• 50% of that privately owned by land owners and the rest state owned who paid taxes and rent

Question 13

What was serf life like

Answer 13

• most lived in land village communities called mirs
• they were very religious and uninterested in change
• they also had little interest in money
• they were often very poor and hungry
• liable for taxes to their master and the state

Question 14

Political developements leading up to 1855

Answer 14

• the intelligentsia called for a civil law based society whilst nicolas the 1 was heavy on repression to distance himself from liberal western ideas
• his reign ended in the defeat in crimea which brought the need for change to the new Tsars attention

Question 15

What were the main reasons for russias economic backwardness

Answer 15

• they had a large inhospitable territory that meant it was hard to live and work in the majority of Russia
• the serf based economy limited any force that drove change eg the lower working class
• bad communication meant that their raw material eg coal and gold was untapped

Question 16

What are the three things that drive industrialist change

Answer 16

• wage earners
• internal market demand
• entrepreneurs

Question 17

Why was Russia lacking ‘wage earners’

Answer 17

• serfs worker communal harvesting jobs, they were very poor and only gained money working in cottage industry’s at best
• they had no opportunity to develope as they could not break the system

Question 18

Why was Russia lacking an ‘internal market demand’

Answer 18

• there was no want to gain money or wealth in serf areas as money was not relevant due to the fact they could not get anywhere with wealth
• at markets goods were usually exchanged
• there were small areas where peasents sought wage work when farming was bad

Question 19

Why the Russia lack entrepreneurs

Answer 19

• the rich elite could obtain all they needed from their Bailiffs which squeezed out serf money
• even though western competiton meant moeny was scarce the rich still did not care for money and so didn’t seek entrepreneurial ways to make more or seek capital accumulation when they did have wealth

Question 20

How was Russia divided class wise

Answer 20

• society was feudal
  -the rich royal court, 10% of the population and extempt from taxes
• the productive class; liable for taxes and 90% of finance
• there was no middle class only a few intelligentsia but they even were sons of nobles

Question 21

Background of the ottoman Turks

Answer 21

• latge empire that stretched from the Middle East to the bulkans
• struggled to control the Christian’s in his European dominions

Question 22

Reason for attack of the Ottoman Empire/ Crimean war

Answer 22

• tsar wanted to increase Russian influence
• could pose as protecting the Christian’s under ottoman control

Question 23

1853-54 events of Crimean war

Answer 23

• June, nicolas sent army to Moldova beginning a war
• war declared in October
• Russians sank a squadron from the Black Sea fleet in sinope. This threatened the brittish and french who traded in that area
• they join the war and send a 60k man force to Russian crimea
• they begin an attack on the Russian naval base of Sebastopol
• in October 54 Russian was defeated at backlava and inKerman

Question 24

Why Russia failed in the Crimean war

Answer 24

• outbreak of cholera
• outdated technology eg muskets and only one between 2 soldiers
• poor transport as equptment and soldiers took much longer to get to front line (by foot)
• poor leadership

Question 25

1855-56 events of Crimean war

Answer 25

• Nicolas I dies in March 1855
• september, Sebastopol was lost
• treaty of paris signed in 56 preventing Russia from using Black Sea

Question 26

Impact of Crimean war

Answer 26

• revealed russias weak military and administration
• trade disrupted
• encouraged peasent uprising
• intellegestua fueled in cries to bridge gap between Russia and the superior west
• Alexander II inspired to make a more open minded and liberal change