The Russian Autocracy in 1855 Flashcards
What was the political context before 1855?
Russia was an autocratic empire, at its head was the Tsar. The Tsar was ‘emperor of all the Russias and was an ‘autocratic and unlimited monarch’
The Tsar was the head of the Orthodox Church and was regarded by Orthodox believers as the embodiment of God on Earth.
The tsar had at his disposal the world’s largest army of around 1.5 million conscripted serfs each forced into service for 25 years. The tsar also had the service of the elite regiments of mounted Cossacks which acted both as a personal bodyguard to the Tsar and as police reinforcements.
To maintain autocracy, the country had developed into a police state. The police state prevented freedom of speech, freedom of the press and travel abroad. The secret state security network was run by the Third Section. Its agents kept a strict surveillance over the population and had unlimited powers to carry out raids and to arrest and imprison or send into exile anyone suspected on anti Tsarist behaviour
What was the Tsar’s belief in 1855?
To follow a path of repression
To distance themselves from the West where the liberal ideas he most feared were spreading
Strict autocracy and severe restrictions were imposed
Tightened censorship and secret police
What finally brought the long ignored need for change to the New Tsar’s attention?
The military defeat in the Crimea
What was the economic situation when Alexander II came to the throne in 1855?
When Alexander II came to the throne , Britain, Belgium, France and Germany were already well advanced industrially. However the the Russian economy remained mostly rural.
What was the Crimean War 1853-1856?
In June 1853, Nicholas sent a Russian army to Moldovia and Wallachia. This provoked the Turks into declaring war in October. This brought the British and French, who were anxious to protect their own trading interests in the area, into the war in defence of Turkey.
Why did Russia suffer in the Crimean War?
Britain and France sent a joint expeditionary force of more than 60,000 men to the Russian Crimea where they attacked the major Russian naval base of Sebastopol.
Incompetence
An outbreak of cholera.
Outdated technology
Poor transport
Inadequate leadership
What were the consequences of the Crimean War ?
The course of fighting had revealed Russia’s military and administrative inadequacies.
Trade was disrupted
Peasant uprisings escalated
The Treaty of Paris
Provided the wake up call the Russia needed
What was the Treaty of Paris 1856?
It prevented Russian warships from using the Black Sea in times of peace
