Theme 2-Autocracy of Alexander II Flashcards
What year did Alexander IIs wife and firstborn son die from tuberculosis
1865
In what years were attempts made on Alexander IIs life?
1866, 1867,1879,1880,1881
Who was appointed in 1866, following the assassination attempt, as a reactionary Minister of Education?
Dmitry Tolstoy
What was Tolstoy’s major reforms to the education system?
Zemstvas power over education reduced, Church reinstated as authority over rural schools, Universities curriculum censored and replaced with traditional subjects. He vetoed university appointments and disencouraged subjects that taught critical thinking.
Who was appointed in 1866, following the assassination attempt, as a reactionary Minister of Justice?
Konstantin Pahlen.
What were Pahlen’s major reforms to the judicial system?
He introduced show trials, (later co-opted by the USSR) and made sure to make an example of those accused of political crimes, in order to deter people from revolutionary activities. However, this backfired in various cases. (Vera Zasulich, trial of 193, trial of 150)
Who was Vera Zasulich and what did she do?
She attempted to assassinate the governor of St Petersburg in a response to the “trial of 193”. She was then acquitted of attempted murder in her trial in 1878,
What was the trial of 193?
Trial of 193 people all suspected of revolutionary activity. A sympathetic jury acquitted 153 and the rest were given light sentences. The show trials backfired as the defense lawyers gave passionate speeches, resulting in the actions of Vera Zasulich
What were Count Mikhail Loris-Melikovs key reforms?
He released political prisoners, relaxed censorship, removed the salt-tax and lifted the restrictions on the Zemstva. The third section (secret police) was abolished but it was pretty much replaced immediately replaced by Okhrana.
What in 1880 did count Loris Melikov produce?
A report entitled the Loris Melikov constitution in response to demands of the zemstvo which proposed the inclusion of elected representatives of the nobility in the Zemstva and town governments playing a role in the drafting of some decrees. Whilst not much, was the first step towards any sort of constitutional reform in Russia
What was significant about the day Alexander II died?
He had accepted a meeting about the Loris-Melikov constitution and was on the same day assassinated
When was Alexander II assassinated?
March 13 1881
Did Alexander II come to the decision to liberate the serfs himslef through some benevolence and love for them
No, he wanted to strengthen and stabilise society and improve economically, both things that were hindered by Serfdom, as well as avoid a serf revolt which may lead to the the deposing of the Tsar
What issues came with the Emancipation
Tensions between the Tsar and the nobles, who disliked their property being stolen
The peasants land allocations from the mirs were poor, with Kulaks buying up spare land-most felt cheated and many went to work in big cities
Subsistence farming and technological backwardness persisted and the mirs were also a highly traditional institution
What authority distributed the land after the emancipation and who was it supervised by
Mirs supervised by Volosts, who by 1863 ran their own courts
