Treatment of ethnic minorities and Jews Flashcards
Russification
the policy of enforcing R culture on ethnic minorities
seen as necessary to preserve autocracy
Rculture + orthodox Christian religion seen as more progressive than any other
greatly effected pole, Ukrainians + Lithuanians
Cultural state of Russia
19th century = diverse = 100 diff ethnic groups
only 43% of R was ethnically Russian
after the great reforms of 1860, political movements among Non-Russian nationalities dev
demanded national + political rights
clearly showed russification was unsuccessful
3 varieties of Russification
unplanned = ind take on RC over generations naturally
administrative = RGov demands Rlang be spoken throughout the empire
cultural = active policy that aims to replace ppls nativeC with RC
Poles
Alex II = his reforms restored a degree of autonomy but this raised expectation
1863 Poles rebelled but gov put it down = disloyal
polish nobles exiled to Siberia + estates given to R
Alex III = Russification intensified to poles
Plang prohibited in skls + college
R took Polish top jobs as executives + engineers
industrial change + social upheaval –> rev groups
Ukrainians
suffered similar treatment to P
R took key positions in Ugov
U is imp = 2nd largest ethnic group = produced a lot of grain
more integrated = Cossacks loyal to the Tsar
Tsar prohibited books + theatre in Ukrainian
Jews
5mil Jews in the 1880s forced to live in the Pale of Settlement (border of P)
faced prejudice + persecution + lived in poverty
Alex II = wealthier, educated Jews allowed to live in other parts of R but this stopped after P revolts in 1863
Alex III = had a personal hatred for Jews + Pobedonostev supported pogroms
bans placed on Jews = xland, xvote, xbiz, xprof
early 1880s a series of pogroms - men broke into Jewish homes stole, destroyed + murdered
local authorities turned a blind eye or were involved
Impact of Russification
June 1888 - police estimated 332 cases of mass disturbances
military employed in 51 of these cases
Russification caused resentment among the educated + wealthy Finns, poles + germans
Nationalist groups constantly petitioned Tsar for liberties
secret publications of local lang books continued
however, supporters of Russification genuinely believed they were acting for the greater good
believed it imp to improve administration, modernise + strengthen R
Impact of Anti-semitism
many Jews fled R after pogroms
others forced out = 10,000 in 1891-92
Grand Duke Sergi (Alex III bro) made governor-general in 1892
he forced 20,00 Jews from the city + closed down a new synagogue
effect of these policies drove many Jews to rev groups –> Marxist + socialist
early 20th century = a disproportionate amount of Jews in groups = Trotsky + Zinoviev
