Unit 1- 1855-1881 Flashcards
what dates were until 1 between?
1855-1881
when did Alexander II become Tsar?
1855
how many of the population were peasants?
90%
how many of the peasants were serfs?
90%
what percentage of the population were nobility?
1%
when was the crimean war?
1853-1856
when did Alexander II emancipate the serfs?
1861
how many serfs were freed?
23 million
what did free serfs have to pay?
a redemption payment for 49 years at 7% interest
words to describe russias economy
•pre-industrial
•agricultural
how many km was it from east to west russia?
6000
how many km was it from north to south Russia?
3000
what was their main transportation mean?
along rivers (there were few roads/ railways)
where is russia being led from?
the west
russians make up how much of the population?
nearly half
where did the vast majority of russians live?
in western russia
diversity in russia
there was a huge diversity of culture, religion and language. it makes establishing authority harder due to culture and language barriers
russias population 1855-1881
about 70 million
who were the nobility?
•less than 1% of people
•owned nearly all the land
•often had serfs who worked their land
•kept order through judicial and administrative roles
•some of them wanted reform
the middle class at this time
there was no middle class as there was no industry, however a small number of businessmen were in big cities
what were the two groups of peasants?
•serfs (slaves)
•state peasants (free)
how did state peasants get their land?
they had to pay rent to farm land owned by the church and other higher powers
what were the rights of serfs like?
they were very poor. serfs were tied to landed nobility, they had no rights and provided labour, getting a small piece of land in return
what was the main church in russia?
the russian orthodox church
what percentage of the population were in the russian orthodox church?
70%
what was the relationship between the church and the Tsar?
the church supported the tsar, who they saw as God’s official on Earth
what was the power of the Tsar like?
•Tsar was an autocrat who believed he had been appointed by God
•The Tsar could rule without constraints
who advised the Tsar?
the imperial council (nobles)
how were the people strictly controlled under the Tsar?
there was severe censorship, punishments and a secret police (the Third section), whose job it was to root out opposition
why was the tsar’s strict rule bad for russia?
it led to stunted economic/ social growth and growing resentment
3 problems with russia in 1855
•economic problems
•risk of revolution
•serfdom
who was the war in crimea between?
russia, france and britain
who lost the Crimean war?
the russians were badly defeated (humiliating 😬)
why did the russians lose in crimea?
•outdated technology
•poor transport
•weak leadership
what were the impacts of the crimean war in russia?
•trade disrupted
•peasant uprisings
•renewed calls for reform
what year was the empancipation edict?
1861
what are the 4 reasons why Alexander II may have abolished serfdom?
•economy (they need a workforce to industrialise)
•moral (western europe had moved on from it a long time ago, slavery is wrong)
•risk of revolt (peasant revolts had been increasing since the 1840s)
•crimean war (serfs in the war underperformed because they were malnourished and badly trained)
what did Alexander II say about abolishing serfdom?
“It is better to abolish serfdom from above, than wait for a time when it starts to abolish itself from below”
how many peasant disturbances were there in 1861 alone?
1000
how did the peasants, nobles and intelligentsia react to the emancipatory edict?
•peasants felt cheated and their anger grew
•nobles we’re disgruntled over compensation and felt they were losing power and status
•intelligentsia felt like the peasants had been betrayed
how long did the emancipation edict take to implement?
two years
by 1881 how many peasants were still obligated to their lord?
15%
how was the emancipation edict actually bad for the peasants?
•they often got less land then they had previously worked
•peasants were still under control of the now strengthened Mir
•by 1878 only 50% of peasants were capable of producing a surplus beyond bare subsistence
•they had to buy land and pay redemption payments over 49 years at 7%
what group of peasants benefited from the emancipation edict?
the kulaks, they did well on the land and made some wealth
by 1878 what percentage of peasants were capable of producing a surplus beyond bare subsistence?
only 50%
who were the peasants still tightly controlled by?
The Mir (local council)
what did the Mir do?
they worked out who got what land and collected payments from the peasants, they were also in charge of issuing internal passports
how did serf rights improve after the emancipation edict?
they could marry, travel, vote in local elections and trade
how were landowners compensated after the emancipation edict?
they were heavily compensated for their land as it was valued highly (landowners kept the best land) however they were not compensated for losing serfs
why was the emancipation of the serfs needed?
•the economy was suffering as it was reliant on serfdom
•90% of people were peasants, 90% of those being serfs, there was a high risk of revolt
•the industry needed workers
•russia was behind the rest of western europe
why was reform needed in russia’s judicial system?
•the system favoured the rich
•many judges had no legal training and were illiterate
•susceptible to bribes
•judges tended to be sexist and classist
•evidence couldn’t be disputed as the defendant couldn’t see the judge (not fair)
what was the reform in the judicial side of russia?
•judges were paid well and could not be dismissed
•they introduced a jury system in serious cases
•the system was simplified
•peasants could elect their own judge in village court
•they introduced prosecution and defence
what were the consequences of the reform to the judicial system?
•trials were fairer as the defendant had more protection
•there were fewer bribe attempts
•there were separate courts for peasants, emphasising the class divide
•government officials could not be tried in the system
•there was an articulate legal profession
what 6 aspects did Alexander II reform?
•emancipation of the serfs
•local government
•judicial
•military
•education
•censorship
why did Alexander need to reform the Local Government?
•the electoral system favoured the nobility
•they needed more control and new functions after the emancipation of the serfs
•it attempted to give power back to the nobles