(3) Government and Tsars

What is communism?

A form of socialism that abolishes private ownership.

During which war did Alexander II come to the throne?

The Crimean war.

Assassination attempts on AII (5)

66: Former student of NOBLE STATUS, Dmitry Karakov shot Alexander but missed
67: Polish immigrant fired on a carriage carrying Alexander and sons
79: student shot but missed
79: bomb planted under the wrong plain
80 - revolutionary posing as a carpenter placed a mine below the dining room in the Winter Palace. Killed 12 people, injured 50 but Tsar was late to dinner that evening and survived

So many types of people trying to assassinate him, is he pleasing anyone?

Impact of assassination attempt in 1866

- shook the emperor's confidence
- He hterm-33ad made serious reforms but was still facing serious violence, if concessions aren't working, repression might
- he now adopted more repressive policy (although there was some constitutional reform in his final years)

Why is Alexander II criticised for failing to introduce some democracy?

AII's failure to set up institutions of civil society or rule of law left the Tsarist regime with nothing to fall back on except repression

Alexander II vs Alexander III, what did Alexander III say in his address to the nation?

AII - Tsar Liberator
AIII - Tsar Reactionary
'we are summoned to preserve the power for the benefit of the people from any encroachment upon it'

Why did the Tsar become less inclined to resist the reactionary conservatives who felt that he was weakening the nobility?

Assassination attempts
+
His son had died and his wife was suffering from Tuberculosis.
Therefore, he spent a lot of time with his mistress, Dolgorukova. This distanced him from the reforming elements within his family (e.g Duke Constantin) and he was less willing to resist the reactionary conservatives

What changes did Alexander make in 1866 (2) Politicians

- replaced more liberal ministers with conservatives
- Tolstoy replaced Golovnin (Ministers of education)
- Pyotr Shuvalov new head of the Third Section

AII: post 1866 - education (5)

- Zemstva's powers over education reduced
- gimnazii schools forced to abandon teaching of natural sciences
- from 1871, only students from Gimnazii schools were allowed to go to university (this will hurt russia in the future, it needs workers with high levels of human capital)
- subjects that required critical thinking were forced out (e.g History)
- Tolstoy reluctantly accepted Moscow University's decision to organise lectures for women

consequently, many students attended university abroad

AII post-1866 Police, law, control (4)

- Shuvalov encouraged Third Section
- increased the persecution of other ethnic and religious minorities
- judicial systems made an example of those accused of political activism
- even radicals who fled to other countries could be tracked down and recalled to face justice

Which show trials backfired since the defendants got aquitted despite being involved in revolutionary populist activities?

Trial of the 50 and Trial of the 193
Vera Zasulich also found 'not guilty' despite shooting and wounding governor of St Petersburg, Dmitri Trepov

Why were the 70s a period of extensive suffering in Russia

- Russian army bogged down in Russo-Turkish war
- Famine of 79-80
- industrial recession began
- assasination attempts in 79 and 80
This propelled AII to make democratic changes to curb the unrest

What proposals did Alexander II sign on the 13th March 1881?

Loris-Melikov.

Loris-Melikov (6)

- Loris-Melikov was Minister for Internal Affairs
- He released political prisoners
- relaxed censorship
- removed salt-tax
- lifted restrictions on activities of the Zemstva
- Third Section abolished and its powers were transferred to the regular police
BUT
a special section of this police became known as the Okrhana and soon became just as oppressive.

Loris Melikov Constitution

-1880- he produced a report in response to Zemstva demands, recommending the inclusion of elected representatives of the nobility, of the zemstva, and of the town governments in debating the drafts of state decrees.
-However they did not create a constitution.
-Alexander accepted and signed this in 1881, the same day he was assassinated.

Alexander II assasination

1881
The People's Will positioned themselves along the route with concealed bombs.
First two bombs missed and injured the Cossacks, Tsar got out to check up on them and the terrorists threw another bomb which killed him instantly.

Who tutored AIII

Pobedonostev

How did AIII start his reign?

- public hanging of conspirators involved in his father's assassination
- issued a law on exceptional measures, which declared that, if necessary, a Commander-in-Chief would be appointed to take control of a locality using military police courts and arbitrary powers of imprisonment.

How had AII's assassination impacted AIII

He had watched his father die and was so fearful of revolutionary activity that he refused to live in the Winter Palace in St Petersburg. Instead, he lived in a fortified fortress in Gatchina.

The Empress Maria Feodorovna

- born princess of denmark, changed name and religion
- Alexander III's wife
- tried to oppose eldest son's marriage to Alix, a minor German princess, for fear that this would diminish her own influence over him

Political changes under Alexander III

- immediately rejected Loris-Melikov proposals
- reforming ministers resigned
- began to rely heavily on conservatives such as Mikhail Kaatkov

Mikhail Katkov

right-wing jouralist who edited the Moscow News, had great influence over the literate population and Alexander III favoured him.

he advocated a "westernizing" conservatism in which russia would acquire
industrial social order but retain authoritarian gov of past. strident nationalist.

AIII - Changes in local government 1889

- A new state-appointed office of 'Land Captain' was created in 1889 with POWER TO OVERRIDE elections to the zemstvo and village assemblies and to disregard zemstvo decisions

these replaced the democratically elected justice of the peace

AIII - Changes in local government 1890

- changed election arrangemnts for the Zemstva, to reduce the peasants' vote and to place it under central government control
- this meant that there were less political discussions and more discussions about social issues e.g education, health

AIII - Changes in local government 1892

- electorate reduced to the owners of property above a certain value

Why were these changes failures?

Figes argues:
Alexander saw this as a way to rule directly from the throne
BUT
- the result was confusion in the provincial administration because the agencies of the central ministries and the elected local bodies were against each other
- the affairs of peasant Russia where 85% of the population lived were entirely unknown to the city bureaucrats

AIII - Changes in policing (4)

- number of police was increased
- new branches of criminal investigation department set up
- drive to recruit spies, counter-spies (to spy on the spies)
- increase in 'agents provocateurs', people who would pose as revolutionaries in order to incriminate others

These reforms led to an expansion in the size of prisons because they were so full

How did the Okhrana operate? (5)

- Had offices in St Petersburg, Moscow and Warsaw
- intercepted and read mail
- detained suspects and resorted to torture
- communists, socialists and trade unionists were particular subjects of their investigations
- they even regulated members of the civil service and government

1882 Statute on Police Surveillance

- all industries subject to search
- anyone with any relation to a crime could be sarched, arrested, detained, questioned, imprisoned or exiled
- this gave the Okhrana tremendous power because people had no right to legal represenation

AIII - changes in the judicial system 1885 (1)

- the reforms of Alexander II were partially reversed
- 1885 decree gave Minister of Justice greater control e.g to dismiss judges

AIII - changes in the judicial system 1887 (2)

- 1887 Ministry allowed to hold closed court sessions (no one is allowed to observe... government can lie)
- 1887 property and qualifications needed by jurors were raised (nobility can retain power)

AIII changes in the judicial systems 1889 (2)

- 1889 ministry became responsible for the appointment of town judges
- 1889 volost courts were put under direct jurisdiction of the Land Captains in the countryside and judges in the town

Volost courts

peasant courts which dealt with small crimes and civil cases

AIII - changes in education

- Delyanov's charter in 1884 meant that professors were chosen based on their 'religious, moral and patriotic orientation'
- he closed universities for women
- all university life monitored, students forbidden to meet in groups larger than 5
- primary education placed in the hands of the Orthodox church

how many people literate by 1897

although the number of those entering education increased, only 21% of the population were literate by 1897

why were education reforms unsuccesful

- Russia needed skilled workers
- did nothing to prevent student involvement in illegal political movements (particularly in the 1890s)

AIII - changes in censorship (5)

Tolstoy established a government committee in 1882 which:
- issued regulations which allowed newspapers to be closed down
- a life ban placed on editors and publishers

- literary publications had to be officially approved
- Library reading rooms had restrictions on what and how much they could stock
- censorship extended to theatre, art and culture where 'Russification' was enforced

Extent and impact of counter-reform

-Reversed the trends set in motion by AII.
BUT
-Not all reforms disappeared and there was only some positive change.
(these may have been introduced to forestall rebellion, but this could also be said for the reforms of AII)

What progressive changes occured under AIII (4)

-1881, redemption fees were reduced and the arrears of ex-serfs were cancelled in 37 central provinces of the Empire.
-1885 - May, the Poll tax was abolished and the introduction of inheritance tax helped to shift the burden of taxation a little, away from the lower classes.
- The right of appeal to higher courts,
- The establishment of the Peasant's Land Bank in 1883
- There was some reformist factory legislation.