Alexander II, the Tsar reformer

When did Alexander II emancipate the serfs?

1861

How many serfs were freed?

• 51 million

What happened to privately owned serfs?

• Recieved their freedom after a period of 2 years of obligation

What happened to the state serfs?

• Recieved their freedom after a period of 5 years of obligation

What freedom did serfs get?

• Control who they could marry

• Freedom to set up business

• Freedom to travel

What type of payments did serfs have to pay?

• Redemption payments

How many years did redemption payments have to paid for?

• 49 years + 6% interest

During the time of the redemption payments where did the peasants have to remain?

• in the Mir

What was the Mir?

• a peasant commune

What did the Mir control?

• open fields that could be used by serfs

• Collected taxes

• What was farmed

Why did Alexander II emancipate the serfs?

• Humiliation of the Crimean war

• Dmitry milyutin believed that only with a free population would Russia’s army be capable of improvement

• Alexander II had liberal ideas

• Would help Russia economically since they would have more motivation to work hard

• It would help Russia industrialise by migrating serf to towns

Who was Dmitry Milyutin?

• Minister of War

Why was the emancipation successful?

Nikolai Alexander Mylutin

• Responsible for drafting terms of emancipation and supported the establishment of the zemstva

What success did the emancipation bring?

• Legal status of 40 million Russians was reformed

• New class evolved

• Some obtained a passport to leave the Mir

• Raised living standards by finding work in the industrialising cities

Who were the kulaks?

• Prosperus landed peasants

What limitations did the emancipation bring?

• Landlords twisted emancipation to suit themselves and not peasants

• The areas granted to the peasants were too small resulting in average holding of only nine acres

• The landlords often inflated the estimated value of their land in order to boost their compensation

• Peasants remained tied to the Mir which continued to control peasant lives

Who led the Russian army reform?

• Dmitry Mylutin

What military reforms did Dmitry Milyutin introduced? (1874-1875)

• universal military service for all males aged 20, closing the loopholes which allowed many nobles in the past to avoid serving in the army

• Reduced the period of the service from 25 years to 6 years, followed by 9 years in the reserves

• Improved solider welfare by abolishing brutal form of punishment and improved the basic living conditions

• Set up military colleges to provide better training for fixers

• Literacy amongst troops was improved by army

• Ended the use of military service as a punishment for criminal offences

• Improved technology and transport: introduced modern weapons and battleships

• Development of the railway network to improve the movement of troops

How affective was Dmitry Milyutin reforms?

• Russian army was still a peasant conscript

• Most Russian army officers were aristocrats

• Russia’s weak industry meant poor weapons and equipment

• Fell behind many major powers such as England and France

What happened in 1877-78 in the Russo Turkish War?

• Russia defeated the Ottoman Empire and gained a large Bulgaria, but the way was slow and hard-fought, exposing the army weaknesses.

• Later the congress of Berlin forced Russia to reduce its gains

Who were the zemstva?

• Local government bodies in Russia that were elected

When was the zemstva formed?

• 1864

Who elected zemstva members?

• Local population, but votes weighted heavily in favour of the nobility

What powers did the zemstva have?

• Education

• Health

• Transport

• Poor relief

Who could be a chairman of a zemstva?

• noblility

What powers did the zemstva not have?

• control over law

• Control over order

• Control over police

• Control over taxation

Who controlled laws and order instead of the zemstva?

• Provincial governors appointed by the tsar

What did liberal advisors hope the zemstva (1864) would lead to?

• The start to real change and genuine democracy

What did the zemstva often become a place for?

• debate among the educated classes

• scrutinising the government

How did Alexander II view the zemstva?

• As an important way to maintain autocracy

What happened when the zemstva representatives suggested a National Assembly?

• Alexander II dismissed the idea and restated limits of zemstva powers

Judiciary Reforms (1864) Alexander II

• Legal proceedings were conducted in public and could be reported freely to the pres

• All classes in society had equal access to the law

• All charges to be assessed by a jury trial

• Judges were independent of the government and were provided with better pay and training

• Local JP’s (justice of peace) were chosen ever 3 years

• The tsar still retained the right to impose martial law during emergencies

• The court was now fairer and less corrupt

• Barristers become public figures and gained celebrity

What was a problem with juries under the 1864 system?

• sometimes they sympathised with defendants and acquitted guilty people

What is an example of a jury sympathy case in 1878?

• Vera Zasulich shot general trepov but was acquitted despite guilt

Education before the Reforms (1863-64)

• Traditionally the Russian Orthodox Church ran Russia’s limited education system

Who was the Liberal Education minister who introduced education reforms in 1863-64

• Alexander Golovin

What reforms did Alexander Golovin introduce?

• Universities got freedom to run themselves

• Local education responsibility shifted from the church to the zemstva

• Primary schools expanded

• Secondary schools established

• Education was open to all classes and genders

What impact did Alexander Golovin reforms bring?

• Primary school s tripled between 1856-1880 from 8,000 to 23,0000

• Number of children in primary education rose from 400,000 to over 1 million

• University students rose from 3,600 to 10,000 by 1870’s

• Spread of literacy and technical skills

What were were the downsides for the Tsar due to Alexander Golovins reforms?

• More students exposed to liberal and radical ideas

• After 1866, government tightened control over universities again

Censorship reforms (1858-70)

• Press and book censorship relaxed

• Foreign books allowed without government approval

• Huge increase in publications (1,020 in 1855 to 10,961 in 894)

Orthodox Church reforms

• Report showed rural priests were poor and unsuitable

• Some church reforms attempted but minister Dmitry Tolstoy blocked most changed

Minority reforms

• some restrictions eased for polish,Finnish and Jewish minorities

• Quickly reversed for poles and Jews

What were the years of the attempted assassinations of Alexander II?

• Apri 1866

• 1867- polish immigrant berezowki fires on his carriage but hit horse and cavalryman

• April 1879 - former student fired at him 5 times but missed

• December 1879 - bomb planted under wrong train

• February 1880 - bomb in winter palace, killing 12 but injuring 50, Alexander was late and survived