Alexander III

Repression

• After A2 assassination crack down on terrorist and revolutionary activities leading to 10,000 arrests.

• The Okhrana recruited thousands of agents who penetrated revolutionary groups.

• Censorship was tightened making is hard to express a dissident opinion

• Revolutionary parties still sprung up -People's Will weakened, propaganda targeted workers rather than peasants.

Economic development

• Bunge introduced a number of measures to help peasants and improve living conditions

• Vyshnegradsky increased taxes to force peasants to sell more grain.

• Bunge, Vyshnegradsky and Witte -all helped in laying down the basis for future development and creating the industrial spurt of the 1890's.

The Great Spurt

• Expanded railways -linked up areas of Russia and the people, farms and factories of the empire. This stimulated coal and metal industries

• By the end of 1890s nearly 60% of all iron and steel consumed by railways

• Foreign investment- encouraged companies, engineers and experts like FRA, BRI + GER to contribute their commercial/ technological expertise

• Foreign loans,, investment, high tariffs on foreign industrial goods, strong rouble, adoption of gold standard, raised taxation rates, exports of grain

Financial and economic measures

• 1883: Peasant Land Bank established to help peasants buy land

• 1883-87: Bunge abolished poll tax and lowered redemption payments BUT Vyshnegradsky increased indirect taxes

• 1885: Nobles' Land Bank established, lending money to Nobles at low interest rates to pay off debts or invest in land.

• Some measures taken to improve the lives of workers such as restrictions on child labour, limiting working hours for women at night, reduced fines for workers and provided compulsory education for children BUT they had limited impact

Local Government

• In 1884 the Zemstva Act reduced the independence of the Zemtva

• The system to elect members was changed in favour of landowners and peasant representation was reduced

• Continued their programme of improvements, such as building roads and hospitals- played a part in alleviating the effects of the famine of 1891-92

• In 1892 the Municipal Government Act cut the number of people who could vote which favoured the richer property owners

• Control became more centralised and they were put under the Ministry of the Interior

Control

• 1881: a new secret police was established called the Okhrana. A decree of March 1882 allowed them to declare any citizen subject to surveillance

• Censorship was tightened even further with publications that were critical of the regime being suspended

• Tolstoy decided he wanted government appointed officials to have direct control over the peasants and village communes -could overrule district courts with no appeal.

Education

• The church was given more control over primary education

• University courses for women were closed

• In 1884 the University Statue brought in strict controls reducing autonomy and student freedom- staff appointed by the Minister of Education

• Fees in secondary schools were raised to exclude lower class students- % children of nobles rose

Opposition

• 150 arrests of members of the People's Will

• 1880-90s: non-violent petitioning for Tsar to devolve more power to a national representative body

• 1883: Ex 'Land and liberty' member George Plekanov forms Liberation of labour (Russia's first Marxist Group)- tried to create a working class consciousness

• 1885: Major strike at the Morozov Dye Works which involves 8,000 workers -resulted in a ban on strikes and a no. of workers killed

• 1887: Alexander Ulyanov failed to assassinate Tsar A3 -Lenin's brother and is executed

National Minorities: Russification

• In Ukraine there was a big influx of Russians taking positions in government and A3 prohibited the publication of Ukrainian books and the use of Ukrainian in theatres.

• Jews: Russian gov permitted and often encouraged pogroms. May 1881 in Ukraine and 1905 in odessa nearly 5000 Jews were killed. in 1886 Kiev and 1891 Moscow all deemed 'illegal' expelled, zionist movement established 1883 and fought for a jewish state

Urban workers

• many workers employed in large factories but most were in small ones or workshop

• hours could be long with many accidents and wages were generally low

• Alexander III tried to reduce working hours to 11.5 as a maximum in 1885 and banned child labour under 14

• by 1890s employment was also not stable or secure, with employers finding it hard to keep on to workers

Peasants

• in areas outside of central agricultural regions, closer to cities, peasants were beginning to enjoy some higher living standards

• those that were able to produce foodstuffs for the market were able to pay taxes and mortgages with money to spare

• Peasant land bank, abolishing salt and poll tax in 1883 enabled growth for richer peasants

Nobles

• many moved into towns and cities but some adapted using agricultural technology to increase crop yield

• in Moscow 1882, 700 nobles owned businesses and nearly 2,500 were employed

• they maintained their status in the military and played a strong role in the Zemstva

middle class

• middle class was very small in number by 1894

• some families made money in railways, banking, textiles and other industries

• merchant mayors of moscow developed an electric tram system by 1895

• began to form association; 1881 the Pirogov Medical Society, 1892 All-Russian teachers congress

• many of these professional were in zemstva and made up the liberal ‘Thrird element’