Alexander III

Introduction (Alexander III)

Reaction (1881) - increase of secret state police power, greater interference in local administration and education

Russification

Persecuted ethnic groups

Economy developed and expanded

The Reaction (Alexander III)

Took steps to preserve Tsarist autocracy after father’s assassination

Influenced by advisor Konstantin Pobedonostev

1881 - Statute of State Security introduced

Statute of State Security (Alexander III)

Increased power to secret police: Okhrana

Could search, arrest imprison, exile, anyone who might commit crime or related to a criminal

New courts outside of legal system to deal with political offences

Judges or officials sympathetic towards liberal ideas were removed

Education (Alexander III)

Reaction also took away autonomy from unis

Tsarist government wanted control over appointments and types of students in education

1887 - increased tuition fees so lower class children couldn’t access education

Local Government (Alexander III)

Zemstva Act 1890 reduced effectiveness of Zemstva in local decision

Peasant members were reduced and appointed not elected

Provincial Governors were given powers to supervise activities of Zemstva

Land Captain was created to overrule decisions made by Zemstva

Russification (Alexander III)

Suppression of any nation culture and replace it with Russian

Already the policy in certain areas under Alexander II but fully embraced by Alexander III

Russia was declared official language and had to be used in all official business related to admin and education

Native language was banned

Minorities That Suffered From Russification

Poles, Ukrainians, Finns, Armenians, the Baltic states,

New measures were made against Jews:

Social, political, economic restrictions

Populists (Alexander III)

Assassins did not overthrow the Tsarist autocratic system

People’s Will had members arrested and leaders executed or exiled

No Populist groups had success

Social Democratic Movement (Alexander III)

1880s, Marxism grew and increased in 1890s as industrialisation developed

Georgi Plekhanov (exiled Marxist) formed Emancipation of Labour in 1883 in Switzerland

Group translated and smuggled Marxist writing but had limited success

Popularity would grow once industrial Great Spurt in 1890s

Became Social Democrats

Opposition Success under Alexander III

No opposition had success because:

Extreme policing from Okhrana

Strict censorship

Lack of development of industrial working class or proletariat (for Marxists)

Reduction in powers of Zemstva

Economy (Alexander III)

Started to modernise Russia economically

began to take off after appointment of Sergei Witte as Finance Minister in 1892

Great Spurt began in 1893

Great Spurt (Alexander III)

Alexander did not see the results of Witte’s work

Died in October 1894

Great Spurt would progress under Nicholas II which accelerated industrialisation and modernisation of economy