Opposition under Alexander III

Q: When and how was Alexander II assassinated?

A: On 13 March 1881, Alexander II was killed by a People’s Will (Narodnaya Volya) bomb in St. Petersburg.

Q: Who assassinated Alexander II?

A: Ignacy Hryniewiecki, a member of the People’s Will, threw the fatal bomb.

Q: What was the political impact of the assassination?

A: Marked the failure of liberal reform. Sparked reactionary backlash. Convinced Alexander III that repression, not reform, was needed to preserve autocracy

Q: What was Alexander III’s general attitude to opposition?

A: Deeply reactionary and anti-liberal. Believed in autocracy, Orthodoxy, and nationality. Rejected his father's "half-hearted" reforms

Q: Which minister helped Alexander III repress opposition?

A: Konstantin Pobedonostsev, Chief Procurator of the Holy Synod — architect of Russification and repression

Q: What were the 1881 Emergency Measures laws?

A: Statute of State Security (1881): allowed arbitrary arrests, censorship, and military courts. Declared martial law in provinces with “subversive” activity. Used to suppress opposition harshly

Q: What was the Okhrana?

A: The Tsarist secret police, expanded massively under Alexander III. Used spies, surveillance, infiltration, and exile to crush opposition. Infiltrated radical circles and printed anti-revolutionary propaganda

Q: How many were exiled to Siberia under Alexander III?

A: Over 10,000 political opponents during his reign

Q: What censorship measures were introduced?

A: 1882 Temporary Regulations: tightened censorship, closed liberal newspapers. Educational institutions placed under strict government control (e.g. no teaching of critical thinking)

Q: What happened to the People’s Will under Alexander III?

A: Organisation was dismantled after 1881. Leading members were arrested or executed. A few underground cells survived but posed no real threat

Q: What was the Black Repartition?

A: A non-violent Marxist group that split from the People’s Will in 1879.

Q: What happened to the Black Repartition?

A: Quickly suppressed by the state. Members like Plekhanov fled abroad and helped found Russian Marxism

Q: Who was Georgi Plekhanov?

A: A former populist who turned to Marxism. Founded Emancipation of Labour group in 1883 (in Geneva). Translated Marx’s works into Russian. Laid ideological groundwork for future Bolsheviks

Q: How did Alexander III respond to Marxist ideas?

A: Banned socialist literature. Arrested suspected Marxists and forced many into exile. Okhrana tracked foreign-based revolutionaries

Q: How did the Zemstva respond to repression under Alexander III?

A: Frustrated at limits on their power. Moderate liberals pushed for constitutional reform but were ignored. State tried to curtail Zemstva influence in 1890s with stricter regulations

Q: Were any liberal political parties formed?

A: No formal parties yet due to repression. Liberals worked unofficially, often through intelligentsia networks or university circles

Q: Why was radical opposition less active during Alexander III’s reign?

A: Harsh repression by Okhrana and use of emergency laws. Use of exile, censorship, and arrests crushed most groups. Many radicals operated abroad in exile

Q: What types of opposition existed under Alexander III?

A: Radical socialist groups (e.g. remnants of People's Will, early Marxists). Moderate liberals (Zemstva, intelligentsia). Nationalist minorities, frustrated by Russification

Q: How successful was opposition to Alexander III?

A: Largely unsuccessful during his reign. But laid the foundations for future opposition (Marxism, revolutionary thought). Tsarist repression temporarily maintained order, but at the cost of growing underground resistance

Q: Key statistic: How many books and newspapers were banned between 1882 and 1894?

A: Over 14,000 publications were censored or banned