What was underdeveloped in Russia compared to Western Countries?
The economy
What was Russia like Geographically?
Largely Agricultural
Vast
What percentage of the population was illiterate ?
85%
What was the ration of Village to town dwellers?
11:1
What was largely present in Russia until 1861?
Serfdom
Who was the Tsar Head of?
Head of the Russian Orthodox Church
When did the Crimean war start/end?
Start-1853
End- 1856
what two battles did Russia lose during Crimean war?
Battle of Balaclava
Battle of Inkerman
How much of the GDP was spent per year in Russia on the Crimean war?
45%
Why was the military inadequate ?
It was backwards
What was the impact of Alexander II travelling the empire and heading the serfdom committee?
Had seen what serfdom does to people
Was highly knowledgeable
What did Alexander believe abolishing serfdom would do?
Curb tensions and help stimulate the economy
what were the 3 motives for the emancipation ?
Ethical Motives
Economic Motives- seen as immoral internationally
Political Motives
Who had already abolished slavery at this point?
The west
What did serfdom prevent peasants from doing which harmed the economy ?
Prevented them from moving to work in factories and towns- low industrialisation- Peasants tied to land
What was there a low internal demand for?
Consumer goods
In 1859 how many roubles was the state in debt by?
54,000,000 Roubles
Who did the tsarist autocracy depend on historically since Ivan the terrible ?
Nobility
Who did the nobility rely on to make money?
Serfs
What had younger members of the nobility become?
Apathetic
demotivated
critical of the regime