Russification (Ali II and III)

What appeared to be the best decision when preserving political loyalty?

From the time under Alexander II, to preserve political loyalty, the engagement in policies of Russification, based on making the Russian language and religion the dominant focus of the cultural life

What is Russification?

Forcing everyone within the Russian Empire to think of themselves as 'Russian' by enforcing the Russian language and culture

What was the issue posed by ethnic minorities?

- Tsarist Russia was a multi-national Empire inhabited by over 100 different ethnic groups
- Around one third of the population included a mixture of different nationalities, languages, religions and cultural traditions

What is Chauvinism?

Exaggerated belief in national superiority and glory

How was chauvinism received by ethnic Russians?

Chauvinism brought protests from nationalities as different as Latvians and Georgians, as they gave a great boost to local nationalist and separatist movements

How did the development of national ideology in the nineteenth century pose as a challenge for the tsarist autoocracy?

The development of national ideology provoked ethnic groups to assert their distinctive identities (eg. Polish nationalism rebellion)

What happened during the Polish Rebellion in 1863

- More than 200,000 Poles had joined in creating an underground National Government for Poland
- Crushed in 1894

How did Alexander II deal with ethnic minorites?

- Alexander II was more concerned with control, rather than racial superiority.
- Reacted strongly during the Polish rebellion in 1863, and were crushed
- Didn't engage in systematic persecution of racial minorities, but used concessions as a means of keeping control (eg. Allowed Finns to have their own parliament and tried to maintain good relations with the Finnish people)

What happened at the end of Alexander II's reign?

- Tsar ministers and administrators were keen to reinforce the tsarist regime, as they grew intolerant of national differences.
- Eg. led to the prohibition on the use of the Ukrainian languages in publications or performances in 1876

Russification under Alexander III

- Alexander III and his ministers, particularly Pobedonostev, engaged in a policy of 'cultural Russification.'
- Sought to merge all of the Tsar's subjects into a single nation with a feeling of shared identity

Pobedonostev's beliefs

- Determined to see the Orthodox Church at the centre of Russification and directed religious policy to this end
- Believed that non-Orthodox subjects must be disloyal

The destruction of non-Russian national cultures

- Eg. in Finland, the parliament was reorganised in 1892, to weaken its political influence
- The use of Russian language was increasingly demanded
- In Poland, in schools and universities the teaching of all subjects except the Polish language and religion had to be in Russian

The destruction of non-Russian national cultures

- Meant that the Russian language was used in schools, law courts and regional government
- Russian officials were brought in to run regional governments in non-Russian parts of the empire, like Poland, Latvia, and Finland

Russification of ethnic Russians

-Nationalities had to adopt the Russian language, culture, customs and religion
- They felt it was an attack on their identities and an unfair policy which discriminated against them

Result of Russification

- Process of Russification was not accepted without resistance: 1888, the Department of Police estimated 332 cases of mass disturbances
- Russification caused particular resentment among the more educated and wealth Finns and Poles, as they felt it was a fundamental attack on their way of life and national cultural heritage

How did ethnic minorities resist Russification?

- National groups constantly petitioned the Tsars for more liberties, and the secret publication of local language books continued
- Some ethnic schools also survived (particularly in Poland) and fanned flames of resentment against the tsarist impositions

Who were the Poles?

-Never wanted to be under tsarist rule
- Wanted more independence
- Were regarded as disloyal by the regime

What were the consequences of the Poles?

-Hundreds of Polish noblemen were exiled to Siberia, and their estates given to incoming Russians
- Policy of Russification was intensified, where the Polish language was prohibited in schools
- Russians took the top jobs, and replaced Polish executives and engineers

The Ukrainians

- Made up the second largest ethnic group in the Empire
- Produced a vast majority of grain for Russia
- More integrated into the Empire, and included the Cossacks who were loyal to the tsar

Treatment of Ukrainians

-Suffered the same treatment as the Poles
- There was a developing Ukrainian intelligentsia and Ukrainian cultural societies in towns
- There was an attempt to develop a literary language, but the Tsar recognised that this could encourage nationalism, and issued a decree prohibiting the publication of books in Ukrainian

How many Jews were there in Russia in the 1880s

Around 5 million

Where were the Jews forced to live

In an area called the Pale of Settlement

Conditions of Jews in the Pale of Settlement

- Many lived in poverty
- Faced prejudice and persecution with restrictions on their way of life

Treatment of Jews

- Faced a wave of anti - Semitism, partly because Jews were involved in the revolutionary groups of the 1870s
- Anti - Semitism encouraged by ministers such as Pobedonostsev, who used slogans such as, "Beat the Yids - Save Russia"
- Growing fear that there was Jewish involvement in the growing opposition movements

Rules and bans imposed on Jews

- Not allowed to own property, even inside the Pale
- Could not hold government office, run schools or appeal against court sentences
- Restrictions placed on their entrance to universities and secondary schools
- Denied the right to vote in zemstva
- Forced to sell up businesses, and their rights to trade or sell products
- Could be deported if they lived outside of the Pale (eg. 1891, Jews were expelled from Moscow)

What is a pogrom?

Meaning to 'round up' or lynching - it originally denoted an assault by one ethnic group on another, but after 1881, it gained the special connotation of an attack on Jews

What happened during pogroms in 1881-1884?

In the early 1880s, a number of pogroms were carried out in cities, where armed groups broke into Jewish homes, destroying and stealing property, beating men and raping women

Who were thought to have encouraged the pogroms?

The Okhrana

What was the 'Holy League' organisation?

An organisation supported by Pobedonostsev which coordinated the early attacks, but was banned in 1882

What was the result of the oppression of Jews

- Some joined revolutionary groups, such as the Bolshevik Party and became leading members (eg. Trotsky, Zinoviev, and Kamenev)
- 1897, Jews formed their own 'Bund' or union which played a role in the development of the social democratic movement
-Huge numbers of Jews emigrated to the USA and western Europe