ALEXANDER II

What was problem of Crimean war?

• The crimean war particularly capture of Sebastpol revealed large issues in russia- bad communication, inadequate munition industries, corrupt and ineffective administration.
  -e.g. state arsenals contained less than half of weapons they were supposed to and many didn't work.

Why had discontent grown throughout classes?

-The 1848 European revolutions had sparked ideas for many including serfs- many serf owners were killed by their serfs.
-many saw the need for perestroika -restructuring - as they saw Russia as moving backwards

• need for change seen from serfs to nobility

What were Slavophiles and what was their view?

19th-century Russian intellectuals who argued Russia should follow its own traditions rather than Western models. They idealised the Orthodox Church, rural life, and the mir commune, believing Western industrialism and liberalism were corrupting.

What were the westernizers and their views?

19th-century Russian intellectuals who argued Russia should modernise by adopting Western European ideas, technology, and institutions. They supported industrialisation, liberal reforms, and rationalism to strengthen and progress Russia.

What were Alexander's immediate reforms?

Stopped all army recruitment
Eased censorship
Released all decemberists still in prison or exile
Amnestied the Poles who rebelled in 1830-31
Lifted restrictions on foreign travel - in 1859 26,000 passports issued

When did Alexander II come to power?

February 19th 1855

Why was an end to serfdom needed?

-Serfdom prevented growth to Russian industry- obstructing free flow of labour
-prevented introduction of modern methods of agriculture - causing lag behind Europe

• Crimea showed need for army reform- difficult as serfs serving 25 years in military formed mass of soldiers
• abolition would stop peasant revolts- been 1467 since 18000

How had Nicholas I tried to put an end to serfdom?

• recognised it as a flagrant evil
• set up 9 secret committees to investigate how it could be ended- one with AII
• unsuccessful due to complexity of issue- gentry argued against peasants getting land when freed but peasants knew freedom without land was meaningless

What was A II quote about serfdom?

It is better to being abolishing serfdom from above than to wait for it to begin to abolish itself from below.
March 1856 to Moscow Gentry

What did Alexander II do to begin the ending of serfdom?

1857- created Secret Committee on peasant affairs followed by number of editing commissions to work out details of the scheme

What group opposed an end to serfdom?

The Krepostniki- inc members of royal family, leaders of Orthodox Church and many leading figures in noble families

When was the emancipation of the serfs?

The Great Emancipation Statute was announced to the people in Russia in 1861 Feb
— this came after a long torturous process inevitably resulting in compromise.

What were the terms of the emancipation proclamation?

• only privately owned serfs freed- around 22m
• could marry whoever they want, own property, set up businesses
  -peasants received land but about 70% remained with gentry
  -each peasant guaranteed minimum size of allotment
  -75% of allotments were less than 9 acres - often not enough to sustain peasant fam
• for 2 year as peasants tied to landowners while allotments worked out
• Redemption payments: Peasants had to pay the state for their land via redemption payments over 49 years (at 6% interest).
• Mir redistributed and land collected redemption payments
• nobles compensated by the state

What happened to household and state peasants?

Household- no land just freedom
State- Received better treatment but had to wait till 1866 to be free
Allotted plots of land x2 size of private serfs

What was the civil unrest following this?

647 incidents of peasant rioting in the next 4 months- troops at 449

downsides of emancipation

• Peasants had less land than before and now had to pay the redemption tax
• Little incentive for peasant fam to invest in their land if it could be reallocated
• Peasants continued farming in the same inefficient way as before
• landowners unhappy- redemption payments went to pay off existing debts
• by 1905 landowners owned 40% less land than 1861

What were Alexander II military reforms?

Recruitment suspended 1856
Every man over 20 made liable for conscription
Length of conscripts service reduced to 6 years- then 9 in reserve- then 5 in milita
Therefore military reserve from 210,000 to 553,000 by 1870

What was zemstva and when?

1864
Local self government councils elected from nobles, townspeople+ peasants- nobles dominated
Responsible for education, health, roads and welfare and could levy local taxes

What limited the zemstva power?

Governors could veto all their descisions

What and when were Dumas?

In 1870
In towns and cities municipal councils- similar responsibilities to zemstva

What was law like before reform?

Accused poor assumed guilty
No juries or lawyers
Slow and long process

What and when were reforms to legal system?

-Introduction of juries in criminal cases- selected from lists of propertied people and prepared by zemstva

• hierarchy of courts
• judges better paid- less likely to accept bribes
• courts open to public

What were the reforms to censorship and press?

1863 censorship became the responsibility of the ministry of the interior- 1965 produced a new set of rules for writers and editors
-Editors no longer needed prior approval- instead submitted after printing but before release

• 1873 MoI given power to forbid certain topics being discussed

What were the educational reforms?

-1863- private schools allowed- taught ' dangerous' subjects- so given curriculum of religion, reading and writing in Russian and arithmetic
-Over one million primary school places by 1878

• literacy on 21% by 1897
• from 1874-94 2 to 3 million men learned basic reading and writing in armed forces

What were reforms to universities?

Scholars able to travel abroad to study
Broadened curriculum to include philosophy and Western European law
Many liberal professors replaced conservative ones
Poor exempt from fees- by 1859 2/3 of all Moscow uni students exempt

What were mistakes of censorship reforms?

Allowed some seditious books like 'what is to be done' to be printed

What were the economic developments?

• slow but noticeable
• industrial workforce from 860,000 to 1,320,000 by 1887
• railways from 2,200 to 14,200 miles- not much by international comparison

How did A II deal with Poland ?

-Allowed for relaxation of control in some regions esp Poland

• Warsaw got archbishop and medical school
• attempt to kiss Russian appointed polish prime minister- perpetrators publicly hanged which caused mass protest - Russian troops arrested whole congregations of catholics in church sparking Jan 1863 rebellion- crushed in 1864- after this less liberal policies persued

How were Jews treated?

Treated worst of all nationalities
Alexander removed some restrictions on them

• allowing them into higher education and gov service
• some Jews allowed to settle outside the pale

What was the end of the reforms?

-In the late 1860s after the first serious attempt on A life in 1866

• reforming ministers replaced with more conservative ones

Why was there growth of opposition?

• the openness of the reforms gave people unrealistic expectations which the tsar wouldn't do
   Particularly constitution and National Assembly
• students who's fav authors and organisations were banned formed opposition in 60s

What was first attempt on tsars life?

-1866
-radical student group 'Hell' select Dimitri Karakozov to assassinate the tsar

• shot at A taking walk in summer gardens
• failed and executed
• Dimitri had been landowner who gave away all his possessions to his peasants

What did the first assassination attempt lead to?

Period of reaction 1866

What and when was the trial of the 50?

1877

• lasted 5 weeks
• 'the peoples will' attempted to assassinate The tsars advisors
• open to pubic and gov press
• some represented selves- gave them platform to share reasoning - justified revolt
• aim was to bring down Russian establishment
  -sentenced prison and exile outside Russia
  -1/3 woman

What was the trial of 193 and when?

• 1877-78
  -people who had 'gone to the people' in early 70s
  -secret
• 90 acquitted and 23 sentenced hard labour
• most had lawyer
• judge made unanswered plea of leniency to tsar

Who was Vera Zasulich and what did she do?

1878

• shot at chief of police Trapov in his st Petersburg office- survived
• he was brutal man
• despite pleading guilty defence made play of inhumanity of victim - acquitted to public rejoice
  -tsar ordered immediate arrest but it was too late

What was 1880 attempt on tsar life?

People will blew up tsar dining room of winter palace but he was late to dinner

What happened during period of reaction ?

• police omnipotence
• new prisons belt
• house of primary detention in st Petersburg- where held awaiting trial- awful conditions
• internal exile to Siberia- 150,000 during A reign
• turning back on reforms
• count peter shuvalov hade head of third section

What happened to education during period of reaction?

• minster count Tolstoy blamed uni for spread of revolutionary ideas- subjects like history that required independent thought
• some extreme left publications shut down
• 1871 only gimnaziya students ( classical education schools) could go to uni not students of ' real schools'- focused on modern subjects
• although he disapproved Tolstoy had to allow Moscow uni lectures for woman

What was ' the shovalov era'

During reactionary period when he had lots of control

• he bought other reactionary conservatives into office who supported increased use of rule by decree
  -use of military to cease political violence, tightening censorship

When did revolutionary activities increase?

Between 1873 and 1877

What evidence shows Alexander II was moving back to reforms?

• 1874 shuvalov moves to England
• 1881 A puts loris melikov in charge of supreme comittee set up in 1880- reform to meeet revolutionary challenge
• abolished the secret police the third section
• 13th march 1881 he signed proposal for committees to prepare reforms in various branches of administration- possibly beginning of constitutional reforms

How did he die?

13th march 1881- assasinated by peoples will by a bomb

How was the peoples will formed?

1878 head of third section assasinated by land and liberty
But this group itself split between those wanting to continue terrorist campaign- the peoples will- and those who wanted to continue winning over workers led by Plekhanov - black repartition