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Alexander II - Tsar Liberator (1855-1881) (Reforms (emancipation of the…
Alexander II - Tsar Liberator (1855-1881)
Intro
became Tsar of Russia during the Crimean War in March 1855
Russia was defeated in the Crimean War by Britain, France, Turkey and Piedmont
showed Russia as weak
as such Alexander II needed to reform
Why did Russia Lose in the Crimean War
lacked modern communications (e.g. railways)
therefore, couldn't mobilise quickly
industry couldn't equip soldiers with the latest rifles
4% of Russian troops had long range rifles; 50% of British troops did
Russian soldiers served for 20 years
therefore, they were older
Serfs
owned by nobility or crown
could be bought and sold
forced to work whenever the owner wished
but kept some profits of their labour
80% of the population were Serfs (in the 1816 census)
Why did Alexander II Reform?
to strengthen the Russian autocracy
the humiliation in Crimea had undermined Tsarist rule
industrialisation
emancipating Serfs was important for industrialisation, but there's little evidence to suggest that this was a motive at the time
economic reasons
some Marxists historians suggest that Serfdom was becoming less profitable for the nobility and crown
fear of revolution
emancipation speech in 1856:
'it is better to abolish Serfdom from above than to wait for the time when it will begin to abolish itself from below'
Peasant revolts were increasing
the power of ideas
some nobles were beginning to speak in favour of emancipating the serfs
Alexander's father Nicholas I said:
'Serfdom is an evil'
military arguments
Russian military was poor - reform could change this
Reforms
initial:
censorship relaxed
prisoners released
some liberties given to Poland and Catholic Church
emancipation of the Serfs
land taken from nobility and state - given to peasants
peasants no longer controlled by nobility and state
redemption payments for 49 years
the Mir was set up (a local peasant council)
land distribution based on population - therefore, population growth
weakness of emancipation of the serfs policy
areas of land too small
redemption payments too high
strip land distribution to prevent peasants amassing too much land
with population grown land became fragmented
Mir restricted free travel and were in charge of collecting taxes - therefore not exactly free
Zemstva
local administrative power of the nobility broken
created to deal with local admit (e.g. schools, health)
dominated by nobles to appease them
national zemstva (duma) refused
legal reforms
juries
better qualification to become a judge
all classes equal in the eyes of the law
military reforms
terms of service reduced from 20 to 6 years
universal military service
brutal punishments abolished
education
universities allowed to take more students
freedom to teach about European government and philosophy
women allowed to study
all censorship of university/education material abolished in the Press Law of 1865
Successes
did reform daily lives of all Russians
peasant riots slowed
Alexander's reforms were probably
the greatest single piece of state-directed social engineering in modern European history prior to the 20th centruy
American president took 4 years of civil war to free the slaves in the 1860s
Failures
emancipation reform did not solve the problem of poverty
economically the peasants were worse off
incomes fell by 50% due to lack of land and the redemption payments
Richard Pipes:
economic situation of the peasantry fell from 1861
in 1900 peasants were worse off than the serfs of 1800 had been
Alexander II refused a national assembly (Duma) and a written constitution
power remained with the crown so Russia hadn't changed politically
but autocracy lost its support
Opposition to Alexander II
Seton-Watson:
Alexander took an unrealistic compromise between autocracy and liberal reforms. The reforms just frustrated large groups of people, without really pleasing any of them
Conservatives: resented their loss of influence and privilege
liberals: frustrated at the Tsar's refusal to create a national assembly
peasantry: believed farmland was theirs by right - why should they pay redemptions
radical opposition
nihilists
populists
People's Will:
advocated violence and killed Tsar with a bomb in 1881
Poland
had been controlled by Russia since the 1815 congress of Vienna
in 1861 national demonstrations broke out
Alexander II made concessions
Jews were emancipated
Warsaw University reopened
Polish peasants given tenure without redemption payments
despite this Polish nationalism remained strong
1863: armed insurrection - crushed by Russian army
Economic Development in Russia
significant railway building in Russia in the 197-s
in proportion to Russia's size - still had less than Western powers
despite railways, Western Europe was far ahead of Russia economically
Foreign Policy
1877-1878: Russo-Turkish War - Russia defeated Turkey
Western powers still forced Russia to give back land to Muslim Turkey because of nationalist anti-Russian sentiments in the Balkans
victory wasn't very dependent on Russia's military reforms
L Kochan:
'a war between the one-eyed and the blind'
Historiography
historians divided
he was a good reformer
Westwood:
reforms should be ranked among the most successful policies of Russian autocracy.
'despite the imperfections, the Emancipation reforms as an enormous step forward'
he focused on strengthening the autocracy
Marxist historians: emancipation was just to make more money for the nobility
Hugh Sutton Watson:
'Alexander sought an unrealistic compromise between autocracy and modern reforms'
2 other views
Tsar had no idea what he was doing
he recognised that you couldn't go straight from illiterate serfs to a parliamentary democracy
Alexander's reforms were probably
the greatest single piece of state-directed social engineering in modern European history prior to the 20th centruy
American president took 4 years of civil war to free the slaves in the 1860s