Alexander III (1881-1894)
Intro
came to throne in March 1881 (aged 36)
when his father was assassinated by the People's Will
the second son of Alexander II
therefore, had not been prepared for Tsardom in his youth
Personality
tall, bullied his enemies and was suspicious of Western ideas, had an impressive beard
represented the traditional Tsar
Konstantin Pobedonostsev helped educated him in his youth
Pobedonostsev was a conservative and steered him towards being conservative himself (influenced)
the repression opposite of the Tsar Liberator
Alexander III was naturally a conservative
his father had been murdered by rebels who he saw as being created by his father's reforms
1881-1894: Conservative Reactions/Actions
since his father had just been assassinated, he needed to send a strong message to the opponents of Tsardom
terrorists who had assassinated his father were executed
10,000 others were arrested
censorship was reintroduced
government tried to limit the spread of harmful ideas through newspapers/books
political
Land Captains were introduced
selected by the Minister of the Interior
could overrule decisions in peasant courts
remove peasant officials
arrest/fine peasants without trial
use corporal punishment
cruel and oppressive - reminiscent of serfdom
some peasants feared he would reintroduce serfdom
education
came back under the control of the government
universities lost independence
school fees rose
to ensure peasants remained at home and didn't rise up the social ladder
Alexander II's plans for a national assembly and constitution were scrapped
plans were made to destroy the Zemstvo - but this was too extreme
Manifesto of Unshakable Autocracy
April 1881
the manifesto name indicated what type of Tsar Alexander III would be
rejected the idea of democracy and further reform
stressed that full faith be placed in the existing autocratic system
adopted Nicholas I's motto of 'Autocracy, Orthodoxy and Nationality'
policies:
soon after Alexander II's death
restrictions put on voting
Statue of State Security (1881)
1893: Alexander III banned peasants from leaving their Mir
confining them to local communities prevented peasants from leaving to pursue business opportunities
gave full freedom to the government to pursue revolutionaries
they could ban public gatherings, close schools/universities and prosecute perpetrators of political crimes without trial
further power given to the secret police
conditions in prison made more severe
Russification and anti-semitism
locals cultures were repressed and Russian characteristics were promoted
Jewish communities faced prejudice and opposition and violence against them was promoted
Counter Examples - Liberal Reforms
Alexander III aware of the backwardness of the economy and industrial sector
he made progressive steps in these areas
conservativeness was only with respect to political and social structure
Nikoli Bunge made Finance Minister
made progressive changes:
founded the peasants Land Bank in 1882
Mir told to sell land to peasants - this helped peasants to purchase their own farms from the Mir
abolished poll tax in 1886
was only being paid by peasants - its abolition helped alleviate their financial burden
made concessions to workers rights
reduced appeal of socialism
improved working conditions for women and children
favourable restrictions placed on payment and dismissal
replaced by Vyshnegradsky
more focused on industrialisation than workers rights
launched a large grain export program
funded industrialisation
1881-1894, coal and pig-iron production approximately doubled
secured a French loan to support this
by 1892, Russia had a budget surplus for the first time
unfortunately at a social cost
on top of a bad famine in 1891 and 1892, this caused the deaths of 1.5 - 2 million peasants
the government's attempts to cover this up led to more opposition
unfortunately these workers were not well enforced - there were only 300 inspectors across all of Russia
Summary
Alexander III's reforms undermined his Father's reforms and strengthened the nobility
Alexander III wanted to stabilise his rule and increase Russia's international power
Vyshnegradsky's industrial reforms supported the development of military weaponry
therefore, to an extent he did increase Russia's international strength
stabilising his rule was less certain - he was aggravating the situation so that it was highly likely the only way it would end was with violence
greatest weakness
he did not modernise Russia socially
he clung to Tsarist - only secured his downfall
Alexander II vs III
Alexander II literator and reformer
Alexander III conservative reactionary
II made reactionary policies - such as after the failed assassination attempt
III did better things for the economy (Bunge and Vyshnegradsky)
more of a reformer in that regard
both wanted to strengthen their autocratic rule