AQA History A-level - Tsarist and Communist Russia 1855-1964 - Trying to preserve autocracy, 1855-1894 - The autocracy of Alexander II & Alexander III 3️⃣

Alexander II and Reaction

Background

In 1866, following an attempt on his life, Alex adopted repressive policy (despite exceptions)

Short period of constitutional reform in late 1870s

From 1881, reign of his son Alex III, similarly characterised by reaction

Reasons for reaction

1865 - Alex's eldest son/ heir died; Tsar spends more time w/ mistress & less w/ reformist Grand Duke Konstantin & Grand Duchess Elena

Reactionary conservatives emphasised that reforms had gone too far, weakening Church & nobility

4 assassination attempts on Alex between 1866-80 reinforced reaction need

Consequences

Replaced 4 reformist ministers w/ conservatives in 1866

Education

Tolstoy, new Education Minister, wanted tighter control to eradicate Western liberal ideas & criticism of autocracy

Zemstva powers were reduced

Church regained authority over rural schools

Higher gimnazii schools ordered to follow trad. curriculum, & new modern schools couldn't send kids to uni

Liberal courses replaced by trad. courses w/ tightened censorship and control over student activities

More state teacher-training colleges set up, but to increase control, not improve education; Tolstoy frequently vetoed uni appointments

Police, Law, Control

Shuvalov (new Third Section head) strengthened police & increased ethnic/religious persecution

Pahlen (new Justice Minister) ensured that judicial system exampled 'political agitators'

Searches/arrests increased

Political offenders could be prosecuted/exiled under emergency powers

Radicals fleeing Russia could be tracked/recalled to face justice

'Show trials' held aimed at deterring revolution - had opposite effect, & in '78 political crimes were transferred to special secret courts

Pressures in late 1870s

Pressures

Russo-Turkish War 1877-78

Famine 1879-80

Attempted assassinations 1879-80

Pressure from reactionary conservatives

Industrial recession

Alex II tried to reduce unrest by widening democratic consultation

Count Loris-Melikov appointed Minister of Internal Affairs - relaxed restrictions & abolished Third Section, yet such powers were transferred to Okhrana

1880 Loris-Melikov produced the 'Loris-Melikov Constitution', recommending incl. elected reps. in debating state decrees - Alex II accepted report on 13/03/1881, the day of Alex II's death

Alexander III as Tsar

Background

Reigned 1881-94

Strongly influenced by tutor Pobedonostsev, who believed in absolutism/nationalism/anti-Semitism

Believed he could alone choose the right path for country - his subjects were to love and obey, not question

At the start of reign

Publicly hanged conspirators in father's assassination

Issued 'Manifesto of Unshakable Autocracy' in 1881 & Law on Exceptional Measures

Abandoned Loris-Melikov proposals

Accepted reforming ministers resignations, incl. Dmitry Milyutin, heavily relying on conservatives

Local Government

Nobles reinstated to authority

State authoruty increased

1889 - Office of noble 'Land Captain' created

1890 - Zemstvo election arrangements & zemstvo powers altered

1892 - Town councils' election arrangements altered

Responsible for law enforcement/government in countryside & could overturn court judgement

Could over-ride zemstvo elections & disregard their decisions

State-appointed

Peasants' vote reduced

Zemstvo under central government control

Electorate reduced to property owners above certain values

Mayor & town councils become central government's state employees

Policing

Dept. of Policing (incl. Okhrana) led by Plehve between 1881-84, and from 1884 by Durnovo

Number of police increased

New branches of criminal investigations

Spies/'agent provocateurs' hired

Okhrana investigated communists, socialists, TUs; also watched govn./civil servants

Definitions

TUs - Trade Union(ists)

1882 Statute on Police Surveillance gave tremendous police powers over people's lives - any Empire area could be deemed 'area of subversion' & police could search, arrest, detain, question, imprison, exile any (suspected) criminal or those related

Judicial system

Reforms of Alex II partially reversed

Decrees of '85,'87,'89 gave greater power to Ministry of Justice

In '87, property/educational qual. for jurors raised

In '89 volost (peasant) courts under Land Captain jurisdiction in countryside, and judges in towns

Education

Alex II's reforms eroded

1884 - uni appointments became subject to approval of Education Ministry, which were now based no 'religious, moral patriotic orientation', rather than academic grounds

Women uni's closed, separate uni courts abolished, uni life was closely supervised

Low-class kids were restricted to primary education, which was under Church control

Censorship

From 1882 censorship powers were increased & censors became more active

Extent & impact of counter-reform

Changes greatly increased central govn. control over local matters & restored some nobility influence; some reforms remained in place and had positive change

Examples:

May 1881 - redemption fees were reduced & central province arrears were cancelled

May 1885 - poll tax abolished; inheritance tax introduced, shifting taxation burden away from lower classes

Allowed right of appeal to higher courts

Peasants' Land Bank established in '83

Reformist factory legislation introduced

Civil Society & Rule of Law - Key concepts of a democratic society; all members of society enjoy the protection of laws, which are applied equally and fairly, while organisations exist in which people of country can express their views and influence decisions.

Reaction - Implies actions and policies that are backward looking in an attempt to restore the past; those who support reaction known as reactionaries

Key Profiles

Yekaterina Mikhailovna Dolgorukova (1847-1922)

Sent to Smolny Institute for Noble Maidens in St Petersburg, following death of her father &, at 16, was spotted by Alexander on an official visit in 1864

Became a lady-in-waiting to Alex II’s ill wife; wrote at least daily by 1866 despite court disapproval

Bore him 4 children and married to Alex 40 days after his first wife died; children were barred from succession

Count Dmitry Andreyevich Tolstoy (1823-‘89)

Noble & later Over-Procurator of Holy Synod in ‘65-‘80

Joined State Council in ‘66; Minister of Education ‘66-‘80; Minister of Internal Affairs & Chief of Gendarmerie ‘82-‘89

Elected President of St Petersburg Academy of Sciences in ‘82

Wrote number of Russian history books

Show trial - Trial that took place in front of general public, usually for ‘propaganda’ purposes

Closer Look

Show trials: 'Trial of 50' (1877) & 'Trial of 193' (1877-78) accused people of revolutionary activities; in 'Trial of 193' jury acquitted 153/193 defendants & gave light sentences to the rest; Vera Zasulich shot the St Petersburg governor, Dmitri Trepov, & wasn't guilty at her trial

Constitution - set of rules which a country is governed, e.g regarding where power lies & which bodies should make laws and how

13/03/1881 Alex II was travelling to Winter Palace in St Petersburg in closed carriage; Narodnaya Volya had concealed bombs along route, which missed but Tsar was hit by another terrorist

Konstantin Pobedonostsev (1827-1907)

Tutor for Alexander from 1865

Nickname 'Black Tsar'

Probably wrote Manifesto of Unshakable Authority

Over-Procurator of Holy Synod from 1880, spoke for absolutism, nationalism, anti-Semitism

Tutored Nicholas II

Alexander II (1845-'94)

Watched father died and was afraid of revolutionary activity, refusing to live in Winter Palace

1.9 tall and immensely strong

Married Danish princess, Dagmar (Maria Feodorovna) & had 6 kids

Died of kidney ailment, possibly from drinking in '94

The Empress Maria Feodorovna (1847-1928)

Born Princess Dagmar of Denmark

Adopted Orthodox religion and new name in '65

Imposing/elegent empress, domineering mother

Tried oppose marriage of eldest son Nicholas and Alix (minor German princess) as she feared her influence over him would lessen

Mikhail Katkov (1818-87)

Influential right-wing journalist, edited Moscow News from '63 'til death

Considerable power of literate public

Favoured by Alex III for Cons. political views, support of Russian interests, and opposition to Polish nationalism

Particularism - concern for the immediate locality and an area of personal interest

Vyacheslav Konstantinovich von Plehve (1846-1904)

Director of Secret Police in Ministry of Internal Affaird in 1881-'84

Vice-Minister for Internal Affairs 1884-'99

State Secretary for Finland 1899-1902

Minister for Internal Affairs 1902-1904

Committed to upholding autocratic principles; suppressed revolutionary, liberal movements

Subjected minorities to forced Russification

Secretely organsied Jewish pogroms

Said to have encouraged war against Japan in 1904 to forestall revolution at home

Backed police-controlled labour unions

Assassinated in 1904 by member of Socialist Revolutionary Party

Okhrana: Had offices in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Warsaw; responsible for 'security and investigation'; intercepted/read mail, checked on activities in factories/universities/army/State, detaining suspects and torturing them; Communists/socialists/TUs were particularly subjected, but also civil servants and govn.

Closed court session: trial held in secret; no press/observers allowed