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Alexander II's further reforms - Coggle Diagram
Alexander II's further reforms
Legal reforms
Previously local legal issues had been handled by the landlord in his position of owner of the serfs, while the formal legal system was characterized by secrecy and corruption. With no lawyers or juries in courts, and presumed guilty until proven innocent, the poor had little chance of securing justice.
In 1864 Alexander introduced a modern Western-style system that aimed to be an independent judiciary that was "equal for all our subjects". This included the introduction of juries, judges to be well-paid to avoid bribery and courts open to the public.
Possibly most liberal and progressive of Alexander's reforms, new system offered Russians chance of a fair trial for first time. Court-rooms offered many from rising intelligentsia a new and exciting career option, and court-rooms enjoyed considerable freedom of expression.
However, political cases were removed from these courts and Secret Police could still arrest people at will.
Local Government Reforms
With abolition of serfdom removing legal basis of gentry’s control of peasantry, Alexander saw need for changes in governmental system. 1864 local government assemblies called zemstva were set up, followed by urban assemblies called dumas in 1870.
Zemstva were potentially radical liberal measure towards system with degree of local self-government. But, Alexander intended them to support traditional system of government rather than move away from this. Alexander was appeasing local nobility by giving some local political power in response to perceived loss of status with serfs' emancipation.
Zemstvas and dumas had local power over public health, prisons, roads, agriculture, and education, which provided new opportunities for local political participation in ways they had not previously been possible. These local officials therefore had the chance to engage in Russia's real social problems.
On the other hand, police remained under central control, provisional governor could overrule all zemstva decisions, zemstva were permanently short of money -> limited their practical options, and voting system was heavily weighted towards local landowners
Army reforms
Given that military humiliation in the Crimean was effectively catalyst to Alexander's reforms, modernizing Russia's army was seen as crucial.
Carried out by liberal Minister of War, Dmitri Milyutin, military reforms included reducing the length of service for conscripts from 25 years to 6 years in service + introducing universal military service for all males over 20
Milyutin's reforms made army more civilized and efficient - training and discipline no longer included brutal punishments, and shorter services meant that the army was no longer a 'life sentence'.
Education reforms
New atmosphere of toleration and reform, as seen with relaxation of press censorship, was also notable with more liberal education policies.
Important university reform meant universities were given much greater autonomy in affairs (1863): lectures on European law and philosophy were allowed, scholars were allowed abroad to study and a new breed of liberal professors replaced many of the conservatives in place in Nicholas I’s reign.
Poor students did not have to pay fees, and by 1859 2/3 of students at Moscow university were exempt from fees.
Number of children attending primary school increased considerably as zemstva played key role in increasing number of elementary schools. Between 1856 - 1878, number of children in primary school more than doubled from 450,000 to over 1 million.
Government's liberal policies made universities into "powder keg" - student radicalism grew and teaching lectures "appeared to be serving not only academic and economic purposes but also the promotion of political instability" (David Saunders).
Economic reforms
Crimean defeat demonstrated that economic modernisation was an urgent priority - military failure and inefficiency clearly had its roots in backwardness of Russian economy in relation to those of Great Powers.
Russian railway system developed from 1,600 km in 1861 to over 22,000 in 1878. This growth in railways helped to provide the empire with greater internal coherence and to stimulate internal trade.
Government focused on trying to develop railways and increasing coal and iron production and pursued a more vigorous policy of industrialisation than Nicholas I did.
Considerable increases in oil + coal production - new industrial areas emerging (much of these dependent on foreign investment)
Steady population growth led to growing market in countryside for manufactured goods - extremely fragile it was dependent on good harvest + transport difficulties hindered further market development.
Area that saw little reform was government's taxation policies - peasants were still forced to bear heavy burden of poll tax, gentry were exempt from and rose by 80% over Alexander's reign