Tsarist Russia in 1855

• Who succeeded Nicholas I?

  Alexander II
• When did Nicholas I die?

  March 1855
• Which two major defeats were humiliating for the Russians?

  Battle of Balaclava (October 1854) and Battle of Inkerman (November 1854)
• Which treaty ended the Crimean War and when was it signed?

  Treaty of Paris (March, 1856)
• What were the results of the Crimean War?

  The Treaty of Paris (March 1856) banned Russian battleships from the Black Sea, reducing the influence of their only warm water port and the war revealed Russia's backwardness, leading to a period of military reform. It also highlighted how poorly developed Russia was in comparison to western industrialised nations as Russia's supply of weapons, uniforms and armaments was shown to be inadequate.
• Who won the Crimean War?

  The allied nations on the side of the Ottomans
• Who fought with the Russians in the Crimean War?

  Nobody (except Greece, sort of)
• Who fought with the Ottomans in the Crimean War?

  Britain, France and Sardinia-Piedemont
• When did Nicholas send his army into Moldavia and Wallachia?

  June 1853
• Who was the Protector of Slavs and Christians?

  The Russian Tsar
• Why did the Crimean War start?

  The Ottoman Empire in the Balkans had been showing signs of weakness since the 1820s, including the Greek war of Independence between 1821-1832 culminating in its independence, and Tsar Nicholas saw it as an opportunity to increase his influence in the area.
• When did the Crimean war take place?

  1853-1856
• Bartering

  Informal exchange of materials rather than use of a monetary system
• What would happen if a Serf didn't repay their state loan?

  If a serf taking a loan from the state did not repay, they could be seized.
• Mortgage


  Borrowing money by providing a guarantee with an additional interest rate.
• Capital accumulation

  Building up money reserves in order to invest
• What were the most common peasant purchases?

  Vodka, metal tools and salt
• Mirs (1855)


  Serf communities which regulated land strips
• Cottage industry


  Manufacturing based in homes rather than in a factory, such as spinning and weaving.
• Serfs


  A person who was property to the noble who they worked for and was bound to the land they worked on
• What product group was Russia Europe's greatest exporter of?

  Agricultural products
• What was the rural : town population ratio in Britain in 1855?

  2:1
• What was the rural : town population ratio in Russia in 1855?

  11:1
• Decembrists Revolt (1825)


  An attempted revolt by members of the intelligentsia who opposed the new Tsar, Nicholas I, due to his conservative outlook.
• French Revolution


  The 1789 revolution that saw the French Bourbon monarchy overthrown and a republic declared
• Police state

  A totalitarian state where people's activities were monitored and controlled for political reasons
• Cossacks

  Ukrainian and South Russian elite horseman loyal to the Tsar
• Why was the bureaucracy a 'one-way operation'?

  Orders went from the top to the bottom with no provisions for suggestions to go from the bottom to the top
• Who were the higher ranks of the military reserved for?

  Nobles
• How much was spent on military?

  45% of the Government's budget
• What model did the army follow?

  The bulk were conscripted serfs rather than volunteers, but some more elite units, such as the Cossacks, existed
• How large was the army?

  1.5 million
• Military colony


  Where conscripts lived (with their families) and trained under strict military discipline
• How long was the conscription period?

  25 years
• Conscription

  Compulsory enlistment into the armed forces
• Bueraucracy


  A system of government in which most important decisions are taken by state officials rather than by elected representatives
• Civil servants

  Paid noble officials working for the government
• How many layers of civil servants were there?

  14, ranging from 1 (members of the Council of Ministers) to 14 (minor state positions such as tax collectors)
• How many provinces were there in Russia?

  50
• Provincial Nobility


  Land-owning elite who, while not having been obliged to serve the state since 1785, often took up provincial positions such as provincial governor.