Alexander II

• Upbringing & Character:

  • Valued public opinion
  • Well-prepared by his father
  • Clear understanding of the nation and European context
  • Bad at decision making
  • Insecure in his rule, weary he will never live up to his father's legacy
  • Still autocratic, thinks it is part of Russian identity
• Alexander II Reign

  1855-1881
• Ideology & Beliefs of the individual:

  • Valued the opinion of the public
  • Understood Russia needs to change to become a better nation
  • Somewhat a liberal autocrat
  • Believed autocracy was needed because it was part of Russian identity
• Approach to Rule:

  • Needs the nobles on his side as well as the people
  • Scared the people will revolt if he doesn’t give them what they want
• Alexander II's understanding of the treatment of serfs:

  • Travelled the empire
  • Served on his father’s Council of State
  • Chaired the Serfdom Committee
• Alexander believed that emancipation would curb tensions and improve the economy, shared by most of his family and past Tsars, but the mechanism for emancipation was not in place
• Alexander's 3 main motives for emancipation:

  • Ethical: Western world had abandoned slavery, common sense that it is immoral to treat humans as animals
  • Economic: Prevented serfs from moving to cities and working in factories, low internal demand for goods, state faced debt of 54,000,000 roubles in 1859
  • Political: Tsardom relied on nobility who relied on serfs for income, growing serf population meant declining incomes, younger nobility critical of the regime
• In his own speech, Alexander II stated that it is better to change from above before society changes itself by overthrowing
• Procedure for emancipation:

  • After the Crimean War, Alexander II set up a committee to examine emancipation
  • In 1858-9, he delivered Pro-Emancipation speeches
  • The Emancipation Edict of 1861 only applied to private serfs; state serfs would receive their freedom in 1866
• After serfdom was abolished:

  • Anyone could travel, trade, and vote in minor elections
  • Serfs were given land, could keep their homes, but were only guaranteed the land immediately around their home
  • More land had to be bought from and paid back to the government (redemption payments took 49 years)
  • Landowners kept 20% for themselves, lost land was compensated by the government, and they could pick any plot they wanted
  • The Mir still had responsibilities like internal passports, collecting land redemption payments, and owning any unclaimed land
• Nobility in historical context:

  • Landowners could use compensation to redeem debts and invest in industrial enterprises
  • They were able to decide which parts of land they wanted and got the better
  • Experienced a loss of rights over serfs, feeling like they weren't properly compensated
  • Faced a decline in power, status, and influence
  • Compensation money often went to existing debts and mortgages
  • Many nobles did not want to or couldn’t afford to transition to hired labor
  • Some nobles rented their land to peasants, while others lived in the city and became absentee landlords
• Intelligentsia

  • Radical, reacted badly.
  • Felt the nobles were protected and peasants were betrayed.
  • Led to growth of opposition to the regime.
• Alexander II

  • Nicholas Milyutin, made proclamation, fired to appease conservative nobles.
  • Made to deal with more revolts, but none threatening.
  • Tsar didn’t want to upset ruling class because he relied on them.
  • Nobility resented his reforms.
  • Gentry criticised his reforms.
  • 647 peasant riots in 4 months – some were logistical problems, but others were just people who didn’t like the changes.
• Positives

  • Despite restrictions, serfs were not completely limited to move.
  • Kulaks worked on own land.
  • By 1900, 2/3 of St. Petersburg's population were born outside of the city.
  • Youth without land had nothing to lose.
  • Those with 1/4 land and no debt had nothing to lose, sold it and moved.
  • Overall volume of peasant-owned land increased. 6mil hectares to 26mil hectares 1877-1905.
  • Grain production increased 2.1% per annum, despite little innovation.
  • Cheaper land and grains, more is kept and consumed.
  • Rent for further land fell in 1880s.
• Negatives

  • Serfs tied to Mir, still movement restrictions.
  • Many ended up working for landowners.
  • No agricultural revolution. Grain yields still below European levels.
  • Russia produce 1/4 of British yield for the same volume of land.
  • Population growth outstrips food production, can't deal with demand for food.
  • Due to lack of agricultural development
  • Famines still occurred (1891-2).
  • Peasants selling did not suggest capitalist spirit, it showed desperation in subsistence environment.
• In 1864, tension was high due to the emancipation of serfs in local government
• The power of the zemstvo was reversed because they couldn't reverse the emancipation edict
• Alexander II and Nicholas Milyutin were involved in the local government changes, which included 2 types: Uyezd and Provincial Gubernia
• State-appointed offices were created to override elections to the zemstvo
• Land captains, appointed by the home minister, had unlimited power over the peasantry
• The focus of the local government changes was on education, health, transport, and engineering
• Only property owners were allowed to vote in the local government system
• Mayors and town councils became state employees for the central government
• Liberals aimed for mayors and town councils to have power over disposable interior taxes, but this attempt failed
• Judiciary

  1864

  ·         Weak system

  ·         No educated officials

  ·         Corruption was a great problem

  Alexander II

  ·         Officials given higher wages to prevent bribery

  ·         2 tiers – justices of peace and judges

  ·         Trials became public

  ·         Juries introduced oral evidence rather than written.

  ·         Cross examinations

  ·         Authorities use admin arrest so not allowed to deal with cases of terrorism

  ·         Juries and justices acted on personal belief rather than proof

  ·         Country began to regress due to newfound resentment of law profession.
• Military reforms from 1874-88:

  • Uneducated serfs faced 25-year conscription
  • Defeat in Crimea led to unmotivated serfs with no land to protect
  • They struggled to follow orders due to severe punishments and an inflexible command structure
• Dmitri Milyutin's reforms included:

  • Regional commands for decentralised administration
  • Removal of severe punishments
  • Establishment of Junker schools to train soldiers
  • All males 21+ enlisted but only 25% served, picked randomly for 15 years
  • Exemptions for physical restrictions and reduced service for the educated
• Challenges of the reforms:

  • Only the nobility was educated, so equality was not achieved
  • General staff was overburdened until duties were finalized in 1900
  • Corruption persisted, with army doctors bribed to declare people unfit
• In the 1850s, Europe had the highest illiteracy rate, with only educated children belonging to the upper class
• Reforms were necessary to educate people for roles as entrepreneurs in industrialization, shifting responsibility to peasants
• Under Alexander II, Golovin was later replaced by Tolstoy after being accused of radicalization
• Schools were placed under the Ministry of Education instead of the Church, making attendance compulsory up to secondary education
• Moscow established the first courses for women, scholarships were granted, and tuition cuts were implemented
• Primary education was extended to villages, but little was done to implement significant changes
• Orthodoxy in Russia is highly restrictive and less progressive religiously compared to other nations
• Alexander reduced reforms as the intelligentsia grew, discouraging critical thinking subjects like English and History
• Despite efforts, under 30% of the population remained illiterate due to an incompetent government leading to fragmented improvements
• Pyotr Aleksandrov Valuyev's reforms:

  • Relaxation on censorship
  • Catholicism was less restricted
  • Polish Catholics were free
  • The most holy synod reform gave laymen, clergy, and the Tsar more control over the Church
  • Monks and nuns were required to be educated
  • Despite reforms, the Church remained powerful
  • Many reforms were eventually reversed
  • More control was exerted in Poland, leading to an increased risk of uprisings
  • Conservatives feared that a liberal Church would cause division
  • Discussions arose over the effectiveness of the reform
• Alexander II's actions

  Attempting to stop social and political progress whilst advancing the economy
• Repression

  Use of force to control people