Autocracy and Reaction

• Alexander III's reign from 1881 to 1894 was characterised by autocracy and reaction, in contrast to the more liberal policies of his predecessor Alexander II
• Alexander III


  • Did not have any reforming tendencies
  • Hardened political authority
  • Increased repression and reaction
• Alexander III's policies had a particularly negative impact on minority nationalities in the Russian Empire, especially the Jews
• Alexander III's repressive policies


  Led to the development of opposition
• Slavophile


  Loved everything Russian and opposed or rejected everything that was Western or non-Russian
• Alexander III


  • Was massively physically imposing, standing over 1.9 meters tall
  • Was known for his immense strength, able to crush rubles in his hand and bend iron bars
  • Held up the roof of a train carriage to allow his family to escape after a crash
• Alexander III held up the roof of a train carriage after a crash

  1888
• Emergency powers


  Powers granted to the Tsar after the assassination of Alexander II, which were never officially removed and continued to be used up to the end of the Tsarist regime
• Repressive measures introduced by Alexander III

  • Creation of the Okhrana (secret police)
  • Creation of the Zhandardmerie (uniformed security police)
  • Special courts for prosecuting suspected terrorists
  • Increased censorship
  • Removal of liberal officials
  • Restrictions on universities and student societies
  • Raising of education fees to limit access
• Alexander III believed the existing social hierarchy and the dominance of the Russian Orthodox Church were God's will and should not be challenged
• Zemstvos


  Local elected assemblies introduced under Alexander II, which had their powers reduced under Alexander III
• Land captains


  New positions of great authority introduced by Alexander III, acting as mini-Tsars in their local areas
• Russification


  Policies aimed at making the Russian Empire more Russian, through the suppression of minority languages, religions and cultures
• Russification policies led to increased resentment and nationalism among minority groups such as Poles, Ukrainians, Georgians and Armenians
• Pogroms


  Violent attacks by ethnic Russians against Jewish populations, which the government often turned a blind eye to or even encouraged
• The persecution of Jews under Alexander III led many to emigrate, join the Zionist movement or revolutionary socialist groups
• Key revolutionary figures like Martov, Trotsky and Zinoviev were Jewish, as was Lenin's ancestry, highlighting the impact of anti-Semitism on opposition to the Tsarist regime