Alexander II

• On his deathbed, Nicholas I apologised to his son for the state he was to inherit Russia in
• many saw Russia as hopelessly backwards
• Slavophile

  • cultural nationalism
  • Orthodox christianity
  • Autocracy
• Westernizer

  • education and social reforms
  • secularism
  • liberalism and enlightenment
• Three pillars of Tsarism

  • Autocracy
  • Orthodoxy
  • Nationality
• Autocracy


  This referred to the absolute power of the Tsar. In Tsarist Russia, the Tsar held complete and unquestionable authority, ruling without any constitutional limitations or checks on power. The autocratic principle was that the Tsar was divinely appointed and had unlimited control over all aspects of governance, law, and society. This pillar rejected any form of democracy or shared political power.
• Orthodoxy:


  The Russian Orthodox Church played a central role in supporting the Tsar’s authority. The Church reinforced the idea that the Tsar was divinely chosen, with God-given authority to rule. Orthodoxy emphasized religious unity and loyalty to the Tsar, with the Church often acting as a tool of the state, promoting the idea that obedience to the Tsar was part of religious duty.
• Nationality 


  This pillar emphasized Russian nationalism and the unique character of the Russian people. It promoted loyalty to the state and the belief in a unified, homogeneous Russian identity, rooted in Slavic traditions and culture. Nationality was about fostering a strong sense of patriotism and devotion to the Tsar as the embodiment of the Russian nation
• why the abolition of serfdom was a necessity

  • Prevented the growth of Russian industry, obstructing the free flow of labour and restricting enterprise
  • prevented the introduction of modern agricultural methods
  • Defeat in the crimean war showed the army needed reform; this was impossible with serfdom
  • Abolition was the only way to stop the peasant revolts
• Alexander II reign

  1855 - 1881
• Krepostniki

  defenders of serfdom
• The key terms of The Great Emancipation Statute

  • The serfs were free; they could marry whomever & own property
  • The gentry had to grant a portion of arable land to each peasant
  • Landowners were compensated by the state immediately
  • The free serfs were to pay redemption payments for the 49 years
  • The mir was responsible for paying redemption taxes
  • The state peasants had to wait until 1866 for freedom
• The village council

  The Mir
• How long did state serfs have to pay redemption payments, and how much interest

  49 years

  6 % interest
• Household serfs received only their freedom
• How many peasant riots were there after emancipation

  647
• 75 % of the granted allotments were less than 4 dessyatinas, when 5 was the minimum. On average, peasants now farmed 20% less land than before emancipation
• The peasants now had less land and were having to pay redemption taxes
• much of the nobility's estates had become unprofitable, they owned 40% less land in 1905 than they did in 1861
• The gentry class faced financial and therefore social ruin
• The limited nature of the emancipation made the intelligentsia believe that the government was incapable of meeting the needs of ordinary people, thus causing revolutionary ideas and terrorism
• Army reform

  • Russian defeat in the Crimean war had been the catalyst for fundamental change in the army
  • Recruitment was suspended in 1856
  • Military colonies were abolished
  • The training and discipline of soldiers was made more humane
  • Every man over 20 was made liable for conscription, reduced to 6 years
• When was army recruitment suspended

  1856
• How many troops were there by 1870

  553,000
• The abolition of serfdom necessitated reform given that the gentry had lost much of the legal basis of their control of the peasantry.
• in 1864 new bodies were created in Russia called zemstva
• Who did the zemstva represent

  • townspeople
  • Peasants
  • Gentry
• what were the zemstva responsible for

  • public health
  • Agriculture
  • relief of famine
  • some education
  • Prisons
• what was the name of the municipal councils set up in cities

  dumas
• who was allowed to vote for the duma

  trade tax payers

  Those on property register
• Who controlled the police

  ministry of the interior
• The zemstva was constantly underfunded
• The zemstva provided juries in criminal cases
• reform of law and judiciary

  • A hierarchy of courts was set up
  • There was the magistrates court, set up for minor offences
  • And the Senate court, which was the final court of appeal
  • Judges were well paid, therefore less susceptible to bribes
• many of the rising intelligentsia found a career in law
• However, in the future, political cases were to be removed from the jurisdiction of these courts
• when did censorship rules relax

  1865
• The censors made major mistakes by allowing seditious books to be published.
• when were the first schools which offered girls non-vocational education opened

  1870
• how many men learnt to read between 1874 - 1894

  2 - 3 million