How Successful were the Reforms of Alexander II in improving the lives of Russian People?

How Successful were the Reforms of Alexander II in improving the lives of Russian People?

1. success of reforms

   • military
     • conscription reduced and open to all.
     • had to be promoted based on merit.
     • corporal punishment abolished.
     • modern weaponry inroduced
       • strategic railways and steamships introduced.
     • military colleges were set up
   • local government reforms
     • zemstva set up
       • members elected by electoral colleges
       • local councils
         • dealt with public health and local issues.
   • judicial
     • no separate class systems
     • petty crimes in zemstva
     • open courts
     • judges better paid and trained
   • educational
     • universities govern themselves
     • zemsta became more involved in education
     • primary and secondary extended
     • schools open to all
   • censorship
     • press allowed to discuss policies
     • start of Russian journalism
   • economic
     • liberal trade policies introduced
     • banks and credit facilities improved
     • industrial initiatives introduced

2. failure of reforms

   • military
     • nobles tried to delay the reforms to avoid conscription.
     • nobles could pay people to do the conscription for them.
   • educational
     • didn't have as big an impact as the army education.
   • local governments
     • the peasants were under reprisented
     • the nobles were overreprisented
   • judicial
     • open courts gave revolutionaries a platform which threatened autocracy.
     • judges were still influenced by the nobles.
   • economic
     • peasants had to pay redemption payments.
     • government still heavily dependent on taxing peasants highly.
   • censorship
     • the public's opinion threatened autocracy and encouraged revolutionaries

3. how did they improve peoples lives?

   • military
     • army education improved literacy
     • reduction of service meant that being a soldier was not a life sentence
     • not beaten in the army
     • more opportunities for promotion
     • better training and more weapons available
     • railways introduced
   • educational
     • spread literacy
     • class bias against poorer students reduced.
     • became educated so had more opportunities in life.
     • could eventually attend universities.
       • could study virtually anything they wanted to
     • tried to make them move away from autocracy.
   • local governments
     • zemstva gave the peasants a podium to argue there points
     • facilities were improved in local health.
   • judicial
     • peasants were given a trial.
       • rather than being guilty until proven innocent.
     • better trained lawyers to fight their cases.
   • censorship
     • gave the public an opinion.
       • they could see how their country was run.
       • saw how autocracy was bad for the country.
   • economic
     • better credit and banking facilities.
     • money based economy.
       • improved enterprise.

4. judgement