Alexander II

Question	Answer
Peasants	Tsar and nobility owned most of Russia’s arable land. Most people were serfs who: Had to work 3 days a week for their owner. Paid most of the tax intake. Could be sold and punished without trial e.g. flogging by their masters. Could be conscripted for service in the army. Each family had about 15 acres to farm for themselves but they didn’t own it.
Effects of Serfdom	Inefficient agriculture. No incentive to work hard – profits went to owners. Developing industries short of workers. Serfs not allowed to move to the factories. West European revolutionaries could persuade serfs to revolt. Alexander II: “It is better to abolish serfdom from above rather than await the time when it will begin to abolish itself from below”.
The Edict of Emancipation 3 March 1861	44 million peasants freed by this edict They could now own land They could leave their estate but had to carry a passport They didn’t have to work on the nobles’ land Government surveyors divided the land between the owners and serfs Former serf families given about 8 acres – less than when on their master’s estate They had to pay for land It was valued by a government official The government paid the owner The ex-serfs had to pay installments for 49 years The Mir (village commune) became the new owners Each year the ‘elders’ divided the land according to the numbers in each family The Mir collected the debt installments
Local Government Reforms	Upper classes had governed the countryside, building brides and schools etc. After Emancipation another way was needed to do it. The mir (commune) was bottom of the government ladder. There were elections to choose its leaders. Zemstvos (district councils) controlled by nobles. After 1861 they were elected by nobles, townspeople and peasants (ex serfs). Zemstvos ran roads and bridges maintenance, and an improved school system. Zemstvos were 2nd rung of government ladder above the mir. 3rd rung were the provincial zemstvos. They looked after public health and chose magistrates for the new law courts.
Liberals	Pleased by democratic elections to the Mir and district zemstvos (included nobles gentry and townspeople). Such partial democracy made them discontented because Provincial Governors (appointed by government) could overrule a zemstvo. Tsar had created these 3 tiers of government but refused a national council or parliament. Also forbade members of zemstvos meeting in national conferences.
Other Reforms that came to pass:	Censorship (1858 they began) Judicial reforms (1864) Army (1861-1881) Education (1863-64)
Censorship reform	Censorship relaxed. Writers could criticise government – Alexander wanted critics out in the open. National newspapers increased from 6 to 16 by 1881.
Legal Reforms	Judges and magistrates were appointed for life and could not be sacked by the government. Equality before the law was proclaimed and trials were open. Trial by jury replaced a system in which a nobleman judge/magistrate presided. Limits to the legal reforms: 1. Political offenders were not tried by jury 2. Peasants and offending newspaper editors had their own courts 3. These couldn’t speak in their own defence during trial
Army Reforms	1874 all classes became liable for military service & not only the peasants. Service length reduced from 25 to 15 years. Flogging of soldiers stopped.
Education Reforms	10,000 schools built by local zemstvos to deal with illiteracy. Old fashioned schools offered mainly classics – no sciences. Modern schools offered science. Only students from old-fashioned schools could go to university. Government regarded science as dangerous.
1863-64 Poles rose in revolt because:	1. Russian defeat in Crimean War suggested they were too weak to crush a revolt 2. Italians rebelled against Austria 3. Reforms created a liberal atmosphere Revolt was sparked by the closing of the Polish Agricultural Society. Anti-Russian demonstrations took place. Troops fired on the crowds. Napoleon III of France wanted to help the Catholic Poles. But Bismarck wouldn’t allow French troops to cross Prussia. This gained Russian friendship. The rising was savagely crushed.
Result of the Revolt:	Alexander II and his ministers now encouraged: 1. Russian nationalism 2. Pan-Slavism 3. Union of the Slavs of South-Eastern Europe under leadership of Russia
Revolutionary movements developed because:	1. Land reform left many dissatisfied 2. Education produced more literate people who could read radical literature 3. Each reform increased the appetite for more 4. Growth of industrial towns led to increase in radical workers
What happened in April 1866 that heralded a series of reactionary counter-reforms?	There was an assassination attempt on the Tsar.
Local government reforms were extended to towns and city in what year?	1870
What were the Education counter reforms and when were they made?	Dimitri Tolstoy, minister for education, insisted on a return to a classical curriculum. Universities were forbidden from including any subjects that encouraged critical thinking. Made in the year 1871.
What was the trial of the 193 and when did occur?	193 Populists were put on trial for their spreading of revolutionary ideas against the Government.
What war occurred in 1877-78?	Russo-Turkish War
What happened in 1879-80? (Economic)	Famine and industrial recession
What police force was created instead of the Third Section? When was it made?	Okhrana 1980
What group organised the death of Alexander II? When did it happen?	1881 (13th March) Alexander II was assassinated by the ‘People’s Will’ group.

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	Created by Matty MIddleton about 5 years ago