Political

Political

Autocratic Government
1. Ruled with help of nobles
  1. 1.8 mil. nobles in 1897
  2. Landowners helped maintain order in countryside
2. Tsar has "divine right to rule"
3. Centralised autocracy
Secret Political Police
1. Active outside of Russia
  1. kept watch on exiles
2. Surveyed opponents of Tsarism
3. Infiltrated + destroyed terrorist networks
Crimean War
1. 1853-56
2. Humiliating defeat
  1. Russia's poor communications
  2. raised questions about efficiency of army + leadership
  3. Outdated weapons
3. Against Britain, France, Sardinia and Turkey
4. Straits of the Dardanelles
5. 2 years heavy fighting
Military
1. Largest army in Europe
2. Outdated
3. Defeated in Crimean War
Beliefs
1. Panslavism
  1. All slavic people united in one leadership
2. Slavophiles
  1. Believed Russian traditions were superior to the West
  2. Re-enforced autocracy
3. Westerners
  1. Believed Russia should adopt certain political and economic institutions from the West
    1. Parlimentary democracy
    2. Individual rights
Assasination of Alexander II- 1881
1. The People's Will

Resource summary

	Created by Georgia Brooke over 8 years ago