How "liberal" was the Russian Government from 1855-81? (Depth Study 1)

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  • Created by: Lizz2002
  • Created on: 24-10-20 13:49
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  • How "liberal" was Russian government from 1855-1881?
    • Changes to government
      • The Tsar made only a minor change to the central government - Personal Chancellery was abolished in 1861 and replaced with Council with Minister
    • Changes to local government
      • Introduction of zemstva (regional councils) after the emancipation of the serfs
      • The Tsar was forced to introduce an element of democracy at the local level
      • Liberal members of the zemstva were critical of the regime as they felt the Tsar was unresponsive to their demands
      • Zemstva were dominated by nobility which made the democracy questionable
      • Zemstva actually did some good work with education, public health and local economies
        • local knowledge lead to effective help
        • Education reforms
          • schools open to all classes
            • Number to students increased to 800,000 during the 1860s
            • 23,000 primary schools in the countryside by 1880 (from 8,000 in 1856)
          • University numbers increased
            • Short-lived independence after revolution disturbances
    • Other reforms
      • Judicial reforms
        • Aimed to make a more just and uncorrupted system
        • Positives: introduced trial by jury, replaced serf owners with local magistrates, and made judges independent from the gov. and better paid
        • Negatives: shortages of lawyers, and peasants were trialled in different courts so not fully equal
      • Censorship
        • relaxation of censorship to encourage the growth of books
        • Around 800 books published between 1855-64, and the public was more educated
        • Strict censorship returned after growth in radicalism in the 1870s
      • Economic reforms
        • Encouraged foreign investments into railways
        • Boosted fuel and engineering industries and helped grain producers
        • Few railways produced a profit
    • Opposition
      • Populist Movement: Slavophiles who wanted peasant communes
      • Splinter group (People's Will) who was very radical and assainated gov. officials
        • including the Tsar in 1881
      • Didn't like the zemstva as it was a western idea

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