Alexander III Political authority in action

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Reassertion of autocracy

Alexander III:

  • crowned 27 May 1881
  • advised by Pobedonostev (reactionary)
  • encouraged autocracy (abandonned fathers reforms)
  • 'only absolute power can safeguard Russia'
  • arrested 150 peoples will members and hung those who killed his father.
  • increased political power.
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What Alexander III introduced

1882 - people anywhere could be arrested, imprisoned and exiled.
1885 - closed court sessions reintroduced.
1889 - land captains introduced (override zemstva decisions)
1990 - reduced peasant vote for zemstva and removed Liberals from office.

Anti Semitism:

  • anti-Jewish pogroms 1881-84
  • many jews ***** and murdered, property was stolen in the cities.
  • Jews like Trotsky and Matron encouraged to join revolutionary groups as a result.
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Russification

Russification was the enforcing of russian language and culture on ethnic minorities.

  • russian declared the first official language
  • public office closed to non-fluent speakers.
  • adherence to Orthodox Church encouraged. (37,000 Baltic Lutherans converted)
  • resistance was suppressed.
  • Poles, Finns, jews and Baltic Germans suffered most.
  • Worked short term until Alexander III died ten years later. His son Nicholas was too weak to carry it on.
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Economic and Social developments

Von Reuturn 1862-78 - tax-farming abolished, establishment of banks, subsidies to private railway, trade tariffs lowered, trade-treaties negotiated.

strengths - cotton and mining expanded, agriculture marginally improved.

weakness - transport limited and slow growth.

Vyshnegradsky 1887-92 - import tariffs raised 30% to encourage home production, grain exports introduced, loans from abroad.

Results - grain exports increased 18 per cents and budget surplus, peasants suffered heavy taxation, famine 1891-92 killed 350,000.

Witte 1892-1903 - additional loans from abroad, rouble gold standard, investment in mining, oil and banking, huge expansion on railway.

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Agriculture and the Land Issue

Emancipation brought little change and most peasants had too little to be prosperous.

Land Owners had to sell off land to pay debts and abdnoned farming to set up new business in towns.

The Kulaks employed poorer peasants to work on their land. the poorest peasants became labourers. Overall they were too unfit for the military and had a life expectancy of only 28.

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