RUSSIA ALEXANDER'S SOCIAL REFORMS

Russia prided itself on its military strenght and prowess. The defeat of the army at Crimea 1853-1856, when they surrended at Sebastopol was humiliating and a blow to national pride. The army was made up heavily of serf conscripts who were resentful, poorly trained and equipped.

• defeat caused many to discuss the state of russian society, and how heavily they relied on serfs
• some took the view that it was a necessity to modernise
• the inadequate communication system and a lack of railways were a point of blame
• with these changes, they believed they would excel
• many began to question the state of russian economy
• slow industrialisation as they faced away from westernisation
• death of 2/3 due to starvation and sickness. 
• over 450k conscripts died
• seen as'backwards' country needing to catch up and modernise 

• POLITICAL REASONS
• tsar viewed issues with 'enlightened view' influenced by politics. saw his fathers incapabilities of stopping progressive political thoughts, and saw it was hard to maintain control on this.   had recently had over 300 peasant uprisings
• social strucutre only benefitted nobility, but didnt encourage their innovation
• ECONOMIC REASONS
• needed to catch up with the west and reassert power, maintain landowner support.
• serfdom was blamed as a major handicap for industrialisation as 80% of pop. was tied to land
• industrialisation would be necessary to create productive developments and economy.   66% serfts mortgaged as security in 1859 due to over 54m roubles debt
• population doubled in 50 years, but stagnant production means crisis
• MORAL AND INTELLECTUAL REASONS
• tsar was committed to maintaining autocracy, but believed in enhancing and reforming to remain leading int'l power.     had lots of experiece and knowledge as leader, and travelled nationwide to witness empire
• pressure groups such as intellegentsia (turgenev)
• MILITARY REASONS
• had suffered a devastating defeat that exposed problems, ie serfs, military key in nt'l strength and empire 

IMPORTANT REASON?

would've been the economic reasons, as they would have been a problems for all people, regardless of class and would have been unhappy at the situation that prevented prosperity.. economic stability would have been the first step for creating nt'l prosperity, and would have easily conviinced others towards the plans of reform.

NATURE OF GOV'T

In 1855, there was an autocracy, and no prime minister or cabinet elected to help consult or give input in policy. The Tsar wasn't obligated to take any advice, but the State Council of 1810 was made to advise the Tsar, but there was no obligation to listen. 

TSAR had unrestricted and unchallenged power on policy

MINISTERS AND LOCAL COUNCIL advised Tsar, but they ahd no power to make decisions

LOCAL GOV'T provinces where the Tsar's affairs were managed by a Prvincial Governor.

REASON

• needed to protect tsarism amidst reform and emancipation. determine social heirarchy and rights. 

REFORM

• elected local councils at district and province levels
• zemstva are elected bodies voted for by people through electoral college.
• creation of mirs to control peasant passports and maintain control
• could improve public services and administer benefits 

SUCCESS?

• new representative gov't
• no constitutional assembly
• regains noblility approval due to redemption payment plan
• useful in education, welfare 

REASON

• seen as a priortiy after crimean war failure and needed reform after emancipation removed large serf conscripts

REFORM 

• empire divided into 15 military districts= efficient mobilisation
• professional service reduced to 15 years
• compulsory conscription for all
• abolished corporal punishment
• better provisions and military care

SUCCESS?

• creates a civilised army and helps society
• improved literacy through education campaigns
• nobles paid substitutes 
• offices remained aristocrats

REASON

• needed to clarify laws and proptection after emancipation
• needed to change corrupt justice system

REFORM

• principal equality established
• criminal cases held before jury
• oral and public proceedings trained judges
• volosts deal with petty crimes

SUCCESS?

• fairer and less corrupt, created rule of law
• lawyers gain fame
• open court allows criticism of tsarism
• peasants still legally different

REASON

• to extend russian strength and international prestige, needed to raise funds and wealth

REFORM

• gov't auditing
• lowered tariffs and liberalised trade policies
• 1860 state bank, 1862 municipal bank
• abolished tax farming 
• reliant on foreign investment

SUCCESS?

• slow improvement
• agricultural boom helped by reutern and emancipation
• still weak, unsteady currency
• reliant on debt payments from peasants (1/3)
• 2/3 gov't income comes from taxing

REASON

• education necessary to compete with west
• censorship needed to continue reform and liberalisation

REFORM

• universities can govern and appoint staff with approval of Min of Education
• 1864- education responsiblity extended nationwide, zemstva responsible
• 1863- censorship controlled Min. of Affairs
• foreign publications approved and press print editorials sold

SUCCESS?

• primary schools 1855-10k, 1880-25k
• curriculum remained restricted
• more students at uni= radical, liberal thinkers
• publication rose to 10,500 1894
• censorship remained, and critical writing was clamped down on

REASON

• orthodox church essential in promoting autocracy as it influenced peasants
• 1858 report- poverty and ineptitude in clergy supports reform 

REFORM

• ecclesiastical commision- forms reform and renews church
• relaxation on polish catholism and jewish religion in Pale

SUCCESS?

• new educated clergy promoted
• little to address clerical poverty
• slow democratic process

SERFS

bonded labourers tied to land or landowners, either privately or state owned.   either

• OBROK who paid rent and could practise a trade
• BARSCHINA who paid with their labour and worked 3X a week, or to their owners command
• state serfs had to undertake a massive work burden, and most belonged to village communes
• could be bought or sold with no notice
• needed permission to marry
• liable for conscription

• PROBLEMS
• stunted enterpise and economy as many workers couldn't relocate as they were tied down
• army dependent on serfs
• needed to prevent revolution or riots against autocracy
• others had moved towards progressive policy, and calls from others as it was morally 'wrong'
• industry stuck and needed large urbanised migration 

•  EARLY ATTEMPTS
• 1803
• Alexander I made it legal for landowners to sell land to serfs
• only 100k had done this by 1855

1816

• baltic states abolished serfdom but didn't grant land to their peasants
• hadnt granted land to the freed peasants

1847

• decree allowed serfs to purchase their freedom and land if an estate was sold at public auction
• serfs had few financial means and couldnt afford high prices
• PROBLEMS
• hadn't been extensive or comprehensive enough to be effectively carried out and seen as progressive reform that changed the situation. faced with many challenges from nobles

• MARCH 1856 asked a small group of nobles to come up with suggestions about how to emancipate serfs, but they didn't respond
• 1857 formed a secret committee to negotiate emancipation with his brother in charge 
• 1858-9 alexander ii went around making pro-emancipation, and invited nobles to give their input
• FEB 1861-EMANCIPATION UKASE milyutin had drawn up a law with a commission of 38. officially passed in February

WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG TO CREATE LAW?

• It took long as advisors had to create something workable for all, and something stable that wouldn't endanger the autocratic system.

WHY NOT USE AUTOCRATIC FORCE TO CREATE LAW?

• Didn't use autocratic force so there wouldn't be any resitance or backlash in case of the plan going wrong. Put the nobles in charge of the plan and make them responsible for their own laws.  

MAIN TERMS OF EDICT

• Applied to privately owned serfs, and state serfs had to wait until 1866 to gain full terms of freedom.
• would be released from ******* to become free *to marry *to travel *to own land *own business  *gain legal rights
• landlords to recive compensation from gov't and serf redemption payments
• serfs entitled to land
• gov't bonds and redeption payments in exchange for land, which serfs had to remain on until all payments had been made
• 49 annual payments with a possible 6% interest
• peasants- had to pay OBROK or laboiur service for 2 years before achieving 'free' status
• landowners-could use hired labour on land they owned or farmed themselves

IMPACT FOR TSAR

Positive

• successful from an ihternational perspective
• saw russia decidedly leave its old and archaic system
• decline in gentry was controversial and in theory would stop opposition against the Tsar
• preserved social structure of russia with autocratic system
• decline of labour based economy meant a new money-based one grew and greater indust'tion

 Negative

• peasants called for 'second emancipation'
• uprisings continued (Kazan)
• nobility reacted angrily and blamed tsar
• industrial development didnt match worker demand
• sowed seeds of opposition

IMPACT FOR NOBILITY

Positive

• oversaw the volosts and mirs, so it was advantageous for the nobles 
• would recieve compensation for land from gov't and peasants
• could capitalise on rates of repayments
• could restrict peasants with control of land and not giving passports to move

Negative

• disputes over landholding and redemption payments caused debt and unease for them
• didn't always materialise the expected profits
• their high rates meant peasants meant there was no buying power in the economy

IMPACT ON PEASANTRY

Positive

• KULAKS did well and bought land and workers 
• by stage 1, they had legal rights and other basic rights for life
• could marry, own land, 
• large numbers of passports given allowed migration into indutrial areas
• removed noble power over conscription

Negative

• household serfs not given land
• redeption payments pass across generations
• noblity kept the best land for themselves, so it made sefrs have ineffiecient farming
• many resented payments
• some given less land than before but paid more for it
•   

THE PEASANTRY

• peasantry were conservative and natural supporters of tsarist system
• kazan uprisingwas in retaliatio to the reforms of Tsar
• accepted the reforms with 'disgruntled' acceptance

THE NOBILITY

• conducted assassination attempt by an intellegentsia student April 4, 1866
• assassination gave nobles and court chance to encourage a move away from foreign influence, reformist policies, and toward traditional values
• zemstva contained many liberal intellegentsia who were willing to influence from thei position, and conservatives feared liberal thinkers

• before 1861
• had lost his heir and wife was bedbound with TB
• sought a mistress and moved away from reformist influences in family
• tsar persuaded to make new appntments to return to traditionalism
• Dmitri Tolstoy, new minister of public intruction
• Pyotr Shuvalov, new leader of 3rd section/secret police
• Tsar moved toward idea of gov;t control

AREAS OF REACTION

• foreign influence
• western ideals
• ethnic minority danger

EDUCATION

A tight control over education was thought to be the right thing to get rid of western liberal thinkers and influences, as they wanted to get rid of criticism against the tsar, so 

• education seen as the area of largest threat
• returned staunch orthodox church to prominence
• newly erected 'gymnazzi' returned to a traditional curriculum, excluding literature, language and history
• curriculum contol meant critical subjects were removed, so as not to threaten autocratic system
• 1871- only gymnazzi students could progress to uni, others went to technical institutions
• this measure was to ensure they wouldnt be corrupted by university liberals and intellegentis
• 1873- internal affairs forbade certain topics of discussion
• Dmitri Tolstoy, conservstive mininster enforcing new rules

ATTITUDES TO ETHNIC MINORITIES

• Reactionary policies accompanied a harsh treatment of ethnic minorities. strengthened by 1863 Polish Uprising, which persuaded Russia towards a danger of foreigners.
• Gave rise to RUSSIFICATION, where they were forced to assimilate into russian culture, and hostile treatment of  poles, finns, jews after 1866, despite angering intellegentsia. 

THE POLICE AND LAW COURTS

• Pyotr Shuvalov- strengthened the police and increased responsibiltiy for exposing opposition. Constantin Pahlen used judicial system to expose political agitation with open trials.
• fleeing radicals were hunted by secret police and SHOW TRIALS backfired as the juries acquitted many, and gave them a platform to spread their ideas Trail of 193 and Trial of 53
• LORIS-MELIKOV
• 1880 Commission-report dealt with demand for representation, and constitutional change for gov't ,to remove revolutionary activity by making ministerial changes and concessions *removed 3rd section *released political prisoners *relaxed censorship *removed salt tax 

INTELLEGENTSIA

• liberal minded thinkers and professionals encouraged by french revolution
• Herzen- believed peasants should be at the centre of the social structure
• Bakunin- an anarchist who believed in peasants rights
• Chernychevsky- writer of liberl book the Contemporary

LIBERALS

• liberals wanted to encourage reform rather than abolition of the system
• influenced by the Grest Enlightment and French Revolution
• small movement due to the small number of middle class, so they couldn't create political parties
• active in many areas of school life; schools court, universities
• included Tsar's wife, brother and sister-in-law

POPULISM, known as narodniks/slavophiles

• agragrian socialists who owed their ideas to anarchists, Herzen and Chernchevsky,
• aimed to win peasants over by making them angry at land and tax
• failed due to loyalty of peasants as natural supporters of tsar
• used 'to the people' campaign, 1874- dressed up as peasants, and were chased away by peasants  1876-dressed as officials to try gaining respect. 1,600 arrested
• 1877 TRIAL OF 193- 153 acquitted by juries  OCT1877-1878TRAIL OF 53- spread ideology

LAND AND LIBERTY

• came after failed 'to the people' campaign, and split into 2 factions in 1879
• BLACK PARTITION-led by Plenkhoanov, non-violent and favoured raising awareness and redistributing 'black soil'. 
• PEOPLE'S WILL- led by Mikhailov, wanted a violent end of tsarism and had spies in secret police.
• larger, and more influential. Wanted a constitution.
• 1879- bomb on train. 1880- bomb in winter palace dining room. 1881- march, successful grenade