The Russian autocracy in 1855 - Overview

- Russians taught to show devotion to Tsar and accept their conditions as the will of God - structures of church and state entwined - archbishops and bishops subject to Tsarist control over appointments, religious education, church finances and issues of administration.

- Tsar's edicts were law - had ministers and advisors - chosen by Tsar - nothing done without the Tsar's approval -3 main  advisory bodies 

- Based in Imperial capital - St Petersburg - also depended  on provincial nobility - not obliged to serve Tsar since 1785 - many did - provincial governor of one of Russia's 50 provinves - strong obligation

- Civil servants - made up bureaucracy - paid noble officals selected from table of ranks - 14 levels - 1 - members of council of ministers - 14 - minor state positions - each had own uniform, form of address and status - internal corruptionand incompetence- orders passed down

- world's largest army - 1.5 million conscripted serfs - 25 years - military colonies - 45% of government spending - police state - Nicholas stricter in autocracy 

- In 1955 Britain, France, Belgium andd Germany were well advanced industrially - Mills, factories, coal pits, quarries and railways - trade flourishing - Russian economy remained rural - 11:1 village to town dwellers - 2:1 - Britain - much of Russia inhospitable - 2/3 over 50th parallel north - tundra, forrests & barren countryside. Russia was Europe's main exporter of agricultural produce & held vast reservesof timber, coal, oil, gold and other precious metals  -communications between parts of empire poor - potential untapped 

- Main lack oof progress - serfdom - limited forces that drive change - wage earners, markets and entrepeneurs. serfs poor - grew food for themselves - cottage industries - extra cash for taxes and special purchases - only just survived - starvations in winter - bad harvests

- Markets existed - mostly small scale - most bought - vodka, metal and salt - nearest town or fair. self- sufficiency - few goods actually purchased - money not payment - exchanges - some areas near large cities - market forces developed as peasants sought wage -work in nearby towns - money irrelevant - no internal market demand 

- landowning elite - got what they needed from serfs - idle - no opportunity for capital accumulation - many land owners forced to mortgage estates and serfs - didnt seek alternatives - little use of ££

- Russia was extremely divided between the privileged land-owning elite and serf majority; the non-productive and productive classes. former conssited of the clergy, nobility, civil and military officials,  army and naval officers, and at the top, the royal court. serfs, urban artisans, manufacturers and merchants in the ranks of the productive classes. Russian society didnt have a coherent 'middle class' that could be seen elsewhere in Europe - becoming increasingly dominant. small number of professionals - doctors, teachers and lawyers - comprised intelligentsia - often sons of nobles.

- Russian society based largely on birth, land and service - rather than the modern term of 'class' with connotations of economic status. legal barriers in 1855 still limited social mobility - serfs liable for dues, as demanded by past custom, to their masters. They also paid direct and  indirect taxes to the government. they nobility and clergy were exempt from the payment of any direct monetary taxes.

- Russia still considered a 'great' power in Europe because of its size and huge army - politically, economically and socially it remained undeveloped and 'backward' in comparison with the West. small changes taking place - insufficient for extensive modernisation 

- Russia suffered badly from outdated technology, poor transport and inadequate leadership - Russian army larger in number it lacked the flexibility and determination of the smaller French and British units. Russians defeated at Balaclava in October 1854 and at Inkerman in November 1854

- March 1855 Nicholas adressed his son 'I hand over to you my command, unfortunately not in as good order  as i would have wished' - by september sebastopol fallen to its enemies - leaving tsarist government shocked and humiliated 

- went to war with utmost confidence, the course of fighting revealed Russia's military and administrative inadequacies. war was little short of  disastrous - trade was disrupted, peasant uprisings escalated and the intelligentsia renewed their cries for something to be done to close the gao between Russia and the West. Treaty of paris 1856 prevented Russian warships from using the black sea in times of peace - final humiliation 

- failure in the Crimean war provided wake-up call that Russia needed - decades of stagnation came to an end with Nicholas' death - 1855 came a new Tsar but also a new generation of liberal -minded nobles and offcials - major influence - dilema was how to match other european powers in economic development without weakening autocratic structure that held the empire together