Ideologies of the Alexanders + Opposition - Study Session Notes

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  • Created by: jilly2272
  • Created on: 25-05-17 06:01

What is an ideology?

It is a set of ideas or systems that can shape society.

What ideologies impacted the rule of:

  • Alexander II
    • Slavophiles vs Westernisers (The Great Debate)
    • Serfdom
    • Enlightenment
    • Religion
    • Western Powers (especially after the Crimean War)
    • Liberalism
    • Socialism (socialism developed in Russia towards the end of his rule, and how Tsarism was a failing system) - empowering and emancipating the serfs and peasants. This was the reason why Alexander II was assassinated
    • Economic systems (capitalism)
  • Alexander III
    • Westernisers (technology)
    • Anti-Serf
    • Anti-Semitic
    • Religion (his benevolence as the Tsar)
    • Conservative
    • Father's death created the ideology that peasants were "evil"
    • Economic systems (capitalism)
    • Reactionary
    • Slavophile
    • Nationalism (promoting your country aggressively, ideas of superiority and inferiority, expanding territory, moving towards ideas of intolerance)

How were these ideologies shaped by the concepts of Alexander II:

  • Authority
    • Benevolence as a leader chosen by God (not so much superiority, but more power)
    • Father's authority (Nicolas II)
  • Security
    • Security of Russia's freedom
    • Indepence of Poland (insecure)
    • Assassination attempts (two, one of which was in the 1860s)
  • Freedom
    • Serfs (social class)
    • Education (censorship)
    • Freedom of speech (thus allowing opposition to exist)

How were these ideologies shaped by the concepts of Alexander III:

  • Authority
    • Insecure about his power after his father was killed
    • God's representative on Earth
  • Security
    • Secret police
    • Distrust of peasants and Jews
  • Freedom
    • No opposition

Related Questions:

  • What were the reasons why Alexander II decided to emancipate the serfs?
    • It prevented Russian Industry, as in it prevented the free flow of services/labour
    • What grain serfs provided was not enough
    • Agricultural methods were backwards (due to the fact that the serfs did not own the land itself and therefore saw no need in improving what they were doing)
    • Lords had increasing amounts of debt
    • Many peasant revolts
    • Morally Alexander II felt that people were abusing their power over the serfs and that it was generally an immoral system as a whole
  • What were the key terms of the Emancipation? Why?
    • Privately owned serfs were freed first, then State-owned serfs, and finally household serfs
    • Serfs could now marry whomever they chose without permission from their lord
    • Could now set up their own businesses
    • Although they couldn't own the houses their gentry's (lords) lived in, the gentry was required to allow them to stay in their homes and have some of their lands
    • Lords were given high valuation of their lands to compensate for the Emancipation
    • Serfs had to pay a state tax for 49 days at 6% or had to work 30-40 days for free on their lords land before they could be given full entitlement of their land
    • The Mir were responsible for making sure the taxes were paid by the serfs, otherwise, their land would be revoked
    • Household serfs were not compensated at all, apart from the fact they had gained their freedom
    • Lords received "redemption money" as a form of compensation
  • How did the Emancipation impact the rest of Alexander II's rule:
    • Socially?
      • After the emancipation, there were 647 revolts with 449…

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