'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' How far do you agree?

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'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Agree - Church
The Tsar was head of the Russian Orthodox church. 70% of the population belonged to this church. The church preached the divine right of kings - to question the Tsar was to question God.
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'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Agree - Army
Largest army in the world (1.5 million men) and the government spend 45% of it's budget on the military. Included the elite 'Ukranian Cossacks' who were loyal bodyguards to the Tsar. Fear of the Cossacks made opposition less likely.
2 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Agree - Opposition was ineffective
Opponents like the Slavophiles and the Westernisers were persecuted by the 'Third Section'. Peasants who occasionally rebelled were put down by the army or the Cossacks.
3 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Agree - Tsar was well protected from critics
The Third Section (began in 1826), spied on political opponents and censored criticism. This meant there was no way to organise protests effectively.
4 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Agree - Russian empire was virtually impossible to defeat
It covered 1/6th of the worlds land.
5 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Agree - The government was highly centralised
This gave the Tsar absolute power. The Tsar ruled by Imperial Edict, helped by 30-60 members of the Imperial Council who he appointed. Regions were controlled by governors who the Tsar chose. Government was loyal and opposition was difficult.
6 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Agree - The hierarchical social structure
The Russian Orthodox Church, military, bureaucracy and the nobles generally supported the Tsarist system (they made up 10% of the population.) Acted as a brake on political change - between them they controlled the rest of the people (serfs, etc)
7 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Agree - Opposition was very difficult
84% of the population were peasant and serfs (51% privately owned, 33% directly owned by the Tsar) Mostly illiterate, controlled by the mir and needed owners permission to leave the land. If they protested, they were punished (25 years conscription)
8 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Disagree - The national minorities posed a potential threat
Only 44% of the population were actually Russian. Many of the national minority groups e.g. the 8 million Poles, wanted independence.
9 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Disagree - The army were potential opposition
It may consist of 1.5 million men however it was full of peasant conscripts of whom were poorly fed (cabbage/beetroot soup and beer was the staple diet), brutally treated (corporal and capital punishment) and led by incompetant officers.
10 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Disagree - Tsar's security was undermined by its old-fashioned agricultural economy
Less than 10% of people lived in towns (66% in Britain). Most goods were still made in cottage industries - Russia couldn't compete with industrialised countries like Britain.
11 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Disagree - Russian territory was vast
Russia covers 8 million square miles. Some of the land was uninhabitable (e.g. The Tundra) and the size of the country made development difficult because goods and messages had to be transported over huge distances.
12 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Disagree - Agriculture was incredibly backward
10% of the population owned most of the farming land (the Tsar owned the rest). Nobles had little incentive to develop agriculture because their social status depended on the number of serfs owned, not how profitable their land was.
13 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Disagree - Agriculture was incredibly backward (continued)
Serf farming was small scale, inefficient subsistence farming therefore the government struggled to increase their income.
14 of 15
'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Disagree - Tsar's government was chaotic
Some of the civil service were corrupt - undermined his position. The bureaucracy was controlled by the nobles who were appointed through nepotism&lower ranking civil servants could be bribed. Government was incompetent -struggled to carry out policy
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Agree - Army

Back

Largest army in the world (1.5 million men) and the government spend 45% of it's budget on the military. Included the elite 'Ukranian Cossacks' who were loyal bodyguards to the Tsar. Fear of the Cossacks made opposition less likely.

Card 3

Front

'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Agree - Opposition was ineffective

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Agree - Tsar was well protected from critics

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

'The position of the Tsar was secure in 1855' Agree - Russian empire was virtually impossible to defeat

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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