Russia in the 19th Century

Russia in the 19th century

Russia before 1855

Tsars in the 19th century: Alexander I (1801-25) Nicholas I (1825-55) Alexander II (1855-81) Alexander III (1881-94) Nicholas II (1894-1917) Only Alexander I before 1820 and

Alexander II before 1863 had reform minds, other were absolute monarch

Different parties in Russia during mid 19th century

There were mainly two parties in Russia in the 19th century

The Westerners believed that Russia was too backward and should be reformed in the model of the west

The Slavophiles emphasized the Russian tradition. They believed that Russia was an agrarian society and should not learn from West

December Uprising in 1825

In 1825, There were an uprising. Some officers returned from the

Napoleonic War learnt western thoughts and advocated to reform Russia

There were also some secret societies in Russia.

The Northern Society

The Northern Society in St Petersburg, members were mainly officers in the army

They aimed at changing Russia into a limited, decentralized monarchy

They were mild reformers

The Southern Society

The Southern Society in Kiev, members were mainly officers in the army, too.

They believed that Russia should become a republic

They were radicals and advocated to use violence to reach their ends

The December Uprising in 1825

In December 1825, the Northern Society began the Uprising and, two weeks later, the Southern Society had their uprising

They were suppressed by Nicholas I quickly

The reign of Nicholas I

Nicholas I were an absolute monarch He hated liberalism, and believed in Divi

ne Right of Monarch A secret police force was formed and the

philosophy department in university was closed

During the period 1832-1852, more than 150,000 people were exiled to Seberia

The reign of Nicholas I

During the period 1832-1852, more than 150,000 people were exiled to Seberia

The foundation of his rule was absolute monarch, Orthodox church and Russian Nationalism

He suppressed The Polish revolts in 1831, and intervened into the Hungarian Uprising in 1849

The Reign of Alexander II

The situation in 1855

Externally: Russia lose the Crimean War

Internally: The Economic condition was

terrible. The Serfs were the

most important problem Alexander II realised that major changes

were needed if Russia was to remain a great power

Alexander II : The Tsar Liberator? Alexander II: The Tsar Liberator? During the reign of Alexander II, The Tsa

r had established a lot of reforms, especially the liberation (emancipation)of the serfs so he was nicknamed “the Tsar Liberator

Some historians think that he was not a real reformer. Only the situation forced him to reform.

The emancipation of the Serfs

80% of Russia’s 60 million people were peasants during in the mid 19th century

Two types of peasant:1. The state peasants: enjoyed more

freedom2. The landlord’s peasants (the Serfs):

usually in very terrible condition The Serfdom faced many problems in

the mid 19th century

Liberation of the Serfs In 1861, the Emancipation Edict was issued Main issues:

1. Serfs became free citizens

2. Peasants would get a piece of land but he had to pay for that.

3. The peasants who received land had to repay the government in annual installments over 49 years

4. The Mir was responsible to collect the payment

The impact of emancipation

Peasants were not happy because they had to pay for the land and the landlords usually kept the best land

There were over 500 incidents of rioting in 1861

The mir was kept to collect taxes and other duties which the landlord did in the old days

Peasants became the mir’s serfs. The life of peasants unchanged

The emancipation of Serfs

Merits:1. The emancipation was a precondition for

reforms in other fields, such as military and economic reforms

2. Many landowners invested the redemption from the government for government purposes

3. Some serfs, especially the domestic serfs, went to cities and became workers


Merits

4. The nobility lost their administrative and economic power, were also losing their power to suppress the revolution in the future

5. Some other reforms could be done after the end of Serfdom, such as reforms of legal system, army and local government


Demerits The condition of the serfs did not improve or

even worse after the emancipation They had to pay for their land values and

other taxes The plan had so many defects which caused

the disappointment among the peasants


The reform was a “fall between two stools”.

While people blamed that the reform was too cautious, too little and too late, the nobles thought that Alexander acted too speedily and radical

The government was blamed by everyone

Other reforms

Judicial reform (1862) The jurisdiction was divided into 2 parts:

the Justice of Peace and the regular court

The peace courts decided on petty cases

The regular courtsresponsible for more serious cases

Other reforms-Legal

Introduction of the conception of judiciary independent

Trial by jury for criminal cases Courts opened to the public Justices of Peace was appointed for

petty cases

Other reforms-Army

All males over 20, irrespective of class, had to conscription. The actual service was decided by ballot.

Substitution and exemption by purchase were abolished

Service would be as long as 15 years (6 years regular service and 9 years in the reserve)

Other reforms-Army

Military colonies came to an end Most barbaric forms of punishment were

abolished Common soldiers were equipped with u

p-to-date arms The construction of strategic railways wa

s speeded up

Other reforms-Political

Local government (Zemstvo) There were two levels of local government,

the district and the provincial All classes of the population to articipate in t

he local affairs


Local councils - Zemstvo –were set up at two levels: The district level and the provincial level

Population was divided into 3 classes: The landowners, townsmen and peasants


The district government was elected by the three classes

The provincial Zemstvo was elected by district Zemstvo

Municipal councils were set up in 1870, elected by male property holders over 25


All local councils were responsible for maintain roads, arranged military conscription, supervised prisons, took care of education, public health and development of industries and agriculture

Zemstvo members were elected for 3 years

Other reforms- Education

Liberalization of the educational system was carried out by the Ministry of Education

New schools were built. Between 1861-81, the number of Primary and secondary schools increased fourfold

After 1863 university were given much greater freedom, including the right to import scholarly text of any kind from abroad

Economic development

Russian Industries had a rapid growth during the reign of Alexander II

Between 1865-79 the number of workers more than doubled

Exports increased from 26 million tons in 1864 to 86 million tons in 1880

Alexander II – The Opposition

1. The Intelligentsia:

The intelligentsia was the educated classes who concerned the future of Russia

The Westerners believed tha Russia would be progress if she adopted the main features of Western civilizations

The Slavophiles believed that Russia had already moved too close to the west.

Radical ideas developed among the intelligentsia

Alexander II – The Opposition

2. The populists They invested their hopes for change in

peasantry. They thought that the liberation of people

should relied on the mass but not professional revolutionaries

They were failed and some people turned to terrorism.

Alexander II was murdered in 1881

Alexander III

He was a soldier and believed that terrorism could be crushed our of existence by using irresistible force.

He use iron policy against liberal ideas and revolutionary movement

Alexander III – his policies

Strict cencorship Monitoring universities Appointing conservative Officals Dismissed liberals from Zemstvos Persecution non-Orthodox religions Anti-semitism Russianization of the minorities Secret police

Consequences of the repressive policies

Revolutionary activities reduced He had to shut himself up in the

palace and reduced the change to contact with the mass

He died a natural death in 1894

Economic development

Industries and trade continued to grow rapidly

Railways were built and more remote area had the chance to contact with the outside world

Middle classes and working class began to grow

Nicholas II : His character and ideas

1. He is often seen as a weak, indecisive man, much under the control of his German-born wife, Alexandra

2. However, he believed the principle of autocracy, liked his father

3. He is also seen as an opportunist, like provoking a war with Japan in 1904, and intervened in the Austrian-Serbian Crisis in 1914

Industrial development under Nicholas II

Industrialization began in Alexander II, the trend continued in Nicholas II’s time.

Factories sprang up, often with over 5000 workers

Town population increased by 30% By 1914, the industrial population in Rus

sia increased to over 3 million

Reasons for the rapid industrial development

Russia caught up the trend of the age of industrialization in Europe

Serge Witte contributed a lot during his office between 1892 -1896

Cheap labour from the villages Resources and market were available in

Russia French loans and support

Consequences

Long working hours and bad environment for the workers because there was no labour law

Socialist movement was active Strikes became common A stronger middle classes appeared A strong anti-government force had been

created

Revolutionary parties

Anti-government parties were founded:

1. The Social Democratic Labour Party

2. The Socialist Revolutionary Party

3. The union of Liberation Party

The Social Democratic Labour Party

The party based on the revolutionary theory of Karl Marx

The leaders were Lenin and Trotsky The party was divided into the Bolshevik

s (the majority) and Menshevils (the minority)

The Socialist Revolutionary Party

It believed that a peasant revolt was essential to bring about a successful revolution

Terrorist methods was used in their struggle

The Union of Liberation Party

Formed by intellectuals and middle class It favoured a liberal constitution and a pa

rliamentary system It also opposed the idea of proletarian re

volution After 1905, it split into the October Party

and the Constitutional Democrats

Russianization and its consequences

The policy of anti-Semitism forced more Jews to join the extreme societies

The liberties of Baltic provinces were suspended. Reactionary policies in Finland and Poland aroused resistance in the dominions

The Russo-Japanese War (1905)

Defeated by Japan, the war once again exposed the inefficiency of the Czarist government

Greater discontents were found among Russian people

They demanded constitutional reforms or revolution to overthrow the Czarist government

The Bloody Sunday

On 22 Jan 1905, A procession of 200,000, led by Father Gapon, to make a petition to the Czar.

He petitioned the Czar to improve the conditions of work and grant political freedom

The procession was a peaceful but the guards opened fire and killed over 1000 people

Consequences

The bloody Sunday massacre provoked strikes and demonstrations throughout the country

Anti-government feeling spread and the Social Revolutionaries agitated riots in the countryside

Even the crew of the Battle mutinied

The October Manifesto, 1905

On Witte’s advice, Nicholas II issued a manifesto in October

The manifesto promised to summon an elected parliament, the Duma and to grant people freedom of speech, press and association

Since strikes and demonstration faded out, the revolution ended in failure

1905 Revolution--Causes of Failure

1. The Revolution was not planned2. The Russo-Japanese War ended in

September, 1905. The returned soldiers strengthened the repressive force

3. The October Manifesto split the revolutionaries

4. The nobles and army still supported the Tsar

Results of the Revolution

1. Establishment of Duma: There were totally 4 Dumas During the period 1906-1917

2. The ineffectiveness of the Dumas caused another revolution in 1917

3. A series of reforms were carried out by Witte and Stolypin. The peasants and workers enjoyed a limited improvement in their life

4. A “dress rehearsal” for the 1917 Revolutions

Russia after 1905 Revolution

The Dumas There were altogether 4 Dumas: The 1st Duma was formed in May 1906,

but was dissolved by the Tsar in July because it asked for more power

Many liberals re-elected in the 2nd Duma. Moreover, many seats were occupied by the Social Democrats. It was again dissolved by the Tsar


The 3rd Duma was elected in 1907 and lasted until 1912 because only rich men could vote

The 4th Duma, like the 3rd one, supported the government and lasted until 1916


Russia under Stolypin Stolypin was Russia Minister of Interior b

efore 1906, and he became the Prime Minister till he was assassinated in 1911

He carried a policy of both repression and reform


He suppressed revolutionary activities ruthlessly

However, he gave land to no land peasants and allowed the peasants to sell their land and move to cities

He introduced accident and health insurance

He also improve the conditions of the army and navy

Russia in the 19th Century

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