Chapter 23
Nationalism Triumphs in Europe
Section 5
Russian Reform and Reaction
Setting the Scene
Although serfdom had almost disappeared
in Western Europe by the 1700s, it survived and
spread in Russia. Masters exercised almost total
power over their serfs. In the 1800s, a noble
described the brutal treatment of serfs:
"I heard ... stories of men and women torn
from their families and their villages, and sold, or
lost in gambling, or exchanged for a couple of
hunting dogs, and then transported to some
remote part of Russia to create a [master's] new
estate; ... of children taken from their parents and
sold to cruel masters”
Reformers hoped to free Russia from
autocratic rule, economic backwardness, and
social injustice. But efforts to modernize Russia
had little success, as czars imprisoned critics or
sent them into icy exile in Siberia.
I. Conditions in Russia
By 1815, Russia was the largest and most
populous nation in Europe and a great world
power
I. Conditions in Russia
Peter the Great and Catherine the Great tried
to westernize Russia, but it remained
economically undeveloped
I. Conditions in Russia
One obstacle was the rigid social structure landowning nobles, a small middle class, and
a majority of serfs
II. Russian Absolutism
Czars ruled with absolute power and resisted
reforms that would undermine their power
II. Russian Absolutism
In 1801, Alexander I seemed open to liberal
ideas but feared losing the support of nobles
Czar Alexander I, grandson
of Catherine the Great - On
November 19, 1825 in the
town of Taganrog, he is
claimed to have faked his
own death, disappearing to
become a monk named
Kuzmich, wandering the
forests of Siberia for years
afterward
II. Russian Absolutism
When Alexander I died, a group of army
officers led an uprising known as the
Decembrist Revolt
The Decembrist revolt
or the Decembrist
uprising was
attempted in Imperial
Russia by army
officers who led about
3,000 Russian soldiers
on December 14, 1825.
Because these events
occurred in December,
the rebels were called
the Decembrists
II. Russian Absolutism
Nicholas I suppressed the Decembrists and all
dissent, banned books from Western Europe
and jailed or exiled liberals
Nicholas saw himself as God's
general in charge of Russia's wellbeing and every citizen as his
subordinate. He insisted his will
be followed at all times and ruled
the Empire personally and
believed in "One Tsar, One Faith,
One Nation"
Czar Nicholas I
1796-1855
II. Russian Absolutism
Nicholas I embraced the three pillars of
Russian absolutism - "Orthodoxy, Autocracy,
and Nationalism”
Cathedral of St. Basil
the Blessed, Moscow
Czar Alexander
Romanoff Czar’s
Coat of Arms
II. Russian Absolutism
Alexander II came to the throne in 1855 during
the Crimean War, which Russia lost and
revealed the country's backwardness
The Crimean War (1854-56)
seriously weakened both
Austrian & Russian
powers; A humiliating
defeat for Russia by
Turkey, France, England,
Sardinia & Austria
II. Russian Absolutism
In 1861 Alexander II issued a decree that
required emancipation of the serfs
The reign of Alexander II is
marked by contrasts; while
Alexander II was known as the
"Tsar-Liberator" for his
emancipation of the Russian
serfs, he also reigned over one
of the most repressive periods
in Russian history and faced
numerous attempts on his life,
ultimately resulting in his
assassination.
II. Russian Absolutism
Other changes were government, military and
legal reforms, and easing censorship
Alexander II implemented important reforms in
national, military and municipal organization. He
also rethought foreign policy: Russia now
refrained from overseas expansion and
concentrated on strengthening its borders. In
1867, he sold Alaska and the Aleutian Islands to
the United States. His greatest foreign policy
achievement was the successful war of 1877-8
against the Ottoman Empire, resulting in the
liberation of Bulgaria
IV. Reaction to Change
Alexander's reforms failed to satisfy many
Russians and in 1881, he was assassinated
by terrorists
"'It is Too Soon to Thank God.' - The Assassination of Czar Alexander II"
IV. Reaction to Change
Alexander III increased the power of the
secret police, restored censorship, exiled
critics, and began a program of Russification
V. Building Russian Industry
Russia finally entered the industrial age in the
1890s
The shell-shop of the Putilov works
St Petersburg 1903
VI. Turning Point: Crisis and Revolution
War broke out between Russia and Japan in
1904 and Russia suffered one defeat after
another
VI. Turning Point: Crisis and Revolution
Military losses and years of oppression led to
wide spread protests
Demonstrators march to the Winter Palace
VI. Turning Point: Crisis and Revolution
Bloody Sunday - Sunday, January 22,1905 protesters were fired on by the czar’s troops
and hundreds were killed or wounded
VI. Turning Point: Crisis and Revolution
Discontent exploded across Russia and
Nicholas finally agreed to summon a Duma
On May 6th, 1905 Czar Nicholas announced the implementation
of the Fundamental Laws. Under the laws, a State Council was
established to act as the upper house of the Duma. This upper
house was controlled by Nicholas.
VI. Turning Point: Crisis and Revolution
In 1906 Nicholas dissolved the first Duma and
appointed a new prime minister, Peter
Stolypin
VI. Turning Point: Crisis and Revolution
Stolypin sought to restore order and made
some reforms, but was assassinated in 1911
Stolypin introduced legislation that enabled
peasants to have more opportunity to acquire
land. People living in rural areas also got more
freedom in the selection of their representatives
to the zemstvo.
Stolypin instituted a new court system that made
it easier for the arrest and conviction of political
revolutionaries. Over 3,000 suspects were
convicted and executed between 1906-09. As a
result of this action the hangman's noose in
Russia became known as "Stolypin's necktie".