By mid century, Russia was facing
significant challenges and needed to
modernize the government and army in
order to compete with the Great Powers.
Alexander II
mirs
Zemstovs
Land and Freedom
The People’s Will
Alexander III
 The Crimean War (1853 -1856),
 fought over domination of the Balkans,
 brought the need to modernize sharply into focus
 Russia was defeated by the combined forces of
France, Britain, Sardinia-Piedmont, and the
Ottoman Empire, mostly because of it’s
inadequate transportation system.
 Russia failed to gain access to the Mediterranean
from the Black Sea and its industrial backwardness
and desperate need for railroads and modern
armaments became apparent
 Russia’s population had grown rapidly in the 19th century,





although the economy remained largely agrarian
Agricultural estates were dependent on the unpaid labor
of serfs who were little better off than U. S. slaves.
Serfs could also be recruited into the army for a
mandatory 25 years of service.
Peasant discontent was intensified by the hardships of the
Crimean War.
Fearful of an outright rebellion, Tsar Alexander II
emancipate the serfs in 1861 and granted them land for
which they had to pay for.
The land was not given to individuals but to village
communities, mirs, which were responsible for the
payments for the land and taxes
 Local assemblies, the zemstvos, were organized in 1864.
 The government encouraged industrialization, particularly




the building of railroads after 1860 and of factories around
Moscow and St. Petersburg
Industrialization brought benefits to Russia’s military,
which pleased nationalists, but also lead to the
introduction of Marxist ideas.
Originally, however, Russian radicals were not Marxist but
anarchists who advocated the use of terrorism and
assassination to bring down the government.
When terrorists assassinated Alexander II in 1881, the new
Tsars, Alexander III (1818-1894)and Nicholas II (81941917)rejected reform
Political repression remained in force, but economic
modernization proceeded