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ALEXANDER II (1855-81)
“Reform and Reaction”
John Thompson Russia & the Soviet Union
Leggett 13
KEY DATES: (Review these with a partner—what do you know?  )
-Crimean War 1853-56
-Alexander II ascends to throne Mar 3 1855
-Emancipation Edict Mar 15 1861
-Polish Revolt 1863 (he and Bismarck connect!)
-Education reforms 1863-64 ie. Elementary School statute 1864
-Reformed legal system 1864
-Zemstovs 1864
-Reorganization of Orthodox Church 1864-69
-Censorship “Temporary Regulation” 1865, permanent 1866
-first women’s journal 1866
-Assassination attempt 1866
-Russo-Turkish War1877/Treaty of San Stefano (creation of Bulgaria) 1878 (and of Finland!)
-Loris-Melikov Plan 1881
-Alexander II assassination March 13 (Gregorian, March 1 Julian) 1881
-pogroms 1881
-Alexander III (tsar 1881-1894)
-Nicholas II (tsar 1894-1917)
**Gogol’s The Overcoat by Morris Panych:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojkovqpW3MI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzcUsR8Birk
**Headings in BLUE are IB History topics that are supposed to be covered in the syllabus
1. ORIGINS (How he came to/maintained power)
-Alexander II, 1818–81, czar of Russia (1855–81), son and successor of Nicholas I. He ascended the throne during the
Crimean War (1853–56) March 3, 1855 and immediately set about negotiating a peace. “I am handing you command of
the country in a very poor state.” Nicholas I to his son 1855. (Wilmot 166)
“Alexander II (1818-1881) was emperor of Russia from 1855 to 1881. He is called the "czar liberator" because he
emancipated the serfs in 1861 (and he liberated Bulgaria). His reign is famous in Russian history as the "era of great
reforms."
Eldest son of Nicholas I, Alexander was born in Moscow on April 17, 1818. Vasili Zhukovski, the poet and courtier, was
his principal tutor. Alexander spoke Russian, German, French, English, and Polish. He acquired a knowledge of military
arts, finance, and diplomacy. From an early age he traveled extensively in Russia and abroad; in 1837, for example, he
visited 30 Russian provinces, including Siberia, where no member of the royal family had ever been. Unlike his father,
Alexander had experience in government before he acceded to the throne. He held various military commands and was a
member of the state council (from 1840) and of the committee of the ministers (from 1842); during Nicholas's absence
Alexander acted as his deputy.
Alexander's political philosophy eludes precise definition. However, there is ample evidence to indicate that he was an
admirer of Nicholas's autocracy and bureaucratic methods.
Before he became czar, Alexander was not sympathetic to emancipation. He changed his mind because of Russia's
technological and military backwardness in the Crimean War and because he believed that the liberation of the serfs was
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the only way to prevent a peasant uprising. Through a burdensome arrangement in which local commissions made
studies and reported their findings to the government, an emancipation law was eventually formulated and proclaimed in
1861.” http://www.answers.com/topic/alexander-ii
-The CRIMEAN WAR (1853-56): Tsar Nicholas I involved in war with Ottoman Empire, fighting against Britain and France
(Orthodox Christian Russia vs. Christian Br and F support of Islamic Ottoman Empire so they can get more influence in
Jerusalem/Holy Land as Ottoman empire continues to collapse= “sick man of Europe”+ economic advantages of
Dardanelles trade) (TA Morris)
-8 min animated History intro Crimean War documentary on causes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnpaCbUV2eY&feature=PlayList&p=92C5582D79148E5F&playnext=1&playnext_from
=PL&index=22
-“What began as a military trial of strength rapidly developed into a trial of the regime’s strength.” (AL Kochan)
-allied troops invaded Russia: Eupatoria (Sept 1854), Sevastapol in Crimea, Balaclava (oct 1854), Inkerman (Nov 1854),
Chornaya (Aug 1855) (TA Morris)
-Class shares anecdotes from the Bachrach reading:
-
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(Russians use tactics [not guerilla] like Mao’s
guerrilla tactics: “Pull Back your fist
before you strike.”)
-in less than 20 min British Light Brigade decimated: 673 cavalrymen sent, 200 quickly killed=military horrible blunder
(Tennyson wrote a famous poem about it, “Into the Valley of Death/ Rode the 600. Theirs not to reason why; Theirs
but to do and die.” But the Br public saw it not as a failure, but as “glorious and noble.” (role of the press??) The leader,
James Thomas Brudenell, made a national hero AND inspired a piece of clothing used today! He bought his men buttondown collarless sweaters they could wear under their uniforms to keep warm=after the war the style caught on=named
after him who was also known as the Earl of CARDIGAN. (Rick Beyer)
Film depiction of the Charge: Errol Flynn 1936 http://cz.youtube.com/watch?v=pXzCOlPHFmc&NR=1
Battle of Alma: http://cz.youtube.com/watch?v=ipdjwuSQcfE&feature=related
Battle of Balaclava (Cardigan killed): http://cz.youtube.com/watch?v=M4gTt6rptTU&feature=related
-Russia’s situation: -lack of modern system of communication
-lack of forces on other frontiers
-lack of equipment for army provided by Russian industry (only 4% of R troops equipped
with newer percussion rifle vs 33% Fr and 50% of Br troops!)**BEFORE the Franco-Prussian War 1870-71 advances in
technology—Prussians LEARN from others mistakes in this war & improved for THEIR wars of German unification ie.
Krupp/Skoda (AH) (Morris)
Florence Nightingale
**See attached excerpt on Crimean War (the pro/cons each countries’ militaries, Florence Nightingale, & the Light
Brigade) in Deborah Bacharach’s THE CRIMEAN WAR
-after Russia’s defeat in the Crimean war: ntl debt, inefficient army, central admin inept, loss of 600 000 people, popular
disturbances in villages (Wilmot)
-Russia’s pol and social systems were “not just in a poor state but in fact, as history would reveal, in a terminal
condition.”= need for reform and improvement (Morris) Like AR debt etc pre-FR
-Tsar Nicholas I died during the Crimean War March 2 1855 and hands over the position to son Alexander II (the eldest
son at 37 yrs old=prepared with education in state affairs) (Thompson)
Questions:
1. State 3 specific ways the Crimean War effected the beginning of Alexander II’s rule (effected his “rise to power).
a.
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b.
c.
2. ESTABLISHMENT OF RULE/THE STATE:
RUSSIAN SERF’S CONDITION:
-“There were no fixed rights or obligations for the peasantry. A landowner could increase his serf’s dues & duties, he
could seize their property, he could forbid their buying from, selling to, or working with persons outside the estate, he
could make them into domestic servants, sell them either separately or with their families, force them to marry.” (JN
Westwood)
•Picture, “Gambling with Souls” Gustave Dore + other serf pictures
•”Everywhere in Europe to own a cow is a sign of luxury; in Russia not to have one is a sign of dreadful poverty.”
(Alexander Pushkin, JOURNEY FROM MOSCOW TO ST. PETERSBURG)
•Peter Kropotkin (Russian nobleman), “As to the poverty which I saw during our journeys in certain villages, especially in
those which belonged to the imperial family, no words would be adequate to describe the misery to readers who have not
seen it.”
=NEED! For Emancipation!
6 Reasons why the Emancipation Proclamation occurred (John Thompson/Eric Wilmot):
1. GOOD FOR LANDOWNERS:
•“This measure (proposal for emancipation) is more necessary for the welfare of our class itself (landowning nobility) even
than for the serfs. The abolition of the rights to dispose of people like objects or like cattle is as much our liberation as
theirs; for at present we are under the yoke of a law that destroys still more in us than in the serfs any human quality.” (Al
Koshelyov, a Russian landowner)
2. GOOD FOR ECONOMY:
•” From an economic point of view the agrarian system was wasteful and unproductive, giving little scope for improvement
and providing the peasant mass with little above the barest minimum necessary for existence.” Tom Kemp
=give the serfs a profit incentive, and the quality of the goods would rise
3. MODERNIZATION:
•”Russia is condemned to fossilize, to remain in its present position, without making any step forward. And nothing is
strong enough to change this position whilst serfdom lies at the foundation of our social and civil life.” KS Kavelin=in order
to rejoin the West as a Great Power, this reform was necessary as no such social class existed in the West at that time
4. MILITARY:
•Defeat in Crimean War convinced most Russians that an overhaul of the antiquated social system was needed=SERF
SOLDIERS had not fought well and the Russian serf army had not trained reserves. (Thompson)
=we need a professional army like the Prussians have (from the War Academy est by Clauswitz)!
5. FEAR OF REVOLUTION?
Soviet historians state that such a fear caused by so many uprisings also motivated reformers noting the increased
peasant unrest (Thompson)
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-THE COMMUNIST MANIFESTO had been written in 1848 and translated copies had begun to come to Russia (Georgi
Plekhanov did the first “official” translation)—would the serfs just say, “We have had enough! Down with the
bourgeoisie=landowners!”=better to reform from ABOVE than BELOW (paraphrase Alexander II)
6. MORALLY:
•System increasingly indefensible on MORAL GROUNDS—can’t support Russians owning other Russians. As education
spread in the 1800s, serfdom became increasingly repugnant to Russian elite including many nobles—French society and
Enlightened ideas were having an impact on the aristocratic classes; hence, slavery was not ok!
(Now check off the Top 3 most important reasons why it ended, whether each is more “reform” or “reaction,” and think to
be able to justify why you chose those 3).
GOVERNMENT RESPONSE: (student reads as Alexander II  )
•Tsar Alexander II: “It is better to begin abolishing serfdom from above than to wait for it to begin to abolish itself from
below. I ask you, gentlemen, to think of ways of doing this. Pass on my words to the nobles for consideration.”
(addressing the Moscow nobles on March 30, 1856) And 5 years later=serfdom abolished!
•Alexander II, ”Controlled surgery to save the hierarchical body.” (Lee)
MARCH 15, 1861: SERFDOM OFFICIALLY ABOLISHED:
See Michael Lynch’s reflection on the Emancipation Edict (compared to US etc) http://www.historytoday.com/michaellynch/emancipation-russian-serfs-1861-charter-freedom-or-act-betrayal
•”The peasants should immediately feel that his life has been improved; the landowner should at once be satisfied that his
interests are protected; and stable political order should not be disturbed for one moment in any locality.” Tsar Alexander
II cited in L. Kochan
-largest single event of human emancipation in history (at same time as Lincoln frees US slaves)=52 million (85% pop!).
Lee says 20 million, Brinton 40 million…
“Ending serfdom was at the time the most extensive/influential govt-directed social change in human history.” J Thompson
EMANCIPATION EDICT
**Act out Alexander II’s act from the Wilmot chapter, esp pgs Pushkin 168, nobleman 169, 170176/177
-New freedoms are announced: freedom to marry, own property, take legal action, engage in trade/business, can’t be
bought/sold, women free to choose husband (but many areas kept their “Traditions!” ie Pale of Settlement)
-But also problems caused by it: lose rights to timber/firewood from local forests, traditional grazing rights (like Fr Rev
when 3rd Est cahiers express anger re loss of grazing rights), AND! Landlords retain 2/3 of all land! (despite the freed serfs
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being 85% of the pop!) + the quality of the land that was granted was, in general, very poor quality for raising crops etc
(Wilmot)
-The mir/obschina vs. commune: an organized village community that administrates the peasants and their lands/run by
the Mir council that was run by the landowners, responsible for:
a. paying Redemption Payments similar to SHARECROPPING in US (have to pay landlord for land or freedom
and can’t afford it=go into debt=still tied to landlord=NOT FREE!)
-Redemption Payments were instituted by the govt to pay the landlords for their financial losses by “losing”
ownership of the serfs. Newly freed serfs usually could not afford to pay the RP back to the govt (could be RP govt
serf or Mir RP serf) so were still tied to the landowners.
b. issuing “peasants passports” if they wished to travel distances over 20 miles—predecessor of the “internal
passport” system
c. redistribution of land to take account of family size (was not always done—done in landlords best interest)
d. pay taxes (newly freed serfs couldn’t afford so landlords pay for them=debt to landlord=not free!)
e. decide on crop rotation for whole village, but profit not always equally distributed now with the freedom of the
serfs (landlords took most of the profit)
f.
titles for village land given to the MIR, not to the individual peasant (only given if Redemption Payments
complete—so few serfs were able to do this, that land stayed tied to the Mir and controlled by the Mir’s
landowner council)=INSTEAD OF SLAVE to LANDLORD now a SLAVE to the MIR
**John Thompson above
See Graphs Wilmot pgs 172/173
-“The terms of the Edict provoked considerable disappointment amongst the 2 great social classes most closely touched by the
changes (landlords & peasants)” (Wilmot)
PEASANT RESPONSE TO EDICT PROBLEMS: (Wilmot 176) (Instead of “underselling” they “oversold” and not enough info)
•confusion, rumor, gossip and misunderstanding; peasants wanted land-ownership and freedom, NOT Redemption
Payments so once the Edict terms were more clearly spelled out in public, anger and discontent among the peasants erupted=many
hoped the situation would be temporary, a transition phase, demanding FULL emancipation asap
•peasant uprising led by Anton Petrov at Bezdna=100 villagers dead!
•499 more uprisings in 1861! (from March 15-Dec 31!! YOU do the math!)
-LANDOWNERS EDICT PROBLEMS:
a.
lost land/labor of former serfs
b. compensation payments needed to rise (b/c few serfs could pay the RP) but didn’t…
-ALEXANDER’S RESPONSE:
“Reports have reached me that you expect a new emancipation. There will be no emancipation except the one I have given
you. Obey the laws and the statutes: work and toil! Obey the authorities and landowners!”
FINAL RESULT:
“The overall result was a peasantry which was still bound, if not by the constraints of serfdom, at least by a system which would not
allow the development of simple free enterprises in the rural areas.” SJ Lee
-disorder declines, but peasants remain angry and dissatisfied…sows the seeds for the creation of revolutionary
organizations such as the People’s Will, which later rebel against the tsar in the 1905, Feb and Oct Revolutions
Greater analysis of serfdom by Michael Lynch:
http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LpPGcjHyrb4ygbC5nGQhnCv6rnSDcJNWctTYhkcr3zQszbWKLdW1!
-314535741!2144018255?docId=5002054874
REVIEW & DISCUSSION:
-Was he the “tsar liberator”???? What should have been done differently regarding emancipation?
Edvard Radzinsky overview Alexander II (and show the book he is quoting from):
http://cz.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ1s_BZu-qA
Bio of Radzinsky (and bias of Wikipedia bios ie. Norman Davies anecdote) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Radzinsky
3. IDEOLOGIES (mainly 1850s & 1870s):
ALEXANDER II:
-“ effective autocracy must depend ultimately on sound FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT & MILITARY STRENGTH,
a traditional Romanov approach.” (Lee)
-“Serfdom had spawned an outmoded army and crippled the treasury. Emancipation was therefore a prelude to
a more efficient army and a more modern fiscal system, the achievement of which were always given priority in
1860s & 70s.”
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“THE TRIO OF THEORISTS”—THE MODERATE SOCIALISTS (All Wilmot unless noted)
**3 different philosophies on how change in Russia should occur!
1. ALEXANDER HERZEN-journal= “The Bell” (“Kolokol”) published from London where he was in exile
-opposed to violent change
-pro-education so that social revolution was possible (like Komensky!)
-educated class to go “to the people!” ie. what Perchik’s character did in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF
-This is how change occurred in the Velvet Revolution 1989 ie. Zdenek Sverak (KOLYA) and other actors/intellectuals
would go to countryside and try to win the rural population over to want change
2. DMITRI PISAREV-felt that the development of an “intellectual elite” was essential for good leadership (same as Plato’s belief in the need for
a “Philosopher King”)
-was a Nihilist along with Turgenev (wrote FATHER & SON): one who does not bow before any authorities, who does not
accept any single principle on trust however much respect surrounds this principle.”
-a person would define their own moral system
-NIHILISM: “total rejection of established laws & institutions & a belief that all existence is senseless and that
there is no possibility of an objective basis for truth; nothingness or nonexistence” (Nietzsche)
-“a 19th century Russian political philosophy advocating the violent destruction of social and political
institutions to make way for a new society, 1810-20=began”
-invented in Germany but popularized in Russia
-the Germans in THE BIG LEBOWSKI
3. PETR LAVROV-pro-education for peasantry to enable people themselves to direct their own liberation
-anti-revolution anarchism
-Propaganda & press is key=they are key for change!
ANOTHER GROUP…THE POPULISTS (“NARODNIKS”)—“To the People!”
-1870s: groups of students in big cities, pro-moderates & anti-extremists, who hope for change in Russia led by peasants
-the Village commune=perfect basis for a new society=pro self-education
-key cities of Populists: St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Kiev (Perchik!), Odessa
-founders: Nikolai Nikhailovsky & Petr Lavrov
-1874-75, 3000 populists invaded the countryside to open the eyes of peasants. Over 1600 were arrested and handed over
to police by peasants THEMSELVES who were blindly loyal to Alexander II (Morris)
-“Some peasants listened with sympathy, many were hostile, and most understood hardly anything of what they heard.”
(Hugh Seton-Watson)
THE EXTREMISTS: (Wilmot)
1. Mikhail Bakunin:
-inspired the younger generation of radical revolutionaries
-the founder of “anarchism” in Russia
-“doctrine urging the abolition of govt or govt restraint as the indispensable condition for full social and
political liberty; use of violent revolt to do so essential”
-without govt he believed that all would actually be equal
2. Nikolai Chernyshevski
-1860s: young, extreme radicals publishing views in “The Contemporary” (a journal)—Nikolai was the main editor
-was a high profile Russian radical
-He was disappointed with the Emancipation Edict, so he introduced socialism to Russia
-A contemporary of his shared the same views, “Take up your axes!…Kill the men of the Imperial party without pity…kill
them on the square if that foul scum dares to come out, kill them in their houses, kill them in the narrow alleys of the
towns, kill them in the wide streets of the capital cities, kill them in the villages and hamlets.” (Zaichnevsky, YOUNG
RUSSIA, 1862)
-inspired violent revolutionary organizations such as “Hell”
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-Karakozov, who later tried to kill the tsar in 1866, was a member of Hell
“LAND & LIBERTY” (Wilmot)
-1876: Land and Liberty (secret society)
-its main goal: lead a Russian social revolution!
-split in Land and Liberty:
-“Black Partition”: small group, led by George PLEKANOV (above right) (did the Russian translation of the
COMMUNIST MANIFESTO, works with Lenin in Switzerland plotting the October 1917 Communist revolution = bonus
reading) and PB Axelrod, focusing on spreading peaceful propaganda among peasants, ANTI-terrorism
-“The PEOPLE’S WILL”: they believed it was their duty to TRIGGER their revolution, and to do so in the
most dramatic manner available: the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881 (NB. Lenin’s brother IN org during this
assassination, but was arrested/hanged for a PLOT to assassinate Alex III=which motivates Lenin to want to overthrow
tsardom!)
4. IMPORTANCE OF ORGANIZATION & LEADERSHIP IN THE MAINTENANCE OF POWER:
ALEXANDER II:
-In 3 ways Russia at the time of the ascension Alex II 1855 diff than the way his country uncle, Alex I had ruled (J.
Thompson):
1.Russ was good deal bigger in territory and pop: Fin, Bessarabia, and the Caucauses had been added, but
even within its old boundaries numbers added from 37 million to 59=agricultural economy, with little or no increase in
productivity=HAD MORE PEOPLE TO SUPPORT and LESS LAND PER PERSON=PEASANT UNREST! (Malthus!)
2. Russian economy was changing and falling further behind Western Europe. First signs of industrialization
appeared, number of FREE WORKERS grew and TRADE/MONEY ECONOMY expanded and position of NOBILITY
DETERIORATED
=SERFDOM not make sense
3. after defeat in Crimean War, Russia seen as weaker compared to rivals in Europe
-Alexander II, the eldest son of Nicholas I, ascended the throne at 37 years=prepared to do so with a solid tutorial
education and participation in state affairs.
-conservative, he seemed unlikely to be the “liberator”...but several factors worked to make him an effective
reformer:
1.he was realistic and hardheaded, and concluded early that serfdom would have to be eliminated and other
changes made if more serious diff were to be avoided;
2. patriotic-- deciding Russia needed to be powerful again, and govt/social system had to change=up to date;
2. respected the able senior civil servants who would implement change, steadfastly supported them even in
the face of opposition=NO INTENTION OF DESTROYING AUTOCRACY, but saw need for reform ie.
Loris-Melikov reforms possibly leading to representative govt right before he died (p 188 Wilmot= different
from Louis XVI relationship with Necker who bowed to aristorcratic pressure and fired Necker, ending
French reform)
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-“My reign will be a continuation of his (Nicholas I)” Alexander II (Lee) **in terms of conservative autocracy, but
DIFFERENT from his dad as he allowed more reforms.
**After the Polish Revolt in 1863 & the attempt on his life in 1866, his era of “REFORM” was followed by one of extreme
“REACTION”
“REACTION”:
-From mid1860s on he replaced progressive ministers with conservative, even reactionary ones ie. Golovnin lost the
Ministry of Education position to Count Dmitri Tolstoy, who cancelled earlier reforms that occurred under his rule:
-massive changes to high school curriculum
-chose the university staff
-censorship of books, newspapers, and pamphlets returns (Lee)
**NB Education was used as a TOOL to control populations outside of Russia ie. Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia where
those peoples were “Russified” ie. Not allowed to use own language/education and only had Russian conservative
upbringings
-Shuvalov, who became the head of the Third Section in 1866, “did whatever he could to secure the appointment to the
bureaucracy of anti-progressives.” (Overcoat discusses results of the changed bureaucracy)
-DA Milyutin in 1873, “(there was a) devastating and disgusting contrast with the atmosphere in which I entered the govt
13 years ago.”
-But there was also “reform in the age of reaction”: “Municipal Statute 1870 and Alexander’s decision 1881 to accept
Loris-Melikov’s plan for a limited consultative assembly of elected reps of public opinion….the latter …was cancelled
only because of Alexander II’s assassination and the imposition of a far more reactionary regime by Alexander III.” (Lee)
**the fledgling beginnings of what would later become the duma (parliament) Wilmot pg 188.
5. SUCCESSES/FAILURES IN SOLVING POLITICAL, SOCIAL, ECONOMIC PROBLEMS:
1. POLITICAL:
GOVERNMENT:
-Most of “Great Reforms” were like what had occurred in the west, save full CIVIL LIBERTIES or NATIONAL
REPRESENTATIVE GOVT--reforms made governance more orderly, efficient, and just, but within the framework of
autocracy
ie. JUDICIAL REFORM 1864= train/independent judges, open judicial procedures and equality b4 law--but b/c
no pol/constit reform with it, tsar able to do extralegal imperial decrees
MUNICIPAL GOVT: (G. Freeze)
-earlier regimes focused too much on big cities and lacked human material/resources to create a system of
local admin (Freeze)
= PARTIAL SELF GOVT at 2 levels:
1. municipal institutions created 1870
2.
New district/provincial organs called ZEMSTVOS 1864=assemblies whose members elected by ALL
classes: NOBLES, TOWNSMEN, PEAS--NOBLE PREDOMIN AND HAD LIMITED BUDGETS to agree on
local issues
-main responsibility: social & cultural development of local cities, build infrastructure ie. roads, bridges,
hospitals, schools, asylums, prisons), provide social services (public health, poor relief, assistance during
famine), and to promote industry, commerce, and agriculture
=EXCELLENT train in politics/gov for future liberal opponents!
-BUT! The exclusion of important categories ie. nobility from TAXATION (just like in Ancien Regime France!)
and other obligations weakened the basis of city govt
LEGAL SYSTEM (NOV 1864): (G. Freeze)
-Pre-condition: corruption, injustice
-under Nicholas I: wanted reform, but commission he established in 1850 consisted of old-regime bureaucrats
who did not have any legal training
-Alexander II est a committee dominated by liberal GOSUDARTSVENNIKI= civil servants devoted to state, welltrained independent professionals
-Russia looked to the Western European model ie. Napoleonic Code
-Fundamental principles: equality b4 the law, trial by jury, public proceedings guaranteed
-Shuvalov in 1866 takes many away when he becomes the head of the 3rd Section + because of the reaction
after attempted assassination of Alex II
SOCIAL:
SERFDOM-(J. Thompson)
-lord kept most of his land and in principle gave the liberated peasants what they had traditionally farmed
NEGATIVE:
-in practice=part of central Russia where land most valuble, peasants finally received 10-20% less land than
they had previously tilled AND the govt compensated the lord for the lost services of his serfs and collected this amount
from the peasants= REDEMPTION PAYMENTS spread over 49 years=HEAVY BURDEN
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-b/c key social/admin device, OBSCHINA organization retained with 2 unfortunate effects: 1. peasants still
bound to the village and their share of taxes=peas exchanged one master for another=still 2nd class citizens with diff
institutions ie. got new peasant courts and types of govt (volost system)
-even though nobles kept land, could not manage it effectively and indebtedness grew
-peas unhappy b/c had to stay in the commune which dampened their incentive=lack of productivity
-POSITIVE: 1. removed the moral/econ millstone from around Russ society neck;
2. provided supply of free labour for CAPITALIST agri/industry...COULD WORK IN FACTORIES IN agricultural
off-season (which lasts a long time in snowy, cold Russia!)
**See BONUS reading handouts on serfdom!
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH: (G. Freeze)
-earlier: corrupt (no limits on Church power) & inefficient ecclesiastical administration/courts
-Reforms:
-establishment of parish councils 1864 to raise funds for local needs
-reform of ecclesiastical schools in 1867 (modern curriculum, youths from all social classes accepted)
-abolition of clerical caste 1867
-reorganization of parishes1869 combining small parishes into larger
-liberalization of ecclesiastical courts and less censorship 1869
6.ROLE OF ARTS, MEDIA, EDUCATION UNDER REGIME: John Thompson
“What causes sudden surges of human creativity such as the Renaissance? How can one explain a flurry of brilliant artistic
activity as occurred in 19th century Russia? In the space of not more than 30 or 40 years, a dozen Russians produced some of the
greatest works in world literature and Western music….It was paradoxical that these creative heights were reached at the very moment
when Russian society under Nicholas I was culturally repressed. The govt was trying to block new ideas with censorship and
persecution, and the atmosphere was one of stagnation and disillusionment. Moreover, the official and widely held values were
mystical and religious, related to Orthodox Christianity and conservative principles of autocracy & priviledge…Most of the work was
about life, not revolution, and both writers and critics of the system moved in the same circles, “the intelligensia…but a common
mistake is to equate the intelligensia with revolutionaries, whereas in fact, a majority of the the intelligensia preferred peaceful change
in Russian society.” (like the French Enlightenment philosophs).
**Great work can come under extreme pressure as this may be the only “valve” they can use to express themselves like in
pre-WWI Serbia/Bosnia/Vojvodina
1. ARTS/MEDIA: (J. Thompson)
-“In the space of not more than 30 or 40 years, a dozen Russians produced some of the greatest works in world literature and Western
music.”
-In the 1850s-70s 3 major authors dominated LITERATURE:
1. IVAN TURGENEV: (above left)
-most influential book, FATHERS & SONS, about a conflict between the “more moderate older generation & a new breed of
radicals personified by Bazarov, a “nihilist”, who rejects all old values and mores in the name of materialistic science.
2. FYODOR DOESTOEVSKY(above right):
-“the greatest of psychological novelists”
-portrayed Russian life realistically in CRIME & PUNISHMENT & THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV, and more symbolically
in NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND
-key theme: “conflict of emotions and ideas…thoroughly critical of Western materialism and values while seeing true salvation
in a refinement of selfless love attained only through suffering.”
3. LEO TOLSTOY: 1828-1910
-an “epic novelist” best known for his exacting detail in describing Russia’s struggle against Napoleon in WAR & PEACE
-“he had a knack of making scenes and characters seem more vital and absorbing than reality itself.”
-in the 1870s he went through a “religious rebirth” and became an “influential advocate of nonviolence and a devastating critic
of the artificiality and immorality of modern life.”
-had conversations with Gandhi, and Gandhi named a farm community in South Africa after him (Sirish)
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MUSICIANS:
1. MICHAEL GLINKA (1804-57): First Classical composer in Russia
-his operas joined classical form to Russian folk songs and stories
2. “THE MIGHTY BUNCH” or “THE FIVE” from 1860s-80s:
-Modest MUSSORGSKY, Nicholay RIMSKY-KORSAKOV, Milli BALAKIREV, Cesar CUI, Aleksandr BORODIN
-separately but at the same time, Pyotr TCHAIKOVSKY
=all produced “romantic ballets, operas, symphonies, and other pieces that have enchanted lovers of classical music in Russia &
abroad ever since.”
-artists & revolutionaries existed side by side and were a combination of western culture & Russian traditions
-“The Mighty Bunch” (group of musicians) Point of their existence was to get rid of the foreign artists who dominated Russian
stages/open free music schools so Russians could also become artists ie. Tchaikovsky-led group
- SOCIAL CRITICISM: 2 main schools of thought evolved in in the small, informal groups of noblemen intellectuals in Moscow &
St. Petersburg:
WESTERNERS VS. SLAVOPHILES –
-WESTERNIZERS: “stressed secular and rational thought and were voluntarists=they believed that individuals & groups could enact
change and improve society.
-they were in favor of Peter the Great’s reforms, and wanted the expansion of education and reform of Russian govt
-some became radicals, but in general “urged a change for civil freedoms & constitutional govt via. peaceful, evolutionary
change.”
-2 prominent westernizers were Alexander HERZEN and Mikail BAKUNIN, who became critical of the govt and went
into exile with Herzen becoming a journalist & mild revolutionary and Bakunin a radical anarchist
•SLAVOPHILES-“romantic nationalists who idealized the Russian past, rejected Western civilization as a model for Russian development,
and espoused a future good society in Russia based on the spiritual values of Orthodoxy and the social values of the people, especially
as expressed in the peasant commune.”
-they did criticize the govt and tsar, saying the old bond between the ruler and ruled had been broken by a bureaucracy with
too much power and by Peter’s changes
-need to go back to a more simple type of rule that protected Russians and the tsar’s right to rule
-wanted to purge the Orthodox church and revert to basic teachings
-“could build a unique civilization that would be far superior to Western societies and that would contribute constructively
to world culture…based on brotherly love, peace, and harmony.”
•Dispute between the 2 views for how Russia should evolve continues to today, and some have said Stalin was a slavophile and also
Russian xenophobia has been blamed on slavophile influences.
2. EDUCATION (1863-64): (G. Freeze)
-urgency for elementary schooling because if former serfs were to become “good citizens” illiteracy had to be overcome!
-the Orthodox Church was supported in its est of schools
-the Zemstvo was considered the “school of the countryside”
-Liberal bureaucrats drafted/published legislation:
-the Elementary School Statute 1864, regulation & promotion of secondary schools growth
-reforming universities was more complicated and political due to radical student unrest (see radical pol parties
section) but Statute of 1863 made universities self-governing operations (Perchik in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF=if you are going to
allow more freedom of thought, there will be more criticism of EVERYTHING, including tsardom + Mary Antin document about
Jews vs gentiles at school)
•taken away when Dmitri Tolstoy took over (see other section)
CENSORSHIP: (G. Freeze)
-Pre-Alexander: 1850s= relaxation of censorship ie. the regime tolerated comments on the desire for serf
emancipation
- pressure for more reforms when more journals/newspapers published 1860s
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-govt issues “Temporary Regulation” of 1865 after which critical books had to be published in secret
-Censorship fully implemented in 1866 after the assassination attempt on Alex II—D Tolstoi reinforced
7. TREATMENT OF WOMEN, MINORITIES, RELIGIOUS GROUPS: (G. Freeze)
1. WOMEN:
-Women’s conditions began to improve in the mid 1850s particularly in the elite status groups
-1866: first women’s journal appeared following a PROCLAMATION by the govt allowing it, and involved radical
women in revolutionary movements
-female professions: they were banned from civil service, but increasingly appeared in popular female professions ie.
teaching, church service, and monasticism
-but…opposition of society/regime= excluded women from universities and was against proposals for improving their civil
rights ie. NO reformation on restrictive divorce and separation laws
-Special rules for Jews (ie. Perchik becomes the private tutor to Teyve’s daughters in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF) + Mary
Antin Jewish reading document
2. MINORITIES:
-minority: any group who “poses a serious threat to the territorial integrity of the realm or its internal political stability.”
-“Great Russians” (together with Ukrainians, Belorussians) vs. others
-in grand duchy of Finland, Finnish adopted a provincial govt and courts 1856, later in customs & schools; Finnish &
Swedish was formally recognized as official language in their areas unlike in most other areas of Russia with majority non-Russian
peoples ie. Ukraine, Georgia…but those rights were taken away slowly post 1866, particularly under Alexander III
-Polish Revolt of 1863 (see previous notes from German unification)
3. RELIGIOUS GROUPS: (Martin McColgan)
-Pogroms against Jews (see readings & FIDDLER ON THE ROOF—Jews were not attacked until the end of the 19th
century, but had lived in separated communities within zemstovs (precursor to “ghettos”) and were discriminated against since such
laws had been enacted by Nicholas I
-“PALE OF SETTLEMENT”:
-“Anti-Semitic sentiment had long been evident in Tsarist Russia. The Orthodox Church…despised Jews as the ‘murderers of Christ’.
The ordinary people in parts of the empire where there were Jewish settlements disliked the Jews for the business activities in which
they engaged (and blamed their limited incomes on them). The Jews were a readily available scapegoat to use when things were
going badly.
-Jews had been severely restricted in their movements throughout the empire: since the 18th century they had to live in a strictly
defined region called “the Pale of Settlement”: southwestern and northwestern parts of Russia (eastern Poland, Belorussia, western
Russia, and western Ukraine)
-“they were prevented from buying landed property or from settling outside towns and had to rely on their own means of
earning a living.” “If I were a rich man” is a dream of life outside the Pale…
-“The assassination of Alexander II was vaguely attributed to Jews, and a succession of pogroms (attacks on Jews and their property,
including murder) occurred through the rest of the year.” Alexander III turned a blind eye to this, particularly in Ukraine where most
of Russia’s 4 million Jews lived
-“Following the pogroms of 1881, Tolstoy restored order but passed laws to “protect the Orthodox”: Jews had to stay in ghettos,
severely restricted their ability to go to secondary school or university, entering professional careers in medicine or law, denied the
vote in zemstvo elections, massive Jewish explusions from Kiev 1886 and Moscow 1891 caused massive displacement eventual
“exodus” to Israel once the Zionist movement became more organized under Theodore Herzl or to the West ie. Germany, France,
North America
-Nicholas II even worse! (for the next presentation!)
**FIDDLER ON THE ROOF VIDEO CLIPS & PLAY + PALE OF SETTLEMENT DOCS
8. IMPACT OF STATE ON WORLD AFFAIRS:
-Crimean War=the Russian loss caused reforms (see Bacharch & below)
-Alexander II’s role in German unification ie. Polish Revolt and neutrality earned him Bismarck’s favor
-War in the Balkans & the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878 (Balkan wars presentation!)
Russia helps liberate Bulgaria http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMBmyTbAbGI
**BONUS READING on Alexander II in Europe & Asia
MILITARY: (Gregory Freeze)
-after the failures of the Crimean War, the army needed RECONSTRUCTION (Se D. Bacharach handout)
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-“the military leaders, indeed, proved to be energetic reformers, eager to rebuild the army and to borrow freely on Western
models.”
-under War Minister Dmitri Milyutin army reforms:
-technological rearmament
-administrative reorganization
-making military schools more professional—on German model of Clauswitz
-replacing one huge standing army without reserves with universal military training
-all-class conscription determined by education not social achievement including choice of Chief of Staff
-end harsh recruitment
-Better command and communication structure, esp regionally
-reforms caused peasants’ interest in education to rise because a 2 year elementary schooling reduced the period of service
from 6 to 2 years (25 years under Nich 1!)
-RESULT: Russians defeated the Turks in 1877-78 in the Balkans! But still disastrous defeats in WWI…
WHAT ALL THE REFORMS HAD IN COMMON: (Gregory Freeze)
1. VSESOSLOVNOST=all estates participated
2. GLASNOST=society participated in plan/shape of reforms (not just a Gorbachev thing of the 1980s/90s)
3. Followed western models
Reforms shifted power/responsibility from state to society or special social groups
9. HOW THE PERSON’S RULE ENDED/COLLAPSED and RESULTS:
-by the beginning of the 1880s he was “isolated from the Russian people, unpopular with the educated public, and cut off from the
bulk of society and the Court. His fate had become a matter of indifference to the majority of his subjects.” WE Mosse
-unpopular at court b/c of his passion for Polish Princess Dolgoruky who bore him illegitimate children and whom he married shortly
after the death of his first wife in 1880.
-he grew more and more “conservative and disillusioned” while Princess was surrounded by Liberals (Freeze)
-his rule didn’t really collapse but ended with his assassination in March 13, 1881 by the People’s Will
•OVERVIEW of his ASSASINATION: (John Thompson)
**March 1=Gregorian/Western/Roman Catholic calendar/Mar 13 is the Julian/Russian Orthodox Calendar
-Russ loved a military parade=pride and tsar would preside over it
-”Tsar liberator”--Sun March 13 1881 he was planning to review a parade around noon, visit a royal cousin on his way
back to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg
-but 27 revolutionary terrorists, members of the PEOPLE’S WILL, were ready to kill him
-The PW had rented a small basement shop on main street (Nevsky Prospekt=main street St. P) where they sold cheese
to disguise their activity
-they burrowed a tunnel under the street with the aim of blowing up the emperor’s carriage should it pass
-On Mar 13, just b4 Alex left for the parade, his mistress persuaded him not to return by his usual route (away
from cheese shop)
-The PW knew he might go on an alternative route so they had a large cache of dynamite in the tunnel but also
posted 5 people along other streets and squares: 4 armed with primitive, near-suicidal bombs of nitroglycerin that had to
be tossed at extremely close range; the fifth, SOPHIA PEROVSKAIA, 26 yrs old from a noble family, was
lookout/supervisor
-When Sophia saw Alex take a different route, she signaled by hand for the bomb throwers to take new positions--when
the imperial entourage started down a street called the Catherine Canal Embankment, Nicholas Rysakov stepped close to
the carriage and hurled his weapon=the explosion wrecked the wheels of his carriage, and wounded several onlookers,
but tsar unhurt!!
the assassination.
-2nd assassin moved from crowd to within a few yards and threw his bomb at the tsar’s feet
-Alex and assailant mortally wounded, dying several hours later--20 others also wounded, blood spattered snow bank on
both sides of street
****THE CHURCH OF THE SAVIOR’S BLOOD BUILT ON SPOT ALEX KILLED—my photo and picture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BeiYZcGejE&feature=PlayList&p=B1ECD14E60C0197D&playnext=1&index=13
(MY PICTURES FROM RUSSIA TRIP AND PICTURE PG. 156)
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-5 terrorists executed and buried in an unmarked grave but one of the leaders declared: “An overwhelming weight has
fallen from our shoulders. Reaction must end in order to make way for the rebirth of Russia.”—but did not occur under
Alexander III
-A small group of rev called PEOPLE’S WILL turned to terrorism--less than 100 =intelligent and zealous revolutionaries
killed more than a dozen prominent officials and frightened many
-rationale by Andrew Zhelyabov who spoke in own defence in the assasination trial in1881:
“This temporary movement to the people showed our ideas to be impractical and doctrinare...From dreamers we became
workers. We took to deeds, not words. Action meant some use of force...Circumstances were forcing me, among others,
to declare war against the existing political structure.”
Our Program: THE PURPOSE OF TERRORISTIC ACTIVITIES...IS TO BREAK THE SPELL OF
GOVERNMENTAL POWER, TO GIVE CONSTANT PROOF OF THE POSSIBILITY OF FIGHTING AGAINST THE
GOVT, TO STRENGTHEN IN THIS WAY THE REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT OF THE PEOPLE AND ITS FAITH IN THE
SUCCESS OF ITS CAUSE, AND, FINALLY, TO CREATE CADRES SUITED AND ACCUSTOMED TO COMBAT.”
-in practice terrorism/assassinations repelled most of society, puzzled the peasants, and strengthened the
conservatives=era of “Great Reforms” ended with the murder of tsar in an era of counter-reaction that froze political life for
25 years
-ALEXANDER III (1881-94) CAME TO THE THRONE AT AGE 36 who had been GREATLY ADMIRED by his
GRANDFATHER NICHOLAS I =PARALLEL BETWEEN THEIR REIGNS
-BOTH tsars came to the throne in periods of change and reform that ended in tragedy: revolt AND
assasination;
-BOTH wanted to RESTORE LAW AND ORDER;
-BOTH wanted a WELL-REGULATED efficient state;
-BOTH believe in power of autocracy;
-BOTH were ardent nationalists and reacted against previous policies
IN SUM: ALEXANDER II’S LEGACYPOLITICAL: Conservative REACTION=end/limit reform, discrimination to Jews…led to the emergence of a violent opposition,
including the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDP) (Mensheviks and Bolsheviks)
-Constitutional govt not considered until after the 1905 revolutions
ECONOMIC: Although Alexander III realized the need to modernize, didn’t occur until Nicholas II (the last tsar from1894-1917)
embraced it under the Witte & Stolypin reforms (see later presentations and work)
SOCIAL: -Although serfdom abolished, most still enslaved due to the Redemption Payments
-reform limited=many reformers leave and go abroad=less impact on creating peaceful change
MILITARY: Despite reforms and occasional victories ie. the Balkans 1878, still FAR behind the West, leading to such disastrous
losses in the Russo-Japanese War (see Schlieffen Plan link!) and in WWI as occurred in Tannenburg & Masurian Lakes, and also in
the Brusilov Offensive of 1916, that despite being a technical “victory” was actually a loss due to the death of SO many Russians